Why Is This Happening? With Chris Hayes

What came before the #MeToo movement? Acclaimed author Linda Hirshman's new book "Reckoning" traces 50 years of brave women, crucial court battles, and social awakenings that preceded the movement we're witnessing today. This conversation illustrates in vivid detail the decades of struggle to hold those in power accountable, and introduces you to the women who worked tirelessly to make that happen. RELATED READING Reckoning: The Epic Battle Against Sexual Abuse and Harassment by Linda Hirshman Intercourse by Andrea Dworkin Deconstructing Clarence Thomas YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: Women, Rage, and Power with Rebecca Traister (Oct 2, 2018) Get tickets to our New York Live show with special guest Tony Kushner! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It's our New York City live show announcement! Listen for our special guest reveal and information about presale ticket access! Presale begins 10am Wednesday November 6th and goes until 10pm Thursday November 7th. Click here to get your tickets now! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Yeah, we’re going there. In one of our mailbag episodes, Chris Hayes joked about doing an hourlong meditation on mortality. Surprisingly, more than a few of you spoke up in favor of the idea, and one of our #WITHpod listeners suggested checking out a book called “This Life: Secular Faith and Spiritual Freedom” by philosopher Martin Hägglund. In his book, Hägglund takes on some of the most fundamental questions we face if, in fact, this one life is all we have. Say there’s no afterlife - what does it then mean to mourn, to love, and to be a human on this planet? What do we owe each other and what do we owe ourselves? So this week, we look at one of the biggest and scariest and, depending how you look at it, most beautiful questions yet: what if this is it? RELATED READING: This Life: Secular Faith and Spiritual Freedom by Martin Hägglund Hey Chicago! Grab the last few standing room only tickets for our November 12th event with Nikole Hannah-Jones and Ibram X. Kendi! Find tickets here. Hosted by Simplecast, an

Y'all - this is a good one. Trust us. It'll make you laugh, it'll make you reflect, it'll inspire...it might even give you that special WITHpod brand of existential crisis. Our second stop of the fall tour brought Chris Hayes to the stunning Theatre at the Ace Hotel with screenwriter and director Adam Mckay along with debut novelist Omar El Akkad. The question at hand - how can we use art and pop culture to properly convey the urgency of the climate crisis? How can storytelling break through the noise and get to the beating heart of the collective struggle our planet is in? And how will future generations think about the way we are meeting this moment? Like we said, maybe a teensy existential crisis. But we promise, you'll laugh a lot too. CHICAGO! We're releasing general admission standing only tickets for our Live WITHpod November 12th with Nikole Hannah-Jones and Ibram X. Kendi. Buy tickets here! RELATED: American War by Omar El Akkad The Great Hack The Uninhabitable Earth by David Wallace-Wells Sapiens

Over the past few months communication coming in and out of Kashmir, the highly contested land between India and Pakistan, has been increasingly difficult. The Indian government lead by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken steps to blackout the region in to order to once and for all place Kashmir under Indian control. The move has been roundly condemned by international groups, and serves as another dire warning of ostensibly liberal democracies engaging in authoritarian and illiberal behavior. This week, Hafsa Kanjwal, a Kashmiri Muslim woman and assistant professor at Lafayette college, talks about the complex history of Kashmir and the current lockdown the region now faces. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

CHICAGO! We have a date, we have guests, and we have a SPECIAL PRESALE CODE! Join us Tuesday, November 12th at the House of Blues Chicago with special guests Nikole Hannah-Jones and Ibram X. Kendi. Presale starts Friday, October 18 at 10am ct and goes until Sunday, October 20 at 10pm ct. Presale code -- withpod Remaining tickets will be released Monday October 21st at 10am central. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Listen for details on how to win tickets to our Los Angeles live show! Salman Rushdie is a most singular figure. He’s authored 19 books, accrued countless awards, and spent about a decade in hiding after the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini called for his death. Needless to say, Chris Hayes jumped at the chance to have a conversation with Salman Rushdie about his life and the ways his particular experiences shape his worldview. In one hour, they manage to cover the political climate in India and the US, the opioid epidemic, belonging, reality television, immigration, his newest novel “Quichotte”, and more. Did we mention he’s a knight?   RELATED READING: Quichotte by Salman Rushdie The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie Buy tickets to our October 21st Los Angeles live show here! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You’ve likely heard of redlining - the practice of systematizing discrimination based on where you live. You’ve probably even heard us talk about the ways its legacy continues to impact the upward mobility of communities of color. But do you know what happened next? In the wake of urban uprisings in the late 1960s, politicians pushed to end redlining, to lift people up out of poverty and improve their lives by making homeownership attainable. But that’s not what happened. Instead, bad policy and the private market worked together to create a machine that churned out new ways to exploit black homeowners. It’s what Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor describes as predatory inclusion in her new book, “Race for Profit”. In it, she describes the ways in which policy, race, and institutional forces came together to reinscribe segregation. Come see Chris Hayes in Los Angeles October 21st with special guests Adam McKay and Omar El Akkad! Get tickets here. RELATED READING: Race for Profit by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor Thick by Tress

