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

Jan 27, 2025 • 14min
The Impact of a Second Trump Term in Latin America
Greg Grandin is Pulitzer Prize–winning historian, author of many books including The End of the Myth, The Empire of Necessity, Fordlandia; and his forthcoming, América, América: A New History of the New World. He is a Professor of History at Yale University.
Photo (C): Miraflores Locks at Panama Canal on Wikimedia.
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Jan 23, 2025 • 16min
Understanding the Limits of the Presidential Powers
Guest: Daniel Farber is Professor of Law at the University of California, Berkeley and faculty director of the Edley Center on Law & Democracy. He is the author of several books, including his most recent Contested Ground: How to Understand the Limits on Presidential Power.
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Jan 22, 2025 • 30min
Trump’s Energy Emergency: Drill, Baby, Drill!
Guest: Antonia Juhasz is a leading energy, climate, and environmental justice author, analyst, and investigative journalist. She is the author of Black Tide: the Devastating Impact of the Gulf Oil Spill, The Bush Agenda, and The Tyranny of Oil.
The Trump Resistance Inside Washington’s National Cathedral by Antonia Juhasz (Rolling Stone, Jan 15)
Photo credit: Chris Leboutillier on Usplash
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Jan 21, 2025 • 60min
The Impact of the Trump’s Immigration Executive Orders
Host Mitch Jeserich explains the executive orders on immigration signed by president Trump on Day 1 of his administration.
Guest: Pedro Rios is the director of the American Friends Service Committee’s U.S./Mexico Border Program.
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Jan 20, 2025 • 55min
Letters and Politics – January 20, 2025
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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Jan 16, 2025 • 60min
Operation Wetback and the Bipartisan Legacy of US Deportations
Guest: Adam Goodman is a professor of History at the Latin American and Latino Studies Program at the University of Illinois Chicago. He is the author of The Deportation Machine: America’s Long History of Expelling Immigrants.
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Jan 15, 2025 • 60min
Letters and Politics – January 15, 2025
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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Jan 14, 2025 • 60min
Letters and Politics – January 14, 2025
A look at burning political issues and debates and their historical context within the US and worldwide, hosted by Mitch Jeserich.
The post Letters and Politics – January 14, 2025 appeared first on KPFA.

Jan 13, 2025 • 32min
An Update on the LA Wildfires & What Can We Do About them
Guests:
Sonali Kolhatkar is an award-winning multimedia journalist and Senior Editor at YES! Media. She is also the host of Rising Up with Sonali, a nationally syndicated TV and radio program that airs on Pacifica Radio. Books: Rising Up; Bleeding Afghanistan; and her forthcoming Talking About Abolition will be released in 2025.
Anthony LeRoy Westerling is Professor of Engineering, Natural Sciences, and Geography at the University of California, Merced.
Photo credit: John Perchlyn from the Esplanade area of Redondo Beach looking north towards Malibu.
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Jan 9, 2025 • 60min
The L.A. Wildfires: People Tell Their Stories
Guest: Cary Harrison is host of “Rethinking Heroes” Friday mornings on KPFK in Los Angeles. Cary received “Best Commentary” from the Associated Press, was honored by the UN for his Environmental and Peace work, and teaches critical thinking and media literacy to international students around the world.
Photo: The Palisades Fire consumes a beach front property in Malibu, California, on Wednesday. (AP pic)
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