KPFA - Against the Grain

We inhabit a world in which what we look at — what we see, read, scroll through — has often supplanted what we hear. The visual has replaced sound. But, of course, sounds are everywhere, both human-made and made by the rest of nature. Julian Treasure reflects on the importance of sound in our lives — between ourselves, other living things, and in the surroundings of our built environment.

Julian Treasure, Sound Affects: How Sound Shapes Our Lives, Our Wellbeing, and Our Planet Grand Central Publishing, 2025

Photo by Pawel Czerwinski on Unsplash

The post Changing Sound appeared first on KPFA.

Over the last half century, diseases carried by insects — such as malaria and dengue, Zika and Lyme disease — have greatly increased. Sociologists Brent Kaup and Kelly Austin argue that the surge in vector-borne disease has been fueled by neoliberal capitalism, at times in unexpected ways, such as through loosened financial regulations governing mortgages and health insurance, as well as the gutting of health care. (Encore presentation.)

Brent Z. Kaup and Kelly F. Austin, The Pathogens of Finance: How Capitalism Breeds Vector-Borne Disease UC Press, 2025

The post Capitalism and Insect-Borne Diseases appeared first on KPFA.

If it weren’t obvious before, the Trump administration has exposed the enormous power, as well as astounding wealth, of the billionaire class. And the power of that class partially emanates from their ownership of much of our media system, with significant political consequences. Economist Rob Larson discusses the 1%, AI and the massive build out of data centers, and the decline of press freedom in the U.S.

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The post Fund Drive Special: Artificial Intelligence, the Media, and the Billionaire Class appeared first on KPFA.

A radio and web media project whose aim is to provide in-depth analysis and commentary on a variety of matters — political, economic, social and cultural — important to progressive and radical thinking and activism.

The post Against the Grain – May 19, 2026 appeared first on KPFA.

It’s been called a new gold rush, but not of our external environment, which continues to be plundered, but of our internal environment — of our psyches. Historian of science D. Graham Burnett, one of the Friends of Attention, lays out what’s at stake — and how they’re organizing a movement to reclaim our attention.

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The post Fund Drive Special: Against the Attention Economy appeared first on KPFA.

For as long as we’ve known, humans have revered ancient trees. We have also destroyed them, especially since the advent of colonialism and fossil fuel capitalism. Historian Jared Farmer reflects on what trees illuminate about our past and potential future.

The post Fund Drive Special: Fossil Capitalism and Trees appeared first on KPFA.

What has the far right learned from the Frankfurt School? And what can we learn from Frankfurt School thinkers like Theodor Adorno and Herbert Marcuse to understand the appeal of the right? Paul Fleming sheds light on the fixation of conservatives like Christopher Rufo — who has set about remaking higher education — with cultural Marxism. He also discusses Adorno’s insights into the attraction of authoritarian leaders.

The post Fund Drive Special: What the Frankfurt School Teaches Us About the Right appeared first on KPFA.

It’s no mystery that the fortunes of the very rich have soared under this administration, but the concentration of wealth in the hands of the very few is a hallmark of capitalism itself. Economist Rob Larson returns to discuss the state of capitalism today, with massive subsidies for the wealthy and a war that’s starting to send shock waves across the world.

Please donate in support of KPFA and Against the Grain.

The post Fund Drive Special: Back to the Gilded Age appeared first on KPFA.

Please donate in support of KPFA and Against the Grain.

The post Fund Drive Special: Unmasking the Far Right appeared first on KPFA.

It’s been called a new gold rush, but not of our external environment, which continues to be plundered, but of our internal environment — of our psyches. Historian of science D. Graham Burnett, one of the Friends of Attention, lays out what’s at stake — and how they’re organizing a movement to reclaim our attention.

The post Fund Drive Special: Against the Attention Economy appeared first on KPFA.