Broadcast Archives — Page 18 of 73 — Alternative Radio

American Sadism
Chris Hedges
The great 20th-century Irish poet William Butler Yeats wrote, “We had fed the heart on fantasies, The heart’s grown brutal from the fare.” The United States has long fed its heart with fairy tales about itself. Hardly a day goes by without some new story being spun about our noble intentions, benevolence and devotion to international law. […]
Optimism of the Will
Noam Chomsky
How to be positive in these perilous times? Humankind and the planet are facing enormous dangers. We can indulge in magical thinking and hope for miracles or we can ground ourselves in reality, understand the depth of the crises we face and then act to change things. It won’t be easy. There are huge obstacles […]
Women: Labor Pains
Jenny Brown
Reproductive rights and abortion are under sustained political attack. Texas, Mississippi and other states have passed highly restrictive laws limiting and, in some cases, eliminating access to abortion. In all, nearly 600 anti-abortion laws have been introduced. The Supreme Court, with its three Trump-appointed justices, seems poised to decimate if not overturn the Court’s 1973 […]
Radical Views from the Global South
Vijay Prashad
The concept of Global North and Global South are not geographical terms but rather describe a grouping of countries along economic lines. The Global South, previously called the Third World, is a term used to identify lower-income countries on one side of the so-called divide, the other side being the countries of the Global North […]
Patriarchy & Capitalism
Harriet Fraad
Denise Comanne, a prominent French feminist/activist wrote, “The oppression of women is very ancient: it existed before capitalism, which is also a system of oppression, but one that is more global in nature. Patriarchy can be defined in simple terms as the oppression and objectification of women by men. In addition to its strictly economic […]
The Other Side of Thanksgiving
Roxanne Dunbar-Ortíz
The historical lens through which national holidays are viewed is often blurred and distorted. Thanksgiving is a case in point. The much-revered Pilgrims fresh off the Mayflower sat down and shared native foods with the friendly Wampanoags. A heart-warming story. But this idea of the gift-giving Indian, helping to establish and enrich what would become […]
Social Murder & Covid-19
Stephen Bezruchka
The concept of social murder was introduced in the mid-19th century. The German philosopher Friedrich Engels coined the phrase in describing the political and social power held by ruling elites over laborers in England. Engels wrote about poor workers dying prematurely. Today, during the current pandemic, the term has been revived. The British Medical Journal […]
The Prison Plantation System
Chris Hedges
The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1865 officially abolished slavery. However, there is a crucial legal exception. Section 1 of the Amendment provides: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their […]
Commercial Surveillance Culture
Jeff Chester, Kathryn Montgomery
Tim Berners-Lee, the founder of the World Wide Web, once described the internet as a “permissionless space for creativity, innovation and free expression.” In the early days, you may recall, the internet was also called the “information superhighway.” It would be open, free and with no advertising. It hasn’t quite worked out that way. Tech […]
Radical Lessons: Then & Now
Angela Davis, Ruth Wilson Gilmore
The 1960s have been largely romanticized and commodified. The Beatles, Woodstock, sit-ins, protests, and marches. Those years saw huge social change. Bottom-up grassroots movements rocked the establishment. A major symbol of those years was Angela Davis. She has this to say today: “The lesson is that even though we don’t have the same structures that […]
History Textbooks: Facts or Fiction?
James Loewen
There’s a famous quote in George Orwell’s 1984: “Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.” Orwell understood how important knowledge of history is and how it can be manipulated by the powerful to serve their interests. If the past disappears down the memory hole society is at risk. […]
Tipping Points: Environmental & Political
Noam Chomsky
Tipping points are in the air. And with good reason. A planetary emergency looms in the not-too-distant future. This isn’t alarmist talk but the best judgment of our leading scientists. The prestigious International Union for Conservation of Nature has just issued its starkest warning to date: “Humanity has reached a tipping point. Our window of […]

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