WPKN: Politics, Policy, and Planet Podcast

Dina Brewster, director of the Hickories, a CSA farm in Ridgefield, CT, discusses her work with the ecotype project, a collaboration focused on growing and distributing "source-identified" native plant seeds to restore local habitats, increase biodiversity, and support the food system. Also: the Small Farms Report with Steve Munno from Massaro Farm, the Honey Bee Update with Vincent Kaye, and Dian...

Erika Padilla, legal advocate with OLA -- Organización Latino Americano -- which provides a panoply of support services to immigrants on the East End of Long Island describes the work of her organization and the many ways it interfaces with the population and culture of that region. Interviewed by Richard Hill 

Interview with Pierre F. D'Haiti, community engagement officer at Bridgeport, CT's Housatonic Community College, conducted by Scott Harris.  Pierre D’Haiti talks about two workshops sponsored by WPKN during Latino Heritage Month at HCC on Sept. 17 and 29. The sessions from 7 to 9 p.m., will focus on immigrant rights and safety, addressing such questions as, What should you do if ICE stops you, and...

Interview with Micah Sifry, editor of the Connector newsletter, conducted by Scott Harris. Micah Sifry discusses his recent article, “Keep Calm and Protect Democracy,” on the issues of Pro-democracy activists and veteran organizers alike struggling with information overload and outrage fatigue — while also reflecting on his recent conversation with Ian Bassin, the executive director of Protect Dem...

Interview with Melvin A. Goodman is a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy and a professor of government at Johns Hopkins University, conducted by Scott Harris. Melvin Goodman, the national security columnist for Counterpunch.org, talks about his recent commentary, “Trump and the Post-American World,” and Trump’s recent attack on a speedboat that killed 11 on board off the coast of...

Interview with Brett Edkins, Stand Up America’s managing director of policy and political affairs, conducted by Scott Harris. Brett Edkins, Stand Up America’s managing director of policy and political affairs, discusses his group’s work defending democracy, opposing Trump’s military deployments to Los Angeles, Washington, D.C. and likely other U.S. cities in the Trump-GOP attempt to rig the 2026 m...

Interview with Aziz Dehkan, executive director/lead organizer with Connecticut Roundtable on Climate and Jobs conducted by Scott Harris. Aziz discusses the Connecticut Roundtable on Climate and Jobs’ response to the Trump administration’s order halting construction of the Revolution Wind offshore wind project that’s 80 percent complete, and would have powered 350,000 homes in Connecticut and Rhode...

Craig Mokhiber is the former director of the New York Office of the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights, who resigned in protest from his post in 2023 due to the unfolding Gaza genocide and the UN’s failures.  Here he discusses his recent Mondoweiss article, “How the UN Could Act Today to Stop the Genocide in Palestine,” and the general failure of international law in Gaza, Palestine and Israe...

Interview with Justin Glawe, an independent journalist and editor of the American Doom newsletter. Here he discusses the urgent issues examined in his recent article, “How Trump’s National Guard shock troops could seize voting machines,” and other concerns about the security of the 2026 midterm election that Trump and the Republican party are clearly worried they’ll lose — and now taking action on...

Interview with Bill Fletcher Jr., a senior scholar with the Institute for Policy Studies, discusses the critical issues examined in his recent In These Times magazine article, “The Labor Movement Is in a Fight for Its Existence Against a Neofascist Threat.” Fletcher Jr. is the former president of TransAfrica Forum and the author of "They’re Bankrupting Us!: And 20 Other Myths about Unions.” His la...

The Monthly Labor Report, broadcast on WPKN the 1st Tuesday of each month, presents an interview with Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants (CWA - AFL-CIO), conducted on the Friday before Labor Day. Sara Nelson, regarded by many as one the most militant, class conscious labor leaders in the country, addresses the current struggle of her union, and working people in general...

Interview with Tabitha Sookdeo, executive director of CT Students for a Dream, conducted by Melinda Tuhus. Melinda Tuhus spoke with Tabitha Sookdeo, executive director of CT Students for a Dream, which works mostly with young immigrants. Sookdeo herself is West Indian and she recently convened a meeting in Hamden, Connecticut, to bring together black immigrants from various countries to discuss th...

