12:00 PM Pacific Time: Mondays - Wednesdays
Acclaimed program of ideas, in-depth analysis, and commentary on a variety of matters—political, economic, social, and cultural—important to progressive and radical thinking and activism. Against the Grain is co-produced and co-hosted by Sasha Lilley and C. S. Soong.
A radio and web media project whose aim is to provide in-depth analysis and commentary on a variety of matters — political, economic, social and cultural — important to progressive and radical thinking and activism.
The journalist and essayist Rafael Barrett (1876-1910) inveighed against the array of injustices suffered by Paraguayans, including those working in the yerba mate forests. He also espoused political views that resonate today. William Costa talks about Barrett’s keen observations, blistering critiques, and anarchist politics. William Costa, ed., Paraguayan Sorrow: Writings of Rafael Barrett, A Radical … Continued
Was the populist far right a reaction to neoliberal free market fundamentalism? Or, as historian Quinn Slobodian argues, did such rightwing currents come out of the ideas of neoliberalism itself? Slobodian reflects on neoliberal thinkers’ preoccupation with racist and misogynistic ideas of human nature and intelligence, borders and gold — all in service to their … Continued
Critiques of conspiracy thinking abound — but what if our world needs a conspiracy, of people willing to confront their own participation in institutional injustices? Joseph Dumit explains why large corporations knowingly engage in antihuman activities; he also draws from Adrian Piper’s insights into bullying institutions, the impact of bystanding, and the importance of blowing the whistle … Continued
As Trump sends troops into Los Angeles, a look at the U.S. Constitution — an object of great political veneration in this country. Legal scholar Aziz Rana examines the contradictions within it, which have allowed for the authoritarianism of the Trump administration. Aziz Rana, The Constitutional Bind: How Americans Came to Idolize a Document That … Continued
What if humans acted with nature, not on it? What would farming look like if we stopped trying to master and dominate the environment? According to Andrew Pickering, the no-plowing, no-weeding form of farming developed by Masanobu Fukuoka is a shining example of poiesis, an acting-with that attunes human activity to the propensities of natural … Continued
In the decade of the 2010s, more people took to the streets than in any other time in history. And yet those horizontal protests, often spread through social media, were frequently co-opted by the right — and the decade ended with the rise of authoritarianism. Journalist Vincent Bevins spoke to activists around the world about … Continued
While we’re told by politicians that the ideas of Karl Marx are foreign and have no place in this country, history proves otherwise. Andrew Hartman shows that Marx and Marxism have had an a significant influence on the United States, from Marx’s journalistic writings for the New York Daily Tribune, on the mass politics of … Continued
At the height of leftwing activism in the Sixties, conservatives funded tax-deducible rightwing groups on campuses to counter Black Power, demands for ethnic studies, and the New Left. As historian Lauren Shepherd illustrates, such groups like Young Americans for Freedom groomed future Republican leaders and influential conservatives, like Karl Rove and Newt Gingrich. There they … Continued
Lasting contributions to radical political thought were made by Antonio Gramsci, the Italian thinker, writer, and politician who was imprisoned by Mussolini’s fascist regime. Andy Merrifield discusses Gramsci’s insights into political economy, everyday experience, social change, and the role of intellectuals. Andy Merrifield, Roses for Gramsci Monthly Review Press, 2025 (Image on main page by … Continued
The United States has often been celebrated as a nation of immigrants. Yet over the last century, the U.S. government expelled more people than were allowed to stay permanently. Historian Adam Goodman describes the U.S. state’s “deportation machine,” motivated by a shifting combination of bureaucratic self-interest, capitalist gain, and racism, which Trump has now put … Continued
