WPKN: Politics, Policy, and Planet Podcast

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

Interview with Po Murray, co-founder and chairwoman of the Newtown Action Alliance and the Newtown Action Alliance Foundation, conducted by Scott Harris.Po Murray will talk about the 12th year of remembrance for the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting — the National Vigil for All Victims of Gun Violence in Washington, D.C. on Dec. 11, and her group’s ongoing work to end gun violence across the U.S.

Interview with Jeff Hauser, executive director of the Revolving Door Project, conducted by Scott Harris.Jeff Hauser discusses his project’s concern about the history of corruption during Trump’s first four years in the White House, and the corruption the nation is likely to witness under the incoming Trump administration, as well as the consequences of that corruption on government programs and services.

Interview with John Carl Baker, Ph.D., deputy director of Programs with Ploughshares, conducted by Scott Harris.John Carl Baker talks about the issues examined in his recent Nation magazine article, “South Korean Protesters Thwarted More Than Just a Coup Attempt,” and the future of U.S. relations with both South and North Korea.

Interview with Phyllis Bennis, director of the Institute for Policy Studies' New Internationalism Project, conducted by Scott Harris.Phyllis Bennis talks about the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria by rebels led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, along with an umbrella group of Turkish-backed Syrian militias called the Syrian National Army. She also assesses the Lebanon ceasefire, Israel’s ongoing catastrophic war in Gaza and what we can expect from Trump et al. on Middle East policy. The New Internationalism Project focuses on the Middle East, Palestinian rights and U.S. militarism.

The Monthly Labor Report's first broadcast after the Nov. 5 election:    Michael Zweig, economist and labor historian, discusses the role labor must play in the resistance to the fascist anti-workeragenda of the incoming Trump administration.  Prof. Zweig performs a post mortem on Kamala Harris' loss; and analyzes the effectof a possible mass deportation immigrants and of sweeping tariffs on the working class.  Zweig states:  "The best organizer is the boss,"referring to the push-back from working people that is sure to come when the harsh realities of the incoming administration come into focus.Interview by Richard Hill