Against the Grain – April 15, 2014
A celebration of the 65th anniversary of the world’s first listener-sponsored radio station, KPFA. Richard Moore, one of KPFA’s founders, discusses the station’s anarcho-syndicalist origins.
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 with Sasha Lilley – April 14, 2014
Gillian Hart, author of “Rethinking the South African Crisis: Nationalism, Populism, Hegemony,” on what happened to South Africa, and the promise of liberation, after the end of apartheid.
The Problem with Multiculturalism?
For those who oppose racism, what could be wrong with multiculturalism? A fair amount, says radical critic Vijay Prashad, who argues that the institutionalization and celebration of diversity has become a substitute for antiracist activism. Prashad offers instead the notion of a radical polyculturalism. And, in a speech from the archives, historian Robin D.G. Kelley … Continued
Against the Grain – April 8, 2014
What does the world of art have to do with radical politics? What connections have artists forged with other workers, and with organized labor? When museums present themselves as politically neutral, should we believe them? In his new book, Nicolas Lampert places art and artists in the context of political activism and militant dissent. For … Continued
Against the Grain – April 2, 2014
It was a struggle that shaped not only New York City’s urban landscape but that of cities around the country. On one side was the father of urban renewal, Robert Moses, and on the other, urban critic Jane Jacobs. Roberta Brandes Gratz discusses what Moses did — and tried to do — to New York, … Continued
Against the Grain with Sasha Lilley – April 1, 2014
Geoffrey Parker, author of “Global Crisis: War, Climate Change and Catastrophe in the 17th Century,” speaks with Sasha Lilley about what we can learn from the climate crisis of the 1600s, during which a third of the world’s population died. For more details and higher-quality audio, visit againstthegrain.org. Global Crisis: War, Climate Change and … Continued
Against the Grain – March 31, 2014
Peter Linebaugh, best known for tracing the history of the commons and of commoning practices, calls Thomas Paine “a planetary revolutionary.” He has found in Paine’s lesser-known works radical critiques of inequality and authoritarianism and even the system of money wages. Many lessons for our time, Linebaugh argues, can be drawn from Paine’s writings and … Continued
Against the Grain with Sasha Lilley – March 26, 2014
Kathi Weeks, author of The Problem with Work: Feminism, Marxism, Antiwork Politics, and Postwork Imaginaries, criticizes the centrality of work and wage labor for the left, and argues that we need to envision life beyond work. For more details and higher-quality audio, visit againstthegrain.org.
Against the Grain – March 25, 2014
Focusing squarely on the Black and Vietnamese American communities in New Orleans, Marguerite Nguyen tells a story of interracial tension and panethnic solidarity in the context of US imperialism, natural and human-made disasters, model-minority rhetoric, and government neglect and abandonment. For more details and higher-quality audio, visit againstthegrain.org.