Is it heresy to support a cease fire; can we both support Ukraine and diplomacy? Our guest on this informative show wonders if the Biden Administration is “trapped in its own stifling, peace-averse domestic political climate.” Jacobin Magazine staff writer Branko Marcetic argues there can be a security architecture put in place for Ukraine in a cease fire and that world opinion is needed to bring that about.

It’s a puzzling mystery why so many working class people in the midwest go for Trumpism. Some answers are in Imagining the Heartland; White Supremacy and the American Midwest  by anthropologist authors Britt Halvorson and Joshua Renoit. It examines the roots of today’s angry violence against The Others. They find a motivating mythic narrative of bucolic peaceful home and hearth, how things used to be but really never were. The “real Americans” versus the coastal elites; multiculturalism as an existential threat. We need to understand this foundation to have any hope of addressing white supremacy. Give a listen.

It was a crime to even be a member of the “One Big Union.” But even Helen Keller was a member of the IWW, the Industrial Workers of the World. On this show, Ahmed White talks about his new book Under the Iron Heel: The Wobblies and the Capitalist War on Radical Workers. Does “Iron Heel” sound like America? It was author and supporter Jack London who popularized the term. Though crushed by the government, the courage and solidarity of the IWW deserves to be better known as we seek a better world. It’s quite a story.

“Nothing in this story makes sense,” but it’s all too real. So says today’s guest Jordan S Rubin whose new book is titled Bizarro: The Surreal Saga of America’s Secret War on Synthetic Drugs and the Florida Kingpins It Captured. Stranger than fiction, two men who scrupulously played by the rules, even consulting with the DEA, now sit behind bars, and for decades. Bizarre yet real. And frightening.

The pressure to prevent active curiosity is a serious threat to democracy. Our guests today are authors Perry Zurin and Dani Bassett whose new book is Curious Minds, The Power of Connection. The push is on by the Trumpist right to prevent gathering of information. That threatens their power and control, because knowledge can lead to a network of interconnections. Questioning and curiosity is essential to being human. Why does that threaten the right? There is reason for optimism, though. Give a listen.

From a vaunted Latin American “pink wave,” Colombia’s new president Gustavo Petro and vice president Francia Marquez realized that even with socialised profits, more extraction does not equal more wealth. In fact as the Insitute for Policy Studies’ John Feffer explains on this podcast, not only is more fossil fuel not sustainable, but a bold new green direction will yield far greater benefits. And it is actually realistic. Give a listen.

India enjoys a greatly romanticized image; you may think of Gandhi or the Beatles visit there. The reality  is open repression and violence against the large Muslim minority.   Prime Minister Narendra Modi will soon visit America and his Hindu nationalism is not hidden, the bulldozer being the symbol of the Hindu nationalist party in power. On this show, Zahir Janmohamed paints the true picture of today’s India. Since they don’t threaten US interests, no one thinks of India. But do we really want to do business with them?

Bush’s lies gave Trump moral scaffolding; today Americans believe big lies. On this show Thanassis Cambanis, a reporter who was in Iraq at the invasion, details the harm Bush and Cheney did to America. Even Russia gained power from our seriously diminished credibility.

We may accept today’s economic system as just part of the natural order; but in truth capitalism started with overt violence. Centuries later it has morphed into what our guest calls Mute Compulsion. And now here we are, faced with a possible loss of the planet’s ability to sustain life. On this show Pete Dolack combines a history lesson with clear economics. And offers timely, realistic alternatives.

Fun attracts people but let’s face it: environmentalists tend to be a dour bunch. Saving the planet is after all serious stuff. Average working people can get turned off. But what about dark comedy? We’ve seen where it works. On this show history professor Aaron Sachs talks about his new book STAY COOL: Why Dark Comedy Matters in the Fight Against Climate Change. Creatively mocking them is a uniquely powerful weapon against polluters. Listen in, you may be surprised and encouraged.