Audio portions of a documentary film about the trailblazing singer, actor, and political activist Paul Robeson.
Against the Grain
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.
Against the Grain – February 22, 2016
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.
Against the Grain – February 17, 2016
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.
Against the Grain – February 16, 2016
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 U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Lobbying group, aggressive litigator, political power broker, and media campaigner: the US Chamber of Commerce is all that and more. Yet its tremendous influence does not get the attention it merits, promoting corporate interests on behalf of anonymous donor companies. Journalist Alyssa Katz reflects on the immense power of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce — … Continued
Capitalist Development in the San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area is a key site of capital accumulation in the U.S. — and the world — for reasons that are historically and geographically specific. Marxist geographer Richard Walker reflects on what the Bay Area tells us about capitalist development, housing, suburban sprawl, inequality, libertarian ideology, and capitalism itself. He discusses booms … Continued
We’re constantly taking in media representations of things and events. The cultural theorist Stuart Hall investigated the nature of those representations, their impact on us, and the ways in which we can and do respond. He also linked media representations to the way power operates in society. Also: Part Two of the interview with global … Continued
Globalization’s Impact on Ideology
According to Manfred Steger, globalization is destabilizing traditional political ideologies like liberalism, conservatism, and socialism. Steger proposes a framework for understanding and describing the changing ideological landscape, one that places major ideological systems and tendencies into categories like “market globalism,” “religious globalism,” and “justice globalism.” For more details and higher-quality audio, visit againstthegrain.org.
In Capitalism’s Ruins
How should we think about nature and our own lives in the ruins created by capitalism? Anthropologist Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing reflects on how the matsutake mushroom — which thrives in forests degraded by commercial logging — helps us understand the precarity of life under capitalism and the possibilities for life beyond it.
Secularism’s False Promise?
If the problem is religious polarization and inequality, isn’t the solution secular governance? Secularism, after all, promises the equality of citizens regardless of religious affiliation. Saba Mahmood argues that modern secular governance, contrary to its grand claims, has in fact exacerbated religious inequalities. It has also, she says, constrained our political imagination to a significant … Continued