KMUD - Global Stuff

On this podcast episode of Global Stuff, host Jimmy Durchslag talks with Ian Lustick, Emeritus Professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania, on how the Trump administration is using its assertion of antisemitism on college campuses and elsewhere as a means to push its political agenda. Jimmy and Ian discuss the definition of antisemitism: “Antisemitism is discrimination, prejudice, hostility or violence against Jews as Jews (or Jewish institutions as Jewish).” Criticizing or questioning the actions of Israel or the US policies towards Israel, Hamas or the situation in Gaza is not antisemitism. The conversation covers the many non-Jewish actors taking on the mantle of antisemitism, such as the Rachel Project from the Heritage Foundation, as well as the assault on universities using claims of antisemitism. The podcast also updates the current situation between Israel and Gaza and whether or not a lasting ceasefire can be achieved.

Ian Lustick: Dr. Lustick holds the Bess W. Heyman Chair in the Political Science Department of the University of Pennsylvania.  He teaches Middle Eastern politics, comparative politics, and computer modeling. He is a recipient of awards from the Carnegie Corporation, the National Science Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Social Sciences Research Council.  Before coming to Penn he taught for fifteen years at Dartmouth College and worked for one year in the Department of State. His present research focuses on the implications of the disappearance of the option of a negotiated “two-state solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and techniques of counterfactual forecasting. He is a past president of the Politics and History Section of the American Political Science Association and of the Association for Israel Studies, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.  Among his books are Arabs in the Jewish State (1980); For the Land and the Lord (1988, 1994); Unsettled States, Disputed Lands (1993); Trapped in the War on Terror (2006); and Paradigm Lost: From Two-State Solution to One-State Reality  (2019).

Jimmy Durchslag has been the host of “Global Stuff”, a monthly guest driven talk show for over 20 years. He has interviewed many prominent scholars and leaders who clarify complex issues and provide suggestions for positive change. He has a long experience as a manager of several for profit and non-profit organizations. He is one of the founders of Redwood Community Radio, the parent organization for KMUD. He recently served as the Director of the Mainstream Media Project, a nonprofit organization that scheduled expert guests for interviews on talk shows both nationally and internationally.

On this podcast episode of Global Stuff, host Jimmy Durchslag talks with Sam Rosenthal, the political director at RootsAction.org, about the petition that they are circulating to insist that the Democratic Party hold an emergency meeting to forge a forceful direction forward. Sam and Jimmy discuss many aspects of the current political atmosphere, including the regressive policies of the Democratic Party in the wake of the 2024 elections. They also talk about the numerous extreme anti-democratic and destructive actions of the Trump administration in its early days, including attacks on the judiciary, on education, and on civil rights,many of them clearly unconstitutional and/or illegal.

Sam Rosenthal is the political director at RootsAction and serves on the Democratic Socialists of America’s National Electoral Committee. He was formerly a staffer at Our Revolution and lives in Washington, D.C. He previously served as the political director at Our Revolution. RootsAction is circulating a petition insisting that the Democratic Party The petition reads:

“The Democratic Party has failed to confront the urgency of this perilous moment for the future of the United States, as reflected in recent public opinion polls. For the sake of the future, we insist that the Democratic National Committee should convene an emergency meeting of all its members – fully open to the public – as soon as possible. Waiting until the next regular meeting in late summer would be irresponsible and unacceptable.

Business as usual must give way to truly bold action that mobilizes against the autocracy that Donald Trump, Elon Musk and their cronies are further entrenching every day. The predatory, extreme and dictatorial actions of the Trump administration call for an all-out commensurate response, which so far has been terribly lacking from the Democratic Party. It is time for the Democratic National Committee, as the organization tasked with responding to the concerns of Democrats, to heed the insights of progressive policy analysts and grassroots activists – and that should begin at this emergency meeting.”

