Author Kathryn Bond Stockton argues in her new book Gender(s) that obvious genital distinctions are in reality incomplete. When children are born, it’s like parents “lower a cone over the baby,” imposing an identity without consent and even ignoring other actual layers of a newborn’s fetal biology. Men are dealt a bewildering “ideal of masculinity” which today’s far right is using at the vanguard of the culture war. There is much more depth than merely at the surface. Stockton insists freedom from rigid constraints is challenging but worth it.

A crippling rail strike seems to have been averted. Barely. You and I may think of the railroads as ways to move freight, but as our guest today observes: “The railroad companies have been Wall Street’s plaything throughout their half-century decline.” On this show, the New Republic’s Timothy Noah argues it’s time to nationalize the rails, as is the federal highway system. Both really are public utilities and should be regulated as such.  Listen and learn how the current arrangement has worsened inflation.

In our 300 year old system of an adversarial combative system of justice, there is no mechanism to prove and protect the innocent. In his soon to be published book, The Plea of Innocence, author Tim Bakken argues that prosecution really has a duty to find the guilty party and to actually endeavor to protect the innocent. Far too many innocents today languish in our penitentiaries for far too long, and Bakken offers specific reform to address this.

Reporters used to report, now there’s virtually no line between media and the national security state. Veteran international journalist Patrick Lawrence on this show notes the big change occurred 9/11; since then we have been subject to an information monoculture. Instead of reporting, the story is fit into an official frame, never mind reality.

We all know there are powers determined to destroy democracy. The ubiquity of hand held video cameras has the unique power to disrupt the narrative of power. On this show author Phil Allen talks about his new book The Prophetic Lens; The Camera and Black Moral Agency From MLK to Darnella Frazier. It’s about presenting indisputable testimony against injustice.

It may appear to be a rogue court today but the truth is the Supreme Court has long led the fight against democracy. Our guest today historian Steve Fraser points out that the liberal Warren Court was the real aberration. In case after case, since its beginning, the court has protected moneyed interests and fought any and all regulation. But we are not powerless, Fraser sees reason to hope. Give a listen.

The new book is Imagining the Heartland; White Supremacy and the American Midwest and it’s about the powerful roots of today’s angry violence against The Others. On this show anthropologist authors Britt Halvorson and Joshua Reno look at the use of a mythic narrative of bucolic peaceful home and hearth, how things used to be but really never were. The “real Americans” versus the coastal elites, seeing multiculturalism as an existential threat. If we want to address white supremacy, we need to understand this imaginary foundation.

Politicians of both parties buy into American Exceptionalism. But what does it mean to the planet? On this show professor Aviva Chomsky sheds light on the aspects of exceptionalism we don’t want to see. Instead of a good life just for the top few percent, if we decide to do it, we can have a good life for all within global boundaries. It can be done.

As another school year kicks off, skepticism about quantifying is appropriate. That measure is command and control from the top down bureaucrats. But much of the best results of public education can’t be seen but come from democratizing schools, welcoming input from those who best know what they’re doing. On this show author Josh Beach discusses his new books: Can We Measure What Matters Most, Why Educational Accountability Metrics Lower Student Learning and Demoralize Teachers, and The Myths of Measurement and Meritocracy Why Accountability Metrics in Higher Education are Unfair and Increase Inequality. He says for the best education, teachers need flexibility. It’s another case where more democracy yields better decisions.

Even in safe spaces for gay men, there is subtle racism and stratification if one is not white. On this show, Professor Anthony Ocampo talks about his new book Brown and Gay in LA, including pressures from Mexican and Filipino families of origin on issues such as expectations of masculinity and being a perfect immigrant son. And we look at the unique effects of the Pulse nightclub shooting on the notion of safe spaces. One takeaway is the benefits to all of de-censoring one’s self and the freedom that comes with liberation.