Set in a world of young people and old money, Whit Stillman's METROPOLITAN (1990) offers an affectionate but melancholic view of the elite. We sort through the layers of ambiguity in this charming ode to the "Urban Haute Bourgeoisie." PLUS: A spectre is haunting the world - the spectre of Jeffrey Epstein. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus "Donald Trump, Jeffrey Epstein, and Israel" by Branko Marcetic - https://jacobin.com/2025/11/trump-epstein-israel-intelligence-blackmail "The Best Conservative Movies of the Last 25 Years: Metropolitan" by Mark Henrie - https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/3-best-conservative-movies-last-25-years-mark-henrie/

This week, The Naked Week fundraises for the BBC, welcomes a traitor, and necromances a potato.

From host Andrew Hunter Murray and The Skewer's Jon Holmes, Radio 4’s newest Friday night comedy The Naked Week returns with a blend of the silly and serious. From satirical stunts to studio set pieces via guest correspondents and investigative journalism, it's a bold, audacious take not only on the week’s news, but also the way it’s packaged and presented.

Host: Andrew Hunter Murray Guests: Paul Gorton, Milo Edwards, and The BNC Players James Akka, Holly Skinner and Amy Small

Investigations Team: Cat Neilan, Cormac Kehoe, Freya Shaw

Written by: Jon Holmes Katie Sayer Gareth Ceredig Jason Hazeley James Kettle

Additional Material: Sophie Dickson Ali Panting Darren Phillips Cooper Mawhinny Sweryt David Riffkin

Live Sound: Jerry Peal Post Production: Tony Churnside Clip Assistant: David Riffkin Production Assistant: Molly Punshon

Assistant Producer: Katie Sayer Producer and Director: Jon Holmes

Executive Producer: Phil Abrams.

An unusual production for BBC Radio 4.

Co-hosts John Dolan & Mark Ames

This episode isn’t just great—it’ll revolutionize what you think of AI. Ed Zitron is back in the trap to discuss his recent reporting on just how much money companies like OpenAI have (and how much they’re burning). We talk about the byzantine financing of generative AI and LLMs, the tech world’s dream of recreating the postwar boom with a technology primarily used to make the world’s least legal porn, and the proliferation of data centers across the country. Plus: Bill Ackman teaches you how to pick up girls. Get your Ed at: Better Offline podcast: https://linktr.ee/betteroffline Where’s Your Ed At newsletter: https://www.wheresyoured.at/ Twitter/X: https://x.com/edzitron Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/edzitron.com

Mark Steel visits Lewisham in south London and creates a show for the local audience.

There will also be extended versions of each episode available on BBC sounds.

Written and performed by Mark Steel

Additional material by Pete Sinclair Production co-ordinator Caroline Barlow and Katie Baum Sound Manager Chris Maclean Producer Carl Cooper

A BBC Studios production for Radio 4

Co-hosts John Dolan & Mark Ames

Krystal and Saagar discuss WH refuses to publish job data, Israeli owned corporate landlord behind evictions, Wall Street hysterical over Lina Khan, Starbucks on strike. 

Starbucks Union: https://sbworkersunited.org/ 

 

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As we inch closer to war with Venezuela, historian Greg Grandin returns to Chapo for a history lesson about the War on Drugs as well as Venezuela’s Bolivarian Revolution. We also talk about the US’s long-running economic interests and petty feuds in Latin America, particularly regarding the region’s oil supplies. We then briefly speculate about just how bad and chaotic a regime change operation against Venezuela might be for the US and Latin America.

Democracy Now! 2025-11-14 Friday

• Headlines for November 14, 2025
• "Gunboat Diplomacy": U.S. War in Latin America Feared as Hegseth Launches "Operation Southern Spear"
• "You Have Arrived in Hell": Venezuelans Sent by U.S. to El Salvador Faced Torture, Sexual Abuse
• "The Trillion Dollar War Machine": William Hartung on How U.S. Military Spending Fuels Wars
• How Mamdani Won: Field Director Tascha Van Auken on Grassroots Organizing Behind Historic Victory

Download this show

Danny and Derek welcome back historian Nick Mulder, writer at Weltinnenpolitik, to discuss Trump’s new tariff regime. They get into Trump’s focus on taxing goods while leaving finance untouched; how U.S. allies are obediently eating higher economic costs; why this approach resembles a “subscription model” of empire rather than a coherent industrial strategy; early signs of backlash in places like India, Brazil, and Europe; how immigration enforcement and H-1B restrictions now operate as tools of economic coercion; and why sanctions under Trump increasingly fall on partners instead of adversaries.

