In our 300 year old system of an adversarial combative system of justice, there is no mechanism to prove and protect the innocent. In his newly published book, The Plea of Innocence, author Tim Bakken argues that prosecution really has

Today’s right encourages and seeks to use men’s anger in the culture war, though their policies actually damage working class men. In their fear and rage at the gains for equality, as Washington Monthly editor William Norris notes, Sen. Josh

They claim loudly they’re protecting freedom and innocent children, but the truth is the right is oppressing both. On this show psychoanalyst Avgi Saketopoulou, co-author of Gender Without Identity, argues there is not one true immutable authentic identity with which

The 19th and 20th century systems of control of the earth have failed; there’s a connection between famines and empire. Especially in the face of climate change, we have a lot to learn from indigenous and peasant systems; the idea

In short, it was not about individual rights but about protecting the institution of slavery. It created militias as slave patrols. And despite conventional wisdom, militias were useless in the war for independence. Historian Carl Bogus’s new book Madison’s Militia,

The thousands of islands in the global south have been treated as toys by the western “civilizers.” Though they are responsible for less than 1% of greenhouse gas emissions, today their voices are not part of the conversation on dealing

We finally get that can’t have infinite growth on our finite planet. The dominant western approach of treating the earth as our playground isn’t working anymore. It’s late but there are still real opportunities for a partnership between humans and

Is it heresy to support a cease fire; can we both support Ukraine and diplomacy? Our guest on this informative show wonders if the Biden Administration is “trapped in its own stifling, peace-averse domestic political climate.” Jacobin Magazine staff writer

It’s a puzzling mystery why so many working class people in the midwest go for Trumpism. Some answers are in Imagining the Heartland; White Supremacy and the American Midwest  by anthropologist authors Britt Halvorson and Joshua Renoit. It examines the

It was a crime to even be a member of the “One Big Union.” But even Helen Keller was a member of the IWW, the Industrial Workers of the World. On this show, Ahmed White talks about his new book

“Nothing in this story makes sense,” but it’s all too real. So says today’s guest Jordan S Rubin whose new book is titled Bizarro: The Surreal Saga of America’s Secret War on Synthetic Drugs and the Florida Kingpins It Captured.

The pressure to prevent active curiosity is a serious threat to democracy. Our guests today are authors Perry Zurin and Dani Bassett whose new book is Curious Minds, The Power of Connection. The push is on by the Trumpist right

From a vaunted Latin American “pink wave,” Colombia’s new president Gustavo Petro and vice president Francia Marquez realized that even with socialised profits, more extraction does not equal more wealth. In fact as the Insitute for Policy Studies’ John Feffer

India enjoys a greatly romanticized image; you may think of Gandhi or the Beatles visit there. The reality  is open repression and violence against the large Muslim minority.   Prime Minister Narendra Modi will soon visit America and his Hindu

Bush’s lies gave Trump moral scaffolding; today Americans believe big lies. On this show Thanassis Cambanis, a reporter who was in Iraq at the invasion, details the harm Bush and Cheney did to America. Even Russia gained power from our

We may accept today’s economic system as just part of the natural order; but in truth capitalism started with overt violence. Centuries later it has morphed into what our guest calls Mute Compulsion. And now here we are, faced with

Fun attracts people but let’s face it: environmentalists tend to be a dour bunch. Saving the planet is after all serious stuff. Average working people can get turned off. But what about dark comedy? We’ve seen where it works. On

When Republicans win power, they use it. Obama tried bipartisanship. There was little, if any, perceptible change. In the following campaign in 2016, Trump said “I made a promise to the forgotten men and women of this country that I

Shock and Awe was launched on this date by then President George W Bush. Over a hundred thousand Iraqis died along with 4,000 Americans. But what about the veterans today? On this rebroadcast, author Kelly Denton-Borhaug talks about  her book

It’s a systemic problem: what is “reasonable,” what is acting “in good faith” when America’s police violate citizens rights or even kill them? As of now, police are protected, enjoying expanded immunity which no one else has. In this show

Authoritarians that they are, it’s not a huge surprise today’s Trump/DeSantis Republicans are pro-Putin. But as noted historian Michael Kazin points out, some alleged leftists are linking up with the far right on the war in Ukraine. Though there’s a

On the first half Wellesley  Professor of American Studies and author Michael P. Jeffries talks about his new book Black and Queer on Campus, the unexpected possibilities and challenges which remain. And on part two, noted feminist Amanda Marcotte talks

The unchecked power of the Federal Reserve claims its current, never ending rate hike strategy is about curbing inflation. It is not, according to our guest today, economics professor Clara Mattei. That we have become so used to it we

There’s a science to the demise of democracy. On this show, Vanderbilt University political historian Eli Merritt talks about the new book he edited: How to Save Democracy; Inspiration and Advice from 95 World Leaders. It’s about the knowledge and

So many mass shootings; how did the gun culture become so powerful? Look to the Civil War. Militarily devastated, the Confederate culture transformed guns into a totem. In this revealing discussion, U of Wisconsin-Madison professor Nick Buttrick reveals the roots

Despite current assumptions, “protests can win even as they appear to lose.” So says Notre Dame professor emeritus David Cortright in his new essay in The Nation. On this show, we show how there are two superpowers on the planet:

There used to be some 50 military contractors, now it’s more like five.  Merger mania. And we’re playing right into what China wants. And we’re still pouring money into one of the most costly weapons ever, the F 35, which

How big do you think Pakistan is? Would you guess over 200 million people? It’s a  nuclear armed power, deeply in debt, with a few rich powers and the military in control. On this show Murtaza Hussain fills in what

The Trumpist right today has had no small success erasing the productive history of liberalism. Today’s guest is author, lecturer, and journalist for The Washington Monthly David Masciotra who in this show talks about the renewed interest in Ted Kennedy,

Though most of us never see it, instead of doing ethical justice, there’s a whole factory system routinely, intentionally turning injustice into revenue. On this show law professor, lawyer, and advocate for impoverished children and adults author Daniel Hatcher describes