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Populism

Populism

Confident woman with long blonde hair in a floral blouse.
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” They didn’t call it fascism. They painted it red, white, and blue, and called it Americanism.” That’s from a 1942 movie with Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy called Keeper of the Flame, which imagines a full fledged homegrown American

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A gavel resting on a copy of the U.S. Constitution.
CultureEducationJusticePodcastPopulismTake Action

Sometimes citizens must break the law to uphold the law. History shows that sometimes patriotic resisting requires taking personal risks. But how to determine which risks are worth it and will yield the results we want? For a long time,

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Book cover titled 'War Against War: The American Fight for Peace 1914-1918'.
PodcastPopulismRacismSocialismWarWomen

They were real conservatives. They worried that our republican form of government was at grave risk if America joined the first world war over there. Michael Kazin’s timely new book is “War Against War: The American Fight for Peace 1914-1918.”

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A close-up of a man making a serious facial expression.
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Over 3,000 prominent scientists, musicians, religious leaders, intellectuals, artists, actors, and others signed on to a full page ad in the January 4 New York Times, with the bold letters, “NO! In the name of humanity, we REFUSE to accept

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A neatly trimmed round shrub near a stone structure in a green yard.
EconomyPodcastPopulismSocialismTake ActionTrump

People are asking: what can we do to fight the new authoritarianism? Our guest argues: “People  power need not be confined to a chant.” Keeping decision making close to home is something both right and left can agree on; municipalization

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Two CEOs protesting for less work and pay.
CultureEconomyJusticePodcastPopulismRacismSocialismTake Action

Most of us thought Right to Work was a 20th century scheme to destroy collective bargaining rights. According to Cedric DeLeon, author of The Origins of Right To Work: AntiLabor Democracy in 19th Century Chicago, it started out as a

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Map showing a divided United States with labeled regions.
CultureJusticePodcastPopulismRacism

With the election of Donald Trump, there’s talk of secession in California. But have we ever really been one nation? Certainly not.  Colin Woodard, author of the acclaimed book “American Nations,” reveals a history of eleven rival regional nations and

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Blue donkey symbol representing the Democratic Party on a red background.
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It was a disastrous day for Democrats. Senior strategist and media advisor to the Bernie Sanders Campaign Mark Longabaugh (remember that great “America” ad?)talks about opportunities ahead for traditional liberal Democrats. He argues Trump’s victory was less about hate and

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Performers dressed in vibrant, elaborate costumes during a festive event.
CultureJusticePodcastPopulismTake ActionWarWomen

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

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Michael Flynn speaking with an image of Donald Trump in the background.
CultureGunsJusticePodcastPopulismRacismSocialismTake ActionTrumpWar

We’ve already seen the propensity of the angry, pumped up Trumpist mobs to violence. In his final debate performance, Donald Trump warned that his supporters might not abide by the results. Would the defeat of Trump be the end of

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Crowd waving Catalan independence flags during a protest.
PodcastPopulismRacismReligionSocialismWar

You think the Republicans are in a mess, look at Spain. They have been without a working government for years. The right is divided, the left is divided. Corruption is rampant. Catalonia wants to break off altogether. There are a

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Scattered US dollar bills overlaid with a green medical marijuana leaf.
CultureEconomyEnvironmentFiscal PolicyJusticeNational PolicyPodcastPopulismRacismSocialismTake Action

Oscar Meyer was Chuck Collins’ great grandfather. At age 26, he turned aside his inherited fortune. Why would anybody do that? His new book is called Born on Third Base; A One Percenter Makes the Case for Tackling Inequality, Bringing

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Portrait of a soldier with a rifle against a red star background and "ROJAVA" text.
National PolicyPodcastPopulismReligionSocialismWarWomen

We’ve all heard of ISIS, we know Iraqi forces flee from them. But have you heard of the Kurdish women warriors of Rojava? ISIS is scared of them. And nation/state powers like Turkey also fear them. Who are these new

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White text 'Populism' on a dark blue background.
CultureEconomyEducationJusticeNational PolicyPodcastPopulismRacismSocialismTake ActionWar

