American Prospect staff writer Lee Harris and co-founder Paul Starr debate whether and how generations matter for politics and culture. The two graduated from college a half-century apart, both in tumultuous times—Lee in 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic and nationwide protests for racial justice, and Paul in 1970, during the Vietnam War and cultural upheaval of that era. 

Lee argues that generations are forged in crisis. Iconic generations, she says, typically bear the stamp of a war or another cataclysmic event. And she says there’s a fair bit of “generational resentment” on the part of later generations against the Baby Boomers, not only because they had it so good and accumulated so much wealth, but because “we inherited the political mistakes” they made—particularly their “cultural and identitarian turn.”

Paul defends that turn in the Sixties as necessary and valuable and, against Lee’s skepticism that things have improved, claims that the movements for racial, LGBT and women’s rights have made genuine progress. But have we come full circle back to the worries of the post-World War II era, facing a new Cold War and similarly intractable cultural ressentiment? Should young progressives be hopeful or pessimistic? Listen here to find out!

Music credit: Oleksandr Stepanov from Pixabay

Do Generations Matter?

This is the second episode of our Prospect: Generations podcast, in which younger and older Prospect staff discuss culture, politics, history, and more. This time co-founder Robert Kuttner joins writing fellow Ramenda Cyrus to discuss the hope in politics. 

Robert describes his time growing up and becoming politically active in the 1960s, when rapid progress was being made and optimism was only logical, only for major backsliding to happen starting in the mid-1970s. Ramenda, by contrast, recounts coming of age during a time of significant social progress yet extreme and growing economic inequality.

Perhaps a political battle is necessary to find a sense of meaning in life. As Robert quotes Camus’ famous aphorism, “one must consider Sisyphus happy,” because “the joy is in the struggle.” Is that true? Is there any other reason for hope and optimism today? Listen here to find out!

Music credit: Oleksandr Stepanov from Pixabay

Keep Hope Alive

Prospect editor at large Harold Meyerson and writing fellow Jarod Facundo both work the labor beat—in Harold's case, since the 1970s; in Jarod's, since he graduated from college in 2020—or even before, counting his internships at progressive publications. Consequently, what they've seen and reported both overlap and have considerable differences. 

In this Generations episode, Jarod talks about the on-the-job militancy he's covered in the past several years, while Harold notes that for most of his time on the beat, organizing came under the heading of the Big Sleep—and that consequently, he often focused on union electoral efforts and internal politics. The rare and very welcome exception to this rule, he noted, was the Justice for Janitors campaign.

Labor Journalism, Past and Present

In this episode of our Generations podcast—where our older and younger staff members discuss politics, history, and culture—Senior Editor Gabrielle Gurley talks with Writing Fellow Luke Goldstein about city politics.

Why does city government matter, and what does it do? What happened to old-fashioned political machines in big cities? How can ordinary citizens navigate the tangled webs of municipal political power? Why have so many recent Democratic mayors been so strange? To find out, listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.

Music credit: Oleksandr Stepanov from Pixabay

The State of American Cities

In this episode of the Prospect's Generations podcast, editor at large Harold Meyerson, who joined the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee in 1975, and writing fellow Luke Goldstein, who was attracted to socialism by Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign in 2015-6, compare notes about their respective generations' views of socialism and experiences in and around socialist movements. They discuss the relationships, then and now, of socialist organizations with the larger American left, the ways in which socialism does and doesn't comport with liberalism and such other progressive creeds as anti-trustism; the strategic question of working in, with, or against the Democratic Party; the particulars of the current DSA; and their own adventures in and around American socialism.

Music credit: Oleksandr Stepanov from Pixabay

American Socialism

In this episode of the Prospect’s Generations podcast, John Lewis writing fellow Ramenda Cyrus joins senior editor Gabrielle Gurley to discuss the state of abortion rights in this country. With Roe vs. Wade gone, conservative states enacting steadily more extreme bans, and no national protections on the political horizon, women are suffering—especially lower-income women of color. Is there any hope for the future? Listen to find out.

Music credit: Oleksandr Stepanov from Pixabay.

The State of Abortion Rights

Prospect executive editor David Dayen joins co-founder Robert Kuttner to discuss whether Biden is too old to run for reelection.

The Biden Age Question

Prospect: Generations is a podcast in which younger and older staff of The American Prospect discuss culture, politics, history, and more.

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