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.
Is capitalism bad for your health? Gabor Maté thinks so. The acclaimed Canadian physician and Marxist discusses capitalism, stress, and chronic illness, inimitably combining profound humanism, dark wit, and extensive knowledge of science and social justice. He makes the compelling case that the psycho-social needs to be taken into account by both the medical establishment … Continued
In a wide-ranging talk, the U.C. Berkeley-based scholar john a. powell argued that all political institutions in the U.S. are grounded to a certain extent in racialized logic.
How should we understand the role that police play in maintaining the social order? Radical scholar Christina Heatherton discusses policing, neoliberal capitalism, and resistance. Cover photo via: AJ Colores
john a. powell on racialized logic and its impact over the course of U.S. history.
Clarence Thomas is Donald Trump’s favorite Supreme Court justice, which might confirm the liberal view that Thomas is simply a toady of the right. But scholar Corey Robin argues that Thomas is a complex thinker and skilled rhetorician, whose ideas originate in black nationalism. Robin reflects on how Thomas’ pessimism about the intractability of racism … Continued
Helena Sheehan participated, as an activist, educator, and Marxist philosopher, in a great variety of radical movements and groupings, among them the New Left, the IRA, and the Communist Party of Ireland. She describes her engagements with many of the key ideas and debates around socialism and communism, both in the U.S. and abroad. Helena Sheehan, Navigating … Continued
A century ago, out of the carnage of World War One and the wave of revolutions that swept Europe, came an artistic movement that put personal and societal liberation at its center: surrealism. Penelope Rosemont, a later member of the movement, discusses the art and politics of surrealism — and her own personal history within … Continued
More than 110,00 Japanese Americans were forcibly removed from their homes and sent to remote concentration camps in early 1942. Photojournalist Paul Kitagaki Jr. has tracked down dozens of camp survivors and their descendants. Charles Wollenberg has written about several key legal cases provoked by this tragic episode and the attorney who spearheaded them. Charles … Continued
The proponents of cultured meat — meat grown in a laboratory — argue that it not only will put an end of the suffering of animals, but could lead us into a world free of the global warming-effects of industrialized animal agriculture. Benjamin Wurgaft discusses how the hopes for cultured meat refract many competing visions … Continued
What should socialists and other leftists do vis-a-vis the 2020 presidential elections? Should they stay on the sidelines, or throw themselves into the anti-Trump coalition? Max Elbaum contends that, given Trumpism’s relentless drive toward racist authoritarian rule, the left’s prospects would be significantly better if Biden prevails. Max Elbaum, “Socialist Strategy and the Biden Debate” … Continued
