School Suspension: More Often for Black Kids

Kicking out troublemakers. It backfires. It certainly increases the likelihood of negative outcomes. And it is not applied equally. In this discussion author and researcher Aaron Kupnik talks about his new book: Suspended Education. If we want equal opportunity for all, there are better alternatives. Meanwhile Trump just called for eliminating the civil rights division of the Dept. of Education! Give a listen.
Last Two Weeks
Next 20 Shows

School Suspension: More Often for Black Kids
Kicking out troublemakers. It backfires. It certainly increases the likelihood of negative outcomes. And it is not applied equally. In this discussion author and researcher Aaron Kupnik talks about his new book: Suspended Education. If we want equal opportunity for

Is Freedom of the Press Doomed?
In being careful to avoid a monarchy or dictatorship, America’s founders adamantly insisted on each government agency being independent. The Federal Communications Commission act of 1934 was created to ensure that the public would have access to news without threat
The Time is Now. Left-Populists: Unshackle Your Imaginations
You may have noticed a continuing trend of Democratic candidates sheepishly rushing to some imaginary center, and how well that hasn’t worked! On this show, Richard Eskow, former head writer for the Bernie 2016 campaign explains how it seems candidates
Trump Wants to Abolish the Past. Historians Won’t Let Him.
There are reasons all autocrats need to erase history. Among the flood of executive orders is something called “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling.” In other words: erasing history he doesn’t like. To people like him, history must fit a

The Origin of American Police Was As Enforcers of Slave Laws
The politicization of the FBI and police is hardly new. The foundation of the law is protecting property not people. Enforcing a racial caste system. Himself a former FBI agent, our guest Mike German in his new book Policing White

They’re Not Accidents; They’re Deadly Crashes Which Passengers Can Prevent.
With freedom comes responsibility. And not just the driver, but America’s roads have been littered with bodies of passengers who failed to speak up. Guest today is Candace Lightner was one of the founders of Mothers Against Drink Driving and

Time for Democrats to Post a Clear Agenda for America
No question, it’s all about re-connecting with the working class: People without a college degree, lowering the cost of health care, championing the self-employed, addressing the transportation problems of the heartland. Our guest today Paul Glastris Washington Monthly editor in

Feminism and Philanthropy: Powerful Combination
More and more women are steering great philanthropies. In the current Chronicle of Philanthropy, Christine Ahn is co-author of this article: To Fight Growing Militarism, Philanthpy Should Embrace a Feminist Playbook. The subtitle is Around the world, feminist activists have

We Thought We Knew Racism and Sexism
In her new book titled Is It Racist? Is It Sexist? Why Red and Blue White People Disagree, and How to Decide in the Gray Areas co-author Betsy Leondar-Wright, through remarkable research, found Trumpists are not all racist and sexist

The Trashing of Tastes: When Did It Begin?
When did politics and trash TV become one in the same? According to author Ross Benes, no question: it was the 1990s. As one reviewer said: “this book helps to explain the election of Donald Trump in ways that most

A Global Minimum Wage = a Stronger Worldwide Economy
The reason we have minimum wage laws is to ensure a basic standard of living. But in America, the federal minimum wage is still what it was in 2009: $7.25. And in developing nations to which big corporations outsource jobs,

Republicans Got It: Bottom Up Works. Wake Up, Democrats!
Democrats seem to always pay attention to the top, the federal races. But what worked for the right wing in 2010 can work for us: Our guest Eric Schmeltzer writes, in The New Republic, that to take power away from

Christmas Truce of WWI: Not So Isolated, Really
You’ve probably heard of the famous Christmas Truce of 1914 between the trenches of the British and German soldiers. These were indeed brave men. But that was not the only such event: there were desertions, mutinies, and fraternizations.

Could These Guys Actually Cut Military Waste?
It may not be as it looks. For decades, millions of Americans have urgently sought to bring sanity to the defense budget. They propose a new nongovernmental “Dept of Government Efficiency.” And military waste is the low hanging fruit. On

Will There Be A Way to Stop Him?
Just the threat of prosecution can be a violation of our First Amendment rights. Look for the fascistic right under Trump to try to impose by force what they failed to win in the culture war. On this show, investigative

Toward a Revival of Left Populism: What It Takes To WIn
Populism is the common language of America. Author and Georgetown University historian Michael Kazin notes people were not inspired by Harris’s “opportunity economy” talk. People feel disconnected and want a sense of membership, a sense of power, which unions used

Immigration Was Played Dishonestly. The Truth is It’s Like Inflation
Just as it is with inflation, some immigration is good for the economy. It strengthens the economy and helps rural America. But as with inflation, immigration has to be kept under control. On this show Washington Monthly politics editor Bill

One Eternally Explosive Line in the Sand
Storytelling is a venerable and often the most accurate way to teach history. Our guest co-author of the new A Line In the Sand, Miles Spencer, traveled with his partner along the 1100 mile trail of clues left by TE

To Win, Go on Offense
Playing defense defines the playing field. Shall we just accept a world run by international mega-billionaires? On this show, Sam Pizzigati of Inequality.org argues now is the time to get ready to go on offense against what Trump Musk and

The Many All-American Tools Trump Can Use To Chill Freedom
From the proposed Department of Government Efficiency to possible invocation of the Insurrection Act of 1807 to the Espionage Act of 1917 to the proposal to take away the non-profit status of organizations alleged to have ties to terrorists, there