info@alternativeradio.org – Radio Free

[Bill Moyers] Media Reform

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 31 Jul 2025 21:00:22 +0000

A vibrant media is the oxygen of a living democracy. When the media are dominated by a handful of big corporations, citizens of a democracy are on a respirator gasping for air. James Madison, founding father, understood this well when he said, "A popular government without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but the prologue to a farce or a tragedy or perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power that knowledge gives." Today, media reform, once thought to be impossible, is an important issue. A growing grassroots movement is demanding change.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Stephen Kinzer] Iran: The 1953 American Coup

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 17 Jul 2025 21:00:37 +0000

Regime change started long ago. The new version is just a change of clothes. Dwight Eisenhower was president when the U.S. overthrew the popular democratic government of Mohammad Mossadegh in Iran in 1953. What was Mossadegh’s transgression? He wanted Iran’s oil to benefit the Iranian people. The coup brought the Shah back from exile and installed him in power. What ensued was 25 years of tyranny and repression culminating in Ayatollah Khomeini’s Islamic Revolution. The Iran coup was a pivotal event of the 20th century. Virtually all Iranians know about it. Yet most Americans haven’t even heard of it. The U.S. professes that it supports democracy in the Middle East, yet when there was a democratic government in Iran, Washington destroyed it. Recorded at the Pacific Asia Museum.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Chris Hedges, Gabor Maté] Palestine: The Moral Issue of Our Time

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 03 Jul 2025 21:00:22 +0000

The number of dead and wounded in Palestine is staggering. Many look away. Why bother, you may ask? Because, unlike other conflicts, we can do something about it. It is the U.S., Canada and most of Europe that enable the genocide by supplying Israel with weapons. In Israel, there is mounting opposition. Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said, “What we are doing in Gaza is a war of extermination: indiscriminate, unrestrained, brutal, and criminal killing of civilians. We are committing war crimes.” Then he added, “Netanyahu and his government have done great damage to the moral integrity of Israel and the Israeli people.” Palestine is the moral issue of our time. Recorded at the New York Society for Ethical Culture.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Nubar Hovsepian] Edward Said: An Oppositional Intellectual

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 26 Jun 2025 21:00:32 +0000

From on high, establishment intellectuals replicate dominant societal narratives, power structures, and established norms. And as long as they perform that task, they are honored, and celebrated and are invited to all the talk shows, and attend dinner parties of the rich and powerful, and get to play golf with them and they are, of course, well rewarded financially. In sharp contrast are intellectuals who go against the grain, who rock the boat, who challenge the existing order, who contest the hegemonic discourse, who speak the truth and expose the lies and deceptions of officialdom. An oppositional intellectual not only questions mainstream ideologies and received wisdom but also offers alternatives. Edward Said was one of the 20th century's most influential intellectuals. He exemplified the oppositional intellectual who made the comfortable uncomfortable. Interviewed by David Barsamian.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Vijay Prashad] Is the Nakba Permanent?

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 19 Jun 2025 21:00:26 +0000

Nakba is Arabic for the 1948 catastrophe. where 750,000 Palestinians were forcibly expelled and driven from their ancestral homes and lands. Today, 77 years later, the Nakba continues. This time, aided and abetted by the U.S., Israel declares it has "the most moral army in the world, which does everything to avoid harming non-combatants.” Watch Al Jazeera or read the reports from Amnesty International, B’Tselem or Gush Shalom and other human rights organizations to verify the Israeli claim. Netanyahu has declared that there will be no Palestinian state and that Israel will control Gaza. Will there ever be a viable Palestinian state? The keyword is viable, not just a collection of Bantustans crisscrossed by Israeli-only roads, walls, barriers and checkpoints. What will be the fate of millions of Palestinians? Is the Nakba permanent?

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Claudia de la Cruz] Imagining a New World

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 21:00:23 +0000

Authoritarianism can't happen here, you say. Look around. Open your eyes. No one is safe. Dissent is being criminalized. People are being arrested without due process. When Trump was asked if it was his job to uphold the Constitution, he said, "I don't know." Claudia de la Cruz says, “Trump and his cabinet full of billionaires are waging an all-out war on our communities. From slashing thousands of jobs to massively defunding critical programs that many working-class people rely on to survive. At this critical moment, we can’t simply lie down and allow his administration to roll back all the rights that our people’s movements have won. Now is the time to organize our communities and stand up to fight back!” In these dark times, we cannot be bystanders. We must resist and imagine and create a new world where peace, equality, dignity and justice are the norm. Recorded at KGNU.

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[Winona LaDuke] Rights of Nature: An Indigenous View

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 05 Jun 2025 21:00:36 +0000

Indigenous peoples often see themselves as an integral part of nature, not separate from it, and recognize the interconnectedness of all living beings and nature. Indigenous perspectives on the rights of nature emphasize a deep spiritual bond with the natural world, viewing it as a sacred entity and an essential part of their cultural and social fabric. Many Indigenous cultures believe that nature has inherent rights and that humans have responsibilities to respect, protect and maintain the health of the environment for the well-being of future generations. Indigenous communities are increasingly at the forefront of the rights of nature movement, working to incorporate their values and beliefs into legal frameworks and policies.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Robin D. G. Kelley] Solidarity & Black Resistance to Fascism & Genocide

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 29 May 2025 21:00:29 +0000

Langston Hughes, the great African American poet, said decades ago, “Fascism is a new name for that kind of terror the Negro has always faced in America.” Fascism can and has led to genocide. Progressive African American intellectuals, writers, poets, and musicians have had a long tradition and history of solidarity and resisting fascism and genocide, from Frederick Douglass to Gil Scott-Heron, from Sojourner Truth to Angela Davis, from W.E.B. Du Bois to John Lewis, from Paul Robeson to Amiri Baraka, from Ida B. Wells to Malcolm X, from Ella Baker to Dr. King, from Harry Belafonte to Sonny Rollins, from James Baldwin to Cornel West and up to the present moment where Robin D. G. Kelley warns “We're witnessing the consolidation of a fascist police state.” Recorded at the University of Massachusetts.

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[Heather Cox Richardson] Cowboy Authoritarianism in America

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 22 May 2025 21:00:22 +0000

We are at an inflection point. A chill is sweeping the country. We ignore it at our peril. The warning signs are everywhere. Alaska GOP Senator Lisa Murkowski says, “We are all afraid.” Massachusetts Democratic Governor Maura Healey says, “The fear is real.” New York Times columnist Masha Gessen writes, “America’s Police State Has Arrived.” A Columbia University dean told students, “Nobody can protect you. These are dangerous times.” Conservative PBS commentator David Brooks calls for “a civic uprising to fight back and adds: “We have nothing to lose but our chains.” Dissent is being criminalized. People are being deported without any kind of due process. Court rulings are being ignored. Democracy, civil liberties and free speech are all under attack. What can be done to reverse cowboy authoritarianism in America? Recorded at the University of British Columbia.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Khatchig Mouradian] Houshamadyan: Armenian Memory Books

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 15 May 2025 21:00:34 +0000

April 24th marks the 110th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. I grew up in the 1950s in New York in the shadow of that tragedy. I was surrounded by survivors named Garabedian, Giragosian, Hagopian and others who always spoke fondly of “yergeer,” the country they were forced to abandon. My mother, Araxie, was from Dubneh, a village near Diyarbakir, and my father, Bedros, was from Nbishi, a village near Palu in what is now Eastern Turkey. Their memories, and those of others from the “old” country, filled my ears as did their tales of how they escaped death and got to America. I’d listened to their stories in Armenian, not understanding everything, but knowing for them, “yergeer” was a special place. It was home. Houshamadyan are precious memory books of a millennial-old civilization virtually lost but not forgotten. Recorded at the National Association of Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR).

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Khatchig Mouradian] Houshamadyan: Armenian Memory Books

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 15 May 2025 21:00:34 +0000

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Robert McChesney] Capitalism in the Age of Digital Technology

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 08 May 2025 21:00:31 +0000

Monopoly isn’t just a board game it is the animating dynamic of our economic system. Really existing capitalism, which relies heavily on taxpayer support, embodies a near genetic drive to consolidate, to dominate and ultimately to eliminate competition. This leaves people with fewer choices and higher prices, exactly the outcome desired by the monopolists. Democracy, particularly in the U.S., has largely morphed into an oligarchy run by and for plutocrats. As corporate control of media increases and as inequality widens, and as the eco-crisis continues apace, one can expect a future of social unrest.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Richard Forer] Israel, the U.S. & Palestine

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 01 May 2025 21:00:39 +0000

Noam Chomsky calls the Israel, U.S., and Palestine relationship a “Fateful Triangle.” He says,“ In no other region of the world are the problems so likely to lead to devastating regional conflict.” He adds, those problems “have only been aggravated by the irrationality and intolerance that has dominated discussion in the U.S. It will be unfortunate if this state of affairs persists,” he warns. Alas, Chomsky wrote those words more than 50 years ago. The U.S. has given Israel hundreds of billions in aid over the years. In addition, Washington provides crucial diplomatic, political and military support. Internationally, because of Gaza both the U.S. and Israel are increasingly isolated. General Moshe Yallon, former Israeli chief of staff and defense minister, says Israel is committing war crimes and ethnic cleansing. Interview by David Barsamian. Recorded at the Boulder Public Library.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Maria López-Nuñez] Environmental Justice

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 24 Apr 2025 21:00:27 +0000

Parts of the U.S. are an eco-disaster, a sacrifice zone. Take Newark, NJ. If you travel down a one-mile stretch of Doremus Avenue in Newark you pass a natural gas plant next to a sewage treatment facility next to an animal fat rendering plant next to a series of ominous-looking chemical storage containers behind acres of fencing. Airplanes pass overhead every two minutes, their engines rattling windows, while a putrid smell wafts from the open pools at the sewage treatment plant. Nationally, where are these polluters located? Overwhelmingly in poor communities of color like the Ironbound section of Newark where activists are organizing and fighting back to create a just, vibrant and sustainable community.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Doris Bergen] Anti-Semitism, Anti-Black Racism & Misogyny

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 17 Apr 2025 21:03:50 +0000

Bigotry and hatred, fear and loathing, are on the rise. Vulnerable groups are being targeted. It’s happened before. Decades ago, speaking to the National Jewish Congress, Dr Martin Luther King, Jr said, “My people were brought to America in chains. Your people were driven here to escape the chains fashioned for them in Europe. There are Hitlers loose in America today, both in high and low places. As the tensions and bewilderment of economic problems become more severe, history's scapegoats, the Jews, will be joined by new scapegoats, the Negroes. The Hitlers will seek to divert people's minds and turn their frustrations and anger to the helpless, to the outnumbered.” Recorded at the University of Colorado.

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[Gabor Maté] History, Trauma & the Lack of Empathy

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 10 Apr 2025 21:00:36 +0000

History, “The past” as Faulkner wrote, “is never dead. It's not even past." Trauma, a Greek word for wound, takes on myriad shapes and forms. It often remains and reverberates through generations. There is individual trauma and collective trauma. However, just because you suffered does not give you permission to inflict suffering on others. Angela Davis said, “Victimization cannot be permitted to function as a halo of innocence.” Empathy is the ability to take on another person's perspective, to understand, feel, and possibly share and respond to their experience. Victims need our empathy, our compassion but not according to the world’s richest man. Elon Musk has said, “The fundamental weakness of Western civilization is empathy.”

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Kshama Sawant, Chris Hedges] Workers! Fight Back!

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 03 Apr 2025 21:00:38 +0000

The so-called Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE, is led by Elon Musk, the richest man in the world. It operates in virtual secrecy. Its slash and burn tactics have resulted in thousands of government workers losing their jobs, sometimes with little or no notice. Budgets are being hollowed out to pay for massive tax breaks for the oligarchs. Activist, organizer, politician Kshama Sawant warns, “We cannot understate the damage being done by Trump, Musk and company. It is austerity on steroids, deregulation on steroids, imperialism on steroids” and along with that she says it’s “the most dramatic concentration of executive power” in memory. There’s only one thing that will stop the Trump-Musk juggernaut. Collective citizen action. Workers! Fight Back! Recorded at the Langston Hughes Center for the Performing Arts.

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[Tariq Ali] You Have to Fight Back

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 27 Mar 2025 21:00:22 +0000

When faced with adversity one can look away and do nothing. But for our own dignity and self-respect we must fight back and resist the depredations of the state and corporate sector. Historically speaking this is one of those critical inflection points. A lot of people are deeply concerned about the Trump regime and Elon Musk. The social safety net is being shredded while the gazillionaires make out like bandits. Tariq Ali says, “What the United States needs today is an opposition, which fights back politically, intellectually, and culturally with arguments, and, when necessary, comes out on the streets to defend democracy, a grassroots uprising. We need activists more than ever before.” Recorded at St. Thomas University.

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[Norman Finkelstein] Israel’s Goal in Gaza

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 21:00:29 +0000

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said "Conditions for Palestinians in Gaza are appalling and apocalyptic. What we are seeing may well amount to the gravest international crimes." Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, said, "We are fighting human animals and we are acting accordingly." Prominent Israeli scholars such as Omer Bartov, Raz Segal, Ilan Pappe, Lee Mordechai and Amos Goldberg, have all said Israel's actions in Gaza amount to genocide. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Jewish Voice for Peace, and other organizations have also reached the same conclusion. Apart from the U.S., Canada, and a few European countries Israel is largely isolated internationally. Arrest warrants for Prime Minister Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant have been issued by the International Criminal Court. Israel's goal in Gaza has been made explicitly clear by Netanyahu on down: eliminate the Palestinians. Recorded at the University of Wisconsin.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Cornel West] The Legacy of Paul Robeson

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 22:00:35 +0000

Paul Robeson, an enduring and multitalented figure, broke color barriers in sports, music, film and theater. He was an internationally famous singer and actor yet in the U.S. he was persecuted and blacklisted for his political beliefs. He died impoverished and in obscurity. His singular life is a model of courage and steadfastness in the face of racial and political prejudice. He said, “The artist must fight for freedom or for slavery. I have made my choice. I had no alternative.” This program includes Paul Robeson singing in his magnificent bass-baritone voice "Joe Hill" and "Ol' Man River." Recorded at Columbia Law School.

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[Rami Khouri] War or Peace in the Middle East

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 20 Feb 2025 22:00:21 +0000

The ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinians is in its first phase. Some captives have been released with more to follow. Aid trucks are delivering desperately needed food, water and medicine to the besieged Palestinians. What the future will bring is uncertain. The situation is fragile. What is certain is the Palestinians have endured disproportionate death and destruction. Israel has a powerful military and the backing of the U.S. The BBC says, “After 15 months of war in Gaza, the conflict is as bitter and intractable as ever. The consequences of so much destruction and death will be felt for a generation, at least. The long-overdue ceasefire may stop the killing but won't end the conflict.”

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[Sara Nelson] Union Power

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 13 Feb 2025 22:00:26 +0000

There’s power in a union is not just an empty slogan or the title of a song it’s a shared reality for many working people. When labor organizes itself into a union it can exert power over bosses. It can demand higher wages and better working conditions and benefits. The CEO class offers workers crumbs while pocketing the big bucks in salaries, bonuses and stock options for themselves. The propaganda system is largely under the control of ruling elites and big business. Thus, unions are painted negatively. However, a Gallup poll shows that union support among workers has increased significantly in recent years. From Amazon to Starbucks to Kaiser to postal workers in Canada there has been an upsurge in workers going on strike and unionization. Solidarity makes a difference.

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[Sheldon Wolin] The Inversion of Totalitarianism

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 06 Feb 2025 22:00:23 +0000

Traditional totalitarianism conjures images of jack-booted stormtroopers, death camps and gulags. In recent years a new variety of totalitarianism has emerged. Noted political theorist Sheldon Wolin calls it “the inversion of totalitarianism” and that it “represents the coming of age of corporate power and political demobilization of the citizenry. Unlike classical totalitarian systems which openly boasted of their intentions to force their societies in a preconceived totality, inverted totalitarianism is not expressly conceptualized as an ideology, nor is it objectified in public policy.” Corporations have de facto power and have carried out a slow-motion coup d’état. How to resist? Wolin says it starts at the local level.

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[Wendell Potter] Health Insurance: An Insane System

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 30 Jan 2025 22:00:27 +0000

The murder of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO on a Midtown Manhattan street “unleashed,” the New York Times reported, “a torrent of morbid glee from patients and others who say they have had negative experiences with health insurance companies at some of the hardest times of their lives.” Some comments were, “Thoughts and deductibles to the family.” Another one said, “Unfortunately, my condolences are out of network.” The dark commentary highlighted deep anger over the state of health insurance. Millions can’t afford it and go without it. And many who are on some plan have inadequate coverage with high deductibles. The answer, Ralph Nader says, is single-payer: “Everybody in, nobody out.” That would bring down prices. But the handful of corporations monopolizing the health insurance industry don’t want that. Why? That would cut into their profits. So, the insanity continues.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Ralph Nader] It’s in the Hands of the People

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 16 Jan 2025 22:00:23 +0000

What’s going on in the United States? People are asking that question not only in this country but around the world. Ralph Nader says “The twin swelling heads of empire and oligarchy are driving our country into an ever-deepening corporate state, wholly incompatible with democracy and the rule of law. America was not designed for kings and their runaway military pursuits. The media rolls over and fails to hold officials accountable.” So, what is to be done? Historically it’s always been citizens, overcoming differences, finding common ground, coming together and making progressive change. It can happen. As Nader says, “It’s in the hands of the people. Interviewed by David Barsamian.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Peter Beinart] Protest, Zionism & Gaza

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 09 Jan 2025 22:00:24 +0000

On December 5th, 2024, Amnesty International determined that “Israel committed and is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.” In the landmark 296-page report entitled “You Feel Like You Are Subhuman,” Amnesty documents how, “during its military offensive launched in the wake of the deadly Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, Israeli forces have carried out acts prohibited under the Genocide Convention, with the specific intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza.” Amnesty goes on to say, “By continuing to supply weapons to the Israeli government, the U.S. government is violating its obligation to prevent and punish genocide and is at serious risk of becoming complicit in genocide.”