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Glenn answers your questions about Chomsky's friendship with Epstein, the differences between Tucker Carlson and Nick Fuentes, the Babylon Bee's attack on Megyn Kelly, and more...

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This week, The Naked Week shoehorns an agenda, gets out of jail free, and in a genuine Radio 4 first - Taylor Swift pays a visit to the studio!

From host Andrew Hunter Murray and The Skewer's Jon Holmes, Radio 4’s newest Friday night comedy The Naked Week returns with a blend of the silly and serious. From satirical stunts to studio set pieces via guest correspondents and investigative journalism, it's a bold, audacious take not only on the week’s news, but also the way it’s packaged and presented.

Host: Andrew Hunter Murray Guests: Paul Dunphy, Taylor Swift (no, really!)

Investigations Team: Cat Neilan, Cormac Kehoe, Freya Shaw

Written by: Jon Holmes Katie Sayer Gareth Ceredig Jason Hazeley James Kettle

Additional Material: Karl Minns Ali Panting Helen Brooks Molly Punshon Kevin Smith David Riffkin

Live Sound: Jerry Peal Post Production: Tony Churnside Clip Assistant: David Riffkin Production Assistant: Molly Punshon

Assistant Producer: Katie Sayer Producer and Director: Jon Holmes

Executive Producer: Phil Abrams.

An unusual production for BBC Radio 4

This week we provide recourse for a randy royal, organise an on-air riot and, for Halloween, get confused over which witch is which.

From host Andrew Hunter Murray and The Skewer's Jon Holmes, Radio 4’s newest Friday night comedy The Naked Week returns with a blend of the silly and serious. From satirical stunts to studio set pieces via guest correspondents and investigative journalism it's a bold, audacious take not only on the week’s news, but also the way it’s packaged and presented.

An unusual production for BBC Radio 4

Host; Andrew Hunter Murray Guests: Bella Hull, Lisa Webb

Investigations Team: Cat Neilan, Cormac Kehoe, Freya Shaw

Written by: Jon Holmes Katie Sayer Gareth Ceredig Jason Hazeley James Kettle

Additional Material: Karl Minns Vivienne Hopley-Jones Cooper Mawhinny Sweryt Helen Brooks Ali Panting Kevin Smith Sophie Dickson

Live Sound: Jerry Peal Post Production: Tony Churnside Clip Assistant: David Riffkin Production Assistant: Molly Punshon

Assistant Producer: Katie Sayer Producer: Jon Holmes

Executive Producer: Phil Abrams.

an unusual production for BBC Radio 4.

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Derek is joined by Omar Zahzah, Assistant Professor of Arab Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas Studies at San Francisco State University, to talk about his book Terms of Servitude: Zionism, Silicon Valley, and Digital Settler Colonialism. They discuss the Sheikh Jarrah uprising and the digital front of the Palestinian struggle, the difference between “digital apartheid” and “digital settler colonialism,” Meta’s censorship, the IDF Unit 8200–Silicon Valley pipeline, how AI and tech infrastructure are being weaponized, the legacy of Edward Said’s “Permission to Narrate,” and how Palestinians have used social media to change the narrative.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Second stop of the new series is Wrexham in North Wales.

Wrexham has gone from industrial workhorse to global celebrity, thanks to two Hollywood actors who bought the local football club. It’s a place where five of the Seven Wonders of Wales are apparently within walking distance of a Screwfix, where children learn “risk management” on playgrounds made from drainpipes salvaged at the council tip, and where an underground tunnel network may or may not have been built for priests sneaking to the pub... or for inmates tunnelling into prison for a game of pool.

