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.
Since the global financial crisis, capitalism has been seen as the culprit for so many of the world’s woes, from inequality to the destruction of the environment. Yet no other system appears to be viable. But is that in fact the case? Journalist Richard Swift assesses anarchism, state socialism, social democracy, and the left turn … Continued
The effects of climate change are here and serious, as the latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has laid out in stark terms. While it may seem like uncharted waters in the modern era, our ancestors in the 1600s faced a global climate crisis in a century wracked by wars, famines, and … Continued
Anti-union activists of the Progressive Era propagated a number of arguments that still resonate throughout the U.S. today. In his new book Reform or Repression, Chad Pearson describes this influential group of employers, activists, and their allies. The story of one Southern activist, N.F. Thompson, reveals connections between racial violence and anti-union activism.
According to Sven Beckert, cotton was central to capitalism’s development, and in particular its accelerating globalization. A key part of his narrative highlights the crisis brought on by the abolition of slavery in the US, when both capitalists and governments looked to new regions and workers for the raw cotton they desperately needed.
When the Moynihan Report was released in 1965, it sparked an explosive debate as well as a long-running controversy, one that persists to the present day. What did the document say about African American life, and why did William F. Buckley, Dr. King, and Michael Harrington all praise its message? In his book Beyond Civil … Continued
The effects of global warming are not just waiting for us in the future, but are here already in the form of droughts, superstorms, fires, and other types of extreme weather. Yet politicians have done little over the last twenty-five years to halt climate change. Dale Jamieson examines how and why attempts to stop global … Continued
A groundbreaking study, conducted over eight decades, has shed light on what makes some of us live longer than others from the same socio-economic background — and many of the results are quite surprising. Leslie Martin, one of the scientists involved in the Longevity Project, discusses the findings, which challenge conventional wisdom about the links … Continued
Alan Watts on the fundamentals of Buddhism, plus a talk he gave called “Insight and Ecstasy.”
It was the most significant government leak since the Pentagon Papers and revealed an unprecedented level of spying by the U.S. state on the American people and those far beyond the America’s borders. We’ll feature highlights from the Academy Award-winning documentary film “Citizenfour” about whistleblower Edward Snowden and his revelations of massive NSA surveillance.
Philip Freeman’s translation of Cicero’s classic book on aging has the subtitle “Ancient Wisdom for the Second Half of Life.”
