#1357 What Trump is Invoking When He Invokes Manifest Destiny
Air Date: 7–10-2020
Today we take a look at the origins and legacy of Manifest Destiny, the historical term most closely tied to our most toxic version of nostalgia: the one longing for America's golden age of genocide
Read more#1354 Police violence and racism are a product of our past (Uprising, Crackdown, Authoritarianism)
Air Date: 6–22-2020
Today we take a look at the history of racist policing which flows seamlessly into our present racist policing which itself flows into Trump's authoritarian glee at the opportunity to consolidate violent, racist power in response to protests against violent, racist power.
Read more#1353 Uprising, George Floyd was the spark that ignited the world
Air Date: 6–17-2020
Today we take a look at the uprising sparked by the killing of George Floyd in the context of a world in which that event was just the last straw in an innumerable series of straws.
Read more#1352 Racism In America, The Last 160 Years, Explained
Air Date: 6–10-2020
Today we take a look at the long arc of racism in America as a primer for many of the topics it would be good for you to be acquainted with as we live through yet another convulsive societal awakening regarding racism and police abuse in our country. If you only ever share one episode of this podcast with friends, family or another else, make it this one.
Read more#1348 Not the Great Equalizer, the Amplifier of Disparity (Coronavirus)
Air Date: 4–21-2020
Today we take a look at the ways that COVID-19 are impacting the most vulnerable communities the worst and how our legacy of discrimination is being put on full display.
Read more#1342 What Coronavirus Reveals About the Structures of Our World
Air Date: 3–7-2020
Today we take a look at the Coronavirus through the lens of the systems it is affecting including the incompetence of a government that doesn't believe in governing, the dangers of the lack of universal access to medical care and the interdependency of our economies regardless of the inevitable racism that flares up in times of panic.
Read more#1340 The Border Between Socialism and Barbarism (Immigration and Empire)
Air Date: 2–28-2020
Today we take a look at the historical through-line that has brought us to the present state of border barbarism we're now witnessing. An empire of perpetual expansion has finally reached its limit and decided to close the door. Meanwhile, well-meaning liberals have been playing on the nationalists' turf for far too long.
Read more#1335 Worldwide Authoritarianism is Built on the Back of Islamophobia
Air Date: 2–8-2020
Today we take a look at the globetrotting trend of building and maintaining far-right, authoritarian political power by stoking fear and hatred of Muslims. We will draw the connections between the Chinese Uighurs, the Rohingya people of Burma, the Governmental policy in India to strip Muslims of citizenship and the actions taken by the US over the past decades that have helped to turbo-charge this trend.
Read more#1333 An Examination of Fear, Anger, Forgiveness and Grace (and Mr. Rogers)
Air Date: 2–2-2020
Today we take a look at the relationship between fear, anger and how to deal with the structural forces of harm in our society. To help us, we examine two of the greatest thinkers of the past 65 years, Martin Luther King Jr. and Mister Rogers, and go beyond the nonviolence of King and interrogate Mr. Roger's insistence on liking everyone just the way they are.
Read more#1328 Iraq, Citizens United, Obamacare, The Tea Party and The Deepwater Horizon (A Look Back at 2010)
Air Date: 1–14-2020
Today we take a look back at the year 2010 in our annual 10-years-past retrospective to see what we may learn. 2010 was an enormous year of news and I've been working on this episode so long that I can hardly remember life before I started.
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