Andrew Marantz

For some people, it was very early, but for a lot, it was 2015, 2016, 2020, 10 years in. When I talked to Steven Levitsky about Venezuela, he said opinion polls showed that most Venezuelans thought they lived in a democracy 10 years into the Chavez regime. So one thing I worry about is just the collective felt experience of the emergency could be here and we never really get it.

For some people, it was very early, but for a lot, it was 2015, 2016, 2020, 10 years in. When I talked to Steven Levitsky about Venezuela, he said opinion polls showed that most Venezuelans thought they lived in a democracy 10 years into the Chavez regime. So one thing I worry about is just the collective felt experience of the emergency could be here and we never really get it.

Andrew? So I am going to break norms a little bit because this is a book that I just picked up and I'm not actually finished reading yet. But I mean, you know, we're in a post-norm reality now. So I figure I just picked this up a couple of days ago. It's called Melting Point. And it's all primary sources. And it just sets you down in the middle of history.

Andrew? So I am going to break norms a little bit because this is a book that I just picked up and I'm not actually finished reading yet. But I mean, you know, we're in a post-norm reality now. So I figure I just picked this up a couple of days ago. It's called Melting Point. And it's all primary sources. And it just sets you down in the middle of history.

In this case, it's the history of the early days of Zionism. And the reason I bring it up in this context is there's one line that one of the characters says, which is, it's never inevitable at the time. And I just think in terms of putting one foot in the other, seeing what is in front of one's nose, I think that's something we know intellectually.

In this case, it's the history of the early days of Zionism. And the reason I bring it up in this context is there's one line that one of the characters says, which is, it's never inevitable at the time. And I just think in terms of putting one foot in the other, seeing what is in front of one's nose, I think that's something we know intellectually.

We don't know how the end of the story is written, but it's something we need to remind ourselves what it feels like. Another one also in that vein is actually a film, I'm Still Here, the Brazilian film. They're six or seven years into a military regime, a military junta, at the point that the film starts, and yet their life feels very hybrid. It feels very liminal.

We don't know how the end of the story is written, but it's something we need to remind ourselves what it feels like. Another one also in that vein is actually a film, I'm Still Here, the Brazilian film. They're six or seven years into a military regime, a military junta, at the point that the film starts, and yet their life feels very hybrid. It feels very liminal.

They're going to the beach and playing volleyball, and their life is actually kind of beautiful, and then comes the knock on the door. And so, again, I'm not saying we are going to have a military coup in America. I'm just saying that the felt sense of it is very unpredictable at the time that you're living.

They're going to the beach and playing volleyball, and their life is actually kind of beautiful, and then comes the knock on the door. And so, again, I'm not saying we are going to have a military coup in America. I'm just saying that the felt sense of it is very unpredictable at the time that you're living.

You kind of want to shout at the screen, like, don't you know you're six years into a military dictatorship? But they kind of don't, or they don't know what the informal rules of that dictatorship are, even though they're in the middle of it. And then last, I would bring up The Constitutional Bind by Aziz Rana, which is a really big and challenging book, and I'm not sure I...

You kind of want to shout at the screen, like, don't you know you're six years into a military dictatorship? But they kind of don't, or they don't know what the informal rules of that dictatorship are, even though they're in the middle of it. And then last, I would bring up The Constitutional Bind by Aziz Rana, which is a really big and challenging book, and I'm not sure I...

even understand or agree with all of its arguments. But I bring it up because one of the great book titles on this stuff is Astra Taylor's Democracy May Not Exist, But We'll Miss It When It's Gone, which is... Another great book and worth reading. Another great book and a really clever idea of this kind of paradox of we've never really had a perfect democracy before.

even understand or agree with all of its arguments. But I bring it up because one of the great book titles on this stuff is Astra Taylor's Democracy May Not Exist, But We'll Miss It When It's Gone, which is... Another great book and worth reading. Another great book and a really clever idea of this kind of paradox of we've never really had a perfect democracy before.

and yet there are parts of liberal democracy worth holding onto nonetheless. And I think Rana tries to do this with the Constitution. It's a book that's very, very critical of excessive veneration and worship of the Constitution, and yet he's able to hold onto why it's important to hold onto the parts of the Constitution that can still protect the vulnerable.

and yet there are parts of liberal democracy worth holding onto nonetheless. And I think Rana tries to do this with the Constitution. It's a book that's very, very critical of excessive veneration and worship of the Constitution, and yet he's able to hold onto why it's important to hold onto the parts of the Constitution that can still protect the vulnerable.

And so rather than sort of worshiping the status quo ante and saying it was all perfect before, we can hold onto what we want to preserve while also not fighting the last war.

And so rather than sort of worshiping the status quo ante and saying it was all perfect before, we can hold onto what we want to preserve while also not fighting the last war.

Thank you so much, Tanya. So good to be back.

Thank you so much, Tanya. So good to be back.