Author Archive

Burt Cohen

Richard Nixon holding a newspaper headline about lying.
JusticePodcast

Careers of good people have been destroyed in the pursuit of political gain. It goes on today but got its real start by the very smart ambitious Congressman Richard Nixon nearly seventy years ago. In her new book Alger Hiss:

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Magnifying glass highlighting 'Freedom of Speech' on a document.
Israel & PalestinePodcast

Now and in the future, if certain opinions are not popular with the government in power, they can be prosecuted. Under the current bill S 720, which actually has Democratic sponsors, if a person even inquires about which companies may

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A cloudy sky with text asking about Kansas.
PodcastPopulism

Author of the acclaimed “What’s The Matter with Kansas?” Thomas C Frank discusses the outlook for Democrats in 2018. he says that clearly some in the elite would rather lose than change. On one hand he points out that establishment

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Two men in suits laughing outdoors, one with arm around the other.
Podcast

In the long held American tradition of opposition to colonialism and a government serving the common good, FDR’s vice president Henry A Wallace was an outstanding visionary. Then a corrupt political machine performed a bloodless coup at the 1944 Democratic

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A green road sign with the word 'Sanctions' partially visible, covered in snow.
EnergyPodcastTrumpWar

Our most reliable allies in Western Europe are the ones most hurt by the new sanctions passed by congress and supported by the president. Europe depends on pipelines from Russia for their energy. Under the new law, any company doing

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Welcome screen of Sinclair Broadcast Group with a blue digital background.
CulturePodcastSexualityTake ActionWomen

We all know the impact Fox News has had on politics and government. Now comes Sinclair with its alt-right slant and their clever way to your local TV without becoming a network. Media analyst John Kosinski sheds light into their

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Cartoon of Donald Trump giving a thumbs up in front of a NAFTA sign.
EnvironmentPodcastPopulismTake ActionTrump

And you thought the first NAFTA was bad. Trump’s new version puts the globalist corporations squarely in the drivers seat, never mind local or state laws. Food labeling? Forget about it. The crucial work that bees perform? Again forget about

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Cover of 'America Aflame' by David Goldfield with patriotic imagery.
CulturePodcastRacismReligionWar

No side won, America lost. The so-called civil war (a civil war is a fight to take over the government; this was not) was America’s biggest failure, started by radical evangelicals on both sides. Lincoln was not the president of

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Quote about humility in the smart machine age.
CultureEconomyPodcastTake ActionTrump

Millions of jobs will be eliminated because artificial intelligence is smarter than we are in many ways. We humans therefore face a serious and historic new challenge. What must we do to endure? According to our guest, author Edward Hess,

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A U.S. map with states colored in brown, red, green, yellow, blue, and pink.
CulturePodcastTrump

No one in their right mind would ever think the Soviet Union would suddenly break down into its component parts. Then it did. Clearly America is more divided now than since the 1861 war against Southern independence. Many would argue

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BDS logo with orange text on a white background.
Israel & PalestineJusticeNational PolicyPodcastProtests & ResistanceRacism

It took a long time but Boycott, Divest, and Sanctions worked to end South African Apartheid. Now powerful forces are working in the US congress to penalize businesses and individuals who express support for BDS against the State of Israel.

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Yellow road sign with arrows pointing left and right against a stone wall.
Podcast

The Democratic Party has been compared to a doomsday cult: no matter how thoroughly their assumptions are refuted by reality, they just dig in deeper, with devastating consequences for America and the world. They rejected the most powerful candidate in

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A vintage American flag with 50 stars and 13 stripes.
Podcast

Independence day: It’s not just about choice of things to buy and consume.  Recovering corporate CEO and Huffington Post columnist Richard Eskow on this show shines a light on just how far we’ve veered from what the founders meant by

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Jet fighter descending rapidly with smoke trail against blue sky.
Israel & PalestinePodcastProtests & ResistanceTake ActionWar

In the 21st century, it seems every new war is a “humanitarian intervention.” Our guest on this show, Jim Kavanagh of Counterpunch defines that as just more “missionary imperialism.” As the US quickly ramps up its war against the government

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Colorful digital abstract art with swirling and pixelated patterns.
CulturePodcast

LSD has long been feared. No question, it is uniquely powerful. But does it have potentially uniquely powerful benefits as well? On this program, Dr. Phil Wolfson delves into many aspects of the substance; the foolhardiness of the drug war,

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People marching with a Juneteenth celebration banner in a street parade.
CultureJusticePodcastRacismTrump

Celebrated in 45 states, a lot of people don’t know about Juneteenth. It was the day in 1865 when formerly enslaved people learned of the Emancipation Proclamation. But what kind of freedom was it then and where is it today?

