Coming From Left Field (Video)

In this podcast, Alan MacLeod discusses his recent books and journalism. Dr. Macleod completed his PhD in Sociology at Glasgow University  focusing on research interests of social media, Internet subcultures, propaganda, fake news, and Latin American politics. He is a prolific journalist and has contributed to FAIR.org, The Guardian, Salon, The Grayzone, Jacobin Magazine, and MintPress News. His m...

In this podcast, Michelle Phelps discusses her book, “Minneapolis Reckoning- Race, Violence & the Politics of Policing in America,” which traces the history of the Minneapolis Police Department, from its founding through to the murder of George Floyd and subsequent reforms.   Phelps provides a vivid picture of the possibilities and limits of challenging police power, showing how the dual meani...

In this podcast, Tariq Ali discusses the second volume in his memoir series, following “Street Fighting Years.” The book, “You Can’t Please All: Memoirs 1980-2024” covers Ali’s life and political activism from 1980 to 2024.  It includes autobiographical notes, journalism, essays, political commentary and personal reflections.   Tariq Ali is a Pakistani-British political activist, writer, historian...

In this podcast, Andy Lee Roth discusses the annual publication of Project Censored State of the Free Press, which takes the pulse of the media and shares the 25 most essential but underreported stories of the past year. Editors Mickey Huff, Shealeigh Voit, and Andy Lee Roth look back on a year in which significant news stories lost out to coverage of celebrities and non-events. They highlight 25...

In this podcast, we talk with Jeff Schuhrke about his book ‘Blue Collar Empire: The Untold Story of US Labor’s Global Anticommunist Crusade.” This book recounts the AFL-CIO’s global anticommunist crusade in the late 20th century, shows how it took place in partnership with the US government’s Cold War-era quest to control labor struggles abroad and explores what this history means for the possibil...

In this podcast, we talk with Charles Derber and Yale Magrass about their book, “Who Owns Democracy?: The Real Deep State and the Struggle Over Class and Caste in America.” This book uniquely reverses today’s MAGA conspiratorial concept of the deep state to reveal how a very real “deeper state” is evident throughout history, back to the founding of American democracy.   Charles Derber, Professor o...

In this podcast, we talk with Rob Larson about his book, “Mastering the Universe: The Obscene Wealth of the Ruling Class, What They Do with Their Money, and Why You Should Hate Them Even More.” Larson is a professor of economics for the past 18 years and has authored numerous books, including “Bit Tyrants: The Political Economy of Silicon Valley” and “Capitalism vs. Freedom: The Toll Road to Serfd...

In this podcast, we talk with Nathan J. Robinson about the book he co-wrote with Noam Chomsky, “The Myth of American Idealism: How U.S. Foreign Policy Endangers the World.” In this book, Noam Chomsky and Nathan J. Robinson outline America’s pursuit of global domination, offering an incisive critique of the self-serving myths that dominant elites in the United States continue to push. They discuss...

In this podcast, we talk with Frank Schaeffer to discuss his recent blog post regarding “Project 2025” and its origins in the theologically conservative Opus Dei and deep-pocket conservative think tanks. Schaeffer is an author, film director, screenwriter, and painter. He is the son of theologian and author Francis Schaeffer, who, with other evangelicals, is responsible for the pro-life movement a...

Nolan Higdon and Allison Butler are specialists in media literacy and, with their book, Surveillance Education: Navigating the Conspicuous Absence of Privacy in Schools, they focus attention on the pervasive use of digital surveillance technologies in schools that often results in a pernicious effect on students.   Nolan Higdon is a founding member of the Critical Media Literacy Conference of the...

Dr. Vanessa Wills is a political philosopher, ethicist, educator, and activist based in Washington, DC. She is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at George Washington University. Her areas of specialization are moral, social, and political philosophy, nineteenth-century German philosophy (especially Karl Marx), and the philosophy of race.  She is a founding editor of Spectre Journal, a biannual...

Vijay Prashad is a historian, journalist, and executive director of the Tri-Continental Institute for Social Research. He has authored or edited 72 books.  In “On Cuba,” co-written with Noam Chomsky, they trace Cuban history from the 1950s revolution to the present, interrogating U.S. interventions and extracting lessons on U.S. power and influence in the Western Hemisphere.  This book thoroughly...

