On the first half Dan Quinn of the Texas Freedom Network explains how all American textbooks will be affected by the incredibly ultra-right wing new standards for social studies books. On the second half, Burt’s guest is Robert Creamer, a major player …

Republicans down. But are they out? The passage of health care reform dramatically changes the narrative for November 2010 and maybe beyond. Burt’s guest was to be Robert Creamer, author of “Stand Up Straight; How Progressives Can Win,” a key player in…

We all remeber defeating the evils of apartheid in South Africa with pressure from throughout the world. Some say apartheid is now the reality in Israel, others disagree. Judy Rebick is a professor at Ryerson University in Toronto and on this show talk…

On March 9th, hundreds protested silently as others paid $1000 a plate to support the Israeli Defense Forces. Led by Jews Say No, they are questioning the US unconditional support for the State of Israel in the wake of the assault on Gaza and continued…

Is the Tea Party a dangerous  bunch of gun-toting racists? Do they present a serious threat of radical right wing violence? Should they be considered a hate group? The guest today is Mark Potok, author of a new report by the watchdog group the Sou…

Hope and change. America certainly expected a new more practical approach to or potential trading partners in Central and South America. But in this interview, Mark Weissbrot co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, in Washington, D….

We have Teddy Roosevelt to thank for Japan attacking Pearl Harbor, according to James Bradley, acclaimed author of Flags of Our Fathers and Flyboys. On this Burt Cohen Show, they discuss  Bradley’s new book, The Imperial Cruise, which is all about…

A revival of nuclear power lurks just ahead, and President Obama seems to be the number one advocate. On the first half of this show, Burt talks with Dan Weiss of the Center for American Progress about the economic effects of a $54 billion nuclear subs…

The political right has always been afraid of the power of Hollywood. Thus the Hollywood 10 and other attempts to quash left-message films. But combining art and politics is a tricky business. On this show, Burt discusses the newly announced Progies: t…

On this show, Burt speaks with one of America’s top economists about deficit spending and what must be done to restore long term economic stability. Despite the strutting “deficit peacocks,” Galbraith points out the real history of the usefulness of de…

From the bottom up. That’s the approach taken by Transition Towns; how to bring people together in hard hit towns and effectivley revitalize them. Burt’s guest today, Tina Clarke, talks about communities coming together, listening to one another, shair…

What the heck is going on with Yemen? Suddenly America seems quite interested in the few Al Qaeda operatives and Burt’s guest today, Conn Hallinan, of Foreign Policy in Focus, sheds a lot of light on the complex realities behind the snapshot image you …

Cracking down on undocumented immigrants may be a priority of the hard right, but Burt’s guest today, Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum insists comprehensive reform, now working its way through congress, can be of signif…

Today’s guest is author Michael Lind, policy director of the New America Foundation, who argues that Franklin Roosevelt’s 1944 State of the Union speech ranks right up there with King’s ” I Have a Dream” speech and Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. He call…

A national organization of 17,000 physicians are urging defeat of the Senate version. Burt’s guest on this show is Dr. Thomas Clairmont of PNHP who argues the current bill is worse than doing nothing.

In the greatest recession since the Great Depression, it seems much of FDR’s New Deal is applicable once again. On this Portside, Burt’s guest is Steven Herzenberg, executive director of the Keystone Research Center. How much of the New Deal is applica…

It’s quite different from the old Parti Quebecois. At a recent convention a new left-leaning independent Quebec begins to emerge. Burt’s guest is Richard Fidler who reported on the well-attended gathering. There may be much for us who live south of the…

Cash for clunkers worked well, helping people get more fuel efficient cars. Now there’s an idea called Cash for Caulkers, a new program to create jobs retrofitting homes and businesses, addressing global warming and helping to break our oil addiction. …

It’s been a decade after the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act, the Depression-era safeguard that prohibited the commingling of commercial and investment banks. This repeal gave rise to all-in-one financial behemoths like Citi, ushered in the too-big-to…

Many Americans are angry at bigness and frustrated with their own sense of powerlessness. it would be logical for these sentiments to support progressive populism, but instead the hard right seems to own it. On this edition of Portside, Burt talks with…

The international community refused to recognize the coup of June 28th, which ousted the elected president of Honduras. On November 29th an election was held, but most nations do not recognize it as legitimate. On this Portside, Burt Cohen gets the low…

In the first half, Burt speaks with Mike Madden, Washington correspondent for Salon, about his observations of the mood at the recent meeting of the Republican Governors Association. In part two, Burt speaks with political consultant Robert Creamer who…

National security: What are our tax dollars buying? Are we really securing our nation? What about jobs for Americans? On this Portside, Burt talks with Heidi Garrett-Peltier, co-author of a new report on US employment effects of military and domestic p…

As part of the House-passed health care reform bill, an amendment was added which many say is the most serious erosion of reproductive rights since the Hyde Amendment back in 1976. On this Portside, Burt Cohen looks at what it really means for women, w…

If military victory in Afghanistan is impossible, what strategy might work in our favor there? Burt’s guest Ralph Lopez, director of the Afghan Marshall Plan Exit Strategy describes what he thinks will work and what’s being done to make it reality.

 So-called fiscal conservatives worry about the deficit. But on this Portside, Evan Pollack of the Economic Policy Institute argues deficit spending is exactly what our economy needs, for both short and long term recovery. And it can’t be nic…

All political analysts recognize the women of Afghanistan are the key to peace and stability in the region. Burt’s guest on this edition of Portside is Jodie Evans, co-founder of Code Pink, who personally presented a petition to President Obama from wo…

Could the tea party activists be the undoing of any Republican surge?
While seeming to breathe new life into the party, they’re also waging war on some party-picked candidates. On the first half of Portside, Burt Cohen analyzes this turn of events wit…

On this Portside, Burt Cohen talks with Eric Bohlert contributing editor to Rolling Stone and a senior fellow at Media Matters for America about something new in American politics: the press becoming the opposition political party. Of course we’re talk…

Pulitzer Prize winning author Jane Smiley is Burt’s guest on this edition. She recently wrote “Other Economists In The Room,” on the Huffington Post in response to a piece by Paul Krugman. Economists, she argues, are missing the point regarding genuine…