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Crowd of people protesting with signs and phones raised.
PodcastProtests & ResistanceTrump

Millennials would make a big mistake to give up on the Democratic Party. There is proof that liberals are successfully taking it back from the corrupt corporate wing. On the first half, In These Times staff writer Theo Anderson specifies

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Middle-aged man speaking with expressive gesture.
Fiscal PolicyPodcastPopulismSocialism

Is truth still the first casualty of politics? Not in the UK, where Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn stunned PM Teresa May. He dared to tell the truth; authenticity works. So says Marc Weisbrot of the Economic and Policy Research Center. And

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Soldiers in uniform standing in a disciplined formation with rifles.
EconomyPodcastTrump

As we are bombarded by endless news about Russian hacking, interfering with our democracy, a more subtle yet equally serious concern is how much we have become like our former enemy. What we value most of all about The United

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Book cover of 'It to Save It' with a bleeding American flag illustration.
CultureEducationGunsPodcastProtests & ResistanceTrump

The forces currently in power may actually believe that by killing democracy they are saving America. Or they may just be driven by simple greed. In his new book: Kill It to Save It; An Autopsy of Capitalism’s Triumph Over

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Vintage magazine cover titled 'Realist' priced at 25 cents.
CultureJusticePodcastProtests & ResistanceTrumpWar

He published The Realist from 1958-2001. A magazine of satire that afflicted the powers that were. Paul Krassner along with Abbie Hoffman launched the Yippies to inspire young people in the late 60s, mixing rock and roll with politics. And

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Donald Trump speaking to a large crowd in a dimly lit hall.
CultureEducationPodcastTake ActionTrump

How dangerous is it that Americans are adjusting to truths changing by the hour? What is official truth now may not be so tomorrow. It’s all up to Trump’s White House. We mere citizens must accept and believe the dictate

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Soldiers stand guard near the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
Blog

Faith in the things that good humans can do   It was the apocalypse A time when the worse angels of our nature reigned The incomprehensibly long years July 1914 until November 1918 It was the end of civilization, everything

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Monopoly board corner showing the 'Go to Jail' space with a police officer illustration.
CultureJusticePodcast

You can’t incarcerate people into mental health. Prisons are a very old concept and it’s time to ask: Do they accomplish the goals for which they were created? What can we do with dangerous people if we do away with

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Law enforcement officials with seized firearms and suspects.
GunsJusticePodcastProtests & ResistanceTake ActionTrump

In the American war on drugs, the Mexican drug cartels work hand in glove with the  federal, state, and local police. Most of the guns used in the tens of thousands of killings in recent years come from (guess where)

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Three men in suits engaged in a conversation in a formal setting.
PodcastTrump

Imagine being an intelligence professional. At great personal risk, you gather information crucial to America’s security. Then you have to share that information with the president. How would you feel when he blithely give those secrets to the Russians, of

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Soldiers charging with an American flag in a chaotic battlefield scene.
National PolicyPodcastProtests & ResistanceTrumpWar

Who better than a military person to talk about the dangers of what he sees as a worship of all things military? Major Danny Sjursen commanded troops in Afghanistan and Iraq and here talks about his deep concern about military,

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A malnourished child being examined by a woman and supported by another in a rural setting.
National PolicyPodcastTake ActionWar

What can winning look like if the nation is decimated in the process? Sara Tesorieri speaks to us from Sanaa, the capital of Yemen, where she is working with the Norwegian Refugee Council to provide desperately needed humanitarian aid. The

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Banner advocating French interests with a nationalistic message.
PodcastPopulismRacismSocialismTrump

How much did the election of Trump turn French voters away from the right wing populist Marine LePen in the May 7th election? To what degree is her party, the National Front, still racist? What is the danger of normalizing

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Pie chart showing 2012 long-term capital gains distribution among U.S. households.
CultureEconomyJusticePodcastRacismTrumpWar

Tax breaks for capital gains are a form of class privilege. So says history of US capitalism professor Julia Ott. It’s better public relations for Southern senators than outright Jim Crow, but taxing capital gains less than ordinary income was

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