The Right gets it; where are Democrats? In his new book What it Took to Win, author and history professor  Michael Kazin looks at the last hundred or so years and says it’s clear what has and still works.  Whether

It’s basic to the very essence of America. On this show Constitutional Law Professor John O. McGinnis argues that commerce was the mother’s milk of the American Revolution and that the virtues of commerce and idealism need not conflict. Listen

As we head into the elections, both parties have made “the border crisis” THE issue. But humans have always moved. Our guest, John Washington whose new book is The Case for Open Borders, argues stopping immigration exacerbates crime. The negative

In the current American version of capitalism, all of us are “thingified:” our only value being as digits on the way to corporate profits. This reflects a core bias in the system toward serving the very richest. But it doesn’t

Reagan, Clinton, and Obama all boosted neoliberalism. But Biden is showing that he’s on a different track. Democrats in the 90s moved away from FDRs liberalism only to solidify Wall St’s hold on our economic life and political power. In

They used to be prosperous Black neighborhoods: less than 2 percent unemployment. But through connected processes over the last 75 years, government and banks worked together to create gentrification. Black people were intentionally left out of the capitalist system, frozen

The Republicans in power are set against themselves: on one hand there’s the revved up old Cold Warriors targeting China. On the other hand there’s the strength of the big business powers who see their futures tied to China. On

Our infrastructure is overloaded. It already can’t handle extreme weather and climate change is making it more frequent. We can’t keep sweeping it under the rug. On this show Steve Ellis, president of the watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense,

They decided the remedies of the 30s no longer fit the 90s. They talked about expanding opportunities not government. The economy was strong that decade and so they did not worry about inequality. In her new book: Left Behind, The

Yes, it’s that time of year again. Taxes. Working people have been subsidizing the rich for far too long. All polls show that support for finally taxing the richest is hugely popular. Of course the Republicans openly serve that top

In his new book, The Privatization of Everything, author Donald Cohen directly takes on the myths which have led to intense concentration of power a an wealth and offers ways to reassert what America’s founders had in mind. Despite the

They’re doing it again. Remember the Peace Dividend after Vietnam? Right, it never happened. Now with another war finally ended, here we are again. On this show, retired USAF Lieutenant Colonel William Astore says the amount of money shoveled to

With the pandemic throwing everything up in the air, there are new opportunities for us to shape the way it all lands. Going back to the old “normal” is not the only option. On this show Joe Ryle a leader

Grades 1 through 12 education may have been adequate to the 20th century. But not anymore. With emerging technology and a global economy, at least a two year community college degree is essential for America’s common good. On this show

The dehumanized Amazon warehouse as pictured in the movie Nomadland is more benign than reality. There is an “existential bleakness” where every instant is being watched, humans serve robots, and one can be fired by algorithm. In his powerful new

The European nations don’t need enemies like the US does. Since geography is destiny, they see a bizarre American President and have their own economic interests beyond dependence on weapons systems. On this show international journalist Patrick Lawrence describes what

How did we get in this mess in the first place? Will little tweaks allow America to effectively address climate change, racism, and the deadly pandemic? Author Northeastern University professor Jennie C. Stephens argues that there is a “polluter elite”

If the word conservative means anything, it means conserving and not wasting money. Especially public money. How long can politicians claim to be conservative when they studiously avoid looking at obvious waste? Billions, hundreds of billions, trillions. On the first

The public is way ahead of politicians on this. Frightened of looking “soft on defense,” elected members of both parties duck and cover when polls show wide support for giving a serious haircut to the wild and woolly lands of

The novel coronavirus is forcing us to see that the very economic structure of America itself is in ill health. We know more poor Americans are dying, they can’t work from home and stay safe. All of us depend on

Many, including Trump, reject science and embrace myth instead. But just as technological advance depends on knowledge gained through science, so the future of America relies on knowledge of our history. Until recently it has been tough times for History

Creeping centralization. Tax dollars are being used to prop up bigness. Well there may be an answer. While I’m on vacation, enjoy this 2009 show with author Paul Starobin whose article “Divided We Stand” appeared  in the Wall Street Journal.

The New Deal aspect of the Green New Deal often gets forgotten. The goal now as in the 1930s is to make the state the instrument of the popular will. Democratizing the economy, making it work for the common good,

If America’s founders saw where we are today,thy might have thought King George won the war. Instead of democratic control over the common good, a government of by and for the people, today it’s an 18th century style oligarchy. In

Well into the 21st century, everything has changed except our way of thinking, which remains rooted in 19th century values which unnecessarily hold us back. Millions of people hate their jobs and are relegated to living as passive consumers when

The middle fiddled and the right has risen. With the European Union elections fast approaching (May 23-26) the ascendancy of the racist right and the demise of the traditional mainstream left will be tested. On this show, Foreign Policy In

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

Liberal-initiated efforts to eliminate poverty have been top down for about 50 years. But to be successful, development can’t be done to them from on high; it has to be done by the people most affected. We shouldn’t have low

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

Economic despair in the face of unimaginable wealth? Scarcity in a reality of plenty? Is there now a  case for giving every American a share of a public wealth fund? In what ways might a universal basic income work to