

Green & Red: Podcasts for Scrappy Radicals
Green and Red
Welcome to our scrappy podcast. Bob Buzzanco and Scott Parkin co-host a regular podcast to discuss radical environmental and anti-capitalist politics with organizers, academics, artists and more.
Bob Buzzanco is a professor of history at the University of Houston. He specializes in, writes about and talks on the Vietnam War era, foreign policy, Vietnam, radical social movements, economics, and other stuff.
Scott Parkin is climate organizer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has organized campaigns against Wall Street banks, mountaintop removal coal mining and the Keystone XL pipeline.
Bob Buzzanco is a professor of history at the University of Houston. He specializes in, writes about and talks on the Vietnam War era, foreign policy, Vietnam, radical social movements, economics, and other stuff.
Scott Parkin is climate organizer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has organized campaigns against Wall Street banks, mountaintop removal coal mining and the Keystone XL pipeline.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Nov 8, 2022 • 18min
#COP27: Update from Sharm Al Sheikh in Egypt (G&R 192)
The 27th meeting of the United Nations Climate talks, or COP27m is happening in Sharm El Sheikh, a coastal resort town in Egypt. The gathering is happening amidst a crackdown on Egyptian civil society by the government around climate issues and food shortages.
Scott gets an update with a climate activist on the ground in Sharm El-Sheikh.
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Links//
Support the call for "No climate justice without open civic space." (https://bit.ly/3NPCvas)
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https://greenandredpodcast.org/
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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.

Nov 7, 2022 • 53min
Punching Left: Why the Democrats Suck, part 2, and R.I.P. Mike Davis (G&R 191)
The Democratic Party is about to get pummeled in the mid-term elections next week. Scott and Bob followed up on their recent discussion with Noam Chomsky on the devolution of the Democrats and their abandonment of working class issues since the 1970s (see here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2Ngm...) by discussing the their failure to offer up a real resistance to the Republicans.
We take a historical approach--talking about the GOP-stolen election of 2000 and the Democrat's failure to fight in Florida when Bush had people in the streets and Gore rejected any suggestion to have similar protests. We talk about the failure of Barack Obama to help anyone win office other than himself and point out that the Democratic Party suffered huge losses in state races throught the Obama years.
We also talked about the weak and timid responses to the GOP's attacks on the Democrats emphasizing the Crime and Inflation issues. And of course we discussed the way the Democratic Establishment punches left, blaming Sanders, The Squad, the Greens, and others while never taking responsibility for their own failures.
And we finish by paying tribute to the great Mike Davis
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Outro// "Lifestyles of the Rich and Comfortable" By Piss Control
Links//
Beto vs. Greg Abbott (https://bit.ly/3FHKG6I)
WaPo: Centrist House Democrats lash out at liberal colleagues, blame far-left views for costing the party seats (from 2020) (https://wapo.st/3t06jrb)
Texas Bail Reform Reduced Jail Time and Crime, New Study Says (https://bloom.bg/3fvr773)
Follow Green and Red//
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https://greenandredpodcast.org/
NEW LINK! Join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/MU4QrxAY
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
**Our friends with Certain Days now have their 2023 calendar available and we bought ten copies. With a $25 (or more) donation to Green and Red, we'll mail you one! Just contact us at greenredpodcast@gmail.com.
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.

Oct 31, 2022 • 1h 2min
The Cuban Missile Crisis at 60: Was JFK Really A Hero? (G&R 190)
60 years ago this month, in October 1962, Americans anxiously heard news for almost two weeks straight about the presence of Soviet missiles in Cuba, less than 100 miles away from the U.S. Nuclear War was possible, to some imminent.
In this episode we offer a brief history of the Cuban Missile Crisis and, more importantly, a remembrance and reconsideration of the events of October and JFK actions throughout the crisis.
JFK has been praised for his firm resolve, courage, and strength in handling the crisis but the reality is that he was provocative and almost caused a war against Russia. In this episode we'll start by giving a background on JFK's aggression toward Cuba, then we'll offer a brief narrative of the crisis, and finally we'll discuss how Kennedy continued his subversion against Castro's government after the Missile Crisis.
JFK was not heroic. His recklessness and need for credibility almost caused a nuclear exchange. The media doesn't tell you this story. Green and Red does . . .
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Outro- "We'll Meet Again" By Vera Lynn
Links
The best resource for the Missile Crisis is the National Security Archive, at https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/ It's recently put out a series of briefing books with documents on the crisis.
Follow Green and Red//
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https://greenandredpodcast.org/
NEW LINK! Join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/MmvSzjRp
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
**Our friends with Certain Days now have their 2023 calendar available and we bought ten copies. With a $25 (or more) donation to Green and Red, we'll mail you one! Just contact us at greenredpodcast@gmail.com
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.

