EcoJustice Radio

On this show, we feature a conversation with author Stan Cox on his latest book, Anthropause, The Beauty of Degrowth. We also feature commentary on the Degrowth Movement from scholars such as Joan Martinez Alier, Jason Hickel, and Richard Wolff.

When discussing the movement toward Degrowth, we place it into the context of an ecologic reckoning for an ailing planet. Our U.S. war machine and fossil fuel economy led by Israeli-government-influenced politicians are looking to invade Iran with boots on the ground after the bombing campaigns to get the oil and gas flowing again. This is a suicidal campaign led by entimes Christian and Zionist nihilists who pretend this violence-into-quagmire scenario might have some sort of rosy post-apocalyptic outcome.

Yet there is another way that we cannot lose sight of what Henry David Thoreau understood well living under the trees around Walden Pond: voluntary simplicity brings freedom. Frederick Nietzsche once wrote: "Blessed be a modest poverty!” Consider the disasters wrought on us by a sort of dualism that separates humans and nature, man and woman, white and non-white, normal and abnormal.

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How do we go from here-wars for oil and supremacy, climate collapse, massive strife between us and them- to there: retrofitting our cities and suburbs for ecological health and human welfare? Stan Cox, author and retired Ecosphere Studies Fellow from The Land Institute in Salina, Kansas, helps us envision the way.

For an extended interview and other benefits, become an EcoJustice Radio patron at https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio

Resources/Articles:

The Nation: https://thenation.com/article/society/noise-pollution-mental-health

thenation.com/article/environment/degrowth-fossil-fuels-consumption

Tom Dispatch: https://tomdispatch.com/were-racing-down-the-highway-to-a-mad-max-world/

Stan Cox is the author of seven books, including Losing Our Cool: Uncomfortable Truths About Our Air-Conditioned World, Any Way You Slice It: The Past, Present, and Future of Rationing, and most recently, Anthropause: The Beauty of Degrowth, available from Seven Stories Press [https://sevenstories.com/books/4795-anthropause].

Jack Eidt is an urban planner, environmental journalist, and climate organizer, as well as award-winning fiction writer. He is Co-Founder of SoCal 350 Climate Action and Executive Producer of EcoJustice Radio. He writes for a PBS SoCal Artbound project called High & Dry [https://www.pbssocal.org/people/high-dry]. He is also Founder and Publisher of WilderUtopia [https://wilderutopia.com], a website dedicated to the question of Earth sustainability, finding society-level solutions to environmental, community, economic, transportation and energy needs. He also publishes articles and podcasts on Substack [https://jackeidt.substack.com/].

Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/

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Executive Producer and Host: Jack Eidt

Engineer and Original Music: Blake Quake Beats

Episode 282

Photo credit: Stan Cox

The UN has classified at least 40% of the Earth’s land as degraded. That figure is estimated to be somewhere between 1 billion, even up to 6 billion hectares of degraded land. Much if not most of this degradation can be attributed to human activity, particularly that of modern agriculture, its impacts & methodologies. Land degradation affects the physical health of all life, biodiversity, the nutrient cycling of plants, the quality of our air, water and food and our access to them.

World-renowned soil biologist Dr. Elaine Ingham and her Soil Food Web Approach [https://www.soilfoodweb.com/] has successfully been implemented to restore ecological functions of soils on more than five million acres of farmland around the world. Dr. Elaine passed away this February. She joined us in 2022 to share deep insights about how to ensure the continuance of life on this planet by turning to Nature and using biological vs. toxic, chemical approaches to heal and balance soil. By working with beneficial microorganisms that inhabit the soil, we can support Nature in transforming inert, degraded dirt into life-giving soil.

Dr. Elaine Ingham, Founder and President of Soil Food Web Inc. and Director of the Soil Food Web School, has advanced the knowledge about the Soil Food Web for nearly four decades and since has been conducting pioneering research and advocacy empowering ordinary people to bring the soils in their community back to life. Her Soil Food Web Approach has been used to successfully restore and regenerate the ecological functions of soils on six continents. The Soil Food Web School’s curriculum was designed to be accessible to individuals who wish to train and embark on a meaningful and impactful career that will help ensure the survival of all life.