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Justin Lewis] Consumer Capitalism

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 02 Jan 2025 22:00:33 +0000

Rene Descartes, the 17th-century French philosopher once said, “I think, therefore I am.” In today’s context, it may be more like, I buy therefore I am. Orchestrated wants driven by sophisticated advertising techniques have created a culture of consumption. Appetites for the latest hot things are manufactured. Media campaigns sell cool and sexy. Data are collected. People are profiled, and then targeted. Take cell phones. You have to get the latest one with all the new features. We can’t be left behind. The capitalist economic system is predicated on making money and barely considers the environmental effects down the road. That’s somebody else’s problem. In the U.S., consumerism is connected to ideology. Freedom is equated with the ability to buy things. But the pattern of endless consumer capitalism is not sustainable. Recorded at Smith College.

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[Noam Chomsky] Taking Control of Our Lives

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 26 Dec 2024 22:00:28 +0000

On the occasion of Noam Chomsky’s 96th birthday on December 7, we are honored to broadcast for the first time this classic recording of a talk he gave in Albuquerque in the year 2000. Many of the issues he addressed then remain salient today. Chomsky says that the right of sovereignty is fundamental to the task of taking control of our lives. He describes what citizens are up against as “an array of mega-corporations often linked to one another.”

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[Koohan Paik-Mander] Algorithms, Digital Technologies & Warfare

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 19 Dec 2024 22:00:28 +0000

Algorithms are processes or sets of rules to be followed in calculations or other problem-solving operations, especially by computer. Sounds innocuous enough. But hang on. It has a dark side. Algorithms can make mistakes due to biases, poor design, coding errors, or flawed assumptions. They can collect and process large amounts of personal data which can put people’s privacy rights at risk. There are lethal dangers. Koohan Paik-Mander warns the algorithms that missiles have spawned “have been a scourge on Mother Earth and our own humanity with our smartphones, satellites, robotics, AI, nuclear power and all the rest through which civil society has unwittingly become militarized through and through.”

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[Francesca Albanese] Anatomy of a Genocide: Gaza

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 12 Dec 2024 22:00:32 +0000

Francesca Albanese of the UN says, “Gaza is now a wasteland of rubble, garbage and human remains.” And it may be worse than that. In the litany of crimes genocide is the most heinous. Omer Bartov, Brown University genocide scholar and former Israeli military officer in November 2023, a month after the October 7 attack on Israel said, “There is no proof that genocide is taking place in Gaza.” By May 2024 he said, “I no longer believe that. It was no longer possible to deny that Israel was engaged in systematic war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocidal actions.” He said Israel in Gaza was acting as the Genocide Convention puts it “with intent to destroy, in whole or in part inflicting conditions of life meant to bring about the group’s destruction.” Recorded at Georgetown University.

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[Naomi Klein] What Are We Going to Do?

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 05 Dec 2024 22:00:17 +0000

The day after the Trump election, the New York Times wrote: “America stands on the precipice of an authoritarian style of governance never before seen in its 248-year-old history.” For many, the results of November 5th confirmed the view that we are in dark times. So, the big question is: what are we going to do? We can wallow in self-pity and depression, or we can find kindred spirits and organize and form alliances to not just resist the repression to come but promote progressive causes. As writer Rebecca Solnit says, “Not acting is a luxury those in immediate danger do not have, and despair is something they cannot afford. But despair is all around us, telling us the problems are insoluble, that we are not strong enough, our efforts are in vain, and no one really cares.” Hope, Solnit says, counteracts cynicism and pessimism. Recorded at the University of Colorado.

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[P. Sainath] Gagging Democracy India-Style

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 28 Nov 2024 22:00:21 +0000

India, the world's most populous country, is ruled by Narendra Modi who is the head of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the BJP. He first became prime minister in 2014 and has been reelected twice since though in 2024 with much lower margins. Before coming to power in Delhi he was chief minister of the state of Gujarat where he presided over a major massacre of Muslims. Modi and the BJP promote Hindutva, Hindu majoritarianism. It is laced with Islamophobia. Modi is allied with India’s billionaire class who control the country’s major media and function as cheerleaders for a regime that gags democracy, free speech, and dissent. Recorded at Surrey Public Library.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Norman Solomon] War & the Media

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 14 Nov 2024 22:00:40 +0000

In times of war the corporate media play a salient role in shaping public opinion. There are worthy and unworthy victims. Muslims, Arabs, and Iranians generally fall into that latter category whereas Washington and its allies are worthy victims that we support and empathize with. The current phase of the Gaza war did not begin on October 7 as the media repeat ad nauseum. But to dig into the underlying causes and provide context and history rarely occurs because it would undermine the dominant propaganda. Thus the Norah O’Donnells, Wolf Blitzers, Lester Holts and other corporate news anchors don’t question the embedded assumptions and simply mimic, with few exceptions, the dominant official line. Interviewed by David Barsamian.

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[Zachary Lockman] A Brief History of Zionism

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 07 Nov 2024 22:01:01 +0000

Zion is the name of a hill in ancient Jerusalem. The Jewish nationalist movement coined the term Zionism in the 1890s. Zionism got the big power backing it was looking for when Britain issued the Balfour Declaration on November 2, 1917. Arthur James Balfour, the British foreign secretary stated: “His Majesty’s Government view with favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.” This declaration became the major legal cornerstone for Zionist claims to Palestine. Two issues complicated things. At the time, 90% of Palestine's population was Arab Muslim and Christian, and only 10% Jewish. And the British were signing away land that was not theirs. Recorded at NYU.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Russell Means] Welcome to the Reservation

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 31 Oct 2024 21:00:56 +0000

Indigenous communities are among the poorest in the U.S. This is one of many persistent symptoms of the colonial relationship imposed by force upon Indigenous peoples. As famed historian Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz says, “Neither arcane colonial laws nor the historical trauma of genocide simply disappear with time and certainly not when conditions of life and consciousness perpetuate them.” From the earliest days of colonial settlement, a theme of eliminating Indians in the name of expansion and settler opportunity became embedded into the U.S. political system and culture. The violence unleashed on the largely defenseless Indian nations had few parallels in history. Treaties and policies involving Indigenous peoples have consistently been designed to disadvantage them, locking them into suppressed social status and codifying their dependence on the U.S. government. Recorded at Bowdoin College.

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[Richard Forer] Blaming the Victim: Roots of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 24 Oct 2024 21:00:41 +0000

Blaming the victim is as old as the hills. It occurs when the victim of a crime or tragedy is held at fault for the harm that befell them. In other words, you had it coming to you. The great scholar Edward Said ruefully remarked that the Palestinians were the victims of the victim hence it was very difficult for them to generate support. Said quoted Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, the “conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion…than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much. What redeems it is the idea.” From the Palestinian perspective in the wake of the Holocaust, they were paying for the crimes of Europeans. Interviewed by David Barsamian. Recorded at Boulder Public Library's Canyon Theater.

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[Noura Erakat] International Law: Real or Fiction?

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 17 Oct 2024 21:00:40 +0000

After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the term international rules-based order would be repeated by Washington officials almost daily to describe Moscow's action. Then a curious thing happened when Israel invaded Gaza in 2023. The term virtually disappeared as the U.S. sought to protect its close ally Israel. But the U.S. itself has a long record of violating the international rules-based order with its invasions, occupations, coups, assassinations, sanctions and UN vetoes. Compliant corporate media consistently fail to point out this brazen hypocrisy. Since the leader of the so-called free world and its allies are not held to account the rules-based order is in total disorder. From Washington’s perspective, the rules are for thee but not for me. Recorded at Socialism 2024.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Ilan Pappé] Myths of Israel

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 10 Oct 2024 21:00:33 +0000

A myth is a story passed down through generations that attempts to explain the origins of something. The foundational myth of Israel was “a land without people for a people without a land.” That myth had profound consequences that reverberate today. There were people there - the Palestinians. Such myths are characteristic of settler colonial societies such as South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the U.S. Sure there were a few primitive savages but they had to give way to superior beings. John Kennedy famously said: “We stand today on the edge of a New Frontier. The pioneers gave up their safety, their comfort, and sometimes their lives to build our new west.” Kennedy did not mention the great Indigenous nations that were slaughtered by the colonizers. We must deconstruct the myths and reveal the realities behind them. Recorded at Socialism 2024.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Brian Klaas] Chaos, Chance & Choice

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 03 Oct 2024 21:00:16 +0000

As a kid, did you ever play "What If"? Like, what if the Kennedys, Dr. King and Malcolm X weren't gunned down in the 1960s? Like, what if the votes in Florida were counted and Al Gore won the 2000 election? What if the U.S. did not support the jihadis in Afghanistan? What if the U.S. did not invade Iraq? History, the world would have been very different. And on a personal level: what if your partner didn't take that job baking bread you never would have met? What if you got stuck in traffic and missed your job interview? You get the point. Why do things happen? Random chance events can divert our lives and change everything. Social scientist Brian Klaas examines this phenomenon and the chaos it can sow. Recorded at Carleton College.

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[Michael Parenti] Fascism: The False Revolution

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 26 Sep 2024 21:00:29 +0000

Fascism is being mentioned more and more in the context of U.S. and European elections. It is a term that is bandied about often rather loosely. Orwell wrote that it is understood to be "something not desirable." But it is a complex political and economic synergy that has racism, force and nationalism as its animating matrix. It involves heavy doses of propaganda and media manipulation. Mussolini, in one of his more honest moments said, "Fascism should be more properly called corporatism, since it is the merger of state and corporate power." For Americans it is universally associated with despotic regimes in other countries. It can't happen here. Huey Long, the self-styled populist governor of Louisiana, once warned, "If fascism ever comes to America, it will come wrapped in an American flag."

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[Jason Stanley] How Fascism Works

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 21:00:22 +0000

What is fascism? Michael Parenti, author and historian says, “Fascism historically has been used to secure the interests of large capitalist interests against the demands of popular democracy. Then and now, fascism has made irrational mass appeals in order to secure the rational ends of class domination.” Fascism flourishes in times of economic insecurity and cultural backlash. Opportunistic politicians offer up a platter of racism, xenophobia and hyper-nationalism. They stoke fear and resentment using simplistic slogans such as “Drain the Swamp” and “Build the Wall.” In the U.S. today, there is a whiff fascism in the air. Witness the march of white supremacists with torches held high in Charlottesville chanting “Blood and Soil,” an old Nazi slogan and “Jews Will Not Replace Us.” The president called them “very fine people.” Recorded at Trent University.

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[Thomas Suárez] Zionism: The Back Story

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 05 Sep 2024 21:00:16 +0000

The back story in journalism and scholarship uncovers vital information on important issues that had been obscured or omitted. For example, the origin of Zionism is usually traced to a pamphlet Theodor Herzl wrote in 1896 called The Jewish State. However, the eminent Israeli scholar Ilan Pappe writes "Many people do not know that Zionism began as an evangelical Christian project long before any Jew was thinking about Zionism. Christian Zionists were advocating the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine knowing very well that there were other people living there” but thought that the creation of a Jewish state would not only advance British imperial interests but also “precipitate the second coming of the Messiah.” Recorded at the University of Massachusetts.

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[Steven Levitsky] Tyranny of the Minority

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 29 Aug 2024 21:00:22 +0000

The United States is moving toward a multiracial society. But that demographic development has sparked an authoritarian political backlash. Powerful forces like things just the way they are. Our political system makes the U.S. vulnerable to minority rule. Perhaps the most undemocratic mechanism enabling minority rule is the antiquated Electoral College. No other country has one. The Electoral College has given the presidency to a candidate that received fewer votes multiple times. Most recently, in 2016, Donald Trump was elected president even though Hillary Clinton won the popular vote. It almost happened again in 2020 where a shift of a few thousand votes would have given the White House to Trump even though Joe Biden got seven million more votes. Recorded at the University of Notre Dame.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Jude Browne] AI’s Promise & Peril

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 15 Aug 2024 21:00:21 +0000

The rise of AI, artificial intelligence, is a major development in human history. Its ramifications are profound. What is it exactly? AI provides a computer program with the ability to think and learn on its own. It is a simulation of human intelligence into machines to do things that normally humans do. A government advisory committee states that the emergence of AI as a dominant technological force has brought with it a wave of transformative possibilities for society ranging from medical breakthroughs to driverless cars to greater efficiency. However, potential dangers posed by unregulated AI range from biases in decision-making algorithms to massive unemployment, deep fakes, privacy issues, abuse of civil liberties, and even global security. AI is a classic double-edged sword, a mix of promise and peril. Recorded at King's College.

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[Alexandra Filindra] Race, Rights & Rifles

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 01 Aug 2024 21:00:19 +0000

Guns, Guns, Guns. In the United States gun violence and shootings in schools, supermarkets, and malls are widespread and have almost become routine. The country is flooded with weapons. Americans may be the most heavily armed people on earth. Fascination with guns has its roots in the American Revolution when notions of patriotism fused with a belief in white male supremacy and maintaining racial and gender hierarchies. It’s patriotic to possess a gun. The corpses keep piling up and the rulers do little to ameliorate the situation beyond mouthing platitudes such as “our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims.” It’s astonishing that a country with so many gun-related deaths does not enact meaningful regulation. Recorded at the University of Oregon.

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[Noam Chomsky] The United States & Israel

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 18 Jul 2024 21:00:22 +0000

Few issues are more freighted than the U.S.-Israel relationship. Overwhelmingly, Democrats and Republicans give Israel “unwavering” support. Internationally, it’s a different story. Opposition to the U.S.-Israel alliance is mounting, particularly on Palestine. Nowhere is this more apparent than at the UN where scores of U.S. Security Council vetoes shield Israel from criticism. Can policy change? Noam Chomsky says, “It’s very much in our hands. There are plenty of things we can do to compel the U.S. to join the world on this issue.” If that happens, he concludes, “the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can certainly be mitigated, not solved, but set on a basis of a much more favorable outcome.” Recorded at UCLA.

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[Keyu Jin] The Chinese Economic System

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 11 Jul 2024 21:00:28 +0000

China is a paradoxical global power. It's run by the Communist Party and at the same time it has a huge private sector which includes the world's largest number of billionaires. Its economy has been described as a mix of state capitalism and market socialism. Internationally its Belt & Road Initiative has spread its economic and political influence. Washington views China as “a grave threat to the economic well-being and democratic values of the United States.” The trade war grows. Washington imposes tariffs on Chinese imports. China just sends more goods to Africa and Latin America. The U.S. has surrounded China with a string of military bases. Taiwan and the South China Sea remain highly contentious issues. How U.S.-China relations play out will define geopolitics in the coming years.

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[Ilan Pappe] Gaza in Context

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 04 Jul 2024 21:00:35 +0000

Gaza’s 2 million plus Palestinians are jam-packed in a small narrow enclave bordered by the Mediterranean Sea, Egypt and Israel. Since 2007 it has been ruled by Hamas. Hamas is an Arabic acronym for the Islamic Resistance Movement. Israel immediately imposed a blockade. Since then, Gaza has routinely been called the world’s largest open-air prison. Its air, land and sea routes are controlled by Israel. On October 7th, Hamas attacked Israel resulting in over 1,100 Israelis dead and the taking of several hundred hostages. Israel, with one of the world’s most advanced militaries, responded. Today, Gaza is in ruins. Palestinians have been killed and wounded in the tens of thousands. It has become, the UN says, “a graveyard.” How did this catastrophic situation develop? How did Gaza become Gaza?

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[Naomi Klein] Holocausts: An Historical Reckoning

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 27 Jun 2024 21:00:19 +0000

Holocaust, derived from the Greek, is a large-scale calamity involving fire. Today, the term is specifically used to describe the German genocide of the Jews. But it has a long history. The European mass murder of Indigenous peoples in North and South America killed 55 million or 90% of the population, between 1492 and 1600, in a little more than one hundred years. More bloodbaths were to follow. In Africa, many millions were killed in the Congo by Belgium. Germany wiped out the Herero and Nama peoples in Southwest Africa. In the Middle East, that was quickly followed by the Turkish slaughter of the Armenians. Then came Auschwitz. Since the end of World War Two, barbarisms and genocides have continued: in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, Myanmar and Gaza. Naomi Klein says, “The Nazi Holocaust is finally being placed in history connected to the terrors that came before and after.” Recorded at Swarthmore College.

