Against the Grain – April 22, 2014
A reflection on the experience of collective action, the problems of organization, and the ways ideas from the past may help or hinder anti-capitalist movements, with members of the Free Association.

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.
A reflection on the experience of collective action, the problems of organization, and the ways ideas from the past may help or hinder anti-capitalist movements, with members of the Free Association.
Elisée Reclus was a social geographer and anarchist who, according to John Clark, introduced a strongly ecological dimension to anarchist thinking. Clark describes the various forms of domination that the French thinker observed and detested, and discusses the process of historical investigation that Reclus believed was essential to forging societies that functioned in harmony with … Continued
Could it be that what we don’t eat is destroying our environment? Historian Tristram Stuart argues that the vast amount of food that is wasted by manufacturers, supermarkets, farmers, and consumers — up to 50 percent of food grown in this country — has massive ecological consequences, leading to the depletion of the oceans, the … Continued
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.
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.
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
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
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
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