The Laura Flanders Show - TopPodcast.com

View Top 200 Chart

Back to Rankings Page

The Laura Flanders Show — Society & Culture
The Laura Flanders Show

Award winning host, author and journalist Laura Flanders interviews forward-thinking people from the world of politics, business, culture and social movements. The show explores actionable models for creating a better world by reporting on the people and movements driving systemic change. We spotlight the solutions of tomorrow, today. The show airs on PBS stations in over 80% of the US market, and airs on 40+ community radio stations, and is available on YouTube and as a podcast. Online subscribers receive lots of video and audio web exclusives. Recent specials include “Indigenous People’s Power”, “James Baldwin: Lessons for the US”, “Building Public Trust for Public Health”, “Countering the Coup From the Grassroots Up”. Recent special guests include Representative Karen Bass, environmental activist Jane Fonda, economist Robert Reich, author/activist Naomi Klein, agrarian reformer Shirley Sherrod, novelist Arundhati Roy, economist Michael Hudson and ’Next System” theorist Gar Alperovitz.

Latest Episodes:

Whose Economy? An Equitable Model For All Nov 13, 2020

Show notes

What is a city’s economy for? New York City’s economy has been very good at piling up private wealth and building tall buildings but it’s done less well, especially recently, when it comes to maintaining public services and public trust. In this episode, Laura attends an historic gathering at the School for Labor and Urban Studies at the City University of New York (CUNY) and talks with the city’s Deputy Mayor Phillip Thompson among others, about the way a city like New York might change its economic model going forward, in a way that would share wealth - and power - more democratically, as the city tackles climate change and a public health crisis. This episode also features a report on Cooperative Home Care Associates, the largest worker-owned cooperative in the US, based in the Bronx.

Show Credits: Laura Flanders, Matt Colaciello, Jeremiah Cothern, Charlotte Carpenter, Nat Needham, Jeannie Hopper, Dominic Marcella, Mercedes Gorostiaga, Ryan Hotes, Rory O’Conner, and David Neumann.

Music Credits: Shining Skies by George Georgia; I Don’t Always Float by Jon Watts; Sugarella by Nickodemus; Kitty in the Window and Gentle Heart by Poddington Bear; original sound design by Jeannie Hopper.

Become a member and unlock more content like the full episode note. https://Patreon.com/theLFShow

Nobody Left out, Creating the New Normal: SEIU President Mary Kay Henry Nov 05, 2020

Show notes

While the election results are still undecided well hear from Mary Kay Henry, president of the Service Employees International Union, or SEIU, about how one of the nations largest unions is addressing the ongoing impact of Covid-19, pandemic poverty and the systemic inequities that no single election can fix. We need a new normal says Henry. How do we get there? Music in the Middle: “Born Ready” by Tef Poe and Rebel Diaz featuring The Reminders from their “Multiply, Volume 2 E.P.”, courtesy of Rebel Diaz.

For the full episode notes, and to become a member goto https://Patreon.com/theLFShow

F-Word: Remembering Those We've Lost Nov 02, 2020

Show notes

Election day is upon us. A reading of the names of those who died due to the coronavirus pandemic. "This list needn't expand any longer. Vote in favor of our public health."

The F-Word is released bi-weekly featuring timely commentaries by Laura Flanders and guests. Support by becoming a patron, goto https://Patreon.com/theLFShow

Pandemic Death Toll Worldometer.com

"Those We've Lost" NYTimes

Pre-Election Special with Noam Chomsky Oct 29, 2020

Show notes

While this program explores the possibilities that go well beyond what can be achieved by one candidate or with one vote — elections do matter and the US 2020 elections are no exception. This week Laura Flanders checks in with one of the leading social critics of our time, MIT professor emeritus, Noam Chomsky. He dives into what's stake in this election — in a time he views as the most dangerous moments in our human history — and stresses the importance of steady activism as a means to progress. Music in the Middle features “Day Dream” by Bryony Jarman-Pinto, remixed by Fish Factory Session, released on Tru-Thoughts Records.

