The politics of climate-STAN COX & JOHN FEFFER-Minority rule strikes again

Written on July 13th, 2023

I’ve long believed that to confront challenges like climate change, we need to move public opinion to the point where a majority favor policies that respond effectively and fairly. I’m afraid that’s no longer true. I read with alarm STAN COX’s article MAGA Legislators Increasingly Force Taxpayers to Support Fossil Fuel Industry by, among other things, outlawing ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) investing. Here’s my conversation with STAN COX of the Land Institute and JOHN FEFFER of the Institute for Policy Studies, about this anti-democratic and destructive strategy and other aspects of the politics of climate. You can learn more at landinstitute.org and johnfeffer.com

LESLIE CRUTCHFIELD-How Change Happens: Why Some Movements Succeed While Others Don’t

Written on July 6th, 2023

Recent Supreme Court rulings doing away with affirmative action and student loan forgiveness while allowing religious bigotry, reinforce the harsh reality of minority rule in today’s United States. While it challenges and handicaps the effectiveness of mass movements for progressive change, it also makes them even more critical. Here’s my 2018 conversation with LESLIE CRUTCHFIELD, Executive Director of Business for Impact at Georgetown University and former managing director at Ashoka, the global venture fund for social entrepreneurs, about her book, How Change Happens: Why Some Movements Succeed While Others Don’t

You’ve been warned-BRENDAN BALLOU-PLUNDER: Private Equity’s Plan to Pillage America

Written on June 29th, 2023

With this episode, I’m reminded of when I did my first show on the sub-prime crisis. In PLUNDER, BRENDAN BALLOU, a federal prosecutor, explains how private equity has reshaped American business – from nursing homes to prisons, emergency rooms to apartment buildings – by raising prices, reducing quality, cutting jobs, and shifting resources from productive to unproductive parts of the economy. What’s worse, as of now PEs are legally shielded from liability for the consequences of their actions. You can learn more at plunderthebook.com.

DANIEL ELLSBERG-Rest in Peace-which he worked for all his life-our 2009 conversation

Written on June 21st, 2023

We lost an American hero last week with the death of DANIEL ELLSBERG, whose release of the Pentagon Papers in 1971 revealed the cynical realities of the Vietnam War. A president was ignoring the will of the people, Congress, and the courts, promising peace while planning war without end. Ellsberg, a military analyst at the Rand Corporation, risked life in prison to end a war he helped plan, for which Henry Kissinger called him, “the most dangerous man in America.” His actions did not end the war – at least not as quickly as he had hoped – but they did change history. Here is our conversation recorded in 2009. 

HECTOR TOBAR-OUR MIGRANT SOULS: A Meditation on Race and the Meanings and Myths of Latino

Written on June 15th, 2023

HECTOR TOBAR was born in Los Angeles, shortly after his parents arrived from Guatemala. He’s a Professor of English and Chicano/Latino Studies at the University of California, Irvine, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, and the author of six books, including DEEP DOWN DARK: The Untold Stories of 33 Men Buried in a Chilean Mine and The Miracle That Set Them Free, adapted into the film, The 33 starring Antonio Banderas. We talk about his newest, OUR MIGRANT SOULS: A Meditation on Race and the Meanings and Myths of Latino. You can learn more at hectortobar.com