Betsy Phillips, a journalist and historian, is the author of the new book about three unsolved bombings by segregationists in the civil rights era, “Dynamite Nashville: Unmasking the FBI, the KKK, and the Bombers Beyond Their Control.”  Phillips not only paints a detailed picture of the social dynamic of the times but reveals how a violent fringe of racists came to national prominence. In Dynamite...

Dr. David Detmer is a Professor of Philosophy at Purdue University Calumet and author of numerous books and professional articles.  In his new book, “Zinnophobia: The Battle Over History in Education, Politics, and Scholarship,” Detmer offers an extended defense of the work of radical historian Howard Zinn, author of the bestselling A People's History of the United States, against his many critics...

Dr. Matthew Ferrence is an English professor at Allegheny College.  In 2020, he ran for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in a deeply red district and lost badly. In his new book, “I Hate It Here, Please Vote For Me: Essays on Rural Political Decay,” Ferrence chronicles his election defeat to explore how the American political narratives refuse to recognize the existence and value of rural...

Dr. Gerald Horne is Moores Professor of History and African-American Studies at the University of Houston. He is a renowned historian who has extensively researched and written about issues of racism, labor, politics, civil rights, and international relations. He has authored more than thirty books and numerous scholarly articles. Cornel West describes Dr. Horne as " one of the great historians of...

Vincent Bevins is an award-winning journalist. He reported for the Financial Times in London, then served as the Los Angeles Times' Brazil correspondent before covering Southeast Asia for the Washington Post. His first book, The Jakarta Method, came out in 2020 and was named one of the year's best books by the Financial Times and NPR.  Today, we discuss his book, “If We Burn: The Mass Protest Deca...

Daniel Kovalik is an American lawyer, human rights activist, author, and academic. He has been involved in various legal and human rights issues, particularly focusing on workers' rights, indigenous rights, and international law.  In the book, “The Case for Palestine: Why It Matters and Why You Should Care,” Kovalik unveils the brutal realities of the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza, exposing the de...

Jesse Hagopian is a high school teacher in Seattle, a union organizer, co-author of several books, and a powerful force in pushing back against the "over-testing" of students. Jesse’s writing has appeared in such publications as The Seattle Times, The Nation, and The Progressive, and his commentary on education and politics has been featured in Time magazine, The New Yorker, The PBS News Hour with...

Our guest is Mike Hixenbaugh, senior investigative reporter for NBC News. He has been named a Pulitzer Prize finalist and won a Peabody Award for reporting on the battle over race, gender, and sexuality in American classrooms. “They Came for the Schools,” his first book, is the winner of the prestigious Lukas Work-in-Progress Award. We also discuss his Peabody Award-winning and Pulitzer Prize fina...

Our guest on this podcast is investigative journalist Tim Schwab. His book, “The Bill Gates Problem: Reckoning with the Myth of the Good Billionaire.” It is a definitive critique of Bill Gates and other billionaires who use their immense wealth to forge into the world of unaccountable power philanthropy.   Order the book: The Bill Gates Problem https://www.kingsbookstore.com/book/9781250850096   G...

In this podcast, our guest is a poet, Pat’s sister, Janice O’Mahony. She lives on Whidbey Island, Washington, and has immersed herself in the community's creative environment. Janice has always been creative, but once she retired, she focused on being a “poet.” She has published her works in journals and books and spends much of her time honing her bard craft.   Order the book OUT OF THE BLUE four...

This podcast examines education policies, history, and reform from two academics; Dr. Neil Kraus, is Professor of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin, River Falls.  His book, The Fantasy Economy: Neoliberalism, Inequality, and the Education Reform challenges the basic assumptions of the education reform movement. Dr. Jon Shelton is Associate Professor of Democracy and Justice Studies...

Working Class and What to Do About It,” connects the dots between long-term trends in corporate capitalism and the last 50 years of neoliberal attacks on the working class. He shows the direct relationship between deregulation, predatory private equity firms, mass layoffs, stock buybacks, and the resulting destruction of the middle class. As a longtime labor educator and journalist, Leopold descri...

Kevin Gosztola’s book, “Guilty of Journalism,” is an essential guide to the case against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.  As a journalist, Kevin has been reporting on Julian Assange for more than a decade and returns to our podcast to discuss London's High Court recent decision regarding his extradition to the United States.  This is an important matter that impacts the future of journalism, fre...