Free Forum with Terrence McNally

RAJ PATEL has a written a new book (with Jason Moore): A History of the World in Seven Cheap Things: A Guide to Capitalism, Nature, and the Future of the Planet. "Cheap" is the opposite of a bargain and the seven things are nature, money, work, care, food, energy, and lives. Linking the birth of capitalism to the separation of nature and society, telling stories from Christopher Columbus to ChickenMcNuggets, can an examination of the past help us re-imagine the future?

FRANCES MOORE LAPPE, (Diet For A Small Planet; Eco-Mind) whose work for decades has consistently updated the best the 60’s had to offer and ADAM EICHEN, who graduated from college in 2015, met on a pro-democracy march and have co-authored a book that brings their generations together - Daring Democracy—Igniting Power, Meaning, and Connection for the America We Want.

CHUCK COLLINS is a senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies and author most recently of Born on Third Base: A One Percenter Makes the Case for Tackling Inequality, Bringing Wealth Home, and Committing to the Common Good. We talk about inequality in America and the GOP’s proposed 2017 tax bill that will only make things much worse.

I’ve known JODIE EVANS for over 20 years. And throughout that time, she’s been a tireless activist, advocate, and communicator for peace, justice and the planet. When I noticed that Code Pink, which started as a vigil by a few women in front of Bush's White House, has just turned 15, I thought it was a good time to catch up with her. What have we learned since then about the US and activism?

Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain, and Body. With the enormous growth in awareness and practice of mindfulness and meditation have come widespread claims of benefits. Best-selling author Daniel Goleman and neuroscientist Richard Davidson, both longtime meditators, examined the scientific research to find out what is true and what is not.

PAUL HAWKEN (The Ecology of Commerce; Natural Capitalism; Blessed Unrest) has a new research project and a new best-selling book - DRAWDOWN. Based on rigorous scientific and economic analysis and review, it ranks the 80 most impactful solutions with which Hawken is confident we can reverse global warming. Plus it offers 20 additional very promising solutions for which there isn’t yet enough data to rank them. (drawdown.org, paulhawken.com)

RANDY OLSON, marine biologist turned filmmaker, author of DON’T BE SUCH A SCIENTIST and HOUSTON, WE HAVE A NARRATIVE says we’re all receiving a firehose of information and can no longer deal with all the separate bits, so we look for higher levels of organization. We look for narratives. Get on board if you want to impact society. PS His Narrative Index predicted Trump’s victory.http://www.randyolsonproductions.com/

JOHN NICHOLS, is National Affairs Correspondent for The Nation and Associate Editor of The Capital Times in Madison, so his beat includes the nation’s capital as well Wisconsin’s. His latest book, HORSEMEN OF THE TRUMPOCALYPSE: A Field Guide to the Most Dangerous People in America, reports on over 40 players on Team Trump. My biggest question for Nichols: What needs to happen so that Wisconsin and the rest of the Rust Belt dumps Trump in 2018 and 2020?

(1) ERWIN CHEMERINSKY and I talk about legal issues raised by Trump administration. How far is this Supreme Court going to go in weakening separation between church and state? Is Trump violating the law by making money - including taxpayer's money - from his businesses? Who's going to enforce that law? How bad is it that he belittles and scapegoats the judiciary? Is it too early to think about impeachment? We've only got a half hour, but we cover a lot. (recorded July 26, 2017)(2) In fall 2009, MATTHEW HOH, Marine Iraq war vet, resigned from the Foreign Service in Afghanistan because he couldn't participate in the occupation. American families, Hoh said in his letter of resignation, "must be reassured their dead have sacrificed for a purpose worthy of futures lost, love vanished, and promised dreams unkept. I have lost confidence such assurances can be made any more."

With his latest book, WHY BUDDHISM IS TRUE (#4 NYT Best-seller), ROBERT WRIGHT, who’s been asking big questions for at least three decades, asks another: What can mindfulness offer people trying to make sense and justice of contemporary politics, culture, and economics? We talk evolutionary psychology, confronting cognitive delusions, tribalism, and Trump.