WPKN: Politics, Policy, and Planet Podcast

Interview with Branko Marcetic, a Jacobin magazine staff writer and author of "Yesterday's Man: The Case Against Joe Biden," conducted by Scott Harris. Branko Marcetic discusses his soon-to-be-published in-depth profile of Russell Vought, the longtime radical anti-government ideologue who, as Trump’s recently confirmed director of the Office of Management and Budget, is now poised to see through t...

Interview with Mel Goodman, a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy, a professor of government at Johns Hopkins University, conducted by Scott Harris. Mel Goodman examines Trump’s latest initiative to end the Ukraine war, his reported conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin — and how these announced negotiations could impact the people of Ukraine, Russia and Europe.  Good...

Interview with Kenny Stancil, a senior researcher at the Revolving Door Project with broad interests in the political economy of inequality, conducted by Scott Harris.  Kenny Stancil talks about his recent article, “Where Is the Democratic Opposition?” and an update on efforts being made to organize an effective and aggressive national Trump opposition movement both inside the Democratic Party and...

Interview with John Bonifaz, a constitutional attorney and the co-founder and president of the Free Speech For People, conducted by Scott Harris. John Bonifaz assesses our national crisis as the Trump/Musk coup continues, including the constitutional crisis this administration has provoked as the Trump regime ignores judge-issued injunctions ordering them to halt their illegal actions.  Bonifaz is...

Resistance Roundtable features two guests:   -Prof. Christopher Vials, who teaches English at UCONN-Storrs, discusses the theory and practice of fascism and how Trump 2.0 is careening toward a complete dissolution of what remains of American democracy.   -Leslie Blatteau, president of the New Haven Federation of Teachers, talks about the threat posed by the Maga agenda to Connecticut schools, stud...

A deep dive into the history of African American involvement in the US labor movement with S teven Pitts, recently retired labor policy advisor of the UC Berkeley Labor Center; and Michael Zweig, economist, labor and civil rights activist, and founder of the Center for the Study of Working Class Life at SUNY Stony Brook. Host: Richard Hill

Isabelle sits down with her friend Regina Mosley, a community organizer, to talk about love and community organizing. Clips from past conversations with community organizers are included and a wide ranging conversation ensues. Everything from key elements of organizing to the patriarchy's impact on Valentine's Day gift giving is discussed. Music from Ayminor featuring Call Me Ace is included. Plea...

Interview with Kay Evert, one of the co-founders of the group NoVoiceUnheard, and Sydney, an organizer with the Pittsburgh branch of the 50501 protest movement and 50501’s national press liaison, conducted by Scott Harris. Kay Evert talks about the national mobilization network opposing Donald Trump’s illegal conduct and authoritarian agenda that, on Feb. 5, coordinated some 80 protest rallies in...

Interview with Derek W. Black, Professor of Law at the University of South Carolina, conducted by Scott Harris. Derek Black discusses what’s at stake in the Trump administration’s attack on the federal Department of Education, his motivation for this assault, and the importance of federal funds to providing quality primary and secondary education to millions of students across the U.S. He also tou...

Interview with Amanda Marcotte, a senior politics writer at Salon.com and author of "Troll Nation: How the Right Became Trump-Worshipping Monsters," conducted by Scott Harris. Amanda Marcotte discusses her article re: Oligarch billionaire Elon Musk’s lawless federal agency takeover, “‘ Hitler had some decent points’: Internet trolls guide Musk’s covert coup,” examining the vile white supremacy tha...

Interview with Phyllis Bennis, a fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies and international adviser for Jewish Voice for Peace, conducted by Scott Harris.   Phyllis Bennis talks about Donald Trump floating the idea that the US should take over Gaza, ethnically cleanse 2.3 million Palestinian residents and rebuild it into a “Middle East Riviera,” as well as the international rejection of this cri...

