KPFA - Against the Grain

How many thinkers come to mind who combine medical training, first-hand experience of dealing with some of society’s most abused members, such as drug addicts, and a deep familiarity with the ideas of Karl Marx? Gabor Mate draws from his remarkable background and radical commitments to provide us with tremendous insights into the maladies that are the norm in our society — how stress and trauma, accentuated by the divisions of class, gender, and race, damage our lives and bodies. Photo credit: Matej Stransky The post Fund Drive Special: Gabor Mate on Sickness and Health appeared first on KPFA.

The fortunes of DDT, the synthetic pesticide which infamously devastated bird populations in the United States, rose and fell during the 20th century, and rose again in the 21st century, driven by a campaign by Big Tobacco to sew uncertainty about what can be known. Historian of medicine Elena Conis discusses the trajectory and afterlife of DDT, used to cast doubt on scientific evidence and undermine the regulation of private corporations and markets. (Encore presentation.) Resources: Elena Conis, How to Sell a Poison: The Rise, Fall, and Toxic Return of DDT Bold Type Books, 2022 The post DDT’s Toxic Reach appeared first on KPFA.

Part Two of our interview with Michael Burawoy about W. E. B. Du Bois’s political trajectory, and about Burawoy’s latest book. Also: a conversation with David Harris (1946-2023) from our archives about his legendary antiwar activism. Michael Burawoy, Public Sociology Polity, 2021 Aldon Morris et al., eds., The Oxford Handbook of W. E. B. Du Bois   The post Du Bois, Burawoy, and David Harris appeared first on KPFA.

What stances did the renowned sociologist and historian W. E. B. Du Bois take toward race and class? And how and why did his convictions change over time? According to Michael Burawoy, Du Bois moved from a phenomenology of racism to a Black Marxism, a shift that culminated in Du Bois’s book on the Civil War and Reconstruction. Michael Burawoy, “The Making of Black Marxism: The Complementary Perspectives of W. E .B. Du Bois and Frantz Fanon” (pdf) Michael Burawoy, Public Sociology Polity, 2021   The post Du Bois on Race and Class appeared first on KPFA.

The world seems in dismal shape and only set to get worse. And capitalism appears to be the only option, spinning us further and further out of control. But Danny Dorling argues that if you take the longer view, stepping back and looking at measures like the rate of economic growth, innovation, debt, population growth, and more—the world is actually slowing down. He argues that it augurs a transition out of capitalism to a more stable society. (Full-length interview.) Resources: Danny Dorling, Slowdown: The End of the Great Acceleration — and Why It’s a Good Thing Yale University Press, 2021 Photo credit: Mc Gale The post Is Capitalism Waning? appeared first on KPFA.

It’s been described at the most turbulent period of global class struggle in history — the turn of the 20th century when revolutionaries around the world found common cause against capital and empire. Christina Heatherton discusses the revolutionary internationalism swirling around the Mexican Revolution and the remarkable intersection of radicals at that time. (Encore presentation.) Resources: Christina Heatherton, Arise! Global Radicalism in the Era of the Mexican Revolution UC Press, 2022 Arise! West Coast Book Talk Schedule The post The Radical International appeared first on KPFA.

Various explanations have been offered for what’s been called an anxiety epidemic among university students, but Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou believes a crucial causal factor is financialization, the way the financial sector and its logic has permeated our social, economic, and individual lives. He sees signs of optimism in the proliferation of student mobilizations around the issue of anxiety. (Encore presentation.) Max Haiven and Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou, “An ‘Anxiety Epidemic’ in the Financialized University: Critical Questions and Unexpected Resistance” Cultural Politics Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou, Speculative Communities: Living with Uncertainty in a Financialized World University of Chicago Press, 2022 The post Financialization & Student Anxiety appeared first on KPFA.

Some causes make for strange bedfellows, but few like the campaign against sex trafficking, which brings together radical feminists, Christian evangelicals, the US state, and even QAnon. Cultural anthropologist Gregory Mitchell separates myth from fact and examines how allegedly rescuing women and girls from trafficking, included at mega sporting events, leads to increased police violence, including sexual violence, against sex workers. Resources: Gregory Mitchell, Panics without Borders: How Global Sporting Events Drive Myths about Sex Trafficking UC Press, 2022 The post Sex Trafficking and Sports Events appeared first on KPFA.

Throwing away the key is what the criminal punishment system – and, by extension, the U.S. public – does to tens of thousands of people behind bars. Why does the acclaimed public interest lawyer Bryan Stevenson attend to and represent those serving extreme sentences? What does Joseph G. Ramsey mean by Stevenson’s “compassionate radicalism”? Ramsey talks about Stevenson’s transformative ideas, and his own. Joseph Ramsey, “Never Throw Away the Key: On the Compassionate Radicalism of Bryan Stevenson’s ‘Just Mercy,’” Socialism and Democracy Joseph Ramsey, “Don’t Judge an Issue Just by Its Cover – 12 Important Points from Jacobin’s Latest Issue ‘Reduce the Crime Rate,’” The Multiracial Unity Blog (Image on main page by Ron Lach.) The post Beyond Condemnation appeared first on KPFA.

Fossil fuels lie at the center of contemporary life — powering, despoiling, and altering everything around us. And that includes environmentalism itself, according to anthropologist David Bond. He discusses how concepts like toxic thresholds and environmental impact assessments are an accommodation to the continued existence of the oil and petro-chemical industries, rather than ways to address their inherent harms. Resources: David Bond, Negative Ecologies: Fossil Fuels and the Discovery of the Environment UC Press, 2022 The post The Environmentalism of the Fossil Fuel Industry appeared first on KPFA.