Podcast / The Nation Podcast / May 26, 2025

John Semley on the Gamblification of America

On this episode of The Nation Podcast, John Semley on the dangers of accessible sports betting.

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John Semley on The Gamblification of America | The Nation Podcast
byThe Nation Magazine

For sports fans in the US, betting has never been more common, or more accessible. But beneath the surface of this booming pastime, a darker story is unfolding. Writer John Semley joins the podcast to examine the implications of all this access, not just in American sports, but across global betting markets, and how our era of gambling reflects a new world order some economists are calling "casino capitalism." Semley’s feature, “Casino Capitalism 2.0,” appears in the June issue of The Nation.

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For sports fans in the US, betting has never been more common, or more accessible. But beneath the surface of this booming pastime, a darker story is unfolding. Writer John Semley joins the podcast to examine the implications of all this access, not just in American sports but across global betting markets, and how our era of gambling reflects a new world order some economists are calling “casino capitalism.” Semley’s feature, “Casino Capitalism 2.0,” appears in the June issue of The Nation.

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The Nation Podcasts
The Nation Podcasts

Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.

How Cargo Ships Explain the World | The Nation Podcast
byThe Nation Magazine

A hotel for Thatcher’s fallen soldiers in the Falkland Islands. A hospital for Rikers inmates. A home for workers in the offshore fossil fuel industry. 

These are just a few of the past lives of “Jascon 27” – a Scandinavian ship that is the subject of writer Ian Kumekawa’s new book, Empty Vessel: The Story of the Global Economy in One Barge

The Vessel is, of course, a ship that transports people and goods. But, as journalist Atossa Araxia Abrahamian notes, and Kumekawa’s book reveals, it is also a bellwether of political movements and economic shifts, and a symbol of “the whims and desires” of corporations, nations, and individuals alike. 

Abrahamian wrote about Empty Vessel in the latest issue of The Nation. She’s an independent journalist who writes about the cracks within nation-states worldwide. She is also a former editor at The Nation and Al Jazeera America, and author of The Cosmoplites: The Coming of the Global Citizen and The Hidden Globe.

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D.D. Guttenplan

D.D. Guttenplan is editor of The Nation.

John Semley

John Semley is a writer based in Philadelphia. His writing has also appeared in The Baffler, The New Republic, and The Guardian. He is the co-host of Slow Learners, a podcast about books.

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