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[Howard Zinn] Against War

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 20 Jun 2024 21:00:21 +0000

In a May 1976 column in the Boston Globe Howard Zinn wrote “Memorial Day should be a day for putting flowers on graves and planting trees. Also, for destroying the weapons of death that endanger us more than they protect us, that waste our resources and threaten our children and grandchildren.” Sadly his column in the Globe was discontinued soon after. And even more sadly his words are evergreen. Veterans are still returning from foreign wars with lost limbs, bodies and souls. If an honest history is ever written of the U.S. shock and awe war on Iraq it may not be believed. Remember: weapons of mass destruction, axis of evil, mobile chemical labs, slam dunks, Curveball, smoking guns, mushroom clouds, cakewalks, liberators, regime change and mission accomplished? The architects of the war: Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, Feith, Wolfowitz, and others should be doing time instead of having a good time. Today, Iraq is a broken country. Nothing will bring back the hundreds of thousands of dead. The U.S. owes Iraq reparations for the destruction it has caused. But being the global superpower means you never have to say you’re sorry or face justice. The permanent war economy feeds on conflict and strife. Is it utopian to imagine a different future? Recorded at the University of Texas.

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[Vijay Prashad] The Decline of the Global North

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 13 Jun 2024 21:00:26 +0000

The Global North or the West is a group of countries led by the United States. In juxtaposition is the Global South, once called the Third World. In recent years, the Global North has undergone a significant economic and political decline. The geopolitical landscape is shifting thus opening new possibilities for Global South countries, particularly for China. A dramatic example of America’s isolation was the UN vote on Palestinian membership. The vote was 143 in favor, 25 abstentions and 9 against. Joining the U.S. no vote were such powerhouses as Nauru, Micronesia, and Palau. Increasingly, the U.S. position in the world is weakening. Its double standards, one set of rules for the master and his servants and another set for everyone else, has not won Washington many friends in the Global South. Recorded at Connolly Books.

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[Richard Forer] Psychospiritual Roots of the Israel-Palestinian Tragedy

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 06 Jun 2024 21:00:30 +0000

In Sanskrit, Maya means illusion or magic. Maya is at work among people and nations who project carefully crafted positive images of themselves. The U.S. and Israel are no different from other countries. They claim self-defense as they launch massive attacks. They invoke international law when it suits them then ignore it when it doesn’t. Then there’s always the standard line about our so-called values which justifies their actions. Most people don’t have a clue about Israel-Palestine because they depend on heavily biased corporate news. Instead, they cling to shopworn myths and fantasies about themselves and their country. The Gaza bloodbath is enabled by the U.S. Are we “good Germans” pretending not to see? Recorded at the Chinook Center.

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[Matthew Desmond] Ending Poverty in America

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 30 May 2024 21:00:42 +0000

Why does the United States, the richest country on earth, have more poverty than any other advanced democracy? Why does this land of plenty allow one in every eight of its children to go without basic necessities, permit its citizens to live and die on the streets, and authorize its corporations to pay poverty wages? What perpetuates poverty and what can be done to end it? “Poverty persists,” Matthew Desmond says, “because the rest of us benefit from it.” Recorded at Town Hall.

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[Linda Sarsour] A Palestinian American Speaks

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 23 May 2024 21:00:46 +0000

It's axiomatic that anything dealing with Palestine is deemed controversial. And if it is Palestinian American women speaking out even more so. Look at the vitriol and death threats directed at Michigan congresswoman Rashida Tlaib. She is Palestinian American and is speaking out as is Maryam Alwan, a Palestinian American student at Columbia. She is a Students for Justice in Palestine organizer in alliance with Jewish Voice for Peace. There is pushback. Asna Tabassum, an American Muslim, was chosen to give the commencement speech at USC until she was canceled after being targeted by pro-Israel groups. The sheer scale of death and destruction in Gaza and the ongoing expansion of illegal colonies and violence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem has shifted the narrative. In communities and campuses across the U.S., Palestinian American women are breaking down Orientalist cliches about being meek and submissive and are actively taking the lead. Recorded at Colorado State University.

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[Chris Hedges] What the Genocide Says About Us

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 16 May 2024 21:00:44 +0000

The Iran-Israel attacks and the prospects of a wider Middle East war have dominated the news. Meanwhile, the bloodbath in Gaza continues. Genocide is the crime of crimes. We are witnessing it in real time in Gaza. The UN says, “The entire population of Gaza is enduring destruction at a scale and speed without parallel in recent history. Nothing can justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.” Israeli Prime Minster Netanyahu’s promised “mighty vengeance” quickly became genocide. As Chris Hedges points out racism enables genocide. He says, “Arabs, like all those with darker skin, are worth less in this moral calculus. This explains the outrage over the murder of seven employees from the World Central Kitchen and the silence over the killing of over 175 UN” Palestinian aid workers. Those who remain silent in the face of genocide are complicit.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Brian Klaas] The Wrong People at the Top

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 09 May 2024 21:00:55 +0000

Power. What is it? Political theorist Robert Dahl gave one example. He said, “A has power over B to the extent that he can get B to do something that he would not otherwise do.” Why is it that often that those who are on top are the wrong people? The high rollers and the nabobs lust for power behind a smokescreen of homilies about doing good. Today, more and more power is concentrated in the hands of the few, thus weakening democracy. Who wields it? How is it allocated? What are effective ways to ensure power is not abused and serves the societal greater good? How can we organize and protect ourselves from those seeking personal power and profit? How can we get the right people on top?

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Johan Galtung] The Decline and Fall of the American Empire

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 02 May 2024 21:00:43 +0000

Empires come and go. They’re sometimes long, sometimes short. But ultimately they fall. Hubris, incredible arrogance, is often the element that brings the mighty down. The U.S. is not immune from decline. With its ruinous wars, bloated Pentagon budget, military bases all over the earth, grotesque levels of inequality and an economy that spews red ink we are witnessing its diminishing power. Recall the words of President Eisenhower in his 1961 Farewell Address. He warned of the dangers posed by “the military-industrial-complex” and its “potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.” Recorded at the University of California.

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[Mohamad Junaid] Modi, Hindutva & Kashmir

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 25 Apr 2024 21:00:46 +0000

"India's democracy is being systematically disassembled,” says renowned writer and activist Arundhati Roy. She adds, “Any kind of dissent is just smashed with an iron fist." Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party openly espouse Hindutva, a racist ideology rooted in a mythical past and fueled by magical thinking. It’s a supremacist doctrine that privileges and elevates one group, Hindus, over all others. Its animus toward Muslims is particularly acute but Christians and other minorities also incur its wrath. Hindutva nationalists want to dominate Kashmir, India’s only Muslim-majority state. The Himalayan region has endured decades of occupation by hundreds of thousands of Indian troops. There is resistance. Tens of thousands of Kashmiris are dead and missing. Human rights violations are routine. Yet the Kashmiri quest for azadi, freedom, continues.

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[Sarah Scoles] The Future of Nuclear Weapons

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 18 Apr 2024 21:00:38 +0000

The award-winning Oppenheimer film has brought attention to the origins of the atomic bomb and the anguish of its inventor. Almost 80 years after that first explosion in New Mexico, the threat of global Armageddon not only remains but has increased. Until and unless nuclear weapons are abolished, humankind will always be in danger of massive death and destruction. Yet instead of moving toward abolition, the U. S. is upgrading its arsenal. The Doomsday Clock is ticking. Sooner or later, intentionally or unintentionally, terminal war will destroy the planet. The only way to prevent that from happening is to eliminate all nuclear weapons. As long as they exist, humanity hangs by a thread.

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[Eugene Puryear] From Birmingham to Bethlehem (part 2)

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 04 Apr 2024 21:01:26 +0000

How can the Palestinian struggle for freedom and dignity take lessons from the Black Liberation Movement? Historical circumstances are clearly different yet there are similarities. Both are located in a colonial-like situation, where a powerful oppressor dominates another less powerful group. Racism is a major factor. The Black Liberation Movement and Malcolm X’s eloquent voice and militant politics resonate with Palestinians struggling for their freedom. Liberation struggles are not easy. Resistance to change is entrenched. Power does not readily give up its prerogatives. 2CDs

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[Ralph Nader] Corporate Autocracy, Fascism, Trump & the Election

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 21 Mar 2024 21:01:00 +0000

Corporate power is more concentrated than ever before. The rich are significantly richer. And the poor? Well, they know their place. There’s an odor of fascism in the air. FDR once warned, “The liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than the democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is fascism.” You can hardly turn on the radio or TV or go online and not hear or read the sentence: This is the most important election in American history. In response to the current crises, note the plural, we can moan and groan or we can act. The task for concerned citizens is what it always has been: organize at the grassroots, resist oppression and put forth positive alternatives.

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[Andrew Seidel] Weaponizing Religious Freedom

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 14 Mar 2024 21:00:48 +0000

The separation of church and state has long been a cornerstone of American democracy. The Founders of the Republic, Jefferson, Madison, et al, insisted on a secular government unencumbered by religious dogma. However, in recent years decisions by a conservative-dominated Supreme Court have increasingly blurred that barrier. How has this happened? Enter Leonard Leo and a pile of money. Co-chair of the highly influential Federalist Society, he has been at the forefront of weaponizing religious freedom. According to Andrew Seidel, Leo “is universally recognized as the man who orchestrated the hostile takeover of the Supreme Court. He is responsible for the nomination and confirmation of John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett.” Leo chose them, Seidel says, for their “crusader ideology.” The erosion of secular values poses a threat to democracy.

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[Sarah Leah Whitson] Gaza, International Law & the Biden Presidency

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 07 Mar 2024 22:00:53 +0000

Julia Conley, staff writer for Common Dreams writes, “Along with persistent protests at public events held by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, recent polling is continuously demonstrating that the White House's vehement support for Israel's bombardment of Gaza despite the rising civilian death toll is not winning them accolades among the voters whose backing they depend on in the upcoming election.” Conley cites a recent poll that “50% of 2020 Biden voters believe the Israeli assault that the U.S. has helped fund is a genocide.” Young Democrats in particular are highly critical of the administration’s policy dimming Biden’s reelection hopes.

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[Chris Hedges] Biden, Gaza Genocide & Israel

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 29 Feb 2024 22:00:49 +0000

In a landmark decision the International Court of Justice, the UN’s highest judicial body, based in The Hague, by an overwhelming vote ruled that the accusation that Israel in its assault on Gaza is committing genocide is “plausible.” The Israeli prime minister in response said, “Israel’s commitment to international law is unwavering. The charge of genocide leveled against Israel is not only false, it’s outrageous.” Almost certainly the issue will move from the ICJ to the UN Security Council where it is likely to be vetoed by Washington. Meanwhile, in Gaza, where no place is safe, the bloodbath continues. The number of Palestinians killed, wounded and missing is soaring. Internationally, Washington is more and more isolated. Biden’s “ironclad” backing of Israel is coming under increasing scrutiny and opposition. The U.S., critics say, is enabling genocide.

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[John Pilger] Lapdogs with Laptops

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 22 Feb 2024 22:00:46 +0000

A vital and independent press is essential to the functioning of democracy. In recent years, media concentration has accelerated. This has resulted in the closing down of many domestic and foreign bureaus and a sharp reduction in the number of working reporters. In pursuit of a juicy tidbit, too many journalists today cozy up to power. They take pride in being called on by their first name at presidential news conferences. They play golf and tennis with high administration officials and are invited to all the important dinner parties. We need a press that will hold the feet of the mighty to the fire and not drink cabernet sauvignon with them. Citizens are ill-served by lapdogs with laptops.

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[Adila Hassim, Richard Falk, Irene Gendzier] Gaza: A Case of Genocide

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 15 Feb 2024 22:00:39 +0000

In the wake of the Holocaust in the 1940s and earlier in the century the genocidal attacks against the Armenians by Turkey and the German slaughter of the Herero and Namaqua peoples in SW Africa, the Polish jurist Raphael Lemkin coined the term genocide. In 1948 the UN adopted the Genocide Convention. On December 29, 2023, South Africa filed a case with the UN’s International Court of Justice in The Hague accusing Israel of the crime of genocide in its ongoing assault on Gaza. The Convention defines genocide as “the intent to destroy in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.” Israel has dismissed the South African charge calling it “meritless.”

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[Max Blumenthal] October 7th was Inevitable

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 01 Feb 2024 22:01:05 +0000

Gideon Levy, the noted Israeli journalist, says "Gaza is a cage, the biggest prison in the world." 2.3 million Palestinians are locked in a small area. For years they have been under siege by Israel and now relentless bombing resulting in tens of thousands of deaths and massive destruction. If you're trapped in a cage you'll try to break out. Millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem have been under the boot of Israel, enduring decades of occupation, killings, oppression, imprisonment of thousands, evictions, land seizures, roadblocks, checkpoints, walls, and fences. That explains what happened on October 7. It doesn’t excuse it. As the great poet W.H. Auden wrote, “I and the public know What all schoolchildren learn, Those to whom evil is done Do evil in return.”

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[Chris Hedges] The Israeli-Palestinian War

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 11 Jan 2024 22:01:02 +0000

The death toll of Palestinians in Gaza will soon surpass 20,000 with many more wounded. The UN says Gaza is “a graveyard for children.” The history of the Israeli-Palestinian war did not begin on October 7. While the atrocities of that day cannot and should not be excused, they have to be located in the context of decades of Israeli annexation, occupation, sieges, blockades and extrajudicial killings of Palestinians. Thousands of Palestinians are in Israeli prisons being held without trial or charges. Illegal Israeli settlements continue to grow and expand. Meanwhile, while all attention, understandably is on Gaza, the Israeli-occupied West Bank has seen several hundred Palestinians killed by the Israeli army and by rampaging settlers since October 7. The Jewish Voice for Peace organization denounces U.S. complicity with Israel’s never-ending occupation saying, “The unchecked military-funding and diplomatic cover enables and empowers Israel’s apartheid regime. Those who continue calling for ‘ironclad’ U.S. support for the Israeli military are only paving the path to more violence.” Recorded at the Sanctuary for Independent Media.

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[Norman Solomon] The Madness of Militarism

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 04 Jan 2024 22:00:50 +0000

Many are familiar with Eisenhower’s 1961 warning of “the military industrial complex.” Veteran CIA analyst Ray McGovern has expanded on Ike’s phrase. He coined the term MICIMATT, the Military-Industrial-Congressional-Inteligence-Media-Academia-Think Tank complex. How does it work? The notorious revolving door syndrome links the Pentagon to the arms manufacturers to Congress. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is a perfect example. Before being appointed by Biden he was on the board of Raytheon, a giant weapons corporation. Corporations bankroll politicians of both parties who then OK arms purchases. There’s tons of money to be made in cost overruns and repairing defective equipment. Just look at Zumwalt destroyers or the F-35. What boondoggles! Military madness continues apace.

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[Joseph Stiglitz] Democracy & the Failure of Neoliberal Globalization

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 21 Dec 2023 22:00:50 +0000

Neoliberal economics has exposed the dark side of the American dream. It took off with Reagan and Thatcher. For most workers incomes have stagnated except for the very rich, whose incomes have more than quadrupled. Biden correctly points out that millions of people have gotten new jobs. But despite that, the typical family is actually getting paid less taking inflation into account. According to data from the Federal Reserve, real median household income has been falling during the Biden presidency. Last year the poverty rate more than doubled, and the number of people who are hungry jumped to 44 million. The ruling class, the owners of the economy and architects of policy advance and protect their interests, no matter how grievous the effect on others. Can we imagine an equitable economic system?

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[Russell Means] Knowing Who You Are: Lessons from Native America

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 14 Dec 2023 22:00:51 +0000

For years the indigenous peoples of the U.S., after having been dispersed and decimated and relegated to reservations, were reduced to caricatures. We all knew Indians and their culture. There was the familiar medicine man, the trading post, Geronimo and Crazy Horse, papooses and squaws, tepees and tomahawks, war dances and war parties. Tonto was the epitome of faithfulness and subservience. The formation and rise of the American Indian Movement, AIM, in the late 1960s and early 1970s did much to break down conventional stereotypes. AIM, through its actions at Wounded Knee, Alcatraz, Mount Rushmore and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, demonstrated that Native Americans could and would fight back against racism and oppression. Recorded at the Boulder Public Library.

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[Russell Means] Knowing Who You Are: Lessons from Native America

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 14 Dec 2023 22:00:51 +0000

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[Norman Finkelstein] A Brief History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 07 Dec 2023 22:00:35 +0000

The world's eyes are on Gaza and Hamas. Hamas is an acronym in Arabic for the Islamic Resistance Movement. Here's a bit of history, usually ignored. Gaza came under Israeli military control in 1967. That continued for thirty-eight years until 2005. Since 2007, it has been subjected to a punishing Israeli-imposed siege and blockade and a series of bloody wars. Israel says it acts in self-defense responding to Hamas rocket attacks. But nothing compares to the death and destruction of the current war. Tens of thousands of Palestinians and 1200 Israelis have been killed. Without a knowledge of history, we are susceptible to manipulation. To give background is not to condone or excuse war crimes on either side. It's to provide an understanding of the origins of the conflict. As UN Secretary-General Guterres said, "The attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum."

