Thomas C. Frank is darned happy about his new gig as the lead columnist at Harper’s magazine, and chats it up with PBC on a range of topics; Will Durst wants to be able to have a cigarette after he gets groped at the airport. Frank is the author of What’s the Matter With Kansas and, more recently, The Wrecking Crew. He recently survived a stint as the token lib on the Wall Street Journal’s op-ed page, and now writes in the hallowed space where Lewis H. Lapham’s essays appeared for many years. We talk about the columnist, columnizing, and even a bit about the debut column itself–about content mills, where underpaid writers churn out bland content for meager fees…….and about the decline of the news business. We also take a rambling tour of the current news and political scene, including Obama’s problems, WikiLeaks, domestic wiretapping and much more. Will Durst’s latest commentary starts at 55:43, and is about TSA’s new enhanced pat-down programs and body scanners.
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