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

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:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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 

Watch TV and see the roles we’re all supposed to play. Since 2015, marriage equality has been the law of the land but the characters portrayed on TV shows actually serve as law enforcement, limiting freedom in a very real

There’s a basic and universal human need to feel like we belong. In this ever more isolating world of sharply divided news media and working alone, the opportunities to make connections are reduced. So in this need for tribal belonging,

All too often in recent decades social, cultural, and political movements have worked in isolation from one another. But there’s so much to learn so none has to reinvent the wheel. Among the more successful movements has been that of

Change only comes after enough innocent blood soaks into America’s soil. Is it enough now? Forty eight years ago, the war came home. From the Kent State Massacre, college students learned they were not safe exercising their first amendment rights.

The pervasive myth of kids just needing “grit” and lifting themselves up by their own bootstraps is false and is doing real harm.Our guest today Linda Nathan spent fourteen years as founder and co-headmaster of Boston Arts Academy, Boston’s only

Resistance is great but it’s not enough. Since 1971, there has been a very effective anti-democracy movement aimed at replacing it with plutocracy. Trump is but a symptom of this problem so solutions have to be much more than merely

It used to be that everyone in the Midwest knew “FDR is for people like us” and they voted solid Democrat. Not any more. On Part One, conventional wisdom is that Democrats will most likely make gains in congress in

Talk about great mysteries: what do you think of when you hear the name Cuba? Cigar chomping communist dictator? People yearning to breathe free and live like Americans? We get one small picture here while the rest of the world

“Just following orders” is no defense. In a democracy we assume that individuals in society will take personal responsibility and disobey immoral commands. But as many experiments have shown, people rarely question orders from authorities. Our guest on this show