WPKN: Politics, Policy, and Planet Podcast

The Organic Farm Stand, Jan. 16, 2025:   -Hot Topics with Diane Lauricella   -Small Farms Report with Steve Munno of Massaro Farm in Woodbridge, CT   -Update from CT NOFA (Northeast Organic Farming Association)   -Louise Washer, President of the Board of Directors of the Norwalk Watershed Association, discusses the systemic dangers of neonicotinoids and the fight to limit their uise in Connecticut...

Interview with Sultana Hossain, recording secretary with the Amazon Labor Union, conducted by Scott Harris. Sultana Hossain discusses her union’s recent national holiday strike, the ongoing campaign pressuring Amazon to negotiate with the union to sign and implement fair contracts, and concern about the Trump administration’s declared hostility to labor rights, and the future of the U.S. labor mov...

Interview with Michael Richardson, an activist with the elder-focused group Third Act, conducted by Scott Harris. Michael Richardson talks about the real-world impact of the climate crisis we see now in the catastrophic fires in Los Angeles and the increasing frequency of extreme weather events across the globe. He assesses the incoming Trump administration’s plan to implement destructive climate...

Interview with Ahmed Baba, a journalist and columnist at The Independent, conducted by Scott Harris. Ahmed Baba talks about his recent article, “How Zuckerberg’s Meta Policy Changes Empower Trump’s Disinfo Machine,” re: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement that Facebook will abandon professional third-party content moderation and fact-checking in favor of the user-generated “Community Notes” mo...

Interview with Jonah Minkoff-Zern, Citizen Democracy Campaign co-director, conducted by Scott Harris.  Jonah Minkoff-Zern talks about his group’s position on Donald Trump’s campaign pledge to pardon convicted Jan. 6 insurrectionists which were explained in their recent press release, “If Trump Pardons January 6 Insurrectionists, He Will Further Betray the American People.” He’ll also assess the co...

Michael Zweig, economist and labor historian, and John Nichols, National thAffairs Correspondent with the Nation Magazine, discuss the very fraught road ahead in age of governement by oligarch, but point toward strategies for push back and potential victories, both local and national. Panel:  Scott Harris, Richard Hill and Ruthanne Baumgartner

Michael Zweig, economist and labor historian, is joined by Steve Rosenthal, former political director with the AFL-CIO, for a conversation about how the draconian agenda of the incoming Trump administration may provide an opportunity for organized labor to make gains with working people and win electoral victories in 2026. Host:  Richard Hill

Interview with Mel Goodman, a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy, professor of government at Johns Hopkins University, an author, and a former CIA analyst, conducted by Scott Harris. Mel Goodman talks about his concern re: Donald Trump’s authoritarian rhetoric, and how he could use violent incidents/terrorist attacks (as we just witnessed in New Orleans and Las Vegas) as a pretex...

Interview with Ken Bossong, executive director of the nonprofit Sun Day Campaign, conducted by Scott Harris. Ken Bossong discusses his year-end review of reports from FERC and EIA regarding the mix of renewable energy sources that now comprise 30 percent of total U.S. electrical generating capacity, and is on track to reach 37 percent by the end of 2027. He also addresses prospects for setbacks th...

Interview with David N. Gibbs, professor of history at the University of Arizona and author of Revolt of the Rich: How the Politics of the 1970s Widened America's Class Divide, conducted by Scott Harris. David Gibbs shares his views on late President Jimmy Carter’s legacy, both in economics and foreign policy, that many corporate media obituaries of the 39th U.S. president omit.

Interview with Sasha Abramsky, The Nation magazine's Western correspondent and author of Chaos Comes Calling: The Battle Against the Far-Right Takeover of Small-Town America, conducted by Scott Harris. Sasha Abramsky discusses his recent article, “Will Trump Weaponize the FCC to Crack Down on Media Outlets He Doesn’t Like?” and the alarming anticipatory obedience we see toward Trump from Jeff Bezo...

The Organic Farm Stand   --Hot Topics:  The return of light, the polar vortex, what to do with fire place ash   --The Honey Bee Update with Vincent Kaye   --John Kenny of Big Train Farm talks about the history of his CSA and the trials and tribulations of organic certification Hosts:  Richard Hill and Diane Lauricella

Interview with Eric LeCompte, executive director of the Jubilee USA Network, United Nations finance expert, and advisor to the Vatican and Catholic Bishops on debt and economic issues, conducted by Scott Harris. Eric LeCompte discusses Pope Francis’ call for debt cancellation for developing nations, reforming the international finance system to protect the poor and the urgent need to address the g...

