Green & Red: Podcasts for Scrappy Radicals

In a free-wheeling discussion Scott and Bob and friend and frequent G&R guest Clayton Lust, a professor of history as several Houston-area community colleges, talked about the campus protests of the 1960s, especially at Columbia in 1968, their meaning, their consequences and their tactics. All of us have written and/or taught about U.S. radical protests and the 1960s. We then pivoted to a conv...

Mike Elk spoke w/ Green & Red a couple weeks ago in anticipation of the union vote at the UAW vote in Chattanooga and, after the victory there, we talked about the reasons for that success and what was next for labor--especially an upcoming vote at a Mercedes plant in Alabama. We also talked about Summer Lee's primary victory in Pittsburgh and her messageof peace from "Pittsburgh to Palestine." --...

On Wednesday, in Austin TX, hundreds of police converged on the University of Texas to attack a peaceful protest in solidarity with the victims of the Israeli genocide in Gaza. At least 57 students and protest participants were arrested. A Fox News cameraman and other journalists were assaulted and arrested. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott gloated in a video about his state troopers attacking pro-Palestini...

In our latest, we deep dive into Indigenous organizing with long time Native Oakland Native organizer and direct action trainer Marty Aranaydo (@williemaze). We discuss his direct action roots (going back before he was born!), organizing work in native communities around North America, the occupation of Alcatraz, his time at Standing Rock and Cop City, and being an artist and DJ in Oakland. We als...

We talk with Prof. Michael Sierra-Arévalo (@michaelsierraa) about the "war on cops" and how it has shaped police culture and violence. We discuss the creation of this culture of police survival over public safety. Where and how it's created. How police see themselves as holding the line against agents of chaos. The institution's perception of race, politics and media. And the inf...

This week, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear McKesson v. Doe. The case involves a police officer injured during a Black Lives Matter protest after the police murder of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, La in 2016. The injured police officer sued the organizer DeRay McKesson for damages. Last year, the US Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit sided with the officer. The Supreme Court, for a secon...

Forest defenders have launched a tree sit to stop old growth logging on federal Bureau of Land Management land in Southern Oregon. Community members are opposing the Poor Windy timber sale, which targets thousands of acres of mature and old growth forest. Scott gets an update from two forest defenders fighting the timber sale. They talk about the campaign, community support for the tree-sit and ho...

In our scrappy Tax Day episode, we get right down to it. We get into the anniversary of the publishing of "The Grapes of Wrath" and its significance on America and the American Left. We discuss how your tax dollars are subsidizing war profiteers like Lockheed Martin and keeping the war effort in Gaza going while paying for healthcare and public education in Israel. (Meanwhile America&#39...

Bob had a great conversation w/ Mike Elk of Payday Report, a frequent G&R guest. They spent most of the time discussing the current UAW unionization drive in Chattanooga, how this election is different than previous failed votes in 2014 and 2019, and the prospects for labor in the coming months. They also discussed his time in Brazil, and the challenges Lula faces. And finally, Mike, who was a...

Yanis Varoufakis's new book provocatively argues that Capitalism is dead and has been replaced by a new group of wealthy people whom he calls Technofeudalists--Zuckerberg, Musk, etc. This new ruling class, whom he calls the "cloudalists," rules over all of us, and even other capitalists, like feudal lords ruled over vassals. Bio// Yanis Varoufakis is an economist, political leader, a...

The bosses have long pitted workers against those fighting pollution, extraction and the climate crisis. As the climate crisis worsens, labor unions and environmentalists have begun to build important new alliances to challenge the power of capital and industry. In the new anthology, "Power Lines," co-editors Jeff Ordower and Lindsey Zafir discuss the challenges and successes of this gro...

In our latest, we talk about the American empire and it's dissenters. We get into the anniversaries of the My Lai massacre, the murder of activist Rachel Corrie in Gaza, the Vietnam era self-immolation of Alice Herz and the U.S. invasion of Iraq. We also talk about who's (literally) fueling the Israeli war machine. -------------------- Outro- "That Flag Decal Won't Get You Into He...

