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 produced and hosted by Sasha Lilley.
Brazilians just elected a retired military officer who has praised dictatorship as their next president. In the U.S., Trump continues to inflame hatred against immigrants and others, while passing policies that benefit the wealthy. How should we understand the rise of figures around the world like Bolsonaro, Trump, Duterte in the Philippines, and Orban in … Continued
How does Germany remember and honor those who fought fascism, and where does the U.S. stand in comparison? David Bacon reports on the monuments he visited and the courageous and often radical people they commemorate. Bacon also traveled to the once-majestic Salton Sea in California, where dust pollution from the receding shoreline is making farmworkers … Continued
While New York City may be the capital of wealth in America, the celebrated metropolis has been a locus of rebellion. From the revolt of the Native American Munsee against the Dutch, to slave uprisings, class and race riots, Stonewall, protests against the Republican National Convention, Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter, and much … Continued
Amid regimes of exploitation and social control, who or what will step forward to save the day? Michael Hardt discusses how people and social movements might come together to achieve fundamental social and political transformation. He believes existing circuits of social cooperation could be harnessed to challenge the efforts of elites to extract and privatize … Continued
The ideas of French thinker and Situationist Guy Debord were crucial in shaping the politics of the Sixties and providing an understanding of everyday life under contemporary capitalism. Independent scholar Anselm Jappe discusses the Marxist influences on, and enduring legacy of, Guy Debord. Resources: Anselm Jappe, Guy Debord PM Press, 2018
What role do toxic residues and environmental pollution play in how the Anthropocene is unfolding? According to Gabrielle Hecht, Africa is too often neglected or ignored by natural and social scientists and international bodies, even as mining residues and other wastes wreak havoc on human health and the environment. (Encore presentation.) Gabrielle Hecht, “The African … Continued
We often hear how poorly educated American students are, ill prepared for 21st century tech jobs, which go to other workers in other countries. But what if more education will not lead to more highly paid skilled jobs? Educational psychologist Gerald Coles discusses how American companies are getting the workers they need, since most of … Continued
Why was neoliberalism devised and introduced? What impact did the so-called Third World debt crisis have on poorer countries? Why have capitalists gone on what Vijay Prashad calls an investment strike? The historian, journalist, and author connects the dots in a working document entitled “In the Ruins of the Present.” (Encore presentation.) Tricontinental: Institute for … Continued
The Kurds are the ultimate stateless people, living in a region spanning Syria, Turkey, Iran and Iraq. For decades leftwing Kurds struggled to create their own ethnic state. But in recent decades, the leadership of the Kurdish freedom movement embraced a form of anarchism, in which they rejected states altogether, and have been building such … Continued
Addressing mass incarceration and repressive policing in the U.S. is a daunting task. Jonathan Simon believes that invoking human dignity, and the need to respect dignity, can fuel efforts to change the direction of the carceral state. (Encore presentation.) Sharon Dolovich and Alexandra Natapoff, eds., The New Criminal Justice Thinking NYU Press, 2017 Jonathan Simon, … Continued
