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.
A hundred years ago the IWW was formed to create “one big union” – a radical umbrella that would encompass workers of all races, trades and levels of skill, ready to take on capitalism as a system. Paul Buhle talks about how the Wobblies became a powerful force in mines, factories and fields across the … Continued
What happens when academics expose the misdeeds of some of the most powerful corporations in America? Dow, Monsanto, Union Carbide, and other chemical companies have challenged the scholarship of historians Gerald Markowitz and David Rosner, authors of Deceit and Denial: The Deadly Politics of Industrial Pollution, using controversial and troubling methods. (Encore presentation.)
Is Big Labor on the verge of a momentous breakup? Will anything be resolved at the AFL-CIO’s convention next week? John Borsos of SEIU, which together with five other unions is demanding fundamental changes to the federation’s policies and priorities, lays out one perspective. The AFL-CIO’s Stewart Acuff weighs in with another.
In Bebe Moore Campbell’s new novel 72 Hour Hold, a woman tries to cope with, among other things, her college-age mentally-ill daughter. The book explores parental expectations, relationships under stress, frustrations with the mental health system, and stigmatization in Black communities.
Can progressives put aside what they want to believe about the US-led invasion of Iraq and simply listen to the Iraqis themselves? That’s what Pacifica Radio journalist Aaron Glantz did; his sometimes surprising findings are recorded in How America Lost Iraq. Rebecca Gordon of War Times discusses changes in mainstream thinking about the US military … Continued
A famously independent and iconoclastic thinker, Camille Paglia has a new book out, about poetry. In Break, Blow, Burn she analyzes 43 poems that people outside academe can read, appreciate and flat-out enjoy. Paglia also speaks out about poststructuralism, ideology, and the value of popular culture.
KPFA & Pacifica: The Early Years Something is predictably neglected in those "there-they-go-again" reports of controversy at KPFA — namely, the origins and early history of a daring, imperfect experiment in pacifist-oriented broadcasting. Pacifica historian Matthew Lasar discusses the radical ideas, brash personalities and tumultuous events that shaped KPFA’s early years.
US Elites, Historically In this supposedly democratic nation, why do wealthy elites wield so much power? And since the rich and powerful have been around for more than just the last few decades, can we learn from their activities and vulnerabilities in past eras? Alan Dawley and Jackson Lears wrote about the Progressive Era for … Continued
