KPFA - Against the Grain

They struggled for public housing and public transport. They fought to reduce the police force and to have access to public space, so cities were not just playgrounds for the wealthy. More than a century ago, workers battled for the public infrastructure that we take for granted, as part of a larger struggle for socialism. Historian Shelton Stromquist discusses how we live in those socialist cities today, which elites are struggling to return to private hands. Resources: Shelton Stromquist, Claiming the City: A Global History of Workers’ Fight for Municipal Socialism Verso, 2023 The post Fighting for Municipal Socialism appeared first on KPFA.

Christopher Bache, a professor emeritus of philosophy and religious studies, discusses his twenty-year psychedelic journey, which is described and interpreted in his book “LSD and the Mind of the Universe: Diamonds from Heaven.” (Encore presentation.) The post Fund Drive Special: Psychedelic Journey appeared first on KPFA.

Paul Reitter and Paul North discuss their new translation, based on the last German edition of Capital. The post Fund Drive Special: Marx’s Capital appeared first on KPFA.

Christopher Bache, a professor emeritus of philosophy and religious studies, discusses his twenty-year psychedelic journey, which is described and interpreted in his book “LSD and the Mind of the Universe: Diamonds from Heaven.” The post Fund Drive Special: Psychedelic Journey appeared first on KPFA.

Economist Rob Larson discusses the power and wealth of the capitalist class, how they rule, and how to fight against them. To support our mission, please donate here or call (800) 439-5732.   The post Fund Drive Special: Rob Larson on The Ruling Class appeared first on KPFA.

The historian Kevin A. Young, author of “Abolishing Fossil Fuels,” on why the fight for the climate isn’t over. The post Fund Drive Special: Fighting for the Climate appeared first on KPFA.

Schools are underfunded. Parents often struggle with long working hours and too little social support. But corporations and tech companies, awash in money and power, promise to entertain and teach children with a near infinite array of devices, apps, and products. Psychologist Susan Linn discusses how those who least care for children have so much influence over their lives: marketing to kids through an avalanche of advertisements, collecting data about their private lives, and replacing their teachers in the classroom. Resources: Susan Linn, Who’s Raising the Kids? Big Tech, Big Business, and the Lives of Children New Press, 2023 Fairplay The post The Monetization of American Childhood appeared first on KPFA.

What if Earth were furious with humanity? What if revolutionaries took their cues from an unruly planet? Anne Stewart examines depictions of terrestrial upheaval and grassroots rebellion in Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower, Leslie Marmon Silko’s Almanac of the Dead, and other works. (Encore presentation.) Anne Stewart, Angry Planet: Decolonial Fiction and the American Third World University of Minnesota Press, 2022 The post Angry Planet appeared first on KPFA.

How did a Scottish moral philosopher of the Enlightenment become an apostle of the libertarian right in this country? Political theorist Glory Liu traces the uses of the complex ideas Adam Smith in the United States — from the establishment of the U.S. state, through debates about slavery and inequality, to justifying the ostensible retreat of the state in our era. (Encore presentation.) Resources: Glory M. Liu, Adam Smith’s America: How a Scottish Philosopher Became an Icon of American Capitalism Princeton University Press, 2022 Image: Nicole Marie Photography The post Claiming Adam Smith appeared first on KPFA.

A brilliant theoretical physicist best known for his theory of relativity, Albert Einstein was also a socialist. John Bellamy Foster describes Einstein’s radical political commitments, including his efforts in relation to the founding of Brandeis University, his role in the Henry Wallace campaign, and his seminal essay “Why Socialism?” Foster also talks about his new book. (Encore presentation.) John Bellamy Foster, “Einstein’s ‘Why Socialism?’ and ‘Monthly Review’: A Historical Introduction” Monthly Review John Bellamy Foster, The Dialectics of Ecology Monthly Review Press, 2024 The post Einstein’s Socialism appeared first on KPFA.