Broadcast Archives — Page 67 of 69 — Alternative Radio

CIA Crack Cocaine Connection
Gary Webb
Whether through malign intent or gross negligence, the CIA contributed to the drug problem in South Central Los Angeles in the mid-1980s. How could it happen? Accomplices include the House Intelligence Committee, the Justice Department and the Attorney General’s Office, which either passed the buck or ignored reports of illegal activity. National security is invoked […]
CIA Covert Actions & Drug Trafficking
Alfred McCoy
2 CDs Investigative journalist Gary Webb’s series in the San Jose Mercury News gave new life to the charge of CIA drug running. Rep. John Conyers, Dean of the Congressional Black Caucus, convened a special seminar on Capitol Hill to focus on the issue. This panel of experts discusses the new revelations as well as […]
Critical Thinking
Howard Zinn
The U.S. is now bogged down in a guerilla war in Iraq. The political leadership misled the people in a pattern of deception that Machiavelli would have admired. The media, with few exceptions, never challenged the official stories. Only a handful in Congress asked questions. In a remarkable propaganda triumph, the Bush Administration managed to […]
Enablers of Empire
Tariq Ali
Every imperial system needs a specialized class of collaborators and informants. As Edward Said pointed out, a group of scholars and cultural workers gave gravitas and legitimacy to European conquests of centuries past. They were the instruments and the enablers of empire. Knowledge and power intersected with the former subordinated to the latter. Today, with […]
How I Became An Activist
Michael Parenti
In the Spanish of the American Southwest a palito is a piece of kindling wood that ignites the larger logs. What is that palito that sparks a passive citizen to become an activist? We are all products of many influences. One big factor for me (AR’s David Barsamian) was my uncle Sarkis Hagopian. He wasn’t […]
The Divine Right of Capital
Marjorie Kelly
Ordinary people work all their lives, expecting their pensions upon retirement. Instead, they’re handed pink slips, then told their pensions are worthless. Corporate executives rake in millions while shady accounting practices hide the fact that they are at the helm of ships in trouble. When news of massive corporate scandals at Enron, WorldCom and Global […]
Sea Shepherds
Paul Watson
They fire chocolate pies and stink bombs from cannons. They also sink docked ships. They’ve dismantled the illegal Icelandic whaling industry and have been attacked by the Norwegian Navy. Governments and the corporate media call them terrorists, but these activists call themselves the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. Their sole mission is to defend marine wildlife.The […]
The New Media Monopoly
Ben Bagdikian
In 1983 there were 50 corporations that controlled the media in the U.S. Today that number is down to 5. What does that portend for democracy and the information needs of the citizenry? The 1996 Telecommunications Act had a lot to do with the acceleration of monopolies. Its enthusiastic advocates promised more media diversity. The […]
Seize the Time!
Arundhati Roy
People have power but can exercise it most effectively when it is organized and collective. It’s relatively easy for the state and big business to pick off and neutralize freelancers and lone operatives. It’s when a movement forms that the state and the corporations can be challenged. Citizens in privileged societies like the U.S. often […]
Journalism & Democracy
Bill Moyers
Journalism, the fabled Fourth Estate, was once guided by the dictum: Comfort the Afflicted and Afflict the Comfortable. Today, millionaire anchors, caked in makeup and competing for the best hair on the air are bored readers of teleprompters. As newspapers, TV and radio are gobbled up by huge conglomerates fixated on maximizing profits, investigative journalism, […]
Politics & Film
John Sayles
In post-9/11 America, the big Hollywood studios are more timid than ever. They don’t want to offend Washington upon whom their parent conglomerates depend for tax breaks and licenses. A case in point is The Quiet American. It was set for release but the studio held it back. Why? Because the film, based on Graham Greene’s […]
Resistance & the Role of Artists
Howard Zinn
Artists have always been on the cutting edge of society. They are the innovators as well as the seers. Go back to Aeschylus, the great 5th century BC Greek playwright who wrote The Persians. This classic drama was a warning to the Greeks to not be consumed by the same arrogance that was undoing of the Persians. […]

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