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.
Pox Americana The writing of some of the leading thinkers about imperialism — Peter Gowan, Sam Gindin, Noam Chomsky, Samir Amin, among others — have been gathered into a thought-provoking book titled Pox Americana. And at a recent event at Modern Times Bookstore, contributors Barbara Epstein, Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, and Bernardine Dohrn joined Tariq Ali and … Continued
Empire and Resistance Over the past week resistance to US empire has spread through Afghanistan, Pakistan, and much of the Muslim world. No critic better understands the issues of imperialism and struggles against it than novelist, historian, and activist Tariq Ali, as he illustrated in a recent speech given in Berkeley.
Weapons of Mass Deception Why did the US invade Iraq? What’s happened to the people of Iraq since then? In his film Weapons of Mass Deception, veteran media critic Danny Schechter takes on the mainstream media, showing its complicity with the Bush administration and the many ways it misinformed and manipulated the American public.
Progress and Disaster "Are all human systems doomed to stagger along under the mounting weight of their internal logic until it crushes them?" Ronald Wright asks this question in his new book A Short History of Progress. He also examines past cases of human progress and disaster, in the process making relevant — and chilling … Continued
Displaced for Empire In the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, a little island in the Indian Ocean was used as a pivotal launching base for the US military. That island is Diego Garcia and the story of how it came to be a military base is one of the darkest episodes in Anglo-American imperialism. Thanks … Continued
Money, Power & Mental Illness Should people diagnosed as mentally ill be forcibly treated or institutionalized? MindFreedom’s David Oaks, who also has strong opinions about the psychiatric drug industry, thinks it’s a human rights issue. The politics of mental illness is the focus of Joe Penhall’s play Blue/Orange at Aurora Theatre.
A discussion about finance and American empire with political economists Sam Gindin and Leo Panitch, co-editor of The Socialist Register, and host Sasha Lilley.
Tariq Ali A conversation with radical public intellectual, author, and filmmaker Tariq Ali about his life and times. Ali discusses his recently re-issued memoir Street Fighting Years: An Autobiography of the Sixties, as well as the occupation of Iraq, with host Sasha Lilley.
A May Day look at the 20th anniversary of the 1984-85 British miners’ strike, the historic clash between labor and Margaret Thatcher during which 11,291 people were arrested. The strike’s defeat allowed for the victory of neoliberalism in the UK and beyond. With journalist Nicholas Jones and host Sasha Lilley.
Agrarian Capitalism in California A conversation about agrarian capitalism in the Golden State with geographer Richard Walker, author of The Conquest of Bread: 150 Years of Agribusiness in California with host Sasha Lilley.
