12:00 PM Pacific Time: Mondays - Wednesdays
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.
African American Railroad WorkersThey are the focus of Wayne Harris’s one-man show in San Francisco called "Train Stories," and of Larry Tye’s book Rising from the Rails, about the Pullman Porters and their legacy.
A conversation with Liza Featherstone, author of Selling Women Short, about the sex discrimination class action suit against Wal-Mart.
Acclaimed writer Russell Banks, whose works The Sweet Hereafter and Affliction were turned into major motion pictures, joins C.S. in studio to discuss his new novel, The Darling. Its main protagonist, indicted by US authorities for her involvement in the Weather Underground, flees the country for Liberia and a confrontation with her past.
How did the Christian right get so powerful? Should the left embrace religion and talk about so-called moral values? Political Research Associates’ Nikhil Aziz and People for the American Way’s Peter Montgomery discuss the legacy and future of the religious right.
The New York Times calls Philip Kan Gotanda "a polemicist who sees both sides of a question, a writer whose grievances are balanced by a wicked sense of humor." Gotanda’s new play Fist of Roses, an investigation into male violence in relationships, is now on stage at Intersection for the Arts in San Francisco; he … Continued
Post-Election Strategy; Ancient Maya Art. One thing’s for certain: either Bush or Kerry will win the election. What then? Will the Left be prepared with a coherent strategy either way? Max Elbaum shares his thoughts and Bob Wing reports from Florida on voter protection and poll monitoring efforts. Curator Kathleen Berrin describes an ancient Maya … Continued
Beyond Neoliberalism Neoliberals argue that poor countries can only develop by following the precepts of privatization, deregulation, and economic liberalization. Economists Ha-Joon Chang and Ilene Grabel believe there are other alternatives. They discuss concrete ways that countries can move out of poverty and away from economic vulnerability in an era of "globalization."
You’re skeptical of this, I’m skeptical of that — but what does skepticism really mean? Michael Shermer, director of The Skeptics Society, discusses the history, approach and applications of skepticism.
Inside the Maquiladoras. Workers at the assembly plants in Mexico known as maquiladoras face many challenges: low wages, monotonous tasks, management demands, and an unsolved crime wave known as the Maquiladora Murders. Anthropologist Devon Pena is interested in the murders’ social context; he’s also examined worker resistance within the maquilas. (Encore presentation.)
Chasing Che. He’s a revolutionary hero and a cultural icon, but who was Ernesto "Che" Guevara, really? His early travels have been chronicled in the film The Motorcycle Diaries; Che’s entire life is the subject of a book entitled The Che Handbook. Co-author Gareth Jenkins describes Che’s adventures, his ideas, and his enormous appeal.
