“Black Americans are calling into question the entire settler colonial project,” says historian Gerald Horne. “Those who consider themselves to be radical, those who consider themselves to be on the left, those who say they’re looking for an alternative to capitalism really should jump aboard this moving train. Because the other model, which is supposedly, We’re walking in the footsteps of Thomas Jefferson and other slave owners… That particular analysis has hit a roadblock, it’s hit a dead end—it’s not going anywhere.”

Today on the show, we welcome back Dr. Horne to discuss his new book, The Dawning of the Apocalypse, wherein he retells the bloodthirsty story of the invasion of the Americas and how “whiteness” morphed into “white supremacy” over the course of the long sixteenth century.

During this hour, Dr. Horne also offers examples of how colonial history manifests itself in the present day, including the Founding Father worship of the hit musical Hamilton and the growing popularity of QAnon conspiracies.

Gerald Horne is the Moores Professor of History and African American Studies at the University of Houston. He’s the author of over thirty books to date, including a history of the political economy of jazz (Jazz and Justice, Monthly Review Press, 2019), a comparison of the entangled histories of South African apartheid and Jim Crow (White Supremacy Confronted, International Publishers, 2019), the African American struggle to gain the right to fly (Storming the Heavens, Black Classic Press, 2017), and his most recent publication, The Dawning of the Apocalypse: The Roots of Slavery, White Supremacy, Settler Colonialism, and Capitalism in the Long Sixteenth Century (NYU Press, 2020).

He is a frequent contributor to Political Affairs magazine as well as various radio programs.

With election season in full swing, today we’re focusing on women running for public office with Erin Forrest, executive director of Emerge Wisconsin.

She and Ali cover topics like how identity affects perspective, the misclassification of economic issues like healthcare, education, and childcare as “women’s issues” in government, women’s experience of sexism in public office, and why women-led countries are faring better during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Erin Forrest is the executive director of Emerge Wisconsin. Previously, Erin served on the Waterloo City Council, as Chair of the Democratic Party of Jefferson County, and as Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin’s County Chairs’ Association.

Cover image courtesy of Emerge

As the general election approaches, remember to vote down-ballot! On today’s show, we provide context and information about two referenda on the November 3 ballot to support Madison Metropolitan School District schools, one for operating costs (teachers, services) and one for capitol costs (building renovations and remodeling).

Our guests are school board member Cris Carusi, chief financial officer Kelly Ruppel, and Building and Administrative Services executive director Chad Wiese, who help us break down what these referenda, if passed, will do for Madison public schools.

Over the course of the hour, they make the case for why the community should make this investment in Madison schools and just how important the public school system is to local students and families during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, providing not only high-quality educational opportunities but access and resources such as nutritional food; music, arts, and athletic programming; and a safe and accessible place to learn.

Learn more by visiting MMSD’s 2020 Referenda – Future Ready website.

The “sharing economy,” which has been on the rise for the past decade, has become increasingly important during the COVID-19 pandemic, with American unemployment reaching its all-time high back in April and more workers struggling to make ends meet under ever-changing conditions.

Today on the show, Patty discusses the gig economy and how to make it equitable for the users and workers most exploited with professor Juliet Schor, author of After the Gig: How the Sharing Economy Got Hijacked and How to Win It Back.

They cover topics like the gig economy and the Green New Deal, the impact of COVID-19 on gig workers, government regulation of ride-share services like Uber, and what it would look like for these apps to function as worker-owned cooperatives.

Juliet Schor is a professor of sociology at Boston College. She is the author of several books, including The Overworked American: The Unexpected Decline of Leisure (Basic Books, 1992), The Overspent American: Why We Want What We Don’t Need (Basic Books, 1998), and After the Gig: How the Sharing Economy Got Hijacked and How to Win it Back (University California Press, 2020).

Today, Friday host Esty Dinur and co-pilot Norm Stockwell are joined by professor Benjamin Teitelbaum to discuss his new book, War for Eternity: The Return of Radical Traditionalism and the Rise of the Populist Right.

