Broadcast

An Indigenous People’s History
Roxanne Dunbar-Ortíz
The history of the U.S. is one of settler colonialism. The state was established on the basis of white male supremacy, slavery, land theft and genocide. “From sea to shining sea” the Native nations were decimated and dispossessed. The survivors herded into concentration camps. The genocidal policy reached its peak under President Andrew Jackson. Its […]
Retargeting Iran
Nader Hashemi, Trita Parsi
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the JCPOA, the Iran Deal, was a major diplomatic accomplishment. By all accounts it was successful. However, it was unilaterally abandoned by the current president. The UK ambassador to the U.S. called Trump’s move “an act of diplomatic vandalism.” Biden indicates he may return to the deal. Iran and […]
Beyond the Politics of Despair
Chris Hedges
Despair. We all experience it. It can lead to demoralization. What’s the antidote? Engagement. Finding kindred spirits and acting collectively. Building bonds of solidarity. Working toward the common good. John Lewis, long-time Georgia Congressperson and civil rights icon had this advice: “Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our […]
Chaos in the Middle East
Robert Fisk
The U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 is one of the great crimes in modern history. No one has been held to account. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have died, many more wounded and millions became refugees. Washington’s insane action unleashed a cascade of disasters across the Middle East from Syria to Libya and sparked […]
Q&A in Albuquerque
Howard Zinn
This recording, recently discovered in the piles at AR, features the great radical historian talking with students at UNM. He is asked about getting past the culture of denial of the powerful. Drawing on his vast knowledge of history he says, “It always takes time and persistence. Every movement looks like it is hopeless in […]
Resisting Fascism
Jason Stanley, Andy Zee
As a political ideology, fascism developed in Mussolini’s Italy, a century ago. At its core, fascism conjures up a mythic past. There is nostalgia for a so-called purer time. Its advocates deploy a raw appeal to nationalism. Opponents are demonized. Politicians spew racist dog whistles. Minorities are scapegoated. Fascists use fear, one of the most […]
The President, The Pandemic & the Election
Noam Chomsky
We are in “unchartered territory,” as the media incessantly remind us. We are on the eve of an election amidst a pandemic. The president has declared in advance that the election is a “hoax,” it is “rigged.” He would not even commit to saying he would honor the outcome. “We’ll see what happens,” he says. […]
Polarization Can Kill Democracy
Steven Levitsky
It’s axiomatic that political discourse in the U.S. is becoming more and more extreme. There’s even talk of a coup. In textbook coups, martial law is declared. The internet and phones go dead. The opposition is jailed or killed. This is how we think of authoritarian regimes beginning. Yet Steven Levitsky says, “Democracies may die […]
What Have We Done to Democracy?
Arundhati Roy
India is often called the world’s largest democracy. Narendra Modi is the prime minister. He was elected in 2014 and again in 2019. Prior to becoming prime minister, he was chief minister of the state of Gujarat, where in 2002, a massacre of Muslims took place. Modi denied any involvement. But the State Department was […]
Gender Equality
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Legal battles for gender equality didn’t begin with the Women’s Movement of the 1960s. But it laid the groundwork for the historic 1972 Supreme Court decision that made gender discrimination unconstitutional. That case was successfully argued by then-38-year old Brooklyn-born attorney Ruth Bader Ginsburg. It set precedent for another ruling a few years later that […]
How Fascism Works
Jason Stanley
What is fascism? Michael Parenti, author and historian says, “Fascism historically has been used to secure the interests of large capitalist interests against the demands of popular democracy. Then and now, fascism has made irrational mass appeals in order to secure the rational ends of class domination.” Fascism flourishes in times of economic insecurity and […]
Capitalist Bubbles & Covid-19
Yanis Varoufakis
The world is at a crossroads. The COVID-19 pandemic, with hundreds of thousands dead across the globe and counting, has triggered a disastrous economic situation for millions. At some point, we will be in a post-pandemic world. What will it look like? More of the same old same old? Or can we imagine a different […]

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