Keeping Democracy Alive with Burt Cohen

Keeping Democracy Alive with Burt Cohen

By Burt CohenSociety & CultureNewsPolitics
Download on the App Store

Keeping Democracy Alive with Burt Cohen episodes

  • Strongmen: From Mussolini to Trump’s Republicans
    It didn’t start with Trump and it won’t end when he leaves office. There is an historic pattern to strongmen and he fit the playbook perfectly.  In her new book, Strongmen From Mussolini to the Present, historian of authoritarian governments Ruth Ben-Ghiat shares the disturbing realities of 21st century authoritarianism. As with all strongmen, Trump’s playing a victim boosts his macho base while serving the real powers, the oligarchs. As with all strongmen, Trump has no doubt his power defines the good of the nation.  Going forward, antidemocratic lawlessness by the powerful will continue. The Republican party is now hard right, and Ben-Ghiat explains why they stick with their man no matter what.  And they have convinced their base that democracy is tyranny.
    1 hr
  • The Danger of Trumpism After Trump
    The threat of deeply dedicated religious nationalists is not about to go away when Trump leaves office. An electoral defeat energizes them. The author of the important book “The Power Worshipers,” Katherine Stewart expounds on her recent NYTimes op-ed, titled “Trump or No Trump, Religious Authoritarianism is Here to Stay.” Their focus has been the courts as a way to circumvent the will of the people. Trump, for this movement, is the perfect leader: kings sent by God aren’t bound by laws. And as with the insistence that Germany’s defeat in the first world war was a fraud, the insistence that the election was stolen will continue to motivate this movement.
    1 hr
  • The Push Biden’s Going to Need
    Ousting Trump is not enough. Getting back to the normalcy of tremendous economic injustice is not enough. With unprecedented wealth owned by a very few, close to 50% of Americans are at the edge of real poverty. Guest is Reverend Liz Theoharis who is co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign, started by Martin Luther King. She says the actual title of his famous I Have Dream speech was “Normalcy Never Again.” Going back to normalcy now is not an option. The mandate of the election was clear, it was the votes of poor people in the key states that made the difference. Now is the time to keep up the push for a stronger, more sustainable economy.
    1 hr
  • 4 Day Work Week: Beneficial Effect of Covid?
    With the pandemic throwing everything up in the air, there are new opportunities for us to shape the way it all lands. Going back to the old “normal” is not the only option. On this show Joe Ryle a leader of the 4 Day movement in the UK, reveals what their research has shown. A four day, 32 hour work week is already yielding better mental health as it increases productivity.  Businesses support it, as more leisure time helps the economy and boosts overall happiness. It reduces our carbon footprints, and it also helps strengthen families, with unpaid but essential work more able to be shared. It can happen on this side of the Atlantic too, if we make it so.
    1 hr
  • Thomas Frank’s New Book On Elitist Anti-Populism: “The People, NO”
    The parties have flipped: It used to be that Republicans were for Wall Street, Democrats were for Main Street. Now the Democrats are seen as the party of the elitists, Republicans are for the common people. On this show Thomas Frank, author of What’s the Matter With Kansas says the causes of the populism of the 1890s, gross economic inequity and concentration of wealth and power, are still relevant. It’s not just about leaders, it’s about mass movements, including labor. After all, WWII heroes were Average Joes, not generals. And while average people agree with liberal positions, they don’t like elitist liberals who think they know better. Why is that and what can be done to address the legitimate grievances, as the party did so effectively under FDR? There are answers.
    1 hr
  • Treason: What Is It Really?
    The word treason has been thrown around a lot lately. By Trump against his detractors and also leveled at Trump for seeking to stage a coup against America. On this show one of the nations leading authorities on the law of treason, law professor and legal historian Carlton Larson sheds light on what is and is not actual treason. When Trump slings it out there, Larson believes he doesn’t know what he’s talking about but does know it inflames and divides. But the law as written in the Constitution is not imprecise. Our founders were careful in their clear intent to protect dissent. And while Trump’s words are not so dangerous, the fact that so many believe his allegations is the real danger to democracy.
    1 hr
  • Ending the Drug War Got More Votes Than Biden or Trump
    It was a momentous election. In blue states and red, voters overwhelmingly passed measures legalizing cannabis and, in Oregon, decriminalizing all drugs. So many people have been hurt, families have been separated, and the drug war has failed miserably to achieve its stated goals. On this show journalist Zachary Siegel shares insights into what is an election bright spot. The interests that opposed these measures were law enforcement protecting their familiar turf, and the addiction treatment industry’s cash cow. Harm reduction won, Oregon following the remarkable success of Portugal which legalized drugs 20 years ago. Siegel points out the racism inherent on the drug war, the arbitrary line between white and black market drugs. And these votes show progressive ideas outperform progressive candidates.
    1 hr
  • After A Right Wing Coup, Social Democracy Makes a Comeback
    As Americans were dancing in the streets with the ousting of Trump, so the people of Bolivia  celebrated the return of Evo Morales, first indigenous president after a coup forced him to flee. The new president is Luis Arce, former economic advisor to Morales. Bolivia is exceptionally poor yet resource rich and for decades the white wealthy minority has ruled over the indigenous majority.  Now in what our guest Patrick Lawrence calls a second Pink Tide in Latin America, Washington’s dominance is threatened by a renewed self-sustaining social democracy where wealth will be shared. And it is replicable. Lawrence reveals something our media never mentioned which was an apparent assassination attempt against the new president. Central and South Americans are weaving a new fabric. What will the new Biden administration do? Lawrence remains dubious.
    1 hr
  • We Beat Trump, Now the Battle for the Soul of the Democratic Party
    Former presidential candidate best selling author Marianne Williamson talks about why Trumpism arose, and what opportunities the Democratic Party now has. Will Biden be yet another neoliberal or will he listen to the very real causes of chronic despair which led to the anger and rage which led to authoritarianism? She worries that Democrats have had the power before but didn’t use it. We certainly can make lives better for Americans. Progressives now must play a crucial role; we delivered the presidency and must now be loud and diligent in order to make the new administration do what’s necessary to markedly improve the lives of Americans who have been left out.
    1 hr
  • What Are Right Wing Men Afraid Of?
    Why the need for dominance and control? Why the huge draw of white working class men to Donald Trump? Does the appeal of violent police somehow make up for a sense of loss of male control over everybody else? On this show Counterpunch author David Rosen and your host dissect the challenges and opportunities for growth of what defines masculinity. How much is nature and what is the role of culture? How can the profound insecurity be better addressed in the 2020s?
    57 min

About Keeping Democracy Alive with Burt Cohen

From the publisher's feed

Keeping democracy alive

More shows like Keeping Democracy Alive with Burt Cohen

Ralph Nader Radio Hour by Ralph Nader

Ralph Nader Radio Hour

1,197 Listeners

The MeidasTouch Podcast by MeidasTouch Network

The MeidasTouch Podcast

50,417 Listeners