Green & Red: Podcasts for Scrappy Radicals

In this episode, we talk about left politics in country music with Prof. Mark Allan Jackson. Country music has a huge popular following and has been closely associated with Republican and socially conservative political forces. Politicians like George Wallace, Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan have all appealed to country's fans to build their political bases. But country music has also had a populist left appeal as well. From Nashville to Bakersfield, CA, country musicians have espoused progressive political positions as well in lyrics and activism.    Scott and Bob, with Professor Jackson, look at the cultural and political importance of country music and the artists. We get into how Nixon's southern strategy took Tricky Dick to the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, the outlaw politics of icons like Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson, the progressive politics of Dolly Parton, John Prine's career, the political activism of contemporary artists like the Chicks and Garth Brook's appeals for unity in today's divided political atmosphere.  Mark Allan Jackson is a professor of English at Middle Tennessee State University.  He teaches courses on American Literature, Popular Culture, Folklore, and American Song. In 2007, He published Prophet Singer: The Voice and Vision of Woody Guthrie. He is the editor of and a contributor to the essay collection The Honky Tonk on the Left: Progressive Thought in Country Music (2018). In addition, he compiled, edited, and produced several CDs through West Virginia University Press, including Coal Digging Blues: Songs of West Virginia Miners.  Read more//  Mark Jackson: Reactionaries love it, but country music has a progressive heart (http://bit.ly/3kfNICd)  NPR: Think Politics Is Gone From Country Music? Listen Closer (http://n.pr/2NNWuvo)  John Prine: The MOJO Interview (http://bit.ly/2NNWprA)  Follow us on any of these social media channels//  Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/GreenRedPodcast  Twitter:  https://twitter.com/PodcastGreenRed Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greenredpodcast  YouTube: https://bit.ly/GreenAndRedOnYouTube  Please follow us on Medium! (https://medium.com/green-and-red-media).  Donate to Green and Red Podcast//  Become a recurring donor at  https://www.patreon.com/greenredpodcast  Or make a one time donation here: https://bit.ly/DonateGandR  This is a Green and Red Podcast production. Produced by Bob (@bobbuzzanco) and Scott (@sparki1969). “Green and Red Blues" by Moody. Editing by Issac. And thanks to our Executive Consultant Jeff Ordower. 

We're rejoined by repeat Green and Red repeat-offenders Debbie Russell (@debmocracy) and Clayton Lust (@claytonlust), in Austin and Houston, respectively, to discuss the "Katrina-scale" crisis happening throughout Texas at the moment. We talked about conditions on the ground in Austin and Houston, especially the loss of heat and water, and the human misery--homeless people dying, the elderly having no access to medical care, millions without heat. We discussed mutual aid efforts in Austin and below we list a number of mutual link where you can get support, give support or donate.  And we talked about the larger political conditions that led to it--Texas-style "Cowboy Capitalism" that believes in deregulation and markets controlled by their cronies to coordinate energy markets.   And what would a show like this be without talking about Rafael Cruz's vacation photos?    Debbie is an organizer, activist, and anti-police brutality advocate in Austin, TX. (If you want to see Debbie's visual aids from the episode, check us out on YouTube.) Clayton is a historian, activist, teacher, conqueror, warper of minds. He has taught at Houston Community College since 2003. Texas mutual aid efforts// TEXAS MUTUAL AID RESOURCES  (http://bit.ly/3serWS6) Donate to Mutual Aid Houston: https://www.gofundme.com/f/mutualaidhou Rio Grande Valley Mutual Aid: https://linktr.ee/Rgvmutualaid Austin Mutual Aid: https://linktr.ee/austinmutualaid Mutual Aid in North Texas (including Dallas-Ft. Worth): https://bit.ly/3drVZSo DFW Mutual Aid:https://linktr.ee/dfwmutualaid  San Antonia Support and Shelter: https://twitter.com/dox_gay/status/1362464855601594369 Read more// Afflict the Comfortable: Texas Energy Corporations make billions, but weatherization was too expensive….. (http://bit.ly/3s9sGYJ) It's Going Down: Autonomous Mutual Aid Groups Mobilize in Texas as Death Toll Rises (http://bit.ly/3bkuXtz) Guardian: Winter storm amplifies power grid inequalities for disadvantaged Texans (http://bit.ly/37uRwuv) Follow us on any of these social media channels// Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/GreenRedPodcast Twitter:  https://twitter.com/PodcastGreenRed Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greenredpodcast YouTube: https://bit.ly/GreenAndRedOnYouTube Please follow us on Medium! (https://medium.com/green-and-red-media). Donate to Green and Red Podcast// Become a recurring donor at  https://www.patreon.com/greenredpodcast Or make a one time donation here: https://bit.ly/DonateGandR This is a Green and Red Podcast production. Produced by Bob (@bobbuzzanco) and Scott (@sparki1969). “Green and Red Blues" by Moody. Editing by Scott.

