Ralph Nader Radio Hour

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Catfish Solution Nov 23, 2019

Show notes

Ralph talks to maverick former FCC Commissioner, Nicholas Johnson, about his two new books, the memoir, "Catfish Solution: The Power of Positive Poking" and "Columns of Democracy" and his views on social media and how to repair our democracy.

Nicholas Johnson is best known for his controversial term as a dissenting FCC commissioner in the Johnson/Nixon era. His most recent work is twofold: a memoir entitled Catfish Solution: The Power of Positive Poking and Columns of Democracy an examination of the institutions needed to support democracy.

"In the last twenty years or so, [civics] has really kind of faded from the curriculum. Students need training in media literacy. They need training in what a democracy requires of them as a citizen. Until we start that with the young, it's going to be hard to accomplish anything." Nicholas Johnson, Catfish Solution: The Power of Positive Poking

13 Articles of Impeachment of Donald Trump - Count Four: Violation of the Emoluments Clause Nov 22, 2019

Show notes

Welcome to this special edition of the Ralph Nader Radio Hour. In this series, Ralph and Constitutional scholar, Bruce Fein, will lay out the articles of impeachment of President Donald J. Trump.

Count Four: Violation of the Emoluments Clause

13 Articles of Impeachment of Donald Trump - Count Three: Contempt of Congress Nov 21, 2019

Show notes

Welcome to this special edition of the Ralph Nader Radio Hour. In this series, Ralph and Constitutional scholar, Bruce Fein, will lay out the articles of impeachment of President Donald J. Trump.

Count Three: Contempt of Congress

13 Articles of Impeachment of Donald Trump - Count Two: Obstruction of Justice Nov 20, 2019

Show notes

Welcome to this special edition of the Ralph Nader Radio Hour. In this series, Ralph and Constitutional scholar, Bruce Fein, will lay out the articles of impeachment of President Donald J. Trump.

Count Two: Obstruction of Justice

13 Articles of Impeachment of Donald Trump - Count One: Solicitation of Bribery Nov 19, 2019

Show notes

Welcome to this special edition of the Ralph Nader Radio Hour. I'm Steve Skrovan. In this series, Ralph and Constitutional scholar, Bruce Fein, will lay out the articles of impeachment of President Donald J. Trump.

Count One: Solicitation of Bribery

Boeing 787 Dreamliner: "Hundreds of Defective Parts" Nov 16, 2019

Show notes

Ralph hears from courageous former Boeing Quality Control Manager, John M. Barnett, who blew the whistle on shoddy production of the 787 Dreamliner, how the FAA has backed off on oversight, and how Boeing "bean counters" have put profits over safety.

John M. Barnett was a Quality Control Manager for Boeing Company for 25 years in its Seattle facility. He transferred in 2011 to manage Boeing's new plant in South Carolina to build the 787 Dreamliner where he revealed shoddy production as reported on the front-page of the April 20, 2019, New York Times. He retired under pressure in 2017 and assumed the challenge to inform the flying public. His whistleblower complaint to OSHA is pending.

"I haven't seen a plane out of Charleston yet that I would put my name on saying that it's safe and air-worthy." John M. Barnett, former Quality Control Manager on the 787 Dreamliner "In aircraft production, and working with Boeing all these years, we have a rule of thumb: that it takes eight to ten years for a defect to become an issue on an airplane. So, if you look at the eight to ten-year time frame before a defect becomes an issue and our first plane was delivered in 2012, we're starting to get into that eight to ten-year window." John M. Barnett, former Quality Control Manager on the 787 Dreamliner "Boeing's number one priority should be the safety of the flying public. And the last six years that I worked with them, that is the last thing on their mind… Because it's just about kicking airplanes out and making the cash register ring." John M. Barnett, former Quality Control Manager on the 787 Dreamliner

For more information on how to protect yourself, go to Flyers Rights

RALPH NADER RADIO HOUR EP 297 TRANSCRIPT (Right click to download)

The CDC's Culture of Fear Nov 09, 2019

Show notes

In our continuing series honoring whistleblowers, Ralph welcomes winner of the Joe A. Calloway Award for Civic Courage, Dr. George Luber, former head of the Centers for Disease Control's Climate Health program, who despite pressure from the newly-minted Trump Administration, blew the whistle after refusing to cancel a convention on how the climate crisis was affecting public health.

George Luber is an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. His research interests include the health impacts of environmental change and biodiversity loss, harmful algal blooms, and the health effects of climate change. Dr. Luber headed the CDC's climate health program until it was eliminated in 2018 by the Trump White House. The nation's premier health protection agency continues to retaliate against him for speaking out on the climate crisis and its public health effects. He has since filed for whistleblower status with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel and has just received the Joe A. Calloway Award for Civic Courage.

"The most frightening thing, actually, is that somebody would make a decision like this in anticipating the potential blowback from the [Trump] Administration. That to me is frightening, because it's the most insidious form of power. And when you can get people to do things for you without even asking them, that I think is the most frightening thing. To get people to act on your behalf in ways that they normally wouldn't merely out of fear of what you might do."

Dr. George Luber, winner of the Joe A. Calloway Award for Civic Courage

"I was escorted by armed guards when I needed to get some books out of my office [at the CDC]. I had an armed escort and they asked me to come at 11:00am – the height of the day when everybody is around intending to humiliate me – and marched me through our large ten story office building with a large armed guard behind me that even followed me to the bathroom."

