Inertia. We all experience it. It can lead to despair and despair can lead to paralysis. And that’s just where the oligarchs and plutocrats want us to be. Keeps the focus away from their destructive policies. Many of us have resources and privileges but don’t use them. The attitude is if something’s wrong let someone else deal with it. But throughout history small groups of organized people have fought against and overcome many difficult obstacles such as patriarchy, misogyny, homophobia and racism to make progress. That didn’t happen by wishing them away but by articulating what the problems were and formulating solutions. The multiple crises we face today demand action. Are we supposed to sit back and ignore what’s going on? What are we waiting for?

[Ralph Nader] What Are We Waiting For?

Alternative Radio is an "unembedded" weekly one-hour public affairs program offered free to all public radio stations in the US, Canada, Europe, South Africa, Australia, and on short-wave on Radio for Peace International. AR provides information, analyses and views that are frequently ignored or distorted in other media.

News & Politics

Government & Organizations

Non-Profit

National

Regional

Local

How can the Palestinian struggle for freedom and dignity take lessons from the Black Liberation Movement? Historical circumstances are clearly different yet there are similarities. Both are located in a colonial-like situation, where a powerful oppressor dominates another less powerful group. Racism is a major factor. The Black Liberation Movement and Malcolm X’s eloquent voice and militant politics resonate with Palestinians struggling for their freedom. Liberation struggles are not easy. Resistance to change is entrenched. Power does not readily give up its prerogatives. 2CDs

[Eugene Puryear] From Birmingham to Bethlehem (part 2)

Hindutva is theocratic Hindu nationalism. It is a powerful force in what is now the world’s most populous country. Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister, is a lifelong member of the RSS, an openly Hindu supremacist organization. Le Monde Diplomatique reports: Hindutva “followers regard India as a Hindu country. Non-Hindus are at best guests, at worst invaders, and must be identified, watched, deprived of certain rights, and in some cases expelled or even eliminated. The main victims of Hindutva are India’s large Muslim minority. Hindutva adherents oppose mixed Hindu-Muslim marriages, calling them a ‘love jihad’ that aims to convert Hindu women so that their offspring will be raised as Muslims. This paranoid fantasy has encouraged violence and widespread denigration of Indian Muslims.” Recorded at the Swedish Academy at the Thought and Truth Under Pressure conference.

[Arundhati Roy] India: On the Road to Theocracy

Corporate power is more concentrated than ever before. The rich are significantly richer. And the poor? Well, they know their place. There’s an odor of fascism in the air. FDR once warned, “The liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than the democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is fascism.” You can hardly turn on the radio or TV or go online and not hear or read the sentence: This is the most important election in American history. In response to the current crises, note the plural, we can moan and groan or we can act. The task for concerned citizens is what it always has been: organize at the grassroots, resist oppression and put forth positive alternatives.

[Ralph Nader] Corporate Autocracy, Fascism, Trump & the Election

The separation of church and state has long been a cornerstone of American democracy. The Founders of the Republic, Jefferson, Madison, et al, insisted on a secular government unencumbered by religious dogma. However, in recent years decisions by a conservative-dominated Supreme Court have increasingly blurred that barrier. How has this happened? Enter Leonard Leo and a pile of money. Co-chair of the highly influential Federalist Society, he has been at the forefront of weaponizing religious freedom. According to Andrew Seidel, Leo “is universally recognized as the man who orchestrated the hostile takeover of the Supreme Court. He is responsible for the nomination and confirmation of John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett.” Leo chose them, Seidel says, for their “crusader ideology.” The erosion of secular values poses a threat to democracy.

[Andrew Seidel] Weaponizing Religious Freedom

Julia Conley, staff writer for Common Dreams writes, “Along with persistent protests at public events held by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, recent polling is continuously demonstrating that the White House's vehement support for Israel's bombardment of Gaza despite the rising civilian death toll is not winning them accolades among the voters whose backing they depend on in the upcoming election.” Conley cites a recent poll that “50% of 2020 Biden voters believe the Israeli assault that the U.S. has helped fund is a genocide.” Young Democrats in particular are highly critical of the administration’s policy dimming Biden’s reelection hopes.

[Ralph Nader] What Are We Waiting For?

Download our free app to listen on your phone