Populism
Populism
The Earth for Humanity: A How-To
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
The Roots of Anti-Woke
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
The Real Purpose of The Fed’s Rate Hikes and Austerity
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
Yes: Democrats Can Win Back the White Working Class
How did so many blue collar regions go from Obama 2012 to Trump 2016? Our guest today Robin Johnson, himself of the mid-west, says Thomas Franks was wrong judging and dismissing this demographic; Democrats can win them back if we
The High Price Paid for Ignoring the Midwest
No one likes to be ignored. We saw what happened when the 2016 Democratic nominee skipped those states. The truth is it was a liberal heartland: McGovern, Wellstone, Mondale, etc. Our guest is historian and author of the new book
The Struggle to Rule American Democracy
Democracy and oligarchy: since our founding it’s been a long balancing act. In his new book Realigners: Partisan Hacks, Political Visionaries, and the Struggle to Rule American Democracy, author historian Timothy Shenk tells of how very diverse people like Mark
This is the Best Analysis of the Coming Election
Thinking with history; on this show political broadcast veteran John Kosinski demonstrates how so many people running just want to be showmen on TeeVee. He explains why so many are drawn to Trumpism: a desire to be heard and respected.
Wake Up Now Democrats! Do What History Shows Works!
America today is not the America of the past. But in his new book What it Took to Win, author and history professor Michael Kazin, it’s clear what has and still works. Today’s right plays on a sense that it
How Democrats Can Win Back Working People from the GOP
Elitists in Democratic Party bring avoidable disasters. From northern Iowa, Professor Wallace Hettle sees how the power of big money over the Democratic Party pushes away working people, farmers, and others in the hollowed-out heartland. Terry McAullife’s loss in Virginia
What It Took–and Still Does–For Democrats to Win
America today is not the America of the past. The Republican Party is unrecognizable. But in his new book What it Took to Win, author and history professor Michael Kazin, discerns a theme that still works as we head into
Will the French Republic (and the EU) Survive?
What had been a strong established left in France has seen much of its support move to the right. People who feel left out and looked down on see a kindred spirit in the far right candidacy of Marine LePen.
Supreme Court Too Supreme
It was not intended to be this supreme. But since Brown v Board of Education desegregating schools, even Democrats have been complacent and yielded too much authority to the court. America’s founders focused on freeing our government from oligarchs. But
Is Putin Writing the Far Right’s Epitaph?
Clearly not his intention, but with his assault on Ukraine might Putin actually be decapitating his worldwide far right? Guest John Feffer director of Foreign Policy in Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies in an article titled “Will Ukraine
What it Took For Democrats to Win; Maybe it Still Does
America today is not the America of the past. But in his new book What it Took to Win, author and history professor Michael Kazin, there is a thread that still works. Among the varied demographics, people want the government
Josh Hawley And The Republican Obsession with Manliness
He voted against one thing that can actually address what he says is the problem. Where once men felt pride in what they contributed to family and community as sole breadwinners, that is gone. The anxiety is real. In her
How To Win Working People Back from the Republicans
It was “the best and the brightest” who brought us the disaster of Vietnam. And such elitists in Democratic Party still bring avoidable disaster. From northern Iowa, Professor Wallace Hettle sees how the power of big money over the Democratic
Political Earthquake: Honduras Elects Leftist Woman
The original “banana republic,” Honduras is the second poorest country in the Caribbean region. A few wealthy and many poor. You know the story. It’s had a right wing government since a US supported coup in 2009, but on November
Violent Authoritarianism: How Did This Become the GOP?
Pat Buchanan was ahead of his time. He used the KKK’s David Duke to breed a new nativist religious nationalism, based on fear of liberalization. On this show political science professor Joseph Lowndes sheds light on how the Republican Party
Plagues and Extremism: The Perfect Storm
The assault on science and reason:we’ve seen it before. In the plagues of the 1300s and in 1918, as well as Covid-19, fear and uncertainty combine to draw out extremism. On this show professor of history at Messiah University (an
The Global Right’s Bizarre Obsession with Pedophilia
It’s the ideal fear generator; there’s nothing more awful than child abuse. Intentionally whipping up such fear is a tried and true tool for crushing democracy. Cosmopolitan globalism, the prospect of losing white male hetero dominance has been effectively played
The Power of Resentment and The Threat to Democracy
Is it the revenge of the “deplorables?” We’ve seen how a culture of resentment affected Germany in the early 30s, and it has brought us dangerous Trumpism today. On this show, professor of history emeritus Walter Moss looks at the
How the Wealth Defense Industry Poisons Democracy
As our guest Chuck Collins explains, it’s like one person orders expensive wine for a dinner crowd and sneaks out without paying. His new book is titled The Wealth Hoarders; How Billionaires Pay Millions to Hide Trillions. What he calls
We Can Make the Popular Vote Rule
The Electoral College was born in a hasty compromise in the 18th century. Could it finally be about to change and enable more democracy? Though you probably haven’t heard of it, the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is moving steadily
One Nation Indivisible: Really? Forever?
Sure, the south was defeated militarily, but their attitudes remained, as we saw in the January 6th insurrection. What we saw is not a fringe, in fact it has deep roots. Disunity is traditional in American history. People in the
Why Democrats Should Listen to Deep Red Nebraska
Why should population density continue to determine Democrat or Republican wins? How is it that the Democratic Party seems to have given up on what used to be our working class farm/labor base? In his new book Rural Rebellion, our
Strongmen: From Mussolini to Trump’s Republicans
It didn’t start with Trump and it won’t end when he leaves office. There is an historic pattern to strongmen and he fit the playbook perfectly. In her new book, Strongmen From Mussolini to the Present, historian of authoritarian governments
Thomas Frank’s New Book On Elitist Anti-Populism: “The People, NO”
The parties have flipped: It used to be that Republicans were for Wall Street, Democrats were for Main Street. Now the Democrats are seen as the party of the elitists, Republicans are for the common people. On this show Thomas
After A Right Wing Coup, Social Democracy Makes a Comeback
As Americans were dancing in the streets with the ousting of Trump, so the people of Bolivia celebrated the return of Evo Morales, first indigenous president after a coup forced him to flee. The new president is Luis Arce, former
We Beat Trump, Now the Battle for the Soul of the Democratic Party
Former presidential candidate best selling author Marianne Williamson talks about why Trumpism arose, and what opportunities the Democratic Party now has. Will Biden be yet another neoliberal or will he listen to the very real causes of chronic despair which
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