Carry Kim, Co-Host of EcoJustice Radio. An advocate for ecosystem restoration, indigenous lifeways, and a new humanity born of connection and compassion, she is a long-time volunteer for SoCal350, member of Ecosystem Restoration Camps, and a co-founder of the Soil Sponge Collective, a grassroots community organization dedicated to big and small scale regeneration of Mother Earth.

For an extended version of this interview and other benefits, become an EcoJustice Radio patron at https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio

Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/

Podcast Blog: https://www.wilderutopia.com/category/ecojustice-radio/

Support the Podcast: https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio

Hosted by Carry Kim

Intros by Jessica Aldridge and Jack Eidt

Engineer and Original Music: Blake Quake Beats

Executive Producer: Jack Eidt

Episode 142

On this show we feature the late writer and activist Mike Davis, who dabbled as an “urban historian,” who took on geography, politics, economics, sociology and literature. His focus was the dislocation and separation brought on by capitalist society: people from land, work from ownership, individuals from each other, all in the service of profit. And he showed how this dislocation resulted in climate, environmental, and social disasters. His solution was communities connecting together and to the land. Mike Davis was a true intellectual visionary, who was down to get into the streets and walk his talk.

I met Mike Davis as a graduate student when he taught at UCLA in the School of Architecture and Urban Planning. At the time, he was writing his incendiary and prophetic shadowing of the social and environmental calamities that the city of Los Angeles, and our world at large, continues to face.

We begin with an introduction of Mike Davis and will come back to a question and answer by Vijay Prashad, an Indian Marxist historian and commentator. This is from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst History Department Feinberg Lecture Series from 2020.

We also feature a lecture by Mike Davis about his book Planet of Slums, which investigates the increasing inequality of the urban world. According to the U.N., more than one billion people now live in extreme poverty in mega-cities facing environmental and social collapse from perpetual and worsening climate disruptions. Mike Davis explores the meaning and the future of this radically unequal and unstable urban world.

The Planet of Slums lecture comes from a talk given at Rhodes College in Memphis, TN, in 2015.

For an extended interview and other benefits, become an EcoJustice Radio patron at https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio

Mike Davis, [https://www.versobooks.com/blogs/news/5214-the-works-of-mike-davis] who passed away in 2022, was a writer, political activist, urban theorist, and historian based in Southern California. Once a meat cutter and a truck driver, he was Professor Emeritus at University of California, Riverside, a Macarthur Fellow, and the author of more than 20 books. He is best known for his investigations of power and social class in works such as City of Quartz: Excavating the Future in Los Angeles (1990) and Late Victorian Holocausts (2001).

Jack Eidt is an urban planner, environmental journalist, and climate organizer, as well as award-winning fiction writer. He is Co-Founder of SoCal 350 Climate Action and Executive Producer of EcoJustice Radio. He writes for a PBS SoCal Artbound project called High & Dry [https://www.pbssocal.org/people/high-dry]. He is also Founder and Publisher of WilderUtopia [https://wilderutopia.com], a website dedicated to the question of Earth sustainability, finding society-level solutions to environmental, community, economic, transportation and energy needs. He also publishes articles and podcasts on Substack [https://jackeidt.substack.com/].

MORE INFO

https://www.perennialroots.com/media

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Executive Producer and Intro: Jack Eidt

Engineer and Original Music: Blake Quake Beats

Episode 171

Photo credit: Annie Wells, LA Times

In this episode, we confront the alarming escalation of conflict in Iran and the potential implications for global stability, with insights from Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs. We also hear from Alon Mizrahi, a conversation between Tucker Carlson and Brandon Weichert, as well as some humorous clips to lighten the harsh realities.

