Stay ConnectedExpertly-curated progressive politics, news, and culture produced by leftist humans, not algorithms or AI. This is an award-winning podcast that dives deeply into a wide range of national and international issues facing society and governments. We draw from hundreds of sources of progressive news and commentary. Est. 2006.
Save time by listening to a range of perspectives on a focused topic in each episode and be introduced to new sources you will not have come across on your own!
Air Date 3/4/2023
Today, we tell a story of colonialism, dispossession and cultural renaissance as a lens through which to understand alienation, a primary condition of modernity
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SHOW NOTES
Ch. 1: The annexation of Hawaii
The dark history of the overthrow of Hawaii - TED-Ed - Air Date 2-17-22
U.S. Apology Bill to Hawaiian People - EarthWorldSolutions - Air Date 11-02-12
Ch. 2: Scottish clearances and economic displacement
The Highland Clearances of Scotland - Pilgrim Kat - Air Date 1-22-23
Why Can't Hawaiians Afford To Live In Hawaii? - AJ+ - Air Date 1-20-22
Ch. 3: White people, Indians and Highlanders
White People, Indians, and Highlanders: Tribal People and Colonial Encounters in Scotland and America (Affiliate link)
Ch. 4: Cultural and linguistic erasure
The Banning of the Hawaiian Language - Noʻeau Woo-O'Brien - Air Date 12-07-19
Aloha Aina - Indigenous Life in Hawaii - Captain Potter - Air Date 11-26-21
Two Worlds - weRnative - Air Date 11-22-19
Ch. 5: Red Power, the American Indian Movement and the Siege of Wounded Knee
What is the Red Power Movement? - Fusion - Air Date 6-2-17
Wounded Knee siege - Witness History - Air Date 2-27-23
Ch. 6: Cultural renaissance of Hokulea
Papa Mau: The Wayfinder - OiwiTV - Air Date 4-14-17
Ch. 7: Cultural renaissance of GalGael
Birdman of Pollok/Curaidh na Coille - BBC - Air Date 12-28-19
The Highland Clearances of Scotland - Pilgrim Kat - Air Date 1-22-23
The Fight To Take Back Hawaii - Foreign Correspondent - Air Date 5-11-22
Hawaiian Language Ban - Barry Shell - Air Date 5-17-08
Ch. 8: re-Indigenization in Scotland
Alastair McIntosh - The Lesley Riddoch Podcast - Air Date 1-3-23
Ch. 9: Connecting with Aina in Hawaii
Aloha Aina - Indigenous Life in Hawaii - Captain Potter - Air Date 11-26-21
FINAL COMMENTS
Ch. 10: Final comments on the single story of the values that drove colonialism and continue to shape our world
MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions):
SHOW IMAGE:
Description: The words "exist & resist & indigenize & decolonize" on top of each other in white, lowercase letters on a black background.
Credit: "exist & resist & indigenize & decolonize" by dignidadrebelde, Flickr | License: CC by 2.0 | Changes: Slightly cropped and increased size of credit watermark
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Original Air Date 1/15/2022
Today we take a look at tradeoffs that are becoming ever more evident between the advancement of mass communication and social media technologies and the ways in which those advancements contribute to the degradation of social cohesion.
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SHOW NOTES
Ch. 1: Re-musing Ourselves - On the Media - Air Date 3-3-06
The late media critic Neil Postman argued in his seminal book "Amusing Ourselves to Death," that as TV prevailed over the printed word, it impaired our ability to make sense of a world of information. Jay Rosen writes the blog, PressThink.
Ch. 2: Neil Postman Technopoly - C-Span Book TV - Air Date 7-10-92
Neil Postman, author of Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology published by Alfred A. Knopf Publishers, spoke on the theme of his book which noted the dependence of Americans on technological advances for their own security.
Ch. 3: Prescient Predictions 1984; Brave New World; and Network Part 1 - Future Tense - Air Date 7-7-19
The dystopian best-seller 1984 was published exactly seventy years ago. Its influence has been profound. But does it really speak to today's politico-cultural environment? Scott Stephens believes Aldous Huxley's Brave New World is a closer match.
Ch. 4: The Trouble With Reality - On The Media - Air Date 5-17-17
This is a conversation between Brooke Gladstone, author of "The Trouble with Reality: A Rumination on Moral Panic in Our Time," and WNYC morning show host Brian Lehrer.
