Fund Drive Special: “Aware” Revisited
Audio highlights of the award-winning film “Aware: Glimpses of Consciousness.”

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.
Audio highlights of the award-winning film “Aware: Glimpses of Consciousness.”
What can the work of Karl Marx tell us about the world we live in, beset by pandemics, economic distress, and vast inequality? The renowned geographer and radical theorist David Harvey has made answering that question his life’s work — and we on the left are so much richer for it.
Penn professor Paul Goldin discusses the Chinese philosophical text “Tao Te Ching,” which has inspired and intrigued readers for more than two millennia. And we offer as a thank-you gift Ursula Le Guin’s acclaimed rendition of the text.
The acclaimed physician Gabor Maté believes that capitalist society damages us at an early age and that we carry that trauma through our lives—making us alienated, sick, and often prone to destructive behaviors. Maté draws from his remarkable background and radical commitments to provide us with tremendous insights into the maladies that are the norm … Continued
The acclaimed physician Gabor Maté believes that capitalist society damages us at an early age and that we carry that trauma through our lives—making us alienated, sick, and often prone to destructive behaviors. Maté draws from his remarkable background and radical commitments to provide us with tremendous insights into the maladies that are the norm … Continued
In the award-winning film “Aware,” six thinkers weigh in on the nature of consciousness.
Oakland’s Police Department has been a poster child for abusive and violent law enforcement. But award-winning journalist Darwin BondGraham argues that the OPD is exceptional only because of the scrutiny it’s received. He discusses the department’s history from the Red Scare of the 1920s to the Black Panthers in the 1960s to Occupy Oakland in … Continued
A number of things are bad for your health. Is economic inequality one of them? According to Stephen Bezruchka, U.S. population health lags behind that of dozens of other countries for two main reasons: extreme economic inequality and a lack of government support directed at early life. (Encore presentation.) Stephen Bezruchka, Inequality Kills Us All: COVID-19’s Health … Continued
Atlanta is a pivotal city for reasons cultural, economic, and political. And so the changes that the city and metropolitan area have undergone since the 1990s have been consequential, deepening class and racial inequality. As Dan Immergluck points out, these shifts were not the inevitable product of market forces, but the result of political decisions. … Continued
What does May Day, as an anarchist and socialist political project, commemorate? Nicolas Lampert and Paul Buhle share historical background; Cindy Milstein reviews anarchist principles; Richard Lichtman considers what Marx called alienation; and Paul C. Gray discusses the importance of identifying workers’ issues of concern and creating democratic structures. (Image on main page by Washington … Continued