We discuss the threat of nuclear escalation in the context of military actions and the catastrophic consequences of elite decision-making on international relations. Tune in as we explore the realities on the ground, the role of the U.S. in foreign conflicts, and the pressing need for a new approach to diplomacy and sustainability.

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Professor Sachs on the Glenn Diesen podcast offers a critical analysis of the situation, asserting that we are indeed in the early days of World War III. He highlights the confusion and unpredictability surrounding U.S. foreign policy, particularly under the current administration, and warns of the dangers posed by unchecked military aggression. Sachs argues that the U.S. has historically operated with a mindset of global hegemony, often at the expense of international law and the principles of cooperation that the United Nations was founded upon.

For an extended interview and other benefits, become an EcoJustice Radio patron at https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio

Resources/Articles:

Commentary from Alon Mizrahi https://alonmizrahi.substack.com/

Jeffrey Sach’s interview from Glenn Diesen’s podcast: https://glenndiesen.substack.com/

Excerpt from Tucker Carlson’s interview [https://youtu.be/gHrFcBeB7Lw?si=Jal52YYzzVu9MBoS] of Brandon Weichert https://nationalinterest.org/profile/brandon-j-weichert

Jeffrey D. Sachs [https://jeffsachs.org/] is a U.S. economist and public policy analyst. He is a professor at Columbia University, where he was formerly director of The Earth Institute, and is director of the Center for Sustainable Development at the university. From 2002 to 2018, Sachs was special adviser to the UN Secretary-General. He has been president of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. Sachs is co-founder and chief strategist of Millennium Promise Alliance, a nonprofit organization dedicated to ending extreme poverty and hunger. Sachs has written many books and received several awards. His views on economics, on the origin of COVID-19, and on the Russian invasion of Ukraine have garnered attention and criticism.

Jack Eidt is an urban planner, environmental journalist, and climate organizer, as well as award-winning fiction writer. He is Co-Founder of SoCal 350 Climate Action and Executive Producer of EcoJustice Radio. He writes for a PBS SoCal Artbound project called High & Dry [https://www.pbssocal.org/people/high-dry]. He is also Founder and Publisher of WilderUtopia [https://wilderutopia.com], a website dedicated to the question of Earth sustainability, finding society-level solutions to environmental, community, economic, transportation and energy needs. Follow him on Substack [https://jackeidt.substack.com/].

Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/

Podcast Blog: https://www.wilderutopia.com/category/ecojustice-radio/

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Executive Producer and Host: Jack Eidt

Engineer and Original Music: Blake Quake Beats

Episode 281

Photo credit: designaire on pixabay

Glyphosate is a common ingredient in herbicides, including Bayer/Monsanto's infamous weedkiller: Round Up. The latter is one of the world's most widely used herbicides with various applications including: weed control in agriculture, vegetation control, as a crop desiccant, in consumer home gardens and lawns, and in massive aerial sprayings to control illegal crops. It is also used extensively in home gardens and lawns, landscape, ornamental nursery, forestry, roadside and turf management.

Join Kelly Ryerson as she reveals truths about glyphosate, advocated by Trump and RFK Jr in a recent Executive Order. She tells us what we need to do about it, and how we can create the better world we seek. While glyphosate continues to be a planetary health emergency, we as a collective, can catalyze change by making informed consumer choices and advocating against chemical products and farming practices that cause irreparable harm. While several plaintiffs have recently succeeded in winning massive verdicts in court, to redress harms they suffered from Roundup, it will take many more of us to fully eradicate not only Glyphosate, but all toxic chemicals for the sake of planetary health.

For an extended interview and other benefits, become an EcoJustice Radio patron at https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio

Kelly Ryerson, Founder of Glyphosate Facts [http://www.glyphosatefacts.com], works at the intersection of agriculture, nutrition and health as a writer, speaker, and policy consultant. She started the news site Glyphosate Facts as an educational resource to help spread awareness of the health impacts of chemical agriculture. She has a BA from Dartmouth College and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Carry Kim, Co-Host of EcoJustice Radio. An advocate for ecosystem restoration, indigenous lifeways, and a new humanity born of connection and compassion, she is a long-time volunteer for SoCal350, member of Ecosystem Restoration Camps, and a co-founder of the Soil Sponge Collective, a grassroots community organization dedicated to big and small scale regeneration of Mother Earth.