In this episode, we offer a postmortem on Trump's presidency and the limits of his power. The "opposition" gave Trump powers that he never had.  He was never popular, his positions never had close to majority approval, his own judges and GOP officials rebuked him, and, as we've talked about plenty, the military and ruling class were opposed to him.  Despite that, Liberals and too many Leftists treated him like a super-monster with incredible skills and remained in fear and anxiety rather than organizing and resisting.  We talk about the reality of Trump's power, and Capitalist power, who wields it, and why we have to stand up to it at all times instead of just giving our demons more power.  Trump was a paper tiger and we need to be prepared to fight going forward.   Read more//  The Limits of Power: Donald J. Trump by Bob Buzzanco (http://bit.ly/3bdnk7X)  Follow us on any of these social media channels//  Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/GreenRedPodcast  Twitter:  https://twitter.com/PodcastGreenRed  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greenredpodcast  YouTube: https://bit.ly/GreenAndRedOnYouTube  Please follow us on Medium! (https://medium.com/green-and-red-media).  Donate to Green and Red Podcast//  Become a recurring donor at  https://www.patreon.com/greenredpodcast  Or make a one time donation here: https://bit.ly/DonateGandR  This is a Green and Red Podcast production. Produced by Bob (@bobbuzzanco) and Scott (@sparki1969). “Green and Red Blues" by Moody. Editing extraordinaire by Isaac.

In this episode we talk politics and podcasting with Bill Troveski from The Way (@PodcastTheWay).  Students for a Democratic Society said in the Port Huron statement, "looking uncomfortably to the world we inherit..."  We discuss the current version of that discomfort that today's students and youth are inheriting as the pandemic, economic collapse, the climate crisis and political crisis are all crashing down. With Bill, we discuss politics on campus at the University of Connecticut (where he's currently a student), issues of student debt, the work force, climate change, healthcare and more.   Bill Troveski is the host of the Way and a student at the University of Connecticut. The Way interviews experts on various topics at 91.7FM in Hartford, CT.  More on this podcast//  The Way: https://thewaypodcast-com.webnode.com/the-show/  Follow us on any of these social media channels//  Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/GreenRedPodcast  Twitter:  https://twitter.com/PodcastGreenRed  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greenredpodcast  YouTube: https://bit.ly/GreenAndRedOnYouTube  Please follow us on Medium! (https://medium.com/green-and-red-media).  Donate to Green and Red Podcast//  Become a recurring donor at  https://www.patreon.com/greenredpodcast  Or make a one time donation here: https://bit.ly/DonateGandR  This is a Green and Red Podcast production. Produced by Bob (@bobbuzzanco) and Scott (@sparki1969). “Green and Red Blues" by Moody. Editing extraordinaire by Isaac.

In our latest episode, we talk with two professors with exemplary records at Collin College, outside Dallas, who were recently fired for criticizing the school's COVID policies.  Audra Heaslip and Suzanne Jones (@Sesjones), both longtime professors, questioned President Neil Matkin's dismissal of COVID concerns, his insistence on returning to in-person classes, and his refusal to create a COVID dashboard.  Matkin also withheld information from the campus community about a faculty member who had died from COVID for weeks.  And he cited Heaslip's and Jones's membership in the Texas Faculty Association, an education union, as a reason for their termination.  Heaslip and Jones were looking out for the safety and health of the campus community and were fired for making Collin look bad, as Matkin told them.  At Collin College, concern over COVID, being in a union, and expressing your right to free speech can get you fired. We also pay tribute to legendary Pittsburgh folksinger, union maid and hell raiser Anne Feeney who passed away last week from complications related to COVID-19.  See also//  Afflict the Comfortable: "Professors Fired for COVID Concerns" (http://bit.ly/3aJvdlz)    NY Times: Anne Feeney, Fierce and Tireless Protest Singer, Dies at 69 (http://nyti.ms/3cQTHvO) Follow us on any of these social media channels// Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/GreenRedPodcast Twitter:  https://twitter.com/PodcastGreenRed Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greenredpodcast YouTube: https://bit.ly/GreenAndRedOnYouTube Please follow us on Medium! (https://medium.com/green-and-red-media). Donate to Green and Red Podcast// Become a recurring donor at  https://www.patreon.com/greenredpodcast Or make a one time donation here: https://bit.ly/DonateGandR This is a Green and Red Podcast production. Produced by Bob (@bobbuzzanco) and Scott (@sparki1969). “Green and Red Blues" by Moody. Editing by Isaac.