We had a great conversation with longtime labor organizer and activist Jonathan Melrod where we discussed his life in activism, with a particular emphasis on labor organizing during the 70s and 80s, when deindustrialization began to shatter American jobs. Jonathan Melrod is a name synonymous with political activism, labor organization, and human rights advocacy. With his remarkable journey as a su...

Newly obtained documents reveal that the U.S. government was monitoring environmental activists opposed to the Keystone XL pipeline far earlier than previously known. Young, Native activists were among the government’s first targets. The FBI file describes Native American groups as a potentially dangerous threat and likens them to “environmental extremists” whose actions could lead to violence. Th...

In our latest Scrappy Sunday, we talk about the State of Disunion that liberals have wrought on the rest of us. We talk about International Women’s Day being celebrated while Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton bomb and exploit their way to power. Scott talks about anti-war direct actions in his hometown of Garland, TX and how Sen. Tom Cotten is calling for investigations of “left extremism” in the m...

For over 25 years Bev Stohl was the administrative aide to Noam Chomsky at MIT. But she was so much more than that . . . not only did she manage his office, but become a close personal friend. She recently wrote a memoir of her time with him at MIT and we had a fantastic and poignant conversation about what Noam is like in "real life," when he's not writing and speaking about world e...

Last Sunday, February 25, 2024, Aaron Bushnell killed himself by setting himself on fire in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington DC. He did this as an act of resistance to the ongoing genocide in Gaza by the IDF. He was just 25 years old. He was an active duty member of the US Air Force. He live streamed as walked to the embassy and said: “I will no longer be complicit in genocide. I am abou...

Some see Occupy Wall Street and the campaigns of Bernie Sanders as some sort of viral phenomenon, but don't recognize the importance that decades of organizing against neo-liberalism and empire played into the rise of these movements. Since these moments, we've seen a reshaping of the American political landscape. In our latest, Scott talks with author and activist Jay Ponti about his orga...

In our latest, we talk about the two year anniversary of the beginning of the war in Ukraine. How COVID is worse than ever (it’s just no one is talking about it anymore). And how the titans of finance are backpedaling on their pledges to do something about the climate crisis. We also talk with entrepreneur Jeff Grubler about his new bottled water start up “Gaza Springs.” And the impact of Israel’s...

Israel’s genocide on Gaza has led to at least 30,000 dead (including 12,000 children). This past week, we saw the Israelis begin bombing on Rafah and a ground invasion of the last refugee haven in Gaza is expected at any time. But while the Israelis wage their ethnic cleansing campaign with bombs and bullets, they've also weaponized environmental destruction to make sure that no one can return...

It’s going to be a big year for Green and Red! And we’ve got schwag!! We've got these awesome Green and Red trucker caps. And then we've got many copies of G&R co-host Bob Buzzanco's first book "Masters of War." If you like what we do and want to support us: 1.) Make a donation of $25 or more and get a Green & Red hat. 2.) Make a $35 donation and get a copy of "M...

In our special Scrappy Presidents Day episode, we talk about how socially conscious climate friendly funds are financing the largest weapons manufacturers on the planet. We also talk about the continuing ethnic cleansing of Gaza by Israel (funded by the U.S.A.). All this and a regular dose of radical history. We also show you a new video for "Gaza Springs." ----------------------------------------...

According to the UN, the United States-Mexico border is the world's deadliest land route for migrants, with at least 686 deaths and disappearances in 2023. 148 of those deaths happened in the region along the Texas and New Mexico borders with Mexico. Texas's Gov. Greg Abbott has attempted to create a crisis in Eagle Pass, TX with deadly razor wire fencing and deploying national guard units...

This month, the University of California-Berkeley administration sent a small army of police to secure Peoples’ Park in the south side of campus. The police cleared the park of the people living there, and established walls of shipping containers surrounding the park. The university plans to build 1,100 new units of student housing and 125 units of supportive housing for unhoused people. In the la...

Charles Glass (@charlesmglass) is one of the more recognized and important journalists of the past couple generations and we had a great discussion with him. First, we discussed the case of Julian Assange, whom he visited in Belmarsh recently, and where it stands and what's coming up. Then we talked about the crisis in Palestine, which Glass is uniquely established to discuss given him past as...