Letters and Politics – June 19, 2018
A look at burning political issues and debates and their historical context within the US and worldwide, hosted by Mitch Jeserich.
Upcoming Episode
Letters and Politics
10:00 AM Pacific Time: Monday-Thursday
Letters & Politics seeks to explore the history behind today’s major global and national news stories. Hosted by Mitch Jeserich.
Anthropologist David Graeber joins us for a conversation about time and how over the years the concept of time has evolved to be used for control through hourly paid work leading to the proliferation of unnecessary jobs. David Graeber, well known for his role in jump-starting the Occupy Wall St movement in 2011, is a … Continued
Arthur Eckstein spent years reading declassified documents from the FBI about its investigation into the radical 1970’s revolutionary group the Weather Underground. He joins us for the hour to talk about what he found and to retell this story that includes bombings of the U.S. Capitol, the Pentagon, and the State Department. Guest: Arthur M. … Continued
In the first half of today’s program, we talk to Craig Aaron about the AT&T Time Warner merger and the changing nature of anti-trust laws. Guest: Craig Aaron, CEO, and President of Free Press In the second half of the show, we’re joined by Andrew Yang who is running for the 2020 Democratic nomination for … Continued
Mitch Jeserich talks to Anthony Wier about the summit between president Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as it has ended with the signing of a declaration to denuclearize North Korea. But what does it mean to denuclearize in this context anyway? Guest: Anthony Wier directs the Friends Committee on National Legislation’s work on nuclear weapons … Continued
Soyoung Kwon joins us to talk about North Korea’s interests in meeting with President Donald Trump in Singapore and how internal North Korean politics operate. Guest: Dr. Soyoung Kwon, professor of Global Affairs at George Mason University and a fellow at the Yonsei Institute for North Korean Studies at Yonsei University. Then in the second half of … Continued
The literary character Atticus Finch from Harper Lee’s classic To Kill A Mocking Bird, has influenced scores of young people to pursue legal careers. Atticus Finch, who defends a wrongly accused black man of raping a white woman in the deep south, became an iconic symbol for the person with a strong moral compass. So it came … Continued
Mitch Jeserich speaks to John Nichols of the Nation Magazine about last night’s primaries, this year’s midterms and the state of the Republic. Then, marking the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, Mitch Jeserich speaks to journalist and historian Ellen Meacham, author of the book Delta Epiphany: Robert F. Kennedy in Mississippi. … Continued
Mitch Jeserich is in conversation with renowned Greek scholar, Paul Cartledge, about the history of democracy in ancient Greece. Its rise, its fall and why still matters today. Professor Cartledge is the author of several books on this topic, his latest is Democracy: A Life. About Democracy: A Life Ancient Greece first coined the concept of … Continued
Profoundly intertwined with human civilization, milk has a compelling and a surprisingly global story to tell, and historian Mark Kurlansky is the perfect person to tell it. Tracing the liquid’s diverse history from antiquity to the present, he details its curious and crucial role in cultural evolution, religion, nutrition, politics, and economics. Also, host Mitch … Continued
Mitch Jeserich speaks with renown geographer Richard Walker about the immense wealth, politics and contradictions of the San Francisco Bay Area. Richard A. Walker is professor emeritus of geography at U.C. Berkeley and author of the book Pictures of a Gone City: Tech and the Dark Side of Prosperity in the San Francisco Bay Area. … Continued