Immigration Defense Special John Lugo of Unidad Latina en Accion, and Bethany Perryman, communications director for the Connecticut ACLU, discuss strategies for defending undocumented people against ICE raids in local communities. Host: Richard Hill

Interview with Mazin Qumsiyeh, director of the Palestine Institute for Biodiversity and Sustainability at Bethlehem University, conducted by Melinda Tuhus

Interview with Greg Palast, investigative journalist for The Guardian and New York Times best-selling author of The Best Democracy Money Can Buy, conducted by Scott Harris. Greg Palast concludes that if all legal ballots were counted, Trump would have lost the states of Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Georgia. Kamala Harris would have won the Electoral College vote and the presidency. He tal...

Interview with Will Rice, a consultant with Americans for Tax Fairness, conducted by Scott Harris. Will Rice discusses the Trump-GOP plan to cut more taxes for the rich and impose austerity on the rest of us, referencing a newly leaked memo from House Budget Committee Republicans that proposes slashing trillions from healthcare, nutrition, climate change prevention and more while handing $1.2 tril...

Interview with Dr. Stephanie Woolhandler, distinguished professor of public health at Hunter College, conducted by Scott Harris. Dr. Stephanie Woolhandler talks about her concerns regarding Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services. She focuses on his anti-science and anti-vaccine views and what damage he could inflict on U.S. public health policies s...

Interview with Steve Phillips, columnist, host of the Democracy in Color podcast and best-selling author of "How We Win the Civil War: Securing a Multiracial Democracy and Ending White Supremacy for Good" conducted by Scott Harris. Steve Phillips discusses the Trump regime 2.0’s white supremacist ideology – blatant as ever during the campaign, and undeniable in his first week in office eliminating...

Interview with Stanley Heller, host of the TV newsmagazine “The Struggle," conducted by Scott Harris. Stanley Heller discusses multi-billionaire and Trump pal Elon Musk’s white supremacy and hate speech, examined in his book, “Zionist Betrayal of Jews: From Herzl to Netanyahu,” as well as Musk’s recent Nazi salute at the Trump inauguration, and the U.S. Anti-Defamation League and Israeli Prime Min...

Interview with Joe Lauria, editor-in-chief of Consortium News, conducted by Scott Harris. Joe Lauria talks about his recent article, “The Imperial Presidency Marches On,” about the domestic and international response to Donald Trump’s threat to annex other nation’s territories, including Greenland, the Panama Canal and Canada through economic blackmail or the use of military force.  Lauria has wri...

Interview with Amy Gottlieb, U.S. migration director with the American Friends Service Committee, conducted by Scott Harris. Amy Gottlieb talks about the work her group is doing to challenge Donald Trump’s many executive orders setting in motion his campaign pledge to execute mass deportations of undocumented immigrants, close the southern border and suspend the entry of refugees seeking asylum in...

Interview with Lawrence Rosenthal, Ph. D., chair and lead researcher at the Berkeley Center for Right-Wing Studies, University of California at Berkeley, conducted by Scott Harris. Lawrence Rosenthal discusses Donald Trump’s pardon and commutation of some 1,500 convicted Jan. 6 insurrectionists, many of whom had engaged in violent attacks on Capitol police. He also expresses growing concerns that...

Excerpts of speeches and interviews at the People's March at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C., recorded and produced by Scott Harris. Speeches and interviews were recorded Saturday, Jan. 18 at the People’s March in Washington, D.C. where tens of thousands marched and rallied to oppose Donald Trump’s radical authoritarian agenda, including his campaign pledge to deport millions of immigrants,...

Interview with Jennifer Loewenstein, former associate director of Middle Eastern Studies and senior lecturer at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, conducted by Scott Harris. Jennifer Loewenstein examines the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, the future of Gaza and the ongoing struggle a free and independent Palestine, as well...

Interview with Svante Myrick, president of People for the American Way Foundation, conducted by Scott Harris.  Svante Myrick reflects on the life and legacy of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., in talking about what Donald Trump’s inauguration will mean for activists fighting for economic, racial, and environmental justice, as well as the work his group will be engaged in to counter the second Trump re...

Interview with Antonia Juhasz, a leading energy, climate and environmental justice author, analyst and investigative journalist, conducted by Scott Harris. Antonia Juhasz discusses her recent Rolling Stone magazine article, “The Trump Resistance Inside Washington’s National Cathedral,” covering the social justice activist leadership within that famous church who vow to oppose Trump’s extremist rig...