Pod Save America - Intentions for 2024 with Sam Sanders (Exclusive Clip)

Episode Date: December 26, 2023

We're taking a much needed break to gear up for 2024, but we're excited to share an exclusive clip from Friend Of The Pod Sam Sanders' weekly podcast Vibe Check. Each week on Vibe Check, Sam, Saeed Jones, and Zach Stafford make sense of what’s going on in news and culture – and how it all feels.  For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [e-mail] and include the name of the podcast. 

Hey, everyone. Sam Sanders here. So, John, John, Tommy, and Dan are taking a much-needed break to gear up for 2024. And in the meantime, I'm here excited to share right here in this feed today an exclusive clip from the newest episode of Vibe Check with y'all right here. In this clip, me and my co-hosts, Zach and Saeed, we're going to look back at some of the most important news moments of this year, specifically the war in Israel and Palestine and what it says about America's changing place in the world. Also, this year being the year of protest sweeping every industry across the country and perhaps showing us a new way forward for our politics. And then thirdly, abortion on the ballot. This year has seen referendums in many states across the country and the aftermath of Roe falling. These referendums kind of forecast

what next year's election might be. I'm calling it the control election. We'll explain. All right, here's my chat with Zach and Saeed on those stories and more. All right, we're back. We're going to keep this conversation going, talking about the biggest moments of the year.

I want us to use this segment to talk about our biggest newsy or political moments of 2023. And Zach, we're going to start with you. All right. Well, I think the story that has defined this year for me in so many ways is the Israel-Hamas conflict that began on October 7th when Hamas attacked Israel, resulting in a thousand people dead and the responding attack from Israel that has now engulfed the entire region. This is a story that is, I would say, once in a decade type of levels. It's something that has really stopped

the world. Everyone's thinking about it. It's constantly on the news. It's constantly a conversation I'm having with friends and family and something I'm constantly just waking up and thinking about. And it will continue to go on for a while. So I think it's been an ongoing thing that's been going on for over 70 years. And we've hit this new inflection point that I think has just boiled over and changed our lives in so many ways that I'm still figuring out. So for me, that's the big story of the year. Absolutely. Both because of what happened, the terrorist attack on October 7th, but also I would say Israel, in my opinion, just factually disproportionate response,

what Palestinian people are enduring and trying to survive has been harrowing just to observe, are enduring and trying to survive has been harrowing just to observe, right? To say nothing of people there directly. And in terms of the future of news, like where we go into 2024, I don't think that this is a news topic. I think you're right. This is a bend in the river for a lot of people. I think many people's relationships to political ideas, ideas regarding politics, nationhood, war, violence, and each other, you know, how you feel about how the people owning their politics, it's probably a net good, but this is costly. You know what I mean? Like how many thousands of people have died so that we can have a richer understanding of politics? That doesn't sound like a silver lining I want to embrace. this conflict has really shown the ways in which America has moved from being a leader on the world stage to an outlier. When you look at the number of countries that are increasingly and consistently

calling for ceasefire on the region, it's now a majority of the world, the vast majority of the world. You know who the outliers are israel and the u.s and maybe france i love that let's dig deeper because it's also president biden is an outlier compared to most u.s citizens most americans are like ceasefire is clearly the way to go yeah yeah and so it's been very interesting to see this conflict happen and have the biden white house continue the rhetoric that most modern era presidents have used which is we are a global leader america is a global leader we're doing this to protect the world that rhetoric is kind of being trotted out in the midst of this conflict but it is not the reality the reality would be that if the U.S. wanted to be a

leader, they would much more adamantly be pushing for a ceasefire, which is where most of the world is. So this, for me, marks a real shift. We don't know how this thing ends, but this, for me, marks another big moment in which the U.S., on the world stage, whether it believes it or not, it's kind of being left behind. Yeah, that's such a clear way of putting it. That is the biggest difference, I feel, as someone in their 30s who's seen the U.S. engage in many conflicts.

It always felt like we were the one leading the West into battle, into diplomacy, into whatever. And now we're just reacting to Bibi's thoughts and actions in these really clumsy ways. And even inside the White House, it's really divided. Like I've never seen a White House staff so divided over something internally.

