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Acclaimed program of ideas, in-depth analysis, and commentary on a variety of matters—political, economic, social, and cultural—important to progressive and radical thinking and activism. Against the Grain is co-produced and co-hosted by Sasha Lilley and C. S. Soong.
What accounts for the dramatic rise of the financial sector in rich capitalist nations? How are lenders and associated institutions profiting off people’s use of credit cards, mortgages, and other forms of credit? Ivan Ascher sees certain parallels between the exploitation of workers in the era of factory production and the exploitation of people desperately … Continued
Did Lincoln free the slaves? Or did they just as much free themselves? And what were the ramifications of their seemingly impossible achievement — immediate and uncompensated emancipation — for other oppressed groups? Historian David Roediger discusses that revolutionary period in U.S. history — and the consequences of its failure today. Resources: David R. … Continued
You show up when you weren’t called. The call wasn’t meant for you, but you show up anyway, and you join with others to disrupt the status quo and even, perhaps, bring down a regime. James Martel calls this phenomenon “misinterpellation”; he contends that it’s a principal way that radical change happens in today’s world. … Continued
It’s stating the obvious to observe that vaccination in the United States is a highly charged subject. But the heat of the controversies, as historian Elena Conis argues, obscures how vaccination — which has saved many lives when used against deadly illnesses — became so widespread, including for milder diseases. Conis discusses the cultural, political, … Continued
When and how did racial liberalism find its way onto the liberal – and Democratic Party – agenda? Rather than seeing the 1960s as the critical moment in the partisan realignment on race, Eric Schickler claims that the process of connecting civil rights support to the liberal project began in the late 1930s, thanks to … Continued
Reproductive politics — that is, the politics of keeping households fed, sheltered, educated, and cared for, as well as creating the next generation — are central to contemporary capitalism. And reproductive politics are fundamentally about class, race, and sexuality, as Laura Briggs argues. She discusses why we should recognize the household as a key site … Continued
How do we get from neoliberalism to a just society? What political projects and initiatives have put us on a trajectory of radical social transformation? In his latest book, political theorist Robert Latham puts forward a notion of re-collective passage, which involves turning away from dominant sociopolitical relations and enacting new ways to organize and … Continued
Historian Greg Grandin reflects on the ideology and practice of Henry Kissinger. (Encore presentation.)
According to Terry Kupers, a culture of punishment and impunity pervades solitary confinement facilities around the U.S. Because many inmates in solitary suffer from serious mental illness, they can respond to escalating punishments in ways that invite more — and more brutal — punitive measures. Kupers discusses what can be done to promote, rather than … Continued
Peter Hudis discusses the Martiniquan philosopher, psychiatrist, and revolutionary Frantz Fanon, best known for his books The Wretched of the Earth and Black Skin, White Masks. (Encore presentation.) Resources: Peter Hudis, Frantz Fanon: Philosopher of the Barricades University of Chicago Press, 2015
