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Episode 854: The New Socialists

NPR | By Danielle Kurtzleben ,
Kenny Malone
Published July 20, 2018 at 4:19 PM CDT
Spencer Platt
/
Getty Images

Three years ago, the Democratic Socialists of America had about 6,000 members across the country--fewer than the American Racing Pigeon Union.

Since then, DSA membership has shot up more than 600 percent. And Democratic Socialist candidates are popping up across the country. One of them, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, is likely to land a seat in the House of Representatives this fall.

Today on the show: How an ideology that was political poison for decades worked its way back into mainstream American politics. We'll meet some of these new socialists, and try to figure out what they want the economy to look like.

Music: "Drive Through Window," "Mystery Inc" and "Backbeat Beatnik."

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Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Danielle Kurtzleben
Danielle Kurtzleben is a political correspondent assigned to NPR's Washington Desk. She appears on NPR shows, writes for the web, and is a regular on The NPR Politics Podcast. She is covering the 2020 presidential election, with particular focuses on on economic policy and gender politics.
See stories by Danielle Kurtzleben
Kenny Malone
Kenny Malone is a correspondent for NPR's Planet Money podcast. Before that, he was a reporter for WNYC's Only Human podcast. Before that, he was a reporter for Miami's WLRN. And before that, he was a reporter for his friend T.C.'s homemade newspaper, Neighborhood News.