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.
That these are intensely difficult times is stating the obvious. It’s hard to quantify the impact of social stress and political turmoil on our collective psyche, but we all know it’s real. The acclaimed Canadian physician and Marxist Gabor Maté illuminates how stress and trauma damage our lives and our bodies– making us alienated, sick, … Continued
A new interview with Sharon Salzberg about her new book “Finding Your Way: Meditations, Thoughts, and Wisdom for Living an Authentic Life.”
The rise of the far right has been one of the most alarming developments of the last few years, exercising a gravitational pull on much of American politics. Liberal critics often chalk up the appeal of the right to the irrationalism of the downtrodden. But writer Naomi Klein argues that the populist right is, in … Continued
World-renowned teacher Sharon Salzberg talks about her book “Real Happiness: A 28-Day Program to Realize the Power of Meditation.”
Frank Luntz thinks that Israel has a public relations problem in the United States, which may seem surprising given that until recently a majority of Americans have favored Israel’s actions against the Palestinians. The rightwing spin doctor, a longtime advisor to Israel on how to shape American public opinion, believes that such longstanding support is … Continued
How did the influential scholar Cedric Robinson understand black radicalism and global capitalism? Yousuf Al-Bulushi has written about what he sees as several constituent elements of the Robinsonian black radical tradition, including an appreciation of culture (which pushes back against Marxism’s materialism) and a critique of state-based models of self-determination. Al-Bulushi also considers Robinson’s engagement with … Continued
How does capitalism tap into our desires with the promise of objects to satisfy us? Yet when we possess them, the urge for something new reemerges. Geographer Jared Marguiles attempts to explain that paradox by looking at some of most endangered, and coveted, species in world: cacti. He examines the market for succulents and the … Continued
How can people be moved from sympathy to solidarity with an oppressed group? Juliet Hooker considers how the legendary writer and activist Ida B. Wells and Harriet Jacobs, whose slave narrative was the first authored by a woman in the U.S., balanced grief and grievance in an effort to mobilize white people to act to … Continued
It’s the most important program combating food insecurity in the United States – and it originates from aid to the agricultural and food processing industries, not poverty alleviation. Christopher Bosso argues that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP — formerly known as food stamps — has survived for almost sixty years, against those would … Continued
What was the most powerful technology introduced into schools in the past century? You might answer the computer, or something like Zoom, or even the slide projector. But scholar Antero Garcia argues that it was the humble yellow school bus. Buses have been central to the struggle to desegregate education. And school buses are a … Continued
