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.
In his groundbreaking book The Wretched of the Earth, the Martinican thinker, psychiatrist, and revolutionary Frantz Fanon made a number of claims about how colonialism operates and why anticolonial violence is necessary. An Yountae describes and interprets a number of Fanon’s claims, highlighting the theological character of colonial governance and the distinctive brand of violence … Continued
The longest and most expensive war in U.S. history is the ongoing war in Afghanistan. What impact has the nineteen-year-old conflict had on U.S. democracy? According to Benjamin Hopkins, the Afghanistan war has fundamentally damaged the social and political fabric of the U.S. Hopkins also describes what he calls frontier governmentality, the focus of his latest book. … Continued
In the United States, few things seem as wholesome as camping, letting us temporarily escape the daily grind and commune with nature and each other. But Phoebe Young argues that camping has a complicated history, which tell us a lot about Americans’ notions of nature and the nation. She discusses the various forms that camping … Continued
Michael Staudenmaier uses the case study of a small binational (Chicanx/Puerto Rican) revolutionary group in the U.S. to examine the phenomenon of internal colonialism; the scapegoating of populations; competing theorizations of fascism; state repression in the Americas; neo-Nazi and Klan activity; and panethnic Latinx identity and solidarity. Michael Staudenmaier, “‘America’s Scapegoats’: Ideas of Fascism in … Continued
Latin America has played a crucial role for the United States as an empire. And historian Greg Grandin argues that Latin America’s importance stretches well beyond the regional interests of the United States in the Western Hemisphere. Instead, Grandin posits, the countries south of the border have been used as a crucible for the formation … Continued
A special presentation featuring poetry readings and discussions by iconic poets, established ones, and up-and-comers. Archival recordings of Allen Ginsberg, June Jordan, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and Jack Kerouac are part of the mix, as are suggestions for how to approach and enjoy poetry. Minal Hajratwala Mira Martin-Parker Craig Santos Perez Matthew Zapruder Pacifica Radio Archives (Photo by Goodshoped35110s.)
The effects of climate change are here and serious. While it may seem like uncharted waters in the modern era, our ancestors in the 1600s faced a global climate crisis in a century wracked by wars, famines, and social unrest. Historian Geoffrey Parker discusses the lessons of the 17th century, where elites — with the … Continued
The Chinese philosophical text Laozi, also known as the Tao Te Ching, has inspired and intrigued readers for more than two millennia. What is the Dao, typically translated as the Way? What does the text say about how we should behave, what we should value, what traditional ways of thinking we should reconsider or reject? … Continued
We’re often told that the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians rises out of a unique historical situation. But the dispossession of the Palestinians, rather than being exceptional, has strong echoes in other historical dispossessions. Gary Fields discusses the enclosure of the lands of the English peasantry, Native Americans, and the inhabitants of historic … Continued
According to Joseph Masco, the two key existential dangers of our time are climate disruption and nuclear weapons. The first, he maintains, is the product of petrochemical capitalism; around the second an elaborate, fear-based U.S. national security culture has been constructed. Masco contends that addressing these twin crises requires grasping their origins and pursuing fundamental … Continued