What is conservatism in the era of Trump? During the 2016 primaries, Senator Ted Cruz argued that he alone was the true conservative candidate, consistently attacking Donald Trump as a big government liberal. So what does Sen. Cruz make of the conservatives that rejected him and went on to put Trump in the White House? At The 2019 Texas Tribune Festival, Chris Hayes and Sen. Cruz sat down in The Paramount Theatre in the first stop of the #WITHpod fall tour to talk about all things conservatism. Chris challenged the Texas Senator on foreign policy, climate change, impeachment, and the unfolding Ukraine scandal. Join us October 21st in Los Angeles with special guests Adam McKay and Omar El Akkad. Get your tickets here. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Get your tickets today! Listen for details on how to get EXCLUSIVE presale access to tickets for our WITHpod Live event in Los Angeles happening Monday, October 21st with special guests Adam Mckay and Omar El Akkad. Presale is from 10am-10pm pacific time TODAY, September 26th - you can access the website here. Regular sale starts Friday, September 27th at 10am pacific time. And don't forget to come see us in Austin this SATURDAY September 28th at the Texas Tribune Festival for our live WITHpod with Sen. Ted Cruz. You can get details for that, and any other tour announcements, on our website. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Andrew Marantz spent three years embedded in some of the ugliest corners of the Internet. His goal: find out how trolls and  alt-right propagandists were able to so effectively turn social media platforms into a vehicle for taking their fringe opinions into the mainstream. Unable to talk to the gate keepers of the Internet, Marantz went to the gate crashers. What he found is a clear guide to a sort of underground information economy that has a reach every bit as far as the mainstream media. This conversation breaks down the key factors that make up this toxic part of the current information environment, helping to better understand the political moment we’re in. RELATED READING: Antisocial by Andrew Marantz The Dark Side of Techno-Utopianism by Andrew Marantz YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: Blocking Big Tech with Kashmir Hill (February 19) Who Broke the Internet? with Tim Wu (May 29, 2018) The Information Crisis with David Roberts (Dec 4, 2018) Find out more about the Texas Tribune Festival Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsW

What was it like to be in the room for some of the most consequential foreign policy decisions of the Obama administration? Samantha Power started as an outsider, a war correspondent who became a voice of moral witness about the failings of the American government. That voice earned her a job in the cabinet of President Barack Obama, helping shape the foreign policy she was once a harsh critic of. Both as a member of the National Security Council, and later as Ambassador to the UN, she had the challenge of addressing her own criticisms within the confines of the job. Now, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author joins to give a rare glimpse into the experience of navigating those halls of power. RELATED READING: The Education of an Idealist by Samantha Power "A Problem From Hell" by Samantha Power Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

How do you know when it’s time to ask for help? For former Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander, the moment came just as his political star was rising. October of 2018, in the final stages of what looked like a successful mayoral bid, and while part of conversations about potential 2020 contenders, Kander stepped back. “After 11 years of trying to outrun depression and PTSD symptoms, I have finally concluded that it’s faster than me,” he wrote. “That I have to stop running, turn around, and confront it.” Now, nearly a year later, he joins to talk about what brought him to that point. He walks through his deployment and the lasting impact of living in mortal danger, how he used running for office as a coping mechanism, and the life changing power of therapy.  WARNING: This episode discusses suicidal ideation. National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1-800-273-8255 RELATED: Veterans Community Project VA Mental Health Resources Outside the Wire by Jason Kander Let America Vote Jason Kander’s Campaign Ad for Back

The Trump administration wants to legalize transgender discrimination in the workplace. This week’s conversation breaks down how we reached this point. From the ways our social system constructs and uses gender, to the law and its limitations, to the political struggles within the LGBTQ community, Chase Strangio discusses many of the complex factors at play in the fight for transgender rights. A lawyer at the ACLU and a trans man himself, Strangio has been at the epicenter of the extremely high stakes battle for transgender people to receive equaity and recognition. Right now, he is part of the legal team preparing to challenge the Trump administration before the Supreme Court, representing a woman fired for being trans. RELATED READING: Sexing the Body By Anne Fausto-Sterling Trump's fight to make transgender discrimination legal may make all sex discrimination legal again by Chase Strangio YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: “Futureface” with Alex Wagner The Personal is Political with Brittney Cooper Rethinking Identity w

