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Beats, Rhymes and Laughs: Culture As a Tool for Racial Justice
Artists and creative people have always used culture as a tool for social change. On this edition, excerpts from a panel on racial justice, culture and politics featuring some of today’s most insightful and outspoken artists.
read moreDam Shame: Rivers and Resistance
As we look for a solution to global energy problems and a way out of the climate crisis- some are turning to dams and hydroelectric power as a source of “green” energy. But at what cost? Massive dams are being built and considered all over the world, despite mounting concern over their economic, environmental and human impacts. On this edition, we’ll take a closer look at the damage caused by hydropower projects, and we’ll visit a community trying to keep their culture and homeland free from the destructive influence of river dams.
read moreIn the Shadow of the Wall: From Gaza to Arizona
In dozens of countries, millions of people live beside militarized border walls, areas which can be quite dangerous. From Palestinian farmers to shootings at the US and Mexico border; living in the shadow of the wall.
read moreHuman Rights: Not Just for Humans (& Corporations) Anymore?
Corporations have the same rights as people. But do our communities and natural ecosystems have any rights? How about our bodies, cells and genetic material? Thomas Linzey and Katherine Davies argue that in order to defend our bodies and our environment, they must be given rights under the law.
read moreArt is Our Weapon: A Conversation With Climbing Poetree
Alixa and Naima are two poets who together make up Climbing PoeTree, an award winning performance duo. Mixing poetry and politics they seek to use their words to educate and inspire. On this edition, we hear performances by Climbing PoeTree and find out where such inspiring artists find their own inspiration.
read moreLooking Back, Moving Forward 2012 Year in Review
As 2013 approaches, we look at some of the important issues we’ve covered in 2012: from domestic workers struggling for respect, to the consequences of climate change, todrone warfare. We’ll listen back to some highlights from those programs, and get updates on where those stories stand now.
read moreLife or Death: Ending the Death Penalty
Reporter Nancy Mullane speaks to some of those on California’s death row and we hear from two opponents of the death penalty about where the movement to end executions goes next.
read moreMichelle Alexander on the New Jim Crow
Professor Michelle Alexander, author of ‘The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness’ makes the case that the US’ criminal justice system policies can be traced directly back to slavery. The target then, and now, are African Americans.
read moreSaving or Selling the Planet? REDD, Climate Change and Indigenous Lands
Around the world communities are already facing the impacts of climate change. Now international organizations, like the World Bank, are pushing a policy that asks polluters to offset their pollution by paying governments to protect forests. But is it working? On this edition, we take a closer look at this policy and ask, is it a plan to save the planet, or just sell it off? We’ll hear from indigenous activists and extracts from “A Darker Shade of Green: REDD Alert and the Future of Forests” by Jeff Conant, narrated by Dania Cabello.
read moreRoom To Breathe: From Chaos to Peace in the Classroom
At overcrowded and underfunded public schools across the country high suspension rates are exacerbating existing achievement gaps. Often, chaos in the classroom is to blame, keeping students from concentrating on their classes. On this edition we’ll hear excerpts from Russell Long’s film “Room to Breathe” which takes us to a middle school in San Francisco, California, that began teaching mindfulness in the hopes of giving students the skills they need to focus on learning.
read moreNative Harvest for a Modern World ENCORE
An agricultural renaissance has taken root among the Taos Pueblo people in New Mexico. Sustainable agriculture is returning, after years of unhealthy food, poor health and obesity. Rita Daniels brings us a story of rebirth and renewal.
read moreWomen Rising #22: International Anti-Nuclear Activists
With nuclear power back on the agenda, three prominent female activists tell their stories: Kaori Izumi was part of the grassroots campaign to shutdown Japan’s nuclear power plants, after the Fukushima disaster. Winona LaDuke, has spent much of her life working to oppose uranium mining on indigenous land. And Alice Slater is part of a global initiative to ban nuclear weapons. On this edition, is the anti-nuclear movement on the rise? This is a special collaboration with Lynn Feinerman and Crown Sephira Productions.
read moreThe Electoral College’s Dirty History
Yale University Law & Political Science Professor Akhil Reed Amar says the Electoral College discourages voting, lessens the power of the states, and could work to the disadvantage of either major political party. Professor Amar speaks with Angela McKenzie of Initiative Radio about how the US constitution can be changed to create a more fair and just society
read moreEducation Not for Sale
Around the world, students have been taking to the streets. They’re opposed to rising tuition fees and cuts to education. On this edition, we’ll hear how students in Quebec helped bring down the government and why Chilean students are back out on the streets again. We’ll also speak to an activist in Puerto Rico who says she’s had enough of US-style higher education.
read moreThe Life, Death, and Rebirth of ACORN
It took 40 years to build ACORN, but just a few months to bring it down. Local organizers are trying to rebuild, but how is ACORN’s absence affecting elections, poverty, and the continuing housing crisis?
read moreThe Penalty is Exile: How Immigration and Criminalization Collide
Under President Obama more than 1 million people have been deported from the United States. Immigration officials claim that many of those being deported are criminals. On this edition, producer Cory Fischer-Hoffman investigates the connection between immigration and the criminal justice system and the impact this burgeoning relationship is having on immigrants.
read moreMicrofinance: How it Lost Its Way and Betrayed the Poor
Hugh Sinclair, the author of Confessions of a Microfinance Heretic, in conversation with KALW radio host Rose Aguilar. Sinclair tells the story of how he learned the dirty truths behind the banking sector that’s creeping across the “developing” world.
read moreCOINTELPRO 101 (Part 2) ENCORE
This week, we broadcast the second half of the documentary film “COINTELPRO 101,” about the secret FBI program which ran from 1956-1971, and disrupted many movements for self-determination by people of color in the U.S.. Today, we hear the second half of the film, produced by the Freedom Archives.
read moreCOINTELPRO 101 (Part 1) ENCORE
Over the next two weeks, we broadcast the documentary film “COINTELPRO 101,” about the secret FBI program which ran from 1956-1971, and disrupted many movements for self-determination by people of color in the U.S.. Today, we hear the first half of the film, produced by the Freedom Archives.
read moreThe Burning Issue: America’s War on Fire
Every summer, wildfires torch thousands of acres of land. The National Forest Service rushes to the rescue; to save lives, homes, and communities. But is the agency’s approach to fire doing more harm than good? Producer George Lavender takes a closer look at the “War on Fire.”
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