Jack Eidt is an urban planner, environmental journalist, and climate organizer, as well as award-winning fiction writer. He is Co-Founder of SoCal 350 Climate Action and Executive Producer of EcoJustice Radio. He writes for a PBS SoCal Artbound project called High & Dry [https://www.pbssocal.org/people/high-dry]. He is also Founder and Publisher of WilderUtopia [https://wilderutopia.com], a website dedicated to the question of Earth sustainability, finding society-level solutions to environmental, community, economic, transportation and energy needs. He publishes articles and podcasts on Substack [https://jackeidt.substack.com/].

Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/

Podcast Blog: https://www.wilderutopia.com/category/ecojustice-radio/

Support the Podcast: https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio

Executive Producer and Co-Host: Jack Eidt

Hosted by Carry Kim

Intro By: Jessica Aldridge

Engineer and Original Music: Blake Quake Beats

Episode 280

In this episode We hear about the potential of local and global water restoration from Zach Weiss, inspired founder of Water Stories, a learning, training, and action platform focused entirely on Water Cycle Restoration. A globally renowned Water Cycle practitioner, Zach continues to activate thousands of people around the globe to restore the health of watersheds and ecosystems, while ensuring water security and true wealth in their own communities. Water is the prime mover of life and we each bear responsibility for its continuance in order to heal ourselves and our living relatives on the planet.

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Decentralized water retention is both quietly and radically transforming desertified, urbanized and degraded landscapes, ushering in fertility and abundance, restoring peace and the livelihoods of numerous communities worldwide. Indigenous peoples have traditionally regarded water as sacred, safeguarding it as the precious inheritance of life. We would do well to remember our ancestral, original connections to water and how, if we respect and protect it, we can collectively change the world.

Water regulates 70-95% of the heat dynamics of planet earth, yet it is virtually non-existent in climate change conversations. Over the past 10,000 years human activity has desertified ⅓ of earth’s land, causing catastrophic consequences, water and food scarcity, displacement of peoples, and created repeated cycles of severe flood, drought, and fire - otherwise known as the Watershed Death Spiral. All of this is not only preventable, but reversible if we work with water and recognize this as the ultimate calling of our times. Work for water and the world changes.

Decentralized Water Retention delivers meaningful results after the first rainy season. People around the world are learning how to quickly create real substantive change for the health of their landscapes and communities - by working for water.

For an extended interview and other benefits, become an EcoJustice Radio patron at https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio

RESOURCES

https://www.waterstories.com/water-cycle-restoration

Zach Weiss is a Water Cycle Restoration Practitioner and Founder of Water Stories. Over the past decade Zach has implemented Decentralized Water Retention in more than 25 different countries on six continents, spanning a wide range of climates, contexts, land-forms and ecosystems. After more than a decade of experience, Zach created www.WaterStories.com [http://www.waterstories.com/] to bring these approaches and solutions to people around the world.

Carry Kim, Co-Host of EcoJustice Radio. An advocate for ecosystem restoration, Indigenous lifeways, and a new humanity born of connection and compassion, she is a long-time volunteer for SoCal350, member of Ecosystem Restoration Camps, and a co-founder of the Soil Sponge Collective, a grassroots community organization dedicated to big and small scale regeneration of Mother Earth.

Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/

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Executive Producer and Intro: Jack Eidt

Hosted by Carry Kim

Engineer and Original Music: Blake Quake Beats

In this episode, we share a panoply of voices speaking out about the dangers of AI - Artificial Intelligence - and this insane boom in water-and-power-hungry data centers throughout the U.S. We engage with Steven J. Kung, an advocate against the construction of a massive data center in Monterey Park, California. Steven, a writer and director, shares his insights on the environmental implications, air pollution, blight, industrializing the landscape, in addition to the excessive water consumption and energy demands.

