Green & Red: Podcasts for Scrappy Radicals

Just after Giorgia Meloni's far-right Fratelli d'Italia (Brothers of Italy) party won enough votes to likely make her Prime Minister, we had a great conversation with Francesco Mazzucotelli, a political scientist at the Universita di Pavia in Italy, a longtime journalist, and a 2018 candidate for senate for the Liberi e Uguali party.   Francesco, Scott and Bob discussed the recent Italian elections with a focus on the roots and evolution of the Brothers of Italy, the complexities and rivalries in right-wing politics, Meloni's approach to immigration and LGBTQ issues and the Ukraine War, and the weaknesses and failures of the Italian Left. ----------------------------------------------------- Outro- 99 Posse "Rigurgito Antifascista"   Follow Green and Red//  G&R Linktree: https://linktr.ee/greenandredpodcast https://greenandredpodcast.org NEW LINK! Join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/u7C5P8YF  Support the Green and Red Podcast//  Become a Patron at https://www.patreon.com/greenredpodcast Or make a one time donation here: https://bit.ly/DonateGandR  This is a Green and Red Podcast (@PodcastGreenRed) production. Produced by Bob (@bobbuzzanco) and Scott (@sparki1969).  “Green and Red  Blues" by Moody.  Editing by Scott.

Republicans go to war . . . Democrats go to brunch! The past 50 years have seen a dramatic shift to the far-right in American politics.  On the heels of the 1972 McGovern debacle, the Democrats all but abandoned their New Deal heritage and moved swiftly to a stronger pro-business position and embraced Neo-Liberalism.  They abandoned class politics and giving priority to workers and the poor and instead have embraced ID politics and wokeness.  As the Republicans stole elections and Supreme Court seats, gerrymandered congressional districts, packed the courts, and ran scorched-earth campaigns at every level, the Democrats have offered a timid resistance at best. In this fantastic interview, Noam Chomsky gives us a history and analysis of the evolution of the Democrats from the party of FDR to a party that's Republican-Lite.  We discussed the Carter campaign, the Trilateral Commission, the DLC and the Clintons, Obama, Democratic hawkishness, and other factors in the Democratic retreat from progressive ideas, all while the GOP waged an open and ruthless war on workers, non-whites, women, and others. Don't miss this important interview with the world's greatest living intellectual.  About Noam Chomsky// Professor Chomsky is an American linguist, political philosopher, social critic and political activist. He is Institute Professor Emeritus in the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy at MIT and Laureate Professor of Linguistics and Haury Chair in the Program in Environment and Social Justice at the University of Arizona.  At 93, he is still active; writing and giving interviews to media all over the world. He is the author of scores of books, including American Power and the New Mandarins, Towards a New Cold War, Necessary Illusions, Hegemony or Survival, Failed States: The Abuse of Power and the Assault on Democracy and Requiem for the American Dream. His most recent book is “The Withdrawal: Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, and the Fragility of U.S. Power,” co-authored with Vijay Prashad.  ----------------------------------------- Links// The Withdrawal:Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, and the Fragility of U.S. Power (https://bit.ly/3DPoAOI) G&R: Noam Chomsky on Oliver Stone's "JFK Revisited" (https://apple.co/3FepBwT) **G&R: Noam Chomsky on the 1960s (https://bit.ly/ChomskyGandR) Follow Green and Red// G&R Linktree: https://linktr.ee/greenandredpodcast https://greenandredpodcast.org/ NEW LINK! Join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/74NmDSpg Support the Green and Red Podcast// Become a Patron at https://www.patreon.com/greenredpodcast Or make a one time donation here: https://bit.ly/DonateGandR This is a Green and Red Podcast (@PodcastGreenRed) production. Produced by Bob (@bobbuzzanco) and Scott (@sparki1969).  “Green and Red  Blues" by Moody.  Editing by Isaac.

