WPKN: Politics, Policy, and Planet Podcast

Interview with Dr. Henry Abraham, professor of psychiatry emeritus at Tufts University School of Medicine and co-recipient of the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize, conducted by Scott Harris. Dr. Henry Abraham talks about a group of 36 leading physicians and other doctors with expertise in mental health, who he’s acting as a spokesperson for, “who issued a statement calling for President Donald J. Trump’s im...

Interview with Martin O'Malley, former commissioner of the Social Security Administration in the Biden administration and former governor of Maryland and mayor of Baltimore, conducted by Scott Harris. Commissioner O’Malley talks about the impact of the Trump administration’s downsizing of the Social Security workforce on customer service; how to fairly address the projected shortfall in the Social...

Interview with James Zogby, co-founder and president of the Arab American Institute and director of Zogby Research Services, conducted by Scott Harris. James Zogby discusses the dire situation in Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza under continuing military attack by Israel—critically important news that’s been lost or ignored by most corporate media coverage during the Iran war. Zogby is also directo...

Interview with Vernon Haltom, executive director of Coal River Mountain Watch, conducted by Melinda Tuhus. There was a small victory against the powerful coal companies operating in West Virginia, when on April 21, a federal judge blocked the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ decision to grant a Clean Water Act permit for valley fills associated with a mountaintop removal site on Coal River Mountain....

Interview with Liz Dupont-Diehl, associate director of the Connecticut Citizen Action Group (CCAG), conducted by Scott Harris. Liz Dupont-Diehl discusses the people who will lose health care coverage this year and in 2027 include those losing Access Health CT financial help, enrollees in the Covered TCT program, and whose coverage will be impacted by new work requirements and other bureaucratic ob...

Interview with Micah Sifry, Journalist and editor of the Connector newsletter, conducted by Scott Harris. Micah Sifry talks about his recent Substack piece, “MayDay: The Pro-Democracy Movement Structure Test.” He comments on the results of this year’s nationwide May Day actions that called for “no work, no school, no shopping” and how this tactic, if effective, could impact future resistance plans...

Interview with Phyllis Bennis, director of the Institute for Policy Studies’ New Internationalism Project and author of Understanding Palestine & Israel, conducted by Scott Harris. Phyllis Bennis, examines the dire situation in the West Bank with a rising number of murders of Palestinians and land seizures by Israeli settlers — and ongoing deadly Israeli attacks in Gaza that’s been lost in mos...

Interview with Marjorie Cohn, professor emerita at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, dean of the People’s Academy of International Law and past president of the National Lawyers Guild, conducted by Scott Harris. Marjorie Cohn, author of the books, “Drones and Targeted Killing: Legal, Moral and Geopolitical Issues” and “The United States and Torture: Interrogation, Incarceration and Abuse,” takes a c...

Interview with Pam Garrison, West Virginia tri-chair of the Poor People's Campaign, conducted by Melinda Tuhus. Between The Lines’ Melinda Tuhus spoke with her about the campaign’s work and mission. Here Garrison reflects on battles against the coal industry and construction of fossil fuel pipelines across her state — and how poor people are faring today where many of the gains of recent years hav...

Interview with Greg Palast, filmmaker, journalist and author of several New York Times bestsellers including The Best Democracy Money Can Buy, conducted by Scott Harris. Greg Palast talks about his recent article, “Mr. Colbert, I’m not laughing anymore.” Palast investigates far right activist Gregg Phillips, recently appointed as associate administrator of FEMA’s Office of Response and Recovery, w...

Interview with Cameron Landin, executive vice president of College Democrats of America, and a student at the University of Chicago, conducted by Scott Harris. Landin discusses his views on some of the Democratic party’s positions on issues including the Trump-Netanyahu war on Iran, U.S. aid to Israel and proposed progressive legislation such as Medicare for All. He also talks about some of the De...

Interview with Steve Ellner, associate managing editor of Latin American Perspectives and retired professor of Venezuela's Universidad de Oriente, conducted by Scott Harris. Steve Ellner talks about his recent commentary, “U.S. Imperialism Enters a New Stage: The Left Needs to Take a Close Look at It,” which examines Donald Trump’s rhetoric and actions against Iran, Venezuela and Cuba which have f...

