Culture and Society

The Thugs of Halftime

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Three remarkable items in Thursday’s Charlottesville Daily Progress.  First, a football player explaining that when he proclaimed his superiority to his opponent after a game he was caught up in the game’s passion, and that the overblown reaction to his obnoxious comments seems racist. Indeed it does, but it seems to reflect another type of willful ignorance as well.

Spectators at gladiator matches don’t want to see too deeply into the minds of the gladiators.  We want read more

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Now Two States Pursue Truly Affordable Education

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Maryland may soon join Oregon in exploring solutions to the crisis of student debt and unaffordable education.

Education is supposed to be a human right.  But the United States puts people into deep debt to pay for it.  Short of taxing billionaires or dismantling bombers (both of which we’re all, I hope, working on), what’s the solution?

The state of Oregon has passed a law creating a commission to study a plan called “Pay it forward. Pay it back.”  See read more

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Global Rescue Plan

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When the wealthy nations of the world meet as the G8 or in any other gathering, it’s interesting to imagine what they would do if they followed the golden rule, valued grandchildren, disliked unnecessary suffering, or wished to outgrow ancient forms of barbarism, or any combination of those.

The United States alone is perfectly capable, if it chooses, of enacting a global marshall plan, or — better — a global rescue plan.  Every year the United States spends, through various read more

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Death Penalty Dying Out

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Most of the world’s governments no longer use the death penalty.  Among wealthy nations there is one exception remaining.  The United States is among the top five killers in the world.  Also in the top five: the recently “liberated” Iraq.

But most of the United States’ 50 states no longer use the death penalty.  There are 18 states that have abolished it, including 6 in this new millennium, including Maryland this week.  Thirty-one states haven’t read more

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Talk Nation Radio: Richard Wolff on Putting Workers in Charge at Work

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Richard Wolff is a professor of economics emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the author of Democracy at Work.  See http://democracyatwork.info

Total run time: 29:00

Host: David Swanson.
Producer: David Swanson.
Music by Duke Ellington.

Download or get embed code from Archive or  AudioPort or LetsTryDemocracy.

Syndicated by Pacifica Network.

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Talk Nation Radio: Wenonah Hauter on Foodopoly

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Wenonah Hauter is the executive director of Food and Water Watch and the author of Foodopoly.  She discusses the 20 companies that make our processed food — and the 2 companies, both foreign, that make our beer (despite the hundreds of brands all pretending a diversity of origins and owners).  Hauter tells a story of how we got here and how we can get out of here.

Total read more

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Talk Nation Radio: The Crisis in Mali and How to Stop Contributing to It

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Ana Edwards is the host of Defenders Live on WRIR in Richmond, Va.  Edwards tells us what we should know about Mali, the crisis there, the causes of it, what the Pentagon should stop doing, and what the people of Richmond are doing to help.

Total run time: 29:00

Host: David Swanson.
Producer: David Swanson.
Music by Duke Ellington.

Download or get embed code from read more

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February 15 Ten Years Later

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On February 15, 2003, the world protested a long-announced pending war of aggression by the United States against Iraq.  The protest was the largest in world history, and we haven’t topped it since.  It persuaded many nations of the world and the United Nations to oppose the war.  It built an international movement that went on to limit, reduce, and prevent wars, including thus far a fullscale war on Iran, as well as to educate a new generation about the evils of war.  read more

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