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We also hear from Stanford professor and renewable energy expert Mark Jacobson, who discusses sustainable alternatives for powering data centers. Tech journalist Paris Marx weighs in from the 2025 Bioneers Conference on the social and political implications of this data center bubble economy. For some positive news, legislators in New York introduced the strongest data center moratorium proposal thus far [https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/06/new-york-democrats-propose-sweeping-pause-on-data-center-construction-00768090]. The bill would pause data center construction for three years while appropriate regulations are drafted. Moreover, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders suggests a national moratorium on this data center building boom. Join us as we explore the grassroots movement to protect local communities and the fight for environmental justice.

For an extended interview and other benefits, become an EcoJustice Radio patron at https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio

Resources/Articles:

True Cost of AI with Paris Marx - Bioneers: https://bioneers.org/the-true-cost-of-ai-water-energy-and-a-warming-planet-ztvz2507/

Stopping a Data Center in Monterey Park

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/07/california-monterey-park-stop-datacenter-construction

Steven J. Kung is a proud Chinese American resident of Monterey Park who lives 1,300 feet from the proposed data center site. He is a writer-director who co-founded the grassroots activist group No Data Center Monterey Park [https://www.nodatacentermpk.org/].

Jack Eidt is an urban planner, environmental journalist, and climate organizer, as well as award-winning fiction writer. He is Co-Founder of SoCal 350 Climate Action and Executive Producer of EcoJustice Radio. He writes for a PBS SoCal Artbound project called High & Dry [https://www.pbssocal.org/people/high-dry]. He is also Founder and Publisher of WilderUtopia [https://wilderutopia.com], a website dedicated to the question of Earth sustainability, finding society-level solutions to environmental, community, economic, transportation and energy needs.

Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/

Podcast Blog: https://www.wilderutopia.com/category/ecojustice-radio/

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Executive Producer and Host: Jack Eidt

Engineer and Original Music: Blake Quake Beats

Episode 278

In this episode, we share multiple presentations given by Paul Stamets, a leading mycologist and advocate for the medicinal use of fungi. He delves into the transformative potential of psychedelics, mycology, and their implications for healing and environmental restoration. Paul shares insights from his extensive research and experiences, including his work on the documentary Fantastic Fungi and his passion for uncovering the intelligence of nature through mushrooms. He discusses the remarkable capabilities of various fungi, from their medicinal properties to their role in ecological balance, and highlights the urgent need for a paradigm shift in our understanding and use of these powerful organisms.

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And psychedelics have entered the zeitgeist. Although illegal as a Schedule I drug in much of the United States and beyond, two states have approved use of psilocybin mushrooms in therapeutic settings, and many more states are reviewing their policies. Schedule I drugs are defined as drugs with a high potential for abuse or drugs with no recognized medical uses. However, psilocybin mushrooms have had numerous medicinal and religious uses in dozens of cultures throughout history and let's face it, mushrooms are not addictive. Paul Stamets is one of the leading advocates worldwide for opening up the possibility of legalizing.

Paul introduces listeners to several key mushroom species, and beyond psychedelics they have important medical and therapeutic uses in treatment of diseases. He emphasizes the importance of integrating Indigenous knowledge with modern science, revealing how traditional practices can inform and enhance our approach to health and wellness. With a focus on the potential of psilocybin mushrooms to address mental health challenges and promote community healing, Paul inspires hope for a future where fungi play a crucial role in both personal and planetary health.

