#1780 Cynicism Is a Scab: Hope, Solidarity, and the Labor Fight That Never Stopped
Air Date: 3–27-2026
Today we examine the relationship between labor education, moral ambition, and the possibility of a better world. We'll hear about IWW members building a "Philosophy 101" for organizers, a historian's argument that humanity is fundamentally cooperative rather than selfish, and why getting labor history into public schools may be one of the most important organizing projects of our time.
Read more#1778 AI, the Pentagon, Labor and Capitalism: The Fight Over Who Controls the Future
Air Date: 3–19-2026
Today we explore the long history of technological disruption — from the Industrial Revolution to the rise of software engineering — and ask whether AI is genuinely different this time, all while autonomous weapons dissolve accountability for the militaries using them and capitalism prevents AI companies from maintaining their ethical aspirations.
Read more#1615 Envisioning a Leftist Economic Future of Postcapitalism, High-Tech Automation, Universal Basic Income and a World (Mostly) Without Work (Throwback)
Original Air Date: 3-1-2024
We don't have to think too hard to understand the fears of a world in which work, and the ability of millions to support themselves, are lost to automation and artificial intelligence. But that is only a capitalist future in which the benefits of technological advancement are hoarded by the already-wealthy. Today we imagine a different path.
Read more#1540 The Grift of Life (Scam Culture™ and the Economy it has built) (Throwback)
Original Air Date: 1–31-2023
Today, we take a look at just some of the nearly infinite ways in which our society, culture and economy are infused from top to bottom with Scam Culture™ that is bleeding us dry both financially and mentally.
Read more#1770 Getting in the Fight Against ICE and Authoritarianism
Air Date: 2-10-2026
Today we explore what effective resistance actually looks like. We'll hear why Jamelle Bouie says the panic of those in power signals that opposition is working, what abolitionists teach us about fighting without knowing the ending, and how Minneapolis proved that democratic force can overwhelm physical force.
Read more#1764 Wealth Inequality is Bad for Society and There's No Good Counterargument
Air Date: 1-14-2026
Being a bad person who doesn't care about others is helpful in one's pursuit of becoming wealthy. However, becoming wealthy is also helpful in becoming a bad person who doesn't care about others, not that anyone sets out with this as a goal but it is a natural byproduct of wealth and the normal functioning of our market economy. What this means is that the nature of money, market dynamics, and wealth to corrode morality is a systemic problem, not a collection of individual failings, and should be addressed as such.
Read more#1744 Sell Outs, Shills, and Scandals: Saudi Arabia and Israel are buying the credibility they can't earn honestly
Air Date: 10-14-2025
It's said that money can't buy a variety of things like peace, happiness, loyalty, and, relevant for today; integrity and trust. But in a world in which impressions (a very multilayered word, in this case) can be bought and sold on the open market and an audience's loyalty to influencers, entertainers, and athletes can be leveraged in an attempt to transfer the credibility from the talented to the tyrannical... you better believe places like Saudi Arabia and Israel are going to try.
Read more#1724 How to Socialism: Einstein liked socialism, you think you know better?
Air Date: 7-23-2025
Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani's recent win in the Democratic primary in the race for Mayor of New York City has thrust socialism back into the spotlight. Perhaps we can have a calm, rational, thoughtful debate about it this time... though it would be the first.
Read more#1721 The Evolution of the Military Industrial Complex: Now with AI!
Air Date: 7-9-2025
It's an old joke that "military intelligence" is a good example of an oxymoron so I just asked an AI chatbot to finish a joke about what a military becomes when they implement artificial intelligence. It said, "an oxymoron squared - or as the generals call it, "strategically enhanced stupidity with a confidence interval of 95%" which is not funny but still managed to be pretty on point regarding the dangers of overconfidence that inevitably follows from the implementation of new technology.
Read more#1716 The Fight for Workers: Oligarchy and its Bipartisan Enablers
Air Date: 6-18-2025
Critics of capitalism like us often advocate for the system to come to an end and be replaced with another that aligns better with human needs and continued existence. Well, it's possible that the system is close to having run its course and will be making way for something different. Unfortunately, the natural course of capitalism is to concentrate wealth and, by extension, power so that's what's happened and we're now getting close to basically reinventing feudalism. So, wrong direction.
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