Background Briefing

Fred Turner/Olga Lautman

The Incredible Shrinking Billionaire Who is Destroying Our Government Blames Tesla’s Sales Slump on “Paid” Demonstrators We begin with the incredible shrinking billionaire and co-president of the United States who on his earnings call yesterday with worried investors, blamed cratering sales and earning for Tesla on “paid” and “very organized” protesters who have been showing … Continued


Against the Grain

Foucault on Power

How have we been governed, regulated, ruled? What systems of knowledge and power have emerged over time, and with what consequences for individuals and populations? Lawrence Grossberg describes four “diagrams” of governmentality that the French theorist Michel Foucault identified: sovereignty, discipline, biopolitics, and neoliberalism. Lawrence Grossberg, On the Way to Theory Duke University Press, 2024


Law & Disorder

SCOTUS Poised to Rule Against LGBTQ Books in Elementary Schools; DOGE Attacks Non-profits & Tries to Control Vera Institute; Plus Resistance in Residence Artist Martin Lynch

The Trump Administration’s Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE) has attacked the Vera Institute of Justice by cutting $5 million in federal funding and then to directly intervene in the work of that non-profit organization. We speak with Insha Rahman, the Vice President of Advocacy and Partnerships at the Vera Institute of Justice, which is an … Continued


City Cat Radio

City Cat Radio – April 23, 2025

City Cat Radio, the weekly radio program of Oakland’s own DJ/Producer/Engineer DJ HENROC, is designed to celebrate plain old good music including Soul, Roots, Reggae, Dancehall, Soca, Afro Beat, Funk, House and Underground Hip Hop. For nearly 25yrs, DJ HENROC has played at some the world’s premier venues and has collected music from all musical … Continued


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