Author Archive

Burt Cohen

Aerial view of a flooded residential area with submerged houses and streets.
Podcast

What did the president know and when did he know it? The president of South Vietnam, Ngo Dinh Diem, was overthrown in a bloody coup on November 1, 1963. Was it all the Vietnamese generals or how high up did foreknowledge of the coup go? The gu…

Read More
A protest sign advocating for a strike with a cross necklace visible.
Podcast

Claire Conner was raised by two national leaders of the John Birch Society. Her new book is “Wrapped in the Flag,” and she is a dedicated fighter for her country, trying desperately to make Americans realize that the John Birch Society is alive and wel…

Read More
Two people smiling, one wearing a sash and formal attire.
Podcast

In October the US Supreme Court announced cases they will be taking for 2013. Looking at the truly exceptional and disturbing judgements the 9 justices made in 2012, it could be a very bumpy ride for tradtional American rights. From the Alliance for Ju…

Read More
A man balances on a ladder held by a giant hand against a green background.
Podcast

The personal is political. On part one, Dr Asoka Banderage delves into changes needed for sustainability at both the psychological and the political level. Her new book is Sustainability and Well-Being: The Middle Path to Environment, Society, and the …

Read More
Raised hands with African flags celebrating Juneteenth Freedom Day.
Podcast

In the new 20th anniversary release of Reclaiming Our Democracy, Apollo astronaut Rusty Schweikert is quoted: “We aren’t passengers on spaceship earth, we are the crew. We aren’t residents on this planet, we’re citizens.” In this interview, author…

Read More
A grand, ancient city in flames during sunset with crowds and ruins.
Podcast

While the Republican field for 2016 is loaded with possible candidates, it looks like the Democratic field is only Hillary Clinton. But as columnist and researcher Sean McElwee reminds us, she advocated for the war in Iraq, is cozy with the big banks, …

Read More
Group of people playing a conga line outdoors in a parking lot.
Podcast

The Tea Partiers represent an enraged class of white men that feel like they are seeing society change in ways they don’t like. We’ve seen this before, at the end of the Civil War and in the 1950s Jim Crow South. Now investigative reporter Robert Parry…

Read More
Crowd capturing election results with Macron leading Le Pen.
Podcast

Harry Reid and Elizabeth Warren have derided those Republicans who caused the shutdown as “The Anarchy Gang.” But this really insults the long tradition of American anarchist thought and practice. On this show author of “Thank You, Anarchy” Nathan Schn…

Read More
Book cover titled 'Policing White Supremacy' by Mike German.
Podcast

Across America there’s a lot of concern for the state of public education. Dumbing down, unequal funding, increased student depression and anxiety, teaching for tests. Something has got to change. Dr Peter Grey, research professor of psychology at Bost…

Read More
Workers holding UAW on strike signs during a labor protest.
Podcast

Are you a corporation or a person? Do you think the two deserve the same rights? On this segment, Jonah Minkoff-Zern, coordinator of the Democracy is for People campaign talks about progress in the effort to overturn Citizens United with a constit…

Read More
Illustration of raised hands symbolizing democracy and electoral reform.
Podcast

Net Neutrality: a good thing or not? One one hand it sounds good to require strictly equal internet access and service, but on the other hand, with no investment incentive for internet developers, everyone who uses the internet could be adverse…

Read More
The phrase 'THE DARK SIDE' in bold black text.
Podcast

For decades, there was a large and robust miuddle class in America. No really, there was. Most Americans could actually expect to be part of it, but no more. Now, for many, the American dream is to simply be out of debt. Author Edward McClelland wrote …

Read More
Man holding American flag takes an oath at a naturalization ceremony.
Podcast

The week of September 17 was Constitution Week and how that cornerstrone of American government is taught is the subject of part one. Guest Bill Bigelow is with the Zinn Education Project and has taught for some thirty years. It matters to our future. …

Read More
Military drone flying over mountains at sunset.
Podcast

Republicans in Congress are threatening to shut down the government by September 30 by refusing to lift the debt ceiling. Instead of a normal budgeting process, they lurch from one phony crisis to another. So says Robert Borosage, co-director of the Ca…

Read More
Pro-life and pro-choice activists hold signs in front of the Supreme Court.
Podcast

On part one, it’s NY Congressman Peter King in the first of many interviews with 2016 Republican presidential wannabes. And on part two, journalist Amanda Marcotte discusses the findings of her research into the weirdest right wing Christian conspiracy…