In this episode, we're excited to talk to author, activist and historian Dr. Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz (@rdunbaro) about the Indigenous history of the U.S. We discuss her journey from activist and organizer to historian of the vast and complex subject of Indigenous people's history. We also discuss settler colonialism and today's protest movements for Indigenous rights.  Dr. Dunbar-Ortiz is a historian, author, human rights activist, and speaker who researches Western Hemisphere history and international human rights.From 1967 to 1974, she was a full-time activist living in various parts of the United States, traveling to Europe, Mexico, and Cuba. She is also a veteran of the women's liberation movement. Her books include Outlaw Woman: A Memoir of the War Years, 1960–75, Red Dirt: Growing Up Okie, An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States, Loaded: A Disarming History of the Second Amendment, and the forthcoming A Nation of Immigrants?:Settler Colonialism, White Supremacy, and a History of Erasure and Exclusion. Read more// Roxanne Dunbar Ortiz (https://reddirtsite.com/) Monthly Review: Examining the Wreckage by Nick Estes and Roxanne Dunbar Ortiz (http://bit.ly/3rufyxk)  Follow us on any of these social media channels// Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/GreenRedPodcast Twitter:  https://twitter.com/PodcastGreenRed Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greenredpodcast YouTube: https://bit.ly/GreenAndRedOnYouTube Please follow us on Medium! (https://medium.com/green-and-red-media). Donate to Green and Red Podcast// Become a recurring donor at  https://www.patreon.com/greenredpodcast Or make a one time donation here: https://bit.ly/DonateGandR This is a Green and Red Podcast production. Produced by Bob (@bobbuzzanco) and Scott (@sparki1969). “Green and Red Blues" by Moody. Editing by Isaac.

In our latest episode, we get into it! The left media universe includes YouTubers with hundreds of thousands of subscribers, hundreds of podcasts and journals like Jacobin with 60,000 subscribers monthly. Yet that has translated in little support for on-the-ground organizers working in workplaces, frontline communities and the streets.  We talk with Joshua Kahn Russell (@joshkahnrussell), Executive Director of the Wildfire Project, about the pundits of the online left (YouTuber, Podcasters, #LeftTwitter, etc). We discuss how their approach is vastly different than those doing real life organizing work. We also talk about how commentators like Jimmy Dore's actions, like Force the Vote, or interviewing members of far right militias actually hurt left movements. We also discuss the need for more organizer-pundits in this well-trafficked space with a huge audience, and how to best engage once you're in.  Joshua is a social movement facilitator and has trained thousands of activists across the globe. He is the Executive Director of the Wildfire Project. He is a facilitator/action-coordinator with the Ruckus Society. He has helped campaigns win against banks, oil companies, logging corporations, and coal barons; worked with a wide variety of groups in a breadth of arenas, from local resiliency projects, to national coalitions, to the United Nations Climate Negotiations. Joshua was a frequent guest on The Michael Brooks Show (TMBS), which just ended, as well as other new media outlets where he speaks about spirituality, and the mechanics of social movements. Read more// Wildfire Project:http://wildfireproject.org/ Joshua's bio (http://bit.ly/3th055d) Jimmy Dore Boogaloo Boys Interview Sparks Outrage Among Critics: 'You're a Sucker (http://bit.ly/3oEiAwM) Joshua on recent TMBS Panel “Think Like An Organizer” with Jane McAlevey and Francesca Fiorentini. (https://bit.ly/36tFDUP) Follow us on any of these social media channels// Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/GreenRedPodcast Twitter:  https://twitter.com/PodcastGreenRed Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greenredpodcast YouTube: https://bit.ly/GreenAndRedOnYouTube Please follow us on Medium! (https://medium.com/green-and-red-media). Donate to Green and Red Podcast// Become a recurring donor at  https://www.patreon.com/greenredpodcast Or make a one time donation here: https://bit.ly/DonateGandR This is a Green and Red Podcast production. Produced by Bob (@bobbuzzanco) and Scott (@sparki1969). “Green and Red Blues" by Moody. Editing by Isaac. Special thanks to Jeff Ordower (@moredower) for executive consulting. 