The BBC has released a new podcast series called "Burn Wild."  It tells the story of radical environmental movements 20 years ago, the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) and the subsequent "Green Scare."  There is much flawed analysis in the series to say the least. Other critiques include the juxtaposition of right-wing extremists and left-wing "extremism," the imbalance of law enforcement and industry voices in the series and platforming ELF member turned snitch Chelsea Gerlach (without discussing her cooperation with the feds).  In our latest, we discuss the BBC's series (or at least the first two episodes) with former ELF member, and return G&R guest, Daniel McGowan (@support_daniel).  We discuss the series, how liberals make heroes of the FBI, the current media discuss around "climate sabotage and more.  About Daniel// Daniel is an environmental and social justice activist from Queens, NY.  He was part of two ELF actions in 2001. And arrested as part of Operation Backfire. He was charged in 2005 with 15 counts of arson, property destruction and conspiracy, all related to two actions in Oregon in 2000, claimed by the Earth Liberation Front (ELF).  On June 4, 2007, McGowan was sentenced to seven years in federal prison and ordered to pay $1.9 million in restitution. He served part of his time in a super secret prison unit called Communication Management Unit, or CMU. ------------------------ Outro- "Give the Anarchist a Cigarette" by Chumbawamba   Links// BBC: Burn Wild (https://bbc.in/3dkP0wW) Crimethinc: Green Scared (https://bit.ly/3BnVHpM0 G&R Episodes Related to this Episode// Leslie James Pickering on the ELF, the Green Scare and “Burning Books” (https://bit.ly/3PX4Pb0) From Environmentalist to “Domestic Terrorist” with former Earth Liberation member Daniel McGowan https://bit.ly/3uKPlha Follow Green and Red// G&R Linktree: https://linktr.ee/greenandredpodcast  Check out our rad website: https://greenandredpodcast.org/ NEW LINK! Join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/ApQcg3ch Support the Green and Red Podcast// Become a Patron at https://www.patreon.com/greenredpodcast Or make a one time donation here: https://bit.ly/DonateGandR This is a Green and Red Podcast (@PodcastGreenRed) production. Produced by Bob (@bobbuzzanco) and Scott (@sparki1969).  “Green and Red  Blues" by Moody.  Editing by Isaac.

Donald Trump might finally be in real trouble, because of . . .  archivists?   Green and Red shows the love to archivists and librarians!   We had a good discussion in this episode about the way national security  documents are classified, who can see them, how they're de-classified,  and Trump's theft of vital top secret documents that prompted the FBI to search Mar-a-Largo.      With the Cold War, the government, the National Security State, created a  new system of classification, official secrets and surveillance. It was  done to prevent spies and foreign governments from gaining access to  high-level secrets and it was always used against the Left--the Rosenbergs, Daniel Ellsberg, Julian Assange, Reality Winner, etc.  It's impossible to imagine that the Americans who created this system thought that a former  U.S. president would be the target of an official investigation for taking and possibly sharing such secrets with a foreign government, but  here we are.   We also discussed the way that even significant segments of the GOP and  conservative media--such as Bill Barr and Fox News--have been  emphasizing this story and Trump's misdeeds.    And at the end we paid tribute to a legend of the Left, the late Barbara Ehrenreich.   --------------------------------------------------------- Links//  Can Trump Just Declare Nuclear Secrets Unclassified?  (https://bit.ly/3RE0Jpj)  America’s secrets: Trump’s unprecedented disregard of norms (https://bit.ly/3LbP7aK)   G&R Links//  G&R:The Military vs. Donald J. Trump  (https://apple.co/3cDUso8)  G&R: The Coup That Wasn't (https://bit.ly/RulingClassGandR)  G&R: The Capitol Hill Riots and the Ruling Class (https://bit.ly/RiotsRulingClassGandR) G&R: Baseball and Bosses vs. the Georgia GOP (https://bit.ly/CorpResistGandR)    Follow Green and Red//  G&R Linktree: https://linktr.ee/greenandredpodcast   Check out our rad website: https://greenandredpodcast.org/  NEW LINK! Join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/ApQcg3ch   Donate to Green and Red Podcast//  Become a Patron at https://www.patreon.com/greenredpodcast  Or make a one time donation here: https://bit.ly/DonateGandR   This is a Green and Red Podcast  (@PodcastGreenRed) production. Produced  by Bob (@bobbuzzanco) and Scott (@sparki1969).  “Green and Red  Blues"  by Moody.  Editing by Isaac.

