Keeping Democracy Alive with Burt Cohen

Keeping Democracy Alive with Burt Cohen

By Burt CohenSociety & CultureNewsPolitics
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Keeping Democracy Alive with Burt Cohen episodes

  • Sexual Assault in the Military: Foxes Guarding the Henhouse
    Women in the military know they are more likely to be attacked by men of their own company than by an enemy. It’s been a long tradition that reports of sexual abuse are crushed. Commanders protecting their own reputation takes precedence over doing justice, catching and punishing perpetrators. The recent murder on Ft.Hood Texas of 20 year old Vanessa Guillen shocked the system and now there is action in the senate. Democrat Gillibrand and Republican Ernst have cosponsored what our guest Andrea Mazzarino applauds though recognizing it is still quite timid. Perhaps justice in the isolated realm of the military should more closely resemble justice in the civilian world on such serious matters. Mazzarino says there is reason for hope if we pressure our congress.
    57 min
  • The Power of Resentment and The Threat to Democracy
    Is it the revenge of the “deplorables?” We’ve seen how a culture of resentment affected Germany in the early 30s, and it has brought us dangerous Trumpism today. On this show, professor of history emeritus Walter Moss looks at the resentments of the “bitter heartland,” why it is that way, and how they feel they’ve lost something they have a right to. The resentment in Germany was against certain “outside” groups, in America today it’s against educated coastal elites, feminists, the LGBTQ community, and people of color. So what can be done; logic and reason don’t succeed, so what does? Give a listen.
    1 hr
  • Supreme Court Case Threatens Roe, But It’s Not Over
    When Roe v Wade was decided in 1973, many thought the matter was settled. Nearly 50 years later, the new Supreme Court agreed to hear a case that could overturn that landmark decision. On this show abortion law historian professor Mary Ziegler reveals the likely legal issues; fetal viability, rights of personhood, and the weight of legal precedent. Attacking reproductive rights is but one of the means used by Trumpists to replace democracy with religious nationalism. But Ziegler notes the court can not permanently resolve this issue; people are not powerless despite the end run around democracy.
    1 hr
  • People Refusing to be Erased
    The world sees the “flare up” but not the ongoing banal policies that are at cause. The State of Israel is copying the successful “settling” of the American west, so what options for resistance are open to Palestinians being evicted, living in an open air prison “unbearable by design,” mere subjects and not citizens, No one is justifying the indiscriminate Hamas rocket attacks but there is no moral equivalency. On this show US Army retired Major Danny Sjursen explains the futility for Israel and the United States. Most Americans are stuck in an older view of Israel; time to catch up. BLM and PLM.
    1 hr
  • America’s Altar of Guns Explained
    What explains the worship of guns in America? It’s long been a mystery to many. Historian Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz says guns have always been central to the insistent belief that God gave America to white Christian males. America’s first industry was guns, the Springfield armory under George Washington. Western states were specifically for whites only. Guns to kill buffalo starved the indigenous population. And January 6th was just one example of a cult of the second amendment. The film “Birth of a Nation” created the myth of black men raping “our women,” white men to the rescue. And the key person in the rise of the NRA as a racist political power is the unknown but important Harlon Carter. Listen in an learn why she explains why gun control legislation can’t touch the fervent belief.
    1 hr
  • Free College: We Are Getting There. Really.
    Grades 1 through 12 education may have been adequate to the 20th century. But not anymore. With emerging technology and a global economy, at least a two year community college degree is essential for America’s common good. On this show Michelle Miller-Adams, senior researcher at the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research talks about her new book The Path to Free College: In Pursuit of Access, Equity, and Prosperity. She explains how free college is truly realistic now, and the importance of college debt relief which is dragging our economy down. Businesses and Republicans are actually buying in.
    1 hr
  • Peace Was On The Floor in 1916-17, but Wilson Failed to Pick It Up
    So many awful 20th century roads lead back to the First World War. And despite conventional wisdom, there could have been peace two years before it came to an official (but not really) end. Through a process of detective work, author Philip Zelikow discovered a secret effort by the Germans to bring the war to an end. It required Woodrow Wilson to call a peace conference, which the president wanted to do but fumbled. The important new book is The Road Less Traveled; The Secret Battle to End the Great War 1916-1917. Unlike other speculative histories, peace was visible at the time. An unknown but true hero is German Chancellor Bethmann who sought to bring an end to the industrialized slaughter. Meanwhile Wilson’s self-serving Edward House was the opposite. Fascinating and important revelations.
    1 hr
  • To Stop Northward Migration, Address the Causes
    “Crisis at the Border.” The truth is: unless we get to the root of how bad it has to be to force people to leave home, the refugees will keep coming. On this show political anthropology professor David Vine reveals what Central Americans know all too well: America has invaded them again and again for over 200 years. Some Americans and Central American oligarchs have made out quite well, but the US has not been a liberator spreading democracy. The Mexican American War was 175 years ago and America gained massive and fertile land, prime real estate to spawn the myth of cowboys. The poverty and violence is not all America’s fault but Vine argues we must reduce the reasons they flee. A new Marshall Plan may be what’s needed to enable refugees to remain home.
    1 hr 1 min
  • The Remarkable Success of MayDay 1971
    Traditional liberals argued we’d alienate some by civil disobedience in the streets of Washington. The idea was to stop the center of the war machine to stop the war, which went on an on despite marches and speeches and everyone then going home. On the first part of this show your host begs your indulgence as I read from a journal of my participation and (illegal) arrest 50 years ago. And on part two MayDay organizer Jay Craven discusses the unique effectiveness of that action. It was a big influence on actions for the next decades. And Jay reminds listeners Ho Chi Minh fought for the Americans and expected our support. The war did not need to happen.
    1 hr
  • The Biggest, Least Human Power in America: Amazon
    The dehumanized Amazon warehouse as pictured in the movie Nomadland is more benign than reality. There is an “existential bleakness” where every instant is being watched, humans serve robots, and one can be fired by algorithm. In his powerful new book: Fulfillment, Winning and Losing in One-Click America, ProPublica reporter Alec MacGillis paints a picture of a company which overshadows American government. Amazon demands subsidies and takes over cities where they locate facilities from Seattle to Washington. With knowledge about Amazon, CEO Bezos’ stranglehold on the country can be broken.
    58 min

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