So, yeah, that's the difference. Last thing I'll say about this, even the way in which the Biden White House administration in America talks about the conflict itself, they talk about it as if it's a fair fight. In so many ways, it's not. People in Gaza are relying on the people who are attacking them for aid and to let them cross the borders. That is not an even or fair fight. And it seems as if the Biden White House is really reluctant to acknowledge that reality. It's troubling. I am questioning how the Biden stance changes as we move into the election year, because as Saeed mentioned, the majority of America at this point, at least its citizens, they want a ceasefire. And again, listeners, when this episode airs, it's going to air a few

weeks after we have actually taped it. But this is a headline that I'm going to read. It is from today. It's from Reuters. Quote, Israel ordered Palestinians to leave parts of the main southern city in the Gaza Strip on Monday, even as its bombs rained down on areas where it told them to go. on areas where it told them to go, right? So people who've already been displaced once, who have moved to a safer place, are now being bombed there too. This is collective punishment.

There's no coming back from this knowledge. There are certain moments in your life, either if you're directly affected or you witnessed them. If you saw the shock and awe campaign, for example, in 2003, there are certain things where you see and you just don't come back from that knowledge. I hope it's a productive, transcendent transformation, right? Where you're like, okay, how do we get real? How can I work to make the world a safer place? But I think for 2023, this is the kind of year a lot of people are having. Yeah, yeah. Moving yeah moving on saeed what was your

most impactful newsy or political moment from this year i think it certainly relates to the ceasefire or free palestine moment those are related but maybe not the same for different people but protest this is a year where i think many people who maybe haven't had to make a protest sign or, you know, find where, like, where do you get a megaphone if you need one, you know, or like, you know what I mean? Like learning to download apps that can be safe in case your phone is confiscated by cops at a protest, like all of that, like a lot of people I think are waking up and are realizing kind of like I was saying before, like this sense of understanding the power of the body in terms of movement, in terms of dance, that pleasure is of understanding the power of the body in terms of movement, in terms of dance.

That pleasure is transformed into the power of the body in terms of collective action. SAG, WGA, Teamsters, UPS, hospital workers. Auto workers, all of it. Auto workers. I have a friend who lives in Portland, Oregon, and she was like, teachers are protesting. I mean, it's just every sector of our lives, certainly in the last few years, but it really feels like 2023 has been like an inflection point. And I have found that inspiring. Hard won. I mean, it's like people don't boycott or protest until shit is really real. People do not just do that casually, is my opinion. And so I don't want to just be like, oh, it's so nice to see, but I'm like, no, this really real. You know, people do not just do that casually, is my opinion. And so I don't want to just be like,

oh, it's so nice to see, but I'm like, no, this is real. This is real. And for some of these issues, frankly, life or death, but it's good to see people recognizing that there is power in our bodies and there is power in us coming together

to say like, no, you know, I'm not like a lone voice. And what I have enjoyed watching in this year of protest is all of us seeming to collectively like put all the dots together. Every sector, every industry is dealing with the same issue. Corporations and shareholders have too much power and too much money and they're not sharing. And it doesn't matter if you work for the post office or HBO Max, right?

Like collectively, we are realizing that there's a corporate power structure that across all industries is exploiting lower wage workers. Right. And just like out of sync with the rest of us. Out of sync, yeah. And so to see everyone say, no, it's not just over here. It's not just over there.

It's all of us and all around. That feels like progress to me. Yeah. And I think people have become really aware of how protests can lead to different types of results. I mean, living in Los Angeles, we've seen how the strikes have directly impacted the city's economic stance and how we've also had to rush to help each other. Every quarter I go with producers to buy food for IOTC members because no one thinks about the guys that are serving you food on set. So we're all thinking about means of production in these really broad ways and arriving to moments within that pipeline of where we can show up and help out,

which has been really incredible. It's like so much power, I think, is and has been taken away from individual people, right? It's like voter suppression just being one example, right? Where you, you know, increasingly likely, I think we often feel we don't have a voice to influence what's going on, especially when corporations and billionaires have so much power.