Ch. 5: Prescient Predictions 1984; Brave New World; and Network Part 2 - Future Tense - Air Date 7-7-19
Ch. 6: Neil Postman on Cyberspace - The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour - Air Date 7-25-95
Charlene Hunter-Gault interviews media theorist and cultural critic Neil Postman on PBS' The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour in 1995. Postman discusses new media and the "Faustian bargain" of technological change in the context of the "Information Superhighway."
Ch. 7: Alexa, What's Amazon Doing Inside My Home? - Land of the Giants - Air Date 7-30-19
What's the downside to letting Alexa run your entire home? And why is Amazon making a microwave oven powered by Alexa?
FINAL COMMENTS
Ch. 8: Final comments on Faustian Bargains
MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions)
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Original Air Date: 2-23-23
Today, Jay!, Amanda, Erin and Deon discuss:
- Briefly celebrating a Super Bowl victory
- Extinguishing empathy for profit
- Manifesting disaster through film
- The Ohio derailment
- The value of ownership
- Reducing workplace stressors
REFERENCES:
'You unleash hell on your kids': Central Texas mom warns parents about 'Hocus Pocus 2′
After East Palestine derailment, a resident reflects on Ohio movie "White Noise"
Norfolk Southern is giving $25,000 to an Ohio town where it caused a life-or-death evacuation
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Air Date 2/22/2023
Today, we take a look at some of the work of the chaotic wrecking crew that is the GOP of the 118th Congress including their plan to hold the world economy hostage and weaponize the government against Democrats all while infighting their way to the 2024 presidential election.
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SHOW NOTES
His dramatic victory came after a series of concessions that will give hardline conservatives greater influence in the House. Sarah Binder, a political scientist at George Washington University, joins John Yang to discuss.
Ch. 2: GOP is playing with U.S. prosperity in fight over debt ceiling - MSNBC - Air Date 1-14-23
McCarthy and the House GOP are threatening to not raise the debt ceiling. That would be a huge mistake. Ali Velshi explains why.
Senator Warren joined Jon Keller to discuss the debt ceiling which she called a "manufactured crisis" that Republicans don't care enough about, and that wealthy corporations need to pay more in taxes.
Ch. 4: Joe: Debt ceiling fight is just a lose-lose for McCarthy - Morning Joe - Air Date 1-18-23
The Republican-controlled House has planted the seeds for a debt-ceiling showdown. The Morning Joe panel discusses.
Ch. 5: Right-Wingers FINALLY Exposed For Crushing Plot In Real Time - The Damage Report - Air Date 2-12-23
Right-wingers, including Matt Gaetz, Lindsey Graham and Kevin McCarthy, get caught for their blatant lies over social security on camera while ABC Johnathan Karl runs cover. John Iadarola and Ben Carollo break it down on The Damage Report.
Then, Republican infighting keeps going public, as even Fox News pans their hearings. Guests: Rep. Adam Schiff, Rep. Stacey Plaskett, Yurii Hundych, Alfie Williams, Gov. George Pataki
The awaited GOP-led House hearings are now underway, and as predicted, they are not going well. Republicans intended a hearing on Twitter's content moderation policies to bolster their bogus claims of alleged federal government censorship of social media.
MEMBERS-ONLY BONUS CLIP(S)
Ch. 10: Is America broken? - The Gray Area with Sean Illing - Air Date 2-2-23
Sean Illing speaks with Alana Newhouse, the editor-in-chief of Tablet magazine. They discuss her recent essay on "brokenism," a term she coined in an effort to redefine political divisions in America.
FINAL COMMENTS
Ch. 11: Final comments on the complication of the ideological dividing lines through societal change
MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions)
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Air Date 2/17/2023
Today, we take a look at the importance of teaching a full and unflinching version of Black history and why the campaign to block it is reaching a peak at this moment in time.
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SHOW NOTES
Ch. 1: The fight over AP African American Studies - Today, Explained - Air Date 2-7-23
The College Board piloted an AP course on African American Studies. Then, after conservative pushback, it debuted a revised curriculum. But the group insists it's not caving to political pressure.
Ch. 2: How Florida's School Censorship Spreads - What Next - Air Date 2-9-23
Governor Ron DeSantis canceling the rollout of AP African-American Studies course in Florida is more than just another salvo in the culture war. It has implications across public education, across the country—and its chilling effect is already evident.
