Behind the News – January 27, 2022
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.
Erin Thompson, author of Smashing Statues, talks about the politics of public art. And John Huntington, author of Far-Right Vanguard, recounts the history of the far-Right and its often close relations with the “respectable” Right. photo: Pixabay
What’s behind the demonization of Russia, China, and a preposterously inflated North Korea? Is Russia about to invade Ukraine, or China about to invade Taiwan, or North Korea about to lob nuclear missiles at LA? Katrina vanden Heuvel, editorial director and publisher of The Nation fills us in on the Russia angle, and veteran journalist … Continued
Economist William “Sandy” Darity, co-author of From Here to Equality, makes the case for reparations for black Americans. photo: Pixabay
Does Christopher Hitchens still matter, and how the death drive explains things.
Ben Burgis, author of a new book on Christopher Hitchens, on how he still matters and why. And Patrick Blanchfield, author of this article, on how Freud’s concept of the death drive explains so much.
The political economy of Texas, and why do rich people pay so little in taxes?
Political scientist Clyde Barrow explains how Texas, a complex, diverse, urbanized state, is run by a bunch of white guys who think they’re cowboys (rebroadcast of a September interview). And Jesse Eisinger of ProPublica explains why very rich people pay almost nothing in taxes.
On this fund-drive special, Sam Adler-Bell, author of this article from the New Republic, joins Behind the News to discuss the ‘New Right,’ a youthful crop of ill-liberal counter-revolutionaries who wouldn’t mind junking democracy and replacing it with a theocracy. photo: Pixabay
Fundraising special: Rupa Marya and Raj Patel on Inflamed
Rupa Marya and Raj Patel discuss their book Inflamed, on the social and ecological causes of disease. Plus a generous helping of fundraising.
Two election observers from the Progressive International, Matt Kierkegaard and David Adler, report on Honduras and Chile, which have been choosing new presidents. And Sarah Lustbader, a public defender in NYC, explores why trials (like Kyle Rittenhouse’s) can’t bear the political weight we expect of them. Photo credit: Nick Youngson on Wikimedia
Getting rid of cops, and the origins and purpose of public debt.
Sociologist Alex Vitale, just out with a second edition of The End of Policing, on how we can replace cops with more humane substitutes. And economist Barry Eichengreen, co-author of In Defense on Public Debt, talks about the history and purpose of government borrowing.
Environmental journalist Tina Gerhardt reviews the accomplishments, or lack thereof, at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgo. And renegade ex-Republican Mike Lofgren (author of this article) explains why Steve Bannon’s dream of deconstructing the administrative state is really bad. photo: cc-by-sa-2.0 on Wikipedia