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

Sep 14, 2023 • 60min
Mary Wollstonecraft, The French Revolution and The Tyranny of Men
Guest: Susan J. Wolfson is professor of English at Princeton University and author of On Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman: The First of a New Genus.
Photo credit: Wikimedia commons
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Sep 13, 2023 • 60min
The Presidency of Andrew Jackson: The Bank War, Indian Removal, Slavery & the Expansion of Democracy
David S. Brown, a history professor, discusses Andrew Jackson's complex legacy, including the Bank War, Indian removal, slavery, and democracy expansion. They explore Jackson's critique of government favoritism, his portrayal as a champion of the common man, and the evolution of political identities in American history.

Sep 12, 2023 • 9min
W.E.B. Du Bois’s Lost Book: The Great War and the Black Experience
Guest: Chad L. Williams is the Samuel J. and Augusta Spector Professor of History and African and African American Studies at Brandeis University. He is the author of the award-winning book Torchbearers of Democracy: African American Soldiers in the World War I Era and his latest, The Wounded World: W. E. B. Du Bois and the First World War.
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Sep 11, 2023 • 60min
The Church Committee: Investigating Assassinations, Coups, and the Drugging of Americans
Guest: James Risen is a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author. Throughout his career, Risen’s explosive investigative reporting has triggered a series of political firestorms. Among his best-selling books are State of War: The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration; Pay Any Price: Greed, Power and Endless War; and his latest, The Last Honest Man: The CIA, the FBI, the Mafia, and the Kennedys―and One Senator’s Fight to Save Democracy co-authored with Thomas Risen.
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Sep 7, 2023 • 60min
Disinvestment In Cities, Crime, and the Persistence of the Racial Wealth Gap
Guest: Tanya Golash-Boza is the Executive Director of the University of California Washington Center and a Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Merced. She is the author of Before Gentrification: The Creation of DC’s Racial Wealth Gap.
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Sep 6, 2023 • 60min
A History of US Intervention in Nicaragua
Guest: Dan Kovalikis the author of Nicaragua: A History of US Intervention & Resistance.
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Sep 5, 2023 • 60min
A History of Hacking
Guest: Scott J. Shapiro is a professor of law and philosophy at Yale Law School and the director of the Yale Center for Law and Philosophy and its CyberSecurity Lab. He is the author of Fancy Bear Goes Phishing: The Dark History of the Information Age, in Five Extraordinary Hacks.
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Sep 4, 2023 • 8min
Letters and Politics – September 4, 2023
A look at burning political issues and debates and their historical context within the US and worldwide, hosted by Mitch Jeserich.
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Aug 31, 2023 • 60min
Shakespeare & Race
Guest: Farah Karim-Cooper is a professor of Shakespeare studies at King’s College London and Director of Education at Shakespeare’s Globe. She is the author of The Great White Bard: How to Love Shakespeare While Talking About Race.
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Aug 30, 2023 • 60min
Current Political Trends in Latin American & Upending the Tenderloin’s ‘Doom Loop’ Narrative
Part 1. Latin America Current Trends
Guest: Miguel Tinker-Salas is Emeritus Professor of History and Chicana/o Latina/o Studies at Pomona College. He is an expert on the political and social issues of Latin America and the author of several books including, Venezuela: What Everyone Needs to Know; and The Enduring Legacy: Oil, Culture and Society in Venezuela.
Part 2. The Tenderloin tour upends ‘doom loop’ narrative
Guest: Christopher D. Cook is an author and award-winning investigative journalist based in San Francisco. His latest piece in the 48 hills.com is Tenderloin tour upends ‘doom loop’ narrative. There’s a lot more to the neighborhood than the national media wants to report.
Photo credit: Ecuadorian women by DM
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