Hitting Left

Ralph Martire is the Executive Director of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability. We discuss school funding, fair taxation and the use of data in dealing with funding adequacy equity. Can you have equity without adequacy?

The Trauma Show. Author and journalist Mark Miller and University of Chicago professor Dr. Dexter Voisin join us to talk about the personal and institutional impact of trauma: From a Philadelphia Starbucks to Parkland, Florida to the west side of Chicago, how do we respond to trauma? On a individual level some can turn it into positive action. Others become paralyzed. What about the trauma of slavery or of capitalism? This is our topic on today's show.

Progressive political strategist Joanna Klonsky and Cook County Commissioner elect Brandon Johnson join us to talk about union democracy and the Red State Teacher Revolt and progressive politics in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois and the nation.

Author Pat Thomas joins the Klonsky Brothers to talk about his new book on Jerry Rubin. Did it! Yippie to Yuppie. Jerry Rubin, American Revolutionary. Then the brothers talk about schools, strikes and stuff.

Dr. Jeffreen Hayes and Dr. Therese Quinn join us for a conversation about the lack of representation of women and people of color on boards, management and curatorial positions in art museums and museums in general. #MuseumsSoWhite.

We talk about the Tuesday Illinois primary.

Looking back at the 1968 Rainbow Coalition of the Black Panther Party, the Young Lords Organization and Students for a Democratic Society with Chicago leaders of all three organizations.

Jitu Brown is a long-time Chicago community, schools and social justice activist. Several years ago he led a successful hunger strike to prevent Rahm Emanuel's closing of Dyett High School on Chicago's south side. Now he is expanding his work nationally through his Journey for Justice. Kady McFadden, deputy director of Illinois' Sierra Club recently made headlines exposing the culture of sexual assault in Springfield.

The day after International Women's Day. Women led the wildcat strike in West Virginia. We are joined by Lorraine Forte, veteran Chicago African American woman journalist, newly hired to sit on the Chicago Sun-Times editorial board. 

We spend some time talking about the teachers' strike in West Virginia and then it's all Marie Newman. Marie is running against an old blue dog Democrat and current incumbent congressman from the Illinois 3rd District, Dan Lipinski. Dan has never seen a bill defending women's reproductive choice that he likes. He is a son of the old Chicago Democratic Machine, it is time for a change and national attention has focused on this race. And Marie Newman seems to be the new face of the Democratic Party on the south west side of Chicago.