Jimmy Durchslag has been the host of “Global Stuff”, a monthly guest driven talk show for over 20 years. He has interviewed many prominent scholars and leaders who clarify complex issues and provide suggestions for positive change. He has a long experience as a manager of several for profit and non-profit organizations. He is one of the founders of Redwood Community Radio, the parent organization for KMUD. He recently served as the Director of the Mainstream Media Project, a nonprofit organization that scheduled expert guests for interviews on talk shows both nationally and internationally.

On this podcast episode of Global Stuff, host Jimmy Durchslag talks
with Elizabeth Minnick about the expanded reissue edition of her book:
The Evil of Banality, On the Life and Death Importance of Thinking,originally published in 2017. Her scholarship is founded in her early work as an assistant to Hannah Arendt, a transformational philosopher on the nature of evil. Jimmy and Elizabeth have an in depth, engaging discussion of how intensive evil, the abhorrent actions of one or a few individuals, differs from extensive evil, the extreme actions by a large group of people, basically the actions of a mass shooter compared to the holocaust or Rwandan genocides. The conversation covers how “normal” people and communities become involved in mass killings or other acts of violence. Elizabeth’s book also considers intensive and extensive good, how people can overcome the push to commit horrendous acts and do what’s right. This is an especially relevant conversation considering the forces at play in the country and the world today.

Elizabeth Minnick Elizabeth Minnich received her doctorate from the
New School under the direction of Hannah Arendt. Following twenty-
five years as a Core Professor in the Graduate School of
Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences at the Union Institute she was a
professor of moral philosophy at Queens University. Minnick is a
Distinguished Fellow at the Association of American Colleges and
Universities in Washington, DC. She is also the author of Transforming Knowledge (Temple University Press, 1990, 2005) and co-author of The
Fox in the Henhouse: How Privatization Threatens Democracy (Berrett-
Koehler, 2005). She continues to work on issues of justice, equality,
democracy, and education, with particular focus on inclusive, engaged
scholarship, curricula, teaching, and institutional practices.

Jimmy Durchslag has been the host of “Global Stuff”, a monthly guest
driven talk show for over 20 years. He has interviewed many prominent
scholars and leaders who clarify complex issues and provide
suggestions for positive change. He has a long experience as a manager
of several for profit and non-profit organizations. He is one of the
founders of Redwood Community Radio, the parent organization for
KMUD. He recently served as the Director of the Mainstream Media
Project, a nonprofit organization that scheduled expert guests for
interviews on talk shows both nationally and internationally.

On this podcast episode of Global Stuff, host Jimmy Durchslag talks with Jennifer Lowenstein who lived with her parents in Israel as a child. Loewenstein is a member of the USA board of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions and founder of the Madison-Rafah Sister City Project. Jennifer clearly describes the devastation of Gaza and the determination of its residents in the midst of the rubble. She gives a perspective on the prospects for a continuing ceasefire and a possible path to the end of the war. The discussion also covers the support that the US gives to the Netanyahu government and how this perpetuates the conflict.

Jennifer Loewenstein is a journalist and activist, a member of the USA board of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions and founder of the Madison-Rafah Sister City Project. She lived in Israel in 1963 as a child when her father played first trumpet in the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. She returned in 1981 as a junior in college, and later as an adult. Loewenstein has lived in Palestinian refugee camps in Beirut and traveled in the Palestinian Territories, where she worked for five months in 2002 at the Mezan Center for Human Rights in Gaza City. She has returned to Gaza several times since then.

As a local political activist, Lowenstein has helped organize demonstrations in Madison. On the day after Ariel Sharon's election as Prime Minister of Israel, she was among the organizers of an anti-Likud demonstration. She helped organize protests against the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, and she occasionally makes arrangements for political activists or journalists to speak at American universities.

Jimmy Durchslag has been the host of “Global Stuff”, a monthly guest driven talk show for over 20 years. He has interviewed many prominent scholars and leaders who clarify complex issues and provide suggestions for positive change. He has a long experience as a manager of several for profit and non-profit organizations. He is one of the founders of Redwood Community Radio, the parent organization for KMUD. He recently served as the Director of the Mainstream Media Project, a nonprofit organization that scheduled expert guests for interviews on talk shows both nationally and internationally.

