Against the Grain
12:00 PM Pacific Time: Mondays to Wednesdays
Acclaimed program of ideas, 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.
Against the Grain – September 17, 2008
It’s become received wisdom that utopian schemes inevitably lead to totalitarianism. Left critic Russell Jacoby, author of "Picture Imperfect: Utopian Thought for an Anti-Utopian Age", believes otherwise. With guest host Sasha Lilley.
Against the Grain – September 16, 2008
Mark Engler describes how the focus of globalization has changed, and what that means for the global justice movement. Also, Itamar Moses discusses his new play about racial and class politics at Berkeley High School.
Against the Grain – September 15, 2008
Acclaimed writer Paul Auster’s latest novel has been called his most political work to date; it’s entitled "Man in the Dark." And Luis Valdez, founder of El Teatro Campesino (which began as the cultural wing of the United Farm Workers), discusses his play "La Carpa de los Rasquachis."
Against the Grain – September 10, 2008
Steven Pitts discusses the causes and contours of an ongoing jobs crisis among African Americans. And Arnoldo Garcia describes the repression of immigrant workers and its relationship to immigrant rights activism.
Against the Grain – September 9, 2008
Philosopher, cultural critic, and provocateur Slavoj Zizek discusses various kinds of visible and invisible violence, drawing connections to ideology, language, and capitalism.
Against the Grain – September 8, 2008
Leo Tolstoy was much more than a novelist. He also spoke out against war, patriotism, laws, economic exploitation, and state authority. His Christian anarchist views are described by Alexandre Christoyannopoulos.
Against the Grain – September 3, 2008
Jeffrey St. Clair will discuss environmental politics and his new book "Born Under a Bad Sky." He will also describe grassroots resistance in the American heartland with Joshua Frank, co-editor of the just-released "Red State Rebels."
Against the Grain – September 2, 2008
In addressing the question of whether fascism has arrived in the US, Jonathan Scott looks at the long history of white supremacism and the class collaboration between white workers and their bosses.
Against the Grain – September 1, 2008
There is no stable working class under capitalism, contends Yale scholar Michael Denning. He looks at how global labor has been represented, and emphasizes the importance of wageless people to the project of resisting neoliberal globalization.