They discuss the influence of Traditionalism (with a capital “T”) on far-right politics, the role of Trump in Traditionalist narratives, and the rise of shadowy figures like Steve Bannon, Russian philosopher Alexander Dugin, and Olavo de Carvalho, an astrologer who advises Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro.

Benjamin R. Teitelbaum is an assistant professor of ethnomusicology and international affairs at the University of Colorado Boulder, where his research focuses on ideology and expressive culture in contemporary radical nationalist, populist, and neofascist movements. He is the author of Lions of the North: Sounds of the New Nordic Radical Nationalism (Oxford University Press, 2017) and War for Eternity: The Return of Traditionalism and the Rise of the Populist Right (HarperCollins and Penguin Press, 2020).

Note: This pledge drive interview was lightly edited to remove some parts of the show dedicated to station fundraising. We thank our listeners for their generous support.

In the aftermath of Tuesday’s debate and with the November election fast approaching, today Allen spends the hour with co-pilot Bert Zipperer and media scholar Bob McChesney to talk about why independent media is vital for democracy.

Their conversation covers a variety of topics, from the presidential debate to sports during COVID-19 to news deserts and the changing media landscape we find ourselves in.

Bob McChesney is an activist scholar and professor in the department of communication at the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign. He specializes in the history and political economy of mass communication and the role media plays in capitalist societies.

Cover photo by Roman Kraft on Unsplash

After last night’s presidential debate, many Americans are feeling that hope is in short supply.

So today on the show, Wednesday host Ali Muldrow asks award-winning author Sheryl WuDunn: What gives you hope right now?

Over the course of the hour, WuDunn shares stories and insights from her latest co-authored book, Tightrope: Americans Reaching for Hope, which offers an intimate portrait of rural America, addresses the crises of the working class after decades of government failure, and proposes compassionate solutions related to addiction recovery, early childhood education, job loss, and universal healthcare.

Sheryl WuDunn is a business executive, writer, lecturer, and Pulitzer Prize winner. She is co-author with her husband Nicholas Kristof of several books, including Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide (Vintage, 2010) and Tightrope: Americans Reaching for Hope (Knopf, 2020).

What would actually make America great? More people.

At least, that’s what Vox co-founder Matthew Yglesias argues in his new book, One Billion Americans: The Case for Thinking Bigger. Today, Matthew join us on the show to talk about his big ideas for population growth and building a strong economy.

Matthew Yglesias is co-founder and senior correspondent at Vox.com, where he co-hosts The Weeds podcast. He is the author of Heads in the Sand: How the Republicans Screw Up Foreign Policy and Foreign Policy Screws Up the Democrats (Wiley, 2008), The Rent Is Too Damn High: What To Do About It, And Why It Matters More Than You Think (Simon and Schuster, 2012), and One Billion Americans: The Case for Thinking Bigger (Portfolio Penguin, 2020).

Today on the show, Monday host Patty Peltekos and co-pilot Yuri Rashkin learn about the Democracy in the Park program with Madison City Clerk Maribeth Witzel-Behl.

Democracy in the Park is an event where Madison voters can register to vote and return their absentee ballots securely to official poll workers at over 200 parks throughout the city.

The first Democracy in the Park event was held this past Saturday and received backlash and accusations of “ballot harvesting” from Wisconsin Republicans.

Democracy in the Park will take place again this Saturday, October 3, from 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM.

Full information available on the City of Madison website, including a Democracy in the Park map and list of locations.

Cover image: Democracy in the Park Map (cropped)

Corruption has become a mainstay of American political life—but how did we get here? And what can we do about it?

Today, we investigate these questions with journalist Sarah Chayes, author of the new book On Corruption in America, and learn why she believes corruption is the primary threat to democracy in our lifetimes.

Sarah Chayes is an award-winning journalist and author. From 2002 to 2009, she reported for National Public Radio from Paris, covering Europe and the Balkans. She is the author of The Punishment of Virtue: Inside Afghanistan After the Taliban (Penguin, 2007), Thieves of State: Why Corruption Threatens Global Security (W. W. Norton, 2016), and On Corruption in America and What is at Stake (Knopf, 2020).

Note: This pledge drive interview was edited to remove parts of the show dedicated to station fundraising. We thank our listeners for their generous support.