The union was “pinned together with bayonets.” In his new book The Long Road to Antietam, How the Civil War Became a Revolution, Professor Richard Slotkin traces the battle of egos between President Lincoln and his General George McClellan and

What is a nation? Richard Spencer’s “alt-right” looks to Zionism as a model for an exclusionary Aryan homeland in America. The white supremacist says he “turns to Israel for guidance.” Jewish Americans have a long history of inclusiveness. What is

Few moments in history can be seen as pivotal. The anti-war movement took such a turn on October 21, 1967 when at least 100,00 Americans took their protests directly to the war making hub: the Pentagon. What did it mean,

Since when do the people who actually live in a region get to participate in deciding its future? The British always knew best. People in India and all their colonies were not ready yet to govern themselves. And besides England

When big easy money is involved, it’s hard to push back. But that’s exactly what Democrats must do to win future elections. Robert Borosage talks about his current article “Wall Street Has Some Advice for the Democratic party…And Democrats Need

What works to shore up America’s strength in the world: pure military domination or using a Roosevelt idea: The Four Freedoms, including freedom from want? In this 2012 discussion with Roosevelt Institute Senior Fellow David Woolner, then-candidates Obama and Romney

Both parties in recent decades have bought into the idea that letting private business needs dictate the direction of public schools will help education. According to Noliwe Rooks, director of American Studies at Cornell University, de facto segregation in public

A group of families of  Americans killed in Iraq have filed a lawsuit against many big pharmaceutical companies who allegedly paid bribes to Mahdi forces who killed family members. USA Today correspondent Aamer Madhani investigated and reports  that the Iraqi

It’s true. Former chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell, Army Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson explains that our tax dollars are giving a big boost to our enemies Al Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula. While the news media focuses

Italian writer Ennio Flaianon says “Fascists are divided into two categories: the fascists and the anti-fascists.” Both are gangs focused on violence. The American “antifa” actually beat up those they identify as fascists. And according to our guest Diana Johnstone,

One part one, we look at what is being done to address young people’s addiction in new ways. The old law enforcement focus has failed. And on the second half, we delve into the tense situation in Spain. Sebastiaan Faber,

It’s those others. Not good Americans who dissent. At least that’s what Presidents Johnson, Nixon, and Ford thought when their administrations unleashed many agencies to spy at will on us. On this show, Dr. William Burr, Senior Analyst with the

The Madrid government is pulling out the stops to crush a referendum on independence for Catalonia, now a region of Spain. The national police have ripped down posters, detained over 700 mayors, shut down printing presses, attacked the website of

It’s what our guest, Vietnam historian Jerry Lembcke argues is a false balancing, leaving things where they were before we started watching it. America’s war in Vietnam was not as Ken Burns claims: begun in good faith by decent people.

“Based on everything, it appears Democrats will most likely make gains in congress in 2018.” Do you think most likely is good enough? Being risk-averse weakens our chances. Author of The Great Divide: Story of the 2016 US Presidential Race

Follow the money. We’ve heard this so often and it remains the best way to discover the source of social problems. Too often, we blame the victims, the people who through no fault of their own, become addicted to pain

Fire and fury. Crazy Kim Jong Un. Crazy Trump. Mutual threats of mass destruction. Is there a way out? Of course. Korea scholar Tim Shorrock writes in The Nation that not only did Obama make the situation worse, but that

On April 19, 1995 Tim McVeigh and Terry Nichols killed Bud Welch’s 23 year old daughter Julie and 167 others in that infamous bombing. At first he wanted revenge, then he actually met with McVeigh’s father. Welch calls him the

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 this decline, what must we learn, and what about America may survive

Their mission is to help the developing world but Bruce Rich, author of the new book Foreclosing the Future reveals they may still be profiting but the World Bank is continuing to worsen poverty and the environment. And on part

All the focus seems to be on the Trump presidency, meanwhile the vast majority of  governors in the 50 states are Republican. States have been called the laboratories of democracy. Here’s where we can make a big difference, not just

While the left has had very few actual electoral victories, author Michael Kazin argues it has very effectively changed the nation. The author of “A Godly Hero: William Jennings Bryan,” talks about his book “American Dreamers.” What’s gone right and

Careers of good people have been destroyed in the pursuit of political gain. It goes on today but got its real start by the very smart ambitious Congressman Richard Nixon nearly seventy years ago. In her new book Alger Hiss:

Now and in the future, if certain opinions are not popular with the government in power, they can be prosecuted. Under the current bill S 720, which actually has Democratic sponsors, if a person even inquires about which companies may

Author of the acclaimed “What’s The Matter with Kansas?” Thomas C Frank discusses the outlook for Democrats in 2018. he says that clearly some in the elite would rather lose than change. On one hand he points out that establishment

In the long held American tradition of opposition to colonialism and a government serving the common good, FDR’s vice president Henry A Wallace was an outstanding visionary. Then a corrupt political machine performed a bloodless coup at the 1944 Democratic

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

We all know the impact Fox News has had on politics and government. Now comes Sinclair with its alt-right slant and their clever way to your local TV without becoming a network. Media analyst John Kosinski sheds light into their

And you thought the first NAFTA was bad. Trump’s new version puts the globalist corporations squarely in the drivers seat, never mind local or state laws. Food labeling? Forget about it. The crucial work that bees perform? Again forget about

No side won, America lost. The so-called civil war (a civil war is a fight to take over the government; this was not) was America’s biggest failure, started by radical evangelicals on both sides. Lincoln was not the president of