Dr. George Luber, winner of the Joe A. Calloway Award for Civic Courage

RALPH NADER RADIO HOUR EP 296 TRANSCRIPT (Right click to download)

Whistleblowing in an Age of Fraud Nov 02, 2019

Show notes

Ralph welcomes Tom Mueller, author of "Crisis of Conscience: Whistleblowers in an Age of Fraud," where they discuss the heroic stories of the brave men and women, who at great personal cost, have called to account corruption across government and industry. Plus, Ralph answers your questions.

Tom Mueller is a free-lance writer of non-fiction and fiction, whose work has appeared the New Yorker, National Geographic, New York Times Magazine, Atlantic Monthly, and elsewhere. His first non-fiction book, Extra Virginity, is a New York Times best-selling account of olive oil culture, history, and crime. His latest is Crisis of Conscience: Whistleblowing in an Age of Fraud.

"Bill Binney had the awful irony of having created this structure to surveil foreign targets and winnow out at top speed potential terrorists and seeing his own work… being used against Americans. It was a thing he had sworn every day of his working life not to do… So, he backed away from the agency (NSA) when he felt they were fundamentally violating their mission. And what would Edward Snowden take away from this message? If you follow protocol and you surface your concerns about mass, warrantless surveillance through channels, what happens to you? Well, all he had to do is look at Bill Binney and Tom Drake and see that his only hope of getting the word out was to take another route." Tom Mueller, author of Crisis of Conscience: Whistleblowing in an Age of Fraud "If you look at what Donald Trump is today and his coterie of bandits that he's put in charge of our government, you can see the price that is paid when you do not pay attention to recidivist white-collar criminality over a generation or more. You get Donald Trump… Donald Trump didn't come from Mars. He is the logical extension of the corruptions we've allowed to creep into our political and social system." Tom Mueller, author of Crisis of Conscience: Whistleblowing in an Age of Fraud RALPH NADER RADIO HOUR EP 295 TRANSCRIPT (Right click to download)

The Future of American Labor Oct 26, 2019

Show notes

Labor writer, Steven Greenhouse, joins Ralph to discuss his new book "Beaten Down, Worked Up: The Past, Present and Future of American Labor." Then Steve, David, and Ralph have a spirited discussion about how the 99% can wrest power from the 1%.

Steven Greenhouse is an award-winning reporter who covered labor and workplace issues for nineteen years at The New York Times. He has also served as a business and economics reporter and a diplomatic and foreign correspondent. His latest work is Beaten Down, Worked Up: The Past, Present, and Future of American Labor.

"I think one of the reasons Trump won Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania is that workers were too misinformed, and they thought Trump was going to do wonders for them. And if unions did a better job communicating, educating, perhaps a weekly email newsletter about how Trump is hurting workers, how Trump has rolled back all these protections that Obama had provided, extending overtime to millions of more workers. Obama issued this very important rule that doesn't get enough attention that required Wall Street firms to act in the best interests of workers in handling their 401Ks. And Trump, doing a huge favor for Wall Street and really stabbing workers in back, scrapped that rule. Now, it's much easier for Wall Street firms to rip off workers." Steven Greenhouse, author of "Beaten Down, Worked Up: The Past Present and Future of American Labor" "In no other industrial nation do corporations fight so hard to beat back and, indeed, quash labor unions. And they threaten to close their plant if they unionize. They threaten to even cut benefits if workers unionize. In 34% of unionization drives – one study found – the companies fire the workers who are leading the unionization drive in order to cripple the unionization drive." Steven Greenhouse, author of "Beaten Down, Worked Up: The Past Present and Future of American Labor" "Tens of millions of workers are making less today than workers were paid in 1968 adjusted for inflation, even though – because of automation etc. – you are twice as productive. One worker in Walmart produces as much as two workers in Walmart in 1968. You're getting zero benefit. All the productivity gains are going to pay Walmart's executives and top managers and not to you." Ralph Nader RALPH NADER RADIO HOUR EP 294 TRANSCRIPT (Right click to download)

Rashida Tlaib Oct 19, 2019

Show notes

A member of "The Squad," Rashida Tlaib, joins Ralph to talk about her aborted trip to the Occupied Territories, Israel and Palestine, poverty in Southern Michigan, and of course, impeachment. Plus, listener questions!

Rashida Tlaib is currently the Congresswoman for Michigan's 13th Congressional District, which includes the city of Detroit and many surrounding communities. Representative Tlaib is a well-known progressive warrior who made history in 2008 by becoming the first Muslim woman to ever serve in the Michigan Legislature. She is beloved by residents for the transformative constituent services she provides, and for successfully fighting the billionaires and corporations that tried to pollute her district.

"We already know that corporations have tainted our democratic process on all levels of the government, not just on the federal level. For us, this (impeachment) is about our way of life… This won't be the last crooked CEO that runs for President of the United States. So, it is really about putting our democracy first, putting our way of life first… If you really want to show your patriotism, this is the time to do it." Congresswoman Rashid Tlaib (D-Michigan) "No transformative change has truly happened because of something happening in the United States Congress or out of the White House. It always happens because of grassroots movement work outside of the halls, outside of the Oval Office." Congresswoman Rashid Tlaib (D-Michigan) RALPH NADER RADIO HOUR EP 293 TRANSCRIPT (Right click to download)

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