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[Phyllis Bennis] Ending Cycles of Violence: Israel & Palestine

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 30 Nov 2023 22:00:38 +0000

The conflict between Israel and Palestine is in a new and extremely deadly period with many thousand dead, wounded and displaced. The battleground is the narrow coastal enclave of Gaza, home to over two million Palestinian Arabs. Often called the world’s largest open-air prison it is ruled by Hamas and has been subjected to an Israeli blockade since 2007. On October 7 Hamas launched a horrific attack on Israel killing some 1,200, taking over 200 hostages and triggering the latest Gaza-Israeli war. While the media focus on the Hamas attack and the Israeli response there is scant background or history. A closer examination reveals the conflict's deep-rooted causes. If they are not addressed the cycles of violence will continue. As Middle East expert Phyllis Bennis says, “We have to do the hard work of looking at context.” Interviewed by David Barsamian.

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[Vandana Shiva] Real Food, Real Farming

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 23 Nov 2023 22:00:42 +0000

We live in a time where our connection with food and with the farmers that grow it has been undermined. The root of the problem is a growing dependence on a dysfunctional paradigm based on pesticides and monocultures, and a separation between humans and nature. How we produce, distribute, and consume food is increasingly becoming the center of the multiple crises we face today. Vandana Shiva says, “It is possible and healthy to have a whole and nutritious diet based on biodiverse plants.” But she warns, “Do not become subscribers to Bill Gates’ fake food empire.” We must, she urges “join hands with the Earth” and “return to a culture of care that provides dignity to farmers who produce real food to feed the world.”

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[Bedross Der Matossian] Armenia, Artsakh & Azerbaijan

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 16 Nov 2023 22:00:41 +0000

Quickly lost in media coverage was the conflict between the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh, Artsakh in Armenian, and Azerbaijan. It resulted in the ethnic cleansing of the overwhelmingly Armenian enclave. For many months, their land was under siege and blockade by Azerbaijan. Putin and his so-called peacekeepers did nothing. The international community was silent. On September 19th Azerbaijan invaded. The outnumbered and outgunned Armenians had little chance against their more powerful neighbor. By the end of September, there were virtually no Armenians left in their ancient homeland. This is a huge blow in the history of the millennial old Armenian people who have endured massacres and genocide. But Armenians are resilient and they will heal their wounds and bounce back.

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[Richard Wolff] The Resurgent U.S. Labor Movement

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 09 Nov 2023 22:00:51 +0000

In 1970 unions represented about 30% of private-sector workers. Today that number is just 6%. As unions declined over the past half-century, workers suffered. They were paid poorly, they lost health care, retirement benefits and control over their schedules. Deaths of despair from drugs, alcohol and suicide surged among blue-collar workers. And the bosses, the fat cats? They got even fatter. CEO salaries went into orbit. After being pushed around and taking it on the chin for years, unions are back. They are a powerful force for equality, elevating the wages of underpaid non-union workers. UPS, Hollywood, Detroit automakers, Starbucks and other corporations are being challenged to raise wages and improve working conditions.

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[Naomi Klein] Conspiracy Culture

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 26 Oct 2023 21:00:38 +0000

Conspiracy. Conspiracy culture. Conspiracy theories. Just hearing those words can make some people cringe and others embrace them. Conspiracy theories are as old as the hills. But today, thanks to social media algorithms that push users toward ever more emotional, fact-adverse content, it's never been easier for wild implausible ideas and hate to go viral. It’s a rabbit hole that detracts attention from predatory economic policies that have created a gargantuan gap in wealth and power. Instead of focusing on what elites are actually doing, people are diverted into cultural wars about all-gender bathrooms, anti-racist education, non-white immigrants, and LGBTQ athletes which are all part of a deep-state cabal of Satan-worshipping pedophiles who control the world. Conspiracy culture makes the ruling class secure in knowing societal anger isn’t aimed at them.

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[Michael Parenti] Class Struggle from Roman Times to Today

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 19 Oct 2023 21:00:45 +0000

A constant throughout history from Ancient Rome to today is the rich and powerful seek ever more wealth and control. If a popular leader innovates reforms that help the poor they come under sustained attack or worse they are killed. Go back to Caesar in Rome. The standard view is he was a power-hungry tyrant who was slain by the “noble” Brutus and his cohorts to save the Roman Republic. These were some of the measures Caesar implemented which so infuriated his enemies. He distributed land to thousands of veterans and poor Roman families. He began a program of public works. He pushed through rent reductions, reduced debt burdens, and granted Jews the right to practice their religion. These reforms, Michael Parenti says, were unacceptable to the ruling class. Thus, Caesar was assassinated on the Ides of March 44 B.C.

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[Edward Said] Palestine: Memory, Inequality & Power

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 12 Oct 2023 21:00:38 +0000

The 1993 Oslo Accords between Israelis and Palestinians. You might recall the scene. Arafat, Rabin and Clinton at the White House beaming away and shaking hands. It was a euphoric moment. Peace and stability were at long last at hand. Did that happen? Take a look at a map. Oslo enabled greater Israeli control and expansion of colonies, euphemistically called settlements. There is no peace process rather it should be called an annexation/occupation process with an ever-shrinking possibility for a viable independent Palestinian state. And Washington? One administration after another went along with this charade. And the beleaguered Palestinians and their woeful leaders? They are to be grateful if they have a few malls, direct traffic and collect garbage. Rarely in the history of diplomacy has there been such a one-sided outcome as Oslo. Recorded at UCLA. This never-before-broadcast marks the 30th anniversary of Oslo and the 20th anniversary of Edward Said's death on September 25, 2003.

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[Nader Hashemi] Iran: The Struggle for Democracy

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 05 Oct 2023 21:00:54 +0000

Zhou Enlai of China once said, "One of the delightful things about Americans is that they have absolutely no historical memory." Perhaps the former Chinese premier was being too harsh, but then again maybe he wasn’t. Take the case of Iran. Some people remember the 1979 hostage crisis when Iranians stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and took 53 Americans hostage. But how many recall the coup the U.S. engineered that put the Shah back in power thus crushing democracy in Iran? The consequences of the coup were enormous and ultimately led to the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran. While Iran remains a repressive theocracy the struggle for democracy, spurred by women and young people, continues. Interviewed by David Barsamian.

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[Peter Kornbluh] The Other September 11: Chile, 1973

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 28 Sep 2023 21:01:01 +0000

September 11 is now engraved on the consciousness of Americans. Yet for the South American country of Chile, the date has a different and much more tragic significance. It was on that day in 1973 that the democratically-elected government of Salvador Allende was overthrown in a CIA-backed military coup. Augusto Pinochet seized power. In the ensuing years, tens of thousands of Chileans were killed, jailed, tortured and driven into exile. The U.S. role, under Nixon and his National Security Advisor Kissinger, in first destabilizing and then overthrowing the Allende government was decisive. It will rank among the most grotesque interventions ever undertaken by the U.S. A few years after the coup, Nobel Peace Prize winner Kissinger visited Chile. He told General Pinochet, “In the United States, as you know, we are sympathetic with what you are trying to do here.” Recorded at the Wellfleet Public Library as part of Ethel & Robert Levy's speakers series Talking Together.

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[Vijay Prashad] Africa: From Neocolonialism to Independence

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 21 Sep 2023 21:00:36 +0000

Almost every country in Africa was colonized by Europe. Today, while nominally sovereign many of these countries are in the clutches of the big international banks. The old colonial masters Britain and France still have a foothold in Africa but the U.S. has been pushing them aside, moving in to capture resources and markets. Washington has established an Africa Command, deployed troops, and built a string of bases. But France won’t let go of its grip on its former colonies. The coup in Niger, a former French colony, is not your run-of-the-mill coup. It must be understood in the context of widespread discontent with ruling elites and their collaboration with imperialism. Genuine independence is still far off for Niger and other countries in the Sahel region of West and Central Africa.

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[Koohan Paik-Mander] Arms Race = Suicide Race

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 31 Aug 2023 21:01:00 +0000

The “Oppenheimer” movie and the Ukraine war have brought much-needed attention to the possibility of terminal war. The arms race will end the human race. To call nukes weapons of mass destruction comes nowhere near describing the level of devastation that their use would result in. To be clear, these are weapons of annihilation that would make Hiroshima and Nagasaki look trivial. And how are our great leaders addressing this existential threat? Instead of advocating universal nuclear disarmament countries led by the U.S. are spending billions to upgrade them. That’s a good definition of insanity. It’s nothing short of a miracle that nuclear war, the ending of the planet, has not happened. Can our luck last forever? The odds and logic say no. If we don’t reverse the insane arms race, we will be committing suicide.

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[Victor Navasky] Naming Names: The Hollywood Blacklist

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 17 Aug 2023 21:00:55 +0000

The anti-Communist hysteria rampant in the U.S. in the 1940s and 1950s is often called the McCarthy period. But the red-baiting and persecution started even before McCarthy was elected to the Senate in 1946. The notorious House Un-American Activities Committee led the crusade to ferret out alleged Communists in the U.S. They struck gold when they took on Hollywood, not because they actually found Communists but because of the public's media-fed fixation on movie stars. Perhaps the most interesting case involved the great director Elia Kazan who felt he had to name names and cooperate with HUAC. In this program Victor Navasky raises interesting moral choices and questions. His discussion of the actor Lee J. Cobb is most moving. Interview by David Barsamian and S.K. Levin. Recorded at KGNU.

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[Noam Chomsky] Censorship, Free Speech & the Media

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 10 Aug 2023 21:00:40 +0000

States want to dominate the narrative with their version of events. There are two basic models. One follows Aldous Huxley, the other George Orwell. The latter is best known for 1984. Big Brother is brutal. He wields a big stick while Huxley uses a much softer carrot. Censorship is self-imposed because the journalist knows the boundaries of permissible thought. Essential assumptions are embedded unconsciously so they don’t even rise to the level of being challenged. The Huxley model is more subtle and relies on persuasion and getting people to focus on trivialities. Orwell is straight-out coercion. Sing the tune I’ve told you to or else. Recorded at First Parish Church at an event marking the 25th anniversary of South End Press.

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[Stephen Kinzer] Theodore Roosevelt, Mark Twain & American Empire

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 27 Jul 2023 21:00:44 +0000

Why has the United States intervened so often in foreign lands? What are its origins? Having expanded its borders largely through its destruction of Indigenous peoples the U.S. went on to project its power globally. Today, its empire of bases rings the Earth. According to Monthly Review the U.S. “has at least eight hundred military bases located in eighty-five countries.” Historically, military interventions and invasions have been a bi-partisan affair. Republicans and Democrats will only question tactics. It wasn’t always that way. There was a period in U.S. history when there was a fierce debate about Washington’s use of force around the world. It centered on two factions, one led by Theodore Roosevelt and the other by none other than Mark Twain. The themes and debates of the past resonate today. The names change but policy is fairly constant.

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[Nick Estes] Wounded Knee to Standing Rock: Indigenous Resistance

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 21:00:46 +0000

In South Dakota, in 1973, hundreds of Native American activists led by members of the American Indian Movement occupied the Pine Ridge Reservation village of Wounded Knee— which was also the site of a notorious massacre in 1890 in which federal troops killed 300 Lakota men, women and children. The months-long action in 1973 helped galvanize the movement for Indigenous rights which continues today. As the great historian Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz says, U.S. “policies involving Indigenous peoples have consistently been designed to disadvantage the Indigenous, locking them into suppressed social status and codifying dependence on the U.S. government.” Despite a history of oppression and genocide and continued discrimination Native Americans are organizing and resisting. A younger generation of Indigenous activists offers the promise of not just survival but for a resurgence of Indigenous societies and a renaissance of traditional culture. Interview by David Barsamian. Recorded at the University of Denver.

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[Omar Shakir] Israel/Palestine: A Threshold Crossed

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 06 Jul 2023 21:00:55 +0000

Thirty years ago, the Oslo Accords between Israelis and Palestinians were signed. There was widespread fanfare and jubilation. There was Clinton standing between Rabin and Arafat bringing them together at the White House. It was a new dawn. Finally, peace in the Holy Land. The pundits and the polls told us it was a miracle. Where is that miracle today? The chance of a viable independent Palestinian state has become a pipe dream. Israeli oppression of Palestinians is not random but systemic. Land which was to be part of a Palestinian state has been seized for Israeli-only settlements. Washington enables Israeli policies. While there has been some shift in U.S. public opinion the ruling political class ignores the realities on the ground.

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[Norman Solomon] War Crimes & War Criminals

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 29 Jun 2023 21:00:41 +0000

At the end of World War Two, the victorious Allies decided to try top Nazi officials as war criminals. A tribunal was convened in Nuremberg. Some of them were hanged. Others were given jail sentences. Today, Nuremberg is largely forgotten. The clear evidence of that was the March 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, an unambiguous war crime committed by war criminals, not just George W. Bush but Cheney, Wolfowitz, Rice, et al. Those responsible for the Iraq War have never answered for the chaos, massive bloodshed and dislocation that followed not just in Iraq, but in neighboring Syria as well. The rise of ISIS, the massacre of Yazidis and sectarian violence can be directly traced to what Bush and his cohorts did. Will he and the others involved be held to account? Hardly; the former president has taken up painting in his retirement.

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[Greg Grandin] Kissingerism

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 22 Jun 2023 21:00:33 +0000

Turning 100, the accolades for Henry Kissinger are pouring in. He is a legend. Over decades, he has assiduously cultivated and constructed the image of the sagacious elder statesman. Corporate journalists hang on his every word. Politicians seek his advice. But what is his record to deserve such respect and reverence? He is one of the most notorious characters of this or any other period in history. Just ask the Kurds, the East Timorese, the Bangladeshis, the Laotians, and the Chileans what they think of the Nobel Peace Prize laureate. But since they are “unpeople,” their opinions don’t count. When he was Nixon’s national security advisor, Kissinger displayed his kowtowing to power when he kept silent as his boss made anti-Semitic remarks. When Nixon demanded that Cambodia be bombed, he conveyed the order like a good errand boy. It was Kissinger who once boasted, “The illegal we do immediately, the unconstitutional takes a little longer.” Recorded at the University of Montana.

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[Khurram Parvez] Kashmir: Telling the Story

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 15 Jun 2023 21:01:01 +0000

I interviewed Khurram Parvez in Srinagar, Kashmir in February 2011. When I returned to India that September to follow up on reporting on the mass graves in Kashmir, I was denied entry by the Indian government. I’ve been banned from India ever since. Sadly, this interview is still relevant. Since August 2019 the Hindu nationalist regime ruling India has imposed even harsher conditions on Kashmiris and eliminated what little autonomy they had. This story needs to be told. But the G20 won’t hear it. Its tourism officials are visiting Kashmir in late May in what will be an orchestrated photo-op extolling the valley’s natural beauties and comparing Kashmir to paradise. Kashmir is off the media radar screen. India has carefully controlled the narrative. Interview by David Barsamian.

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[Omer Aziz] Fascism in America

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 08 Jun 2023 21:00:55 +0000

The term fascism is loosely bandied about. When most people think of it the images that come to mind are of stormtroopers and Hitler ranting and raving. It is often automatically assumed that fascism developed in Europe in the 1920s. But it had its origins earlier in the United States. The United States was built on genocidal attacks on Indigenous people, white supremacy and enslaved Black people. Actually, Hitler and the Nazis were greatly impressed and inspired by American fascism. Though the term was not used the United States had developed a sophisticated system of aggressive nationalism, racism and oppression, in other words: fascism. It lingers in the shadows and reappears, as is evident today. Oath Keepers, Proud Boys and other groups are fascist. They fear social equality as a threat to patriarchal, white supremacist domination.

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[Arundhati Roy] India: On the Road to Theocracy

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 01 Jun 2023 21:00:30 +0000

Hindutva is theocratic Hindu nationalism. It is a powerful force in what is now the world’s most populous country. Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister, is a lifelong member of the RSS, an openly Hindu supremacist organization. Le Monde Diplomatique reports: Hindutva “followers regard India as a Hindu country. Non-Hindus are at best guests, at worst invaders, and must be identified, watched, deprived of certain rights, and in some cases expelled or even eliminated. The main victims of Hindutva are India’s large Muslim minority. Hindutva adherents oppose mixed Hindu-Muslim marriages, calling them a ‘love jihad’ that aims to convert Hindu women so that their offspring will be raised as Muslims. This paranoid fantasy has encouraged violence and widespread denigration of Indian Muslims.” Recorded at the Swedish Academy at the Thought and Truth Under Pressure conference.

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[Bernie Sanders] You Can Save the Planet

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 25 May 2023 21:00:33 +0000

The crises facing humankind are, to use a much overused but accurate word – unprecedented. Plutocratic power in the hands of the few is a disaster for democracy and our ecosphere. The ruling class is driven by its voracious lust for domination and money. It’s an old American story. Over a century ago Theodore Roosevelt warned against “a small class of enormously wealthy and economically powerful men, whose chief object is to hold and increase their power.” From war to the climate emergency, the threats facing the planet are acute and getting worse. We can protect and nurture the Earth but it won’t happen by magic. We have to work for it. It’s up to us. As Bernie Sanders says, “You can save the planet.”