The last of our "Best of's" for a minute.  We'll be back with new episodes next week.  In the meantime, here's our 2020 "Remembering 911" episode for the anniversary of September 11th.  ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 9/11 changed our world.  Scott  (@sparki1969) and Bob (@bobbuzzanco) had a spirited discussion on the  impact of the events of September 11, 2001.  We offered personal  recollections, talked about the larger historical context in which it  occurred, considered the consequences of the attacks--prolonged Mid-East  wars and heightened repression at home, discussed the way the attacks  and wars were manipulated for "patriotic" reasons, and talked about how  it effects the U.S. today, in the era of Trump. Read More: U.S. State Department Memo, May 1, 1950 (NSA Archive): https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu//NSAEBB/NSAEBB78/propaganda%20003.pdf Excerpts From Iraqi Document on Meeting with U.S. Envoy (NY Times): https://msuweb.montclair.edu/~furrg/glaspie.html Presidential Daily Briefing Memo of August, 2001 (NSA Archive): https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu//NSAEBB/NSAEBB116/pdb8-6-2001.pdf Trump: Americans Who Died in War Are ‘Losers’ and ‘Suckers’ (The Atlantic): https://bit.ly/2GP4FUE VIDEO: Zbigniew Brzezinski Taliban Pakistan Afghanistan pep talk 1979: https://bit.ly/3hqquXn ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Follow Green and Red// G&R Linktree: https://linktr.ee/greenandredpodcast Our Super Badass Website: https://greenandredpodcast.org/ Donate to Green and Red Podcast// Become a Patron at https://www.patreon.com/greenredpodcast Or make a one time donation here: https://bit.ly/DonateGandR This is a Green and Red Podcast   (@PodcastGreenRed) production. Produced by Bob (@bobbuzzanco) and Scott  (@sparki1969).  “Green and Red  Blues" by Moody.  Editing by Isaac.

Not unlike our (not so) esteemed leadership in Congress, Green and Red is out on a little summer recess.  We will be back with new episodes soon. In the meantime here's a "Best of Green and Red" episode from March 2020 on populism and the New Deal. ------------------------------------------------------------------- From March 2020: "The world is in full blown panic around the COVID19 pandemic. The global economy is shaking.  Today, the stock market took its biggest dip since September 1987. Panic about the virus and jobs and business is kicking in. During previous economic crashes, most notably the Panic of 1893 and the 1929 crash that launched the Great Depression, we saw moments emerge that initially challenged the ruling class. Both the populist movement of the 1890s, and social justice and labor movements of the 1930s led to a "thunder on the left" that terrified the ruling class. From William Jennings Bryan to Sinclair Lewis and Huey Long to Bernie Sanders, populist figures on the left are much more of a threat to Wall Street and the uber-rich than billionaire reality TV stars. As a result, the rich always know how to turn bottom-up led movements into top-down reform that actually benefits the wealthy with social stability and new consumer markets  So, in this episode, Bob and Scott talk about the real meaning of Populism and the New Deal." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Follow Green and Red// G&R Linktree: https://linktr.ee/greenandredpodcast Our Super Badass Website: https://greenandredpodcast.org/ Donate to Green and Red Podcast// Become a Patron at https://www.patreon.com/greenredpodcast Or make a one time donation here: https://bit.ly/DonateGandR This is a Green and Red Podcast  (@PodcastGreenRed) production. Produced by Bob (@bobbuzzanco) and Scott (@sparki1969).  “Green and Red  Blues" by Moody.  Editing by Isaac.

