WPKN: Politics, Policy, and Planet Podcast

In this edition of the Monthly Labor Report, Michael Zweig discusses his book The Working Class Majority--America's Best Kept Secretand why class consciousness/awareness is important as working people struggle for equity and justice.Prof. Zweig also offers his perspective on the Nov. 4 election and what Zohran Mamdani's victory--under the banner of Democratic Socialism--might portend for the political battles to come.Interview by Richard Hill

Interview with Nathaniel Raymond, executive director, Humanitarian Research Lab at the Yale School of Public Health, conducted by Melinda Tuhus.Between The Lines’ Melinda Tuhus spoke with Raymond about the evolution and current state of Sudan’s war, which included the RSF’s 18-month siege of El Fasher, leading to the highest of five levels of famine for the 500,000 people who were sheltering there.

Interview with Michael F. Brown, an independent journalist, conducted by Scott Harris. Brown’s work and views have appeared in The International Herald Tribune, The Nation, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Washington Post and elsewhere.Michael Brown discusses his recent article, “Trump Ambassador Pick Vows to Pressure South Africa Over Gaza Genocide Case,” and nominee Brent Bozell’s unwillingness to declare his opposition to repealing laws allowing Black Americans to vote in U.S. elections.

Interview with Heather Digby Parton, a columnist for Salon.com and winner of the Hillman Prize for opinion journalism, conducted by Scott Harris.Parton talks about the Epstein files legislation and Trump's coverup, and her recent commentary, “Donald Trump’s Enemies List Keeps Growing,” the Epstein files controversy, his increasing number of “pay-to-play” pardons and convicted Jan. 6 insurrectionists pardoned by Trump who have since been re-arrested for new crimes including child molestation, sexual abuse and threats to kill House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

Interview with Ari Paul, New York City-based journalist and lecturer at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, conducted by Scott Harris.  Paul has reported for the Nation, the Guardian, In These Times, Jacobin and many other outlets.Ari Paul discusses his recent coverage for FAIR.org regarding the ongoing MAGA-connected right-wing media takeover in his articles, “As Ellison Buys Out TikTok, U.S. Moves Toward One-Party Media” and “Conde Nast, Paramount Cut Jobs—and Political Dissent.”   

Interview with Jennifer Loewenstein, former associate director of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, conducted by Scott Harris.Jennifer Loewenstein discusses the situation in Gaza and the West Bank that has been mostly absent from news coverage since the ceasefire was signed on Oct. 9, as well as the important current debate in the UN Security Council over the control and composition of an international force that would be deployed to Gaza.

Excerpt of a talk by William I. Robinson, professor of sociology, global and international studies, Latin American and Iberian studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara at the Nov. 8th Hartford, CT conference, “Our Power: A Working People’s Conference on Civil Liberties and Resistance.”Professor Robinson, the event’s keynote speaker, is an authority on what’s driving the world’s elites toward ever-greater austerity and repression. His talk focused on the political economic context in which neoliberal governments are losing authority and the far right is gaining ground, as well as the relationship between the crises of global capitalism and strategies needed to resist. Between The Lines’ Melinda Tuhus attended the conference and presents this excerpt of Robinson’s talk.

Interview with Norman Solomon, director of RootsAction and executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy, conducted by Scott Harris.Norman Solomon talks about his recent commentary, “A Year After Trump Won, Why Won’t Democrats Change Their Playbook?” — a discussion that goes well beyond the mainstream’s superficial analysis of the 2025 off-year election results. Solomon is author of War Made Invisible: How America Hides the Human Toll of Its Military Machine.

Interview with John Tarleton, editor-in-chief of The Indypendent, New York City's free progressive monthly newspaper, conducted by Scott Harris.John Tarleton reflects on Zohran Mamdani’s election victory, becoming New York City’s first Muslim and immigrant mayor in 50 years, the youngest mayor in a century, as well as the city’s first democratic socialist mayor, the challenges ahead for governing America’s largest city, and how his winning campaign could impact national politics.

Interview with Steve Ellner, an associate managing editor of Latin American Perspective, conducted by Scott Harris.Steve Ellner discusses the situation in Venezuela as the Trump regime appears to be preparing an attack or invasion of the country with the goal of removing President Nicolás Maduro from power. Ellner is a retired professor at the Universidad de Oriente in Venezuela, where he lived for over 40 years and is co-editor of Latin American Social Movements and Progressive Governments: Creative Tensions Between Resistance and Convergence.