This is the 14th series of Mark's award-winning show where he travels around the country visiting towns that have nothing in common but their uniqueness. After thoroughly researching each town, Mark writes and performs a bespoke evening of comedy for a local audience. As well as Wrexham, in this series, Mark be will also be popping to Oakham, Cambridge, Lewisham and, Lerwick and Unst in Shetland.

There will also be extended versions of each episode available on BBC sounds.

Written and performed by Mark Steel

Additional material by Pete Sinclair Production co-ordinator Caroline Barlow and Katie Baum Sound Manager Jerry Peal Producer Carl Cooper

A BBC Studios production for Radio 4

Nick sits down with Techno Antonio Negri from Technomaterialism to discuss harm reduction regarding drug use in club culture and European drug policies.

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Lawrence Wilkerson and Gary Vogler join us to discuss and answer the question: Who controls US foreign policy in the Middle East—the US or Israel/Zionism? Lawrence Wilkerson is a retired US Army Colonel and former chief of staff to US Secretary of State Colin Powell. Gary Vogler is a retired US oil executive and served as the senior oil advisor to General Jay Gardner and Paul Bremer after the 2003 Iraq War. Vogler is also the author of the very important book, 'Israel, Winner of the 2003 Iraq Oil War: Undue Influence, Deceptions, and the Neocon Energy Agenda'.

Special thanks to:

·         Dana Chavarria, production

·         Casey Moore, graphics

·         Michelle Boley, animated intro

·         Mock Orange, music

In the wake of Democrats' decision to end the government shutdown, Jon Stewart returns to his prediction that they were going to piss away last week’s hard-earned electoral victories. With nothing to gain from caving, momentum on their side, and a deeply unpopular president, Jon compares the Democrats to the New York Giants, who at least had the good sense to fire their coach.

Rep. Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania and Rep. Pat Ryan of New York, who are both Iraq war veterans and members of the House Armed Services Committee, talk to Jon about how the Trump administration prioritizes a trillion dollar military budget over the livelihood of veterans and service members. They also point out where Democratic leadership is lacking, especially after the party’s “weak” concession to end the government shutdown without any gains for their healthcare agenda, and how Americans across the political spectrum are asking for representatives who will fight for them when it matters.

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The Fort Bragg Cartel – Seth Harp (AE212)

Journalist Seth Harp joins us to discuss The Fort Bragg Cartel, his trailblazing new book on the endemic drug abuse, murder, mayhem, narcotics trafficking, and legal immunity of the US Special Forces milieu centered at Fort Bragg. The Fort Brag Cartel is currently being adapted into a series for HBO.

Special thanks to:

·         Dana Chavarria, production

·         Casey Moore, graphics

·         Michelle Boley, animated intro

·         Mock Orange, music

Subscribe to the American Exception podcast on Patreon to get access to the entire library of historical research on the deep politics of the United States.

 

To hear the full episode and to gain access to the entire library of the American Exception podcast, subscribe to our Patreon at https://patreon.com/americanexception

We are also on youtube at https://www.youtube.com/@americanexception9407

In this episode, Jim DeBrosse and Asa Winstanley join us to discuss Jim’s new article, “Israel was part of the conspiracy to kill JFK.” Jim DeBrosse (PhD) is a veteran journalist, retired assistant professor of journalism, and the author of See No Evil: The JFK Assassination and the US Media. Asa Winstanley provided additional research Jim’s article. Asa is an investigative journalist who lives in London. He is an associate editor of The Electronic Intifada and co-host of The Electronic Intifada Podcast. Asa is also the author of the bestselling book Weaponising Anti-Semitism: How the Israel Lobby Brought Down Jeremy Corbyn.

Follow and support Asa Winstanley on Substack!

Special thanks to:

• Dana Chavarria, production

• Casey Moore, graphics

• Michelle Boley, animated intro

• Mock Orange, music

Thanks to orgtbl-mode, we can enhance our code's documentation with Org tables.

If you’ve been using Org-mode for a while, you’re probably familiar with its table editing functionality and may even know that you can use that functionality anywhere in Emacs with orgtbl-mode. For most non-Org applications, of course, those tables will be in some sort of comment.

