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.
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.
Soy and the Amazon The destruction of the Amazon proceeds every year with greater speed. What is driving the clearing of “the lungs of the world”? Geographers Wendy Jepson and Jan Maarten Dros and Environmental Defense’s Steve Schwarzmann talk about the role of soy production in transforming the greater Amazon region.
Whatever Happened to Chinese Socialism? Radical scholars Paul Burkett and Martin Hart-Landsberg address the question.
African American Railroad WorkersThey are the focus of Wayne Harris’s one-man show in San Francisco called "Train Stories," and of Larry Tye’s book Rising from the Rails, about the Pullman Porters and their legacy.
A conversation with Liza Featherstone, author of Selling Women Short, about the sex discrimination class action suit against Wal-Mart.
Acclaimed writer Russell Banks, whose works The Sweet Hereafter and Affliction were turned into major motion pictures, joins C.S. in studio to discuss his new novel, The Darling. Its main protagonist, indicted by US authorities for her involvement in the Weather Underground, flees the country for Liberia and a confrontation with her past.
How did the Christian right get so powerful? Should the left embrace religion and talk about so-called moral values? Political Research Associates’ Nikhil Aziz and People for the American Way’s Peter Montgomery discuss the legacy and future of the religious right.
The New York Times calls Philip Kan Gotanda "a polemicist who sees both sides of a question, a writer whose grievances are balanced by a wicked sense of humor." Gotanda’s new play Fist of Roses, an investigation into male violence in relationships, is now on stage at Intersection for the Arts in San Francisco; he … Continued
Post-Election Strategy; Ancient Maya Art. One thing’s for certain: either Bush or Kerry will win the election. What then? Will the Left be prepared with a coherent strategy either way? Max Elbaum shares his thoughts and Bob Wing reports from Florida on voter protection and poll monitoring efforts. Curator Kathleen Berrin describes an ancient Maya … Continued
Beyond Neoliberalism Neoliberals argue that poor countries can only develop by following the precepts of privatization, deregulation, and economic liberalization. Economists Ha-Joon Chang and Ilene Grabel believe there are other alternatives. They discuss concrete ways that countries can move out of poverty and away from economic vulnerability in an era of "globalization."
