The Coffee Klatch with Robert Reich

Friends,

Three days before the beginning of the end of Trump and all he stands for — let us hope and pray — Heather and I take a close look at what the midterm elections hold, what Trump is doing (and trying to do) to undermine them, what Elon Musk is doing (and trying to do) to poison them, and what we all must do in the days ahead.

So please pull up a chair, grab a cuppa, and join in the conversation.

RR

PS: On Wednesday, the day after the midterms, please join Heather and me for a live Coffee Klatch Special at 5:00 p.m. PT / 8:00 p.m. ET, where we’ll unpack the election results. I’ll send out the link here on Substack that day.

And please join us for a free one-night-only “live watchalong” of our new film, the The Work in Progress, on Tuesday November 17 at 5:00 p.m. PT / 8:00 p.m. by signing up here.

Happy Halloween

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit https://robertreich.substack.com/subscribe

My good friend Anand Giridharadas is out with a wonderful new book, Man in the Mirror, and today I had an opportunity to talk with him about it. One of the things I enjoy most about talking with Anand is how his mind works. He always sees the larger points that surround and give meaning to what’s happening around us. He’s both a journalist and a thinker, a writer and a public philosopher. In Man in the Mirror, Anand recounts a murder in the New York subway — a story that was treated in the media as a passing tragedy — but under Anand’s gaze turns into an extraordinarily insightful look into America today. Please watch our conversation.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit https://robertreich.substack.com/subscribe

Friends,

Ten days away from the midterms, the two most vile people in the United States (in the world?) — Elon Musk and Donald Trump — are plotting how to take over the elections. Musk is pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into Republican races and Trump is using the Justice Department to try to decertify Democratic wins even before they occur.

But as Heather and I explain, they won’t succeed.

Please pull up a chair, grab a cuppa, and join in the conversation.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit https://robertreich.substack.com/subscribe

Friends,

Today, with just over two weeks to go until the midterm elections, Michael, Kamau, and I take stock of where we are: Trump is acting weirder than ever (which is saying something), his polls are lower than ever, inflation is higher than it’s been in years, his war in Iran is getting even worse and his cozying up to Putin even more bizarre.

So please grab a cuppa, pull up a chair, and join the conversation.

Robert Reich

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit https://robertreich.substack.com/subscribe

Friends,

Today, Heather and I are joined by our colleague Vishal Shankar to review where the midterm elections now stand and the issues emerging from them. We take a deep dive into what Trump is doing to save — or, in reality, hurt — Republican Senate and House candidates, and what a Democratic Congress (if we get one) might realistically do.

Please pull up a chair, grab a cuppa, and join the conversation.

RR

P.S. Heather and I will be at UC Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, October 14 for a screening of The Work in Progress film followed by a Q&A. Please join us and invite your friends! Tickets ($5 for students) here.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit https://robertreich.substack.com/subscribe

Friends,

Today, Heather and I take a hard look at the allegations over what occurred in a Cornell fraternity and explore why they’re sending tremors across America. Do they have anything to do with Trump’s toxic masculinity, the misogyny of his regime, and the male-dominant underpinnings of neofascism? With a culture of impunity fostered by Trump? We also look at the question of accountability in general and examine some of the other ways Trump and the manosphere — including the AI bros and the industry they’re hatching — are functioning with impunity.

Please pull up a chair, grab a cuppa, and join in the conversation.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit https://robertreich.substack.com/subscribe

Friends,

Five weeks from today, America will make a choice about the future of our democracy.

Today I talk about tyranny, Trump, and the upcoming midterm elections with Professor Timothy Snyder, author of On Tyranny as well as a number of other important books.

Snyder specializes in the history of Europe, the Soviet Union, and the Holocaust. He is currently Chair in Modern European History at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs, and was previously Professor of History at Yale University. His books include Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin (2010), On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century (2017), The Road to Unfreedom (2018), Our Malady (2020), and his most recent, On Freedom (2024).

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit https://robertreich.substack.com/subscribe

Friends,

Today, Heather and I examine Trump’s efforts to silence criticism — not only by banning CNN, Politico, and MSNOW from the White House this week, but, even more worrisome, putting his billionaire buddy Larry Ellison and Larry’s son David in control of CNN as well as CBS News, HBO, TikTok, and other news outlets. (The deal to let Paramount acquire Warner Bros. Discovery went through this week with little public notice.)

