WPKN: Politics, Policy, and Planet Podcast

Interview with Barbara Fair, a licensed clinical social worker, social justice activist, organizer, and founding member of Stop Solitary CT, conducted by Scott Harris. Barbara Fair talks about a press conference on Tuesday, March 25 that demanded the release of a video related to the correction officer beating death of J’Allen Jones on the 7th anniversary of his death.

Interview with Aaron Regunberg, a contributing editor at The New Republic, senior climate policy counsel at Public Citizen and a steering committee member of the Pass the Torch, conducted by Scott Harris. Aaron Regunberg discusses his recent New Republic article, “Bernie Sanders Is Showing Democrats How It’s Done,” and the current debate about the need to replace the Democratic party’s leadership,...

Interview with Kayla Gogarty, research director with Media Matters for America, conducted by Scott Harris. Kayla Gogarty discusses her group’s recent study, “New analysis found 9 out of the 10 top online shows assessed are right leaning.” Ideas are being debated on how progressive activists, journalists and scholars can break through right-wing media domination to reach more Americans to counter d...

Interview with Christopher Wright Durocher, vice president for program and policy with the American Constitution Society, conducted by Scott Harris. Christopher Durocher assesses the threat to democracy posed by the Trump administration’s actions over the past eight weeks and offers thoughts on what it will take to mount an effective defense of the U.S. Constitution and the rule of law.

Interview with Dean Baker, senior economist with the Center for Economic and Policy Research, conducted by Scott Harris. Dean Baker discusses his recent articles, “The Democrats’ Necessary Apology” and “The Trump-Musk Recession: Because They Can,” as well as issues related to Trump’s tariffs, Wall Street’s response and what’s ahead for the U.S. economy.

Interview with Betsy Leondar-Wright, a community organizer, a diversity workshop facilitator, and a sociology professor teaching critical race theory and economic inequality. Leondar-Wright talks about her new book, “Is It Racist? Is It Sexist? Why Red and Blue White People Disagree, and How to Decide in the Gray Areas,” co-written with Jessi Streib, as well as President Trump’s attack on DEI and...

Interview with Justin Glawe, independent journalist and editor of the American Doom newsletter, conducted by Scott Harris. Justin Glawe discusses his latest Rolling Stone article, “Social Security Insiders Warn Trump and Musk Could Break the Program,” and growing concern that congressional Democrats can’t mount an effective defense of America’s most popular government program. He's the author of t...

Interview with Sam Carliner, a journalist who focuses on US imperialism and the climate crisis, conducted by Scott Harris. Sam Carliner talks about his recent Waging Nonviolence magazine article, “How pro-Palestine student activists are fighting increasing repression,” and the recent Trump administration’s arrest and attempt to deport Mahmoud Khalil, a green card holder who played a significant ro...

Monique Bosch, the Soil Health Program Manager with CT NOFA, gets down and dirty about the microbial basis of healthy soil that promotes nutrient dense food and a sustainable environment. Also:  Steve Munno of Massaro Farm in Woodbridge, CT, provides the Small Farms Report;  and Vincent Kaye of Swords into Ploughshares Honey, presents the Honey Bee Update. Host: Richard Hill

Interview with Tom Swan, executive director of the Connecticut Citizen Action Group, conducted by Scott Harris. Tom Swan discusses CCAG’s priorities and goals in the current state legislative session, as well as initiatives a coalition of groups in the state are working on to build a firewall to protect CT residents from Trump 2.0 authoritarian federal policies targeting civil rights, education, a...

Interview with Richard D. Wolff, professor of economics emeritus at the University of Massachusetts, author of 11 books including, “Democracy at Work: A Cure for Capitalism,” and host of the weekly TV program Economic Update, conducted by Scott Harris. Richard D. Wolff examines Donald Trump’s imposition of tariffs on Canada, Mexico, China, Europe and other nations; the impact on the U.S. economy,...

Interview with the Rev. Jamal-Harrison Bryant, senior pastor at the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Georgia, conducted by Scott Harris. Senior Pastor Jamal-Harrison Bryant discusses his call for a 40-day “fast” from shopping at Target stores during Lent starting on March 5, in response to the company’s retreat from their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies after Dona...

