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.
Sociologist Francesca Polletta talks about the uses of storytelling in politics and protest, and why social movements choose the organizational forms that they do. Polletta discusses, among other things, her essay "How Participatory Democracy Became White."
Race and Mother(ing) After the publication of her book of poems "Acolytes," Nikki Giovanni spoke about the death of her mother and about slavery in the US. Rebecca Aanerud has written about the legacy of white supremacy and the challenge of white antiracist mothering.
Democracy and the Social Forums If US-style electoral democracy doesn’t satisfy you, Michael Menser suggests we consider an alternative: radical democracy like the kind practiced in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Menser likewise sees the World Social Forum as a crucial experiment in democracy. The social forum movement has also inspired the poet and arts activist Alice … Continued
Identity and Class; Acequias and Social Justice What are the limits of identity politics, and how might an emphasis on people’s class location help us understand widening inequalities? Martha Gimenez has written an article entitled "Back to Class." And Devon Pena explains how acequia communities in the Southwest practice local democracy, social equity, and sustainable … Continued
Neoliberalism’s Soul; Corporate "Self-Sourcing" Bethany Moreton argues that neoliberalism has a hefty emotional/spiritual component that the Left ignores at its peril. Martha Gimenez describes what happens to workers when corporations get consumers to do (unpaid) work.
Is Islamophobia a form of only religious hatred? Junaid Rana reveals how Muslims have been incorporated into modern forms of racism. Also, Tahmima Anam discusses her debut novel "A Golden Age," which describes one family’s experience of Bangladesh’s War of Independence.
Things like war, patriarchy, and gentrification disturb a lot of people, including artists. In the art exhibition "We Interrupt Your Program," women artists question and disrupt mainstream narratives. And in his new solo show "Taking Over," hip-hop theater pioneer Danny Hoch takes on gentrification in Brooklyn.
W.E.B. Du Bois and Paul Robeson. Murali Balaji, author of "The Professor and the Pupil", talks about the friendship and political evolution of radical African American giants W.E.B. Du Bois and Paul Robeson. With guest host Ramsey Kanaan.
Myths about immigration abound, as does a myopic focus on immigration to the US. Henrik Lebuhn reveals how undocumented immigrants in Europe are being targeted and policed. And in a new book Aviva Chomsky addresses 21 myths about immigration.
