WPKN: Politics, Policy, and Planet Podcast

The Monthly Labor Report talks with Sultana Hossain, recording secretary with the Amazon Labor Union (ALU), which continues to fight for its first contract with the company two years after the union's certification by the NLRB. Sultana Hussain describes the history of the movement that led to the formation of the ALU, the egregious working conditions that fueled the movement, and the ongoing battl...

Interview with Delcianna Winders, director of the Animal Law and Policy Institute at Vermont Law and Graduate School, conducted by Melinda Tuhus.  Since it became law in 1973, the Endangered Species Act has used a broad definition of “harm” to animals by including any significant “modification or degradation” of habitat that kills or injures animals by impairing their ability to eat, shelter or br...

Interview with Daniel HoSang, professor of American studies and political science at Yale University and president of the Yale chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP.) Professor HoSang discusses his work with the group “Stand Up For Yale,” which has circulated petitions on campus and urged Yale President Maurie McInnis and the Board of Trustees to reject a pending settl...

Interview with Robert Weiner, director of the Voting Rights Project at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, conducted by Scott Harris. Robert Weiner examines how President Trump’s termination of two members of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission and forced resignation of the remaining Republican commissioner fits in with President Trump’s recent televised speech repeating conspir...

Interview with Juan Proaño, CEO of the League of United Latin American Citizens or (LULAC), conducted by Scott Harris. Juan Proaño discusses the ongoing violence by ICE agents across the U.S. that’s most recently resulted in two fatal ICE shootings in Houston, Texas, and Biddeford, Maine, where he leads the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC). LULAC is demanding immediate transparency...

Interview with Doug Moss, founder of Earth Action Network, Inc., conducted by Scott Harris. Doug Moss discusses his new goplant-based.org billboard project, which launched on July 20th to educate the public about the evils of animal factory farming, which is linked to climate change, pollution, and is a major obstacle to addressing world hunger and global water shortages. Doug is the founder of Ea...

The Roundtable talks with David Dayen, Executive Editor of The American Prospect Magazine about the Democratic Senate primary battles in Maine and Michigan; and then welcome Michelle Jimenez, vice president of the Yale College Council to talk about the fight to fend off the Trump administration's attempt to coerce the university to bow to anti-diversity, equity, and inclusion at the Yale medical a...

Interview with Marcel Reid, a longtime whistleblower advocate and co-founder and director of the Annual Whistleblower Summit & Film Festival, conducted by Scott Harris. Marcel Reid, a longtime whistleblower advocate who was national director and chairman of DC ACORN, an elected former director on the national board of the Pacifica Radio network, and co-founder and director of the Annual Whistl...

Interview with Amanda Shanor, associate professor of legal studies and business ethics at the University of Pennsylvania and a Yale Law School graduate, interviewed conducted by Scott Harris. Amanda Shanor discusses her views on opposition to a pending settlement between Yale University and the Trump administration over White House accusations that Yale’s School of Medicine is illegally discrimina...

Interview with Dr. Diljeet Singh, president, Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP), conducted by Scott Harris. Dr. Singh talks about an upcoming gathering of physicians in Washington, D.C. to discuss what’s ahead for organizing the national movement supporting Medicare for All legislation that would establish a universal healthcare system for everyone in the U.S., similar to what every o...

Interview with Raed Jarrar, advocacy director with the group Democracy for the Arab World (DAWN), conducted by Scott Harris. Raed Jarrar discusses the ongoing U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, the on-again, off-again negotiations, the escalating exchange of missile and drone attacks across the region and conflicting accounts from each side on whether or not peace talks will resume. Democracy in the Arab W...

Interview with Nathaniel Raymond, executive director of the Humanitarian Research Lab at the Yale School of Public Health, conducted by Melinda Tuhus.   Nathaniel Raymond has been using satellite imagery to investigate the humanitarian crisis in the contested region. Between The Lines’ Melinda Tuhus spoke with Raymond, who explains how this potential catastrophe differs from the genocide committed...

