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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.
Bush’s No Child Left Behind policy has been slammed by many educators for linking school funding to test scores. Yet NCLB’s approach to reading, known as Reading First, has received less attention but is equally insidious, according to educational psychologist Gerry Coles.
Transnational Feminism. Globalization, nationalism, migration, political conflict: all have often unrecognized impacts on the gendered and sexual lives of people worldwide. Gaining insight into these matters, as well as the ways in which marginalized communities develop independently of US-focused narratives, is one of the projects of transnational feminism. Paola Bacchetta and Jyoti Puri organized a … Continued
Cold War, Chess War. It was about chess — and so much more. Cold War politics, iconoclastic beliefs, negotiating brinksmanship, fiery tempers: all of this permeated the 1972 world championship match between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky in Iceland. David Edmonds and John Eidinow have written an investigative account of the turbulent showdown in Reykjavik.
Subverting the Dominant Paradigm? The ideas of postmodernism and poststructuralism, which have held sway over contemporary left theory for the last three decades, are simultaneously fashionable and controversial. Has postmodernism’s ideological dominance advanced the cause of left political action or — as Gramscian theorist John Sanbonmatsu argues — impeded it?
Is organic, small-scale agriculture leading the way for a more humane, ecologically-sound future? Or is the picture more complicated? Julie Guthman, author Agrarian Dreams elucidates the complex nature of organic farming in California.
A look at pensions and the political economy of old age provision. New Left Review’s Robin Blackburn, author of Banking on Death, talks with Sasha Lilley about the neoliberal agenda to privatize pensions — and the progressive potential of this collective form of property.
From Dark Streets to the Blacklist. Long shadows, angst, people trapped in impossible circumstances — these are the characteristics most associated with film noir. But the content and context of these films are much more complex, according to James Naremore and Dave Wagner. Noir was created from the Popular Front politics of the 1930s Left … Continued
Constructing A Vision. Radical theory without practice makes no sense; radical practice without theory seems a colossal waste of time and energy. In a new book Michael Albert constructs a radical theory from the ground up, all the while relating it to practical strategizing and goal-setting. He also takes a hard look at anarchism, feminism, … Continued
Analyzing Therapy. While psychotherapy can transform people’s lives, what are its limits — and what are the limits of the conventional view that sees therapy as a science? Pychotherapist, sociologist and writer Lillian Rubin has practiced therapy for the past thirty years and talks about the shortcomings, as well as high points, of therapy.
Unsustainable Suburbia? Ah, suburbia. Everyone dreams of having a large house with a large yard, surrounded by a white picket fence, removed from the dirt and crime of the city. Or at least, that’s what most Americans seem to want. But the suburban way of life has a myriad of hidden costs and, according to … Continued