Andrew over at the Listful Andrew site has a useful post on how to do that. It’s a little more finicky than you might think because the editing won’t work if the table lines are commented out. It’s easy to work around that, of course, but Andrew offers some other strategies.

When you’re in Elisp, the easiest way to add a table to a comment is to add it do a Docstring. That’s easy and the table can be edited at will. Andrew offer another method using his custom description macro. Most of us won’t have that macro, of course, but it’s another strategy.

Finally, Andrew considers adding tables to Bash comments. The problems are similar to those encountered with Elisp: you can’t edit tables whose rows are commented out. As with Elisp, that’s easily worked around but again there are better ways.

One way is to use the null command : to introduce the comment string. See Andrew’s post for the details. Another way is to use a here document or a here string. Again, see Andrew’s post for the details.

Tables in comments isn’t something that you need all the time but it’s nice to have to ability to add them when you do. Andrew’s post is a nice demonstration of how to do that.

Jasper Nathaniel is back with another report from the occupied West Bank. He tells us about a band of West Bank settlers attacking him and locals in the olive fields of Turmus’ayya, including an old woman who was beaten unconscious on camera. He then talks about the Israeli military and intelligence’s response to the crime, the footage actually breaking through to the mainstream Anglophone press, and various U.S. Senators’ response to the attack. Finally, he closes with speculation about Trump and Netanyahu’s refusal to sign on to an official West Bank annexation. Follow Jasper’s substack: https://substack.com/@infinitejaz Follow Jasper on Twitter: https://x.com/infinite__jaz?lang=en Follow Jasper on Insta: https://www.instagram.com/infinite_jaz/?hl=en And links for Volunteering in the West Bank: To volunteer in the West Bankhttps://palsolidarity.org/join-ism/https://www.defendpalestine.orghttps://cjnv.orgFundraiser for Umm Al-Khair as it faces impending demolition: https://secure.everyaction.com/LYmVAbNl2UOxgBcaP1mkFA2

Between Trump throwing a lavish "Great Gatsby"-themed party on the night that SNAP benefits ran out for millions of Americans, dragging his feet to open court-ordered emergency funding for food stamps while throwing billions of bailout dollars at Argentina, and the GOP's general racism-tinged disdain for SNAP recipients, Jon Stewart seriously doubts that the president's "big heart" goes out to anyone but himself and the toadies on his VIP list.

Former U.S. senator and West Virginia governor Joe Manchin sits down with Jon to discuss his memoir, “Dead Center: In Defense of Common Sense.” They talk about whether centrism exists in the Trump era, Manchin’s experience working across partisan lines in the Senate, the state of the Democratic Party in West Virginia, why he never voted for a government shutdown, and how he thinks the country can move forward.

Make the switch at https://mintmobile.com/DAILY

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Long Reads continues our recent focus on the politics of southern European countries over the last decade. This week and in our next episode, we’re looking in detail at what’s been happening in Spain.

In contrast with Greece and Portugal, Spain still has a government today headed by the center left. The Spanish Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez has attracted a lot of interest from the international media for appearing to buck the trend as many European countries shift to the right. He’s been unusually outspoken on the subject of Gaza. And Sanchez was the only European leader to directly challenge Donald Trump over his demand for a big increase in military spending.

Sanchez may be gaining admirers as well as enemies on the international stage. But his position at home is quite precarious. His governing coalition with the left-wing party Sumar doesn’t have a majority in parliament. And some of his political allies have been accused of corruption.

Over the next two episodes, Long Reads will concentrate on how Sanchez came to power, what his record in office has been, and whether his government is likely to endure.

Eoghan Gilmartin is an Irish journalist based in Madrid. He’s a regular contributor to Jacobin, and he co-hosts the Sobremesa podcast about Spanish politics.

Find his recent articles, including “Spain Is Right to Reject Increased Military Spending,” on the Jacobin website: https://jacobin.com/2025/06/trump-nato-spain-military-sanchez

Long Reads is a Jacobin podcast looking in-depth at political topics and thinkers, both contemporary and historical, with the magazine’s longform writers. Hosted by features editor Daniel Finn. Produced by Conor Gillies with music by Knxwledge.

