KPFA - Letters and Politics

Guest: Richard Wolff is Professor of Economics Emeritus at University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He is currently a Visiting Professor at the New School University in New York City.  Richard Wolff is the founder of Democracy at Work and host of the weekly national syndicated television and radio program Economic Update that airs weekly on KPFA.  Professor Wolff is the author of a number of books including Understanding Capitalism. The post KPFA in the McCarthy Era: 76 Years of Alternative Media appeared first on KPFA.

Guest: Yanis Varoufakis, a former finance minister of Greece, is leader of the MERA25 party and Professor of Economics at the University of Athens.  He is the author of several books including his latest, Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism.   Photo by Kurt Cotoaga on Unsplash The post Yanis Varoufakis: Trade War is Class War appeared first on KPFA.

Part 1. On Executive Powers and the Courts Guest: Erwin Chemerinsky is the dean of the law school at the University of California, Berkeley. He is the author of many books on constitutional law including his latest, No Democracy Lasts Forever: How the Constitution Threatens the United States.  His latest opinion piece in The New York Times is We Should All Be Very, Very Afraid Part 2. Cuts to Medical Research  Guest: Chris Beyrer is Gary Hock Distinguished Professor in Global Health and Professor of Medicine at Duke University.  He is Associate Director of Global HIV at the Duke Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) and  Affiliate Faculty at Duke Human Vaccine Institute.  Dr Beyrer is a medical doctor and epidemiologist who has worked extensively on the front lines of HIV/AIDS and COVID-19 prevention, treatment, and research.   Photo by Sebastian Pichler on Unsplash The post Erwin Chemerinsky on Executive Powers and the Courts. Then, Cuts to Medical Research appeared first on KPFA.

Guest: Cedric de Leon is Professor of Sociology and Labor Studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and author of Freedom Train: Black Politics and the Story of Interracial Labor Solidarity. The post How Black Labor Created An Interracial Movement appeared first on KPFA.

Guest: Jeanne Carstensen is an award-winning journalist. She is the author of A Greek Tragedy: One Day, a Deadly Shipwreck, and the Human Cost of the Refugee Crisis. The post A Greek Tragedy: the Human Cost of the Refugee Crisis appeared first on KPFA.

Guest: Dean Baker is a Senior Economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research.   He is the author of several books, including Rigged: How Globalization and the Rules of the Modern Economy Were Structured to Make the Rich Richer. His blog, Beat the Press, provides commentary on economic reporting.   Photo by lonely blue on Unsplash   The post Economist Dean Baker on Trump’s Tariffs appeared first on KPFA.

Guest: Nancy Altman is the President of Social Security Works.org.  She is the author of The Truth About Social Security: The Founders’ Words Refute Revisionist History, Zombie Lies, and Common Misunderstandings; The Battle for Social Security: From FDR’s Vision to Bush’s Gamble; and the coauthor with Eric Kingson of Social Security Works For Everyone!: Protecting and Expanding America’s Most Popular Social Program. Her latest article can be found in counterpunch: The Greatest Threat to Social Security in Its 90 Year History.       The post The Greatest Threat to Social Security in Its 90-Year History appeared first on KPFA.

Guest: Fred Glass is a labor Scholar. He’s also the former communications director for the California Federation of Teachers and is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).  He is the author of the book From Mission to Microchip: A History of the California Labor Movement. He also the director of the film We Mean to Make Things Over: A History of May Day which is a half-hour documentary video.  Event On Thursday, April 3, 2025 from 5-7pm there will be  Art, documentary video, and labor politics featured at a reception at the UC Berkeley Labor Center (2521 Channing Way Berkeley CA).   As labor organizing is on the rise and the Trump administration threatens to dismantle federal oversight of labor rights, this event about the history and current relevance of International Workers’ Day—May Day—is extremely timely. Film screening The 30-minute award-winning documentary film “We Mean to Make Things Over” explores how May Day became a workers’ holiday across the world, except in the USA—even though the tragic events inspiring May Day occurred here. Filmmaker Fred Glass will introduce the film. Art exhibit Powerful scratchboard drawings depicting struggles for labor and immigrant rights in the late 19th century and today are on display at the Labor Center. Bay Area artist Jos Sances, who produced the illustrations for the documentary, will join us. Discussion of May 1, 2028, general strike UAW President Shawn Fain is calling for unions of all industries to line up their contracts for expiration—and a general strike—on May Day 2028. UAW Local 4811 leader Tanzil Chowdhury will lead a post-film discussion of this potentially historic May Day event. The post Labor Organizing in History & Building Blocks for a General Strike appeared first on KPFA.

Host Mitch Jeserich analysis and calls from listeners about the action of Senator Cory Booker in the Senate Floor.   The post Live: Senator Cory Booker Protesting the Trump Administration’s Policies on the Senate Floor appeared first on KPFA.

Guest: Miriam Pawel is an award-winning reporter and editor who spent twenty-five years working for Newsday and the Los Angeles Times. She is the author of The Crusades of Cesar Chavez: A Biography.    The post Cesar Chavez & the Farmworkers’ Struggle appeared first on KPFA.