CounterPunch Radio

In this episode of CounterPunch Radio, Rebecca Maria Goldschmidt speaks with Dr. Nadine Ortega, co-founder of Tagnawa Hawai’i, about grassroots mutual aid disaster recovery. Dr. Ortega breaks down the socio-economic and historical conditions that have led to the recent Kona Low flooding on O’ahu and the 2023 Lahaina, Maui fires, which have disproportionately affected Native Hawaiian, Filipino, and other immigrant communities. She shares stories about the importance of cross-class and interethnic organizing when state-run disaster response fails.

Visit Tagnawa.org for more information.

The post When State Disaster Response Fails w/ Dr. Nadine Ortega appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

Journalist Arun Gupta returns to CounterPunch Radio to discuss the state of the left, antiwar politics, and much more. Arun talks to host Eric Draitser and provides his analysis of the No Kings movement and how leftists should understand it, as well as a retrospective of the antiwar movements around Iraq and Vietnam. He explores the importance of physical community and organization using the example of New York’s Lower East Side, where he resides. The conversation also touches on the Left’s historic role in countering the hegemonic view of global affairs. A devoted leftist, Marxist, investigative journalist, chef, and food tour guide, Arun Gupta always brings incisive analysis and thoughtful critique to CounterPunch.

The post The State of the US Left w/ Arun Gupta appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

On this episode of CounterPunch Radio, Erik Wallenberg and Joshua Frank sit down with Gilbert Achcar to discuss Israel, Palestine, Iran, Lebanon, and the most botched US war ever.

Gilbert Achcar is Emeritus Professor at SOAS, University of London. He is the author of many books, most recently, The Gaza Catastrophe: The Genocide in World-Historical Perspective.

The post The Most Botched Imperial War w/ Gilbert Achcar appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

On this episode of CounterPunch Radio, host Tori Tsui talks to Sean Adams, founder of Drowned in Sound. Tori and Sean talk about Spotify, AI, militarism, capitalism, independent music, how we can harness music’s power for social change, and much more.

Founded in 2000 by Sean Adams, the UK-based Drowned in Sound has evolved from a music website into a podcast and newsletter-focused platform covering indie, electronic, and alternative music, featuring news, reviews, interviews, and community forums.

Tori Tsui is an environmental activist, author, and climate advisor originally from Hong Kong. She is a senior advisor for the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty and a campaigner for the Stop Rosebank coalition. Her work has been featured in British Vogue, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, and Elle. She lives in Bristol, UK.

Be sure to check out Tori’s new book, It’s Not Just You: How to Navigate Eco-Anxiety and the Climate Crisis, just out from The New Press.

The post The Collective Power of Music w/ Sean Adams appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

On this episode of CounterPunch Radio, Joshua Frank and Erik Wallenberg are joined by Thomas Zeitzoff to talk about his new book, No Option But Sabotage: The Radical Environmental Movement and the Climate Crisis. 

No Option But Sabotage explores how far activists are willing to go to defend the planet in the face of repression and the escalating climate crisis.

Thomas Zeitzoff is a professor in the School of Public Affairs at American University. His research focuses on political violence, social media, and political psychology. He is also the author of Nasty Politics: The Logic of Insults, Threats, and Incitement.

You can find the debate between Murray Bookchin and Dave Foreman discussed in this episode here.

The post No Option But Sabotage w/ Thomas Zeitzoff appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

On this episode of Counterpunch Radio, Rebecca Maria Goldschmidt speaks with Dr. Shahd Abusalama, Palestinian academic, writer, and artist, born and raised in Jabalia Refugee Camp, in northern Gaza. Shahd discusses her book, Between Reality and Documentary: A Historical Representation of Gaza Refugees in Colonial, Humanitarian and Palestinian Documentary Film, published in 2025 by Bloomsbury and SOAS Palestine Studies, and reflects on her recent book and film tour in Japan. Recorded during the opening days of the recent War on Iran, Shahd reflects on the ramifications of the war for Gaza, historical lessons from her time in Hiroshima, and her image of what true liberation could look like for the Palestinian people.

The post An Image of Total Liberation w/ Dr. Shahd Abusalama appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

On this episode of CounterPunch Radio, Erik Wallenberg and Joshua Frank welcome back Ramzy Baroud to discuss his new book, Before the Flood, a profound exploration of Palestinian history and resilience through the personal stories of his family—the al-Badrasawis. Beginning with intimate details of village life in Beit Daras prior to the Nakba. They also talk about the ongoing war in Iran and Israel’s larger strategy for the region.

You can catch Ramzy Baroud on the road this spring and summer.

The post Before the Flood: A Tale From Gaza w/ Ramzy Baroud appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

In this episode of CounterPunch Radio, MV Ramana speaks with Joshua Frank about the lies and misconceptions surrounding a nuclear power revival, atomic energy’s ties to weapons proliferation, and much more. The conversation took place in January at Page Against the Machine bookstore in Long Beach, California.

M. V. Ramana is the Simons Chair in Disarmament, Global and Human Security at the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, University of British Columbia, and the author of Nuclear is Not the Solution with Verso Books.

Joshua Frank is co-editor of CounterPunch and co-host of CounterPunch Radio. He is the author of Atomic Days: The Untold Story of the Most Toxic Place in America, and the forthcoming, Bad Energy: The AI Hucksters, Rogue Lithium Extractors, and Wind Industrialists Who are Selling Off Our Future, both with Haymarket Books.

Sponsored by Pilsen Community Books.

The post Nuclear Madness: MV Ramana in Conversation w/ Joshua Frank appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

Industrial robotics company, FANUC, was the only Japanese company named in the Albanese report on Israel’s “economy of genocide.” This week on CounterPunch Radio, we speak with members of BDS Japan Bulletin and Detroit-based Engineers Against Apartheid to understand the role that FANUC robots play in the production of 155mm shells, one of the primary weapons used in the genocide in Gaza, and the complicated nature of robots as “dual-use” products — with both civilian and military application. BDS Japan discusses automation and how AI fits into Japan’s current right-wing political climate, while EAA addresses the militarization of Michigan’s manufacturing sector and how workers in the automotive industry are organizing against it.

The post Battling Killer Robots w/ BDS Japan Bulletin & Engineers Against Apartheid appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

On this episode of CounterPunch Radio, Eric Draitser talks with Yassamine Mather about the Israel/US war on Iran, its geopolitical ramifications, Iranian resistance, and what it means for the future of the region.

Yassamine Mather is an Iranian scholar and political activist. She is the acting editor of Critique: Journal of Socialist Theory. Her research on Iran is within the framework of the Middle East Centre, University of Oxford, where she works. She is the chair of Hands Off the People of Iran.

The post The Illegal War on Iran w/ Yassamine Mather appeared first on CounterPunch.org.