We’re joined again today by Eoghan Gilmartin to continue our discussion about the government of Pedro Sanchez in Spain. Eoghan is an Irish journalist based in Madrid, a regular contributor to Jacobin, and co-host of the Sobremesa podcast about Spanish politics.

In contrast with Greece and Portugal, Spain still has a government today headed by the center left. The Spanish Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez has attracted a lot of interest from the international media for appearing to buck the trend as many European countries shift to the right. He’s been unusually outspoken on the subject of Gaza. And Sanchez was the only European leader to directly challenge Donald Trump over his demand for a big increase in military spending.

Sanchez feels confident that he will lead the Socialist Party in the next general election, but his government is facing a number of challenges, including a corruption scandal that implicated some of his political allies. Today, we’re going back to the early stages of the Sanchez government, before asking whether it has a future in the years to come.

Hear part one of our interview: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/long-reads-pedro-sanchez-and-spanish-politics-w/id791564318?i=1000732303080

Find Eoghan’s recent articles, including “Spain Is Right to Reject Increased Military Spending,” on the Jacobin website: https://jacobin.com/2025/06/trump-nato-spain-military-sanchez

Support for this episode comes from Revol Press: revolpress.com

Long Reads is a Jacobin podcast looking in-depth at political topics and thinkers, both contemporary and historical, with the magazine’s longform writers. Hosted by features editor Daniel Finn. Produced by Conor Gillies with music by Knxwledge.

So-called AI tools are increasingly infiltrating newsrooms, particularly when it comes to data analysis. DAIR writer-in-residence Decca Muldowney joins us to discuss the need for journalists to distinguish between "AI" and reliable, verifiable research methods.

Decca Muldowney is a journalist and writer who was our fact checker for The AI Con. She's also a writer-in-residence and web editor at the Distributed AI Research Institute.

References:

• An early AI pioneer shares how the "vibe coding" revolution could reshape data journalism
• America's top companies keep talking about AI — but can't explain the upsides
• Analysis: 96.2% of Climate News Stories Don't Cover Animal Agriculture as a Pollution Source

Fresh AI Hell:

• Teen Sues Maker of Fake-Nude Software
• ChatGPT's Hail Mary: Chatbots You Can Fuck
• GitLaw announces "Vibe Lawyering"
• Salesforce Offers Its Services to Boost Trump’s Immigration Force
• Towns are saying no to AI data centers. One got sued over it.
• Rent a Cyber Friend will pay you to talk to strangers online
• The Wire's David Simon is over it

Check out future streams on Twitch. Meanwhile, send us any AI Hell you see.

Find our book The AI Con here, and MAIHT3k merch here.

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Music by Toby Menon.
Artwork by Naomi Pleasure-Park. 
Production by Ozzy Llinas Goodman.

Candidate for New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani joins us to catch up on the final few days of the campaign. Will and Zohran discuss Andrew Cuomo’s embarrassing campaign against him, how he plans to protect New Yorkers from Trump’s threatened federal incursions into the city, NYPD commissioner Jessica Tisch, and how he intends to implement his agenda in the first 100 days as mayor. Plus, how da Knicks looking this year? Election day in NYC is TUESDAY, November 4th, but early voting is now open. Sign up to canvass or phone: zohranfornyc.com/gotv Find out where you vote: zohranfornyc.com/vote

Alasdair Beckett-King, Laura Lexx, Ahir Shah and Ava Santina join Andy Zaltzman for this week's quiz.

Brace yourselves for stories about the stripping of both Royal Titles and Royal Crown Jewels as well as the big question of the moment, are things better or worse than they used to be?

Written by Andy Zaltzman Additional material by: Milo Edwards, Cameron Loxdale, Ruth Husko and Marty Gleeson Producer: Gwyn Rhys Davies Exec Producer: Richard Morris Production Coordinator: Giulia Lopes Mazzu Sound Editor: Marc Willcox

A BBC Studios Production for Radio 4.

Glenn interviews Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) about the Trump administration's push for regime change in Venezuela, rifts within MAGA, Trump's attacks on Rep. Thomas Massie, and more.

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