Not unlike our (not so) esteemed leadership in Congress, Green and Red will be out on a little August recess.  We will be back with new episodes soon. In the meantime here's a "Best of Green and Red" episode from June 2020 on Trump vs. his generals. It's a repost referenced in last week's episode on divides in the Ruling Class.  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From June 2020: Bob (@bobbuzzanco) and Scott (@sparki1969) talk about the recent public repudiation of Donald Trump's attempts to use the military against American citizens in pursuit of a racial war by ranking military officials, not just retired but active-duty as well. In an amazing two weeks, one of the more incredible developments has been the open resistance of military officials to Trump's attempts  to militarize American cities and likely kill protestors.  Starting  with retired Generals and Admirals and percolating into the dissent of  active-duty officers, the military, America's most respected  institution, has stood up to Trump and, even more, made a sharp  statement against racism and defended the right to protest. These people aren't radical and don't have the same interests as  protestors, but  have put the brakes on Trump, for the time being at  least.  They've also give people in the streets more legitimacy and  space.  They're not long-term allies necessarily, but they have helped  the millions who are rebelling right now. For more on this topic, see Buzzanco, "Cracks in the Empire: The Military Says 'Stand Down' to Trump"  and Masters of War: Military Dissent and Politics in the Vietnam Era ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Follow Green and Red// G&R Linktree: https://linktr.ee/greenandredpodcast Our Super Badass Website: https://greenandredpodcast.org/ Donate to Green and Red Podcast// Become a Patron at https://www.patreon.com/greenredpodcast Or make a one time donation here: https://bit.ly/DonateGandR This is a Green and Red Podcast  (@PodcastGreenRed) production. Produced by Bob (@bobbuzzanco) and Scott (@sparki1969).  “Green and Red  Blues" by Moody.  Editing by Isaac.

No more Panic Porn! Many/most liberals and much of the left has been panicking and in fear over "fascism" and "coups" for the past couple years--we call it "panic porn"--but Green & Red has been analyzing the objective conditions set by the ruling class and have been pointing out that key elements of the elite who run America, especially in the military and Wall Street, opposed Trump and would stop him--which they did. This week excerpts from a new book, "The Divider," by Peter Baker and Susan Glasser, have confirmed what Bob and Scott were talking about since 2020 (see episodes below)--that the military was wary of Trump and making plans to thwart his efforts during the George Floyd uprisings and the election steal.  At the same time the 1/6 Commission and FBI are closing in on Trump as well, and much of the GOP establishment will be happy to see him taken down. Panic is never a strategy, organization and direct action are.   The ruling class is powerful, but there are divergences in it that we can exploit.  ------------------------------------------------------------------- Outro- "Stop! Don't Worry" by Lonette  Links// New Yorker: Inside the War Between Trump and His Generals (https://bit.ly/3C4ilpi) Fortune: A list of companies supporting abortion rights after the Roe v. Wade ruling shows which firms are stepping up, and why. (https://bit.ly/3C5YFRN) G&R Links// G&R:The Military vs. Donald J. Trump  (https://apple.co/3cDUso8) G&R: The Coup That Wasn't (https://bit.ly/RulingClassGandR) G&R: The Capitol Hill Riots and the Ruling Class (https://bit.ly/RiotsRulingClassGandR) G&R: Baseball and Bosses vs. the Georgia GOP (https://bit.ly/CorpResistGandR) Follow Green and Red// G&R Linktree: https://linktr.ee/greenandredpodcast  Check out our rad website: https://greenandredpodcast.org/ NEW LINK! Join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/ApQcg3ch Donate to Green and Red Podcast// Become a Patron at https://www.patreon.com/greenredpodcast Or make a one time donation here: https://bit.ly/DonateGandR This is a Green and Red Podcast  (@PodcastGreenRed) production. Produced by Bob (@bobbuzzanco) and Scott (@sparki1969).  “Green and Red  Blues" by Moody.  Editing by Isaac.

