12:00 PM Pacific Time: Mondays to Wednesdays
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.
While revelations of torture at Abu Graib have turned the spotlight on human rights in Iraq, the case of the Palestinians has long-illustrated the hypocrisy of US human rights policy in the Middle East. And who better understood that hypocrisy than the late Edward Said? Said spoke about the plight of the Palestinian people, several … Continued
A conversation with geographer Aaron Bobrow-Strain about agrarian elites in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, home of the Zapatista rebellion.
The "New Economy" promised stock market riches and fulfilling high tech work for all, as well as an end to the business cycle. That is, until the bubble burst. Doug Henwood has written a post-mortem of the 1990s that looks at inequality, globalization, and — behind the New Era hype — the class warfare waged … Continued
How do we understand the relationship between new techologies and the commodification of work? Feminist political economist Ursula Huws, author of The Making of a Cybertariat, talks about her ground breaking ideas.
Could the labor movement be poised for a new resurgence in membership and power? Dan Clawson believes that if labor linked up with social movements, the left would be reshaped.
While many Americans have been distracted by the threat of the right in this country, India’s fascist BJP has incited and overseen murderous attacks against Muslims and other minorities. Radhika Desai and Angana Chatterji talk about the past, present, and future of the Hindu right.
Spinning Wheels: Well-respected mainstream media sources like The New York Times and The Economist magazine are enormously influential. But how reliable or biased is their information? Martha Starr examines how The Economist covers and presents the phenomenon of corporate globalization; Norman Solomon dissects media (and government) spin on all things Iraq.
Outlasting Suharto: So whatever happened to East Timor, which finally gained independence in 2002 after a brutal and prolonged Indonesian occupation? ETAN’s John Miller provides an update. The Indonesian government targeted internal "enemies" as well, including the legendary writer and political dissident Pramoedya Ananta Toer.
Racism and Common Sense: According to Ian Haney López, a kind of everyday common sense explains why racial prejudice persists today. In a new book, the U.C. Berkeley law professor also chronicles the rise of the Chicano movement in the aftermath of the massive 1968 student walkouts in East Los Angeles.
Were the FBI’s attempts to neutralize dissident targets, under its notorious COINTELPRO program, an aberration from or an integral element of the Bureau’s continuing mission? David Cunningham, who gained access to over 12,000 previously classified documents, focuses on COINTELPRO repression of the New Left and the Klan.
