Behind the News – May 20, 2021
Host Doug Henwood covers the worlds of economics and politics and their complex interactions, from the local to the global.
Upcoming Episode
Behind the News
12:00 PM (Noon) Pacific Time: Thursdays
Host Doug Henwood covers the worlds of economics and politics and their complex interactions, from the local to the global.
Forrest Hylton on what’s prompting mass protest (and vicious crackdown) in Colombia. And Jules Gill-Peterson looks at the reactionary theocratic politics behind the spate of anti-trans bills around the US. photo: Mercedes Mehling via Unsplash
Just what is the Democratic party anyway?
Adam Hilton, author of True Blues: The Contentious Transformation of the Democratic Party, explores the history and structure of the Democratic party and finds it “hollow.” No one really controls it.
Historian Donna Murch, author of this Guardian article, on why—despite the loss in Bessemer—this is a lively time for union organizing. And Ben Burgis, author of Canceling Comedians While the World Burns, on the problems with “cancel culture.” photo: Skyler Gerald via Unsplash
Chicago anti-cop activist Jasson Perez on the movement to defund/abolish the police: it’s not as radioactive as you might think. And Bill Moyer, director of the Solutionary Rail project, on an agenda to revive railroads and provide a means to transmit renewable generated electricity over long distances. photo: Benjamin Wagner via Unsplash
Birthday fundraiser: the legacy of the Sanders campaign, and what went wrong in Bessemer.
Meagan Day and Micah Uetricht, authors of Bigger than Bernie, on the long-term legacy of the Sanders campaigns. And Jane McAlevey on why the union lost the fight against Amazon in Alabama.
Education journalist Jennifer Berkshire analyzes (overdone) claims that teachers’ unions are keeping kids out of school, and warns us about the ongoing war on public education at the state level. And economic and social historian Helen Yaffe looks at how Cuba has contained COVID-19, and at what’s behind their impressive treatment and vaccine work. photo: … Continued
Global shipping: the shadowy business behind the Ever Given. And subsidized jobs.
Laleh Khalili looks into the murky business of global shipping, an industry much in the headlines because of the stuck ship, but whose structure largely went unexplored. And LaDonna Pavetti talks about subsidized employment for low-wage workers.
The political economist Güney Işıkara explains why Turkish president Recep Erdogan is getting even more authoritarian. And the progressive political strategist Keenan Korth explains how the left took over the Nevada Democratic party. photo: joel protasio via Unsplash
Sochie Nnaemeka, director of the New York State Working Families Party, on the awfulness of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and Susie Bright, the original “sexpert,” on what the pandemic has done to our libidos.
Texas-based immigration attorney Brianna Rennix talks about conditions at the US–Mexico border: how many of Trump’s brutal policies is Biden continuing, and was Trump that much of a departure from his predecessors? And sociologist Gianpaolo Baiocchi outlines a proposal to keep distressed housing out of the hands of private equity and turn it instead into … Continued