We also look at the larger issue of Trump’s billionaire buddies owning the media (Washington Post, X, Facebook, YouTube, etc.). Also: where the money is coming from to support Republican candidates in these last weeks before the midterm elections (spoiler alert: all of the above). Also: the attendees at Trump’s state dinner for Xi Jinping (spoiler alert: all of the above). Also: what this consolidation of wealth and power means for the upcoming midterms (no spoiler alert).

So please grab a cuppa, pull up a chair, and join the conversation.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit https://robertreich.substack.com/subscribe

Friends,

Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor are two of my favorite thinkers who see the large patterns of wealth and power in our world, and the consequences for our daily lives. Their latest book, End Times Fascism and the Fight for the Living World explains how neofascist groups — religious extremists, right-wing nativists, and techno billionaires — are planning for and seeking to bring an end to civilization, while they alone survive.

Klein and Taylor also talk about what we can do to encourage a counter-movement based on human interdependence, preservation of our planet, and social justice.

My thanks to Naomi and Astra for sharing their thoughts with us.

Their new book, End Times Fascism and the Fight for the Living World, can be ordered here.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit https://robertreich.substack.com/subscribe

Friends,

Today, Heather and I take a deep dive into the debate over AI, why Trump is so against regulating it, and whether the CEOs of giant AI corporations who have called for regulation are sincere or seeking cover for the crises to come. We also look at Trump’s increasingly berserk behavior, his $2.8 billion arms sale to Israel, the worsening U.S. economy, and the latest on the midterm elections.

Please pull up a chair, grab a cuppa, and join in the conversation.

As mentioned in today’s Klatch, I’m relaunching my “Wealth and Poverty” course here on Substack this coming Monday, September 21. I’ll kick it off with a live “watch-along” of the first class, right here on Substack, on Monday, September 21 at 4:30pm PT / 7:30pm ET. You can use this link to sign up to receive an email when we go live — and the same link will work to watch the live class come Monday.

To see Inequality Media’s new film produced by Heather, The Work in Progress, visit our website here: http://www.theworkinprogressfilm.com. New theaters are added to the list each week.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit https://robertreich.substack.com/subscribe

Friends,

I’m taking the day off, and Heather, Kamau, and Michael are taking the reins. As you’ll see, they keep our klatch as lively, informative, and enjoyable as ever. They ask, among other things: How excited are you for that $5,000 Trump check? What the Flock is up with the surveillance state? And with gas prices off the charts, just how pissed are voters going to be ahead of the midterms?Btw, for Kamau’s stand-up dates: https://www.wkamaubell.com. Preorder Kamau’s new children’s book, Rock Paper Scissors Cheese here. And to catch a screening of our new film: https://www.theworkinprogressfilm.com/.

See you next Saturday.

Robert Reich

P.S. If you live in New York City, or know someone who does, we just found out that The Work in Progress film has been extended at the Quad Cinema until Thursday. Tickets here. Thanks to all who are seeing the film; your early support encourages theaters around the country to bring it to their audiences.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit https://robertreich.substack.com/subscribe

Friends,

Today, W. Kamau Bell and Michael Lahanas Calderón join me to take a deep dive into the economy on this Labor Day weekend — which marks the start of the midterm elections. We look at what’s on the minds of voters in terms of jobs, wages, prices, and affordability and ask what all this is likely to mean for the outcome of the upcoming midterms as well as the well-being of the typical American family.

Heather is in New York for a screening of our new film, “The Work in Progress” (you can find out more about it here). Kamau has a new children’s book coming out soon called Rock Paper Scissors Cheese (more on it here) and a fabulous Substack, “Who’s With Me?” which you can find here.

Thanks for joining us.

Have a good, safe, relaxing weekend.

RR

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit https://robertreich.substack.com/subscribe

Friends,

Today Heather and I examine what Trump is doing as his war on Iran — which he promised would be over in “four to five weeks” — now exceeds six months, with no end in sight. Eager to show that he can still dominate and bully, he’s declared a nonsensical trade war on Canada. And he’s escalated his war on human rights here in the United States. It’s pathetic and also dangerous.

