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

  • Crushing Democracy In Spain
    The Madrid government is pulling out the stops to crush a referendum on independence for Catalonia, now a region of Spain. The national police have ripped down posters, detained over 700 mayors, shut down printing presses, attacked the website of the separatist movement, and used fear of financial ruin for supporters to intimidate. They intend to prevent anyone from voting. But it is only causing more resistance. Individuals using home printers, creating new websites. The Rojas government is promoting hysteria in the national media and using the legal system as a weapon, in much the same way Franco did. From Barcelona, Catalonia, Green Left Weekly European correspondent Dick Nichols reports from the heart of the struggle.
    1 hr
  • PBS Vietnam Series: False Balance; Resorting to Old Familiar Stereotypes
    It’s what our guest, Vietnam historian Jerry Lembcke argues is a false balancing, leaving things where they were before we started watching it. America’s war in Vietnam was not as Ken Burns claims: begun in good faith by decent people. Certainly the Vietnamese did not see what this show reinforces, that that it was part of the Cold War. The series tries to be about healing, but is it healing when there has been no learning? Hearing from ground troops from both sides has its appeal, but as one veteran put it: it’s like looking through a straw from 30 thousand feet up. There’s no way a real picture emerges. And as another vet says, he couldn’t get in to the preview in NY, it was all suits. The point is: the 1983 series was excellent, why was this made?  Follow the money. A lot of big money invested heavily.
    1 hr
  • 2018 Chances for Democrats//Carpe Diem Politics
    “Based on everything, it appears Democrats will most likely make gains in congress in 2018.” Do you think most likely is good enough? Being risk-averse weakens our chances. Author of The Great Divide: Story of the 2016 US Presidential Race Howard Harrison argues it’s like sports: when you are down, you have to play harder. He advises that it is time for Democrats to “play less cautiously.” Worthy analysis here. And on part two, Roman Krznaric talks about his new book “Carpe Diem: Seizing the Day in a Distracted World.” To succeed he says revolutions must be great community fun. After all, what started as a carnival became a revolution when the Berlin Wall came down in 1989. Much to learn.
    1 hr
  • The Opioid Crisis: Blaming the Victims When Greed is the Problem
    Follow the money. We’ve heard this so often and it remains the best way to discover the source of social problems. Too often, we blame the victims, the people who through no fault of their own, become addicted to pain killers. As guest Chris McGreal, investigative report for The Guardian discovered through his extensive research, the problem is over-prescribing. In most countries, health care is a service. In America is is an industry, focused entirely on profits. The marketing gimmick was that there was an epidemic of untreated pain in America. All other industrialized countries call for managing pain; here we encourage people to just take a pill, tolerate no pain. And look what it has done to us. Again, follow the money.
    1 hr
  • North Korea: Peace Is Possible//Revival of Karl Marx
    Fire and fury. Crazy Kim Jong Un. Crazy Trump. Mutual threats of mass destruction. Is there a way out? Of course. Korea scholar Tim Shorrock writes in The Nation that not only did Obama make the situation worse, but that while we may forget, North Koreans certainly remember that 30% of its people were killed in the unended Korean War. Can the “deal maker” come through? Shorrock gives reasons why peace is possible. And on part two: it’s not just Che, but the “cool kids” around the world are starting to wear T-shirts of Karl Marx. Yes, there’s a revival of that old dry intellectual. Our guest, Kathy M. Newman of Carnegie Mellon, explains that as “capitalism has outdone itself in the 21st century,” and communism is no longer so fearsome, as Karl approaches his 200th birthday, there’s life still left in the old guy.
    59 min
  • Daughter Killed in ’95 OK City Bombing Now Fights to End Death Penalty
    On April 19, 1995 Tim McVeigh and Terry Nichols killed Bud Welch’s 23 year old daughter Julie and 167 others in that infamous bombing. At first he wanted revenge, then he actually met with McVeigh’s father. Welch calls him the ultimate victim of that bombing. Welch, a genuine conservative, talks about his crusade to end the death penalty. There are many reasons. There’s a long way to go and much to learn from Welch.
    1 hr
  • The Decline of America’s Power: How Did We Get Here, How Rough a Landing?
    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 this 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 upcoming 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 feel we need to be a global power? How precipitous and wrenching might the decline be? What can we do now?
    1 hr
  • What is the World Bank Doing?/Self-Blame In Economic Difficulty
    Their mission is to help the developing world but Bruce Rich, author of the new book Foreclosing the Future reveals they may still be profiting but the World Bank is continuing to worsen poverty and the environment. And on part two, Ofer Sharone, author of the new book Flawed System/Flawed Self: Job Searching and Unemployment Experiences, describes how America’s burgeoning “self-help” industry drives many unemployed into an ever deeper morass of discouragement, blaming themselves for a situation they did not cause and can not control.
    58 min
  • The Place for Change: New Governors
    All the focus seems to be on the Trump presidency, meanwhile the vast majority of  governors in the 50 states are Republican. States have been called the laboratories of democracy. Here’s where we can make a big difference, not just at the federal level. On this show, forward looking Bernie-Sanders-Democrat Steve Marchand, who has already begun a passionate campaign to become governor of New Hampshire in 2018, talks about his vision. He takes on a great many issues and is connecting with a wide bipartisan audience. And he says the death penalty is the ultimate big government. Listen in even if you’re not in NH; it applies to you.
    1 hr
  • What America’s Left/Populists Have Won
    While the left has had very few actual electoral victories, author Michael Kazin argues it has very effectively changed the nation. The author of “A Godly Hero: William Jennings Bryan,” talks about his book “American Dreamers.” What’s gone right and wrong with America’s left, and ideas for where we go from here. No question, cultural change precedes political change.
    1 hr

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