WPKN: Politics, Policy, and Planet Podcast

The Organic Farm Stand  --Hot Topics:  The return of light, the polar vortex, what to do with fire place ash  --The Honey Bee Update with Vincent Kaye  --John Kenny of Big Train Farm talks about the history of his CSA and the trials and tribulations of organic certificationHosts:  Richard Hill and Diane Lauricella

Interview with Eric LeCompte, executive director of the Jubilee USA Network, United Nations finance expert, and advisor to the Vatican and Catholic Bishops on debt and economic issues, conducted by Scott Harris.Eric LeCompte discusses Pope Francis’ call for debt cancellation for developing nations, reforming the international finance system to protect the poor and the urgent need to address the global climate crisis.

Interview with Michel S. Moushabeck is a writer, editor, publisher and the founder of Interlink Publishing, conducted by Scott Harris.Michel Moushabeck discusses his article, “Palestinians Endure Another Christmas of Genocide and Displacement,” and issues related to U.S. Middle East policy under President Biden and the future under Donald Trump. He is also founder of Interlink Publishing, a 32-year-old independent publishing house.  Moushabeck is recipient of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee’s Alex Odeh Award and is also a musician of Palestinian Arab Descent.

Interview with Kate Kelly, senior director of the Women's Initiative at the Center for American Progress, conducted by Scott Harris.Kate Kelly talks about the new national alliance that’s now urging President Biden to instruct the national archivist to certify and publish the ERA as the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which has been approved by two-thirds of Congress and ratified by three-fourths of the states, yet remains unpublished due to disagreement regarding the seven-year time limit Congress set in its ERA preamble that expired in the 1970s.  Kelly was also former legislative director for Rep. Cori Bush, D-Missouri, who helped found the first-ever Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) Caucus in Congress.

Interview with Marjorie Cohn, professor emerita at Thomas Jefferson School of Law and past president of the National Lawyers Guild, conducted by Scott Harris.Marjorie Cohn discusses her recent article, “Trump Is Using ‘Unitary Executive’ Theory in His Bid to Amass Supreme Power,” issues related to Trump and co-president billionaire Elon Musk and “Project 2025’s” blueprint to impose an authoritarian state replacing democratic institutions.

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