Two perspectives on the role of schools in last week’s elections. Lisa Graves, long-time student of right wing money and influence networks, talks about their role in fomenting rage against critical race theory. And Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, a historian who’s studied fights around schools, looks at what’s behind parental anger. photo: Element5 Digital via Unsplash
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.
Residential segregation in the US, and is “degrowth” the answer to the climate crisis?
Sheryll Cashin, author of White Space, Black Hood, on the origins, mechanisms, and effects of residential segregation, mostly by race but also by class. And economists Peter Victor and Robert Pollin debate the virtues of “degrowth” in avoiding climate catastrophe.
Urbanist Mona Fawaz of the American University of Beirut talks about Lebanon’s political and economic crises. And cultural critic Mark Dery explores the allure of conspiracy theories, using former media critic Mark Crispin Miller as a case study. photo: Markus Winkler via Unsplash
Historian Nancy MacLean, author of this paper, on how Milton Friedman gave segregationists libertarian cover in their efforts to resist Brown v. Board of Education: they weren’t bigots, they were defending freedom! And geophysicist Klaus Jacob on how we can adapt our cities to live with rising seas and heavier rains. photo: Wikimedia Commons
Dave Zirin talks about his book, The Kaepernick Effect. This is a reprise of an interview that first aired on September 16, with the added bonus of fundraising. Support KPFA! Get the book for a contribution of $120.
Historian Patrick Wyman, author of this Atlantic article (and the original version on his Substack), talks about the elite of his hometown, Yakima, Washington, as an example of a portion of our upper class that’s usually eclipsed by metropolitan swells. Plus some fundraising. Support KPFA! photo: Anastase Maragos via Unsplash
Sociologist Algernon Austin lays out the details of and reasons for black men’s miserable experiences in the job market. And sex pundit Susie Bright delves into the meaning of model Cara Delevigne’s “Peg the Patriarchy” vest at last week’s Met Gala. Plus lots of irrefutable reasons why you should support KFPA. Cytonn Photography via Unsplash
Dave Zirin, author of The Kaepernick Effect, on how taking a knee launched a movement. And cloud data architect Dwayne Monroe (author of this article) deflates the endlessly recurring hype around artificial intelligence. photo: Fredrick Lee via Unsplash
How reactionaries maintain control in Texas, and the Blob’s worries about China and Afghanistan.
Texas is a highly diverse and urbanized state, but it’s run by a bunch of would-be cowboys. How is this possible? Political scientist Clyde Barrow has some answers. The Blob—the pejorative nickname for the foreign policy establishment—wants us to worry more about China than the climate crisis, and to see the withdrawal from Afghanistan as … Continued
Paul Passavant, author of Policing Protest, explains how cops came to police protest so viciously. And Marisol Cantu and Shiva Mishek analyze the campaign to shift money out of policing and into social services in Richmond, California. (It helps to avoid the word “defund.”) photo: Jesse Young via Unsplash