But seeing people, you know, the phrase power to the people is real. It resonates for a reason. And I think 2023 reminded us of that. Sam, what about you? What's your big kind of news political moment of reflection for 2023? I have been watching one simmering politics story that I think will be the defining issue of the 2024 election. And that is seeing abortion when it's on the ballot across the country in every election after Roe has fallen. And every election in red states or blue states, voters have chosen to preserve the right to legal and safe abortion it's happened everywhere it's happened in the midwest it's happened on the coast and this is a sign for democrats and republicans about what's going to resonate i'm most fascinated by the results in

ohio saeed's home ohio no yes yes And we've discussed this before on a previous Vibe Check episode. But what I found so fascinating about that election is it's not just that Republicans wanted the right to abortion on the ballot. It's that in the same moment, they tried to disenfranchise voters' right to vote to get the results that they wanted on abortion. They lost on both counts. This is a big deal, and it sets up the ways in which abortion is actually about more than just abortion this next election year. It's about control. There's a beautiful essay written by Rebecca Traister in New York Magazine that lays this out a bit. But long story short, when you talk about abortion and you talk about the current GOP, this is just the start of what they want to do. They don't want to just control your right to legal and safe abortion. They want

to control what pronouns you choose to call yourself. They want to control what kind of books can be in your libraries. They want to control what your children can wear and what bathrooms they can use. They want to control whether or not you can organize to unionize when you're at work. It is all about control. And there is one party that isn't just trying to control things like abortion. They're trying to control your access to the ballot box to then control your right to things like abortion. It is imperative for Democrats, should they want to not see Trump get elected again, it's imperative for them to connect these dots. I think a lot of folks on the left are just thinking, well, you know, next year, just say abortion over and over and over again. It's a winning issue, but it's not enough.

I think there's a moment now seeing the way that the entire GOP has reacted to the fall of Roe. There's a moment to say this election is all about control. One party wants to control you inside and out. The other seems to want to lower childhood poverty and see wages go up like it's like it's it's just kind of a no-brainer to me i don't trust democratic leadership to get that messaging right but there's an opportunity should they want to to do just that but yeah for me abortion is the political story of 2023, and it will also be for 2024. I love that because you're right. The Democratic machine does need a through line to really galvanize all of its constituents.

And talking about control is a really juicy thing. I can bite into that as a voter. I'm like, okay, they're trying to control me. They're trying to control my bathroom, trying to control where I can watch drag shows, trying to control how I vote. What I read, what my kids read. What my kids read. That control is such a good verb to use there.

And it does help me kind of crystallize what's happening because they get us with, you know, here's a drag queen, here's a book, here's a this, it's like all over the place, but we need that thing to coalesce around. And control does seem to be that and they're so likely and so love to use the word freedom it's like oh no no no no when you when you peel it back they want the opposite they want the opposite for you and your body we'll see if the democratic party's leaders seize this opportunity

because i think both when it's like, obviously, abortion on the ballot works. And like another issue, ceasefire, overwhelming support. But guess who's saying everybody but the people at the top, you know, but yeah, I think it's very clear. And it's like, it's a clear through line. It's actionable. When you say like, this election is about control. It like lines up in people's minds. You can see the dots go dot, dot, dot. And that's powerful. I got it. It's the Janet Jackson election.

I was waiting. I was going to say that to you, but I was like, I'll let Sam get there when he gets there. But Auntie Sam is going to land in Janet. Wow. Also, I want to give credit where credit is due. The Rebecca Traister essay I alluded to is in New York Magazine. It was published November 17th of 2023, and it's called Abortion Wins Again. Now what?

Now what? All right, you just heard a clip from Vibe Check. It's a weekly culture podcast where me, Sam Sanders, and my friends and co-hosts, Saeed Jones and Zach Stafford, talk about everything and make sense of what's going on in news, culture, entertainment, etc. And also how it all feels. Think of Vibe Check as your favorite group chat. Come to life. I would love for you to listen.

If you want to, subscribe to Vibe Check wherever you get your podcasts. Vibe Check. Two words. Thank you.