Energy
Nuclear Rebranding as “Green?” Mere Window Dressing.
After decades in a coma, the nuclear industry is back. But the truth is nuclear power is not an acceptable stopgap measure, it’s a diversion from real, actually economic, safer solutions. On this show policy analyst Paul Gunter tells the
Green? Not Hardly: Nuclear Power is Racist, Sexist, and Ageist.
The comfort of colonial powers relied on them not seeing the damage to exploited nations. So it is with mining and milling the uranium for nuclear power. Victims then as now are people without power, indigenous populations which are health
The High Price of American Exceptionalism on the Earth
Do you buy into American Exceptionalism? Politicians of both parties do. But what does it mean to the planet? On this show professor Aviva Chomsky sheds light on the aspects of exceptionalism we don’t want to see. Technical tweaks alone
After 50 years, A Tipping Point for the Defeat of Fossil Fuels?
What we’ve been saying all the years has come true. The easy oil days are over. Banks are always leery of making bad investments, and heavy footprint fossil fuel interests also frighten the insurance industry. Oil is just not profitable
A New Deal That’s Also Green
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,
Climate Change Serves Oil and the Pentagon
Melting polar ice caps is great for the rapacious oil and gas industry. Trump denying climate change and wanting to buy Greenland is actually part of the logic of what drives our military policy. Our guest on this show journalist
Liberal Justin Trudeau: In the Pocket of Big Oil?
How many of us have looked longingly at our neighbor to the north with it’s sane liberal government? Justin Trudeau promised a fresh approach to politics based on openness, decency, and liberalism. Now corruption scandals swirl about him and his
States Crack Down On Dissent
Much of the national agenda is enacted at the state level. The popular protests of The Dakota Access Pipeline scared the crap out of oil companies and they are using something called ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council) to draft cookie-cutter
Our Closest Allies Hurt Most By New Anti-Russia Sanctions
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
GOP Carbon Tax: A Hedge Against Risk
Never motivated by serving the common good, powerful old-school Republican leaders such as James Baker, George Schultz, and Henry Paulson have put forward a proposal for a carbon emissions tax to fight climate change. You ask: why would they do
Nuclear Power: Safe and Green?
With the mainstream finally focusing on reducing carbon emissions, the highly capitalized nuclear industry is once again trying for a rebirth. This time as a carbon-free answer to help reduce climate change. But according to guest veteran investigative reporter Karl
Tillerson Portends Great Instability: Environment and Between Nations
Is America merely a conduit for corporate wealth? Is the earth merely for exploiting without care? Trump’s designate to be secretary of state, Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson is all that an more. Though the job of SoS is about
The Invisible People Halt Big Black Snake
Indigenous Americans for over 300 years have been treated as invisible; treaties and promises routinely ignored. Mainstream media ignored it as long as they could for fear of upsetting advertisers but pressure kept building and, surprise: the water protectors put
“Humanitarian Intervention:” A New Cover Story
It just sounds so bad: wars for domination. The new and improved justification is “humanitarian intervention” or Responsibility to Protect (R2P). It’s prime advocate is US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power, likely to get a prime spot in a
A Tough Vote Forward
With Trump as president, it would be a major effort to just move back to the center. With Hillary Clinton, and sustained pressure from progressives, forward motion is possible, if difficult. This is for progressives thinking about the election. Michael
Pity the Poor Petro Nations//Fixing Medicare
They used to be on top of the world. Remember the mighty OPEC countries? With the fall of the price of oil, countries like Saudi Arabia, Russia, and Venezuela are reeling. Professor Michael Klare looks at the nightmares unfolding and
The Panama Papers: Big Silver Lining
Tremendous wealth is being sheltered from taxation. The rules for the rest of us apparently don’t apply to the super rich of the world. But think about how that now-hidden wealth might help millions throughout the world. This is the
Money, weapons, silence: US and Saudis vs Iran
On January 2, 2016, our great ally, the Saudi government, cut the heads off 47 prisoners, including the revered Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr. Shiite Iran was none too pleased. Tensions between them are at an all time high. Guest on
Why Rich Arab States Won’t Fight Our War Against ISIS
All the presidential contenders and all of Washington’s top brains repeatedly call for the wealthy Arab states to lead the war on ISIS. Why aren’t they doing it? Former State Department whistle-blower Peter Van Buren explains why.
A War The West Can’t Win/Ending TV Ads for Drugs
On the first half, international relations and military history professor Andrew Bacevich on why western belligerence can not be successful against ISIS, and suggests what can work. And on part two, there is a move to once again prohibit those
Kissinger’s Shadow: Lives and Democracy Itself Destroyed?
Perpetual war is now widely accepted. Henry Kissinger’s unique apparently amoral approach to assertion of his and America’s power still casts a shadow on America, both domestically and across the world. This new book: Kissinger’s Shadow, The Long Reach of
Turkey and ISIS, Syria and Russia Explained
A hundred were killed in a peaceful rally in Ankara: who did it and why? It seems to have been ISIS, which our ally, the Erdogan government of Turkey, is actually helping. meanwhile our enemy, Putin’s Russia is helping to
Railroaded: How We Got To Modern Corporate America
The Tea Party these days looks with fondness to the 19th century as a time of rugged individualism and unemcumbered free markets. As with so many mythic images, reality is exceedingly different. Like corporate personhood? Thank the railroads. Ever notice
Stability Coming to Syria and Iraq
Despite the fact that the US inadvertently created ISIS and is still arming the wrong people, and despite the fact that the US and Russia seem to be on opposite sides, Ambassador Peter Galbraith argues the region is on a
The Real Troublemaker in the Middle East: Saudi Arabia
Republican presidential wannabes fall over themselves to see who can hate Iran the most. And of course, ISIS is despicable. Yet with all their state run beheadings and human rights abuses, somehow Saudi Arabia remains America’s best Arab ally. Guest
Economic Democracy: Working In Cincinnati
We’ve all seen the results of economics imposed from the top down. Sometimes it works well, other times we’ve seen communities devastated as a result of this process. But in Cincinnati, there’s an idea taken largely from success in the
Populism: Stronger Than Parties
On one hand, the turnout in last November’s elections was pitiful. On the other, there are huge numbers of a massive yet largely untapped political energy. Unfortunately, the only organized political reach-out to these justifiably angry citizens so far has