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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.
Anarchism and the Left. According to historian Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, Lucy Parsons, born in the mid-19th century, was one of the outstanding U.S. anarchists. Roy San Fillipo was part of the anarchist collective Love and Rage; now he’s helped form a new group, Bring the Ruckus, that incorporates (and rejects) certain features of anarchist thinking and … Continued
Human Rights and Wrongs. Today’s Supreme Court ruling on the Guantanamo detainees raises a larger question: Can human rights withstand the so-called war on terror? Amnesty International is in a position to know. AI’s Dennis Palmieri talks about the group’s 2004 Annual Report, and Gerald Gray, who treats torture survivors in San Jose, discusses the … Continued
Gloria Anzaldúa: Cultural theorist, activist, poet and award-winning writer Gloria Anzaldúa passed away in Santa Cruz last month. Author of Borderlands, named one of the 100 best books of the century, Anzaldúa advanced ideas for inclusionary movements for social justice. AnaLouise Keating and Ines Hernandez-Avila were longtime friends and collaborators of Anzaldúa.
Coal-fired power plants are the single largest source of mercury emissions in the US — mercury which finds its way into the fish you eat and is then stored in your body. Guests Casey Harrell of Greenpeace and Angela Ledford of Clear the Air believe the Bush administration, rather than cracking down on dirty power … Continued
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.
