Hitting Left

Joining Mike in the studio this week is film maker Floyd Webb. Zooming in from Brooklyn is Fred Klonsky. A brief report on the New York mayoral race is followed by a discussion of the fight against Trump fascism and the role of the Arts in that fight. All this as Trump threatens a military occupation of Chicago and other cities with Black mayors.

On this edition of Hitting Left Mike is joined by legendary sociologist and veteran activist Dick Flacks, whose work has shaped generations of movement thinkers and doers. From SDS to Santa Barbara, Flacks is still asking what it means to make history—and how we do it together. Listen in for a conversation on radical scholarship, cultural resistance, and the unfinished business of democracy.

Brother Fred joins Mike on this edition of Hitting Left. The brothers engage in a lively conversation about New York politics and the race for mayor now that Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist and Muslim, has won the Democratic nomination.

Mike is joined in studio on this edition of Hitting Left by co-host Joanna Klonsky. Joanna is a political strategist and consultant. Also joining Mike is Ray Long, recently retired political reporter for the Chicago Tribune.

Joining Mike in the Hi tting Left studio are two members of Chicago Jewish Voice for Peace, Benjamin Teller   and Jimmy Rothschild . Jimmy Rothschild is a community organizer based in Chicago who's been active with Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and other progressive Jewish organizations. Benjamin Teller is among six members of JVP Chicago who started an indefinite hunger strike on June 16, 2025, to...

Joining Mike this episode of Hitting Left are labor organizer Sarah Saheb and writer Lindsay Eanet to discuss Trump's Big Ugly Budget, DOGE, and their impact on Chicago and elsewhere. They have both been on top the new assault on the living standards of poor and working families and cuts to social services here in Chicago and in cities around the country.

Joining Mike on this edition of Hitting Left is Ken Cloke. Ken is a renowned mediator, arbitrator, and expert in conflict resolution. As the Director of the Center for Dispute Resolution, Ken has spent decades navigating complex disputes, fostering dialogue, and advocating for transformative mediation practices. His work spans labor disputes, political conflicts, and community reconciliation, and...

Joining Mike on this episde of Hitting Left are Texas 60's activists and authors Thorne Dreyer and Alice Embree.

Joining Mike on this edition of Hitting Left is Bill Ayers, teacher, activist, and author. They discuss the current assault on academic freedom.

Joining Mike on this editon of Hitting Left is former Congresswomen Marie Newman who returns to the studio to talk about her new book, A Life Made from Scratch. We used to call her the "machine buster."

Joining Mike on this edition of Hitting Left is educator, author, and Chicago Board of Ed member, Elizabeth Todd-Breland. She's written a biography of the late, great, former CTU President, Karen Lewis.

Joining Mike on this edition of Hitting Left are Jason Rieger from Indivisible Chicago, Tom Grace, historian, author, and veteran of the Kent State shootings of 1970, and Jerry Harris, author and prominent figure in the study of globalization and its impact on society.

Brother Fred joins Mike in this edition of Hitting Left to discuss New York mayoral politics, the spineless national Democrats and Signalgate.

Joining Mike on this edition of Hitting Left is former Chicago Mayor Lori LIghtfoot to discuss Trump's attack on the cities.

Joining Mike this edition of Hitting Left is Chicago Tribune reporter Ray Long and Democratic Party consultant Alaina Hampton to disucuss convicted former Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan and Illinois' culture of corruption

Joining Mike and Susan on this edition of Hitting left is author ands poet Hilton Obenzinger. They discuss the Judaism v. Zionism debate, Trump's plan for a Gaza Riviera, and other madman MAGA tactics.

Joining MIke as cohost this editon of Hitting Left is Susan Klonsky. The guests are the author and cartoon artist Ryan Alexander-Tanner and immigrant rights activist Rev. Sandra Castillo. Ryan Alexander-Tanner has written and illustrated a book about Muhammad Ali.  Susan and Mike will get the latest update on President Trump's threatened assault on our city's migrants with Rev. Sandra Castillo, wh...

Former death row inmates, now Chicago anti-death-penalty activists Renaldo Hudson and Stanley Howard joined by Liz Futrell, author of "Lessons from Death Row."

Joining Mike on this edition of Hitting Left is basketball coach turned novelist Rus Bradburd and filmmaker Floyd Webb. Floyd and Mike will be talking about the Black Panthers on the 55th anniversary of the murder of Illinois Black Panther Chairman, Fred Hampton.

Joining Mike and co-host Susan Klonsky on this edition of Hitting Left is Rabbi Brant Rosen from Chicago's anti-Zionist Tzedek Congregation. Gaza, Lebanon, and resistance to war and genocide in the Trump era are the topics for discussion.

Joining Hitting Left host Mike Klonsky onthis edition is Rashid Khalidi, a Palestinian-American historian of the Middle East and the Edward Said Professor Emeritus of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia University.

In the wake of the election of Donald Trump Mike is joined by former co-host Fred Klonsky and political strategist Joanna Klonsky to discuss the results and where we go now.

Joining Mike on this edition of Hitting Left is Juan Gonzalez, co-Host of Democracy Now!, Senior Fellow at Great Cities Institute of UIC, founding member of the Young Lords and leader of the '68 protest at Columbia University. Juan Gonzalez is author of a new study of the "Brown Belt" in Chicago.   

Joining Mike on this edition of Hitting Left is author, educator, activist and long-time friend, Bill Ayers. His latest book is called, When Freedom is the Question, Abolition is the Answer: Reflections on Collective Liberation.

Another edition of Hitting Left Music feathering Nina Simone, Bob Dylan, Paul Robeson, 10,000 Maniacs, Tom Morello, Mavis Staples, and more.