Against the Grain – July 26, 2011
Bill Deresiewicz describes the crisis in higher education and the immiseration of academic labor; he also evaluates calls for the abolition of tenure and for technology- and market-based reforms.
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 – July 25, 2011
Lisa Dodson, author of “The Moral Underground: How Ordinary Americans Subvert an Unfair Economy,” talks about actions taken by individuals, often illegally, to provide health care, sick leave, and other help to those in need. And lawyer Michael Deutsch discusses the case of 23 Palestine and Colombia solidarity activists subpoenaed by a grand jury, all … Continued
Against the Grain – July 20, 2011
Susan Jacoby discusses the history and grand tradition of secularist activism in the US, and Aparajita Nanda talks about her new volume “Black California: A Literary Anthology.”
Against the Grain – July 19, 2011
Anarchist writer Stuart Christie, who was imprisoned for an attempt to assassinate the fascist dictator Francisco Franco, discusses the Spanish Revolution on its 75th anniversary: its daring anti-capitalist reorganization of society, involving millions of workers, as well as its ultimate failure. With host Ramsey Kanaan.
Against the Grain – July 18, 2011
According to Eric Stanley, brutal murders of LGBT people, many of which involve the mutilation or dismemberment of the victim’s body, are not aberrations and should not be dismissed as the products of individual pathology. Instead, Stanley argues, these forms of violence are central to the reproduction of liberal democracy in the US.
Against the Grain – July 13, 2011
The early writings of Walter Benjamin, the brilliant German philosopher-critic known for his insights into technology, art, and modern existence, are the focus of a new volume edited by MIT scholar Howard Eiland.
Against the Grain – July 12, 2011
Jonathon Keats, author of “Virtual Words: Language on the Edge of Science and Technology,” considers the origins, uses, and sociopolitical impact of words like “microbiome,” “copyleft,” and “singularity.”
Against the Grain – July 11, 2011
Ann duCille examines issues of race, gender, and class in Ernest Hemingway’s story “The Short, Happy Life of Francis Macomber.” (Prior reading of the story is not required.)
Against the Grain – July 6, 2011
Kafka scholar Jeff Fort talks about “The Metamorphosis” and its author, Franz Kafka, and Mark Jackson discusses a stage adaptation of the novella that he’s currently directing at Aurora Theatre Company.
Against the Grain – July 5, 2011
Betsy Hartmann, director of the Population and Development Program at Hampshire College, contests the widely held notion that overpopulation is the cause of our environmental woes.