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.
Rethinking Left Strategy In the past decade we’ve witnessed an impressive outpouring of dissent against global capitalism, war and Bush – and yet we’ve achieved few victories. We could chalk it up to the strength of the right, but what about the left itself? David Solnit, Rahul Mahajan and Gene Bruskin talk about whether we’re … Continued
Opposing CAFTA Workers in Central America are out on the streets militantly opposing the Central America Free Trade Agreement or CAFTA. In Guatemala a demonstrator has been killed and many others have been injured and detained. David Bacon, Jesse Swanhuyser, and Nadia Martinez discuss the treaty and why it should be opposed by activists in … Continued
The Anti-Zionist Left Veteran peace activist Michel Warschawski is an Israeli, but he can’t side with an Israel that wants the kind of peace that involves separation from, and rejection of, the Palestinians. In his book On the Border, he examines the history of the Israeli left, the rise of the religious right, and the … Continued
Is a socialist alternative to capitalism just a utopian dream discredited by the experience of the Soviet Union? John Bellamy Foster, editor of Monthly Review, talks about the legacy and viability of radical socialism and the need to renew its promise.
Two takes on unmasking and confronting the system. Susan Choi is author of American Woman, a novel based on the abduction of Patty Hearst. David Lester has written a Harper’s Index-style book entitled The Gruesome Acts of Capitalism.
Hungry for more originality in what you read and see? Worried that creativity and rebellion are on the decline? In The Middle Mind, Curtis White criticizes dominant narratives for their banality and in some cases destructiveness, and calls for a revitalization of the imagination. (This is the full-length taped conversation, aired for the first time.)
Writer Francine Prose, who’s been called one of America’s sharpest cultural satirists, discusses her latest novel A Changed Man, about a former neo-Nazi skinhead who signs on with a human rights foundation.
A look at water privatization around the planet with speeches from the World Social Forum. And a discussion of the appointment of Paul Wolfowitz as head of the World Bank, with Manish Bapna from the Bank Information Center and Morrigan Phillips from Mobilize for Global Justice.
Can the environmental crisis be solved by orthodox economics? Michael Perelman, author of The Perverse Economy: The Impact of Markets on People and the Environment, talks about market solutions versus economic planning.
One Big Lie Why do we hand over power to those who mislead and abuse us? In what ways can real individual freedom be achieved? Playwright Liz Duffy Adams invites us to consider these and other big-picture questions in her new play One Big Lie. Rebecca Novick and Paul Lancour of Crowded Fire Theater Company … Continued
