Podcast Recent Shows

Two Topics: 1) How Real Our Democracy? 2) Who is This Ruben Gallego
Is the US is merely a procedural, but not a substantive democracy? On part one, Franklin and Marshall history professor Van Gosse asks: what are the factors why we lack more actual democracy? And on part two, The Nation’s national

Outsourcing War: Making Atrocities Invisible By The Wagner Group
Private Security Firms; just part of doing business, right? Blackwater was America’s version in Iraq; The Wagner Group is Russia’s today in Ukraine and Africa. Atrocities in the Donbass region of Ukraine? Russia cynically said, that’s not us, it’s “little

Only Refugees Who Look Like Us Are Welcomed.
All refugees lives are threatened equally, so why are Ukrainians handed the welcome mat as it is denied to most others? On this show, Columbia University Professor and co-author Helen Benedict shares what she’s found in the new book Map

America’s Old Tradition of “Civic Republicanism” Is New Again
Despite the obvious divides, both sides in today’s fierce split may actually share a lot in common and can be pulled together for a better America by something traditional called Civic Republicanism. On this show, Washington Monthly Editor in Chief

The Israeli Far Right 2023: The Mask is Off
Suddenly in 2023, the aspiration of being the only democracy in the middle east is unraveling itself from within. With its turn to the far right, antidemocratic political Zionism is overpowering traditional spiritual and cultural Zionism. On this show, The

Perspectives on 2022: Some Impressively Positive
In her CounterPunch essay, Medea Benjamin co-founder of CodePink writes of surprisingly good things that happened in 2022. On this show, she cites many genuinely positive developments and some hopeful wake-up calls. Give a listen!

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

Lula: New Hope for a Habitable Earth?
From mere crisis to real emergency, one big political change in Brazil offers realistic hope for saving the planet. No exaggeration. On this show global south veteran journalist James North explains that implementation of new priorities, with a new president

Christian Nationalism 2023: Power Not Piety
Bradley Onishi is himself a “deconverted” Christian nationalist. His new book is titled Preparing for War; The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism–And What Comes Next. On this show, he answers the puzzling question of why so many who consider
The Christmas Truce of 1914: Not So Isolated
You’ve heard of the famous Christmas Truce of 1914 between the trenches of the British and German soldiers. These were indeed brave men. But that was not the only such event: there were desertions, mutinies, and fraternizations. Today it seems