For an extended interview and other benefits, become an EcoJustice Radio patron at https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio

Sources:

Fantastic Fungi Trailer 2019 https://youtu.be/IHvjfoWzWOw?si=ncAOxYSxQk8C5ZAN

Paul Stamets at TEDMED 2011 https://youtu.be/pXHDoROh2hA

Paul Stamets on the Future of Psychedelics, Mycology & Medicine | NextMed Health: https://youtu.be/Ztan0IYjUd0?si=4s5e5-F8SrRdE1X0

Paul Stamets [https://paulstamets.com/] is an award-winning mycologist, entrepreneur, and industry leader in fungi production, habitat, and medicinal use. He is an author of seven books and advocates on medicinal fungi and mycormediation for ecological restoration and detoxification of the environment. Stamets played a significant part in the 2019 documentary film Fantastic Fungi, and edited its official companion book, Fantastic Fungi: Expanding Consciousness, Alternative Healing, Environmental Impact.

Jack Eidt is an urban planner, environmental journalist, and climate organizer, as well as award-winning fiction writer. He is Co-Founder of SoCal 350 Climate Action and Executive Producer of EcoJustice Radio. He writes a column on PBS SoCal called High & Dry [https://www.pbssocal.org/people/high-dry]. He is also Founder and Publisher of WilderUtopia [https://wilderutopia.com], a website dedicated to the question of Earth sustainability, finding society-level solutions to environmental, community, economic, transportation and energy needs.

Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/

Podcast Blog: https://www.wilderutopia.com/category/ecojustice-radio/

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Executive Producer and Host: Jack Eidt

Engineer and Original Music: Blake Quake Beats

Episode 259

Photo credit: HavnLife/Paul Stamets

In this episode, we are joined by Don David Wiley, a renowned teacher and elder who advocates in alignment with two living traditions, the Huichol (Wixarika) and Nahua of Mexico. He shares his profound insights on humanity's original relationship with the living forces of Nature, sacred fire, and weather beings. Through his teachings, we explore the importance of restoring the concept of sacred reciprocity, the role of ceremony, and the need for healing the planet by honoring our connection with the powerful forces of Nature. Join us as we navigate the complexities of tradition, modernity, and the wisdom of our ancestors in a quest to live harmoniously with the world around us.

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Ancient traditions, ancestral wisdom, and sacred relationships with nature and spirit can guide humanity's return to a more integrated, respectful and balanced way of life. In 1996, Don David Wiley’s life was profoundly altered when who would later come to be recognized as the Spirit of Fire, often called Grandfather Fire, appeared before him as an apparition in the garden of a meditation retreat center near Cuernavaca, Mexico. Grandfather sent David to study with two Indigenous elders, Don Lupe Ríos Gonzales of the Wixárika (Huichol) tradition of Mexico’s Sierra Madres and Don Lucio Campos Elizalde of the Nahua tradition of the central highlands in formal medicine and ceremonial apprenticeships in these two ancestrally related Indigenous paths. As a result, David received an initiation as a mara’akame – or a shamanic healer, counselor, and ceremonial leader in the Huichol tradition. He was also initiated as a quiapaquiz (caller of the sky-waters, in Nahuatl) or granicero – or weather worker in Spanish, ceremonial leader, and healer from the Nahua path.

For an extended interview and other benefits, become an EcoJustice Radio patron at https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio

Don David Wiley [https://keepsthefire.org/] is a renowned teacher, elder, and one of the founders of the Sacred Fire global network of initiated firekeepers. He is well-known in traditional circles as one who lends his body as a human vessel to be the “god-speaker man” for Grandfather Fire. He is a healer, ceremonialist, and ritual leader in two ancestrally related Indigenous traditions from Mexico—the Wixárika mara’akame tradition and the Nahua path of weather working and healing. Devoted to the guidance of Spirit, he offers support and teachings to help people reconnect with heart, life, nature, and Divine through ceremony, awareness, and meaningful relationships.

Over the years, Grandfather Fire inspired Don David and the community growing around Grandfather’s wisdom to spread traditional lifeways worldwide through nonprofits – Sacred Fire [https://sacredfire.org/], which trains Sacred Firekeepers and hosts events, Grupo Tatewarí - Wixárika (Huichol) Tradition. Don David Wiley is part of the Elder Council and the main teacher for the group [https://www.traditionalshamanichealing.org/], and the Granicero website for the Nahua Tradition weather workers [https://www.weatherwork.org/].

