Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso

At the end of a historic week, who better to provide perspective than Noam Chomsky? Today, he unpacks the 2020 election (5:25), the virtues of the Green New Deal (9:00), the perceived “radicalism” of Leftist proposals (14:21, 18:03), the need to better educate and organize (20:24), the upside to higher taxes in a democracy (24:56), compassion in the pandemic (35:26), and how Americans can move forward from our failures (40:03).   Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On today's show: two dispatches from inside the medical community and Silicon valley, respectively. First we're joined by Justin Rosenstein, the man who led the team behind the Facebook like button. Now the co-founder of Asana, he breaks down the influence that social media has had on society in this critical time. Rosenstein serves as the whistleblower against Facebook on Netflix’s recent documentary hit “The Social Dilemma”. Today he talks about how social media platforms have handled the 2020 election vs. the 2016 election (3:20), why big tech companies have ignored the negative effects social media might have on society (10:23), the human price of today's economic system (17:38), and his vision for the deep structural changes ahead (30:27). Then, on the back end, Dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, Dr. Ashish Jha, joins us for the fourth time to update us on the latest uptick in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations in the United States. Dr. Jha talks about the politicization of the pandemic (40:33), the psychological toll the pandemic is taking on healthcare workers (45:15), his thoughts on how the president has dismissed the severity of the virus (51:10) and a realistic timeline of finding a cure (54:54).  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dutch historian and philosopher Rutger Bregman joins us this week to unpack his latest book, “Humankind: A Hopeful History”. We discuss his radical idea that “most people are decent” (4:30), the trickle-down cynicism created by capitalism (7:51), why evil is more powerful than good (15:30), the toxicity of cable news (19:00), the failures of American policing and prisons (23:22), his infamous Davos takedown (29:04), the historic (and scientific) case for human generosity (37:43), his ungenerous public spat with Tucker Carlson (42:00), a new wave of progressivism on the left (50:20) and the cost of comfort (53:14). Then, with the election around the corner, we walk through his Ten Rules to Live By (59:02).  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

With the art world in flux, writer and critic Antwaun Sargent (The New Yorker, NY Times) joins us this weeks. We discuss the turbulence inside museums across the country (3:20), the potential (creative) silver-lining of this pandemic (7:44), the impetus for his new book, Young, Gifted and Black (11:00), and how Instagram (sort of) democratized photography (17:30). Plus, Antwaun unpacks our culture’s recurring fetishization of firsts with black excellence (23:04), and why the the art world is in desperate need of reshuffling (28:56). Before we go, a virtual exhibit of selected pieces from YGB. Follow along at talkeasypod.com/antwaun  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As election day approaches, philosopher, public intellectual, and Harvard professor Cornel West joins us for a state of the union. We discuss the challenges of 2020 (06:42), our neofascist gangster President (8:37), his “Robin Hood-like sensibility” (11:30), Dostoevsky’s grim view of civilization (16:25), discovering our purpose from womb-to-tomb (21:22), and the legacy of being a “jazz man” (30:11) who fights for justice, love and freedom (35:14). To close, a reading Giacomo Leopardi’s Wild Broom. For more, www.talkeasypod.com  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Writer/director Radha Blank joins us! We talk about taking back control of her voice in her debut film, now available via Netflix, The 40-Year-Old Version (6:04), the catharsis of rapping under the moniker Radhamus Prime (11:11), the experience of coming out as an artist to the world (20:52), the personal family archiving within the film itself (26:56), the importance of portraying a different version of Black life on screen (34:25), and why she needed to make a love-letter to New York City. (41:02)  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Growing up Black in this country, Angela Davis taught Rep. Ilhan Omar that you must be “internally liberated to fight for external liberation”. As the first Somali-American elected to Congress, Omar has routinely fought for that external liberation. She joins us today, from Washington, to discuss the passing of George Floyd and her father (5:55), the challenge of making police reform a bi-partisan issue in Congress (11:18), the valuable mistakes made in her first term in the House (15:44), her refusal to “assume the posture of the good immigrant” (21:25), how she's handled the personal, xenophobic comments from President Trump (24:55), why she continues to reinvest in the youth (32:10), and what she hopes America will look like in the years ahead (40:15).  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The illustrious author, poet, and playwright, Claudia Rankine, joins us with the release of her latest book, Just Us: An American Conversation. We discuss the conversations (3:12) and relationships (24:12) that comprise Just Us, the problem with color-blindness, a personal shift in perspective following her cancer diagnosis (16:53), how history remains present for black people (27:29), and why we must repeatedly unpack what privilege looks and sounds like in this country (40:26). To close, Claudia reads a timely and moving excerpt from Just Us (52:52).  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Miranda July, a multi-hyphenate artist known for her unique storytelling through film, art, and literature, discusses her latest work, Kajillionaire. She reflects on the challenges of maintaining creativity while parenting during the pandemic. July delves into the complexities of parent-child relationships, sharing personal insights that shaped her film. The conversation also explores the fleeting nature of human connection and how everyday encounters can fuel artistic inspiration. Ultimately, she shares her hopes for a nuanced future and balance in her life.

In the search for radical honestly, Jena Malone is a true, multi-hyphenate artist: actor, musician, writer, dancer. Today she joins us to discuss her need to grow outside of acting (1:50), a relocation to Las Vegas that altered her trajectory, (4:23), creating control in chaos throughout childhood (6:42), the business challenges of being a child actor (16:58), juxtaposed with the agency it gave her (22:50). Then, before we go, Jena reflects on the work she's most proud of to date, while honoring the younger self that supported her family (38:33).   Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.