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 co-produced and co-hosted by Sasha Lilley and C. S. Soong.
Until the mid-17th century, for the vast majority of Europeans, medical care was administered by women in the household and neighborhood for free, using herbs and other formulas passed down between and among generations. In her book The Apothecary’s Wife: The Hidden History of Medicine and How It Became a Commodity, Karen Bloom Gevirtz illustrates … Continued
Christopher Bache, a professor emeritus of philosophy and religious studies, discusses the twenty-year psychedelic journey described and interpreted in his book “LSD and the Mind of the Universe: Diamonds from Heaven.”
Wealth inequality is off the charts, with corporations reaping record profits, and billionaires awash in money. Economist Rob Larson returns to make sense of the Trump administration’s relationship to the multimillionaire and billionaire class.
Jodi Dean discusses her book “Capital’s Grave: Neofeudalism and the New Class Struggle.”
Whether it’s basketball, billiards, or table tennis, sports in the U.S are segregated by sex. And most of the time those divisions are taken to be natural, not the result of social choices. Journalist Laura Pappano asserts that sports play a key role in shaping American politics and argues for breaking down the gender wall … Continued
For over half a century, Big Oil and the plastics industry, through their trade associations and front groups, have sold the public the false idea that plastics are recyclable. Recycling became the mantra of good ecological stewardship, promoted by the likes of city governments, school children, and environmental groups. Davis Allen lays out the mass-marketing … Continued
Max Haiven considers the relationship between board games and politics, and describes a new game he’s designed called Billionaires & Guillotines. He also talks about an initiative that resulted in a book featuring nine speculative-fiction stories written by current and former Amazon workers. The World After Amazon: Stories from Amazon Workers Billionaires & Guillotines and … Continued
Blockbuster drugs are launched by the pharmaceuticals industry to great fanfare — with promises of treating intractable illness and often with a stratospheric price tag. Yet, despite the hype and cost, many of those drugs turn out to be less than useless. How is it that so many drugs that are vetted by the Food … Continued
How have we been governed, regulated, ruled? What systems of knowledge and power have emerged over time, and with what consequences for individuals and populations? Lawrence Grossberg describes four “diagrams” of governmentality that the French theorist Michel Foucault identified: sovereignty, discipline, biopolitics, and neoliberalism. Lawrence Grossberg, On the Way to Theory Duke University Press, 2024 … Continued
Floods are the most destructive natural disaster and, thanks to a heating climate, the damages caused by floods are expected to worsen significantly. Flood mitigation of the past, such as levies and dams, has proved inadequate and often counterproductive by misallocating precious resources. Tim Palmer argues that it’s time to start relocating our built environment … Continued
