10:00 AM Pacific Time: Monday - Thursday
Letters & Politics seeks to explore the history behind today’s major global and national news stories. Hosted by Mitch Jeserich.
Today we are in conversation with Zoe Quinn, a video game producer and a leading voice in the fight against online harassment. She is the author of the book Crash Override: How GamerGate (Nearly) Destroyed My Life and How We Can Win the Fight against Online Hate. As a symbol of what online mobs are … Continued
First we talk to Edgar Illas, Director of Catalan the Hispanic Literature Program at the University of Indiana, Bloomington, about the recent events around the Referendum for Catalonia’s Independence. Our host, Philip Maldari, filling in for Mitch Jeserich, is questioning the motivations of this movement and its issues and consequences. In the second part of … Continued
Last night a gunman opened fire on a crowd at a country music festival in Las Vegas. This is the deadliest shooting in modern U.S. history with 58 dead and at least 515 injured. Today we speak with Patrick Blanchfield, writer and journalist who writes about American culture and violence. He is also a faculty member … Continued
Today we are in conversation with Laura Dassow Walls, author of the book Henry David Thoreau: A Life, a biography of the naturalist, inventor and activist. He left behind a monumental legacy in addition to his essay Civil Disobedience, a paean to human freedom. Two hundred years after his birth, Walls restores Henry David Thoreau to us … Continued
Today we talk to Brian Edwards-Tiekert, co-host of KPFA’s Up Front, about the ongoing situation in Puerto Rico in the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Maria. From Trump’s humanitarian negligence to volunteers’ on-the-ground experiences, he has been closely following developments relating to this crisis. Additionally, we will be playing critically selected excerpts from Episode 5 of Ilan Ziv’s documentary … Continued
Today’s show features excerpts from The Great White Hoax: Donald Trump & the Politics of Race and Class in America, featuring acclaimed anti-racist educator and author Tim Wise. This film explains how racism and racial scapegoating have shaped American politics for centuries, and how Donald Trump’s campaign used this rhetoric to conquer working class voters. Letters … Continued
Today we are in conversation with Mark Bray, author of Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook, a detailed survey of the full history of anti-fascism from the 1920s in Italy to the present day in Berkeley, California. The “Antifa” is an active opposition movement in today’s America to contest the Trump administration and the alt-right. According to Mark … Continued
Today’s show features excerpts from three of the most resonant and enduring works of the 20th century: The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, and 1984 by George Orwell. We will be listening to segments of Pacifica Radio’s recordings of these masterpieces, which are available as part of our fund-drive … Continued
Today’s broadcast will feature critically selected excerpts from Loretta Alper and Jeremey Ealp’s 2016 documentary film The Occupation of the American Mind: Israel’s Public Relations War in the United States, which details pro-Israeli public relations forces in American politics. Narrated by Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters, this film investigates the insidious effects of propaganda on public opinion and … Continued
On today’s show host Mitch Jeserich interviews author and activist Paul Hawken about his book Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming, which offers one hundred various solutions to pull carbon out of the air. This book is the work of an international coalition of researchers, professionals, and scientists, in order to see global … Continued
