Gulf Course
On the origins, and persistence, of racist thought in America.
Historian Ibram X. Kendi examines the history (and present) of racist ideas in America - from the anti-Black premise that liberalism and progressivism share with segregationism, to the ways capitalism, science and religion adopted and adapted racist ideology to maintain White supremacy - and explains why the only route to ending racism lies in dismantling the policies of discrimination, not attempting to alter or police the behavior of its victims.
Ibram is author of Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America from PublicAffairs.
Striking teachers in Oaxaca face neoliberal cuts and government bullets.
Live from Mexico City, Laura Carlsen reports on teachers' strike in Oaxaca - from the protest's struggle against neoliberal labor and education policy changes that strip worker rights and ignore surging economic inequality, to the state's deadly response to this and other challenges to their economic agenda - and updates us on the political aftermath of the government killing of Honduran activist Berta Cáceres.
Laura spoke to the Real News Network for their segment Nine Killed in Police Crackdown on Oaxaca Teacher's Strike.
Perfectly safe (for foreigners) - A report from post-coup, pre-Olympics Brazil.
Live from São Paulo, Brian Mier reports on the right wing takeover of Brazilian politics after the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, where agrarian and land rights reforms are being rolled back by a coalition of cattle exporters, Evangelical Christians and private military forces, setting the stage for a neoliberal restructuring of the country's economy, and the kind of peace and stability Chileans enjoyed under Pinochet.
Brian recommends reading the Council on Hemispheric Affairs article Dilma Rousseff Found Not Guilty of Budgetary Maneuvers not that it really matters anymore.
Understanding the ideological roots of American intervention in the Middle East.
Historian Andrew Bacevich examines the Carter-era roots of America's four-decade military involvement in the Greater Middle East, and explains how the conflict's impetus shifted from oil acquisition and anti-Soviet defense to an existential defense of American power set the course for state of perpetual war in the Islamic world, invulnerable to political opposition, or its own dire consequences.
Andrew is author of America’s War for the Greater Middle East: A Military History from Penguin Random House.
On race, class and the workers left behind by the Democratic Party.
In a far-ranging interview, historian Judith Stein examines the political and economic fates of Black and White workers across the 20th century - from the racial integration of organized labor as Blacks moved from agricultural to industrial work, to the Democratic party's abandonment of pro-working class policies as it shifted to the right in an effort to court suburban White collar voters in the 1980s and 90s.
Judith was interviewed by Connor Kilpatrick for the Jacobin piece Why Did White Workers Leave the Democratic Party?
Far from the maddening crowd: Misanthropy loves company.
In a singular Moment of Truth, Jeff Dorchen makes the case for humanity in very small doses, finding generosity and solidarity among little groups of people - before the whole joint gets stunk by a teemming mass of jagoffs, rednecks, Hillarybots, Bernie Bros, Evangelicals, nonbelievers and other assorted chocolates in life's rich pageant.
