Portside

Prelude: a generation before Woodstock (1953) D.A. Pennebaker's short first film created the visual accompaniment to Duke Ellington's Take the A Train. The music without lyrics and documentary without narrator broke ground by allowing a people's activity to speak for itself.

We all know the lyrics; without a word Jimi Hendrix' rendition of the Star Spangled Banner at Woodstock provided a searing commentary on the anguish of its failed promises

Vietnam was the longest war in U.S. history ... then. But the mad dream of world domination has since brought us war that never ends.

Not equal to the poetry of Grace Slick's White Rabbit lyrics (also performed at Woodstock), but a prescient generational shout out to some of the changes that Gen X is forging

Cardi B takes one of the biggest social media followings in the world, won through music, into political engagement in this interview with Bernie. 

Hasan takes a look at how the video game industry has grown into a $139 billion a year business and a cultural force. While gaming is more prominent than ever, some of the most popular video games are made under unfavorable working conditions. Hasan examines the exploitative labor practices at game developers like Epic and Riot Games, and the ways in which workers are finally fighting back.

Mangy Fetlocks, The Quasi-Intellectual Existentialist Cowboy (a.k.a, Bruce W. Nelson) imagines that someday, Mitch McConnell will receive the recognition he so justly deserves, perhaps in the form of a blockbuster musical. Until such time, Mangy takes it upon himself to immortalize "Moscow Mitch" from the humble concrete stage of his "man-cave" garage. Mangy sends his congratulations to Mitch. No one deserves this more than he.

Following mass shootings, Trump ally Tucker Carlson denied the domestic threat of white supremacy, calling it ‘hoax.’ Former GOP Congressman Tom Coleman and MSNBC’s Legal Analyst Maya Wiley debunk Carlson’s claim.

Socialism used to be a scary word in the U.S., but presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders and freshman Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have helped to catapult it back into mainstream American politics. In the latest explainer from CNBC we try to answer what socialism means to different parts of the political spectrum and whether it's fad or the future of politics in America.

We started this recording on a back porch in East Los Angeles With members of Los Lobos, And Then returned to the roots of the song in Veracruz, Mexico. As we traveled, musicians everywhere mixed the traditional and rock 'n' roll styles of "La Bamba" into a new Song Around The World.

John Oliver explains how Britain’s new prime minister, Boris Johnson, has succeeded – not despite his bumbling persona, but often because of it.

A Black Lady Sketch Show, premiering August 2 at 11PM, is a narrative series set in a limitless magical reality full of dynamic, hilarious characters and celebrity guests. The show presents sketches performed by a core cast of black women, including Robin Thede, Ashley Nicole Black, Gabrielle Dennis and Quinta Brunson.

We started this track in West Africa with a musical group named Tinariwen. We asked them to play a groove in the key of G, then as we traveled the world we added more musicians to the song. Over the course of our travels, it transformed into a global jam with its roots in the blues.

NBC News and MSNBC award-winning journalists Katy Tur and Jacob Soboroff are joining forces for a four-part docuseries event, premiering Sunday, July 28, 2019 at 9 p.m. ET on MSNBC. Each hour-long episode follows Tur and Soboroff on an immersive journey as they travel throughout the United States and look at areas of political dysfunction and what can be done to fix the ever-rising waters of the “swamp.”

Student debt has reached an all-time high in the U.S., and it’s not just millennials who are struggling.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn gives a flaming response to new UK Prime Minister ("Britain's Trump") Boris Johnson, saying "no one underestimates this country," but it is "deeply worried that the new prime minister over-estimates himself."

‘You don’t think that having 10,000 officers in a violent, racist group sharing rape memes of members of Congress points to any concern?’ — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) pressed the DHS sec after he denied a culture of dehumanization within Border Patrol.

In preparation for Mueller testimony before Congress, we present Roy Zimmerman's explanation of the real meaning of the mysterious Covfefe tweet

Seth takes a closer look at the president lying about his reaction to a racist chant at one of his rallies

“For that kind of money,” Kurt Vonnegut cracked on the CBS Evening News about the Apollo 11 moon landing, “the least NASA can do is discover God.” At the time of the mission, civil rights activists, anti-Vietnam War protesters and even top scientists were skeptical of its purpose and doubtful of its value. Contributions of women and black people like test pilot Ed Dwight were diminished and buried for years. Nostalgia lends itself to glossing over the protest and unrest of the time.

Your Scholastic Aptitude Test score is hugely important. But what does it *really* measure?

Senator Bernie Sanders talks with Rachel Maddow about the overwhelming audiences for his campaign events, the exhausting pace of the campaign, and spontaneous generation of as many as 200,000 grassroots volunteers nationwide helping spread the word

A new rap video on the evolutionary origins of emotions and mental illness. Based on the recent book Good Reasons for Bad Feelings (check out this Patreon post on the topic).

Is it possible to defeat Donald Trump's chief enabler by arguing that he is an obstacle to Trump's ability to implement his program? 

Music video by Sheryl Crow performing Bob Dylan's Everything Is Broken