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.
At least some people on the Left are moving to Canada. Others are thinking about seceding from the Union. Organizers of two such efforts, Second Vermont Republic and Move On California, discuss what they’re pushing for and why. C.S. also hosts a conversation about the play Take Me Out, about a baseball star who reveals … Continued
Born to be Good? Is the world in such turmoil because human beings are inherently, well, bad? Your convictions about the possibility of fundamental social change may hinge on your answer, on your beliefs about human nature. Psychology professor Dacher Keltner believes we’re hard-wired to be benevolent — and he has the evidence to back … Continued
A look at mediation — what it is, how it works, and which kinds of disputes and conflicts can be mediated. C.S. and his guests explore community mediation, mediation by attorneys, and mediation in the workplace.
Does lifelong monogamy make sense? Is it being imposed upon us as a form of social control? What if many people’s desires and interests aren’t consistent with marital coupledom? Laura Kipnis, author of Against Love: A Polemic, explores this turbulent terrain.
Chemicals, Cosmetics, Kleenex Is the holiday season hazardous to your health? As people buy their biggest purchases of the year at this time we may be getting more than we bargain for, according to EWG’s Sonya Lunder, including the exposure to toxic chemicals that permanently accumulate in our bodies. And Richard Brooks talks about Greenpeace’s … Continued
Militarizing the US-Mexico Border Jose Palafox, ethnic studies lecturer and an expert on the US-Mexico border, discusses the militarization of the border, the US’s role in forcing people into migration, and current border and immigrant rights organizing. A representative of the Tucson-based group No More Deaths describes that group’s efforts to assist migrants.
Struggling Against HIV/AIDS Every day 9,000 people die from the AIDS virus and yet so little real effort has been made by the rich countries to stop the spread of the pandemic in the developing world. The documentary, "Against All Odds: Hope in the Struggle," tells the stories of health workers and activists in southern … Continued
What’s the likely foreign policy direction of a second Bush term? What impact will Bush administration policies have on the rest of the world? John Gershman, director of the Global Affairs Program at the Interhemispheric Resource Center, reviews recent developments and makes some predictions.
Zora Neale Hurston’s long-forgotten script Polk County was discovered seven years ago in the Library of Congress. Berkeley Repertory Theatre is now staging the play’s west coast premiere. Two key players in the production are co-adapter Cathy Madison and featured actor Kevin Jackson. Carla Kaplan collected and edited hundreds of Hurston’s letters; her book is … Continued
Individuality and Quantum Theory Quantum theory revolutionized the way scientists look at the world. It also, contends Peter Pesic, calls into question common notions of human identity and individuality. How unique is each person, really? Pesic draws on literature and philosophy as well as science in his investigations.
