In a recent conversation between Hard Knock Radio host Davey D and Professor/author Tina Bell Wright, a wide range of political and social issues were discussed. The dialogue covered the evolution of fascism in America, the current state of race and power dynamics, and historical examples of Black self-determination. They also explored potential political and … Continued
In a compelling episode of Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D engaged with prominent activists Melina Abdullah, a leading figure in Black Lives Matter Grassroots Los Angeles, and Malkia Cyril, a renowned media justice advocate, to delve into the contentious decision by Congress to consider banning the popular social media platform TikTok. This discussion not … Continued
The program DARE — in which police officers stepped into the role of teacher to warn 5th and 6th graders away from drugs — is an object of humor today. But historian Max Felker-Kantor argues that we should take DARE seriously. He posits that the program, which at its height brought police into 75% of … Continued
In John Henrik Clarke: A Great and Mighty Walk, narrated by Wesley Snipes, Bourne explores the biopic form that has framed much of his work and demonstrates why it is important to tell the stories of exceptional people. As the documentary opens, Bourne asks, “How do you describe a legend?” The film’s answer is that … Continued
Americans as a population have an unusually large appetite for psychoactive drugs, whether legal or illegal. And American history has been marked by periodic moral panics over drug use and normalization or legalization, as we’re experiencing right now. Why is that? What is it about US society that makes drug use simultaneously so appealing and … Continued
Over the last forty years, bottled water consumption has exploded. Once a rarefied item, global sales of bottled water dwarf every other beverage — totaling $300 billion a year. Environmental sociologist Daniel Jaffee argues that packaged water doesn’t only imperil our oceans and bodies with plastic waste, but undermines safe public water even more than … Continued
Public schools in cities across the U.S., cities like Newark, New Jersey, have been the targets of privatization campaigns over the last two decades. Sociologist John Arena asks why rising star and Mayor Cory Booker was unsuccessful at forcing through corporate school reform in Newark, while his rival and successor Mayor Ras Baraka — the … Continued
Gene-guided healthcare has taken U.S. medicine by storm, promising precision, targeted treatments to myriad illnesses. It has also proved very profitable. James Tabery traces how genetic medicine vied within the federal government with another approach to healthcare — one emphasizing the social and environmental determinants of health, such as whether you live in a polluted … Continued
They shut down the Las Vegas strip, when the casinos were operated by the mafia, and waged a grassroots fight against racism and poverty. The struggle of African American poor mothers for welfare rights in Nevada is a story with lessons for our times of punitive austerity. Historian Annelise Orlick has documented one of the … Continued
The call to abolish the family and liberate its members has been one of the central pillars of the radical left historically. Yet today that venerable tradition is almost forgotten, abandoned with the ebbing of the Sixties. Sophie Lewis renews the argument for abolishing the family and replacing it with collective forms of care. Resources: … Continued