Bob had a great talk (Scott's on assignment) with Professor Brandon Wolfe-Hunnicutt (@hunnicuttwolfe) of Cal State-Stanislaus, author of  *The Paranoid Style in American Diplomacy: Oil and Arab Nationalism in  Iraq* about Iraqi history from the Ottoman Empire to the present, with  an emphasis on the period from 1958 to the 1970s.   Before Iraq became the target of a massive U.S. intervention, it was a  British colony, and then a kingdom, which achieved sovereignty in a 1958  revolution led by Karim Kasim. However, the U.S., especially President  John F. Kennedy, began to oppose the Kasim regime and helped engineer a  1963 coup against him and then sending support to the new regime to  isolate and kill Kasim backers and others, especially communists.   We talked about the role of Nasserism in Iraq, the importance of the  Communist Party, the politics of oil, the perhaps surprising opposition  of American oil companies to the U.S.-backed coups d'etat, and the  policies of JFK and LBJ.   The country the U.S. attacked and devastated in two wars in the 1990s  and early 2000s was the product of long-term American interference and  meddling. ------------------------------------------------- Links// The Paranoid Style in American Diplomacy: Oil and Arab Nationalism in Iraq (https://bit.ly/3d74eoW) Follow Green and Red// G&R Linktree: https://linktr.ee/greenandredpodcast  Check out our rad website: https://greenandredpodcast.org/ Join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/gHhEsqJs Donate to Green and Red Podcast// Become a Patron at https://www.patreon.com/greenredpodcast Or make a one time donation here: https://bit.ly/DonateGandR This is a Green and Red Podcast  (@PodcastGreenRed) production. Produced by Bob (@bobbuzzanco) and Scott (@sparki1969).  “Green and Red  Blues" by Moody.  Editing by Isaac.

From the 1980s through the 2000s,  there was a period of growth in militant environmental and animal rights movements. This movement had a radical anti-capitalist politic that went after corporations waging war on the earth, people and animals. It's escalating tactics included property destruction and arson. In response, industry, government and the FBI worked to crack down on these radical movements. This movement needed voices. Leslie James Pickering (@lesliejamespick) was one of a few that worked with the Earth Liberation Front (ELF)  Press Office to communicate the message of the anonymous actors engaged in these strategies and tactics to the larger world.  In our latest episode, we speak with Leslie James Pickering about his story of supporting radical environmentalists and, in particular, the Earth Liberation Front. We also discuss how the FBI continued to target him long after his ELF press office days.  We also talk about how he sees movements around ecology and climate today. And his work at Burning Books creating radical politics, education and infrastructure in Buffalo, NY. Leslie is the former spokesperson for the Earth Liberation Front Press Office, a 20-year target of the FBI, an author and co-owner of Burning Books (@BurningBooks) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Links//  Burning Books: https://burningbooks.com/  Leslie's books on PM Press (https://bit.ly/3PIpmzL)  Amid protests, fear and rising sales, Buffalo's 'radical bookstore' plans to expand  (https://bit.ly/3aRaWyo)  NY Times: U.S. Postal Service Logging All Mail for Law Enforcement (https://nyti.ms/3PIpwal)  Former Earth Liberation Front spokesman files federal suit for information from FBI (https://bit.ly/3PocIpX)    Follow Green and Red//  G&R Linktree: https://linktr.ee/greenandredpodcast   Check out our rad website: https://greenandredpodcast.org/  Join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/gHhEsqJs   Donate to Green and Red Podcast//  Become a Patron at https://www.patreon.com/greenredpodcast  Or make a one time donation here: https://bit.ly/DonateGandR   This is a Green and Red Podcast  (@PodcastGreenRed) production. Produced  by Bob (@bobbuzzanco) and Scott (@sparki1969).  “Green and Red  Blues"  by Moody.  Editing by Isaac.