The F Word: Is Fascism Coming to America?

Fascism – it’s a term we don’t use lightly. But when the overwhelming power of corporations over Congress and the courts combines with the authoritarian social measures of right-wing legislatures around the country, it’s time to call it what it is – and rise up to stop it. Hightower sits down with Monika Bauerlein, CEO of Mother Jones, and Baratunde Thurston, host of PBS’ forthcoming America Outdoors, to pop some cold ones and dig into what we can do. (Warning: This show will include some laughs -- because we need ‘em!)

Supreme Coup

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse and Imani Gandy of Rewire News Group joins Hightower to discuss the far-right take over of the Supreme Court and what we need to do to fight back!

SUPREME INJUSTICE! Happy Hour with Hightower & Lisa Graves

For two decades, the GOP's network of corporate and right-wing operatives has painstakingly fabricated the Supreme Court as its own political weapon. In short order, backed by a few billionaires, these anti-democracy zealots have incrementally been imposing on America an extremist political agenda that they could not win at the ballot box. Join Hightower as he sits down with right-wing dark money expert Lisa Graves to learn how this happened-- and what we'll do about it.

Episode 27: Family Reunion Part 2

Hightower re-connects with a few of the incredible organizers we’ve met over the last two years including Beto O’Rourke, Nsé Ufot, Diane Wilson, Maurice Mitchell, Nathan and Sharon Lavigne. Part 2 of a 2 part show.

Episode 26: Family Reunion Part 1

Hightower re-connects with a few of the incredible organizers we’ve met over the last two years including Beto O’Rourke, Nsé Ufot, Diane Wilson, Maurice Mitchell, Nathan and Sharon Lavigne. Part 1 of a 2 part show.

BULLSH*T MONOPOLIES: Hightower Chat & Chew w/ Steve Charter & John Boyd Jr.

Everyone's feeling the strain of inflation, but what's the real story underneath those jacked-up prices? Spoiler alert: corporate greed! It turns out that the billionaires who run major conglomerates are not eating from their own pockets, but instead using monopolies and monopsonies to squeeze everyone else: the producers, the workers and the consumers. We're sitting down with Steve Charter, a rancher in Montana and chair of the Bull Mountain Land Alliance, and John Boyd, Jr., a Virginia farmer and president of the National Black Farmers Association, to get into it all-- and learn what everyday people can do to fight back.

Mother Nature Lawyers Up: Happy Hour with Hightower, Alexis Bunten, and Samantha Skenandore

The Lorax speaks for the trees in Dr. Seuss books, but who speaks for them in real life? A revolutionary movement aims to surpass the corporate-controlled, business-as-usual model of environmental regulation, and give nature its own inalienable rights. It's not a new idea-- it's centuries old and widely practiced among some of the most experienced environmental stewards in our country: Indigenous Americans-- and is causing panic in the boardrooms of America. Join us as we chat with Alexis Bunten (Unangax̂/Yup’ik), Co-Director of Indigeneity programs at Bioneers, and Samantha Skenandore (member, Ho-Chunk Nation), lawyer and advocate, to learn more about rights of nature, and what other overlapping movements can learn from it.

Laughing Matters: Happy Hour with Zahra Noorbakhsh and Steve Skrovan

Does the state of politics make you want to cry? Wait! There’s another way – and here at the Chat & Chew Café, we choose laughing. Hightower chats and chortles with comedians Zahra Noorbaksh (On Behalf of All Muslims & #GoodMuslimBadMuslim) and Steve Skrovan (Everybody Loves Raymond) to laugh at 2021 and brace ourselves for the fights ahead.

Child Care Now! Happy Hour with Hightower & Bryce Covert

For decades, the American child care "system," if one can call it that, has been in shambles thanks to its market-based approach and pressure on parents to make things work in impossible situations. But with the #BuildBackBetter bill, we have an opportunity to rescue American families and invest in the full-blown systems that will support our most important assets: our kids! Tonight, Hightower sits down with journalist Bryce Covert (NYTimes, The Nation, more) to talk about the policies and culture change we need to make it all a reality.

The Elephant in the Womb: Happy Hour with Hightower and Loretta J. Ross

The outrage over the Texas abortion ban crosses all lines of race, class, and gender, and the Supremes have, so far, gone along with the insidious law. So how on earth can we move forward with reproductive justice for ALL people? Activist, public intellectual and professor Loretta Ross has devoted her life to this work, and her experiences give her profound insights into what reaches everyday people--and what doesn’t.

Look Who's Organizing Now: Happy Hour with Hightower, Larry Cohen, Sara Steffens & More

Looks Who's Organizing Now! American workers are fed up with low wages, terrible working conditions, minimal benefits and so much more in their jobs. From tech to warehouses to retail to journalism, people are getting together, and FIGHTING together, for work justice. Join Hightower, Larry Cohen of Our Revolution, Sara Steffens of CWA, and more, for a righteous happy hour of rabble rousing on Tuesday, Sept 7th.

The ExxonMobil Worker Lockout: Happy Hour at the Hightower Chat ‘n’ Chew with Rick Levy (TX AFL-CIO) and USW Beaumont Workers

While ExxonMobil holds out for huge changes to seniority, safety, and layoffs, the massively profitable corporation has locked out 650 workers in Beaumont, TX--and with no paychecks for eight weeks, the workers are hurting. On our next Lowdown Happy Hour, we're meeting up with a few of the workers as well as Rick Levy, president of the Texas AFL-CIO. The convo will shed light on what's a stake, for these workers and for the country. Join us!

