What the SVB Failure Teaches us About Investment Banking
The Silicon Valley Bank collapse brings with it memories of the wider 2008 economic crisis. Jeet Heer and John Nichols from The Nation join us to discuss the 2018 bank deregulations that set the stage for this moment and the risky investment strategy at the bank itself. They argue that bailout and FDIC’s role in the collapse could set the stage for a dangerous economic future. Like this program? Please show us the love. Click...
Pandemic and Profit
To mark the three year anniversary of the official start of the Covid-19 pandemic, we’ll be looking at two alternative supply chains for masks that emerged in the fallout of the Trump administration’s failure to prepare. We’ll be speaking with ProPublica reporter David McSwane about his book Pandemic, Inc.: Chasing the Capitalists and Thieves Who Got Rich While We Got Sick. The book details the shadowy supply chain...
The Response: Mutual Aid with Joshua Potash
Joshua Potash is an anti-capitalist abolitionist based in New York City. Joshua co-founded Washington Square Park Mutual Aid, which provides free food, clothing, and various supplies once a week in the New York City park. They also co-host events like film screenings, skillshares, and various trainings. The group was founded in response to NYPD violence with the aim of creating a counter-narrative and being a community hub for folks...
Upstream: Worker Cooperatives
On today’s show we learn about worker cooperatives: what are they and can they offer an alternative to the dominant capitalist mindset? Our partner podcast Upstream brings us to a bike and skate shop in Richmond, CA that’s providing a much-needed service to its community, while also empowering its own workers. A version of this story was originally aired in 2018. Image Credit: Artwork by Phil Wrigglesworth Like this...
70 Million: Punished and Persecuted for Being Unhoused, Part 2
More than a quarter of the people experiencing homelessness in the U.S. live in California. Nowhere is the unhoused crisis more visible than in the city of Los Angeles, where almost 30,000 people camp out on sidewalks and in parks every night. On today’s episode we continue to follow a community of unhoused people in Echo Park in Los Angeles, that was forcibly evicted by police despite an enormous show of support from...
70 Million: Punished and Persecuted for Being Unhoused, Part 1
On this Making Contact, we hear a story from our podcast partner 70 Million about a community of unhoused people in Echo Park in Los Angeles and how they were forcibly evicted by police despite hundreds of protestors who showed up to support them. We’ll hear from people on the front lines about how people experiencing homelessness are criminalized for simply trying to survive on the street in this edited version of...
