Dearest Current Affairs reader,

First, we want to thank you: we made it to our $100,000 end of year fundraising goal thanks to your generous support! This is unbelievably helpful, it prepares us to do excellent work here in 2025, and we’re so excited to put this money to use. We set an ambitious target, but we made it. We did it because you, the readers, believe in this work and understand why it matters. As one of our donors explained his decision to support Current Affairs, “when I was thinking ‘what media outlets have shown themselves to be completely indispensable in the present moment,’ the answer was obvious. Thank you for not selling out or ignominiously clout-chasing.” We’re proud of our record, and we’re delighted to have others recognize why this little publication matters so much. 

Turning to the general state of the world: look, there’s some very bad news, which is that Donald Trump is going to be inaugurated in a few days. And billionaires,delighted by this, are competing to suck up to the new president. We are likely to see a rollback of worker protections and environmental regulations, a major new mass deportation effort, and a crackdown on protest, among other disasters. At a time when the climate crisis is escalating—something many in the media still won’t talk about with enough urgency—we’re going to have a president who is fully committed to making the problem worse. 

For us as a media organization, it’s a very worrying moment, because Trump has already shown that he’s willing to use the law to go after media organizations that criticize him. A giant corporation like Disney might be able to handle these kinds of lawsuits, but small organizations like this one would find it hard to survive such a lawsuit. That’s in addition to other threats facing nonprofit organizations. Little organizations like this one therefore truly need your support right now. We must have independent journalism! I’ve just written an article on how we’re seeing the consolidation of a dangerous oligarchy, with the super-rich setting aside their differences to support Trump, and billionaire-owned media outlets showing signs that they will be remarkably deferential to power during the new administration. 

“Well, is there any good news?” you ask. Only that the human spirit remains alive even during calamities. We’ve seen that recently here in New Orleans. We just had a horrific violent mass murder a couple of weeks ago, only a few blocks from the office. But the spirit of New Orleans lives on, and the city is going into Mardi Gras in a spirit of solidarity and warmth. (I’ve written an article about the tragedy and the French Quarter generally.) Plenty of good things still happen in this world, and we’re doing our best to stay warm and cheerful. 

Speaking of the good things there are in the world, Current Affairs is pleased to announce that we have a new event coming up on Feb. 12 here in New Orleans. It’s an open mic night for writers to share their work, called “Nom de Plume.” If you’re in town, please come along. We’d love to hear you read from your writing, or for you to just come and join us and listen to others. We hope to see you there. If it goes well, this will become a monthly event, so don’t worry if you can’t make this one. Please RSVP here if you’re interested so that we can have a headcount.

Next, I have a question for you: Who would you like to hear on the Current Affairs podcast? What subjects would you like to hear them discuss? I’m in the process of booking new interview guests for the new year, and we welcome your suggestions. You can comment on our Patreon page here or email me at nathan@currentaffairs.org. Very excited to start talking to a new bunch of interesting folks (and potentially having some arguments with a few others). 

In book promotion news, our Spanish-language publisher has shared the cover for the Spanish translation of The Myth of American Idealism: 

This isn’t final, I’ve been told they might be interested in spicing it up a little and calling it La Farsa del Idealismo Americano (The Farce of American Idealism) instead. We shall see! In other Chomsky-related news, check out my recent appearance on The Majority Report discussing the book:

This was one of my favorite interviews I’ve done, because Sam Seder had read the book carefully and had really thoughtful, in-depth questions that allowed me to elaborate on Chomsky’s thinking in some depth. If you’d rather hear from Chomsky himself, although he can no longer do public appearances, there’s a wonderful YouTube channel that popped up a year ago called the Noam Chomsky Audio and Video Conservatory which archives every Chomsky speech and interview it can find and carefully cleans up the audio to be as clear as possible. 

Oh, and one more thing on the book: if you haven’t seen the Nation’s review of it (in their February issue), you should check it out! It features a rather unflattering caricature of me, but it’s my fault for making a scowling photo my Twitter picture. On the whole, it’s a very positive review that calls the book “required reading.”

Speaking of things you should check out, my brilliant editorial colleague Alex Skopic just appeared on the delightful Champagne Sharks podcast to discuss Vivek Ramaswamy, about whom Alex wrote the definitive article last year. Very much worth a listen! 

Okay, one little silly thing before we go. Do you know what happens if you ask ChatGPT for some tips on making fun of me? Well, you get this:

I rather like it, actually. Remember that “humor lands best when it comes from affection or respect rather than derision”! Oh, and speaking of ChatGPT, apparently it’s telling writers that they should send their most unusual pieces of work to Current Affairs, at least according to one writer in our pitch inbox: 

Well, it’s not wrong! We’re a great place for quirky pieces that don’t fit in other magazines. We’ve run plenty of work by writers who tried many other places and found that only Current Affairs had room for something so bold and unusual! Our inbox is open. 

Thank you again for your ongoing support of our work! We truly couldn’t do it without you. We hope your 2025 is off to a good start, and we are hard at work on bringing you excellent new analysis and amusement. 

Nathan J. Robinson

Editor in Chief 

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From the Podcast

How "Don't Look Up" Explains Our Times (w/ Adam McKay)

Adam McKay is a writer and film director responsible for some of the most successful comedy films of our century, including Anchorman, Talladega Nights, Step Brothers, and The Other Guys. He joins us today to discuss the film he released in 2021, Don't Look Up, a satirical look at the climate catastrophe that uses the analogy of an approaching deadly comet to expose how the media, corporations, and the political system are incapable of addressing a major crisis.

If Not Mangione, Then What? The Need For a Solidaristic Health Justice Movement

Nathan is joined by Malaika Jabali as co-host along with Astra Taylor and Leah-Hunt Hendrix, whose book Solidarity: The Past, Present, and Future of a Dangerous Idea. They join us in the wake of the killing of UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson. What kind of movement do we need on health justice, then? Leah and Astra help us think through how we can organize for meaningful improvements in the healthcare system.