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 co-produced and co-hosted by Sasha Lilley and C. S. Soong.
What do the resistance of soldiers in Vietnam, the death of Ho Chi Minh, the film Easy Rider, and future Trump-fixer Roy Cohn’s defense of Joseph McCarthy have in common with each other? Among other things, they all took place in 1969 — and the voices of the participants were all captured by KPFA Radio … Continued
“Working-Class Heroes” is a presentation on CD of 20 folk songs rooted in the militant labor struggles of the early twentieth century and revived by Mat Callahan and Yvonne Moore.
Democracy is one of the most contradictory terms in political discourse today. On the one hand, it evokes rule by the people. On of the other, it’s used relentlessly by elites to mask where power truly resides in our society. Is it still a word worth fighting for? That’s one of the questions posed by … Continued
Immigration discourse in the U.S. often revolves around the advisability of “securing” the physical border, of addressing the flow of people across the U.S.-Mexico border. But, as Elliott Young asserts, overseas mechanisms of screening and exclusion have been far more effective at keeping would-be immigrants out. Young discusses the history and racial dimensions of so-called … Continued
Coca-Cola is the most ubiquitous of American brands, the symbol of American capitalism and culture internationally, for better and for worse. It’s been a stand-in for American modernity and a lightening rod for global opposition to US corporate and cultural hegemony. Amanda Ciafone discusses the material and immaterial products of Coca-Cola — and the resistance … Continued
“Broken windows” policing emphasizes the importance of addressing minor disruptions and low-level offenses, such as those committed by homeless people with mental health issues. But do such policing tactics reduce the amount of perceived disorder on the streets, or actually foster it? Tony Sparks discusses a revealing case study of policing and punishment in San … Continued
If I asked you to picture a digital activist, I’d wager that you’d envision a progressive. But sociologist Jen Schradie says that’s misguided. In fact, the typical profile of an internet activist is a conservative. Schradie discusses the internet and the left and right. Resources: Jen Schradie, The Revolution That Wasn’t: How Digital Activism Favors … 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 … Continued
The struggle at Standing Rock against the Dakota Access Pipeline brought international attention to the resistance of Native peoples against the destruction of the environment. But that resistance has been going on for centuries. Dina Gilio-Whitaker discusses why ecological struggles have been central to Native struggles — and the complicated relationship between the US environmental … Continued
In the Jim Crow South, African Americans were criminalized. The flip side of that coin, asserts Tammy Ingram, was the decriminalization of whites. Ingram reveals how local authorities tolerated, enabled, and at times actively collaborated with white mobsters in Phenix City, Alabama. Amy Wood and Natalie Ring, eds., Crime and Punishment in the Jim Crow … Continued
