The history of slavery in the United States casts a pall over our present. Berkeley-based documentary filmmaker Frances Causey illustrates how and why that is in a compelling and personal work, that traces four centuries of racial oppression in the United States.
Hard Knock Radio’s Davey speaks with 2Chang about their origin story and the release of their latest project, The Weather Inside. The multidisciplinary group, 2Chang consists of 2 Chinese-Filipino-Hawaiian American brothers who believe it’s time for their generation of AAPI storytellers to be heard. They produce music, write screenplays, film documentary pieces, and teach in … Continued
The fortunes of DDT, the synthetic pesticide which infamously devastated bird populations in the United States, rose and fell during the 20th century, and rose again in the 21st century, driven by a campaign by Big Tobacco to sew uncertainty about what can be known. Historian of medicine Elena Conis discusses the trajectory and afterlife … Continued
Veterans are a prominent symbol in U.S. politics, evoking patriotism and military might. The right recruits them and they populate the police, private security, and often militia groups. But the struggles of veterans, and those currently working for the military, should be of concern for the left, argues Suzanne Gordon and Steve Early. They discuss … Continued
Over a decade ago — in response to grassroots organizing against mass incarceration and police violence — a bipartisan coalition took shape. It brought together billionaires, large liberal non-profits, universities, rightwing think tanks, and politicians from both parties. Its stated aim was to reform the bloated criminal justice system on humanitarian grounds. Kay Whitlock argues … Continued
We speak with Dr. Michael Benitez Jr. the vice president for Diversity and Inclusion at Metropolitan State University of Denver about the laws being passed to ban ethnic studies and critical race theory practices. https://www.speakoutnow.org/speaker/michael-benitez-jr https://www.depts.ttu.edu/diversity/documents/MB_Biography17.pdf
In the aftermath of World War Two, as the United States consolidated its position as a global superpower, it was confronted with significant challenges from below and shifting political terrain — anti-colonial struggles around the world and civil rights struggles domestically. To handle both, the U.S state turned to the police, who were sent overseas … Continued
Covid has laid bare the inequities of our society and the dysfunction of our medical system, which focuses at great cost on disease-treatment rather than fostering health. So contends epidemiologist Sandro Galea. He argues that the pandemic provides an opening to rethink medicine, along with housing, wages, and racial and social inequality, and to treat … Continued
The middle of the 19th century — between the abolition of slavery in much of the British Empire and the end of slavery in the United States — is often seen as an age of emancipation. But historian Zach Sell argues that it would be better known as an age of capitalist crisis, upheaval, and … Continued
Few things sound as American as choice. And in the United States, the freedom to send one’s child outside of the traditional public school system is a choice that has been promoted aggressively since the legal end to segregation in schools. Scholar Jon Hale traces how the notion of school choice was used to fight … Continued
