Phyllis Bennis is a journalist, author, and Middle East analyst known for her work on U.S. foreign policy, international law, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Her latest book, Understanding Palestine & Israel — examines the historical roots and political realities shaping the current crisis in Gaza and the broader struggle over Palestine and Israel. People across the … Continued
On a recent episode of Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D sat down with journalist Felicia Mello of Berkeleyside and educator activist Dr. César Cruz of Homies Empowerment to unpack the growing controversy surrounding UC Berkeley’s Multicultural Community Center and what many see as a broader attack on free speech, Ethnic Studies, and student activism. The conversation centered around … Continued
Michael Cunningham in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky, recorded while on the book tour for “Specimen Days,” recorded in the KPFA studios, June 24, 2005. Michael Cunningham is a celebrated author of eight novels, along with several short stories, and two produced screenplays to date. His novel The Hours, which won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1999, was adapted into an award winning film in 2003. First of three interviews. (Phoro: David Shankbone, Creative Commons).
This week, we’re featuring a recent, live interview that I did at Firestorm books with Vicky Osterweil, anarchist writer and worker, author of In Defense of Looting and more recently The Extended Universe: How Disney Killed The Movies and Took Over the World (Haymarket, 2026). Vicky is a member of the Collective of Anarchist Writers (CAW), and you can also find … Continued
On Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D sat down with Bay Area author Adam Mansbach to discuss his new book, Go the F to College, the sequel to his bestselling parenting satire Go the F to Sleep. Mansbach, known for books like Angry Black White Boy, The Golem of Brooklyn, Rage Is Back, and his screenplay for the Netflix film Barry, returned to … Continued
On Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D spoke with longtime organizer and Pan-Africanist Netfa Freeman about reports that the Trump administration pressured Zambia to exchange mineral rights for continued U.S. health aid, including support for HIV and AIDS programs. Freeman, who works with the Black Alliance for Peace and WPFW in Washington, D.C., said the … Continued
On Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D spoke with critical media literacy scholar and author Nolan Higdon about his new book, MAG Academy, a sharp examination of the long running assault on higher education. Higdon argued that the current attacks on universities did not begin with Donald Trump. Instead, he traced the crisis back decades to … Continued
The global rise of the authoritarian right has confounded classification and led to contentious debates on the left. Do politicians like Modi, Bolsonaro, Orban, and Trump represent an extreme form of right-wing populism? Or are they fascists, as some claim? Historian and scholar of populism and fascism Federico Finchelstein argues that we’re seeing something new … Continued
What has the far right learned from the Frankfurt School? And what can we learn from Frankfurt School thinkers like Theodor Adorno and Herbert Marcuse to understand the appeal of the right? Paul Fleming sheds light on the fixation of conservatives like Christopher Rufo — who has set about remaking higher education — with cultural … Continued
The left has a long history of predicting the decline of US capitalism and empire. Some argue that Trump is a symptom of that decline — a strongman chosen by capital to set things right — and that the ill health of U.S. capitalism is paralleled by the decline of the dollar. Political economist Stephen … Continued
