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Letters & Politics seeks to explore the history behind today’s major global and national news stories. Hosted by Mitch Jeserich.
States with conservative governments are moving quickly in bringing bills to restrict when a woman can have an abortion. Currently there are about 20 cases concerning abortion restrictions in courts across the country and about 300 bills throughout the state legislatures with similar restrictions. Bringing all these cases to the Supreme Court is part of … Continued
The Farabundo Marti Liberation Front was formed when five politically different organizations joined forces to overthrow the Salvadoran military government. This was preceded by 50 years of military dictatorship supported by the U.S. government and the national oligarchy that kept a vast majority of Salvadoreans in extreme poverty and squalid working and living conditions. The … Continued
In 1933, Franklin Roosevelt signed the New Deal, which was meant to save the U.S. economy and give the federal government a bigger role in civilian life and local government. The program was implemented from 1933 to 1939 and was broken down into three goals: relief, recovery, and reform. It all started with what become … Continued
Take a look inside one of the new symbols of the San Fransisco Bay Area; a tent village where many unhoused people live in the middle of our cities, in one of the wealthiest regions in the world. We will explore this encampment using the interviews and recordings of its own residents. Since 2015 there … Continued
Denis Diderot was an 18th-century French philosopher, art critic, and writer, best known for serving as co-founder, chief editor, and contributor to the Encyclopédia along with Jean le Rond d’Alembert. He was an important member of the Age of Enlightenment, who claims the Encyclopédia as its crowning achievement. Diderot used his influence in society to … Continued
The common notion of the beginnings of civilization is that it was remarkably better than a nomadic hunter and gatherer type of existence. It is in fact the opposite; early cities and city-states throughout history were so miserable that these early states went to war in order to capture slaves to keep the city operating, … Continued
Democracy is meant to be ruled by the voice of the poor, and yet our current system is built to protect and amplify the voices of the already rich and powerful. What many consider to be a democracy is not so. What is democracy really? What do we mean when we use the term? And … Continued
Stokely Carmichael, the charismatic, controversial black activist, stepped into the pages of history when he called for “Black Power” during a speech in Greenwood, Mississippi in June 1966. The Black Power term became a slogan for militant activist ever since. Today, we bring a conversation with historian Peniel E. Joseph to talk about the history … Continued
For 5 years after the adoption of 13th amendment to the US Constitution abolishing slavery in 1865, women and girls from China were bought and sold out in the open in the city of San Francisco. Eventually this slave trade went underground but would continue up until the 1930s. Today we are joined by author and … Continued
Accessibility laws in the second half of the twenty century are transforming society like no other laws before them by creating inclusive architecture and city design that enables fuller civic participation not just for disabled people, but for everyone. Today we are in conversation with historian Bess Williamson to talk about the history of disability … Continued
