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.
Fear dominates our society. Fear of crime, fear of the poor, fear of foreign terrorists, to which we might add fear of our government and fear of our bosses. For some liberal thinkers, fear serves a purpose. It’s supposed to pull us all together so we can find some kind of social solidarity in an … Continued
Boko Haram has wreaked havoc in Nigeria, killing thousands of people and displacing perhaps two million. Michael Watts explains the emergence and trajectory of Boko Haram; he also discusses the origins of MEND, a separate homegrown insurgency that’s taken shape in the oil-rich but poverty-ridden Niger Delta.
What does it take to form a culture of radical struggle from the bottom up? And what does it take to disarm it? The working class in the UK has been the fount of an enormous amount of innovative culture and art over the last half-century, from rock to punk to folk. Acclaimed radical singer-songwriter … Continued
When, in response to police violence, Black Lives Matter and other protesters get unruly or violent, they are condemned for not following the lead of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Juliet Hooker considers whether it’s fair to expect Blacks, who she says have been perpetual losers in U.S. democracy, to peacefully acquiesce, to behave like … Continued
Some food justice activists set up gardens in low-income communities. Margaret Ramírez studied a pair of food organizations in Seattle, including one led by Rev. Robert Jeffrey. Ramírez describes how the racial makeup of the staffers, the legacy of plantation slavery, and the gentrifying momentum created by “white spaces” affected what the two groups were able … Continued
Americans are struggling economically and personal finance gurus think that’s our fault. If we could just save money from small indulgences — like lattes — and sock it away in the stock market, we could end up millionaires. So claim the likes of Suze Orman and Robert Kiyosaki. But, according to journalist Helaine Olen, such … Continued
There’s a conscious attempt afoot to convince progressives to support restrictions on immigration to the U.S. in the name of the environment. But, no, it doesn’t originate from the right — but from liberals or even progressives. John Hultgren discusses the history and contemporary politics of environmentalists and immigration restrictionism. He also weighs in on … Continued
What happened in Cuba after 1959 wasn’t only Fidel Castro’s rise and the political maneuverings of a revolutionary government. There was also a fundamental transformation in culture and cultural production. Rebecca Gordon-Nesbitt describes how cultural work was harnessed to the project of building a new society. For more details and higher-quality audio, visit againstthegrain.org.
Around the holidays we hear the entreaty to consider the less fortunate, at least for a moment, including the homeless shivering in the winter months. But what do we miss when we look at the homeless through a moral lens? Craig Willse reflects on whether homelessness is actively produced by neoliberal capitalism. He discusses the … Continued
Some highlights from the past year, including Mitch Monsour on romantic love; Frank Wilderson, III, on Black lives; Maribel Casas-Cortés on precarity; Alex Khasnabish on the middle class; Christopher Newfield on education; and Albena Azmanova on systemic change. For more details and higher-quality audio, visit againstthegrain.org.