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[Stephen Bezruchka] Inequality Kills Us All

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 18 May 2023 21:00:36 +0000

In the 1950s the United States had among the lowest mortality rates and highest life expectancy in the world. Today, other rich nations and quite a number of poor ones have better health outcomes than Americans. Why? How can the U.S., probably the wealthiest country in history do so poorly? Starting with Reagan in the 1980s and the fervent embrace of neoliberal economics by the ruling class we’ve seen an overall decline in health and life expectancy along with huge gaps in income. The causes of our inequality and subsequent poor health indices are political, thus remedies must also be political. As Dr. Bezruchka says, “Our future work needs to focus on exposing ways in which rampant social injustice affects not just our economic well-being but also our prospects for a healthy life. Inequality,” he says, “kills!”

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[Mary Wood] Environmental Law & the Defense of Nature

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 11 May 2023 21:00:35 +0000

As ecosystems collapse and the climate emergency intensifies, the government often uses its authority to allow the very harm that it is supposed to prevent. Sound crazy? It is. The granting of permits is a battleground where corporations, with their oodles of money to buy influence, have the upper hand over nature. In the face of corporate greed and the enormity of the climate crisis, we need action now before it is too late. An ancient and enduring principle is the trust doctrine. It asserts public property rights to crucial resources such as forests, rivers, minerals, and fisheries. Its core logic compels the government, as trustee, to protect nature and to safeguard the resources we rely on for survival. UN Secretary-General Guterres says, “We must end the merciless, relentless, senseless war on nature.” Amen to that. Recorded at the University of Oregon.

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[Medea Benjamin] System Change

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 04 May 2023 21:00:35 +0000

The multiple problems facing the U.S. can no longer be swept under the rug. Modest so-called reforms are not sufficient given the magnitude of the crises we face from imperialism and militarism to war and the climate emergency. Our dollar-driven politics is corrupt. We need system change not cosmetic change. Individually, we can do small things but connecting with kindred spirits in organizations can make a difference in not only overcoming isolation but can lead to changes in consciousness and positive initiatives. One such organization is Code Pink. Founded in 2002, it is a women-led grassroots non-profit working to end U.S. wars, support peace and human rights and redirect our tax dollars into healthcare, education, green jobs and other life-affirming programs. Interview by David Barsamian. Recorded at KGNU.

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[Noam Chomsky] When Lunatics Run the Asylum

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 27 Apr 2023 21:00:36 +0000

The future of humankind and the planet are in danger from the twin existential threats of terminal nuclear war and climate catastrophe. The response? The Biden administration is following through on Pentagon plans to “modernize” its nuclear arsenal. Instead of eliminating these weapons of mass destruction, we are upgrading them. And the clock is ticking louder and louder on the climate emergency. The response? A massive new oil drilling project in Alaska. Seem illogical? Not really. These are the kinds of outcomes you can expect when lunatics run the asylum. Interview by David Barsamian.

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[Jeffrey Sachs] Wars of Hegemonic Competition

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 20 Apr 2023 21:30:13 +0000

Hegemony is from the Greek meaning authority, rule, and political supremacy. Since 1945 the United States has been the global hegemon. That is changing now. The U.S. recently issued its Annual Threat Assessment. It makes for interesting reading. It lists the various threats Washington faces. It repeats the embedded line that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was “unprovoked.” But the report’s focus is on China. It says, “China has the capability to directly attempt to alter the rules-based global order in every realm and across multiple regions, as a near-peer competitor that is increasingly pushing to change global norms.” The phrase “rules-based global order” is vintage Orwell. Translated it means that Washington rules the world and you’d better follow its diktats or else. But China has emerged as the major challenge to U.S. hegemony thus the danger of conflict is increasing.

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[Jeff Cohen] Break Up the Media Monopolies

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 13 Apr 2023 21:00:41 +0000

Concentration of any industry is dangerous but media concentration is particularly dangerous because of the vast influence media exert in shaping public opinion. Years ago, legendary journalist and media critic Ben Bagdikian warned of the dangers posed by media monopolies. Those warnings have been borne out. A handful of mega corporations from Comcast to Disney dominate the media. As Bagdikian predicted, corporate business interests would trump journalism, particularly investigative journalism which is costly thus cutting into profits. Lack of competition allows the conglomerates to raise prices. Have you looked at your cable bill lately? Furthermore, a vibrant democracy is ill-served by a corporate media that is heavily connected to and reliant on official sources. An informed citizenry is essential for the communications needs of a democratic society. Media monopolies should be broken up.

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[Richard Wolff] The United States of Denial

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 06 Apr 2023 21:00:39 +0000

States can’t easily accept unpleasant realities like their power is waning. America is no different. In geopolitics, China is an ascending power and challenging U.S. hegemony. Unlike in the past, China can’t be easily pushed around. Its top diplomat says Washington “is in no position to make demands of China.” Economically, China’s GDP is projected to pass the U.S. in the next decade. The U.S., riven by internal contradictions, ever-growing inequality and factionalism, is losing ground to China. But in one area it remains dominant: the military. It is building new bases in the Philippines completing an arc of U.S. forces around China. How would Washington respond if China surrounded the U.S. with bases? “Denial is never a good idea,” says economist Richard Wolff. “We have to face what’s going on. Otherwise, we are going to get ourselves into one mess after another.”

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[Manning Marable] By Any Means Necessary: Malcolm X

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 23 Mar 2023 21:46:44 +0000

The singular voice of Malcolm X speaks today to more people than ever before. He endures as a powerful and inspirational figure. It's not hard to understand why. With his mesmerizing oratorical style and cadence, it was Malcolm who redefined the discourse on race. He moved the discussion from notions of "prejudice" and "discrimination" to racism. It was Malcolm who articulated concepts like "community control" and "white power structure" and “the field Negro and the house Negro.” It was Malcolm who made it clear that Blacks were the victims of a system of domination and exploitation that was not regional but national, not superficial but structural, not episodic but ongoing and intentional. His uncompromising critical analysis gave Malcolm his moral authority. He was assassinated on February 21, 1965, but as new generations discover him, his ideas live on. Recorded at Metro State College.

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[Juan González] The Young Lords

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 16 Mar 2023 21:00:35 +0000

Puerto Rico. The U.S. seized the Caribbean island from Spain in 1898. Officially it is “a locally self-governing unincorporated territory of the United States.” Since 1917 those born in Puerto Rico have U.S. citizenship but they can’t vote in federal elections. Today, more Puerto Ricans live in the U.S. than on the island. The Young Lords was a U.S.-based Puerto Rican political organization advocating for justice and equality for Puerto Ricans. As one scholar wrote, “The Young Lords emerged to call out and confront the root causes of inequality and discrimination with incredible bravado. Effectively, they staged occupations and takeovers drawing attention to social injustice through savvy media coverage, and more.” By the mid-70s the Young Lords disbanded but their radical grassroots campaigns had long-lasting impacts.

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[Robin D. G. Kelley] The Black Radical Tradition

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 09 Mar 2023 22:00:31 +0000

Historian and author Cedric Robinson defined the Black radical tradition as “the continuing development of a collective consciousness informed by the historical struggles for liberation.” The Black radical tradition is a rich and vibrant tapestry woven by the efforts of many Black people who raised their voices demanding freedom and equality denied to them by racial capitalism. They broke through white supremacy and forged the Black Radical Tradition. There were such giants as W. E. B. Du Bois, C.L.R. James, Frantz Fanon, and Malcolm X. And important cultural figures such as Langston Hughes, Lorraine Hansberry, James Baldwin, Paul Robeson, and Toni Morrison. Today, the legacy of these pioneers and many others inform and inspire Black movements for liberation and justice from Ferguson to Minneapolis to Memphis.

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[Medea Benjamin] The Selling of the Ukraine War

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 02 Mar 2023 22:00:37 +0000

February 24 marks the first-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Moscow’s action is a clear violation of international law. But it was not unprovoked. The NATO military alliance has expanded its bases right up to Russia’s borders. The U.S. and its NATO allies are sending more and more arms to Ukraine. Last week it was Patriot missiles. This week it’s tanks. What will it be next week? Fighter jets? The steady escalation of weaponry is music to the ears of the military-industrial complex. The longer the war goes on the more their cash registers go ka-ching. The continuation of the war is getting a hard sell from the armchair pundits and retired generals and their corporate media enablers. What will it take to stop the war?

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Angela Davis] Beginnings: Movements of Possibility

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 23 Feb 2023 22:00:33 +0000

In times of crisis one can simultaneously see danger and opportunity. Today there is nostalgia for an imagined past and a desire to recreate it. It’s a seductive tale. Things were better then. The country was unchallenged in the world. Jobs were plentiful. Minorities, women, gays, and immigrants knew their place. There was order in the land. But over many decades, as a result of struggle and movements, society evolved and changed. We are at a perilous moment. Do we want to go back or continue to move forward building on hard-fought gains? During another perilous time, Martin Luther King, Jr. declared, “We’ve got to massively confront the power structure.” We are at a crossroads: the beginning of a brighter or darker future. The choice is ours. This event was presented by the Lannan Foundation.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Liat Ben-Moshe] Deinstitutionalization

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 16 Feb 2023 22:00:39 +0000

At eleven years old, Lois Curtis became an out-patient at Georgia Regional Hospital for her cognitive and developmental disabilities. She wound up being confined and sedated in mental institutions until she was 27 when Atlanta’s Legal Aid Society sued Georgia’s Human Services Commissioner George Olmstead. The case of Olmstead vs L.C. went all the way to the Supreme Court and Lois Curtis won in a 6 to 3 decision in 1999. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg wrote, “Confinement in an institution severely diminishes the everyday life activities of individuals, including family relations, social contacts, work options, economic independence, educational advancement and cultural enrichment.” The case has been called the “Brown vs Board of Education” for disability rights. Recorded at Socialism 2022

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Timothy Snyder] The Ukraine War & the Future of Democracy

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 09 Feb 2023 22:00:39 +0000

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is an unambiguous violation of the UN Charter and international law. NATO’s expansion eastward up to Russia’s borders was seen by Moscow as an existential threat thus prompting its attack. The war continues with no end in sight. The Ukrainian foreign minister says, "Every war ends in a diplomatic way. Every war ends at the negotiating table." That’s no doubt true but Kjiv is imposing preconditions for talks that are highly unlikely to be accepted by Russia. Medea Benjamin co-founder of the peace group Code Pink says, "The White House and Congress are fueling this war with a steady stream of weapons instead of pushing for talks to end the conflict." We need, she says, “negotiations, not escalation."

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Jules Boykoff] Martin Luther King Jr & the FBI

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 22:00:36 +0000

The FBI, the Federal Bureau of Investigation was once called by American Indian movement activist John Trudell, as the Federal Bureau of Intimidation. The FBI has a long history of persecuting people for thought crimes, having the wrong political ideas. J. Edgar Hoover was the Bureau’s first director and he served in that post for almost 50 years. He ran the FBI as an unchallenged lord of the manor and his agents were serfs to do his bidding. Hoover had a particular animosity for and loathing of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the Nobel Peace Prize winner and leader of the Civil Rights movement. He called King “the most notorious liar in the country.” President Kennedy and his attorney general brother Robert signed off on Hoover's request to wiretap Dr. King. Using infiltrators, the spread of rumors, the fabrication of evidence, and media manipulation, the FBI launched a full-scale smear campaign to discredit Dr. King and the movement he led. It was all done of course in the name of “national security.” Recorded at Pacific University.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[John Mearsheimer] Great Power Politics in the 21st Century

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 26 Jan 2023 22:00:36 +0000

Empires rise and fall from Greek and Roman times down to the British and the French to the present-day U.S. Some lasted for centuries others mere decades. There are always new powers that want to rule the roost. For many, military power is closely linked to economic well-being. But once the cash register starts emptying overall decline is not far behind. It's clear that in the 21st-century global dominance is a contest between the U.S. and China. Russia is dangerous but is relatively weak, witness its ineptitude in Ukraine. The National Intelligence Council is a top-level U.S. government agency that produces reports projecting global trends. Not surprisingly, it identifies Beijing as a "potential rival" to Washington that "will probably have the largest economy, surpassing that of the U.S. a few years before 2030."

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Rami Khouri] Arab Autocracies & U.S. Policy

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 19 Jan 2023 22:00:39 +0000

Autocracy: concentrated power in the hands of a few. The U.S. is linked to a network of Arab autocracies led by sultans, emirs, and military dictators who are called “allies” and “partners.” Politics and economics make for strange bedfellows. Perhaps none is stranger than the one with the feudal regime of Saudi Arabia. The Washington/Riyadh axis goes back to 1945 when FDR met King Saud on a U.S. destroyer in the Suez Canal. The deal was struck. The U.S. would protect the Saud monarchy and in return, American corporations would have access to Saudi oilfields. In the decades since ties between the two countries have remained close. Today, the U.S. has been supporting the Saudi-led war in Yemen, which has resulted in almost 400,000 dead and millions hungry. Interview by David Barsamian. Recorded at the Middle East Studies Association annual conference.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Sarah Leah Whitson] Human Rights & Democracy in the Middle East

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 12 Jan 2023 22:00:37 +0000

The Middle East is in turmoil. The hope and promise of the 2011 Arab Spring are now a distant memory. The toppling of the decrepit Mubarak regime in Egypt was greeted by many Egyptians with joy. But that elation didn’t last long. Since 2014, Egypt is ruled by General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Sisi has changed his uniform for an Armani suit. If you criticize him and his regime you can easily land up in jail or worse. There is something like 60,000 political prisoners in Egypt. In terms of freedom of the press, Egypt ranks 168th out of 180 countries. That doesn’t seem to bother Washington. Cairo is a major recipient of U.S. aid and is a lucrative market for Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and Northrup Grumman weapons sales. Meanwhile, off the radar screen is the ongoing Saudi/UAE bloodbath in Yemen. Interview by David Barsamian. Recorded at the Middle East Studies Association annual conference.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Noam Chomsky] Racing to the Precipice

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 05 Jan 2023 22:00:48 +0000

The warnings about the climate emergency are coming in fast and furious, yet public awareness and political action remain at a low level. The latest report is from the World Meteorological Organization, a UN agency. Its director said, “The impacts of climate change” are "often felt through water—more intense and frequent droughts, more extreme flooding, more erratic seasonal rainfall and accelerated melting of glaciers—with cascading effects on economies, ecosystems, and all aspects of our daily lives." There is an urgent need for collective action to avoid irreversible tipping points. Meanwhile, The Guardian reports, fossil fuel corporations “are making astronomical amounts of money.” Politically, the mitigation measures taken so far are woefully inadequate. People are distracted. They know more about the World Cup than the climate crisis. Interviewed by David Barsamian.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Marie Ranjbar] Iran: Zan, Zendegi, Azadi / Woman, Life, Freedom

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 29 Dec 2022 22:00:35 +0000

Since mid-September, tens of thousands of Iranians have taken to the streets across the country to protest the government's treatment of girls and women and in particular mandatory dress codes. These historic demonstrations center on women's socio-political rights and democratic governance in Iran. The government has brutally responded. Hundreds have been killed, including children. Many thousands have been arrested. Despite the regime's violent crackdown, protests have only widened. Demonstrators are shouting "Death to the Dictator." The Islamic Republic of Iran, now in its 43rd year, has never faced such sustained and widespread opposition. Can it remain in power? The slogan of the protest movement is Zan, Zendegi, Azadi/Woman. Life. Freedom. Interviewed by David Barsamian. Recorded at KGNU.

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[Vijay Prashad] History Lessons (part 2)

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 15 Dec 2022 22:00:43 +0000

Is history just a bunch of innocuous cold facts and dates? Or is it something more? What can we learn from the past? History is not neutral. It’s an ideological battleground. Witness the vitriolic attacks by establishment figures on those who want a reckoning of African American slavery. They want to obfuscate that sordid history. Or take the U.S. invasion of Grenada in 1983. What was that about? Or the CIA coup in Chile? Gee, never read about that in school. Elites can lie outright about history. Or they can omit facts that might lead to inconvenient conclusions. The rulers want to keep to their sanitized version of the past and maintain myths about enlightened leaders. Sure, here and there a few bad apples made mistakes but they were the exception, not the rule. Were they? Interviewed by David Barsamian 2CDs

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Chris Hedges] War: The Greatest Evil

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 08 Dec 2022 22:00:37 +0000

The rhetoric accompanying war is always saturated with noble sentiments and symbols. Flag, country, duty. We have enemies thus we need better weapons. The military-industrial complex grows and grows. The Pentagon has carte blanche. It asks for a new aircraft carrier, submarine or fighter jet. The answer from the White House and Congress is, “Sure. How many do you want?" The legendary Marine Corps General Smedley Butler said, “War is a racket. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives. It’s an economic imperative which must be stimulated, however deviously.” Recorded at the Sanctuary for Independent Media.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Juliet Schor] Gig Economics

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 01 Dec 2022 22:00:45 +0000

At first blush, it seems like a dream job and a great way to make money. You always wanted to be your own boss. You’re free and independent. You work where and when you want. It could be a side job giving you that extra income you need. The gig economy has exploded in recent years. But it’s not all that its cranked out to be. Workers are vulnerable. There are no benefits. Some workers wind up working for peanuts. With no regular income, the gig economy can be stressful especially if you have a crisis. What are the ins and outs of gig economics? Recorded at the University of Oregon.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Sanjay Kak] Azadi! Freedom!

