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.
Radiation is a fearsome thing. It occurs naturally and very unnaturally, and is used both as a medical treatment and a terrifying weapon. Timothy Jorgensen traces the history of how scientists became aware of radiation’s dangers to the human body, from the so-called “Radium Girls”, factory workers who were poisoned painting watch dials, to the … Continued
What is it about the city of Jerusalem that makes Trump’s promise to move the U.S. embassy there so alarming? Zakaria Odeh describes what Israel has done in and to East Jerusalem and its Palestinian residents. Also, Frida Berrigan discusses her involvement in efforts to close Guantánamo in the context of her father’s activism and … Continued
Until the last year or two, most people had never heard of the alt-right. But the lead up to the election of Donald Trump has highlighted its noxious influence, including in the corridors of power. Is the term the “alt-right” just a fig leaf for neo-Nazism? Or is the alternative right a new formation of … Continued
Max Haiven connects the dots between financialization, gentrification, indebtedness, and hedge fund activity. Haiven co-conducted a walking tour of sites in San Francisco and Oakland, sites that offer a microcosm of capitalist dynamics that have enriched a few while burdening and displacing countless others. His analysis encompasses the foreclosure crisis, Puerto Rico’s debt, and even … Continued
The last three years have been the hottest on record. But, rather than urgently addressing global warming, we now have a government helmed by a climate denier, who has chosen the head of Exxon Mobil as his Secretary of State. Are we doomed? Leftwing environmentalist Tom Athanasiou thinks not. He believes the Trump backlash provides … Continued
As universities become increasingly infiltrated and transformed by capitalist logics, what do free universities add to the educational, social, and political landscape? Fern Thompsett, a Ph.D. student at McGill University, co-founded a free university in Australia; she’s also researched more than two dozen free university projects in North America. Thompsett describes both the free-of-charge and … Continued
The left has been traditionally defined, in its most radical form, as a movement of the working class against capitalism. What changed over the last half century? Not only has the working class not been at the forefront of radical politics, but radical politics itself has waned. Why have resistance movements become more sporadic? And … Continued
What happens when “reason” is in decline, when the world appears to be moving in the direction of irrationality and political pathology? Martin Jay discusses how two Frankfurt School thinkers, Theodor Adorno and Jürgen Habermas, tried to salvage a critical version of reason. Whereas Adorno looked to art and aesthetics, Habermas appealed to practices of … Continued
We on the left find ourselves in a world that seems sullied in at every level — the air we breathe, the water we drink, the unequal social relations between people, and an exploitative relationship with the natural world. Our answer, not surprisingly, is to struggle for more purity, both in our environment and in … Continued
In the Communist Manifesto, Marx and Engels laid out their understanding of how a socialist revolution would unfold. Emanuele Saccarelli shows how that notion changed and evolved, in the minds of Marx, Engels, and a number of subsequent socialist thinkers who took part in debates over the value of reformism versus revolution. Carver and Farr, … Continued
