What can our fantasies about space tell us about life on earth? Fred Scharman discusses competing visions for long-term space occupancy over the last century and a half, many of them emanating from Russia and the United States even before the Cold War, and now monopolized by billionaires like Elon Musk. Resources: Fred Scharmen, Space … 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
Great powers rise and fall. But when their power wanes, as Britain’s did in the early 20th century and the U.S. is arguably waning now, who shoulders the costs of their decline? Is it elites or those on the bottom? Sociologist Richard Lachmann discusses what the past can tell us about the future of empires … Continued
Talk of ceasefire, as war rages on. We talk deep roots, changing opinions, and current realities, with Khury Peterson-Smith, of IPS. Hosted by Kris Welch.
The conventional economic wisdom holds that humans started to use money as an outgrowth of bartering — and that money represented a great leap forward for civilization. That couldn’t be further from the truth, argues David McNally. Money, he contends, has not been a benign development, but has since its inception been tied to warfare … Continued
America has long been the country of endless promise, of open vistas, and a sense of providence about its place in the wider world. That optimism has always cloaked the brutality of imperial expansion and limitless growth. And now that centrist ideal of boundless expansion, according to historian Greg Grandin, may be coming to an … Continued
Regime change R us! This week it’s Iran—again. Bolton’s threatening message lays the groundwork for war. PLUS: the best Valentine’s Day news—there’s more to love than romance. Hosted by Kris Welch.
In 2013, Edward Snowden’s revelations of mass surveillance by the National Security Agency pointed to spying on a mind-bending scale. Journalist Pratap Chatterjee weights in on the connection between that mass data collection and drone warfare – and the state of surveillance and drone attacks five years on. (Encore presentation.) Resources: Pratap Chatterjee and Khalil, … Continued
Various interviews and speeches around the tragedies of War.
MEDEA BENJAMIN Inside Iran: The Real History & Politics of the Islamic Republic of Iran Medea Benjamin, one of America’s best-known and most effective activists,co-founder of Code Pink and Global Exchange, is the author of Drone Warfare and Kingdom of the Unjust: Behind the U.S—Saudi Connection. In 2012 she was awarded the U.S. Peace Memorial Foundation’s Peace Prize, and in … Continued