Oct 18, 2022 • 49min
My Heroes Have Always Been Wobblies w/ Country Troubadour Mike Hellman (G&R 188)
Mike Hellman is country and americana musician writing songs, putting out albums and playing gigs in Texas, California and beyond. But he also has organized with the Industrial Workers of the World (Wobblies) for over a decade. He's been part of campaigns against Starbucks and Whole Foods a long time before the current campaigns against those corporate giants.
Flying solo, Scott talks with old friend and comrade Mike about music and labor politics. They discussed his campaign and organizing work with the Wobblies, thoughts on the current state of labor and how big unions and labor law formulated for the bosses hold the rank and file back.They also talk about his musical influences and inspiration, from hip hop to punk to Joe Hill. We then about his upcoming live gigs in California and his new album.
Mike Hellman (@MikeHellmanForReal) is a construction worker by day and a country and americana troubadour by night. He also has been an organizer with the Wobblies, Earth First! and various other radical causes.
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Interlude- Mike Hellman "Someday" Outro- Mike Hellman "What I am"
Links
MikeHellmanMusic.com
Mike on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/mikehellmanforreal/
Follow Green and Red//
G&R Linktree: https://linktr.ee/greenandredpodcast
https://greenandredpodcast.org/
NEW LINK! Join our Discord community:
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
**Our friends with Certain Days now have their 2023 calendar available for sale. Get yours now at https://www.certaindays.org/
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.

Oct 14, 2022 • 47min
The Protests in Iran, with Professor Giuseppe Acconcia (G&R 187)
The "hijab protests" in Iran have continued and intensified for weeks now, and we talked to a journalist and scholar with a longtime familiarity with the country. Giuseppe Acconcia, @stradedellest, professor at Padua University, has been a journalist working out of Iran and is the author of "The Great Iran," and most recently co-authored, with Lorenza Perini, of "The Arab Uprisings: Protests, Gender, and War, 2011-2021."
Acconcia here provides us with background to the new conflict, the critical role Iranian women have played in the resistance in Iran for some time now and the current state of the uprising, and other factors, like the Iranian economy and sanctions, that are affecting the current protests.
See Acconcia and Perini, The Arab-Uprisings: Protests, Gender, and War, https://www.routledge.com/The-Arab-Uprisings-Protests-Gender-and-War-2011-2021/Acconcia-Perini/p/book/9781032274843
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Outro// "Baraye" by Shervin Hajipour (note- This is a popular resistance song with the Iranian uprising. You can read more about it here: https://bit.ly/3s2GxSZ)
Follow Green and Red//
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https://greenandredpodcast.org/
NEW LINK! Join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/Rg7H9A3X
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
** Our friends with Certain Days now have their 2023 calendar available for sale. Get yours now at https://www.certaindays.org/
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.

