WPKN: Politics, Policy, and Planet Podcast

Interview with Doug Pagitt, pastor and executive director of the national organization Vote Common Good, conducted by Scott Harris.Doug Pagitt discusses his group’s mission of “mobilizing people of faith to make the common good their voting criteria,” with a focus on how progressive religious activists are now taking action to oppose the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda and frequently violent ICE raids targeting communities of color.

The Organic Farm Stand features an interview with Emily Oakley, co-owner of Three Springs Farm in eastern Oklahoma. Emily recently presented a proposal for a "stand alone" Real Organic Project label and she describes just what that would entail in this fascinating conversation on today's show.Also featured: Hot Topics with Diane and the honey bee update from Vincent Kaye.Hosts: Richard Hill and Diane Lauricella

Interview with Peggy Bailey, executive vice president for Policy and Program Development with the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, conducted by Scott Harris.Peggy Bailey discusses her group’s views on the major issues and possible solutions to end the ongoing government shutdown, i.e.: extension of Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies and addressing the impending cutoff of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.

Interview with artist and activist Robert Shetterly, creator of the ‘Americans Who Tell the Truth’ project, conducted by Melinda Tuhus.The project, which channels the “power of art to illuminate the ongoing struggle to realize America’s democratic ideals,” offers a variety of ways to engage with his portraits through exhibits and educational programs. Between The Lines’ Melinda Tuhus spoke with Shetterly about his personal development as a portrait painter and discusses his goal of inspiring courageous citizenship.

Interview with Maria Stephan, co-lead and chief organizer with the Horizons Project and author and editor of five books on authoritarianism and civil resistance, conducted by Scott Harris.Maria Stephan assesses the recent No Kings Day protests, Trump and the Republican Party’s labeling anti-authoritarian protesters as “anti-American and terrorists,” and what new strategies and tactics may be necessary to adopt in the face of Trump’s deployment of heavily armed ICE agents and the US military to cities across the country.

Interview with Henry Burke, senior researcher with the Revolving Door Project, conducted by Scott Harris.Henry Burke examines Donald Trump’s recent pardon of convicted money launderer Changpeng Zhao, which many observers link to Zhao’s boost of the Trump family’s crypto business and an “example of Trump’s Pay-to-Pardon scheme.” He also shares his views of how Trump, unlike any other U.S. president, has exploited his office to accumulate what some estimate to be more than $3 billion added to his personal fortune during the first nine months of his second term.

Interview with Andra Watkins, a New York Times best-selling author and Project 2025 dissector on her Substack online newsletter, "For Such a Time as This," conducted by Scott Harris.Andra Watkins discusses the current government shutdown, suspension of Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) food and nutrition benefits that relate to her recent, timely discussion and articles, “How Project 2025 Plans to Starve You into Faith” and “How to Starve Fascists and Cause Their Christian Nationalist Takeover of SNAP and Other Welfare Assistance to Backfire.”

Interview with Chad Marlow, senior policy counsel with the ACLU, conducted by Scott Harris.Chad Marlow takes a critical look at President Trump’s late September National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM-7) authorizing government-wide investigations into nonprofits, activists, and their donors and funders using vague and overbroad labels of “terrorism” and “conspiracy against rights.” He also explores what pro-democracy groups and state governments can do to protect groups and individuals’ right to dissent and free speech.

Interview with Gregg Gonsalves, an associate professor of epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health, and a founder of the group 'Defend Public Health,' conducted by Melinda Tuhus.Between The Lines’ Melinda Tuhus spoke with Gregg Gonsalves, a recipient of a MacArthur fellowship in 2018, who describes Defend Public Health’s work over the past year and what he thinks the future prospects are for repairing the damage done to U.S. public health policy.

Interview with David Paul, a member of the Task Force on the Americas and Democratic Socialists of America, conducted by Scott Harris.David Paul assesses the Trump regime’s escalating military threats against Venezuela, Columbia and Latin America; the bombing of small boats and murder of 40+ alleged drug smugglers or fishermen in international waters; open White House discussion of a regime change war targeting Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and a summary of recent U.S.-Venezuela relations.