Why is it so expensive to go to college? Going to a four-year university and getting a bachelor’s degree is considered the most direct path to the middle class. At the same time, families in the middle class are forced to take extreme and desperate measures to pay for soaring school fees. It’s a broken system that’s taken its toll – we now have more college debt in this country than auto loan or credit card debt. So why is the barrier into the middle class so inaccessible? Caitlin Zaloom, author of "Indebted", tells the stories of families struggling with the financial pressures that come with trying to fund a college education. In this episode, she discusses the psychic toll of this fundamental paradox, both for those who go to college and those who don’t. RELATED READING: Indebted: How Families Make College Work at Any Cost by Caitlin Zaloom Lower Ed: The Troubling Rise of For-Profit Colleges in the New Economy by Tressie McMillan Cottom Twilight of the Elites: America After Meritocracy by Chris H

What does it mean to apply for asylum? This is the story of one man, Luis Mancheno, and the events that unfolded in his home country of Ecuador that led him to seek refuge in the United States. His journey is heartbreaking and harrowing and powerful – and best heard in his own words.  RELATED: “Refugee, Immigrant and Citizen” (The New York Times, 2017) Follow Luis Mancheno here Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Law professor Katie Porter never considered running for office. She worked under then-California Attorney General Kamala Harris and had Sen. Elizabeth Warren as a professor and mentor, but the idea of holding office herself was never even on the drawing board. That all changed election night 2016. Two years later Katie Porter flips California’s 45th district, delivering a Democratic victory that helped fuel the blue wave of 2018. Now the freshman Congresswoman is known for her signature ability to grill witnesses in congressional hearings. Let’s put it this way - it takes a LOT for a hearing to produce a viral video and yet, Rep. Porter has had her fair share. Hear her talk about the moment she decided to run, how she is using her office to stand up to special interests, and what convinced her to come out in favor of an impeachment inquiry. RELATED: WATCH Rep. Porter Calls out Equifax CEO WATCH Rep. Porter questions CFPB Director on what an APR is YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: From Red to Blue with Rep. Max Rose (July

Migration is central to the human experience. For as long as we’ve been around, people have been moving from one place to another. Though it’s never been easier to get from point A to point B, the inequality between those places could be as great as they’ve ever been. We’re now on the front edge of a climate crisis, launching the greatest period of human migration that will ever have happened on the planet. The backdrop of this great migration, however, is a political landscape marred by virulent reactionary movements against immigrants. So how do you reconcile this vitriol with the impending climate refugee crisis? Suketu Mehta immigrated to this country as a teenager. Now, he’s written a manifesto about his vision of America and what it means for the country to be welcoming to the stranger. It’s a book he says he felt compelled to write after seeing how Donald Trump stands as a threat to that vision. RELATED READING: This Land Is Our Land: An Immigrant's Manifesto Maximum City  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsW

Last week the Governor of Puerto Rico resigned after hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in two weeks of sustained protest. Leaked inappropriate texts between Gov. Ricardo Rosselló and his inner circle provided the spark, but corruption and deeper frustrations on the U.S territory kindled the fury of citizens into mass mobilization. This week journalist Julio Ricardo Varela explains the political history and dynamics of Puerto Rico and what pushed people to take to the streets and demand a change in leadership.  RELATED READING “Politicians think Puerto Ricans are dumb. But we know the debt crisis is their doing” by Julio Ricardo Varela   "At Puerto Rico protests, Ricky Martin and Bad Bunny joined the 'Rick renuncia' fight. Here's why." by Julio Ricardo Varela YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE  Destruction in Puerto Rico with Naomi Klein (June 19, 2018)  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Gov. Jay Inslee is running a presidential campaign unlike any other. The Washington governor is basing his run on the fundamental organizing premise that the climate crisis is more important than anything else. It’s a unique strategy that comes at a time when more and more people are recognizing the urgency of the climate crisis. But while climate is moving up on the list of issues voters care about, Gov. Inslee is making the case that it’s not just ‘an issue – it’s ‘the issue’. RELATED READING Apollo’s Fire: Igniting America's Clean Energy Economy by Gov. Jay Inslee Freedom’s Forge by Arthur Herman Decision Makers YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE The Uninhabitable Earth with David Wallace-Wells (March 5) The Wicked Problem of Climate Change with Andrew Revkin (Aug 14, 2018) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.