Carry Kim, Co-Host of EcoJustice Radio. An advocate for ecosystem restoration, Indigenous lifeways, and a new humanity born of connection and compassion, she is a long-time volunteer for SoCal350, member of Ecosystem Restoration Camps, and a co-founder of the Soil Sponge Collective, a grassroots community organization dedicated to big and small scale regeneration of Mother Earth.

Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/

Podcast Blog: https://www.wilderutopia.com/category/ecojustice-radio/

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Executive Producer and Intro: Jack Eidt

Hosted by Carry Kim

Engineer and Original Music: Blake Quake Beats

Episode 277

In this episode, we feature Michael Parenti, who passed away this week at the age of 92. A prominent political scientist and cultural critic, he delivers a powerful lecture at the University of Colorado Boulder from 1986. Parenti discusses the intricacies of US interventionism, the dynamics of capitalism, and the historical exploitation of the developing world. He challenges conventional narratives about poverty in the Global South, asserting that these nations are not poor but rather over-exploited. Join us as we unpack his insightful analysis of imperialism, capitalism, and the ongoing struggles for social justice that our oligarchs and their political class have not seemed to learn the lessons from 40 years ago, as the stature of the U.S. erodes daily on the world stage, supporting endless war in Ukraine and Palestine, disastrous trade policies, and ongoing hegemonic and regime change operations in multiple countries.

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Born to a working class Italian American family in New York City, he earned his doctorate at Yale and taught political science despite being blacklisted for his political views. We re-air this Yellow lecture - referring to the poor 1980s video quality – because after the U.S war machine goes after Venezuela, Greenland, Iran, Cuba, Nicaragua, Colombia, who’s next, this desire for hegemonic control from this failing empire will not stop until we all step up and make it stop. And this Imperial Boomerang, what Chalmers Johnson called Blowback, it’s hitting us in Minnesota, on the streets here in Los Angeles all the way to Maine. The violent methods to control and subdue smaller weaker countries, disappearing intellectuals, activists, political leaders Like I saw in Guatemala in the 90s; where activists are unalived without any fear of accountability. Minneapolis. We did it to Vietnam, we did it in Iraq, now we’re doing it in…where next?

For an extended interview and other benefits, become an EcoJustice Radio patron at https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio

Sources:

Michael Parenti speaks at the University of Colorado, Boulder: "US interventionism, the 3rd world, and the USSR" April 15, 1986

Yellow Lecture:

https://youtu.be/W10QEs-TkhU?si=ZP_D5JNOWpJ_xvuC

Michael Parenti Library:

https://www.youtube.com/@themichaelparentilibrary/videos

Michael Parenti [https://www.michael-parenti.org/] is a U.S. political scientist, academic historian and cultural critic who writes on scholarly and popular subjects. He is the award-winning author of twenty-four books, including The Face of Imperialism (2011) and Democracy for the Few originally written in 1974 with a 9th edition published in 2010: He has taught at universities and has also run for political office. Parenti is well known for his Marxist writings and lectures, and is an intellectual of the U.S. Left.

Jack Eidt is an urban planner, environmental journalist, and climate organizer, as well as award-winning fiction writer. He is Co-Founder of SoCal 350 Climate Action and Executive Producer of EcoJustice Radio. He writes for an Artbound project on PBS SoCal called High & Dry [https://www.pbssocal.org/people/high-dry]. He is also Founder and Publisher of WilderUtopia [https://wilderutopia.com], a website dedicated to the question of Earth sustainability, finding society-level solutions to environmental, community, economic, transportation and energy needs.

Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/

Podcast Blog: https://www.wilderutopia.com/category/ecojustice-radio/

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Executive Producer and Host: Jack Eidt

Engineer and Original Music: Blake Quake Beats

Episode 259

Photo credit: Michael Parenti