Author Archive

Burt Cohen

A fighter jet flies above a war-torn city with an explosion below.
Israel & PalestineMilitary and Defence PolicyPodcastWar

We all know what terrorism is. We’ve seen it on the ground in Israel. That’s terrorism on the cheap. Is the answer the most modern ultra high tech bombers to decimate the enemy? For centuries, a key measure of modernity

Read More
A detailed pencil sketch of a serious man in a suit.
DemocratsElectoral politicsFascism on the RisePodcast

The far right got a major boost with the martyrdom of Charlie Kirk.  What used to be the Republican party is no more. The young man’s appeal to other young men is a major hurdle for traditional patriotic Americans. And

Read More
Credit Brenda Navarro
CultureFascism on the RiseHistory That Matters NowPodcast

When America was indeed great, the federal government brought theater to all people. Free. In a mirror opposite of Trump 2.0, under FDR there was the Federal Theater project in which one quarter of the nation’s population saw free performances

Read More
Four books about war and American history on a table.
Electoral politicsFascism on the RisePodcastPopulism

There is in fact a lush garden of American greatness and it is not MAGA. Though less well known, there is a proud history of successful dissent which does make America great. Military power and straight white male domination is

Read More
A detailed red-toned sketch of a young woman and an older man.
EuropePodcastPopulism

England’s Labour Party is a lot like America’s Democratic Party: all over the map. Both used to be the party of laboring people. The UK’s current PM Kier Starmer won claiming to be of the left. Now he’s pushing an

Read More
A man stands solemnly before a kneeling figure in a tense, historic village scene.
CultureFascism on the RiseJusticePodcastProtests & Resistance

Researchers are beginning to understand why some of us demonstrate what is called “moral courage” and others do not. In fact, most of us actually have a warped sense of our own moral courage. We like to think nothing would

Read More
A man in a suit smiling with arms crossed on a city street.
DemocratsElectoral politicsHistory That Matters NowPodcastPopulismSocialism

After 2024, the mainstream of the Democratic Party is in the wilderness, but Zohran Mamdani may lead a way out. This week’s guest Fred Glass, talks about what early 20th century California history can teach us about the 2025 New

Read More
Book cover titled 'From Apartheid to Peace' by Roy Sarah Leah Wattison.
Israel & PalestineJusticePodcastWar

Innumerable people have tried over many years to stop the  forever wars between Israel and Palestine. With the world now horrified by the use of starvation as a weapon, the urgency of a resolution has never been greater. Even if

Read More
Podcast

It’s not in the headlines like starvation in Gaza, but in focusing on the billions facing food insecurity or worse, our guest today points out that the world is enacting policies to reduce food production on agricultural lands diverting way

Read More
Protester raising fist with police officers in the background during a street demonstration.
Military and Defence PolicyPodcastProtests & Resistance

American military service members certainly did not sign up to fight the American people. Yet with the massive deployment of national guard and marines to stop protests in Los Angeles, that was indeed their assignment. On this show, Jacobin and

Read More
Book cover titled 'Outclassed' about the working class and winning them back.
DemocratsElectoral politicsPodcastPopulismTrump

What mainstream Democrats don’t understand is that anti-elites are economically progressive, while the elites are economically conservative. NYCs Mamdani won the primary by building an economic coalition. On this show, Joan C. Williams talks about her important new book, Outclassed.

Read More
Portrait of a man blindfolded with fabric over his eyes.
Fascism on the RisePodcastTrump

It’s called airbrushing history and all dictators do it to erase the truth. Sometimes it can be petty. One example is that Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon deleted photos that were on their website of the first black military pilots during WWII,

Read More
Indoor storage cages with various items secured behind chain-link fencing.
JusticeNational PolicyPodcastTrump

The appalling criminalization of ordinary people. No charges, no conviction, just sweep up people who, as he said: “look like illegals.” Blatantly circumventing constitutional law. And in the big, ugly bill, passed 7/3, spending for jail space and ICE skyrocketed.

