WPKN: Politics, Policy, and Planet Podcast

Interview with Jasmine Rivera, executive director of the Pennsylvania Immigration Coalition, conducted by Scott Harris.Jasmine Rivera discusses her group’s Dec. 18 protest action on Philadelphia’s Ben Franklin Bridge, demanding President Biden issue directives to protect immigrants from Trump’s mass deportation plan before he leaves office and the nationwide activism that will be necessary to effectively challenge Trump’s anti-immigrant policies over the next four years.

Interview with Parker Molloy, media critic and publisher of the Present Age newsletter, conducted by Scott Harris.Parker Molloy talks about her recent article, “One Day in Anti-Trans America,” with a focus on Trump and the GOP’s demonization of the trans community, the Democrat’s non-response, and the failure of corporate media’s coverage of right-wing extremists’ dangerous scapegoating, which leads to violence.

Interview with Rachel Carroll Rivas, interim director of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Project, conducted by Scott Harris.Rachel Rivas discusses her work tracking hate groups and white supremacists engaged in violence – and concerns that these groups and individuals could pose a threat to civil society as Donald Trump takes office and encourages political violence targeting immigrants and his perceived political enemies.

Interview with Kathy Kelly, board president of the group World Beyond War, conducted by Scott Harris.Kathy Kelly discusses her recent article, “When Will the UN General Assembly Suspend Israel?” and issues related to Israel’s ongoing savage war in Gaza, the West Bank (and earlier in Lebanon,) U.S. Middle East policy under the incoming Trump regime and the devolution of international law.  Kelly also works with the international network Global Solidarity for Peace in Palestine.

The Organic Farm Stand, Dec. 19, 2024:   --Hot Topics   --Small Farms Report   --CT Northeast Organic Farming Association reports on the upcoming Winter Conference and the legislative agenda   --CT Sierra Club's Samantha Dynowski discusses the organization agenda to push for a non-toxic renewable environment in Connecticut.Hosted by Richard Hill and Diane Lauricella

Interview with Heather Digby Parton, Salon columnist, conducted by Scott Harris.Heather Parton discusses Trump’s Cabinet nominees, many of whom smell strongly of oligarchy, corruption and retribution, and the national fight over the future of social security and Medicare we’ll see next year.Parton has been a Hullabaloo blogger since the early 2000s, Salon.com columnist since 2014 and won the 2014 Hillman Prize for opinion and analysis journalism.

Interview with John Stoehr, editor of the daily politics newsletter, The Editorial Board, senior editor at Raw Story, and a contributing writer for the Washington Monthly, conducted by Scott Harris.John Stoehr discusses his recent article, “Kamala Harris Wasted Money on Campaign Ads, not Beyoncé,” issues related to America’s dangerous media landscape and the corrosive political impact of widespread disinformation disguised as “news!”Stoehr is also a fellow at Yale’s Ezra Stiles College and a contributing editor for Religion Dispatches.

Interview with Dr. Phil Brewer, Connecticut emergency physician active with Physicians for a National Health Program, conducted by Scott Harris.Dr. Phil Brewer discusses his views on the recent wave of public anger and frustration regarding our nation’s failing health insurance industry set off by the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson and Physicians for a National Health Program’s ongoing campaign for the implementation of a universal, single-payer healthcare system in the U.S., which every other industrialized nation in the world has had for decades.Dr. Brewer formerly served as medical director for Quinnipiac University Student Health Services.

Interview with Ralph Nader, America's best known and most effective public interest lawyer, conducted by Scott Harris. Ralph Nader, whose latest book is titled, “Let’s Start the Revolution: Tools for Displacing the Corporate State and Building a Country that Works for the People,” talks about his effort to convince U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, to take an ethical land-moral stand against Israel’s mass slaughter of Palestinian civilians in Gaza. Nader also comments on what we can expect from the incoming Trump regime 2.0.Nader ran for president four times as both a Green Party and independent candidate, always using his platform to advocate for consumer and worker protections while demanding responsible regulation of corporate America’s massive power.

Dr. Vivek Chibber, professor of sociology at NYU, presents a class analysis of the November 5 election, noting that the Democratic Party had long ago severed its ties to working people and adopted a neoliberal agenda beholden to corporate interests.Panel:  Scott Harris, Ruthanne Baumgartner and Richard Hill