KPFA - Against the Grain

As Covid tragically illustrated, large numbers of Americans are in poor health and especially vulnerable to viruses and other pathogens. How did we get here? According to physician Robert Lustig, it started with the turn toward processed food, which has led to an ongoing national and global public health crisis, while enriching corporations and the U.S. government. (Full-length interview.) Resources: Robert H. Lustig, Metabolical: The Lure and the Lies of Processed Food, Nutrition, and Modern Medicine Harper Wave, 2021 The post Processed Food, Sick Society appeared first on KPFA.

A radio and web media project whose aim is to provide in-depth analysis and commentary on a variety of matters — political, economic, social and cultural — important to progressive and radical thinking and activism. The post Fund Drive Special appeared first on KPFA.

On Christmas Day, 1765, a new era in the history of protest began. So asserts Micah Alpaugh; he describes how the Sons of Liberty, formed in the thirteen colonies to oppose the British government’s Stamp Act, innovated a movement organizing model that was later taken up by rebels and revolutionaries in Britain, France, Haiti, the U.S., and elsewhere. (Encore presentation.) Micah Alpaugh, Friends of Freedom: The Rise of Social Movements in the Age of Atlantic Revolutions Cambridge University Press, 2021 The post Pivotal Protest Movement appeared first on KPFA.

Open any world history book and you’ll read that the Neolithic Revolution was a turning point for humanity, when hunter gatherers gave up roving in small egalitarian groups and settled down to farm. Out of that, civilization was born, with all the benefits and ills connected to it: the rise of cities, the emergence of the state, inequality, and class society. But, according to anthropologist David Graeber, that tale is not based on fact. The post Fund Drive Special: Where We Came From, Where We’re Going appeared first on KPFA.

Howard Zinn, the radical historian, political science professor, and veteran activist, presented an alternative understanding of Christopher Columbus and his legacy. The post Fund Drive Special: Howard Zinn appeared first on KPFA.

Over the past half century, the US economy has undergone a profound change: wealth has been concentrated in the hands of a few, inequality has skyrocketed, and insecurity has reigned. And yet it’s a story mainly downplayed by mainstream pundits and the media. Noam Chomsky, arguably the most important public intellectual in the world, says that any discussion of democracy is pointless if we don’t recognize the corrosive effects of this class war from above. The post Fund Drive Special: Chomsky on Wealth and Power appeared first on KPFA.

Ram Dass, Andrew Weil, and Timothy Leary are among the featured voices on the audio compilation “Let’s Take a Trip: A Social History of LSD.” The post Fund Drive Special: Leary, Weil, and Ram Dass appeared first on KPFA.

We’ve witnessed a seismic shift over the last half century, in which an already unequal society became intensely stratified, with wealth and power concentrated in the hands of the very few. Under such circumstances, is a democracy possible? Noam Chomsky, arguably the most important public intellectual in the world, takes up that question. The post Fund Drive Special: Wealth, Power, Democracy? appeared first on KPFA.

Penn professor Paul Goldin discusses the Chinese philosophical text “Lao-Tzu,” also known as the “Tao Te Ching,” which has inspired and intrigued readers for more than two millennia. The post Fund Drive Special: The Taoist Classic “Tao Te Ching” appeared first on KPFA.

Over the past half century, the US economy has undergone a profound change: wealth has been concentrated in the hands of a few, inequality has skyrocketed, and insecurity has reigned. And yet it’s a story mainly downplayed by mainstream pundits and the media. Noam Chomsky, arguably the most important public intellectual in the world, says that any discussion of democracy is pointless if we don’t recognize the corrosive effects of this class war from above. The post Fund Drive Special: Chomsky on Wealth and Power appeared first on KPFA.