Culture
Workplaces: More Danger Than Terrorist Attacks
One of the things Trump has finally accomplished for the economy is shedding needless regulations which hold back business. Or at least that what many believe. Of course it’s not true. Health and Safety regulations build economic strength, according to
The Decline of American Power: What’s Next?
Announced with boundless optimism in 1941, “the American Century” is nearing its end. Since WWII, America has taken over from Britain as the leading empire. So what caused our decline, what must we learn, and what about America may survive
New Orleans at 300: Cultural Spectacle Vs. Ruling Racism
It’s African and Catholic. Caribbean and European. Our guest Jason Berry’s new book is called City of a Million Dreams: A History of New Orleans at Year 300. And talk about colorful. For cultural identity, Allen Toussaint clashes with Robert
Angela Davis: Rising Star Again
After nearly 50 years, she’s back in the news, and she keeps on pushing. Angela Davis gained fame/notoriety as the Afro-coiffed California professor/activist speciously charged with helping Jonathan Jackson trying to free his brother George, author of Soledad Brother, from
Great American Populism for 2020 Wins
What is “populism?” It sure is not Donald Trump. Our guest today former Oklahoma Senator and chair of the DNC, Fred Harris, who ran for president in 1976, says of the media “to call Trump populist is complicity in a
From History Vantage Point: When Did the GOP Move to the Dark Side?
This is not your father’s Republican Party. Conservatism has been left behind, replaced by the politics of cruelty. The common good is no longer a concern; Trumpism has openly enshrined greed, and the old checks and balances of democracy as
How Trumpism Liberates Americans from Complex Realities
It’s a uniquely powerful new tool: undermining peoples psychological ability to know and accept reality. In his new book: State of Confusion; Political Manipulation and the Assault on the American Mind, nationally renowned clinical psychologist and author Bryant Welch answers
Time to Move Democracy From the 18th Into 21st Century
Democracy in 18th century America worked fairly easily. Nearly 250 years later, we are the least democratic of all the world’s republics. Right, left, or independent: nearly all Americans feel frustrated that the ability for average citizens to have power
France’s Yellow Vest Movement Explained
Neither the traditional French Socialist Party nor the right wing National Front, the yellow vest movement sweeping across France is something new, leaving the political powers including President Macron befuddled. With about 70% public support, the people on the streets
Democrats Took The Wrong Lessons From McGovern ’72
Conventional Democratic Party wisdom is that McGovern lost to Nixon because he was too liberal, and as a result of that belief, ever since that loss party insiders have trended steadily to the right. But if today’s measuring tools had
Populism Ain’t What It Used To Be
At its birth, American populism was about economic fairness: The average citizen demanding power over his or her own life against the un-American economic royalist political influence of the rich and powerful. But that was then. Populism today is cultural:
Ensuring Poverty: Welfare Reform in Feminist Perspective
When myths inform legislation, harm often results. So much of today’s welfare reform, based on myth, works to keep people in poverty. It’s been created from a top-down, men-dominant model and it brings not dignity but despair. In her new
Midterms Reveal Dangerous Regional Divides
America was not created as one nation. There were, and still are, eleven distinct nations in North America. The recent midterm elections show that we remain more and more like a set of different nations divided by geography. To gain
The Death of Democracy: The Weimar Republic. And America?
Antiglobalism. The little guy not feeling heard. City sophisticates and their culture mistrusted by country people. A pretend anti-elite which actually caters to the powerful elites. Intense hatred of the press. Big business targeting the regulatory system. An out of
Redlining: Government Policy Makes Racism and Poverty Worse
It may not be as blatant as cross-burning but redlining is racism. Federal lending rules encourage banks to discriminate against mortgages for black people moving into white neighborhoods. While it was technically made against the law with the Fair Housing
Decolonizing And Democratizing Philanthropy
It’s been said that “the tools that built the master’s house will never dismantle the master’s house.” Philanthropy today reaffirms the culture of colonialism: white saviors, white experts. Recipients are at-effect rather than at-cause of the well-meaning aid. In his
Grading for Equity: Teaching Humans, Not Rats
America’s public education still relies on grading practices geared to the industrial revolution of the early 1900s. This antiquated system undermines effective teaching and learning and inadvertently filters students based on privileges. In his new book Grading for Equity: What
The Triumph of Frat Boys//Why Trump’s Lies Are Believed
On part one, veteran sports writer Robert Lipsyte shares his valuable and unique insights into the Kavanaugh/Trump “frat boys win” dynamic. The power of the pack: it’s there on sports teams, gangs, and nationalism. And on part two, writer Teri
Beating Stress and Anxiety in the Time of Trump
You are hardly alone. Millions of Americans have been going though PESD since November 2016: Post Election Stress Disorder. It’s been a banner business time for psychotherapists. Some wake up with what they call a morning fright. Others have found
New Americans Energizing Democracy, Running for Office, Winning
No matter how hard the Trump Administration tries to keep America ruled by moneyed white men, new Americans are successfully invigorating the democratic process. Often more dedicated to America’s principles than those of us who were born here and take
America’s Long Aversion to Truth
It did not begin with Trump. How have we gotten to this place where truth and lies are interchangeable? There are a lot of factors not the least of which is the clutter and chaos of the internet, where anything
High School Kids Leading Us All, Not Waiting to “Grow Up”
Remember your not-so-great high school days? Remember wanting to be respected while being consistently treated as less-than? According to author Eric David Dawson, “the system is set up to be destructive of everybody.” His new book, Putting Peace First: Seven
Bacevich: Our Fixation with Trump is Actually a Distraction
“Critics see Trump as an abomination, but he is also one of us.” So says Andrew Bacevich scholar and author of the forthcoming book “Twilight of the American Century.” He explains in this podcast that Trump is one of a
The Prison Strike: You’re Not Supposed to Know About It
America’s prisons are where we warehouse and punish bad people. But how much injustice behind the walls and razor wire is acceptable? Is using inmates as slaves OK? Is it a good idea to maintain a system that reinforces people’s
Freedom As Tested By 1968
What is freedom? Coming from a context of widespread economic security, young people across the US and Europe in 1968 drove older generations crazy with the insistence that there was more. More than the grey flanneled conformity in which we
One Nation Indivisible? No. Eleven Distinct Nations.
With all the current discussion about ever-more inflamed divides in the currently united States, more people are wondering if we really are one nation after all. It’s not just blue vs red, North vs South. There’s us here in Yankeedom.
50,000 Kids Behind Bars// “Infest” and “Civility:” The Danger Lurking
America is shocked at the sight of 2500 migrant kids in cages. But behind high walls are over 50,000 American kids.This is invisible for a reason. According to Professor Cara Drinan, expert on juvenile sentencing and criminal justice reform, if
Left and Right Against Dumb Wars//Indian Kids Taken for Decades
Donald Trump won a lot of support from conservative Americans who agreed our endless wars are nothing but a big waste. Of course he flipped positions since then but renowned professor Andrew Bacevich observes that there is still anger at
Erasing Net Neutrality, Crushing American Freedom
The effects of net neutrality have been like the founding fathers dream: a truly free media open to all points of view, where even the smallest voice can reach millions. It’s logical then that the big internet service providers and
Meanness and Hatred Can’t Be Blamed on Trump: It’s Always Been There
It may be out in the open now, and it is disconcerting to see and feel the blatant racism and hatred across America now. But maybe the ugly spirit of white supremacy may have been hidden from white people before