Oct 10, 2022 • 44min
Defending Mendocino’s Sacred Sites w/ the Pomo Land Back and Save Jackson Forest Campaigns (G&R 186)
The "Mendocino War" was a bloody conflict between the Yuki tribe and white settlers in Northern California. White settlers raided and stole Yuki lands and massacring hundreds of Yuki in the process. The Yuki fled to "The Mountain" in what is now known as the Jackson Demonstration State Forest to escape the violence. Those villages in the forest are now sacred sites to the Coastal Yuki and Northern Pomo tribes.
The state of California is allowing logging companies to log the 50,000 acre Jackson Forest for profit to finance CalFire's operations fighting wildfires. Despite Gov. Gavin Newsom's direction for California state agencies to co-manage state lands with local Native American tribes and seek opportunities to return State lands to Native American tribes, the Dept. of Natural Resources has only designated 75 acres as "sacred sites."
Flying solo, Scott talks with Pricilla Hunter, Polly Girvin and Andy Wellspring with the Pomo Land Back (@PomoLandBack) campaign and the Coalition to Save Jackson Forest (@savejacksoncoalition) about the ongoing campaign to save the Jackson Forest and the sacred sites within it. The campaign has seen backcountry blockades and tree-sit action as well as rallies and marches in Mendocino County and Sacramento.
The campaigners see this as potentially the next great environmental struggle. We discuss.
Bios//
Priscilla Hunter is a Tribal Elder of the Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians, former Chairwoman of the Tribe, and currently the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer. Priscilla is working to protect the Sacred Sites of her Northern Pomo and Coast Yuki peoples that are threatened by logging, road building and pesticide operations in the Jackson Demonstration State Forest, which is located in her homelands, also called Mendocino.
Polly Girvin is a movement elder, Chicana activist, and civil rights and Federal Indian Law attorney graduated from the University of California Berkeley and Columbia University School of Law.
Andy Wellspring is a member of Showing Up for Racial Justice, the Mendo Coast chapter. SURJ is white folks committed to racial justice nationally, and SURJ Mendo Coast is a member of the Coalition to Save Jackson State Forest and supporting the Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians in this struggle to protect sacred sites and end commercial logging on Pomo Homelands.
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Outro- Stuart James "NoDAPL"
Links//
Save Jackson Forest: https://savejackson.org/
Donate to support the tribe's legal strategy. (https://bit.ly/3yjiUZI)
Links//
Save Jackson Forest: https://savejackson.org/
Donate to support the tribe's legal strategy. (https://bit.ly/3yjiUZI)
Follow Green and Red//
G&R Linktree: https://linktr.ee/greenandredpodcast
https://greenandredpodcast.org/
NEW LINK! Join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/Rg7H9A3X
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
** Our friends with Certain Days now have their 2023 calendar available for sale. Get your's now at https://www.certaindays.org/
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.

Oct 10, 2022 • 1h 11min
Best of G&R: The Bloody Legacies of Columbus w/ History Prof. Michael Oberg (G&R 185)
In this episode, we get into the legacies of Columbus and America's genocide of Indigenous people with Prof. Michael Oberg (@nativeamtext), the larger problems of the way Native American History is taught, and why a 1619 Project is needed for American Indians too.
We start off with a clip from the Sopranos highlighting the conflict in the Italian-American community over Columbus Day. And then we deep dive into Indigenous Peoples' Day, the cultural impact of America's genocide, the Indian Wars and violence in the U.S. historical narrative. We also talk about whether cultural gains (things like tearing down Columbus statues, changing sports team names, etc.) will result in material gains (economics, health care, etc) for Native Americans, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the epidemic of police murder of Indigenous people.
Michael Oberg is Distinguished Professor of History at SUNY-Geneseo. The author of seven books on Native American history, Oberg received a SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2003 and a Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Scholarship in 2013.
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Links//
Michael Oberg's website: https://michaelleroyoberg.com/
Indigenous Lives Matter: Some Thoughts on the Death of Reynold High Pine, 1972. (https://bit.ly/33N2gmg)
Follow Green and Red//
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https://greenandredpodcast.org
NEW LINK! Join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/Rg7H9A3X
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.

Oct 4, 2022 • 1h 18min
Is Giorgia Meloni the Next Mussolini? Italian Politics w/ Prof. Francesco Mazzucotelli (G&R 184)
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.
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Outro- 99 Posse "Rigurgito Antifascista"
Follow Green and Red//
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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.

Sep 27, 2022 • 1h 2min
Noam Chomsky on Why the Democrats Suck (G&R 183)
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.
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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)
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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.

Sep 19, 2022 • 55min
Dousing the BBC's Fake News Before It Can "Burn Wild" w/ Former ELF Member Daniel McGowan (G&R 182)
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.
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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.