The oursociallandscape's Podcast

The recorded version of my last blog post.

Thievery Corporation's Rob Garza is my guest on Our Social Landscape, where we discuss cultural expression through music.

Jason Williamson of the Sleaford Mods is my guest on this episode of Our Social Landscape. Originally from Grantham and currently of Nottingham, England, Williamson and his musical partner Andrew Fearn make bass-driven punk rock with cutting and insightful social commentary.

I’m joined by Noam Chomsky, the Father of Modern Linguistics, world-renowned political dissident and activist, and one of the world’s most respected intellectuals.   With appointments at M.I.T. and the University of Arizona, Professor Chomsky remains academically and politically active, well into his 94th trip around the sun.  

I’m joined by Robyn James, Gender and Equity Advisor with the Nature Conservancy, to discuss environmental issues, broadly speaking, and gender issues more specifically.  With over 25 years’ experience working in the Asia Pacific region at the community and national level to address conservation and equity issues, she is at the forefront in the convergence of localized environmental concerns with...

Karl Denson, composer, band leader, and Rolling Stones saxophonist, joins me on Our Social Landscape to discuss the current state of the union.

Author and journalist Neil deMause joins me on Our Social Landscape to discuss a few current topics in the world of sports. deMause is a Brooklyn-based journalist and author who has written for Baseball Prospectus, Slate, CNN Money, and the Village Voice and is the co-author, along with Joanna Cagan, of the award-winning expose into the public financing of sports stadiums, Field of Schemes.  He ha...

A discussion with renowned sports economist Andrew Zimbalist on the NCAA, MLB, and pro stadiums.

A discussion of Malcolm X on President's Day...

A discussion of a new Florida law that prohibits the supposed "liberal indoctrination" in public colleges and universities. 

A discussion of a new Florida law that prohibits transgirls from athletic completion on girls teams in public schools.

Anti-racism educator and author Tim Wise joins me for this iteration of Our Social Landscape.  Author of 9 books on race, and a prolific public speaker and blogger, Tim began his activism as a student at Tulane in the late 1980s and has been involved in the struggle for racial equality and social justice ever since.  The conversation starts with a discussion of how he began activism work against S...

I’m joined by political historian and writer Claire Bond Potter.  A professor of history at the New School for Social Research in New York City, Claire’s writing focuses on the interaction between politics and the media and she’s the author of an amazing book on the topic, Political Junkies: From Talk Radio to Twitter, How Alternative Media Hooked Us on Politics and Broke Our Democracy.

A discussion with professional skateboarder and musician Tommy Guerrero about the influence of both on contemporary culture.

Progressive sports writer Dave Zirin joins me on Our Social Landscape to hit on a few hot button topics in the sports world today.  Zirin is the sports editor of The Nation magazine, the author of 11 books on the politics and history of sport, and a frequent contributor to television and radio shows nationally.  

Welcome to Our Social Landscape!  Little Shell Chippewa writer Chris La Tray joins me from Missoula, Montana, to discuss contemporary indigenous issues in America. Chris is the author of the award-winning book/memoir One Sentence Journal, as well as a former professional musician, and is currently writing a history of his tribe.  In addition to indigenous sovereignty and land redistribution, we di...

A discussion of a new Florida law that prohibits the teaching of Critical Race Theory in public schools.

Thoughts on the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

An analysis of America's relationship between gun violence and masculine gender norms.

Closing the door on 2020...

An interview with Travers, Professor of Sociology at Simon Fraser University, British Columbia. Professor Travers is an expert on transgender issues in society, and most of our talk was focused on trans inclusion/exclusion in sports.  Also discussed: intersex athletes, the social construction of both gender and sex, Title IX, and children’s lived experiences navigating gendered expectations.   

An interview with Jay Coakley, Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs on current issues in the world of sports.  Professor Coakley has taught about sports in society for almost 50 years, but we limited our focus to three areas in particular- sex/gender, racial issues, and the NCAA anti-trust law suits.  “August” by The Lone Bellow leads us in and fades us o...

An interview with New York Times (and now The Atlantic) journalist Elizabeth Bruenig about criminal justice and capital punishment.  

Singer-songwriter James McMurtry joins me to share his thoughts on music and current social issues.

An interview with musician and novelist, Willy Vlautin.