Ch. 3: Erasing History - Counter Stories - Air Date 6-4-21
On this episode, we tackle how new efforts aim to limit or erase important history and context. From bodies discovered in a former Indian Boarding school in Canada to new legislation banning Critical Race theory
Ch. 4: Combating Anti-History - Latino Rebels Radio - Air Date 2-9-23
While the fight for African American studies continues in Florida, Sean Arce draws parallels to the current battle with Arizona's ethnic studies battle over a decade ago.
In response to a recent post on my Instagram account, I'm talking about going beyond teaching children about slavery, racism, oppression, and struggle during Black History Month or anytime of the year.
"I take it as a sign of strength for where the movement is right now," says Ta-Nehisi Coates on anti-CRT policies and the backlash from the right. "It doesn't mean it's not dangerous—but it's also a statement of how threatened they feel..."
MEMBERS-ONLY BONUS CLIP(S)
Ch. 7: The Movement to Erase Black History and Culture - At Liberty - Air Date 2-3-22
February marks Black History Month, a time to recognize the significant achievements and culture of Black Americans–from bell hooks to Beyonce–and also to honor an accurate history about them, a history that we know is rife with discrimination and abuse
Ch. 8: Why Our Idea of History is a Poison - Then & Now - Air Date 12-1-22
Why Our Idea of History is a Poison
FINAL COMMENTS
Ch. 9: Final comments on the Streisand Effect
MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions)
SHOW IMAGE:
Description: On a black background, scattered historic images of famous Black Americans, including Sojourner Truth, Thurgood Marshall, and Josiah Thomas Walls, as well as images of slavery, the Jim Crow era and the Civil Rights Movement. The shape of Florida is centered and filled in with part of the Florida state flag (including red crossed bars of the Confederate flag). A black horizontal banner in forefront reads "Black History is American History".
Credit: Composite designed by Amanda Hoffman. Historic images are in the public domain, except for the Negro League patch (credit: David, Flickr, License) and the Navy Band sign (Gerry Dincher, Flickr, License)
Produced by Jay! Tomlinson
Air Date 2/14/2023
Today, we take a look at some origins, alternatives and misunderstandings of capitalism from the Dutch East India Company, to Adam Smith and up through the planned obsolescence and marketing that have tricked us all into working far harder than necessary while failing to make us happy.
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SHOW NOTES
Ch. 1: Indigenous Economics with Tyson Yunkaporta (In Conversation) - Upstream - Air Date 11-10-21
We speak with Tyson Yunkaporta of the Apalech Clan in far north Queensland, Australia, about the connections between Indigenous economics, complexity theory, and systems thinking.
Professor of Philosophy and author, Graham Priest, joins Breht to discuss his latest book Capitalism - it's Nature and Replacement: Buddhist and Marxist Insights.
Ch. 3: We don't understand Capitalism. Part One - UNFTR - Air Date 1-27-23
How we no longer seem to understand Capitalism. Adam Smith was so much more than the figurehead we associate with Capitalism. He was a true innovator and we use many of his concepts to measure economies to this day
Ch. 4: Your Work Is Not Your Worth - OFF-KILTER with Rebecca Vallas - Air Date 10-21-22
Dorian Warren is co-president of Community Change and co-chair of the Economic Security Project, and Aisha Nyandoro is CEO of Springboard to Opportunities and founder of the Magnolia Mother's Trust.
Ch. 5: We don't understand Capitalism. Part Two. - UNFTR - Air Date 1-27-23
Adam Smith was a social theorist who was greatly concerned with improving lives and creating a balanced economic system. He created several crucial concepts that remain relevant to this day and believed in the power of the free market.
Ch. 6: Economics for a New Year - Economic Update with Richard Wolff - Air Date 1-19-23
US spending for war in Ukraine paid for by higher interest rates; a rational transport system is NOT electric cars; an appreciation of the "degrowth" impulse with a critique of the degrowth movement's focus.