On this podcast episode of Global Stuff, host Jimmy Durchslag talks with Mike German, a former special agent with the FBI and a fellow in the Brennan Center’s Liberty and National Security Program, about the issues he raises in his new book: Policing White Supremacy: The Enemy Within. This live interview, recorded days after the inauguration of President Trump, details the right-leaning trend of the FBI and law enforcement in general, including members of white supremacist groups and a relative acceptance of crimes committed by far right extremists while victimizing mostly peaceful actions by demonstrators on the left. With Kash Patel as the new head of the FBI, the gutting of federal agencies by Elon Musk and the general tendency of the Trump Administration to downplay hate crimes and oppose racial justice movements, this very timely show presages what is now federal policy and the even more extreme support for white supremacy that can be expected in the current political climate.

Mike German is a fellow in the Brennan Center’s Liberty and National Security Program, which seeks to ensure that the U.S. government respects human rights and fundamental freedoms in conducting the fight against terrorism. A former special agent with the FBI, his work focuses on law enforcement and intelligence oversight and reform. Before joining the Brennan Center in 2014, German served as the policy counsel for national security and privacy for the American Civil Liberties Union’s Washington legislative office.

This podcast of Global Stuff brings back Stephen Zunes, author and
expert on International issues, especially the Middle East and Israel and
Palestine. In this live interview with call-ins, recorded on Dec. 27, 2024,
Dr. Zunes discusses the recent overthrow of the Bashar al-Assad regime
in Syria by the rebel fundamentalist Hayat Tahir al Sham (HTS) group.
The end of the over 50 year authoritarian rule by the al-Assad family
brings major changes to the region with impact throughout the region
and the world. Among the issues discussed are the involvement of
Israel, the Biden administration’s continued support for Israel’s ongoing
military actions, the involvement of US weapons manufacturers, the
ongoing conflict in Gaza, the history of US support for repressive
regimes and related issues.

Dr. Stephen Zunes is a Professor of Politics and International Studies at
the University of San Francisco, where he served as founding director of
the program in Middle Eastern Studies. Recognized as one the country’s
leading scholars of U.S. Middle East policy and of strategic nonviolent
action, Professor Zunes has served as a senior policy analyst for Foreign
Policy in Focus project of the Institute for Policy Studies, an associate
editor of Peace Review, and a contributing editor of Tikkun until June
2024. From May-June, 2024, Dr. Zunes served as the Torgny Segerstedt
Visiting Research Professor at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

Jimmy Durchslag has been the host of “Global Stuff”, a monthly guest
driven talk show for over 20 years. He has interviewed many prominent
scholars and leaders who clarify complex issues and provide
suggestions for positive change. He has a long experience as a manager
of several for profit and non-profit organizations. He is one of the
founders of Redwood Community Radio, the parent organization for
KMUD. He recently served as the Director of the Mainstream Media
Project, a nonprofit organization that scheduled expert guests for
interviews on talk shows both nationally and internationally.

This podcast of Global Stuff features a discussion with Colleen Rowley,
retired FBI agent, about the background and potential actions by
Trump’s initial cabinet appointees, especially in the area of security and
intelligence. In this live interview with call-ins, recorded on Nov. 22,
2024, Colleen, explains the very real threats to the rights and security of
Americans represented by Marco Rubio as Secretary of State, Pete
Hegseth as Secretary of Defense, Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National
Intelligence, John Ratcliff as CIA Director and others. As a leader in
Women against Military Madness she also talks about the
organization’s involvement in bringing humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Special Agent (ret.) Coleen Rowley served in the Federal Bureau of
Investigation for 24 years, during which time she worked in several
offices, including those in Nebraska, Mississippi, New York, France and
Montreal.
She also served as the Minneapolis Division Legal Counsel who taught
Constitutional Law and law enforcement ethics to FBI agents and other
law enforcement agencies. She then became a whistleblower about the
FBI’s pre 9-11 failures, testifying to the Joint Intelligence Committee
Inquiry, the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Inspector General Staff
of the Department of Justice. She was named, along with two other
corporate whistleblowers, as Time Magazine’s 2002 Persons of the
Year. In an early March 2003 memorandum, she warned FBI Director

