Racism
The Intent of the Drug War: Repress Black People
Remember Nixon’s “law and order?” It was a clever way to get whites to buy into racist repression. On this show author historian Alfred McCoy (who revealed government heroin distribution to GIs in Vietnam) says the continuing “war on drugs”
Fourth of July 2021: Are We Keeping a Republic?
While there are major challenges, there is much to celebrate. We are the only country with the same form of government since our founding in 1787. But in light of Trumpism, religious nationalists, and January 6th, how strong is our
Split Among Right Wing Evangelicals
There are signs of serious splits emerging in the very conservative Southern Baptist Convention, which is the largest Protestant denomination in America. Fifteen thousand of them just completed their annual gathering to elect a new president. The least hard liner
Manchin: Ego Rules Over Patriotism
Michael Winship writes: “Despite Joe Biden and Kamala Harris being in the White House, we remain in existential peril.” A big step toward tyranny is Senator Joe Manchin who announced he will not support an end to the filibuster which
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
People Refusing to be Erased
The world sees the “flare up” but not the ongoing banal policies that are at cause. The State of Israel is copying the successful “settling” of the American west, so what options for resistance are open to Palestinians being evicted,
America’s Altar of Guns Explained
What explains the worship of guns in America? It’s long been a mystery to many. Historian Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz says guns have always been central to the insistent belief that God gave America to white Christian males. America’s first industry was
No Common Ground for Confederate Monuments
The monuments to Confederate leaders are all about altering the realities of history to empower and enforce old mythic beliefs. They are there on courthouse lawns to remind black southerners of their place. One this show, Southern historian Karen Cox
Hands in His Pockets as He Kills George Floyd
The message of his calm kneeling and centuries of racist violence is: you could be next, black person. Chauvin knew only 1% of police killing black people are even prosecuted. There have been others caught on film in broad daylight
Border Crisis? How About A Right to Stay Home
Americans talk about the surge at the border, but the real point is everyone has a right to stay home. Today’s guest Avi Chomsky says that under Biden, Trump’s cement wall is instead outsourced to a militarized high-tech barrier. Do
Stronger than Ever : The One World Idea is Back
Fierce nationalism and the insistence that the US is indispensable to organize the world has played itself out. With awareness of climate change, worldwide opposition to racism, and the avoidable persistence of great poverty, could this be the time once
A Carnival of Breaking Stuff and Lynching: January 6th
So much we have to learn from January 6th. On the first part of today’s show History Professor Robert Schneider calls it a “Populist Transgression,” without a legitimate grievance. Other uprisings and disruptions are purposeful. He likens Trump to Mao:
A Surprising Team for Justice: Malcolm X and Martin Luther King
They are often pictured as competitive opponents, but Malcolm X and Martin Luther King were “The Sword and the Shield” leading the same revolution with the shared goal of human dignity. On this show, Dr Peniel Joseph talks about his
Demilitarizing Our Democracy
What is this powerful hold the Pentagon has over our “civilian” government? Since Clinton’s presidency both parties have felt a need to look tough on defense; Biden and Trump competed for military support. That may be changing as America sees
Broke In America: Policies Not People Are To Blame
When one thinks of people in poverty, what judgements come up? Did you know that the vast majority are working often two or three jobs? When you go to a bank or a mortgage, do they ask you how much
Occupy Wall St. 2011 Was Just The Start
From its birth in one block in New York City to more than a thousand town squares, the conversation began ten years ago. It was the first social media driven movement and as Heather McKee Hurwitz writes in her new
New President: New Better Mideast Policy?
No one likes an outside power coming in and having control over them. But that’s exactly what has pervaded the Middle East for over a hundred years. Some of the effects of America’s recent wars there include epidemics of birth
2020 Not the Worst Election; 1876 Was
It was either another civil war or ratify a backroom deal to choose the next president. In that deal, the rights of newly emancipated people were sacrificed. Moving on from abolition, white northerners figured locking in white supremacy and the
The Beginning of the End for National Cruelty?
With his gleeful displays of cruelty, is it possible that Donald Trump performed the service of waking us all up to cruelty commonly in national and corporate policy? In his new book, Cruelty or Humanity: Challenges, Opportunities, and Responsibilities Australian
Ending the Drug War Got More Votes Than Biden or Trump
It was a momentous election. In blue states and red, voters overwhelmingly passed measures legalizing cannabis and, in Oregon, decriminalizing all drugs. So many people have been hurt, families have been separated, and the drug war has failed miserably to
Greek Fascist Party Convicted as a Criminal Gang
They went from a tiny group at the fringe to the third largest political party in Greece. In the birthplace of democracy, after a five year trial, the most significant anti-fascist trial since Nuremberg, the Golden Dawn has been convicted.
Voting in Indian Country, A View from the Trenches
We know about voter suppression against African Americans but what about Indigenous Americans, Indians? The effort to disenfranchise the 2% of the national population is not a secret, yet nearly unknown. On this show author Jean Schroedel shares disturbing findings
Anti-Racist Feminism Key To Covid, Environmental Solutions
How did we get in this mess in the first place? Will little tweaks allow America to effectively address climate change, racism, and the deadly pandemic? Author Northeastern University professor Jennie C. Stephens argues that there is a “polluter elite”
Women Lead March to Health Coverage
Significant historic change it seems is often led by women. The movement for universal health care is not exception. Women telling their stories, leading from where they are is the key ingredient. In her new book Marching Toward Coverage, author
Racism in the Women’s Suffrage Movement
There’s a brand new Central Park monument of feminist leaders Stanton, Anthony, and Sojourner Truth. It was a hundred years ago that the 19th Amendment became law: women won the right to vote. But what kind of compromises did the
Armed Poll Watchers: To Protect or Intimidate?
Blurring the lines between law enforcement and vigilantism, why are off duty police at the polling stations mainly in black and brown neighborhoods? New Jersey in 1981 is a case study in what has happened and most likely will happen
Black and Indian, Kamala Harris: A New Mandate?
She is exactly what Trumpists hate: a strong woman who is both black and Indian. Both groups were the subjects of white male dominance and control. American slavery and British rule over India both had their peak at the same
We’re all Historians Now!
With the killing of George Floyd and the resulting rage in the streets, this is a year like none other. Old reassuring myths are falling away. Statues are being ripped down. What is still worth preserving? Can we use today’s
Supreme Court Brings Back Legal Discrimination
By intentionally eroding the traditional wall of separation between church and state, the current Supreme Court is essentially overturning anti-discrimination laws. Under new rulings in the name of “religious liberty,” the right wing dominated court allows institutions receiving public money
Deeper Than You Thought: White Christian Privilege
It goes back to the 1300s actually and not just non-Christian people are affected; we all are. Often in subtle but meaningful ways. The understanding of the meaning of “patriotism” is involved. When one has this privilege, less exertion is