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 24 Nov 2022 22:00:35 +0000

"Azadi!"—Urdu for "Freedom!"—is the slogan of the freedom struggle in Kashmir against Indian occupation. Abroad, New Delhi promotes itself as the world’s largest democracy. At home, the picture is quite different. India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, the BJP, led by Narendra Modi espouses Hindutva, Hindu nationalism. It promotes Islamophobia and stifles dissent. What it wants from largely Muslim Kashmir is submission. To ensure that it has deployed hundreds of thousands of troops making the Himalayan region the most densely militarized zone on earth. Kashmir is an unresolved issue dating back to the partition of India in 1947. For decades Kashmiris have been in revolt against Indian rule. Many tens of thousands have been killed. Many more have been displaced. What do Kashmiris want? Azadi. Interviewed by David Barsamian.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Dave Zirin] Sports & Resistance to Fascism

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 17 Nov 2022 22:00:58 +0000

Many believe that sports are apolitical and neutral. But it isn’t. Sports are intricately enmeshed within the larger societal context. Some athletes speak out. Muhammad Ali in 1967, with the United States at war in Vietnam, refused to be inducted into the military, saying “I ain’t got no quarrel with those Vietcong.” He was widely condemned. He lost, at the peak of his career, his world championship crown and was banned from boxing for three years. More recently NBA superstar LeBron James was told by Laura Ingraham of Fox to “shut up and dribble” and not talk about politics. James observed, "The best thing she did was help me create more awareness…about social injustice." Another example was NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s simple act of “taking a knee.” It became a symbol of resistance to America’s racial inequality.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Rangina Hamidi] Afghanistan: Past & Present

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 10 Nov 2022 22:01:00 +0000

Afghanistan, land of the Afghans, more than two millennia ago, this may surprise you, was a major center of Buddhism. Situated on the fabled Silk Road this mountainous landlocked country has an old and rich history and culture with great poets like Raabia Balkhi, Khushal Khattak, and most renowned of all, Rumi. Afghanistan has been called “the graveyard of empires.” Just ask the British, the Russians and the Americans. Today, it is ruled by the Taliban, notorious for their rigid brand of Islam. The situation in the country is bleak. It is under sanctions. Hunger and poverty are widespread. Violence, though reduced, continues. Education for girls is limited. Ahmed Rashid, author of the bestseller Taliban warns, “Unless the Taliban are prepared to moderate their policies Afghanistan will remain the fulcrum of unrest and turbulence in Central Asia for years to come.” Interviewed by David Barsamian. Recorded at KGNU.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Noam Chomsky] Notes on Resistance

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 03 Nov 2022 21:00:27 +0000

Resistance. How does one move from a position of dissent to resistance, direct action? As a political tactic resistance requires careful thought and must be freely undertaken. Practitioners include most famously Gandhi and Dr. King. It can come with a price. Both Gandhi and King were assassinated. Dolores Huerta, a major organizer and leader of farmworkers was arrested more than 20 times. John Lewis, the civil rights icon was severely beaten. What forms should resistance take? There is no one size fits all answer. Take Thoreau. He was opposed to the U.S. war on Mexico. He refused to pay taxes and went to jail. During the Vietnam War resistance took the form of men refusing to fight. Today young people in Extinction Rebellion and the Sunrise Movement, engage in resistance defending our planet against destructive corporations and the states that enable them.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Barbara Ehrenreich] A Tribute to Barbara Ehrenreich

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 27 Oct 2022 21:00:51 +0000

Barbara Ehrenreich was a renowned social critic, journalist, feminist and author. She was born in Butte, Montana and studied chemistry at Reed College in Oregon and later received a Ph.D. in cellular immunology at Rockefeller University in New York. But she left a possible career in science and teaching to become a seasoned muckraker in the tradition of Ida B. Wells and Lincoln Steffens. She wrote many books. Her articles appeared in Ms., Mother Jones, and The Progressive. She wrote incisively and with compassion about working people and the hardships they endure. To write about the underclass she went undercover and took low-wage jobs such as hotel maid, cleaning houses, nursing home aide and waitressing. Through her work, she made the invisible working poor visible. She was long active in the DSA, Democratic Socialists of America. In 2012 she founded the Economic Hardship Reporting Project, seeking to place the crisis of poverty and economic insecurity at the center of the national political conversation. Her best-known book Nickel and Dimed, a classic in social justice literature, has sold millions of copies. She passed away on September 1, 2022. Katha Pollitt in The Nation wrote “Barbara accomplished so much, but what I love most about her work is that it was never boilerplate. She always found a way to take her argument to a deeper level. And there was always empathy—for the people who are overlooked, whose struggles are disregarded, who have to fight for food and shelter and a halfway decent life, for every shred of dignity and recognition.”

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Arundhati Roy] The RSS: Fascism in India

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 20 Oct 2022 21:00:54 +0000

The realities of India are in sharp contrast with the image it projects internationally. For example, you probably haven’t heard of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the RSS. It is an Indian right-wing, Hindu nationalist, paramilitary organization. The RSS, with its millions of members, exerts enormous influence and power in India. Its political party is the BJP, the Bharatiya Janata Party led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The RSS is the progenitor and leader of a large body of organizations called the Sangh Parivar, which has a presence in all facets of Indian society. It promotes a Hindu supremacist ideology that is intolerant of India’s minority communities, especially Muslims. India, particularly under the current regime of Narendra Modi is in Arundhati Roy’s words “a dangerous place” where “a deeply flawed, fragile democracy has transitioned– openly and brazenly–into a criminal, Hindu-fascist enterprise.”

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Nancy Fraser] Capitalism, COVID & the Climate Crisis

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 06 Oct 2022 21:01:03 +0000

Capitalism, COVID & the climate crisis are interconnected. Capitalism careens from one disaster to another. Its inequalities are grotesque. The pandemic is likely to take on new forms in the future. The climate emergency is all too obvious. The latest IPCC report, the UN agency on climate, makes for sobering reading. It warns that dire impacts from climate change will arrive sooner than many expect. The co-chair of the working group behind the report said, "Without immediate and deep emissions reductions across all sectors, it will be impossible.” Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General António Guterres, said some governments and businesses were “lying” in claiming to be on track for 1.5C. He warned: “Some government and business leaders are saying one thing – but doing another. Simply put, they are lying. And the results will be catastrophic.”

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Henry Giroux] The Attack on Public Education

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 29 Sep 2022 21:00:55 +0000

These are difficult times for public education. It is under political attack by what noted educator and scholar Henry Giroux calls the "apostles of authoritarianism." He says, "Public schools, more than ever, are subject to the toxic forces of privatization and mindless standardized curricula while teachers are de-skilled and subject to intolerable labor conditions, not unlike Walmart workers. Unfortunately, public and higher education now mimic a business culture run by a managerial army of bureaucrats, more suited to work as accountants in pencil factories than in schools. At the same time, all levels of education are under attack by right-wing politicians who are censoring history, forbidding discussions about racism, eliminating tenure, and imposing enormous restrictions on teacher autonomy."

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Howard Zinn] Three Holy Wars

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 22 Sep 2022 21:01:06 +0000

The conventional view of U.S. wars follows a formulaic line: We are innocent victims of unprovoked attacks. The sleeping giant wakes and reluctantly goes to fight. All military action is imbued with benevolent intentions: human rights, democracy, and liberty. There are parades and flag-waving. Solemn ceremonies and gun salutes at funerals honor the fallen. But who asks for what and for whom were they killed? Who benefits? Weapons manufacturers and mercenary contractors make out like bandits. That's a taboo subject. Resources? Empire expansion? Don't go there. Stick to patriotism. You can mouth the typical prattle of they died for freedom. The Afghan war is Operation Enduring Freedom. And war crimes? That's what they do, not us. Tribunals? Same deal: for them. Wars are packaged and sold just like any other commodity. Propaganda is skillfully used to win over the population. Recorded at Boston University on Armistice Day.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Howard Zinn] American Exceptionalism

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 21:01:02 +0000

American exceptionalism has been a fundamental tenet of U.S. foreign policy. International law applies to designated enemies, not for Washington and its vassals. Obey the master or face the consequences. Assassinations, sanctions, bombings, invasions and occupations are all tools of the empire to enforce its diktats. As George H. W. Bush once said, echoing Tony Soprano, "What we say goes." The arrogance is bi-partisan. But since January 6, the question begs: Is this the end of American Exceptionalism?

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Howard Zinn] Q&A in Albuquerque

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 08 Sep 2022 21:00:55 +0000

This recording, recently discovered in the piles at AR, features the great radical historian talking with students at UNM. He is asked about getting past the culture of denial of the powerful. Drawing on his vast knowledge of history he says, “It always takes time and persistence. Every movement looks like it is hopeless in the beginning. It seems people have no power. But then people took risks. The most important thing we can do is not to hold back. Resist authority. The more people speak out it encourages others to do the same. The American system is controlled but it has little openings. We have to take advantage of those openings.” He tells the students about his friend and fellow WWII vet, Kurt Vonnegut and a letter the New York Times refused to print. A perfect companion to the Back Seat Interviews I did with him that same day as we drove from Santa Fe to this event in Albuquerque and back. Recorded at the University of New Mexico.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Howard Zinn] Second Thoughts on the First Amendment

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 01 Sep 2022 21:00:57 +0000

“Congress shall make no law…abridging freedom of speech.” There it is. Plain and simple. The First Amendment to the Constitution. But since 9/11 that amendment has been under sustained attack. Whistleblowers John Kiriakou, Julian Assange, Chelsea Manning, Edward Snowden, and others are hounded, threatened and imprisoned by the U.S. government. A fascinating and compelling account of past and present efforts to secure and expand political and social rights for workers, women and African-Americans. A classic Zinn from our archives. Recorded at the University of Colorado.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Howard Zinn] A People’s History of the United States (part 2)

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 18 Aug 2022 21:08:19 +0000

2 CDs “You wanna read a real history book?” Matt Damon asks Robin Williams in the movie Good Will Hunting. “Read Howard Zinn’s People’s History of the United States. That book’ll knock you on your ass.” It’ll do that and more. Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States has sold more than four million copies. And it keeps on selling. Zinn’s close friend Noam Chomsky said the book “changed the consciousness of a generation.” Zinn’s history from below approach was to foreground as he said, “the countless small actions of unknown people.” It was a sharp departure from the traditional great men framing of history: presidents, generals, leaders, etc. His unorthodox bottom-up approach presented the past stripped of its myths and propaganda. Recorded at Reed College.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Bill McKibben] Workable Solutions to the Climate Crisis

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 04 Aug 2022 21:01:06 +0000

The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change uses stark and dire language in its latest report. It says, “The cumulative scientific evidence is unequivocal: Climate change is a threat to human well-being and planetary health. Any further delay in concerted anticipatory global action on adaptation and mitigation will miss a brief and rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a livable and sustainable future for all.” It warns of “irreversible” trends that will render parts of Earth “uninhabitable.” There was brief media coverage of the IPCC report and then it disappeared. There are workable solutions to slow down and stabilize the warming thus avoiding some catastrophic impacts. But as the co-chair of the report says, “It’s now or never.”

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[John Mearsheimer] Causes and Consequences of the Ukraine War

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 28 Jul 2022 21:01:08 +0000

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has triggered the most dangerous international conflict in decades with ominous implications. It has already resulted in much death, destruction and displacement in Ukraine. A disruption in food supplies may lead to famine in West Asia, Latin America and Africa. And there is a possibility of the war escalating into something unthinkable. Understanding the root causes of the crisis is essential if we are to prevent it from getting worse and to find a way to bring it to a close. What role have the U.S. and NATO played historically and currently in Ukraine? What might a peace settlement look like?

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Michael Parenti] Imperialism

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 21 Jul 2022 21:01:04 +0000

Imperialism is a term not applied by the mainstream media and traditional academics to anything the U.S. does. However, it is liberally applied to contemporary enemies or hoary empires of the past. Michael Parenti defines imperialism “as the process whereby the rulers of one country use economic and military power to expropriate the land, labor, markets and natural resources of another country in order to attain ever greater capital accumulation on behalf of wealthy interests at home and abroad.” Washington is always looking for euphemisms to cloak its real intentions thus “rules-based international order” is gaining currency. U.S. interventions are presented as promoting noble causes such as human rights, opposing tyranny and bringing democracy to others, and on and on.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[David Korten] Our Planetary Existential Crisis

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 07 Jul 2022 21:01:09 +0000

Our planet and humankind are in danger. The warnings coming from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres could not be more unambiguous. He says we are heading “towards an unlivable world. We are on a fast track to climate disaster. Major cities under water. Unprecedented heatwaves. Terrifying storms. Widespread water shortages. The extinction of a million species of plants and animals. This is not fiction or exaggeration,” he continues. “It is what science tells us will result from our current energy policies. We are on a pathway to global warming of more than double the 1.5-degree limit agreed in Paris. If you care about justice, and our children’s future, I am appealing directly to you. Climate promises and plans must be turned into reality and action, now. It is time to stop burning our planet, and start investing in the abundant renewable energy all around us.”

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Frank Smyth] The NRA Unmasked

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 30 Jun 2022 21:00:43 +0000

Gun violence exacts an enormous toll on U.S. society-claiming tens of thousands of lives every year. Many more thousands are wounded and scarred physically and psychologically. From malls to schools from places of worship to concerts there is no safe space. Weapons of war are easily obtainable. We have the spectacle of armed militias in combat gear roaming statehouses, threatening the lives of government officials and invading the national Capitol itself on January 6. The main lobby for guns is the National Rifle Association, the NRA. It resists common-sense reforms. No matter the tragic occasion, the NRA recites its slogan, “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” The NRA denounces calls for reasonable gun control as attacks on freedom and liberty. The organization’s actual history is hidden not only from the general public but even from its own members.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Arundhati Roy] Fascism & Resistance in India

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 23 Jun 2022 21:00:16 +0000

Fascism in India? It’s a secular republic, according to its constitution but the country under its prime minister Narender Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party, the BJP, has drifted sharply to the religious right. The BJP ideology is Hindutva, Hindu nationalism. Its mother ship and muscle is the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the RSS. It’s a Hindu nationalist paramilitary organization, inspired by Mussolini and Hitler, and has millions of members. Not much is known about what’s actually going on in India beyond cliches such as the world’s largest democracy, yoga and ashrams, tandoori chicken and spicy samosas. The reality is in stark contrast with the carefully crafted exported image. The BJP/RSS axis has demonized and targeted India’s large Muslim minority. There have been pogroms and lynchings. People are pushing back and resisting. Recorded at the University of Texas.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Noam Chomsky] Chronicles of Dissent

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 16 Jun 2022 21:00:18 +0000

In his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” Dr. King memorably said, “We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” Our present precarious circumstances make Dr. King’s words abundantly clear. We face war, climate chaos, a pandemic, inequality, hunger and poverty. The perils confronting humankind are unprecedented. And always looming in the background are doomsday weapons that can destroy our precious planet. “The threats are accumulating,” Noam Chomsky says, “We are approaching the most dangerous point in human history. We are now facing the prospect of the destruction of organized human life on Earth.”

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Sarita Gupta] The Future of Work

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 02 Jun 2022 21:00:17 +0000

The future of work is unclear. There will be jobs. But what kind? The pandemic drove many to work remotely at home. As the crisis ebbs some will discover that’s the future. Crucial long-term factors affecting workers will be more and more AI, artificial intelligence, and automation. Corporations will be looking to expand in those areas to maximize profits. This is all happening while worker militancy has enjoyed a resurgence. Workers are challenging some of the biggest corporations. There’s been a marked uptick in unionization, organizing, and strikes at such behemoths as Amazon, Starbucks and Apple. Workers, who have seen wages stagnant for decades because of neoliberal economics are demanding higher pay and better benefits. In this changing landscape what will be the future of work?

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Sarita Gupta] The Future of Work

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 02 Jun 2022 21:00:17 +0000

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Ray McGovern] Hidden History of U.S., Ukraine, Russia Relations

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 26 May 2022 21:00:16 +0000

The February 24th Russian invasion of Ukraine has rattled the world and has unleashed misery, death and destruction. What prompted Moscow's attack? From their perspective, the expansion of NATO, a U.S.-led military alliance, up to Russia’s borders threatens their national security interests. It went against assurances given by Washington that that would not happen. Years ago, George Kennan, the much venerated State Department diplomat warned against NATO expansion. With great foresight he said, it “would be the most fateful error of American policy in the entire post-cold-war era. Such a decision may be expected to inflame the nationalistic, anti-Western and militaristic tendencies in Russian opinion; to have an adverse effect on the development of Russian democracy; to restore the atmosphere of the cold war to East-West relations, and to impel Russian foreign policy in directions decidedly not to our liking.”

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Timothy Snyder] On the Holocaust

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 19 May 2022 21:00:18 +0000

Where does one start when talking about the Holocaust? The word derives from the Greek, a burnt offering, a sacrifice by fire. It is one of the greatest crimes in human history. And we are cautioned to learn its lessons. Historian Timothy Snyder argues that "The history that we might understand is rather different than the history that we generally remember and that if we did it right the lessons that we draw from the present and the future would be different lessons than the ones we draw now. And that's important," Snyder says, "because whether we like it or not we are already drawing lessons from the Holocaust. We do it all the time. But what if we understand the Holocaust incompletely or even incorrectly, then we've drawn the wrong lessons and we may be accelerating disaster rather than preventing it."

