KPFA - Against the Grain

While the wealthy disproportionately own real estate in the U.S., in many locales the properties of low income homeowners and especially homeowners of color are assessed and taxed at levels higher than their actual market value. On average, African Americans and Latinos pay more than ten percent higher taxes than whites for similar properties. Property law scholar Bernadette Atuahene discusses what she calls predatory governance, in which states and municipalities increase their coffers by unfairly taxing or fining people of color. Resources: Bernadette Atuahene, Plundered: How Racist Policies Undermine Black Homeownership in America Little, Brown and Company, 2025 University of Chicago’s Property Tax Fairness Portal Detroit’s Coalition for Property Tax Justice The post Racism and Property Taxes appeared first on KPFA.

When and where did the practice of forcing incarcerated people to work without wages begin? Robin Bernstein reveals that prison-based slavery in the U.S. originated not in the South but in Auburn, New York. The Auburn System, under which incarcerated workers were prohibited from talking and were put in solitary confinement each night, spread across the U.S. and overseas. (Encore presentation.) Robin Bernstein, Freeman’s Challenge: The Murder That Shook America’s Original Prison for Profit University of Chicago Press, 2024 The post How Carceral Slavery Began appeared first on KPFA.

The rich have not been so powerful and mind-bogglingly wealthy since the Gilded Age of the late 19th century. Yet their grip on society has often been shrouded in a veil of adulation, enabled by a media that celebrates them rather than holding them to account. Economist Rob Larson discusses the multimillionaire and billionaire class, how they rule, and how to fight against them. (Full-length presentation.) Resources: World Inequality Database Rob Larson, Mastering the Universe: The Obscene Wealth of the Ruling Class, What They Do with Their Money, and Why You Should Hate Them Even More Haymarket, 2024 The post Rule of the Billionaires appeared first on KPFA.

Driven by his determination to place workers at the center of U.S. history, David Montgomery emerged as a key architect of what’s called the New Labor History. James R. Barrett describes Montgomery’s investigations into working-class life, his political commitments, and his legacy. Shelton Stromquist and James R. Barrett, eds., A David Montgomery Reader: Essays on Capitalism and Worker Resistance University of Illinois Press, 2024 The post Labor History Pioneer 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. (Encore presentation.) 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.

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

The rich have not been so powerful and mind-bogglingly wealthy since the Gilded Age of the late 19th century. Yet their grip on society has often been shrouded in a veil of adulation, enabled by a media that celebrates them rather than holding them to account. Economist Rob Larson discusses the multimillionaire and billionaire class, how they rule, and how to fight against them. The post Fund Drive Special: The Rule of the Billionaires appeared first on KPFA.

Daniel Fryer talks about his new book “How to Cope with Almost Anything with Hypnotherapy: Simple Ideas to Enhance Your Wellbeing and Resilience.” The post Fund Drive Special: Self-Hypnosis & Hypnotherapy appeared first on KPFA.

Noam Chomsky reminds us that the present inequalities of wealth and power were built into the system since the very founding of the U.S. government. The post Fund Drive Special: Democracy or Plutocracy? appeared first on KPFA.

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