Ch. 7: Indigenous Economics with Tyson Yunkaporta (In Conversation) Part 2 - Upstream - Air Date 11-10-21
MEMBERS-ONLY BONUS CLIP(S)
VOICEMAILS
Ch. 9: Stolen children and native cultures - Alan from Connecticut
Ch. 10: Thoughts on the reasons for Cop City - V from Central New York
FINAL COMMENTS
Ch. 11: Final comments on the value of being open to understanding indigenous thinking
MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions):
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Air Date 2/10/2023
Today, we take a look at the recent rise in tensions in the wake of Israel electing what may be their most right-wing government to date. Literal fascists are now in the governing coalition, violence is rising and reforms are being considered to effectively remove judicial review from the governing process all while the US continues to give its support.
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SHOW NOTES
Ch. 1: A look at the violence and unrest in the West Bank - All In with Chris Hayes - Air Date 2-2-23
A look at the violence and unrest in the West Bank.
Ch. 2: Israel and the Progressives - Against the Grain - Air Date 1-25-23
Why do so many people who see themselves as progressive nonetheless support the state of Israel, considered an apartheid state for its treatment of the native Palestinian population?
Far-right Israeli politician Itamar Ben-Gvir's Tuesday visit to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem is being roundly condemned across the Middle East. Ben-Gvir is a key part of Benjamin Netanyahu's new far-right government
Ch. 4: Protests in Israel over proposed judicial reform Part 1 - The Current - Air Date 1-19-23
Proposed judicial reform in Israel has prompted thousands to take to the streets in protest. We talk to Dahlia Scheindlin and Diana Buttu, a lawyer and former adviser to the negotiating team of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken is in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories amid an alarming rise in violence, with Israel killing at least 35 Palestinians since the beginning of January.
Ch. 6: An Escalating Cycle of Violence in Israel and Palestine - Global Dispatches - Air Date 2-1-23
We are in the midst of an escalating cycle of violence in Israel and Palestine. On Thursday, January 26 Israeli forces killed at least 9 people in a raid in the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank.
Ch. 7: Protests in Israel over proposed judicial reform Part 2 - The Current - Air Date 1-19-23
MEMBERS-ONLY BONUS CLIP(S)
House Republicans use a tweet by Rep. Ilhan Omar containing anti-Semitic tropes as an excuse to remove her from the Foreign Affairs Committee, Alex notes when Republican leaders were not only untroubled by anti-Semitic tropes but perpetuated by them.
Ch. 9: Israel and the Progressives Part 2 - Against the Grain - Air Date 1-25-23
FINAL COMMENTS
Ch. 10: Final comments to wrap up
MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions):
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Air Date: 2-8-23 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Erin and Deon discuss: - Using emotional intelligence to talk about sports - Uncomfortable conversations and circular logic - Nouning The French - Political Spam
REFERENCES: The French Want to Remain the French - New York Times
Words Matter by Sally McConnell-Ginet (Affiliate link)
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Air Date 2/5/2023
Today, we take a look at the threat to the lives of environment protectors around the world with a special focus on the first environmental activist in the U.S. to lose their life at the hands of police while defending the environment and the people who depend on it as part of the Defend the Atlanta Forest movement against the construction of what they have dubbed "Cop City."
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SHOW NOTES
Ch. 1: Record number of environmental activists murdered - BBC News - Air Date 9-13-21
227 people were killed around the world in 2020, the highest number for a second consecutive year. The victims were called "environmental defenders" by the report – killed for protecting natural resources that need to be preserved,
Ch. 2: Cop City - The Takeaway - Air Date 1-17-23
Digital producer Zachary Bynum reports from Atlanta, talking with activists, organizers, and elected officials from the city to determine what this all means about race, land stewardship, and power.
According to Global Witness' report titled 'Decade of Defiance', 1733 activists were killed between 2012 and 2021. 227 of them were killed in the year 2020. Last year, 200 environmental defenders were murdered. Nearly 4 people a week!
SWAT teams and other armed police officers from eight different federal, state, county, and city police agencies conducted a raid on those camping out in the Atlanta forest
Six people in Atlanta have been charged with domestic terrorism for taking part in protests against a massive new police training facility known as Cop City.
Ch. 6: Environmentalists in danger Part 1 - DW Documentary - Air Date 10-29-22
Around the globe, people are risking their lives to protect the environment and climate. When environmentalists' activities disrupt organized crime and other illegal profiteers, they are sued, threatened and even murdered.
Just weeks ago, law enforcement officers — including a SWAT team — were violently evicting protesters who had occupied a wooded area outside the center, when they shot and killed a longtime activist and charged 19 with domestic terrorism.