Populism has been part of our country’s identity since before the Constitution. It looked like there was a great populist uprising this year. Now, with the scare of Bernie Sanders behind them the corporate-serving Democrats are back to their “happy

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Washington Post article quoting Keeping Democracy Alive s Burt Cohen &
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Washington Post Politics – Inside the exclusive events helping to fund Clinton and the Democratic Party Washington Post quotes KDA’s Burt Cohen on money in politics See Article: https://www.washingtonpost.com

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Fallen GOP elephant with broken pieces labeled 'GOP'.
National PolicyPodcastPopulismReligionTake Action

We couldn’t get the simple Equal Rights Amendment passed, but with the support of Hillary Clinton and Republicans across America, Jeff Clements, president of American Promise, believes we can erase Citizens United and restore democracy to American politics. And on

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A ballot box for the 2016 presidential election with patriotic stripes.
CultureEnergyEnvironmentGunsIsrael & PalestineNational PolicyPodcastPopulismRacismTake ActionWarWomen

With Trump as president, it would be a major effort to just move back to the center. With Hillary Clinton, and sustained  pressure from progressives, forward motion is possible, if difficult. This is for progressives thinking about the election. Michael

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Protesters holding a Palestinian flag and a sign advocating for Palestinian rights.
EconomyFiscal PolicyIsrael & PalestineJusticeNational PolicyPodcastPopulismSocialismTake Action

How do you like paying interest to use your own money? According to Mike Krauss of the Public Banking Institute, it doesn’t have to be that way. We can replace the privately held Federal Reserve system and use the treasury

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Banner for the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.
EconomyJusticeNational PolicyPodcastPopulismRacismTake Action

The divide was deep going into the 2016 Democratic National Convention. How did it end up? Is there real unity now? Bernie Sanders campaign New Hampshire political director Kurt Ehrenberg (Bernie won by 22 points in NH) assesses the week

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Black and white photo of a man speaking into a megaphone.
CultureGunsIsrael & PalestineJusticeNational PolicyPodcastPopulismRacismReligionWarWomen

From ruthless cold warrior to taking on his nemesis LBJ over the war in Vietnam, was Bobby Kennedy an opportunist? Who was the “runt” of the Kennedy litter?  In this remarkable interview, bestselling author Larry Tye tells us how Bobby’s

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Close-up of a worn American flag with visible texture and folds.
CultureEducationFiscal PolicyGunsJusticeNational PolicyPodcastPopulismTake ActionWar

Independence day: Many Americans see our freedom to choose as consumers as what independence is all about. But recovering corporate CEO and Huffington Post columnist Richard Eskow on this show shines a light on how far we’ve veered from what

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Close-up of a shattered glass surface with partial text 'REXI' behind it.
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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

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Abandoned, unfinished large concrete building under gray sky.
CultureEconomyEducationIsrael & PalestineJusticeNational PolicyPodcastPopulismRacism

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

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Book cover titled 'The Nation' by Brenda Wineapple with a historical painting.
CultureGunsJusticeNational PolicyPodcastPopulismRacismReligionWar

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

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Black ink spreading on a gray surface creating a branching pattern.
EconomyEducationFiscal PolicyNational PolicyPodcastPopulismRacismSocialismTake ActionWarWomen

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

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Crowd gathered at night around a statue in a city square with lights and umbrellas.
CultureJusticeNational PolicyPodcastPopulismProtests & ResistanceSocialismTake Action

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

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A vintage poster with a pointing hand and text urging to listen to Thomas F.
CultureEconomyEducationJusticePodcastPopulismTake ActionWomen

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

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A man affectionately hugging a globe.
CultureEconomyFiscal PolicyJusticeNational PolicyPodcastPopulismTake Action

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

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City skyline with illuminated waterfront and busy roads at dusk.
CultureEconomyEnergyEnvironmentFiscal PolicyJusticePodcastPopulismTake Action

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

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A soldier on horseback overlooking fallen soldiers in a battlefield.
CultureJusticePodcastPopulismRacismWarWomen

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

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