Against the Grain – May 25, 2021
A radio and web media project whose aim is to provide 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
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.
Could humans ever live together without warring? Did half of us evolve to start wars and dominate the rest of us? Biological anthropologist Agustín Fuentes separates myths from the facts about aggression, genes, human nature, and evolution, in this interview from the collection “Big Picture Ideas: The Best of Against the Grain”.
Philip Freeman discusses the Roman philosopher Cicero’s insights into how to enjoy and get the most out of one’s later years, and Mark Vernon talks about his book “Plato’s Podcasts: The Ancients’ Guide to Modern Living.” (Photo by Sonse.)
How should we on the left regard technology? Is it something neutral that we can shape for our own purposes? Is it a weapon of social control? Automation and the perilousness of life under capitalism have brought those debates back, but they’re not new. Marxist scholar Gavin Mueller discusses technology, capitalism, and the left.
Conversations with William Irvine about his book “A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy” and with Mark Vernon, author of “Plato’s Podcasts: The Ancients’ Guide to Modern Living.” (Photo by Joshua Woroniecki via Unsplash.)
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
Fund Drive Special: Ram Dass on “Polishing the Mirror”
In “Polishing the Mirror,” the influential spiritual seeker and teacher Ram Dass shares his insights into human consciousness and awakening.
There have been numerous exposés of the conditions in factory farms, where livestock are crammed together by the hundreds of thousands. But anthropologist Alex Blanchette argues that animal agribusiness, rather than being a sordid, exceptional case, has represented the cutting edge of capitalist industry for more than one hundred years. He discusses the exploitation of … Continued
To what extent did Frederick Engels engage with environmental and ecological issues? When Engels wrote about the dialectics of nature, what did he mean by “dialectics”? According to John Bellamy Foster, Engels’s insights into ecology, dialectics, and the environmental conditions of the working class were, and remain, critically important. John Bellamy Foster, The Return of Nature: Socialism … Continued
In its early days, the internet appeared to hold the promise of a new form of communication not driven by the profit motive. Yet the sordid state of the internet today was not inevitable, according to scholar Jessa Lingel. Instead, she argues, a process took place — similar to the gentrification of our cities — … Continued