Interview with Lindsay Koshgarian, program director with the National Priorities Project at the Institute for Policy Studies, conducted by Scott Harris. Lindsay Koshgarian talks about her group’s recent report, “Tax Day 2026: Taxpayers Are Paying More than $4,000 for War.” The report notes that while more than half of Americans are struggling to afford basic necessities, Donald Trump and the GOP p...

Interview with Osprey Orielle Lake, founder and executive director, Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network, WECAN, conducted by Melinda Tuhus. Many of WECAN's members, including frontline women leaders from around the world, have participated in previous UN climate summit meetings and will be involved in this conference as well. They will be participating in discussions to propose solutions to t...

Interview with Steve Phillips, host of the Democracy in Color podcast and author of Are White Men Smarter than Everybody Else?, conducted by Scott Harris. Steve Phillips, the best-selling author of Brown Is the New White and How We Win the Civil War , talks about his new book, Are White Men Smarter Than Everybody Else? observing that just six years after the racial reckoning that followed the murd...

Interview with Saru Jayaraman, co-founder and president of One Fair Wage, director of the Food Labor Research Center at the University of California, Berkeley and author of One Fair Wage: Ending Subminimum Pay in America, conducted by Scott Harris. Saru Jayaraman talks about the #Next250 national mobilization coinciding with the U.S. 250th anniversary, where a massive gathering is planned in Washi...

Interview with Rebecca Roberts, a member and organizing manager of About Face: Veterans Against the War, conducted by Scott Harris. National Guard veteran Rebecca Roberts discusses the work she and others do at About Face providing guidance and advice to active-duty U.S. military servicemen and women navigating their rights of conscience and seeking conscientious objector status during the current...

Interview with Kevin Martin, president of Peace Action and the Peace Action Education Fund, the nation’s largest grassroots peace network with chapters and affiliates in states across the U.S., conducted by Scott Harris. Kevin Martin talks about what his and other anti-war groups are doing to oppose Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu’s illegal war in Iran and Lebanon, action being taken to pressu...

Excerpt of press conference by Bishop William Barber, founding director of the Yale University Divinity School's Center for Public Theology and Public Policy, recorded and produced by Melinda Tuhus. The Center held a three-day conference, April 12-14, titled: “What are the Moral and Spiritual Issues of the 2026 Elections?” On the last day of the conference Bishop Barber's press conference responde...

Interview with Steve Posner, an adjunct assistant professor of writing at the University of Southern California, conducted by Scott Harris. Steve Posner talks about his recent San Francisco Chronicle commentary, “How Trump Can Keep the House Without Winning the Midterms,” describing a possible anti-democratic scheme where Trump’s election deniers in GOP-led states slow walk recounts and stall cert...

Interview with Michael Albert, co-founder of South End Press, Z Magazine, the Z Media Institute and host of the podcast Revolution Z, conducted by Scott Harris. Michael Albert assesses Trump’s murderous war on Iran, fascist repression at home and a growing pro-democracy resistance movement—while envisioning a transformative “long march” progressive agenda that discards major elements of the decayi...

Interview with Julie Hollar, senior analyst with the group Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR), conducted by Scott Harris. Julie Hollar discusses her recent commentary, “Who Will SAVE America From Misleading Coverage of Voter Suppression?” and the importance of calling out the disinformation in Trump and GOP talking points regarding their false claim that millions of non-citizens are voting...

Interview with Brandon Carr, Studies Associate with the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, and Kevan Harris, Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of California,   Los Angeles, conducted by Scott Harris. Carr and Professor Harris discuss their views on the five-week U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign against Iran that many call a strategic disaster, the future of negotiations to...

April's Organic Farm Stand line-up:    Diane's Hot Topics    Small Farms Report with Steve Munno    Honey Bee Update with Vincent Kaye    Legislative Update with Kim Stoner, Director of Advocacy for CT NOFA Hosted by Richard Hill and Diane Lauricella

Interview with Ann Froines, an activist with the group Back from The Brink, conducted by Melinda Tuhus. Between The Lines’ Melinda Tuhus spoke with Ann Froines, an activist with the group Back from The Brink, which works to reduce the danger of nuclear war. Here she discusses the threat of nuclear catastrophe and provides information on how individuals can take action.