Harold Meyerson comments on what remains to be done for genuine peace in Gaza; he also reviews the National Guard deployments to Portland and Chicago, the upcoming elections in California and elsewhere, and Trump's lastest attacks on universities.

Also: as the Supreme Court begins its new term, Trump lost six different cases in district courts just last week, ranging from bans on deploying the National Guard to defending freedom of speech for noncitizens, to yet another court rejecting his executive order abolishing birthright citizenship. At the same time, Trump is claiming an illegitimate legal basis for ordering the murder of civilians he claims are trafficing in drugs. David Cole will comment—he’s a former national legal director of the ACLU and The Nation’s legal affairs correspondent.

For Senate Democrats this is a big week for defiance. At last they are making popular demands as part of a deal to pass a budget and avoid a government shutdown. But Trump still holds a lot of cards. Harold Meyerson will comment.

Also: None of us were prepared for the double whammy of last week’s White House press conference, where Trump made false claims not only about vaccines but also about Tylenol causing autism. We’ll have analysis from Gregg Gonsalves. He teaches at the Yale School of Public Health; he’s been an AIDS activist for 30 years; and he’s also a MacArthur Fellow—class of 2018. And he’s The Nation’s public health correspondent.

And Steve Almond talks about the trouble with football - the thousands of concussions from "hits" that leave players with brain damage - for our entertainment. His book is "Against Football." (originally broadcast in 2015)

Trump is trying to stop speech that criticizes him and his administration. Last week began with JD Vance complaining about an article in The Nation that criticized the ideas of Charlie Kirk. Two days after that, ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel. And a few days after that, a protest movement forced ABC to put him back on the air. Bhaskar Sunkara comments on the fight over freedom of speech—he’s president of The Nation magazine.

Also: Attacking Harvard is not unique to Trump. For decades, indeed for centuries, American politicians have made hay by going after Harvard. Historian Beverely Gage talks about what’s familiar, and what’s new, in Trump’s efforts—based on a reconsideration of Richard Hofstadter’s classic 1963 book, Anti-Intellectualism in American Life.

Also: Bill McKibben's 'Here comes the sun' - and the KPFK fund drive.

With his attacks on late-night comedians, Trump is practicing the "cancel culture" he pledged to eliminate. Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: Democrats have been winning big victories in special elections in diverse places across the country. John Nichols comments.

Plus: Why fascists fear teachers - starting in L.A. Randi Weingarten, president of the AFT, explains - her new book is "Why Fascists Fear Teachers."

Who is the real mainstream of the Democratic party? Bernie Sanders and Zohran Mamdani? Or Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries? Some recent polls might have the answer – Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: Trump had four major court decisions against him in a single week last week: on tariffs, defunding Harvard, sending troops to LA, and deporting Venezuelans, different courts and appellate panels said he was violating the law. Erwin Chemerinsky comments – he’s Dean of the Law School at Berkeley.

Plus: The new film “Caught by the Tides” by Jia Zhangke, considered worldwide to be the most important director in China: Over the last 30 years, his great project has been to tell stories that show the radical transformation of Chinese life by capitalism and the state. John Powers explains – he’s critic at large on Fresh Air with Terry Gross. The film is streaming now on the Criterion Channel.

At a time when almost everything seems to be going wrong, Bill McKibben sees one thing that is suddenly going right – a really big thing: solar power, and wind, which now provide cheaper electricity than fossil fuels. Bill’s new book has the wonderful title “Here Comes the Sun” – he says solar is “A Last Chance for the Climate and a Fresh Chance for civilization.”

Also: Historian Eric Foner provides some historical perspective on what seems like the unique threat Trump poses to our freedoms. His new book, a collection of almost 60 essays, is titled “Our Fragile Freedoms.”

Plus: ‘Huckleberry Finn’ is America's great anti-slavery novel, but there's a secret behind it: Mark Twain, the author, wasn't always anti-slavery and anti-racist; in fact he fought, briefly, for the Confederacy. Adam Hochschild explains how Twain changed his mind.

While Labor Unions are more popular than ever in America, a federal appeals court has ruled the NLRB itself is unconstitutional - which, if upheld, means it's up to the states to do what the NLRB did. Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: What is Trump’s strategy in deploying the National Guard to LA, then DC, and now probably Chicago and New York? Does he want the military in the streets of blue cities for the midterms next year? They will still elect Democrats to the House. John Nichols comments.

Plus: It’s time to take a step back from the daily barrage of bad news to look at the big picture of the strategy Trump has been following. David Cole explains how he’s exploited the power of the federal government, not just to attack his political opponents in the Democratic Party, but also weaken the institutions of civil society that form the bedrock of democracy.

The National Guard, still in DC, bolstered by units from southern Red states, remains overwhelmingly unpopular, especially ICE's deportation efforts – Harold Meyerson reports.

Also: In The Nation’s interview with Zohran Mamdani, he talks how he won the New York City Democratic primary for mayor, by addressing the city’s affordability crisis—and what the Democrats can learn from his victory. Katrina vanden Heuvel and John Nichols, who conducted the interview, introduce our excerpts and set the stage.

Plus: In WWII, Denmark rescued a larger proportion of their Jewish population than any other country – 95%. How they did it suggests how we can resist Trump’s attacks on undocumented residents. Sarah Sophie Flicker explains – she’s an organizer who’s a co-founder of the Women’s March on Washington.