BILL McKIBBEN-THIRD ACT-New Movement to Mobilize Boomers vs Climate Change

Written on April 28th, 2022

I’m excited to replay for you my late 2021 conversation with BILL McKIBBEN, author, and co-founder of the global climate campaign 350.org. In it which he  introduces Third Act, the new activist organization he’s founded. While millions of young people are effectively engaging to confront climate change, those over 60 are not yet delivering what the crisis demands, and Third Act is dedicated to changing that.

ELIE MYSTAL, ALLOW ME TO RETORT: A Black Guy’s Guide to the Constitution

Written on April 6th, 2022

ELIE MYSTAL, Justice Correspondent for The Nation magazine and a contributor to MSNBC, opens his first book, ALLOW ME TO RETORT: A Black Guy’s Guide to the Constitution, with the following words: “Our Constitution is not good. It is a document designed to create a society of enduring white male dominance, hastily edited in the margins to allow for what basic political rights white men could be convinced to share.” The starting point is that far from perfect, this document of compromises necessary to win ratification from slaveowners is unworthy of the veneration promoted by the Right and accepted by too many on the Left. Once we get over that, perhaps we can roll up our sleeves and get to work to bring some of its underlying ideals to fuller realization in the real world.

Can the press or international law influence Putin? MARIA ARMOUDIAN, REPORTING FROM THE DANGER ZONE; LAWYERS BEYOND BORDERS

Written on March 31st, 2022

As we confront Russia’s war on Ukraine – What is the role of the press or international law? How can either stand up to those who defy and ignore them? MARIA ARMOUDIAN has written three books on the possibilities and limitations of “soft power”: KILL THE MESSENGER: The Media’s Role in the Fate of the World; REPORTING FROM THE DANGER ZONE, and LAWYERS BEYOND BORDERS: Advancing International Human Rights through Local Laws and Courts. She is also host/producer of the syndicated radio program, The Scholars’ Circle. You can learn more at armoudian.com

Will Putin use nukes? JOE CIRINCIONE, author, BOMB SCARE and NUCLEAR NIGHTMARES

Written on March 24th, 2022

 

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine may be failing, but it is also devastating and cruel. The US is unwilling to impose a No Fly zone because Putin has nuclear weapons and no one is certain that he won’t use them. How did we get here? Who else has nukes? Why haven’t we taken steps toward nuclear sanity? I turn to JOSEPH CIRINCIONE, Distinguished Fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft and former head of the Ploughshares Fund. His books include BOMB SCARE: THE HISTORY AND FUTURE OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS; and NUCLEAR NIGHTMARES: SECURING THE WORLD BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.

DAVE PELL writes the excellent daily newsletter, NEXT DRAFT, and now a pandemic book, PLEASE SCREAM INSIDE YOUR HEART

Written on March 18th, 2022

 

DAVE PELL, the “Internet’s Managing Editor,”  has been writing about news, technology, and media since 1999. He just released his first book, PLEASE SCREAM INSIDE YOUR HEART: Breaking News and Nervous Breakdowns in the Year that Wouldn’t End, a rollercoaster ride through 2020, leavened with humor and a good dose of perspective taken from the experience of his parents, who survived the Holocaust. You can learn more at NextDraft.com or Pleasescream.com