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

  • The Science of Both Racism and Social Change
    As it did in the 1920s with the Scopes Trial, the American right hates science. It presents them with truths they need to deny. Clearly on climate change but also when it comes to enabling the social change needed to understand racism. In his new book Race and Social Change: a Quest, a Study, a Call to Action, author Max Klau looks into scientific research examining individual behavior within systems. His research uncovered some surprises, such as more structure yielding more creativity. Understanding what systems and institutions motivate racism can also lead to understanding ways out. No wonder the right hates science.
    1 hr
  • Workplaces: More Danger Than Terrorist Attacks
    One of the things Trump has finally accomplished for the economy is shedding needless regulations which hold back business. Or at least that what many believe. Of course it’s not true. Health and Safety regulations build economic strength, according to author Jonathan D Karmel whose new book is Dying to Work: Death and Injury in the American Workplace. And it’s not just the poster-children for workplace deaths and injury: miners, construction workers, petroleum workers. From grocery stores to hotel workers, there are easily preventable incidents. We pay trillions to fight terrorism, yet there are many times more work place deaths which we ignore. It’s not the latest shiny object but there are those intent on cutting back OSHA regulations (passed under Nixon in 1970), falsely claiming regulations are job killers. You can guess the players.
    1 hr
  • Fueling The Backfire: Our Everywhere War on Terror
    Always out of the headlines, on purpose, America’s military footprint truly spands the globe. And how well is our nearly 18 year old “war on terror” going? Is it working? After what she calls a “research odyssey” Stephanie Savell of CostsofWar created a map for Smithsonian magazine, showing there are 80 countries involved in the US war on terrorism, including 7 that are sites of air and drone strikes, 14 that see direct combat by American troops against militant targets, and other sites of military exercises, bases, and training/assistance to military, police, and other ill-defined security forces. Often in places like Africa and South America, what is labeled terrorist is really internal dissidents. Savell calculated the cost to US taxpayers as $5.9 trillion, all of it borrowed money, meaning another $8 trillion paid in interest. Perhaps actually addressing the grievances might yield better results in terms of stopping terror attacks.
     
    1 hr
  • Liberal Justin Trudeau: In the Pocket of Big Oil?
    How many of us have looked longingly at our neighbor to the north with it’s sane liberal government? Justin Trudeau promised a fresh approach to politics based on openness, decency, and liberalism. Now corruption scandals swirl about him and his ties to unsavory characters like Brazil’s new dictator Bolsonaro erode his power. In an article titled Bolsonaro, Trudeau et al: Exterminators in Chief, Canadian author Judith Deutsch points to the continued power of oil interests and resource extraction over serious concerns about environmental and social degradation. And the very definition of “liberalism” must be considered for our future. Luckily there is political energy brewing in Canada to make real changes.
    1 hr
  • We Are At War With China
    It’s not a shooting war. Not yet anyway. But already begun is a 21st century version of war. And the fate of the earth is at stake. As both the US and China pour hundreds of billions into this intense struggle for dominance and “Even if their present slow-burn conflict may not produce the immediate devastation of a conventional hot war, its long-term consequences could prove no less dire.” This according to our guest Michael Klare five-college professor emeritus of peace and world security studies, who writes for The Nation and TomDispatch. We’ve already seen muscle flexing in the China Sea and the Pentagon has a strategy of “Overmatch,” meaning there is no option but US domination over China. No doubt they feel the same. A standoff of bullies? Of course there are other options.
    59 min
  • The Decline of American Power: What’s Next?
    Announced with boundless optimism in 1941, “the American Century” is nearing its end. Since WWII, America has taken over from Britain as the leading empire.  So what caused our decline, what must we learn, and what about America may survive and actually thrive in the next phase? Acclaimed author, historian Alfred McCoy discusses his new book In the Shadows of The American Century: The Rise and Decline of US Global Power. What is the connection between use of torture and the end of empire? Do Americans still feel we need to be a global power? How precipitous and wrenching might the decline be? What can we do now?
    59 min
  • Venezuela: Behind the Crafted Image
    If you thought something was fishy about what we’re being told about Venezuela you were right. The scene of blocked humanitarian aid at the bridge? Well the bridge has never opened. Our guest Alliance for Global Justice’s Chuck Kaufman goes behind the staged scenes and reveals that while there are serious economic problems, the economy was on the upswing in 2018 Q4.The economic blockade is working as it was designed: to bleed the economy. $23 billion in Venezuelan  accounts is frozen by the US, Canada,and Europe. Food scarcity was worse in 1999, with no outcry. The Trump-recognized “government” is all white when the majority are Mestizos and black. Perhaps we’ll be at war by the time you read this.
    1 hr
  • Unions on the Rise (Thanks Trump)/Stopping The Emergency Declaration
    Unions are making a comeback. The Flight Attendants scared the heck out of the Trumpists, teachers’ strikes enjoy broad public support. Historian Colin Gordon examines the trends and find that, after years of attacks, the direction of labor unions is on the upswing. Thanks largely to Trump. And on Part Two legal analyst Marjorie Cohn looks at legal precedent regarding Trump’s declaration of emergency.Without question it doesn’t have a leg to stand on. Authoritarians throughout history disdain and ignore the rule of law. But so far, the law rules still. So far. Cohen argues that taking to the streets is indeed called for.
    1 hr
  • Cruelty As Policy
    What’s the point? Trump’s policies on immigration and refugees rely on  blatant cruelty and they accomplish nothing. According to researcher and author Arnold Isaacs, who has written widely on refugee and immigration issues, Trump’s policies hurt people instead of fixing the system. In truth immigration is down and the government takes in $63 billion more than it spends on refugee care, because they are hard honest workers. And there have been no acts of terrorism by immigrants. The politicization of immigrant issues has resulted in a policy of cruelty, when compassionately fixing the system is what’s needed.
    1 hr
  • Beyond the 2020 Electoral Circus: Action
    Two minutes every four years, just going into the voting booth to choose a president, is hardly a sufficient tool to leverage the changes which we both need and are possible. As author Paul Street points out, idling capital is what has historically worked. A recent example is the airport workers action which put a quick stop to the government shut down. Candidates for president offer varying degrees of progressive populism, and sometimes it’s just a pose.  Average citizens are hardly powerless despite the widely held belief. Thunder from the grassroots, idling capital, is what makes elected officials take notice and act.
    1 hr

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