We've Got Issues

August 29, 2015 Show

This week, we'll speak to Peter Van Buren, a former State Department hand and the author of We Meant Well: How I Helped Lose the Battle for the Hearts and Minds of the Iraqi People, about Iraq, Syria and the campaign against the Islamic State.

Then we'll talk US politics and the 2016 campaign with Ed Kilgore from The Washington Monthly.

Finally, we'll be joined by The New Republic's Rebecca Leber to discuss the horrific shootings broadcast live out of Virginia this week.

August 22, 2015 Show

This week, we'll speak with Marianne von Nordeck from AFSCME -- the country's largest union of state and municipal workers -- about the state of the American labor movement.

Then we'll be joined by University of Rhode Island labor historian Erik Loomis to discuss his new book, Out of Sight: The Long and Disturbing Story of Corporations Outsourcing Catastrophe.

Playlist:
Go Home Productions: "The Killing of Seven Nation"
Go Home Productions: "Peculiar Bop"
Brave Combo: "Mexican Hat Dance"

August 8, 2015 Show

This week, we went to the archives for a special episode to mark the one-year anniversary of the shooting death of Michael Brown at the hands of Ferguson police.

First, Richard Rothstein from the Economic Policy Institute explains how racially discriminatory public policies at the local, state and federal level created pockets of concentrated poverty and despair across the country.

Then we'll speak with NYU sociologist Dalton Conley about how the legacy of past institutional racism continues to hold back African-Americans to this day.

Finally, we'll be joined by Sandy Darity from Duke University to talk about what reparations for 400 years of slavery and discrimination might look like. 

Playlist:
Ennio Moriccone: "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly"
Willie Dixon: "Spoonful"
Roy Brown: "Hard Luck Blues"
Albert Collins: "If Trouble Was Money"

August 1, 2015 Show

This week, we speak with Jeff Sharlet about the police shooting death of an unarmed black man that has garnered very little media attention despite being caught on videotape. Sharlet, a professor of creative writing at Dartmouth, says that virtually everything the police say about the case is contradicted by the evidence.


Then we'll speak to RH Reality Check Senior Legal Analyst Jessica Pieklo about the Right's new war on reproductive health -- and who's really behind those Planned Parenthood sting videos.


Finally, we'll be joined by syndicated columnist Tina Dupuy, who spent 24 years in recovery from alcoholism despite the fact that she'd only ever had a few alcoholic beverages back in her tweens.


Playlist:

Rolling Stones: “Play With Fire”

Protoje: “Rasta Love”John Lennon: “Instant Karma”
Buena Vista Social Club: “Amor de Loca Juventud”