Longtime Berkshires region cultural journalist and rock critic Seth Rogovoy joins Berkshire Argus Editor Bill Shein for an in-depth conversation about Rogovoy's new book, "Within You, Without You: Listening to George Harrison." 

Dive into the complexities of nonviolent movements amidst global conflicts. Explore the impact of Occupy Wall Street and the intersection of activism with electoral politics. Discuss tactics in nonviolent movements, political dynamics in Israel-Palestine, and analyze the eight-stage chart for movement success.

In this Berkshire Argus Podcast episode, a conversation with Steven Pedigo, a professor of urban development and director of the LBJ Urban Lab at the University of Texas at Austin. Pedigo, who is also a part-time Great Barrington resident, has worked with dozens of cities and communities around the world on leveraging their assets to meet their challenges.

Earlier this year, the consumer advocate, public-interest lawyer, and (still controversial) former presidential candidate Ralph Nader turned ninety years old. In this Berkshire Argus Podcast conversation, we discuss the American Museum of Tort Law that he established in his hometown of Winsted, Connecticut, his faith in the jury system, and his belief in the ability of citizens to successfully organize and influence their government.A companion profile of the Tort Museum, “The Unlikeliest Museum,” is at https://www.berkshireargus.com/the-unlikeliest-museum/The Berkshire Argus: Important stories fully told.https://www.berkshireargus.com

In this episode of the Berkshire Argus podcast, Bill Shein speaks with Matt Tannenbaum, proprietor—since 1976—of The Bookstore in Lenox, Massachusetts, and subject of the 2022 documentary, “Hello, Bookstore.”Tannenbaum recalls learning the book trade as a stock boy at the storied Gotham Book Mart in midtown Manhattan and working for a book distributor in Washington, D.C., before following some artist friends to the Berkshires in 1975. Dreams of becoming a writer took a back seat when he purchased The Bookstore in 1976, just days before his 30th birthday.You’ll also hear about the making of the documentary—which was well underway when COVID-19 arrived—and Tannenbaum’s philosophy of curating a bookstore for an engaged community in the era of discount stores and Amazon.com.(A free screening of “Hello, Bookstore” will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 3, 2024, at Mason Library in Great Barrington. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for refreshments. A talk-back with Tannenbaum and director Adam Zax follows the film.)The Berkshire Argus: Important stories fully told.www.berkshireargus.com

Discussion on the urgent need for affordable housing in Great Barrington due to soaring costs and limited options. Exploring strategies such as down-payment assistance and subsidizing affordable units. Challenges faced by the community and innovative approaches to tackle the housing crisis.

Is it possible to have a thoughtful, constructive conversation about important issues, including politics, in a social media comment thread? About any issue?In 2016, Jon Rosen, fresh off his Ph.D. studies in philosophy at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, started a Facebook discussion group called Fair Game, where members engage in conversations about a variety of subjects, from politics, to religion, to arts and culture, to just about any topic at all. He hoped it would provide what the group’s guidelines describe as “a forum for genuine inquiry and respectful dialogue.” And it’s fascinating to hear what happened—and what he’s learned.At a time when nearly a quarter of Americans believe that violence is an acceptable strategy to advance their political beliefs, it’s worth trying to understand this breakdown in communication that many feel is a runaway train that can only lead to disaster for American democracy. It’s unclear if it’s the technology that’s driving what’s happening, or those who populate our public sphere, or some combination. In the worst case, the two are locked in a feedback-loop death-spiral.As Rosen says during this episode, “Once we’ve given up on discussion, we have given up on the greatest gift of humanity, which is our capacity to reason and our capacity to understand each other.”The Berkshire Argus: Important stories fully told.www.berkshireargus.com

When residents of Great Barrington, Massachusetts learned that a movie theater central to their community’s cultural life and a key component of their downtown economy might close for good, they quickly organized to find a way to save it. In just a few months, volunteers formed a nonprofit, raised $800,000, and purchased the theater. They’re now making plans to reopen this fall and chart a path through the challenging and choppy waters of the Covid/streaming era.In this episode of the The Berkshire Argus podcast, Bill Shein talks to Nicki Wilson, whose quick action and leadership rallied the community, and Ben Elliott, the theater’s recently named managing director — who credits the Triplex with setting his life’s direction.The Berkshire Argus: Important stories fully told.www.berkshireargus.com

Bob Jones discusses the incomplete PCB cleanup of the Housatonic River, revealing only 30% removal. Controversy surrounds plans for a toxic waste dump in Lee, Massachusetts, with lack of transparency and environmental risks. The podcast dives into legal and ethical concerns, public outrage, and the potential consequences of leaving PCBs in the river. Reflections on the federal court case and community engagement highlight the ongoing environmental challenges.

With available and affordable housing remaining a top regional and national issue, last week I had a wide-ranging conversation with Patrick White, a member of the Stockbridge Select Board. White was recently re-elected overwhelmingly to his second three-year term on the board, where he has made housing proposals central.More than half of the homes in Stockbridge are owned by part-time and seasonal residents, contributing to both escalating prices and limited housing supply for working families. The challenges created are similar to those faced by neighboring communities like Great Barrington, where high prices have impacted, for example, the ability of businesses to attract and retain the service-industry workers who power the region’s tourism-based economy.In Stockbridge, White says that’s led to a declining number of students in local schools, dwindling volunteers for the fire department and other municipal roles, and concern about maintaining what he describes as “a well-rounded community.”In his first term, with an eye on both lower-income seniors and local-workforce needs, White advanced a proposal to cut real-estate taxes for full-time homeowners, sparking a heated debate over both the idea’s fairness and efficacy — and whether it was “divisive.”Called a “residential tax exemption,” it allows a community to exempt anywhere from 10 percent to 35 percent of a property’s assessed value from real-estate taxation if the owner is present for at least 183 days a year. It has been adopted by 16 Massachusetts communities since the legislature authorized it in 1979. They include housing-challenged resort communities like Nantucket and several Cape Cod towns, but none in western Massachusetts. The proposal wasn’t successful.My conversation with White took place on July 13, a few days before Stockbridge held the first of two planned community meetings about its changing demographics and its housing needs. We spoke at length about the impact of housing-affordability challenges and his vision for a thoughtful, collaborative, inclusive and productive discussion about policy ideas he thinks can help Stockbridge move forward.We spoke for a little under an hour.