In our latest episode, Bob (@bobbuzzanco) interviews Scott (@sparki1969) about his recent article "Why 2021 needs more direct  action." They discuss how elections and electing Democrats and  Democratic Socialists won't be the only way to get us out of the current  cascade of crises hitting the world right now (COVID-19, economic  collapse, climate change, political crisis around the far right). They  also discuss Scott's past work in fighting mountaintop removal coal mining, Wall Street banks and oil pipelines. Read more// Scott Parkin: Why 2021 needs more direct action. (http://bit.ly/2021DirectAction) Climate Justice and Community Resilience:Resistance and Grassroots Solutions. Edited by Brian Tokar and Tamra Gilbertson. Includes chapter by Scott (http://bit.ly/ClimateJusticeBook) Follow us on any of these social media channels// Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/GreenRedPodcast Twitter:  https://twitter.com/PodcastGreenRed Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greenredpodcast YouTube: https://bit.ly/GreenAndRedOnYouTube Please follow us on Medium! (https://medium.com/green-and-red-media). Donate to Green and Red Podcast// Become a recurring donor at  https://www.patreon.com/greenredpodcast Or make a one time donation here: https://bit.ly/DonateGandR This is a Green and Red Podcast production. Produced by Bob (@bobbuzzanco) and Scott (@sparki1969). “Green and Red Blues" by Moody.    Editing by Scott.

In this episode, we talk with comic book creator Brian Wood (@brianwood) and the influence of pop culture on politics. And vice versa. We discuss his work on Channel Zero, DMZ and the Massive. And how his work in those comics has focused on lefty politics and issues like media activism, far right militias, climate change and direct action. We also talk about Marvel's The Punisher and the obvious connection to today's fascist movements.  Brian is a comic book writer, illustrator and creator. He's also worked in television and video game design. Brian's work includes Channel Zero, a story about a dystopian near future NYC with hackers as heroes fighting a Big Brother theocracy, DMZ, another dystopian near future story set in NYC during a civil war between right-wing militias and the US government, and The Massive, a story about Greenpeace/Sea Shepherd style ship caught in environmental and economic collapse. DMZ is currently being developed as an HBO mini-series with Ava DuVernay directing. His other work includes Northlanders, Starve and Rebels. He's also been a writer on titles like Conan the Barbarian, the X-Men, Star Wars and Aliens. Read more// Brian's website: https://www.brianwood.com/  Follow us on any of these social media channels// Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/GreenRedPodcast Twitter:  https://twitter.com/PodcastGreenRed Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greenredpodcast YouTube: https://bit.ly/GreenAndRedOnYouTube Please follow us on Medium! (https://medium.com/green-and-red-media). Donate to Green and Red Podcast// Become a recurring donor at  https://www.patreon.com/greenredpodcast Or make a one time donation here: https://bit.ly/DonateGandR This is a Green and Red Podcast production. Produced by Bob (@bobbuzzanco) and Scott (@sparki1969). “Green and Red Blues" by Moody.    Editing by Isaac.

In our latest episode, we have a lively discussion with Eileen Flanagan (@eileenflanagan) of Choose Democracy about mass organizing efforts to defend democracy from Trump.  We discuss their efforts to recruit and prepare thousands to hit the streets, taking advantage of "cracks" in ruling class institutions, like Wall Street and the military, and turning anxiety about Trump remaining in power into action.  We also discussed longer term organizing efforts around climate justice and challenging white supremacy. Eileen Flanagan is an author, trainer and organizer working on a number of issues. For five years, she served as board chair of Earth Quaker Action Team, a scrappy nonviolent direct action group which successfully pressured one of the largest banks in the US (PNC Bank) to stop financing mountaintop removal coal mining. Ahead of the 2020 election, she became the Trainings Coordinator of Choose Democracy, which trained nearly 10,000 people in nonviolent strategies to prevent a coup. She is award-winning author of three books and is currently writing one on the intersection of racial and environmental justice. She also teaches online courses for those who want to make their activism more effective.  Read more// Flanagan: Choose Democracy’s whirlwind effort to prevent a coup is a crash course in good organizing (https://bit.ly/3sVyTJg) Flanagan: Despite flagrant assault on the Capitol, the pillars of democracy are holding (https://bit.ly/3sVyTJg) Eileen's website: https://eileenflanagan.com/ Eileen's online courses (http://bit.ly/3ixjM3X) Choosing Democracy: https://choosedemocracy.us/ Scott Parkin: Why 2021 needs more direct action. (http://bit.ly/2021DirectAction) Follow us on any of these social media channels// Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/GreenRedPodcast Twitter:  https://twitter.com/PodcastGreenRed Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greenredpodcast YouTube: https://bit.ly/GreenAndRedOnYouTube Please follow us on Medium! (https://medium.com/green-and-red-media). Donate to Green and Red Podcast// Become a recurring donor at  https://www.patreon.com/greenredpodcast Or make a one time donation here: https://bit.ly/DonateGandR This is a Green and Red Podcast production. Produced by Bob (@bobbuzzanco) and Scott (@sparki1969). “Green and Red Blues" by Moody.    Editing most excellent by Isaac.