Interview with Melinda Rostal, an epidemiologist and lead for Office of Management and Budget response with the group Defend Public Health, conducted by Melinda Tuhus. Melinda Rostal, with Defend Public Health, a national public health watch dog organization founded in the wake of Trump’s 2024 election win,  describes some of the proposed changes to regulations, their potential impact, and what pe...

Interview with Arthur Kanegis, director of the film documentary, "The World Is My Country," conducted by Scott Harris. Arthur Kanegis talks about his documentary film that explores the life of Garry Davis, a Broadway song and dance man who turns his war guilt over bombing civilians in World War II into electrifying action that galvanizes war-weary Europe, sparks a movement and helps pave the way f...

Interview with Todd Schulte, president of FWD.US, conducted by Scott Harris. Todd Schulte talks about the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that ended Temporary Protective Status and the justices’ narrow decision upholding birthright citizenship. He warns that 400,000 U.S. citizen children could still be separated from their parents because of the TPS ruling. The consequences for 1.3 million indivi...

Interview with Norman Solomon, director of RootsAction and executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy, conducted by Scott Harris. Norman Solomon talks about his Guardian commentary, “Progressive primary victories have corporate Democrats panicking,” examining how the success of democratic socialists has led to an establishment backlash, fueling divisions over how to respond.

Interview with Hanna Riley Fernandez, a writer and activist based in Burlington, Vermont, conducted by Scott Harris. Hanna Fernandez, who writes about the intersection of media and the criminal legal system, discusses her recent Nation magazine article, “Cameras Are Everywhere—and People Have Had Enough,” and issues related to growing public concern about the unregulated surveillance applications...

In today's Organic Farm Stand:    Diane's Hot Topics    Tribute to Suzanne Duesing    Honey Bee Update with Vincent Kaye    Wakeman Town Farm with guests Nicole Gerber and Jaime Smith Hosted by Richard Hill and Diane Lauricella

Interview with Xavier de Janon, an attorney representing one of the defendants facing state charges, conducted by Melinda Tuhus. While there are 22 individuals facing charges across various jurisdictions, related to the ICE detention center protest, the primary federal case involves a group of 9 defendants, accused of being part of an antifa terror cell, who were convicted in March of domestic ter...

Interview with Brendan Cook, a defendant in the "Swarthmore 9" case, conducted by Scott Harris. Brendan Cook discusses his and his co-defendant’s trial that begins on July 1st, stemming from the group’s May 3, 2025 arrest on third-degree “defiant trespassing” charges after the individuals refused to vacate a pro-Palestine encampment at Swarthmore College.

Interview with Guerline Jozef, executive director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance, conducted by Scott Harris. Guerline Jozef discusses Haitian Bridge Alliance’s view on the consequences of two recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings: the Mullin v. Doe case that overturns lower court decisions blocking the Trump administration’s move to end Temporary Protected Status for roughly 350,000 Haitians and 4,000...

Interview with Carol Evans, vice president of policy with Common Cause, conducted by Scott Harris. Carol Evans talks about Common Cause’s concern about and work to protect this November’s midterm election from interference and manipulation by the Trump administration and Republican party. In recent months, the president and GOP have taken multiple steps to implement measures with the intent of sup...

Interview with John Tarleton, editor-in-chief of The Indypendent, conducted by Scott Harris. John Tarleton discusses The Indypendent’s coverage of the city’s historic June 23rd Democratic primary election, with a focus on Democratic Socialist of America party candidates’ victories and their likely impact on both local and national politics. The Indypendent is New York City’s free progressive month...

Between The Lines’ Melinda Tuhus spoke with Wanda Bertram, communications strategist with the Prison Policy Initiative. Here she talks about the studies and the recommendations her organization is making to address the problem. An increasing number of Americans have been imprisoned for longer and longer sentences over the past several decades, due to the government’s so-called “War on Drugs” and p...

Interview with Rachel Carroll Rivas, deputy director research, reporting and analysis with the Intelligence Project at the Southern Poverty Law Center & SPLC Action. Rachel Rivas discusses the Souther Poverty Law Center’s “Annual Year in Hate & Extremism Report,” which finds that under the Trump regime, far-right extremist groups have gained new power across the federal government, private...