Interview with Jason Stanley, Jacob Urowsky professor of philosophy at Yale University and author of Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future, conducted by Scott Harris. Jason Stanley shares his views on the Trump regime’s unconstitutional attempt to eliminate entire federal agencies, the mass firing of government employees, the witch hunt targeting DEI and all federal...

Sonia Hernandez and Veronica Ubaldo are team members with the community support organization Make the Road Connecticut , one of a national network of grassroots immigrant-led groups.  They share their personal stories of struggle for a better life in the US and their involvement in the fight for immigrant rights in their home town of Bridgeport, CT. Hosted by Richard Hill

A conversation with Medea Benjamin, co-director of Code Pink, and Francesca Rheannon, host of A Writer's Voice, a podcast which airs nationally and on WPKN-CT. Our guests cover topics from the ramped up oppressive measures against women's rights under Trump 2.0; to the possibilty of an end to the war in Ukraine; and the assault on DEI, free speech and public education. Hosts:  Ruthanne Baumgartner...

This month the Labor Report focuses on the rapid devolution of the American political system into an authoritarian fascist oligarchy. Michael Zweig, economist and labor historian, provides an overview of these dangerous developments and the type of resistance needed to combat them. Special guest Sultana Hossain, recording secretary for tha Amazon Workers Union, reports on the "holiday strike" agai...

Interview with Mike German, a fellow with the Liberty and National Security program at the Brennan Center for Justice, conducted by Scott Harris. Mike German talks about his new book, “Policing White Supremacy the Enemy Within,” a former FBI agent’s urgent call for law enforcement to prioritize far-right violence and end tolerance for police racism, and an increasingly dangerous situation where Do...

Interview with Nicole Carty, Executive Director of Get Free, a youth-led progressive activist movement, and Carson Delia, a Temple University student and Get Free member, conducted by Scott Harris. Nicole Carty and Carson Delia talk about confronting the Trump regime’s attempt to eliminate DEI policies in higher education and censor curricula that don’t conform to their white supremacist ideology....

Interview with Katherine Jacobsen, Canada, and Caribbean program coordinator with the Committee to Protect Journalists, formerly worked for The Associated Press in Moscow and as a freelancer in Ukraine, conducted by Scott Harris. Katherine Jacobsen talks about CPJ’s call on the Trump administration to restore Associated Press access to the White House, and the Trump regime’s removal of the White H...

Interview with Norman Solomon, co-founder of RootsAction.org and executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy, conducted by Scott Harris. Norman Solomon discusses his recent article, “Democrats Irritated by Voters Who Elected Them Need an Attitude Adjustment.” where he warns that Democratic legislators who are “perceived as wimps who failed to put up a fight against President Trump, Vic...

Excerpt of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, Senate floor speech on Feb. 4, 2025, edited and produced by Scott Harris. In this Feb. 4, 2025 excerpt of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ speech, he addresses the Trump-Musk coup, describing it as a dangerous movement toward oligarchy, authoritarianism and kleptocracy.

Interview with Elizabeth Jacobs, professor emeritus, epidemiology at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health at the University of Arizona, conducted by Scott Harris. Elizabeth Jacobs discusses rising concern about newly confirmed Health and Human Services Secretary RFK Jr.’s agenda at this sprawling agency and the damage his anti-science views could inflict on the federal health respon...

Interview with Maria J. Stephan, author of the award-winning book, "Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict," conducted by Scott Harris. Maria Stephan talks about her recent article, “We are Stronger Than We Think,” and issues related to the rising protest movement opposing the Trump/Musk agenda, the power of collective defiance and how to make cruelty backfire. Step...

Interview with Alex Lawson, executive director of Social Security Works, conducted by Scott Harris. Alex Lawson discusses the House GOP budget resolution that calls for $880 billion in cuts to Medicaid to help pay for extending the 2017 tax cuts for billionaires and multinational corporations, primarily benefiting the wealthiest Americans. He also talks about the group’s campaign to educate and mo...

Vetiveah Harrison and Héctor Freedom Gerardo, discuss their unique journeys that led them to the food justice movement and ultimately to the formation of the Liberated Land Cooperative ( https://www.liberatedlandcooperative.com/). This group of BIPOC farmers and food justice activists has created a network of CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture) farms that together are making a significant dent...