For the full episode notes, and more goto https://Patreon.com/theLFShow

Buffalo NY: Grappling with Gentrification in one of America’s Most Unequal Cities Oct 23, 2020

Show notes

Buffalo, New York, was once a booming industrial town fueled by cheap power from Niagara Falls, a center of commerce and trade, the first city in the US to have electric light. But over a century, Buffalo’s wealth concentrated at the top and mostly moved out, leaving a largely de-industrialized city and a slump. Now, with new investment promised by New York’s Governor Cuomo, and cooler, northern cities attracting “climate refugees” from the US south, development is once again underway, but on whose terms? This time, will the wealth be more equitably shared, and who will get to decide? In this episode, Laura visits with grassroots activists who are not just hoping or lobbying for a change – they’re considering very seriously running for office.

For the full episode notes, the series the Story Behind the Story, and more goto https://Patreon.com/theLFShow

F-Word: Divest / Invest Oct 20, 2020

Show notes

"For many Americans, there’s never been a better time to reconsider the entire system. Years of work, by abolitionists like Angela Davis, Ruthie Gilmore, Mariame Kaba, and organizations like Critical Resistance are paying off. With movements calling for defunding and divesting, people are finally talking about spending, and raising the heat on the thousands of corporations that profit off the millions of people we lock up."

The F-Word is released bi-weekly featuring timely commentaries by Laura Flanders and guests. Support by becoming a patron, goto https://Patreon.com/theLFShow

Community Wealth Building: From Cleveland to Preston Oct 16, 2020

Show notes

How does an economy emerge from recession? Historically, cities hard hit by deindustrialization have strived to attract big employers from elsewhere by offering incentives and tax breaks. But outside employers rarely invest in a place long term, and all too often skip town when the incentives run out. In some places, local governments have been experimenting with other strategies. In Preston, England, they’re experimenting with investing public money in locally-owned businesses and cooperatives, and encouraging local “anchor” institutions to buy from, or train, local vendors. They’re calling it the Preston model of community wealth building, and it’s inspired by a model in another formerly industrialized city: Cleveland, Ohio, home of the Evergreen Cooperatives. This week on The Laura Flanders Show, we take a look at a transatlantic experiment in cooperative community wealth building.

For the full episode notes, the series the Story Behind the Story, and more goto https://Patreon.com/theLFShow

How to Make a Democratic Economy; Democracy Collaborative Oct 09, 2020

Show notes

The strength of the U.S. economy is often at the center of debate during an election season. But whether the economy is good or bad, there is no denying that Americas economy is neither democratic nor good for the planet. Is this inevitable, or is it possible to build a greener and more just economy? In this weeks episode of The Laura Flanders Show, Marjorie Kelly and Ted Howard of the Democracy Collaborative talk about their new book The Making of a Democratic Economy and explain what steps we need to take in order to create an economy that works for everyone.

This show is produced by Laura Flanders, Sabrina Artel, Charlotte Carpenter, Matt Colaciello, Jeremiah Cothern, Dominic Marcella, Mercedes Grostiaga, Jeannie Hopper, Nat Needham, and Ryan Hotes, David Neumann, and Rory O'Conner.

For the full episode notes, and our special segment on the Story Behind the Story where we discuss the making of the episode, goto https://Patreon.com/theLFShow

F-Word: If the President Had HIV He Could Be in Prison Oct 06, 2020

Show notes

"Could Donald Trump be charged with a crime for knowingly exposing others to an infectious disease? He could if that disease was hepatitis. If the Donald was a poor man, poorly defended and in poor health, there’s a good chance he’d be facing criminal charges."

The F-Word is released bi-weekly featuring timely commentaries by Laura Flanders and guests. Support by becoming a patron, goto https://Patreon.com/theLFShow

Special: Reporting on Covid in the Country Oct 01, 2020

Show notes

This is an episode that speaks to rural and small town life that is rarely visible in our media, even when, as here, the community in question is just 100 miles from a global media capital. It also serves as an example of how journalists can continue to report safely in the midst of a pandemic.

The coronavirus crisis has been acutely felt in urban areas, but the virus also spread disastrously, and in some ways differently, in rural America. Equipped with a facemask and a selfie stick, Laura Flanders reports in this episode (from a responsible distance) on the impact of Covid-19 on one poor, rural county just 100 miles from New York City. Talking to poultry workers, dairy workers, artists, activists and labor organizers, she looks at what the pandemic has revealed about their county from its economic fragility, to the strength of local social networks. What fears do people have facing a future of more budget cuts and what sort of investment is most needed now?

For the full episode notes, and our special segment on the Story Behind the Story where we discuss the making of the episode, goto https://Patreon.com/theLFShow

Related Podcasts