WPKN: Politics, Policy, and Planet Podcast

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...

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...