Please pull up a chair, grab a cuppa, and join the conversation.

RR

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit https://robertreich.substack.com/subscribe

Friends,

Here’s my conversation today with Heather Cox Richardson, in which we examine the origins of Trumpism. Professor Richardson is, of course, a major resource to all of us on substack. She’s also an historian who has specialized in 19th-century United States history, with a primary focus on American politics and economics.

We started our conversation with Heather’s reference to my 1994 talk to the Democratic Leadership Council, and then discussed the decline of the Democratic Party as the party of American workers — starting with Lewis Powell’s memo to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in 1971, the Supreme Court’s first money-in-politics case Buckley vs. Valeo in 1976, the House Democrat’s embrace of corporate money in the early 1980s, and my frustrations in dealing with the corporate (“moderate”) Democrats in the 1990s when I was secretary of labor.

Now, finally the working-class Democratic Party appears to be making a comeback.

We also talk about how the demonization of women by rightwing Republicans has been utilized as a means of aggregating power.

My thanks to Heather Cox Richardson for joining me.

***

(By the way, for anyone who may be interested, here’s a clip from my 1994 speech, with which Heather and I began today’s conversation:

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit https://robertreich.substack.com/subscribe

Friends,

Today Heather and I take a deep dive into the wacko views and decisions of Trump’s treasury secretary, Scott Bessent — whose attempts to reduce long-term interest rates before the midterm elections have failed miserably, who believes that inequality is not widening in the United States, and who’s been opening the I.R.S. to Trump’s bonkers vindictiveness. (Oh, and he’s also been attacking me with colossally vapid ad hominem arguments.)

So please pull up a chair, grab a cuppa, and join in the conversation.

RR

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit https://robertreich.substack.com/subscribe

Friends,

Today I’m taking a vacation. (It’s the second Klatch I’ve missed out of 230 since Heather and I began them on March 19, 2022.) But I’ve left you in good hands! Our good friend Kamau Bell is sitting in, and today he and Heather take a deep dive into how America can dump the Trump before he dumps America.

So please pull up a chair, grab a cuppa, and join in the discussion.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit https://robertreich.substack.com/subscribe

Friends,

Today, Heather and I take a deep dive into the so-called “civil war” inside the Democratic Party, between corporate Dems who keep spending enormous sums on primary races and progressives who keep winning them. We also look at the latest jobs report and Trump’s “trickle-down” economy, which continues to worsen. And we ponder why Anthony Fauci, of all people, has become the Republicans’ latest nemesis.

So grab a cuppa, pull up a chair, and join in the discussion.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit https://robertreich.substack.com/subscribe

Friends,

Today, Michael and I delve into Trump’s plummeting approval ratings and ask whether they’re due to the economy, Trump’s war (which obviously affects the economy), the Epstein files, Trump’s skyrocketing inflation, or Trump’s corruption. Along the way, we explore what Democrats ought to be advocating (and not) in the upcoming midterms.

Please pull up a chair, grab a cuppa, and join in the conversation.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit https://robertreich.substack.com/subscribe

Friends,

Today, Heather and I take a dive into the muck of Trump, 101 days before the midterm elections. His war in Iran is worsening, with no end in sight. His economy is dropping, as gas and food prices soar and as his tariffs (import taxes) take their toll. His regime is descending into chaos, as public health is compromised, measles spreads, children aren’t getting nutrition assistance, and Medicaid is cut.

But how do we peacefully and legally get rid of him between now and the 2028 election? What’s our 2028 strategy for regaining the White House? And our 2029 strategy for cleaning up this horrific mess? Heather and I discuss these questions and more.

Please pull up a chair, grab a cuppa, and join the conversation.

RR

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit https://robertreich.substack.com/subscribe

Friends,

Today, Michael and I take a close look at the sharp contrasts between artificial problems dreamed up by Trump (such as voter fraud) and real problems the nation is failing to deal with (such as big money poisoning our elections).

Please pull up a chair, grab a cuppa, and join the conversation.

RR

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit https://robertreich.substack.com/subscribe