Read More
Book cover with a knife on red background about meat and animals.
EnvironmentPodcastReligion

The right wing is heavily invested in the meat industry. After all, it has the essential components: dominance, violence, destruction of the planet. In his new provocative book: The Omnivore’s Deception: What We Get Wrong About Meat, Animals, and Ourselves,

Read More
A child with arms raised triumphantly against a dramatic sky.
DemocratsElectoral politicsPodcastPopulism

In the 90s, the party took a turn to the right, taking the working and middle class base for granted. Instead they went for Trump in 2024. Clinton hurt this former base with austerity, and poorly thought out welfare reform

Read More
A man intensely focused on his phone in the dark.
Fascism on the RisePodcastProtests & Resistance

Why do they feel a need for violence to prove their manhood? What’s the connection between an angry Germany after the First World War and what many young men are feeling in 2025? Why do they see equality as deprivation?

Read More
A donkey partially submerged in water under a cloudy sky.
DemocratsElectoral politicsPodcast

There’s a reason the same voters were undecided between Bernie and Trump in 2016. People wanted real change. And in 2024, Democrats walked into a trap. As bad as it looks today, writing in Newsweek, today’s guest Matt Robison argues

Read More
Cover of Jazz Men book featuring Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong.
CulturePodcastRacism

It’s not just politics but arts and a free culture that makes real change. Sure there are the leaders we all know, MLK and Malcolm X, but in his new paperback edition of The Jazz Men: How Duke Ellington, Louis

Read More
Cover of a book titled 'Wards of the State' about American foster care.
Podcast

Society would rather not see them. Like people in prison, the foster care system makes hundreds of thousands of kids invisible. And the system is doing them great damage for life. On this show, author and foster care, juvenile justice,

Read More
Donald Trump giving a thumbs up with an industrial backdrop.
EconomyElectoral politicsFascism on the RisePodcastPopulism

Starting a trade war is just stupid. But maybe Trump simply doesn’t really care about tanking the economy. On this show, Washington Monthly politics editor Bill Scher points out that the current president appears to be trying to steer America

Read More
Hand holding a vibrant bouquet of various flowers under a radiant sky.
EconomyJusticePodcast

There is in fact great abundance in America. The problem is not just the greed of the top percent but also the 21st century version of real estate redlining. Many are shut out. There is a huge demand for affordable

Read More
Silhouette of a person with a stormy cloud as their head.
CulturePodcastTrump

May is Mental Health Month, and the Trump/Musk regime is pouring gasoline on our already widespread national crisis. The police-state ICE raids are indicative of a strategy to create fear. On this show Mattea Kramer and Dr. Sean Fogler share

Read More
A malnourished child covering their mouth, expressing vulnerability.
AfricaForeign PolicyNational PolicyPodcast

If he really aims to cut waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal bureucracy, there’s a lot of low hanging fruit. But Elon Musk has prioritized eliminating one of the smallest yet most effective programs: USAID.Poverty stricken people of developing

Read More
Book cover titled 'The Evil of Banality' by Elizabeth Mennich.
CultureFascism on the RisePodcastProtests & Resistance

To normalize the horrific, it takes lots of people going along. From the history of leaders lying, the current regime has learned that spewing new lies many times a day works to make reality conform to the lies. On this

Read More
Cover of 'Home and Away' featuring poetry, stories, and art with a calm sunset background.
CultureFascism on the RiseJusticePodcast

Locking people up and deporting immigrants is on the rise. The adults face punishment (as if that works) and their children hide from the judgement and stigma of other kids and school administrators. They are of course totally innocent and

Read More
Person peeking wide-eyed over a torn newspaper.
Civil LibertiesFreedomNational PolicyPodcastTrump

Remember when we could count on the Washington Post to boldly take the lead on political corruption? And can you imagine a newspaper turning down a really big ad buy? Welcome to Trumpworld 2.0. As Common Cause president and CEO

Read More
Young boy in orange jersey sitting on grass field, smiling.
CulturePodcast

We think of it as pure fun but the reality is great pressure and there are overtraining injuries. Coaches often lack crucial training. Non-athlete kids feeling less-than. And since kids don’t have a voice in the matter, the only option

Read More
Cracked wall with EU and US flags symbolizing division.
EuropeFascism on the RiseInternational NewsPodcast

There are two petrostate oligarchies linking up and gravely threatening what had been a rock solid alliance: Europe and the US. The traditionally shared moral universe of Europe and the rest of the “Free World” is suddenly gone. On this

Read More
Book cover titled 'Education, School Punishment, and the Legacy of Racial Injustice'.
Podcast

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

Read More
A stressed man surrounded by multiple TV screens showing various images.
Civil LibertiesFascism on the RisePodcastTrump

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

Read More