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Katrina vanden Heuvel] Russia, Ukraine, the War & the U.S.

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 12 May 2022 21:00:16 +0000

The Russian invasion of Ukraine with its horrific atrocities and massive refugee crisis has turned the world upside down. The war will have a huge impact on global food security as both countries are major exporters of wheat, barley and other grains. As usual, the media provide very little context and background. We are told ad nauseum that the Russian invasion was unprovoked. A careful look at history reveals a slightly more nuanced picture. To explain is not to excuse Moscow’s criminal attack. Meanwhile, as two-time legendary Medal of Honor winner Marine Corps General Smedley Butler reminds us, “War is a racket.” U.S. weapons corporations are lining up to feed at the trough. Before the war is over many Ukrainians and Russians will die while Raytheon, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman will make money hand over fist.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Gillian Tett, Yanis Varoufakis] Can Capitalism be Fixed? (Debate)

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 05 May 2022 21:00:16 +0000

Capitalism’s origins, several centuries ago, can be traced to the expropriation of the commons and its transformation into private property. Since those hoary beginnings, it has evolved into an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and its operation for profit. In the last forty years or so capitalism has evolved into its neoliberal phase characterized by deregulation, punishing bubbles, economic crises and jaw-dropping income and wealth inequality. The system’s egregious excesses are sometimes addressed by lawmakers who serve up temporary bromides to placate the restless many. But they are just tinkering around the edges making cosmetic changes. The system is fundamentally the same. There is no alternative we are told. Why isn’t there?

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Chris Hedges] Truth is the First Casualty of War

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 28 Apr 2022 21:00:15 +0000

In the old communist countries, comrades who fell out of favor were crudely cut out of photographs. Today in the Digital Era it’s easy to electronically eliminate a person and/or their work. Take Chris Hedges. His show On Contact was aired on RT, a Russian state TV network. It was on YouTube when suddenly its six-year archive of programs disappeared. Hedges said this, “I vanished. In totalitarian systems you exist, then you don't. I have a hard time seeing how a detailed discussion of Ulysses or the biographies of Susan Sontag and J. Robert Oppenheimer had any connection in the eyes of the most obtuse censors in Silicon Valley with Vladimir Putin.” And then he warns, “If this happens to me, it can happen to you.”

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Jennifer Hendricks] Roe v. Wade & the Supreme Court

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 21 Apr 2022 21:00:16 +0000

Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision which established a constitutional right to abortion is under attack. The Supreme Court with its super-conservative majority is poised to overturn Roe. According to an editorial in Against the Current: “Poll after poll reveals that the right to abortion care actually has more popular support today than when Roe v. Wade was decided. If that right can be mutilated now, precedent and public opinion be damned, then no rights are secure from reactionary assault. For right-wing sharks getting rid of Roe is blood in the water.” The New York Times estimates more than 20 states “are expected to ban or substantially restrict abortion if the Supreme Court permits it.” However, some states like Colorado are going in the opposite direction, passing legislation legalizing the right to an abortion. Recorded at the University of Colorado.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Craig Aaron] The Future of Media

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 14 Apr 2022 21:00:16 +0000

The Digital Age has transformed the traditional media landscape. The so-called Fourth Estate is reeling. Thousands of journalists have lost their jobs. Newsrooms have shrunk. Beats have been eliminated. Bureaus have closed. Many important stories are given short shrift or not covered at all. Investigative journalism may soon be an endangered species. City hall and statehouse coverage has been particularly hard hit. Large parts of the country are served by one or no local newspapers. Internet giants like Facebook and Google, swimming in cash, run stories from hard-working reporters without offering fair compensation. It's a brutal scene. An uninformed or half-informed citizenry undermines democracy. Craig Aaron of Free Press warns, “There are incredibly important decisions being made in Washington that shape the future of media. But they’re being done without the public’s involvement or consent.”

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Roger Hallam] Extinction Rebellion, the Climate Crisis & Civil Resistance

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 07 Apr 2022 21:00:14 +0000

Extinction Rebellion, also simply known as XR, is a global environmental movement. It was founded in the UK with the explicit aim of using nonviolent civil resistance to compel government action to avoid ecological collapse. The latest UN IPCC report paints a dire picture of what the future will bring. By 2050, a billion people will face coastal flooding from rising seas. Using radical tactics, Extinction Rebellion draws inspiration from grassroots movements such as the civil rights movement. XR aims to instill a sense of urgency to prevent further climate breakdown and the ongoing sixth mass extinction. A number of XR activists accept arrest and imprisonment. The movement’s symbol is a stylized, circled hourglass to serve as a warning that time is running out for us.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Roxanne Dunbar-Ortíz] Genocide & Settler Colonialism

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 31 Mar 2022 21:00:15 +0000

Genocide is the most heinous of crimes and it connects to settler colonialism. Historian Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz says, “Settler colonialism requires genocidal violence to attain its goal” of acquiring land. In North America and elsewhere this meant the Indigenous population was targeted for mass murder. North America’s huge landmass and resources drove the policy. In Germany, there was the Nazi desire for lebensraum, living space, in Eastern Europe. It’s interesting to see the parallels. The U.S. General William Sherman said in 1873, "We must act with vindictive earnestness against the Sioux, even to their extermination, men, women, and children.” Seventy years later in 1943, Heinrich Himmler, the notorious SS commander, said, “I want to mention a very difficult subject with complete candor. I am talking about the extermination of the Jewish people.” Recorded at Simon Fraser University.

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[Ralph Nader] Mobilizing People

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 24 Mar 2022 21:00:15 +0000

Concentrated wealth and power undermine democracy and advance plutocracy. The 1% have inordinate influence over the rest of us. Wall Street dominates Main Street. How do ordinary people break through the oligarchic system to assert their interests over the interests of the super-rich? As Ralph Nader says, "However we look at it, the wealthy few use the relentless mechanism of commercialism to trample democracy, the natural environment, and the common good. Our grievances are many, and the power of citizenship, community, and national pride should be enough to mobilize the population to organize resistance and change."

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[Julianne Malveaux] Economic Justice: Dr. King’s Legacy

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 17 Mar 2022 21:00:15 +0000

The conventional media image of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. has him frozen in time at the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963 giving his inspirational "I Have a Dream" speech. Little attention is paid to King's remarkable political and social evolution in the last five years of his life. He became a trenchant critic of the Vietnam War. In his classic sermon at the Riverside Church in New York he denounced the war and "the giant triplets of racism, materialism and militarism." King increasingly saw the link between economic justice and racial equality and insisted that one was impossible without the other. His final days were spent in Memphis where he was actively supporting a strike by black sanitation workers and he was planning to launch a poor people’s march on Washington, D.C.. An assassin’s bullet ended his life on April 4, 1968. Recorded at the University of Denver.

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[Malcolm X] The Ballot or the Bullet

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 10 Mar 2022 22:00:18 +0000

Malcolm X is a singular figure in African-American history. He led an extraordinary life. He was born in an impoverished family in Omaha, NE on May 19, 1925. He recalled being “dizzy” with hunger. He said, “My whole life has been a chronology of changes.” Indeed it was. He went through a remarkable series of transformations from being a street hustler known as Detroit Red to going to jail, to converting to Islam then breaking with Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad and becoming an independent voice for black dignity, self-reliance, and economic independence. Malcolm challenged the racist white power structure and the blacks who went along with it. He was only 39 years old when he was assassinated on February 21, 1965 in New York. Maya Angelou said of him, “His aura was too bright.” He had a charismatic presence and a radiant smile. And he was an electrifying orator. At his funeral, Ossie Davis eulogized him as our “prince. Our own black shining prince.” Today, Malcolm’s autobiography continues to be read and his words continue to inspire.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Vandana Shiva] Interconnectedness

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 03 Mar 2022 22:00:14 +0000

The corporate takeover of food with its toxic chemical inputs poses serious health and environmental problems. Corporate agriculture, The New York Times states unequivocally "is causing irreparable harm to the planet." It is "ravaging the air, soil and water, destroying wildlife habitats and spurring climate chaos. The system, a vast web of industries and processes that stretches from seed to pasture, to packaging, to the supermarket, to the trash dump, produces at least a third of all human-caused greenhouse gases." There are alternatives. We can learn much from traditional organic farming techniques as practiced by indigenous farmers. In this program, Vandana Shiva describes the importance of biodiversity and the interconnectedness of all life. She says, "What we do to the Earth, what we do to the land, what we do to biodiversity eventually comes back to us. There is no separation."

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Angela Davis] What Will You Say in 2030?

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 24 Feb 2022 22:00:15 +0000

Imagine it is 2030. A youngster asks you, What was is like back then at the turn of the century? What will you say about capital punishment, the drug war, guns or why more money was spent on prisons than education? What will you say about racism, the criminal justice system and the vast discrepancies in sentencing? What will you say about gender and class bias and the huge income and wealth gap between the rich and the poor? What will you say? Recorded at the Boulder Theater.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Eqbal Ahmad] Intellectuals, Ideology & the State

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 17 Feb 2022 22:00:13 +0000

What role do intellectuals play in society? Are they apparatchiks, yes men and women or do they challenge the half-truths, mendacities and fabrications of the rich and powerful? Noam Chomsky explored these themes in his famous essay, “The Responsibility of Intellectuals." published in The New York Review of Books during the height of U.S. aggression in Indochina. Chomsky unambiguously declared, "It is the responsibility of intellectuals to speak the truth and expose lies." He called them the "new mandarins" who are subservient to the ruling class and use their privileged position to advance their careers. They provide the cover for the crimes of state, articulating the underpinning and embedded ideology. For their services, they are well rewarded with endowed chairs at the best universities, frequent media appearances and fat book contracts. In this program, Eqbal Ahmad examines the work of intellectuals such as Chomsky, Antonio Gramsci, Edward Said, I.F. Stone, Rabindranath Tagore and others and the relationship of knowledge to power. Recorded at MIT.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Ralph Nader] What Are We Waiting For?

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 03 Feb 2022 22:00:15 +0000

Inertia. We all experience it. It can lead to despair and despair can lead to paralysis. And that’s just where the oligarchs and plutocrats want us to be. Keeps the focus away from their destructive policies. Many of us have resources and privileges but don’t use them. The attitude is if something’s wrong let someone else deal with it. But throughout history small groups of organized people have fought against and overcome many difficult obstacles such as patriarchy, misogyny, homophobia and racism to make progress. That didn’t happen by wishing them away but by articulating what the problems were and formulating solutions. The multiple crises we face today demand action. Are we supposed to sit back and ignore what’s going on? What are we waiting for?

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Chris Hedges] Q&A on American Sadism

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 27 Jan 2022 22:00:14 +0000

The great 20th-century Irish poet William Butler Yeats wrote, "We had fed the heart on fantasies, The heart’s grown brutal from the fare." The United States has long fed its heart with fairy tales about itself. Hardly a day goes by without some new story being spun about our noble intentions, benevolence and devotion to international law. Sadism is not something new. Just ask indigenous peoples and Blacks or the Vietnamese and Iraqis. Chris Hedges warns, “The violence and exploitation, which has long defined imperial projects, now defines existence at home. For empires, in the end, cannibalize themselves. The tyranny we long imposed on others, we now impose on ourselves. The dark pleasure derived from exploiting others is all that is left.” Recorded at the Sanctuary for Independent Media.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Chris Hedges] American Sadism

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 20 Jan 2022 22:00:14 +0000

The great 20th-century Irish poet William Butler Yeats wrote, "We had fed the heart on fantasies, The heart’s grown brutal from the fare." The United States has long fed its heart with fairy tales about itself. Hardly a day goes by without some new story being spun about our noble intentions, benevolence and devotion to international law. American sadism is not something new. Just ask indigenous peoples and Blacks or the Vietnamese and Iraqis. Chris Hedges warns, “The violence and exploitation, which has long defined imperial projects now defines existence at home. For empires in the end, cannibalize themselves. The tyranny we long imposed on others, we now impose on ourselves. The dark pleasure derived from exploiting others is all that is left.” Recorded at the Sanctuary for Independent Media.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Noam Chomsky] Optimism of the Will

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 13 Jan 2022 22:00:17 +0000

How to be positive in these perilous times? Humankind and the planet are facing enormous dangers. We can indulge in magical thinking and hope for miracles or we can ground ourselves in reality, understand the depth of the crises we face and then act to change things. It won’t be easy. There are huge obstacles and difficulties. Our task going forward is to find kindred spirits, organize and work to create a decent future. We may be inspired by the adage, Pessimism of the intellect, Optimism of the will. It was made famous by the great 20th century Italian Marxist thinker and writer Antonio Gramsci. A dedicated anti-fascist Gramsci languished for 11 years in Mussolini’s jails where his health deteriorated. He died in 1937. Today, there is a revival of interest in Gramsci and his work.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Jenny Brown] Women: Labor Pains

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 06 Jan 2022 22:00:14 +0000

Reproductive rights and abortion are under sustained political attack. Texas, Mississippi and other states have passed highly restrictive laws limiting and, in some cases, eliminating access to abortion. In all, nearly 600 anti-abortion laws have been introduced. The Supreme Court, with its three Trump-appointed justices, seems poised to decimate if not overturn the Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision which legalized abortion. In 2018, even before the pandemic, the birth rate in the United States reached its lowest level in decades. The pandemic has further reduced childbirths. Feminist activists assert that declining birth rates represent a work slowdown, or strike, in the face of the poor conditions for those who do the work of bearing and raising children. For millions of overworked and exhausted women, the financial burden is significant. They must be compensated. Recorded at the University of California.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Vijay Prashad] Radical Views from the Global South

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 30 Dec 2021 22:00:15 +0000

The concept of Global North and Global South are not geographical terms but rather describe a grouping of countries along economic lines. The Global South, previously called the Third World, is a term used to identify lower-income countries on one side of the so-called divide, the other side being the countries of the Global North with its enormous wealth and its institutions of power and control: the WTO, the IMF and the World Bank. The pandemic has created a kind of vaccine apartheid. Take Africa for example. Only a few of its 1.3 billion people have been vaccinated. The haves of the Global North keep most of the vaccines for themselves while the have nots of the Global South scramble to get doses. In this program, Vijay Prashad presents perspectives and analyses rarely discussed in the media.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Harriet Fraad] Patriarchy & Capitalism

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 23 Dec 2021 22:00:14 +0000

Denise Comanne, a prominent French feminist/activist wrote, “The oppression of women is very ancient: it existed before capitalism, which is also a system of oppression, but one that is more global in nature. Patriarchy can be defined in simple terms as the oppression and objectification of women by men. In addition to its strictly economic form, this oppression is expressed in many ways, notably through language, kinship relations, stereotypes, religion, and culture. The form oppression takes varies depending on whether you live in the North or the South, or in an urban or rural area. To be a feminist is thus to become aware of this oppression and, having realized that it is a system, to work to destroy it to help bring about the emancipation of women.” Over the centuries women have collectively struggled for their rights. That struggle continues.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Roxanne Dunbar-Ortíz] The Other Side of Thanksgiving

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 16 Dec 2021 22:00:14 +0000

The historical lens through which national holidays are viewed is often blurred and distorted. Thanksgiving is a case in point. The much-revered Pilgrims fresh off the Mayflower sat down and shared native foods with the friendly Wampanoags. A heart-warming story. But this idea of the gift-giving Indian, helping to establish and enrich what would become the United States, is a myth. Native Americans would soon be overwhelmed and killed en masse by white settlers. Those that survived the murderous campaigns against them were relegated to inhospitable reservations. Indian land was stolen fair and square. Today we honor the memory of the slaughtered with Apache and Black Hawk helicopters, Jeep Cherokees, the Washington Redskins and calling bin Laden, Geronimo. Native Americans are offended by the appropriation of their culture. It is the final stage of genocide.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Stephen Bezruchka] Social Murder & Covid-19

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 09 Dec 2021 22:00:16 +0000

The concept of social murder was introduced in the mid-19th century. The German philosopher Friedrich Engels coined the phrase in describing the political and social power held by ruling elites over laborers in England. Engels wrote about poor workers dying prematurely. Today, during the current pandemic, the term has been revived. The British Medical Journal says, “Social murder may describe the lack of political attention to social determinants and inequities that exacerbate the pandemic.” Enormous discrepancies in income and wealth have huge health consequences. Failure to address them has no doubt contributed to the global death toll from the pandemic which now exceeds 5 million. The actual number must be much higher. The economic and class realities exposed and magnified by Covid-19 cannot be ignored or spun away. The need for a system that is equitable has never been more apparent.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Chris Hedges] The Prison Plantation System

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 02 Dec 2021 22:00:15 +0000

The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1865 officially abolished slavery. However, there is a crucial legal exception. Section 1 of the Amendment provides: "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." In plain English, this simply means those behind bars have no constitutional rights and they can be forced to work as further punishment for their crimes. They earn, if you can even say that, little or no money. It’s a new form of slavery. The plantation system is tragically alive and well. Blacks, Latinx and Indigenous make up a disproportionate percentage of those incarcerated. Many of them were coerced into plea deals. In this program, Chris Hedges describes the effort of some prisoners to educate themselves. Recorded at The Sanctuary for Independent Media.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Jeff Chester, Kathryn Montgomery] Commercial Surveillance Culture

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 25 Nov 2021 22:00:16 +0000

Tim Berners-Lee, the founder of the World Wide Web, once described the internet as a "permissionless space for creativity, innovation and free expression." In the early days, you may recall, the internet was also called the “information superhighway.” It would be open, free and with no advertising. It hasn’t quite worked out that way. Tech giants like Facebook and Google control a huge percentage of traffic on the internet with algorithms designed with just one priority in mind: make that cash register ring. In turning the internet into an ATM machine the tech giants have amassed huge amounts of personal information about you. They know your likes and dislikes. Right now, Facebook, with billions of users, is mired in controversy. Its platform has been a forum for polarizing content ranging from hate and bigotry to misinformation and human trafficking. Calls are getting louder and louder for meaningful regulation.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Angela Davis, Ruth Wilson Gilmore] Radical Lessons: Then & Now

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 18 Nov 2021 22:00:17 +0000

The 1960s have been largely romanticized and commodified. The Beatles, Woodstock, sit-ins, protests, and marches. Those years saw huge social change. Bottom-up grassroots movements rocked the establishment. A major symbol of those years was Angela Davis. She has this to say today: “The lesson is that even though we don't have the same structures that we had at that time, the challenge is to create a kind of vibrant internationalism. Today, of course, we have the technologies of communication that would enable connections in ways that did not exist at all back then. How to actually begin to create the kind of movements that will bring people in Palestine, and people in Brazil, and people who are struggling against police violence in France, and people who are struggling against police violence in South Africa together. I think that that is the major challenge of this moment.”

