Podcast
Disruption of Establishment Politics: The Meaning of Brexit
This changes everything. “Britons may have made a short term tactical mistake, but the true error is Europe’s” according to Patrick Lawrence, Salon’s foreign affairs columnist. He adds that Bernie Sanders got it right in saying, “Let’s be clear. the
Spatialized Blackness In Chicago
They sought a better life from the Jim Crow South and freedom, but what they found was something else. It may not be bricks and mortar prison, but black citizens have been intentionally limited to specific areas on the map
Turning Streets Into Art and Action
From the Dadaists through Abbie Hoffman to today, the art of transforming everyday life into theater, challenging and befuddling unjust authority, has unique power to make real change. The unique new book is Tactical Performance: The Theory and Practice of
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
Does the US Really Want War with Russia?
It’s not the fifties, the Cold War is over, yet neo-cons continue to push NATO expansion on Russia’s borders backing them into a wall. As Russia and Syria fight ISIS, American leaders like Hillary Clinton call for a No-Fly Zone
Whistle Blower: Beware
Since when is it a crime to report a crime? Before there was Edward Snowden there was Thomas Drake. You never heard of him, but he is a former high-up NSA official who saw abuses against the fourth amendment and
No Space For Black Girls To Heal
Girls of color make up 16% of female high school students, yet they make up more than a third of all girls with a school-related arrest. They are systematically pushed out of the education system, and that helps no one.
The North and Southern Values Both Won
Of course the North beat the South but Southern Values also won. Northern collusion with slavery, annexing Cuba, the 1% vs the 99%, and the wisdom of Phineas T. Barnum are all entertainingly discussed in Ecstatic Nation: Confidence Crisis and
An Ethical Toolkit for Educators: It Matters to Us All
Our founders knew how essential education is to have a functioning democracy. Teachers today face challenges more than one might imagine: balancing community demands with needs of individual students. In their new book, Dilemmas of Educational Ethics, authors Meira Levinson
The Coming Democratic Crack Up
Are we watching a train wreck in progress? Journalist Robert Parry, who broke many of the Iran-Contra stories, offers his insight into how the 2016 Democratic Party may have ignored important lessons from the 1968 crack up. There will be
The War Left Out of Your History Books
Adam Hochschild has written best selling books about a Belgian King’s holocaust in the Congo and another about the brave British women who fought against the insanity of the first world war. His new book is Spain in Our Hearts:
Nuit Debout: Say What?//Clinton Erodes Habeas Corpus
Hundreds of thousands of people in France and elsewhere in Europe gather nightly. It is huge, but you probably have never heard of it. The blackout has been intentional. It’s more than a protest, it’s a serious movement. As Sorbonne
Democracy Endangered in Israel
And not just for Palestinians. With the ascent of the nationalistic right, even Jewish Israelis are feeling the sting of government assaults on democracy. Allan Brownfeld, editor of the magazine of The American Council for Judaism, explains how democracy is
New Democrats Their Own Worst Enemy
To research for his new book, Thomas Frank specifically went to pro-Bill Clinton sources. Yet what he found left a profoundly negative impression of his presidency and what it did to the Democratic Party. Author of 2004’s What’s The Matter
Republican Senate Candidate Takes On Establishment
It’s the year of the anti-establishment candidates: in both parties. Jim Rubens is certainly the underdog against incumbent Kelly Ayotte, a Washington favorite. While Rubens is no liberal, he does take on issues such as the power of money in
Philanthrocapitalism: Charity as a False Front
Q: When is a donation not a donation? A: When it’s an investment. It is a rare super wealthy philanthropist who gives without need of great public recognition? From feudal times, it has been in the interests of the baronial
Teens as Adults?//Cholera Cover-Up!
A teenager kills another with his knife and is tried and sentenced as an adult. Is this the best we can do? Is justice served? In her new book: Boy with a Knife, activist, author and professor Jean Trounstine explores
How Did We Get To Be Incarceration Nation?
American exceptionalism is a reality in terms of locking up almost 5 times as many citizens as all other advanced industrialized democracies. Over the last 40 years, the incarceration rate has skyrocketed by nearly 400 percent. How did we get
Making Saudis Share the Neighborhood
They’ve been the big boys ruling their neighborhood for half a century. They really don’t want to give it up, but with their war in Yemen hurting their standing (and America’s) and the dropping price of oil, they are being
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
The Civil War: An Unnecessary Failure?
America Aflame is a major new interpretation of the civil war era. In this interview with author David Goldfield, light is shed into important dark corners, such as the tragic role played by evangelicalsm on both sides, why a post-war
The Supreme Court Guarantees Economic Unfairness
It’s not just the rapacious, perhaps truly pathological greed of the super rich. The Supreme Court has actively participated in the devastation of the formerly-large middle class. According to law professor Michel Gilman, the US Supreme Court has taken a
Exonerate Ethel: Save Our Democracy
“Our mother was not a spy, and her execution was wrongful… The government cannot return our mother to her loving family. But it can admit this miscarriage of justice…exonerate our mother” These words from guest on this show Robert Meeropol
Trump Obssession Misses the Real Race
Politics is theater and yet the mainstream media is missing the real drama. It’s not on the Republican side: the genuinely close race is for the Democratic nomination. On this podcast, Robert Borosage, founder and president of Institute for America’s
How Our Military Weakens American Security
Gregory Foster is a decorated Vietnam vet who teaches at National Defense University. He is dedicated to an efficient and effective defense of our country and argues what we most need to achieve that end is a demilitarization of the
Obama in Cuba and Argentina: How Much of a Change//The Anti-AIPAC March and Rally
How significant a change in policy toward Latin America does Obama’s trip to Havana mean? As Mark Weisbrot, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy research explains, while the opening to Cuba is beneficial, it seems the American tradition
The Future of Work: We Can Make It better
Between 1945 and the Reagan era, Americans understood that work benefited all and when productivity when up, all stakeholders shared in the rewards. Of course that all changed. But in his new book “Shaping the Future of Work: What Future
Is Obama a Black Leader?
He’s a mirror of our culture, the question is: will America look in the mirror? Guest on this show is Erin Aubry Kaplan, author of the new book “I (heart) Obama,” and a long time writer about the black experience
Pink Flower Beats USA//Integrating Immigrants
How did a pink flower beat the world’s only superpower? After 15 years, 2200 Americans dead, more than a trillion dollars The US has not been able to pacify one of the worlds poorest nations. One of the worlds leading
Brexit=More Democracy for Europe?
http://media.blubrry.com/keeping_democracy_alive/dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/48358971/Brexit.mp3The European Union was supposed to mean a continent of nations united by democratic ideals. Instead power and decision making has become more concentrated and centralized. First it was Greece, then Spain threatening to pull out of the EU, now