Ch. 8: Environmentalists in danger Part 2 - DW Documentary - Air Date 10-29-22
Ch. 9: Cop City: Forest Defender Killed by Police in Forest Raid - The Takeaway - Air Date 1-25-23
We checked in with Founder of Community Movement Builders Kamau Franklin and Sean, a participant in the Defend the Atlanta Forest movement, for an update on the situation.
Former energy executive Roberto David Castillo has been sentenced in Honduras for orchestrating the murder of environmental activist Berta Cáceres in 2016.
MEMBERS-ONLY BONUS CLIP(S)
Ch. 11: Cop City Part 2 - The Takeaway - Air Date 1-17-23
Glasgow memorial honors 1,005 land and environmental defenders who have been murdered since the 2015 Paris Agreement. One in three of those defenders killed was an Indigenous person. 2020 was the most dangerous year on record for environmental defenders.
FINAL COMMENTS
Ch. 13: Final comments and conversation with Ben about his fallen friend
Bonus clip: More training not enough to reform police culture says whistleblower - MSNBC - Air Date 1-31-23
Whistleblower Katie Sponsler, former National Park Service ranger, U.S. Air Force veteran, and advocate for police reform, joins Joy Reid on why more training alone is not enough to reform police culture.
MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions):
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Air Date 1/31/2023
Today, we take a look at just some of the nearly infinite ways in which our society, culture, and economy are infused from top to bottom with Scam Culture™ that is bleeding us dry both financially and mentally.
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SHOW NOTES
Ch. 1: The Grift Economy: Everything is a scam, always. - Thought Slime - Air Date 11-5-21
For those that need to read this: you aren't a capitalist. You're capital.
Ch. 2: Power and Corruption: The Devos Family - iilluminaughtii - Air Date 1-20-23
Betsy DeVos and her family have been important figures in the business world for decades. They're involved in a massive MLM, invest in shady businesses, and have put their money toward politics for as long as anyone can remember.
Ch. 3: Bill Black: The Best Way to Rob a Bank is to Own One - theAnalysis.news - Air Date 5-31-21
How does a corrupt mortgage scam by brokers in California become a massive national fraud that puts the whole economy into a deep crisis? Bill Black on theAnalysis.news with Paul Jay.
"Whatever fun name you wanna put on it, it's the same damn thing we've seen over and over again." David Dayen, Executive Editor of The American Prospect, joins us to talk through the spectacular rise and fall of crypto exchange FTX
Ch. 5: The Gig Economy Was Always A Scam - Wisecrack - Air Date 8-8-22
The gig economy has revolutionized how we think about work, but not necessarily for the better. How have a bunch of multi-billion-dollar companies like Uber or Instacart so fundamentally changed our economy?
Ch. 6: Why Spotify Will Ultimately Fail - Benn Jordan - Air Date 1-9-23
An investor's guide to breaking the thing you're trying to sell.
Ch. 7: James O'Brien caller wrote his dissertation on 'incel' culture - LBC - Air Date 1-27-23
Explaining the appeal of Andrew Tate and his acolytes to young, insecure men
Ch. 8: TikToker Exposes New A.I. Scam That Is Absolutely TERRIFYING - Rebel HQ - Air Date 1-13-23
TikToker @benno56 shares his family's experience with a terrifying new A.I. voice-mimicking scam. Max Burns breaks it down.
MEMBERS-ONLY BONUS CLIP(S)
Ch. 9: Mark Rober's Prank And The Truth About Scammers And Capitalism - Second Thought - Air Date 6-17-22
Scam call centers are just one cancerous offshoot of bureaucracy under capitalism, and while pranking these places may be cathartic, it's not enough to tackle the root cause.
Ch. 10: Is all money just a ponzi scheme? | Vicki Robin - Big Think - Air Date 7-22-18
"Money, it's a gas," wrote Pink Floyd's Roger Waters for their hit 'Money'. Author, speaker, and social innovator Vicki Robin would probably agree: she posits that most people don't understand the true, human, working value of money.
VOICEMAILS
Ch. 11: Response to the Stolen Children episode
FINAL COMMENTS
Ch. 12: Final comments on radical criticism of the true sources of Scam Culture and other ails of our society
MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions):
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