Robert Mueller about the Bush Administration’s deceptive plan to
launch war on Iraq, a country that had nothing to do with the 9-11
attacks.
She holds a B.A. in French from Wartburg College and a law degree
from the University of Iowa. Her work has appeared in the New York
Times, Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, The Huffington Post, and
CNN.com. In 2002, she received the Sam Adams Award – given annually
to an intelligence professional who has taken a stand for integrity and
ethics.
She is a long-time member of Women Against Military Madness and
Veterans for Peace and is most recently affiliated with the Eisenhower
Media Network
Jimmy Durchslag has been the host of “Global Stuff”, a monthly guest
driven talk show, for over 20 years. He has interviewed many
prominent scholars and leaders who clarify complex issues and provide
suggestions for positive change. He has a long experience as a manager
of several for profit and non-profit organizations. He is one of the
founders of Redwood Community Radio, the parent organization for
KMUD. He recently served as the Director of the Mainstream Media
Project, a nonprofit organization that scheduled expert guests for
interviews on talk shows both nationally and internationally.

This podcast of Global Stuff was recorded on October 25, 2024. In the first half,
host Jimmy Durchslag talks with Teddy Wilson, a journalist, researcher, and
consultant on the U.S. radical right. Teddy exposes the America First Legal
Foundation’s plans to undermine the election if Trump loses. AFLF advances a
legal theory that would allow judges to throw out results over “failures or
irregularities” by local officials. In the Second Half, Norman Solomon, co-founder
and national coordinator of RootsAction.org and author of several books, returns
to discuss the potential impact of the elections and what is at stake. His recent
book, War Made Invisible, provides a context for how the war in Gaza is
influencing voters in the United States.
Teddy Wilson is a journalist and researcher with more than a decade of
experience covering the U.S. Radical Right, and for the past several years has been
tracking and investigating far right extremists movements. He was previously the
U.S. Investigations Editor at Open Democracy, Staff Analyst at Political Research
Associates, and Staff Reporter at Rewire News Group. You can read his blog and
articles at RadicalReports.org on Substack.
Norman Solomon is IPA’s executive director (accuracy.org). He is the author of
twelve books, including War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep
Spinning Us to Death, and with Reese Ehrlich, Target Iraq: What the News Media
Didn’t Tell You. Also co-founder and national coordinator of RootsAction.org.
Solomon is a nationally syndicated columnist on media and politics. His articles
have appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, Los Angeles
Times, Boston Globe, and many other newspapers. A frequent guest on television
and radio, he was featured in Bill Moyers’ recent documentary Buying the War
and a full-length film adaptation of War Made Easy produced by the Media
Education Foundation. Solomon is a recipient of the George Orwell Award, which
honors distinguished contributions to honesty and clarity in public language.
Jimmy Durchslag has been the host of “Global Stuff”, a monthly guest driven talk
show for over 20 years. He has a long experience as a manager of several for
profit and non-profit organizations. He is one of the founders of Redwood
Community Radio, the parent organization for KMUD. He recently served as the
Director of the Mainstream Media Project, a nonprofit organization that

scheduled expert guests for interviews on talk shows both nationally and
internationally.

