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.
A conversation on democracy with writer and filmmaker Astra Taylor author of the new book Democracy May Not Exist, but We’ll Miss It When It’s Gone. Guest: Astra Taylor is the author of The People’s Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital Age (winner of the American Book Award) and made two documentary films, Zizek! and Examined Life. Taylor’s writing has appeared in … Continued
Today, we are in conversation with Professor Mike Gonzalez about how left-wing elected governments in Latin America have been under assault from reactionary forces and the U.S. government. We also discuss how the so called Pink Tide has come short in its socialist promises and what are the prospects for Latin American politics. Guest: Mike Gonzalez is … Continued
National Security adviser John Bolton invokes the Monroe Doctrine of 1823 to justify the United States meddling in Venezuelan affairs. Today we are in conversation about the history of the Monroe Doctrine, what it is, and how it has changed throughout the years. Guest: Grace Livingstone is a journalist and academic, specializing in Latin American affairs … Continued
Marking the eight anniversary of the devastating earthquake that rocked Japan and subsequent tsunami that created a disaster at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, we are in conversation with Gregory Jackzo, head of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission at the time the Fukushima disaster occurred. He recounts the role he played in the American government’s response … Continued
A conversation with Mike Duncan about his book The Storm Before the Storm: The Beginning of the End of the Roman Republic. He explains how the accumulation of inequalities, social prejudice and corruption led the Roman Republic to its fall. Guest: Mike Duncan is one of the foremost history podcasters in the world. His award winning series The History … Continued
A conversation on the Epic of Gilgamesh, the oldest complete story that we have in the planet, it dates nearly back 5,000 years. It is from Sumer, the southernmost region of ancient Mesopotamia, or modern Iraq today. We talk to Kent H. Dixon about how the stories of Gilgamesh can be found in the old … Continued
Today we bring you a conversation on the life of Henry David Thoreau and his essay on civil disobedience and how he inspired the life of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. He was an ardent naturalist, a manual laborer and inventor, a radical political activist who urged for non-violent political resistance and the principled … Continued
A conversation about the legacy of the most important African American of the nineteenth century: Frederick Douglass. He escaped slavery and became the greatest orator of his day and one of the leading abolitionists and writers of the era. Guest: David W. Blight is Professor of American History and Director of the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study … Continued
A conversation on the two presidential impeachments in U.S. history. The first on Andrew Johnson in 1868, and the second on Bill Clinton in the late 1990’s with legal scholar Alan Hirsch. Guest: Alan Hirsch is the chair of the Justice and Law Studies program at Williams College, Massachusetts. He is the author or co-author … Continued
A look at burning political issues and debates and their historical context within the US and worldwide, hosted by Mitch Jeserich.
