Free Forum with Terrence McNally

PETER SCHRAG, longtime editor of The Sacramento Bee, makes the case that “no party, no lobby, no organization has been as formidable an adversary to the Washington of Donald Trump, Paul Ryan, and Mitch McConnell as California has. None has both the will and the heft that California brings to this fight. None has been as determined.” And he reminds us that California has come a long way since 1994...

DAVID CAY JOHNSTON, Pulitzer Prize–winning reporter and author of THE MAKING OF DONALD TRUMP, has been covering Trump since the late ‘80s. While most of the media focuses on tweets and White House intrigue, he co-founded DCReport.org to keep track of what they’re not telling you. Johnston joins me to talk about the revelations in his #2 NYTimes best-seller, IT’S EVEN WORSE THAN YOU THINK: What the...

RAJ PATEL has a written a new book (with Jason Moore): A History of the World in Seven Cheap Things: A Guide to Capitalism, Nature, and the Future of the Planet. "Cheap" is the opposite of a bargain and the seven things are nature, money, work, care, food, energy, and lives. Linking the birth of capitalism to the separation of nature and society, telling stories from Christopher Columbus to Chicke...

FRANCES MOORE LAPPE, (Diet For A Small Planet; Eco-Mind) whose work for decades has consistently updated the best the 60’s had to offer and ADAM EICHEN, who graduated from college in 2015, met on a pro-democracy march and have co-authored a book that brings their generations together - Daring Democracy—Igniting Power, Meaning, and Connection for the America We Want.

CHUCK COLLINS is a senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies and author most recently of Born on Third Base: A One Percenter Makes the Case for Tackling Inequality, Bringing Wealth Home, and Committing to the Common Good. We talk about inequality in America and the GOP’s proposed 2017 tax bill that will only make things much worse.

I’ve known JODIE EVANS for over 20 years. And throughout that time, she’s been a tireless activist, advocate, and communicator for peace, justice and the planet. When I noticed that Code Pink, which started as a vigil by a few women in front of Bush's White House, has just turned 15, I thought it was a good time to catch up with her. What have we learned since then about the US and activism?

Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain, and Body. With the enormous growth in awareness and practice of mindfulness and meditation have come widespread claims of benefits. Best-selling author Daniel Goleman and neuroscientist Richard Davidson, both longtime meditators, examined the scientific research to find out what is true and what is not.

PAUL HAWKEN (The Ecology of Commerce; Natural Capitalism; Blessed Unrest) has a new research project and a new best-selling book - DRAWDOWN. Based on rigorous scientific and economic analysis and review, it ranks the 80 most impactful solutions with which Hawken is confident we can reverse global warming. Plus it offers 20 additional very promising solutions for which there isn’t yet enough data t...

RANDY OLSON, marine biologist turned filmmaker, author of DON’T BE SUCH A SCIENTIST and HOUSTON, WE HAVE A NARRATIVE says we’re all receiving a firehose of information and can no longer deal with all the separate bits, so we look for higher levels of organization. We look for narratives. Get on board if you want to impact society. PS His Narrative Index predicted Trump’s victory. http://www.randyo...

JOHN NICHOLS, is National Affairs Correspondent for The Nation and Associate Editor of The Capital Times in Madison, so his beat includes the nation’s capital as well Wisconsin’s. His latest book, HORSEMEN OF THE TRUMPOCALYPSE: A Field Guide to the Most Dangerous People in America, reports on over 40 players on Team Trump. My biggest question for Nichols: What needs to happen so that Wisconsin and...

(1) ERWIN CHEMERINSKY and I talk about legal issues raised by Trump administration. How far is this Supreme Court going to go in weakening separation between church and state? Is Trump violating the law by making money - including taxpayer's money - from his businesses? Who's going to enforce that law? How bad is it that he belittles and scapegoats the judiciary? Is it too early to think about imp...

With his latest book, WHY BUDDHISM IS TRUE (#4 NYT Best-seller), ROBERT WRIGHT, who’s been asking big questions for at least three decades, asks another: What can mindfulness offer people trying to make sense and justice of contemporary politics, culture, and economics? We talk evolutionary psychology, confronting cognitive delusions, tribalism, and Trump.