Interview with Rev. Sierra-Marie Gerfao, director of family ministry at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Danbury, and Juliana Soares, an organizer with Greater Danbury Unites for Immigrants, conducted by Scott Harris The Rev. Sierra-Marie Gerfao and Juliana Soares talk about the escalation of violent ICE raids and abductions in Danbury and in Connecticut, as well as what opponents of thi...

Interview with Heather Digby Parton, a contributing writer to Salon.com, conducted by Scott Harris. Heather Digby Parton discusses the important issues examined in her recent Salon article, “Paging FDR: Democrats need to embrace New Deal-style politics,” where she recounts how President Franklin Delano Roosevelt fought for the underdog — and was brazenly ruthless, urging floundering Democrats to f...

Interview with Dr. Ferric C. Fang, professor of laboratory medicine, pathology and microbiology at the University of Washington School of Medicine, conducted by Scott Harris. University of Washington School of Medicine professor Dr. Ferric C. Fang discusses his views on the decision by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattach...

Interview with Sam Rosenthal, political director with the RootsAction.org, conducted by Scott Harris. RootsAction.org ‘s Political Director Sam Rosenthal talks about the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the coalition of progressive groups supporting a resolution calling for “an immediate ceasefire, an arms embargo and suspension of military aid to Israel” that will be heard at a meeting of the Democra...

Organic Farm Stand features the Honey Bee Update with Vincent Kaye, the Small Farms Report with Steve Munno, and special guest Bill McDonald, director of Sticks and Stones Farm in Newtown, CT. Hosted by Richard Hill and Diane Lauricella

Interview with Susan Campbell, distinguished lecturer, College of Arts & Sciences at the University of New Haven, conducted by Scott Harris. Susan Campbell discusses her recent commentary, “Debunking Lies about America’s Homeless,” in the context of President Trump’s takeover of the Washington, D.C.’s police department and his announced deployment of 800+ National Guard troops to “crack down o...

Interview with Sydney Register, Press Secretary with the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, and Aaron Stephens, senior legislative strategist for P Street, conducted by Scott Harris. Sydney Register and Aaron Stephens discuss their group’s campaign targeting Paramount’s cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s contract on “The Late Show” as an example of Donald Trump’s transactional corruption vis-a-...

Interview with Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, co-founder and executive director of the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund, conducted by Scott Harris. Mara Verheyden-Hilliard discusses her group’s response to Donald Trump’s militarized takeover of Washington, D.C., and growing concern that this is yet another test (along with Los Angeles) that is laying the groundwork for the deployment of the U.S. milit...

Interview with Jason Stanley, professor of philosophy and chair of American Studies at the Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto, conducted by Scott Harris. Professor Stanley explains why he left the U.S. after Donald Trump's election, and examines the Trump regime’s seven-month history of imposing authoritarian rule, including the recent executive order mandating an expansive revie...

Manny Robinson, Gulf South Fossil Finance Hub, and Roishetta Ozane, founder and CEO of the Vessel Project address crowds gathered outside banks, insurance companies and their board members' homes, conducted by Melinda Tuhus. Anti-fossil fuel campaigners from the U.S. Gulf South joined other activists in New York City from July 28 to Aug. 2 for an action dubbed, “From the Gulf South to the Global S...

Interview with Kellie Snider, a contemporary American artist, conducted by Scott Harris. Kellie Snider discusses the nation’s history of white supremacy and racism before, during, and after slavery. She also talks about her work as an artist and the intersection of art and politics during our current crisis, where the Trump regime is launching attacks on virtually all democratic institutions.

Interview with Matt Gertz, Media Matters for America senior fellow, conducted by Scott Harris. Matt Gertz assesses how corporate and MAGA media are covering public demand for the release of the Epstein files, with some cooperating with the Trump White House by amplifying bogus distraction stories designed to tamp down the controversy. He also comments on Paramount’s decision to cancel The Late Sho...

Interview with Candice Fortin, U.S. campaign manager with the climate group 350.org, conducted by Scott Harris. Candice Fortin provides an overview of the Trump regime’s multi-pronged attack on all federal climate regulations; the short- and long-term impact on the environment; what if anything states can do to implement their climate regulations and how climate/environmental activist groups like...