WPKN: Politics, Policy, and Planet Podcast

Interview with Nastasia Lawton-Sticklor, an organizer with the Climate Disobedience Center, conducted by Scott Harris. Nastasia Lawton-Sticklor discusses her group’s recent “Call to Courage” campaign — amid concern that the Trump regime may be getting ready to invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807, which would give the president power to deploy US military on domestic U.S. soil to enforce mass depor...

Interview with Jeff Hauser, executive director of the Revolving Door Project, conducted by Scott Harris. Jeff Hauser discusses growing concern that people in Trump’s inner circle may have known his changing tariff policy, allowing for insider trading — combined with the fact the SEC is dismantling a key tool in collecting trading data, the Consolidated Audit Trail, which impairs regulators’ abilit...

Interview with Lindsay Koshgarian, program director of the National Priorities Project at the Institute for Policy Studies, conducted by Scott Harris. Lindsay Koshgarian talks about her group’s latest annual analysis, the 2025 Tax Day Receipt, highlighting exactly where Americans’ 2024 income taxes went and what those numbers say about our national spending priorities. Overall, in 2024, the averag...

Interview with Micah Sifry, a writer, editor, and organizer, conducted by Scott Harris. Micah Sifry is working on a novel and writing a weekly newsletter on democracy, movements, organizing, and tech called The Connector. Micah will discuss his recent New York Times article, “A Different Kind of Anti-Trump Resistance is Brewing,” and issues related to Trump/Musk’s mass firing of tens of thousands...

Tabitha Sookdeo, executive director of Connecticut Students for a Dream, describes her organization's mission and strategy to secure justice and safety for undocumented young people and families in cities and towns around the state. Interview by Richard Hill

Interview with Fawzia Afzal-Khan, visiting professor in gender and sexuality studies, at Princeton University. Fawzia Afzal-Khan discusses her recent article, “Student and Faculty Repression on US Campuses: the Palestine Exception,” relating to the reported 600 international students who have had their visas revoked by Trump’s State Department, and the preliminary ruling by a judge in Louisiana th...

Dr. Isaac Kamola, Director of the Center for the Defense of Academic Freedom with the AAUP, discusses the Trump regime's juggernaut attacks on free speech at colleges and universities; and the budding collaboration with Labor to create a united front against this assault. And Briam Timko, communications and voluteer coordinator with Unidad Latina en Accion (ULA), talks about the demonstration and...

Interview with Mary Yordon, president of the Norwalk, CT Federation of Teachers union and a vice president of the American Federation of Teachers Connecticut, conducted by Scott Harris. Mary Yordon talks about the massive April 5th “Hands Off” protests across the U.S., and the Stamford, CT protest where she spoke in opposition to President Trump and his Secretary of Education Linda McMahon’s plan...

Interviews with Hands Off April 5th protesters in New York City, conducted by Scott Harris. The protests, which were organized in more than 1,400 cities and towns across the US, Canada, and Europe sent a message to Trump, Musk and the GOP: “Hands Off” our healthcare, hands off our civil rights, hands off our schools, our freedoms, and our democracy. The interviews in this segment were recorded dur...

Interview with Fred Glass, a labor historian, retired union communications director, and writer/director of the documentary film, "We Mean to Make Things Over: A History of May Day," conducted by Scott Harris. Fred Glass will discuss his recent article, “Best Guess: How Do We Defeat the Fascists?” and the history of general strikes and United Auto Workers’ President Shawn Fain’s idea for a general...

Interview with Omar Ocampo, a researcher at the Program on Inequality and the Common Good at the Institute for Policy Studies, conducted by Scott Harris. Omar Ocampo discusses his recent article, “‘Liberation Day’ Tariffs Will Concentrate Wealth Even More,” the repercussions of Donald Trump’s decision to impose massive international tariffs, and the vision for a progressive alternative fair-trade...

Luis Puig Bio: Born in 1965, and raised in La Habana, Cuba under communism, Mr. Luis Puig spent his first 15 years of life living in Castro’s Cuba. Mr. Puig had to live under the rules of that system, even having to be a communist Pionero (communist youth organization) like all the kids are forced to be there. His father served 12 years imprisonment as a political prisoner, and enemy of the state....

UE President Carl Rosen and economist and labor historian Michael Zweig discuss the Trump/Musk fascist coup and what role labor will play in forming alliances with the different silos on the Left and in leading an anti-fascist front. Hosted by Richard Hill

Interview with Greg Palast, Filmmaker and journalist and the author of several New York Times bestsellers including The Best Democracy Money Can Buy, conducted by Scott Harris. Greg Palast discusses his recent article, “Trump-Musk order will cost 21 million their vote,” re: Donald Trump’s March 25th executive order that restructures the way Americans can register to vote and when they can cast the...

Interview with Nader Hashemi, director of the Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, and associate professor of Middle East and Islamic Politics at Georgetown University, conducted by Scott Harris. Nader Hashemi discusses the campus response to the ICE arrest and attempt to deport Georgetown Univ. researcher and instructor Badar Khan Suri, alleging he has “close connections” to a Hama...

Interview with Sam Pizzigati, veteran labor journalist, Institute for Policy Studies associate fellow, co-editor of IPS' newsletter Inequality.org, and author, conducted by Scott Harris. Sam Pizzigati discusses his recent article, “Could Elon Musk Destroy Social Security as We Know It? — and issues related to the Trump-Musk attempt to sabotage Social Security’s reliability and smooth operation ove...

Interview with Tim Wise, one of the nation’s most prominent antiracist essayists and author of nine books, including his latest, "Dispatches from the Race War," conducted by Scott Harris. Tim Wise, whom scholar and philosopher Cornel West calls “a vanilla brother in the tradition of (abolitionist) John Brown,” assesses Trump and Trumpism since his inauguration on Jan. 20. He focuses on the twice-i...

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...