Against the Grain – November 21, 2005
Mark Schapiro and Daryl Ditz talk about the impact that the REACH chemicals policy, just passed by the European Union, will have on toxics in the United States.

12:00 PM Pacific Time: Mondays - 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 produced and hosted by Sasha Lilley.
Mark Schapiro and Daryl Ditz talk about the impact that the REACH chemicals policy, just passed by the European Union, will have on toxics in the United States.
When should women fleeing gender-based violence in their home countries get political asylum in the US? Refugee law expert Karen Musalo discusses specific cases as well as the current treatment of gender-based asylum claims.
Since the ascendancy of George W. Bush five years ago, progressives have been spending a great deal of time thinking about how the conservative movement was able to come to power and how the left might be able to emulate the tactics that the right used. But what if, as Jean Hardisty argues, progressives … Continued
Actor Jason Wong discusses the award-winning play Porcelain, about a gay Asian man’s crime of passion. Octavio Solis talks about his new play The Ballad of Pancho & Lucy, inspired by newspaper accounts of a Latino Bonnie and Clyde. And: an appearance by George W. Bush!
Slavery in the US was not just a Southern phenomenon. Slavery flourished, for example, in New York City for more than two centuries. Slavery in New York co-editor Leslie Harris and contributor Patrick Rael discuss the centrality of slavery to New York’s development.
A discussion of the "Frontier Line Project" — Governor Schwarzenegger’s plan to import dirty energy from coal plants into California from Wyoming. With Don Smith of the California Public Utility Commission and resource economist Eugene Coyle.
A look at the use of bankruptcy as a weapon against the labor movement, and the repercussions of Delphi filing for Chapter 11 for companies like GM, with retired autoworker Dianne Feeley and Chris Kutalik of Labor Notes. And journalist Liza Featherstone talks about the way retail giant Wal-Mart is trying to deflect mounting negative … Continued
Do racial disparities in health exist in this country — and if so, what are the causes and what’s being done? A report entitled "Closing the Gap: Solutions to Race-Based Health Disparities" lays out the issues and challenges.
A postmortem on the Katrina disaster, including a look at how neoliberal policies under the Clinton and Bush administrations have undermined the health of America’s cities and outsourced public services to the private sector. With urban sociologist Eric Klinenberg.
One of society’s strongest messages is that lifelong monogamous love is the ticket to a happy, secure life. But who or what is pointing us in the direction of long-term coupledom, and why? Laura Kipnis examines the social and political implications of the marriage ideal.