Organizing for Voting Rights in the Lone Star State: Happy Hour at the Hightower Chat ‘n’ Chew with Beto O’Rourke & Paula Littles

You’ve no doubt heard about the egregious anti-voter legislation coming out of the Lone Star State – it’s yet another bald attempt at stealing the very foundation of our democracy: the right of all citizens to vote. What can everyday people to do to stop this theft? Lots! Organizations in every corner of Texas are gearing up to defend our rights. On the next Lowdown Happy Hour Hightower will be joined by Beto O’Rourke, live from the road, to talk about this battle, and how all of us can help. Get a cold one ready for this hot conversation!

Bold Action

When you think of a locus of progressive innovation and action, do you think of... Nebraska? Jane Kleeb does, and Hightower will sit down to chat with her about how she’s taken the Democratic Party there-- and nationwide!-- by storm. Her recent book, “Harvest the Vote: How Democrats Can Win Again in Rural America,” maps out inclusive and intersectional grassroots strategies for winning not just for the sake of winning, but for actually making change.

Amazon Showdown in Alabama

Corporate behemoth Amazon notoriously crushes efforts to unionize its workers, but right now in Bessemer, Alabama, workers at Amazon's facility there are casting ballots to decide whether they will form a union -- and the election is drawing national attention. On Tuesday's Chat & Chew, Hightower will speak with Eric Hall, co-founder of Black Lives Matter Birmingham-- BLM has been leading community support for the union drive. Grab a cold one and pull up a chair!

Hightower Chat & Chew - Episode 2

Putting the Party Back in Politics with Marcia Ball.

Let's put the party back in politics! Celebrate Mardi Gras with blues singer and pianist, Marcia Ball, and Americas's No 1 Populist, host Jim Hightower. Update with Deanna's FB description.

Hightower Chat & Chew - Episode 5

Texas melted down in the miserable storm of February 2021. What happened? What needs to be done? How can others outside of Texas help? Hightower and Beto will discuss with their unique perspectives from inside the Lone Star State's machinations, and answer your questions.

Texas Snowpocalypse!

Texas melted down in the miserable storm of February 2021. What happened? What needs to be done? How can others outside of Texas help? Hightower and Beto will discuss with their unique perspectives from inside the Lone Star State's machinations, and answer your questions.

Hightower Chat & Chew - Episode 3

We’re not letting a pandemic stop us. Join Hightower for a sit-down with some of our favorite activists, journalists & authors to discuss the historical roots of the work we’re all passionate about.The election may be over but the work is not.

Hightower Chat & Chew - Episode 1

We’re not letting a pandemic stop us. Join Hightower for a sit-down with some of our favorite activists, journalists & authors to discuss the historical roots of the work we’re all passionate about.The election may be over but the work is not.

Can We Hear it For the Post Office? Happy Hour at the Hightower Chat ‘n’ Chew with AWPU’s Mark Dimondstein & Lori Cash

Can we hear it for the public Post Office?! Except for a few corporate privatizers, almost everyone appreciates the minor miracle of stamping an envelope with $.51, dropping it into a blue box on one side of the country, and having it appear at a friend’s far-away doorstep just a few days later. But when Trump named megadonor Louis DeJoy Postmaster General last year, DeJoy immediately took an ax to the miracle – and, wham!, the resulting mail slowdown whacked us all. Now, with new appointments to the USPS Board of Governors and a reform bill moving through Congress, there’s a chance to fix all that. Grab a beverage and join Hightower, APWU president Mark Dimondstein, and postal worker Lori Cash at our next Chat & Chew Happy Hour – Weds, June 2, at 7 pm Eastern.

Preserving Our Right to Vote: Happy Hour at the Hightower Chat ‘n’ Chew with Lisa Graves

A movement is afoot in America: don't like how the people vote? Well, let's make it harder for them to do so, or take it away altogether! Insidious bills supported by right-wing activists are suddenly cropping up everywhere, and on Tuesday, May 18th, Hightower will sit down with Lisa Graves, longtime GOP watchdog and founder of True North Research, to get to the bottom of what's happening-- and what we the people can do about it.

A Nationwide Progressive Push is On!: Happy Hour at the Hightower Chat ‘n’ Chew with Julian Brave NoiseCat

A nationwide progressive push is ON, and activists like Julian Brave NoiseCat are leading with work that weaves together the various movements for justice and environmental sanity through his work with Indigenous lives.

Happy Hour with Hightower & the Right to Repair Movement

You bought it, you own it--and that means if it broke, you can fix it, right? Not so fast! Turns out, the greedhead corporate makers of stuff from iPhones to John Deere tractors have made it illegal (!) for us consumers to fix our *own stuff* in an effort to bilk us out of even more money. Hightower will be joined at the Chat & Chew by Nathan Proctor of Public Interest Research Group, Willie Cade of Repair.org, and Walter Schweitzer of the Montana Farmers Union-- all leaders of the fast-rising Right to Repair consumer movement. Grab a libation and come on down!

What's "Unity" Gonna Take?

There’s much talk about “unity” in progressive circles these days: We know our futures depend on each-others’ success, but how do we build a genuine unity based on equality and community? What’s that mean for organizing and politics? On Tuesday, April 6, at 4 pm ET Hightower sits down with Heather McGhee for an extra early Happy Hour. Heather is former president of Demos, member of the Working Families Nat’l committee, and author of the best-selling The Sum of Us. Come help us flesh it out over a couple of cold ones.

The Working Families Party - Not Your Typical Political Party: Happy Hour at the Hightower Chat ‘n’ Chew with Maurice Mitchell

The Working Families Party is NOT your typical political party. A mash-up of movement energy, cultural connection, and political strategy, the WFP is unlocking the electoral power of the growing multiracial movement of workaday Americans. Maurice Mitchell, the executive director of the WFP, joins Hightower at the Chat & Chew, and they’ll get into the nitty gritty of how we push for BIG change in 2021 and beyond!