Podcast
What A Defiant and Bold Democratic Party Looks Like
Even in a minority, fighting back carries a number of positives. On issues that matter to average Americans, Democrats have been pushed off course. Some thought the way to attract independents was timidity. As our guest Eleanor Eagan of the
Supreme Court: The Power to Obstruct Democracy
The framers of our Constitution intended the judicial system to be the “least dangerous branch” of government. They did not foresee today’s powerful national parties having the ability to short circuit democracy. As we see in action now, on this
Trump Floods the Mid-East with US Weapons
It’s all about bragging. Trump said his “deal” between the UAE and Israel would create a half million new jobs. The true number is less than a tenth of that. On this show Pentagon arms expert William Hartung explains how
Europe Going Its Own Way: Good for America Too?
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
Voting in Indian Country, A View from the Trenches
We know about voter suppression against African Americans but what about Indigenous Americans, Indians? The effort to disenfranchise the 2% of the national population is not a secret, yet nearly unknown. On this show author Jean Schroedel shares disturbing findings
Trump: Mobster in Chief
The often successful tactics and techniques of America’s crime syndicate have not gone unnoticed by Trump and his gangs. In his new article: “The Mobster in Chief: Will the November Election be Decided in the Streets?” returning guest John Feffer
Restoring Democracy: It’s a Tough But Do-Able Fight
The right wing Republicans outsmarted Democrats. Starting in 2008, they understood the path to grabbing and holding power goes through state legislatures. They could see that their white older male base is eroding and that they don’t need to compete
How Trump’s “Patriotic Education” is Anti-American
He called our current history education in our schools “a form of child abuse.” Teaching critical thinking and the real history of America would be shut down in Trump’s “Patriotic Education.” The popular 1619 Project and Zinn’s Education Project which
Can Democrats Address What Fuels Angry Populism?
Populism is a legitimate form of anger at perceived elites dismissing everyday people. There are indeed real reasons for today’s populist anger. On this show Rutgers Law School professor Dennis M.Patterson explains why we need to take populism seriously. It
Could the Military Save Us From Civil War?
In normal times, it’s the the military making war elsewhere in the world, allegedly to protect our peace at home. But with armed white gangs afraid their dominance of America may be slipping away, and with a president egging them
Anti-Racist Feminism Key To Covid, Environmental Solutions
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”
Women Lead March to Health Coverage
Significant historic change it seems is often led by women. The movement for universal health care is not exception. Women telling their stories, leading from where they are is the key ingredient. In her new book Marching Toward Coverage, author
Trump and Netanyahu’s “Peace Deal”
The president calls it a “previously unthinkable regional transformation.” But perhaps it both solidifies the power of medieval monarchies masquerading as modern states, as it ramps up sales of US weapons systems to them. Retired US Army Major Danny Sjursen
A New CCC to Save the Planet?
FDR’s Civilian Conservation Corps achieved remarkable success in so many areas: Creating meaningful work for young men in a time of mass unemployment, planting forests, conserving our natural resources. It ended with the start of World War II. Perhaps now
Unsafe to Protest? Realities Behind the Portland Picture
We’ve seen it on the nightly news: the police, the tear gas, the fires, and the wall of moms. Our guest today, David Rovics is there in Portland Oregon and he explains that the city’s police protected the far right
The Pandemic is Boosting Unions in the South
The standard picture we northerners have of The South may no longer be accurate. Average working people are starting to see that the anti-union governments there are really just serving the rich. The long-thought-dormant left populist tradition of people like
Racism in the Women’s Suffrage Movement
There’s a brand new Central Park monument of feminist leaders Stanton, Anthony, and Sojourner Truth. It was a hundred years ago that the 19th Amendment became law: women won the right to vote. But what kind of compromises did the
Why is Sexual Freedom So Frightening?
The nuclear family, white hetero male dominance and control is not the only way it can be. Why can we can have firearms freedom but not sexual freedom? On this show, Janet Jakobsen professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
The Attack on Democracy: What’s Behind Trumpism
As Trump kicks off his fall campaign, and we wonder who is behind it, who benefits from destroying our republic, here is the story. The religious nationalists see him as a fierce leader. They believe God sends such kings to
Armed Poll Watchers: To Protect or Intimidate?
Blurring the lines between law enforcement and vigilantism, why are off duty police at the polling stations mainly in black and brown neighborhoods? New Jersey in 1981 is a case study in what has happened and most likely will happen
Black and Indian, Kamala Harris: A New Mandate?
She is exactly what Trumpists hate: a strong woman who is both black and Indian. Both groups were the subjects of white male dominance and control. American slavery and British rule over India both had their peak at the same
Crowds Win in Waves Over Time
Many of us were taught to be wary of “mob psychology.” But according to history professor Peter Stearns who has studied the effects of crowds on political change, emotion is not necessarily in conflict with rationality. The protests of the
“Homeland Security:” Ideal Authoritarian Tool
Other countries, like those we defeated, use the paramilitary domestically, not America. Or so it was before the Department of Homeland Security was transformed into the ideal authoritarian tool. Former CIA analyst and professor of government at Johns Hopkins University
What If Trump Loses? A Future for the Republican Party?
Donald Trump IS the Republican Party of 2020. So what of the future of the party; is there one? According to David Smith, Washington Bureau chief for The Guardian, some party members quietly hope for a Democratic landslide so they
The Jewish Tradition of Anti-Zionism
How is it that Jewish liberals felt the State of Israel was exempt from criticism applied elsewhere? Our guest today Benjamin Balthaser, who teaches multi-ethnic literature at Indiana University, talks about a little known history: Most liberal and left Jewish
Lessons from Portland: Notice What Our Power Is
Trump’s experiment failed. His TV ads trying to gin up fear of protesters backfired. According to George Lakey, long time activist, retired Swarthmore professor, and author of many books, the center is now even more likely to defend against invasions
Covid 19 and Authoritarianism
The Covid 19 crisis is being used to bolster authoritarianism around the world: Trump, Orban, Bolsonaro, the list goes on. John Feffer, director of Foreign Policy in Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies explains how the coronavirus is being
Joe McCarthy: Prelude to Trumpism
As John Kerry said: “To understand Donald Trump, you have to understand Joe McCarthy first.” Though his name is only mentioned at the start and end of his new book, Larry Tye says Trump is there on every page of
Defund Police? How Dangerous is That?!
Chaos and anarchy engulfing America. Won’t that be the result of “defunding the police?” A Trump ad (audio included herein) gins up that fear. But using war-fighting methods and equipment demonstrably feeds and exacerbates violence. Fighting crime after the fact
“Prison Reform” We Can Do Lots Better. Now.
The current system clearly tends to worsen already bad situations. Forcing people to see who they are as “bad,” not just they they did bad things. Did you ever think about how we came up with the prison system in