Interview with Michel S. Moushabeck is a writer, editor, publisher and the founder of Interlink Publishing, conducted by Scott Harris. Michel Moushabeck discusses his article, “Palestinians Endure Another Christmas of Genocide and Displacement,” and issues related to U.S. Middle East policy under President Biden and the future under Donald Trump. He is also founder of Interlink Publishing, a 32-ye...

Interview with Kate Kelly, senior director of the Women's Initiative at the Center for American Progress, conducted by Scott Harris. Kate Kelly talks about the new national alliance that’s now urging President Biden to instruct the national archivist to certify and publish the ERA as the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which has been approved by two-thirds of Congress and ratified by thre...

Interview with Marjorie Cohn, professor emerita at Thomas Jefferson School of Law and past president of the National Lawyers Guild, conducted by Scott Harris. Marjorie Cohn discusses her recent article, “Trump Is Using ‘Unitary Executive’ Theory in His Bid to Amass Supreme Power,” issues related to Trump and co-president billionaire Elon Musk and “Project 2025’s” blueprint to impose an authoritari...

Interview with Jasmine Rivera, executive director of the Pennsylvania Immigration Coalition, conducted by Scott Harris. Jasmine Rivera discusses her group’s Dec. 18 protest action on Philadelphia’s Ben Franklin Bridge, demanding President Biden issue directives to protect immigrants from Trump’s mass deportation plan before he leaves office and the nationwide activism that will be necessary to eff...

Interview with Parker Molloy, media critic and publisher of the Present Age newsletter, conducted by Scott Harris. Parker Molloy talks about her recent article, “One Day in Anti-Trans America,” with a focus on Trump and the GOP’s demonization of the trans community, the Democrat’s non-response, and the failure of corporate media’s coverage of right-wing extremists’ dangerous scapegoating, which le...

Interview with Rachel Carroll Rivas, interim director of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Project, conducted by Scott Harris. Rachel Rivas discusses her work tracking hate groups and white supremacists engaged in violence – and concerns that these groups and individuals could pose a threat to civil society as Donald Trump takes office and encourages political violence targeting immig...

Interview with Kathy Kelly, board president of the group World Beyond War, conducted by Scott Harris. Kathy Kelly discusses her recent article, “When Will the UN General Assembly Suspend Israel?” and issues related to Israel’s ongoing savage war in Gaza, the West Bank (and earlier in Lebanon,) U.S. Middle East policy under the incoming Trump regime and the devolution of international law.  Kelly a...

The Organic Farm Stand, Dec. 19, 2024:    --Hot Topics    --Small Farms Report    --CT Northeast Organic Farming Association reports on the upcoming Winter Conference and the legislative agenda    --CT Sierra Club's Samantha Dynowski discusses the organization agenda to push for a non-toxic renewable environment in Connecticut. Hosted by Richard Hill and Diane Lauricella

Interview with Heather Digby Parton, Salon columnist, conducted by Scott Harris. Heather Parton discusses Trump’s Cabinet nominees, many of whom smell strongly of oligarchy, corruption and retribution, and the national fight over the future of social security and Medicare we’ll see next year. Parton has been a Hullabaloo blogger since the early 2000s, Salon.com columnist since 2014 and won the 201...

Interview with John Stoehr, editor of the daily politics newsletter, The Editorial Board, senior editor at Raw Story, and a contributing writer for the Washington Monthly, conducted by Scott Harris. John Stoehr discusses his recent article, “Kamala Harris Wasted Money on Campaign Ads, not Beyoncé,” issues related to America’s dangerous media landscape and the corrosive political impact of widespre...

Interview with Dr. Phil Brewer, Connecticut emergency physician active with Physicians for a National Health Program, conducted by Scott Harris. Dr. Phil Brewer discusses his views on the recent wave of public anger and frustration regarding our nation’s failing health insurance industry set off by the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson and Physicians for a National Health Program’s on...

Interview with Ralph Nader, America's best known and most effective public interest lawyer, conducted by Scott Harris.  Ralph Nader, whose latest book is titled, “Let’s Start the Revolution: Tools for Displacing the Corporate State and Building a Country that Works for the People,” talks about his effort to convince U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, to take an ethical land-moral stand a...