The Republican party's beliefs and policies – while passionately hailed by millions - are no longer those of the majority of Americans, and so the only way they can dominate government as they do - White House, both houses of Congress, Supreme Court, and the vast majority of state legislatures and governorships - is by gerrymandering legislative districts and making it harder for millions to vote....

Naomi Klein (No Logo; Shock Doctrine; This Changes Everything) makes it very clear that even successful resistance is not enough. We must seize this moment to pursue nothing less than the world we long for - successfully confronting climate change and inequality while rebuilding our sense of human community. In addition to No, we need to offer a compelling, inviting, and just Yes. She offers the e...

I turn to constitutional scholar ERWIN CHEMERINSKY to talk about legal issues raised by the Trump administration. How far is this Supreme Court going to go in weakening the separation between church and state? Is Trump violating the law by making money - including taxpayer’s money - from his businesses and properties? Who’s going to enforce that law? How bad is it that he belittles and scapegoats...

Pulitzer-prize-winning journalist and author David Cay Johnston has covered Donald Trump off and on for 27 years. In THE MAKING OF DONALD TRUMP, he profiles the many ways Trump has gotten wealthy by bilking others, colluding with criminals, evading prosecution, and romancing the press. Johnston is the founder/editor-in-chief of nonprofit news service DCReport.org, that reports "what the President...

Ever since he dropped out of college to sample the Summer of Love, DANNY GOLDBERG has been an active participant in culture, counterculture, and politics. In addition to his career in the music business - manager of artists from Bonnie Raitt to Nirvana, chairman of Warner Brothers records - he was co-producer/director of the rock doc No Nukes and CEO of Air America. We talk about all of that as we...

New Episode! Nukes - How do we deal with North Korea, Iran, Russia, and Trump? Remember 2015 when the big nuclear weapons news was the deal negotiated by the Obama administration with Iran? Why is the UN now voicing fears of catastrophe? What role is the new Trump administration playing in the escalation of provocation? Are the UN's fears real and if so, what can we do about it? JOE CIRINCIONE is...

Prior to the Institute for New Economic Thinking, Rob Johnson served as Chief Economist of the US Senate Banking Committee and a DIrector at Soros Fund Management. He also worked in the music and film industries (Exec Producer, Oscar winning doc, Taxi to the Dark Side). "The concentration of wealth and power that created a twin crisis of representation - in politics and in expertise - set the stag...

NEW SHOW! According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, "The number of hate groups in the United States rose for a second year in a row in 2016 as the radical right was energized by the candidacy of Donald Trump." Of a spike in reported incidents of "hate" violence, SPLC reports, "37% of them directly referenced either President Trump, his campaign slogans, or his infamous remarks about sexual ass...

Currently organizing where he grew up in Lancaster PA (as a Menonite), he was involved with Occupy Wall Street and has a lot to say about what worked and what we can learn from what didn't. Example: The rituals of assembly ended up standing in for strategy, becoming an end rather than a means. Smucker questions the left's tendency to identify as "the righteous few", where purity can become an obst...

Originally Aired in 2004 They noticed trends, asked questions, offered warnings and gave advice. "Why does the pro-life factory worker who listens to Rush Limbaugh repeatedly vote for the party that is less likely to protect his safety, less likely to protect his job, and less likely to benefit him economically?" - Thomas Frank "In politics framing is about making sure the debate takes place in la...

Originally aired June 2013 In 2008 TIM DeCHRISTOPHER disrupted a highly disputed BLM auction, effectively safeguarding thousands of acres of land. Tim outbid industry giants on land parcels (which, starting at $2 an acre, were adjacent to national treasures like Canyonlands National Park), winning 22,000 acres of land worth $1.7M Two months later, incoming Interior Secretary Ken Salazar invalidate...

I recently broke my two-year hiatus with a show of reflections on the election and the path forward. I couldn’t resist again this week, following the inauguration of Donald Trump and the millions around the US and the globe who marched yesterday. in protest. I discuss recent events and the meaning of the marches with: • Richard (RJ) Eskow (www.patreon.com/thezerohour), host of the syndicated radio...

After hosting and producing this show for 17 years, I stepped away from recording new live interviews nearly two years ago, but I couldn't resist commenting about Trump's election and our path forward confronting his administration. The Courage Campaign is spearheading resistance in California with a mix of online and ground organizing and action. Colby Devitt shares her experience at Standing Roc...