WPKN: Politics, Policy, and Planet Podcast

Interview with Amanda Marcotte, a senior politics writer at Salon.com and author of "Troll Nation: How the Right Became Trump-Worshipping Monsters," conducted by Scott Harris.Amanda Marcotte discusses her article re: Oligarch billionaire Elon Musk’s lawless federal agency takeover, “‘ Hitler had some decent points’: Internet trolls guide Musk’s covert coup,” examining the vile white supremacy that permeates Musk’s fascist child army, conducted by Scott Harris

Interview with Phyllis Bennis, a fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies and international adviser for Jewish Voice for Peace, conducted by Scott Harris.  Phyllis Bennis talks about Donald Trump floating the idea that the US should take over Gaza, ethnically cleanse 2.3 million Palestinian residents and rebuild it into a “Middle East Riviera,” as well as the international rejection of this criminal proposal.Bennis is author of the new book “Understanding Palestine & Israel,” published by Interlink Books.

Immigration Defense SpecialJohn Lugo of Unidad Latina en Accion, and Bethany Perryman, communications director for the Connecticut ACLU, discuss strategies for defending undocumented people against ICE raids in local communities.Host: Richard Hill

Interview with Mazin Qumsiyeh, director of the Palestine Institute for Biodiversity and Sustainability at Bethlehem University, conducted by Melinda Tuhus

Interview with Greg Palast, investigative journalist for The Guardian and New York Times best-selling author of The Best Democracy Money Can Buy, conducted by Scott Harris.Greg Palast concludes that if all legal ballots were counted, Trump would have lost the states of Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Georgia. Kamala Harris would have won the Electoral College vote and the presidency. He talks about his years-long investigation into Republican voter suppression impact on the 2024 presidential election, detailed in his latest article, “Trump Lost. Vote Suppression Won. Here are the Numbers.”Greg Palast’s new film is about the latest attacks on the right to vote that bent this past election.  It’s called, Vigilantes Inc: America’s New Vote Suppression Hitmen, narrated by Rosario Dawson and produced by Martin Sheen. Leonardo DiCaprio has released the film for free streaming at GregPalast.com.

Interview with Will Rice, a consultant with Americans for Tax Fairness, conducted by Scott Harris.Will Rice discusses the Trump-GOP plan to cut more taxes for the rich and impose austerity on the rest of us, referencing a newly leaked memo from House Budget Committee Republicans that proposes slashing trillions from healthcare, nutrition, climate change prevention and more while handing $1.2 trillion in new tax breaks to millionaires, billionaires and big corporations.

Interview with Dr. Stephanie Woolhandler, distinguished professor of public health at Hunter College, conducted by Scott Harris.Dr. Stephanie Woolhandler talks about her concerns regarding Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services. She focuses on his anti-science and anti-vaccine views and what damage he could inflict on U.S. public health policies should the U.S. Senate confirm him.

Interview with Steve Phillips, columnist, host of the Democracy in Color podcast and best-selling author of "How We Win the Civil War: Securing a Multiracial Democracy and Ending White Supremacy for Good" conducted by Scott Harris.Steve Phillips discusses the Trump regime 2.0’s white supremacist ideology – blatant as ever during the campaign, and undeniable in his first week in office eliminating all DEI programs, as well as revoking LBJ’s 1965 executive order prohibiting federal contractors from discriminating in employment based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Most recently Trump outrageously blamed DEI for the plane-helicopter collision at Reagan National Airport.

Interview with Stanley Heller, host of the TV newsmagazine “The Struggle," conducted by Scott Harris.Stanley Heller discusses multi-billionaire and Trump pal Elon Musk’s white supremacy and hate speech, examined in his book, “Zionist Betrayal of Jews: From Herzl to Netanyahu,” as well as Musk’s recent Nazi salute at the Trump inauguration, and the U.S. Anti-Defamation League and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s twisted defense of Musk’s “Heil Hitler” gesture.Heller is administrator of the New Haven, CT-based group Promoting Enduring Peace and a member of Jewish Voice for Peace.

Interview with Joe Lauria, editor-in-chief of Consortium News, conducted by Scott Harris.Joe Lauria talks about his recent article, “The Imperial Presidency Marches On,” about the domestic and international response to Donald Trump’s threat to annex other nation’s territories, including Greenland, the Panama Canal and Canada through economic blackmail or the use of military force.  Lauria has written for the Boston Globe, the London Daily Telegraph, the Johannesburg Star, the Montreal Gazette, and the Wall Street Journal.