Danile Denvir is a left-wing podcaster and journalist. He is currently the host of The Dig podcast, which is hosted by the explicitly Marxist magazine Jacobin. He is also a visiting fellow in international and public affairs at Brown University. Denvir is also a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. ¹

Background

Denvir graduated from Reed College with a bachelor’s degree in anthropology. ²

After college, Denvir worked in community and political organizing. ³

Print Journalism Career

Denvir’s journalism career began as a freelance writer. He eventually landed a full-time journalism job with the Philadelphia City Paper. While at the Philadelphia City Paper he investigated local police, prisons, and prosecutorial abuse. He also investigated and opposed education reform in Philadelphia by referring it as “defunding and privatization.” He also covered local and state politics. He left the publication in 2015 to move to Rhode Island and the paper would soon close. ⁴

Denvir then began writing for national publications. He would first write for The Atlantic and then for Salon. In a 2023 interview with The Nation, Denvir said that he felt that the national online magazine’s frenzied schedule did not suit him. He was laid off from Salon before the 2016 general election. ⁵

The Dig

After leaving Salon, Denvir launched The Dig, a podcast that he said would bring together the left’s intellectual/academic side and the organizing side. He and his future producer did not know if there was an audience for it at launch. ⁶

The first episode dropped after Donald Trump’s election as president. The podcast explored themes of whether or not Trump’s election was based on “racial” or “economic” anxieties. Denvir believes that Trump’s election was the result of both and that they could not be separated. The podcast was also critical of the Democratic Party’s embrace of “neoliberalism,” the corporate-friendly liberalism associated with 2016 party nominee Hillary Clinton. ⁷

In addition to criticizing the Democratic Party for moving to the right on domestic issues, the podcast criticizes Democrats on foreign policy and condemns any attempt to oppose the rise of China. He believes the most important foreign policy issue is combating climate change and that it should not be solved on “capital’s terms.” ⁸

Immigration Advocacy

Denvir is an opponent of immigration enforcement of any kind. He wrote a book called All-American Nativism: How the Bipartisan War on Immigrants Explains Politics as We Know It, which criticizes immigration enforcement by both major parties. The purpose of the book was to rally the left behind open borders. ⁹

1.  Denvir, Daniel. “How the Bipartisan War on Immigrants Explains Politics as We Know It.” Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), March 7, 2020. https://www.dsausa.org/democratic-left/4583/.
2. “Daniel Denvir.” LinkedIn. Accessed March 20, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-denvir-010b6b43.
3. Steinmetz-Jenkins, Daniel. “Is ‘The Dig’ the Most Important Podcast on the Left?” The Nation. February 9, 2023. https://www.thenation.com/article/world/qa-daniel-denvir/.
4. Steinmetz-Jenkins, Daniel. “Is ‘The Dig’ the Most Important Podcast on the Left?” The Nation. February 9, 2023. https://www.thenation.com/article/world/qa-daniel-denvir/.
5. Steinmetz-Jenkins, Daniel. “Is ‘The Dig’ the Most Important Podcast on the Left?” The Nation. February 9, 2023. https://www.thenation.com/article/world/qa-daniel-denvir/.
6. Steinmetz-Jenkins, Daniel. “Is ‘The Dig’ the Most Important Podcast on the Left?” The Nation. February 9, 2023. https://www.thenation.com/article/world/qa-daniel-denvir/.
7. Steinmetz-Jenkins, Daniel. “Is ‘The Dig’ the Most Important Podcast on the Left?” The Nation. February 9, 2023. https://www.thenation.com/article/world/qa-daniel-denvir/.
8. Steinmetz-Jenkins, Daniel. “Is ‘The Dig’ the Most Important Podcast on the Left?” The Nation. February 9, 2023. https://www.thenation.com/article/world/qa-daniel-denvir/.
9. Denvir, Daniel. “How the Bipartisan War on Immigrants Explains Politics as We Know It.” Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), March 7, 2020. https://www.dsausa.org/democratic-left/4583/.