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[James Loewen] History Textbooks: Facts or Fiction?

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 11 Nov 2021 22:00:19 +0000

There’s a famous quote in George Orwell’s 1984: “Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.” Orwell understood how important knowledge of history is and how it can be manipulated by the powerful to serve their interests. If the past disappears down the memory hole society is at risk. History is not some neutral ideologically-free zone. It is a highly contested battlefield. The contents of textbooks are subject to partisan bias, often tilting to the right. Inadequate history textbooks help produce adults who can’t distinguish evidence from opinion, fact from fiction. Progressive voices such as Frederick Douglass, Emma Goldman, and Dorothy Day are often omitted from textbooks or just appear without context. James Loewen said, “Telling the truth about the past helps cause justice in the present. Achieving justice in the present helps us tell the truth about the past.”

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Noam Chomsky] Tipping Points: Environmental & Political

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 04 Nov 2021 21:00:15 +0000

Tipping points are in the air. And with good reason. A planetary emergency looms in the not-too-distant future. This isn’t alarmist talk but the best judgment of our leading scientists. The prestigious International Union for Conservation of Nature has just issued its starkest warning to date: “Humanity has reached a tipping point. Our window of opportunity to respond is narrowing quickly.” Imagine if we had paid attention to Lyndon Johnson’s science advisory committee in 1965 when it noted in their report entitled Restoring the Quality of Our Environment, that “Pollutants have altered on a global scale the carbon dioxide content of the air and the lead concentrations in ocean waters and human populations.” That was 56 years ago. Today, Noam Chomsky warns, “The world is hurtling toward disaster.” And we have a segment of the political class that is in denial.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Chalmers Johnson] Blowback: Impacts of the New Militarism

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 28 Oct 2021 21:00:16 +0000

The CIA coined the term “blowback” to describe the unintended results of U.S. covert operations abroad. It was first used in connection with Operation Ajax, the Agency’s 1953 coup in Iran overthrowing the democratic government of Mohammad Mossadegh. The United States today has hundreds of military bases around the world. It’s a form of domination that greatly expanded under the Bush Administration’s post-9/11 so-called War on Terror. Supporting a far-flung military empire generates large profits for many U.S. corporations. It’s terrific for weapons manufacturers like Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Boeing and Northrop Grumman and for contractors like Halliburton, DynCorp and Fluor. Not surprisingly, many people from Iraq to Japan are angry with having to live with Uncle Sam in uniform in their backyard.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Tariq Ali] Afghanistan, China & the Decline of U.S. Power (part 2)

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 14 Oct 2021 21:00:13 +0000

The ignominious debacle in Afghanistan was predictable and predicted. Afghans, like most people, don't appreciate foreign invaders occupying their country. Just ask the British and the Russians. But the U.S., in its imperial hubris, thought it was different. It would nation-build in Afghanistan and bring democracy to that land. Meanwhile, China is watching the U.S. squander its wealth on military adventures. The decline of U.S. power is evident. In its place, China is rapidly expanding its influence. Its Belt and Road Initiative is an ambitious global infrastructure project, a new Silk Road. China, as the quip goes, had a bad couple of centuries of wars, famine and disease but now it is back. It’s a force to be reckoned with. Its economic clout is increasing and it will soon be the world's biggest economy.

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor] Black Liberation

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 07 Oct 2021 21:00:18 +0000

The widespread protests in the wake of the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor marked a new chapter in the struggle for Black liberation. What would constitute Black liberation? Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor says it’s about self-determination. “Can we make decisions free of economic coercion? Can we make decisions that are truly free? That to me is what liberation would be. I know that it’s not something that Black people can achieve alone. Black liberation is bound up with human liberation. On a purely mathematical basis, Black people drift between 13 and 14% of the population. We can’t get free alone. So, this is also about really trying to examine the connections between the subjugation of Black people, and how that relates to a wider web of subjugation of other people, including White people, in our society.”

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Eqbal Ahmad] Terrorism: Theirs and Ours

info@alternativeradio.org — Fri, 01 Oct 2021 18:12:52 +0000

Terrorism is the scourge of the era. It is a fearsome symbol conjuring up images of ferocious-looking, bearded men brandishing AK-47s. The media focus on the terrorism of official enemies like Saddam Hussein, bin Laden, and Zarqawi. After they were done away with, new demons appear to justify war and bloat the Pentagon budget. Be afraid of ISIS and Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Be afraid of Yemen and Somalia, Pakistan and Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. Be afraid of all the jihadi groups that have mushroomed all over the Middle East. The notion that the U.S. and its allies engage in terrorism is simply not a topic for discussion. To scrutinize U.S. policy is verboten. The War on Terror goes on and on. Recorded at the University of Colorado.

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[Daniel Ellsberg] Origins of the Vietnam War

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 30 Sep 2021 21:00:15 +0000

In this program, Daniel Ellsberg discusses early U.S. support for France’s effort to retain control of its Indochina colony. In a little-known and scary fact of history, he describes Eisenhower’s offer of nuclear weapons to the French to stave off defeat at Dien Bien Phu in 1954. Within a few years, the U.S. supplanted the French and expanded the war to all of Indochina. Ellsberg looks at Washington’s policy of backing corrupt regimes in Saigon, first by Kennedy and then by Johnson. You’ve probably heard the figure of 58,000 Americans killed in the war. There is scant mention of the millions of Vietnamese, Cambodians and Laotians who were victims of U.S. military intervention. Interview by David Barsamian.

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[Roxanne Dunbar-Ortíz] An Indigenous People’s History

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 23 Sep 2021 21:00:14 +0000

The history of the U.S. is one of settler colonialism. The state was established on the basis of white male supremacy, slavery, land theft and genocide. “From sea to shining sea” the Native nations were decimated and dispossessed. The survivors herded into concentration camps. The genocidal policy reached its peak under President Andrew Jackson. Its ruthlessness was best articulated by Army general Thomas Jesup, who, in 1836, wrote: “The country can be rid of them only by exterminating them.” Native people are still here. Today, there is growing support for their movements such as the campaign to abolish Columbus Day and replace it with Indigenous Peoples’ Day. The Dakota Access Pipeline resistance led by the Standing Rock Sioux was joined by many non-Native allies. The action, though unsuccessful, captured the imagination of people everywhere. The struggle for indigenous rights continues.

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[Michael Eric Dyson] Chaos or Community?

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 16 Sep 2021 21:00:15 +0000

In his 1967 book Where Do We Go From Here? Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr wrote these prophetic words: “A true revolution of values will soon look uneasily on the glaring contrast of poverty and wealth. The oceans of history are made turbulent by the ever-rising tides of hate. We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. This may well be mankind’s last chance to choose between chaos or community.” More than five decades later the chaos is all too apparent: When we look around we are faced with a raging pandemic with its mounting death toll, acute economic distress, a climate in peril and the fury of the January 6th insurrection and all that was behind it. We are at a proverbial crossroads. Collective action can address these problems. We can choose. Will it be chaos or community?

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.

[Noam Chomsky] The U.S. Rules the World

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 02 Sep 2021 21:00:14 +0000

Many years ago I heard Noam Chomsky lecture. He compared U.S. foreign policy to the way the mafia operates. That caught the audience’s attention. Everyone had seen The Godfather movie. Chomsky went on to explain that obedience to the Godfather was non-negotiable. Do what you're told and you’ll not only be protected but richly rewarded. And if you step out of line, the Godfather will come down on you. So it is with U.S. foreign policy. Dissent is not tolerated. Countries like Cuba, Nicaragua, Iran, Chile, Indonesia and others, with politics and systems that defied Washington, have felt the wrath of U.S. power. The U.S. rules the world.

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[Maureen Webb] Hackers and Democracy

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 26 Aug 2021 21:00:15 +0000

The digital age has given birth to hackers who carry out cyberattacks on our personal data, on pipelines, energy grids and meat processing plants. There are also hackers who practice the sharing of software, open sourcing and the secure free flow of information. Maureen Webb says those hackers “are making some of the most important contributions to preserving our liberal democratic tradition in the 21st century."

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[Stephen Bezruchka] Covid-19 Lessons for the Future

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 19 Aug 2021 21:00:15 +0000

If you weren’t aware of it before, the pandemic demonstrates the fact that the virus recognizes no boundaries or borders. There is no safe place. Our collective fragility has been made all too evident. What will we take away from the Covid-19 plague? We go back to business as usual only at our peril as other pandemics are sure to come. As Dr. Stephen Bezruchka says, “We need to rally around creating a society to work for global sustainability. Covid-19 threatens the planet. This crisis is an opportunity to make big changes in our relationship with each other and the planet. Incremental change is not going to work.”

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[Richard Wolff] Transitioning to Democratic Enterprises

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 12 Aug 2021 21:00:15 +0000

Capitalism is exhibiting a hardening of its economic arteries. The pandemic has exposed profound structural problems. The crisis demands a serious examination of not only its root causes but for viable solutions. Once we are passed the pandemic do we go back to the status quo ante of massive eco-devastation and inequalities in income and wealth or do we create a new paradigm? Economist Richard Wolff suggests cooperatives offer equitable alternatives. He says, “If workers collectively and democratically owned and operated the enterprises, they wouldn't be profit maximizers that goes to a tiny group of people. The passion Americans sometimes bring to democratic values in politics, have been peculiarly un-applied to economics with disastrous results. Cooperation is not just a nice, warm, cuddly, good thing to do. Cooperation is what can save us from the collapse of our system.”

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[Jayati Ghosh] India’s Covid Catastrophe

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 05 Aug 2021 21:00:13 +0000

The news from India is grim. A Covid wave is sweeping the country, inflicting widespread misery and deaths. Government figures of Covid-related fatalities are widely seen as very much underreported. India may soon pass the U.S. as the global leader in deaths. Analysts say that the country wasn't prepared to handle the surge. Hospitals have been overwhelmed and there are acute shortages of oxygen, medicine and vaccines. The country is ruled by Narendra Modi of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the BJP. It is a Hindu nationalist party. It has come under wide criticism for its handling of the crisis. Noted writer Arundhati Roy says, “It is hard to convey the full depth and range of the trauma, chaos and indignity that India’s Covid catastrophe has inflicted. Meanwhile, Modi and his allies tell people not to complain.” Interview by David Barsamian.

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[Rebecca Solnit, Astra Taylor] Remake the World

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 29 Jul 2021 21:00:16 +0000

While we are regaled with images of Mars, back here on Earth our planet and its people are in distress. The eco-crisis continues unabated. There are wars and the threats of wars. And, of course, the coronavirus. The pandemic has not only taken millions of lives it has revealed in graphic terms the acute inequalities between the haves and the have nots. Rapacious capitalism preys on insecurity. It creates a class of vulnerable people who are easily exploited. To secure a brighter, more equitable and just future a radical transformation of our economy and society is required. As Astra Taylor warns us we either “shift course or race off the cliff, taking” the future “down with us.”

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[Vijay Prashad] China, the U.S. & the New Cold War (part 2)

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 15 Jul 2021 21:00:20 +0000

China is one of the oldest cultures in the world with a rich history. The ancient Middle Kingdom is today's People's Republic of China. For several centuries prior to the creation of the PRC, China endured invasions, occupations, civil wars and famine. Today it is an economic powerhouse. Its influence is expanding across the globe. However, relations between Washington and Beijing have become increasingly confrontational. Secretary of State Blinken warned China not to upset what he called the “rules-based order” and “anyone who poses a challenge to that order, we're going to stand up and defend it." He noted China is acting "more aggressively abroad." At the same time, the Pentagon sends its warships off of China’s coast and surrounds China with American military bases. Washington sees China as a threat to its hegemony. A new Cold War is brewing. 2CDs Interviewed by David Barsamian.

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[John Ghazvinian] Hidden History of U.S.-Iran Relations

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 08 Jul 2021 21:00:14 +0000

The Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States have been at loggerheads ever since America's ally, the shah, was overthrown in 1979. Iran was an important part of U.S. hegemony in the Middle East. In the decades since, Washington has waged cyber warfare, drone strikes, assassinations, sabotage and sanctions against Tehran. Washington and its media echo chamber portray Iran as dangerous and threatening even though it's surrounded by American bases and spends just a pittance on weaponry compared to the U.S. But hostility wasn’t always the norm. There’s a rich and mostly hidden history that began several hundred years ago where the two countries had friendly relations. Historian John Ghazvinian said that relationship was filled mutual "admiration, warmth, and benevolence."

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[Lawrence Ferlinghetti] A Defense of Poetry

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 01 Jul 2021 21:00:14 +0000

A great practitioner, publisher and defender of poetry was Lawrence Ferlinghetti. He passed away just shy of his 102nd birthday earlier this year. Born in Yonkers, New York in 1919, his education was paused for World War II and Atlantic and Pacific tours in the U.S. Navy. He witnessed firsthand the ruins of Nagasaki after the atomic bombing in 1945. He became a committed voice for peace and social justice. Ferlinghetti co-founded the country’s first all-paperback bookstore, City Lights Books in San Francisco in 1955. Bay area poets Kenneth Patchen and Kenneth Rexroth, then Denise Levertov and Allen Ginsberg appeared under the City Lights imprint. The small press got national attention when Ferlinghetti and his partner were arrested on obscenity charges for publishing Ginsberg’s poem Howl. The People of the State of California v. Lawrence Ferlinghetti proved an important victory for freedom of expression over censorship laws. Ferlinghetti had anarchist leanings. He remained politically committed through his art, and to liberation movements in Latin America especially.

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[Jeffery Robinson] The South, Slavery & the Lost Cause

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 24 Jun 2021 21:00:14 +0000

The Lost Cause is rooted in the South’s search for justification and the need to find a substitute for victory in the Civil War. In attempting to deal with defeat, the South created an image of the war as a noble epic fought by brave men. The war, the mythology goes, wasn’t about preserving slavery it was about Southern values. Monuments to Confederate soldiers and the naming of military bases not only glorifies militarism but are everyday reminders of white supremacy and the subordination of slaves. Slavery, free labor for centuries, created huge wealth for the plantation master class. To heal and repair we need an honest accounting of history. Some monuments have come down and military bases may be renamed. We can’t continue to mythologize the past.

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[Mehdi Hasan] Anti-Zionism is Anti-Semitism

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 17 Jun 2021 21:00:16 +0000

Is Noam Chomsky an anti-Semite? How about Amy Goodman and Naomi Klein? The question may sound absurd. Yet, according to the definition of anti-Semitism that more than 30 countries including the United States under the Biden administration have adopted, Chomsky, Goodman and Klein could very well be labeled as such. Why? They are critical of Israeli policies. Zionism is the late 19th century Jewish national movement. The origin of the term is the Hebrew word “Zion” often used as a synonym for Jerusalem and Israel. Anti-Zionism is Anti-Semitism is the motion debated at the Emmanuel Centre in London. Before a large audience, this lively and contentious discussion features voices arguing pro and con. Speakers for the Motion: Melanie Phillips, Journalist, broadcaster and author Einat Wilf, Israeli politician, former Knesset member Speakers Against the Motion: Mehdi Hasan, Journalist and broadcaster Ilan Pappé, Israeli historian, university professor The moderator is Carrie Gracie of the BBC.

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[Timothy Snyder] The State of American Democracy

info@alternativeradio.org — Thu, 10 Jun 2021 21:00:13 +0000

There’s a new Jim Crow in the U.S. This 2.0 version is legislation passed by politicians who mouth pieties about protecting our sacred right to vote and the integrity of elections. After one of the most secure and verified elections in U.S. history there is a wave of voter suppression laws being proposed across the country. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, Republican legislators in 43 states have introduced more than 250 bills that would make it harder to vote. These measures primarily seek to impose stricter voter ID requirements, reduce the number of polling places, limit mail drop boxes and early voting. These actions are an open assault on the 1965 Voting Rights Act that Dr. King, John Lewis and so many others fought for. What’s going on with American democracy?

This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.