Read More
Book cover of "Founders' Fortunes" about money shaping America.
Podcast

 

The use of chemical weapons is unquestionably a violation of many international laws. But our first guest Marjorie Cohn, law professor and expert on this field of law asserts that a military intervention by the United States in Syria woul…

Read More
A man in a Confederate uniform with a controversial flag background.
Podcast

On part one, former long-term inmate, Buddhist teacher Fleet Maull talks about the failure of prisons and the possibilities. And about lessons all of us can learn from his experience; for freedom and authenticity. And on part two, Reid Epstein, Whit…

Read More
Cover of 'The Populist Persuasion' by Michael Kazin.
Podcast

As we commemorate 50 years since the “I Have a Dream” speech, here is the revolutionary speech King gave one year to the day before he was killed. Listen and you will hear him link the struggle of the people of Vietnam, including the so-called enemy, w…

Read More
A person casting a ballot into a voting box.
Podcast

The truth is the right’s political stance is, in fact, traditional. But the tradition is that of opposition to, not support for, the Constitution. And like the wealthy elite which manipulated the anti-Federalists in the 1790s, today’s Koch brothers and…

Read More
Colorful abstract background with the words 'Map of Hope and Sorrow'.
Podcast

The huge crowds in Cairo welcomed the overthrow of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Morsi in early July. Now it seems a military dictatorship has been re-introduced to Egypt. On the first part of the show, the Institute of Policy Studies’ Middle East expert Ph…

Read More
People hold a protest banner against Zionism, racism, and colonialism.
Podcast

Nasir Shansab was a successful business leader before he was forced to flee his native Afghanistan with his life in 1975. At the time of the rebellion against the Soviet backed government and the rise of the Taliban, he had breakfast with Osama bin Lad…

Read More
Book cover of "Manhood" by Josh Hawley in bold red design.
Podcast

Fifty years ago, John Kennedy promoted the Equal Pay Act, yet we’re still far away from that entirely reasonable goal. Today’s guest is organizer Judy Stadtman and the numbers are remarkable, in terms of inequity. Women doing the same jobs, with the sa…

Read More
A stylized text logo resembling 'Disney' with a playful font.
Podcast

The NSA’s program XKeyscore allows searches–with no prior authorization–through vast databases of emails and online chats and browsing histories of millions of Americans, giving analysts real time access to nearly everything a typical user does on th…

Read More
Rows of rifles displayed in a gun store with price tags.
Podcast

Today most of us in America feel a shrinking sense of community. Despite all our “stuff,” we feel isolated. Some of us are trying to address that sense of isolation and bring back a sense of community. On this show, guest is Jay Walljasper, editor o…

Read More
Historic red brick building amid modern skyscrapers with tourists gathered.
Podcast

There’s something happening here. The middle of the road, establishment members of congress of both parties only prevailed by seven votes over an amendment which would have curbed NSA abuses. That bill was supported by members of congress from both lef…

Read More
Book cover titled 'The Prophetic Lens' by Phil Allen Jr.
Podcast

Morfe than any other western nation, Americans believe we are powerless to make change. But it is not true. With a little creativity and strategy, well funded politically powerful interests can be taken down. Daniel Hunter is author of the new book: St…

Read More
Shirley Chisholm 1972 presidential campaign logo with 'Unbought Unbossed'.
Podcast

This show is about courageous dissenters and the price they pay.
On the first half, artist and author Rob Shetterly talks about what went into his portrait of truth-teller Edward Snowden, and what his book “Americans Who Tell The Truth” is all about.&n…

Read More
Logo of "Shining Monthly," a publication focusing on monthly content.
Podcast

The idea of economic aid and development is to win the hearts and minds of our enemies more effectively than through dependence on military solutions. It sounds good but the reality in Afghanistan is far different from the ideal. Today’s guest is journ…

Read More
Credit Brenda Navarro
Podcast

Are the world’s economic problems the result of an “excess of democracy?” Since the late 19th century, supra-national power elites have joined together to plan the world better than the unsophisticated masses ever could. Of course not everyone agrees w…

Read More
Front view of a classical courthouse with tall columns.
Podcast

If you live in NH, you’ve probably heard of Northern Pass. The huge  proposed project would carry a lot of electricity. But at what cost? Guests are Christophe Courchesne, Staff Attorney for the Conservation Law Foiundation and Jack Savage of the NH Forest Society. This is an issue which reflects the question of who has the power in the Granite State.
 

Read More