KPFA - Letters and Politics
Letters & Politics seeks to explore the history behind today’s major global and national news stories. Hosted by Mitch Jeserich.
Latest episodes

Nov 2, 2023 • 60min
The U.S. Military Aid for Israel, No Humanitarian Assistance for Gaza & the Calls for a Ceasefire
Guest: David Dayen is the executive editor of The American Prospect. He is the author of Monopolized: Life in the Age of Corporate Power. His latest piece in American Prospect is The Agonizing Drift Toward Cease-Fire.
The post The U.S. Military Aid for Israel, No Humanitarian Assistance for Gaza & the Calls for a Ceasefire appeared first on KPFA.

Nov 1, 2023 • 60min
A History of Antisemitism in Today’s World & An Update on the Spending Request for Israel in Congress
Beth S. Wenger is the Moritz and Josephine Berg Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania. Her most recent book is History Lessons: The Creation of American Jewish Heritage and her co-edited anthology (with Firoozeh Kashani-Sabet), titled Gender in Judaism and Islam: Common Lives, Uncommon Heritage.
https://kpfa.org/app/uploads/2023/11/Beth-Winger-on-Antisemitism.mp3
The post A History of Antisemitism in Today’s World & An Update on the Spending Request for Israel in Congress appeared first on KPFA.

Oct 31, 2023 • 60min
The Palestine/Israel Conflict – US Foreign Policy. Then, the Backlash Against Lawmakers who Signed the Ceasefire Resolution
Guest: Stephen M. Walt is the Robert and Renée Belfer professor of international relations at Harvard University. He is the author and coauthor of several books, including The Hell of Good Intentions: America’s Foreign Policy, and The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy co-authored with John J. Mearsheimer. Professor Walt is also a columnist at Foreign Policy.
https://kpfa.org/app/uploads/2023/10/Stephen-Walt_Foreign-Policy_Gaza2023.mp3
The post The Palestine/Israel Conflict – US Foreign Policy. Then, the Backlash Against Lawmakers who Signed the Ceasefire Resolution appeared first on KPFA.

Oct 30, 2023 • 60min
International Law in the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict
Guest: John Quigley is Professor emeritus of international law at Ohio State University. His many books include The Statehood of Palestine: International Law in the Middle East Conflict, The International Diplomacy of Israel’s Founders: Deception at the United Nations in the Quest for Palestine.
The post International Law in the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict appeared first on KPFA.

Oct 26, 2023 • 60min
Ilan Pappé: Crisis in Zionism, Opportunity for Palestine?
A lecture by Professor Ilan Pappé, Professor of History, Director of the European Centre for Palestine Studies, University of Exeter, UK on October 19th, 2023 at Berkeley Law, UC Berkeley Campus.
Special thanks to the Sponsors for providing the recording of the event:
Center for Middle Eastern Studies, NorCal Sabeel, Department of History, Department of Ethnic Studies, Law Students for Justice in Palestine, Institute of International Studies, Islamophobia Research and Documentation Project
On Part I of this episode, host Mitch Jeserich gives an update on the latest in Congress.
The post Ilan Pappé: Crisis in Zionism, Opportunity for Palestine? appeared first on KPFA.

Oct 25, 2023 • 60min
Congress, Gaza, and the Calling for a Ceasefire
Guest: Ryan Grim is The Intercept’s D.C. Bureau Chief and the host of the podcast Deconstructed. He authors the newsletter Bad News. He is the author of the books “This Is Your Country on Drugs” and “We’ve Got People.” His third book, due out in late 2023, will be called “The Squad and the Final Act of a Political Revolution.”
Feature photo: Wikimedia Commons.
The post Congress, Gaza, and the Calling for a Ceasefire appeared first on KPFA.

Oct 24, 2023 • 60min
How The Female Body Drives Evolution
Guest: Cat Bohannon is a researcher specialized in the evolution of narrative and cognition. She is the author of Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution by Cat Bohannon.
The post How The Female Body Drives Evolution appeared first on KPFA.

Oct 23, 2023 • 60min
The Geopolitics of the Israel/Palestine Conflict
Guest: Phyllis Bennis directs the New Internationalism Project at the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS), her work focuses on the Middle East, U.S. militarism, and UN issues. She is the author of several books including Before & After: U.S. Foreign Policy and the War on Terror, Challenging Empire, and her latest, Understanding the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict: A Primer.
The post The Geopolitics of the Israel/Palestine Conflict appeared first on KPFA.

Oct 19, 2023 • 60min
The Founder of Modern Gynecology & The Enslaved Woman He Experimented On
Guest: J. C. Hallman is the author of several books including his latest, Say Anarcha: A Young Woman, a Devious Surgeon, and the Harrowing Birth of Modern Women’s Health.
The post The Founder of Modern Gynecology & The Enslaved Woman He Experimented On appeared first on KPFA.

Oct 18, 2023 • 60min
The House Speakership Chaos & The History of Hamas
Part I. The House Speakership Chaos
Guest: John Nichols is a national affairs correspondent for The Nation Magazine.
Part II. The History of Hamas
Guest: Zaki Chehab is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of ArabsToday.net. He is the author of the book Inside Hamas: The Untold Story of the Militant Islamic Movement.
https://kpfa.org/app/uploads/2023/10/Zaki-Chehab-on-Hamas_10.18.23.mp3
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