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 Harvey Sachs, author of Toscanini: Musician of Conscience, a new biography of the renowned conductor whose genius flowed over into both his professional career and personal life, through his meaningful musical interpretations and inspiring political conscience. Throughout his sixty-eight-year career, Toscanini not only transformed orchestral performance, but notably reacted strongly … Continued
Mitch Jeserich talks to Robert Paxton, about the history of fascism and why it is relevant in contemporary America. Paxton is a political scientist and historian specializing in the World War II era. He is professor emeritus at Columbia University. The Anatomy of Fascism will have a lasting impact on our understanding of modern European history, just as Paxton’s … Continued
On today’s show host Mitch Jeserich interviews archaeologist and Marxist historian Neil Faulkner about his new book A People’s History of the Russian Revolution, which looks at the dynamics of the infamous mass movement that overthrew the Russian Czar in 1917. A century after this defining moment, we clarify its legacy and look back to evaluate its potential … Continued
Host Mitch Jeserich speaks with Richard J. Evans about his book The Coming of the Third Reich, which describes the ascent of Nazism in 1930s Germany and Hitler’s rise to power. This book is critical to understanding the intricacies of fascism and explores how a liberal republican government allowed for the moral collapse that provoked … Continued
We are in conversation with renowned author Salman Rushdie to talk about his latest book The Golden House that takes place in contemporary American political times. Salman Rushdie is the author of twelve novels—Grimus, Midnight’s Children(for which he won the Booker Prize and the Best of the Booker), Shame, The Satanic Verses, Haroun and The Sea of … Continued
Today we’re in conversation with Angela Nagle to talk about the roots and the rise of the far-fetched subcultures dominating the internet culture wars. Angela Nagle is an expert on the online culture wars, anti-feminist online, and the alt-right. Angela Nagle’s work has appeared in the Baffler, Jacobin, Current Affairs, the Irish Times and many … Continued
Today we spend the hour talking about Washington politics and the Trump presidency. Guest: John Nichols is the national affairs writer for The Nation magazine. He is also a contributing writer for The Progressive magazine and In These Times, an associate editor of the Capital Times, the daily newspaper in Madison, Wisconsin, and a co-founder of … Continued
Today the Trump Administration announced the end of the Obama-era program that protects from deportation undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children. To address this issue we are in conversation with guest: Cathi Tactaquin, Executive Director and a co-founder of the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. Then we talk to Professor Ronald L. Feinman about … Continued
Host Mitch Jeserich speaks with Louis S. Warren about his book Gods Red Son: The Ghost Dance Religion and the Making of Modern America, which describes the pan-Indian religious movement that swept across the west and the great plain as a form of resistance and reconciliation to colonialism. This book is critical to understanding how the Ghost … Continued
As long as there has been fascism there has been anti-fascists, argues our guest Mark Bray. He joins us for a conversation on ANTIFA: from Mussolini’s Italy to Germany’s Weimar Republic to Berkeley, California today. Guest: Mark Bray, historian of human rights, terrorism, and political radicalism in modern Europe. He lectures at Dartmouth College and … Continued