This podcast of Global Stuff was recorded on September 23, 2024. Jimmy talks
with Robert Creamer, longtime activist and political organizer, about his latest
book: Nuts and Bolts: The Formula for Progressive Electoral Success. Robert takes
his several decades’ long experience in running successful election campaigns to
outline a clear, precise, time-tested methodology for how to motivate progressive
voters and win at the ballot box. In these times of concern about the future of our
democracy, Creamer provides an uplifting vision of how to make the political
process for most Americans, not just those at the top.
Robert Creamer is an American political consultant, community organizer, and
author. He is the husband of congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, the Representative
for Illinois's 9th congressional district. His firm, Democracy Partners, works with
progressive electoral and issue campaigns and has 34 partners located
throughout the United States.
Creamer has been a progressive strategist and political organizer for over 50
years, beginning during the Civil Rights and anti-Vietnam War movements of the
1960s. He worked as an organizer with Saul Alinsky's last major project in Chicago.
Later he founded and then led Illinois's largest coalition of progressive
organizations and unions for twenty-three years. Creamer became a political
consultant in 1997, and served as a consultant to the Democratic National
Committee during the 2008, 2012, and 2016 Presidential election campaigns. In
2005, Creamer was one of the architects and organizers of the successful
campaign to defeat the privatization of Social Security. He has also been a
consultant to the campaigns to end the war in Iraq, increase the minimum wage,
and pass progressive budget priorities, pass and defend the Affordable Care Act,
oppose right wing judicial nominees, and pass comprehensive immigration
reform.
Jimmy Durchslag has been the host of “Global Stuff”, a monthly guest driven talk
show for over 20 years. He has a long experience as a manager of several for
profit and non-profit organizations. He is one of the founders of Redwood
Community Radio, the parent organization for KMUD. He recently served as the Director of the Mainstream Media Project, a nonprofit organization that
scheduled expert guests for interviews on talk shows both nationally and
internationally.

This podcast of Global Stuff features two guests. In the first half, Jeff
Cohen, media critic, writer and journalism professor who led the
Rootsaction.org campaign, “Don’t Run Joe” to convince Joe Biden to
drop out of the presidential race, discusses the impact of his exit. He
also provides a perspective on the challenges facing Kamela Harris and
the dynamics of the upcoming election. In the second half, Andra
Watkins journalist and author of the substack newsletter, “How Project
2025 Will Ruin Your Life” clarifies the extreme threat posed by the far
Christian Right nationalist agenda represented by Project 25. As a
woman who was raised in the South in a Christian fundamentalist
culture, Andra knows firsthand what their plans mean for individual
rights and freedoms.

Jeff Cohen, media critic and lecturer, was founding director of the Park
Center for Independent Media at Ithaca College, where he was an
associate professor of journalism. He founded the media watch
group FAIR in 1986, and cofounded the online activist
group RootsAction.org in 2011. Cohen has coproduced documentary
movies, including “The Corporate Coup D’Etat” and “All Governments
Lie: Truth, Deception and the Spirit of I.F. Stone.” He is the author
of Cable News Confidential: My Misadventures in Corporate Media. He
has been a TV commentator at CNN, Fox News and MSNBC, and was
senior producer of MSNBC’s Phil Donahue primetime show until it was
terminated three weeks before the Iraq invasion. His columns have been published online at such websites as HuffPost, CommonDreams
and Truthout—and in dozens of dailies, including USA
Today, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, Atlanta
Constitution, and Miami Herald.
Andra Watkins is the author of the Substack newsletter “How Project
2025 Will Ruin Your Life.” She is the author of five books (and counting)
including the NY Times bestseller, Not Without My Father: One
Woman’s 444-Mile Walk of the Natchez Trace, 2015 National Book
Award nominee. More information at andrawatkins.comand
project2025istheocracy.substack.com

Jimmy Durchslag has been the host of “Global Stuff”, a monthly guest
driven talk show for over 20 years. He has interviewed many prominent
scholars and leaders who clarify complex issues and provide
suggestions for positive change. He has a long experience as a manager
of several for profit and non-profit organizations. He is one of the
founders of Redwood Community Radio, the parent organization for
KMUD. He recently served as the Director of the Mainstream Media
Project, a nonprofit organization that scheduled expert guests for
interviews on talk shows both nationally and internationally.