WPKN: Politics, Policy, and Planet Podcast

Interview with Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft and author of Losing an Enemy: Obama, Iran, and the Triumph of Diplomacy, conducted by Scott Harris. Trita Parsi talks about his recent article, “As Expected, Netanyahu Back Demanding More War with Iran,” recent Trump threats to intervene in Iran if the government kills anti-government protester...

Stephen Zunes, a foreign policy scholar and professor in Middle Eastern studies at the University of San Francisco, analyzes and contextualizes the Jan. 3 US military strike on Venezuela and the abduction of President Nicolas Maduro and First Lady Cilia Adela Flores. Interview by Richard Hill

Interview with Paul Street, independent radical-democratic policy researcher, journalist, historian and author, conducted by Scott Harris. Paul Street talks about his recent commentary, “Four Pieces in the Fascist & Exterminist Jigsaw Puzzle,” and his hopes for effective anti-fascist organizing in 2026. Street is the author of more than 10 books. His latest is titled, " This Happened Here: Ame...

Interview with Craig Aaron, co-CEO of Free Press and Free Press Action, conducted by Scott Harris. Craig Aaron talks about CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss’ decision to kill the 60 Minutes’ story on the Trump regime’s deportation of immigrants to El Salvador’s notorious CECOT Prison, and recent corporate mergers that are enabling political censorship.

Interview with Parker Molloy, a Chicago-based media critic, cultural commentator and publisher of "The Present Age" Substack newsletter, conducted by Scott Harris.  Parker Molloy discusses her views on Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s and Dr. Mehmet Oz’s, administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, recent announcement essentially banning gender-af...

Interview with Jim Saksa, a journalist with Slate, Politico, The Economist, NPR’s Morning Edition and Philadelphia City Paper, conducted by Scott Harris. Jim Saksa discusses his recent Democracy Docket article, “DOJ Sues Georgia, Illinois, Wisconsin and Washington, D.C., Expanding Campaign of Voter Data Lawsuits to 22,” and other warning signs about the Trump administration’s possible plans for di...

Interview with Mary Turner, president of National Nurses United, the largest union and professional association of registered nurses in the U.S., conducted by Scott Harris. Mary Turner discusses two issues the union is currently addressing: National Nurses United’s demand Congress take agent action to restore Affordable Health Act (ACA) subsidies to prevent a spike in monthly health insurance prem...

Interview with John Bonifaz, constitutional attorney, and co-founder and president of Free Speech For People, conducted by Scott Harris. John Bonifaz discusses Rep. Al Green’s recent introduction of articles of impeachment against Donald Trump, which was tabled by a House vote of 237-140, and what accountability for Trump’s long list of unconstitutional and corrupt actions would and should look li...

Interview with Medea Benjamin, co-founder of Code Pink Women for Peace and author, conducted by Scott Harris. Medea Benjamin talks about President Trump’s unconstitutional march to war with Venezuela, some pushback now seeing in Congress, the work Code Pink is doing to raise awareness about the regime’s murderous interventionist policy and the current lack of an active and effective U.S. peace mov...

Interview with John Nichols, executive editor of The Nation magazine, author, conducted by Scott Harris. John Nichols talks about his recent Nation magazine article, “Zohran Mamdani on FDR, LaGuardia—and Trump,” on his hopeful interview with New York City mayor-elect and the current political environment where there are increasing signs Donald Trump’s MAGA world might be starting to fracture. Nich...

The Monthly Labor Report interviews Olivia "Liv" Ryan, a Starbucks shift supervisor and a lead organizer with Starbucks Workers United (SBWU). which has mounted a national strike against the Starbucks corporation.  Economist Michael Zweig talks about his trip to Vietnam and Australia where he met with labor organizations and discussed working class agendas and strategies. Host: Richard Hill

The Organic Farm Stand checks in with Vincent Kaye about his honey bees as the winter solstice approaches; and visits with Murray Gates, owner of Artza Mendi Farm in Sprague, CT, for a conversation about regenerative farming  and organic  poultry and egg production. Hosted by Richard Hill and Diane Lauricella

Talk by Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University graduate student arrested by ICE in March 2025, produced by Melinda Tuhus. The event featured a conversation between Khalil and Stanley Heller, chairman of the Connecticut-based Middle East Crisis Committee and sponsor of Khalil’s appearance.  He began by describing his court cases, both as a plaintiff and a defendant.

Interview with Eric Ross, a Ph. D. candidate in the history department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, conducted by Scott Harris. Eric Ross discusses the rising tensions and violence directed by the Trump regime targeting Venezuela, and his recent article, “The Trump Corollary: U.S. Imperialism in Latin America from the Monroe Doctrine to Maduro,” with a view to better understanding th...

Interview with Dr. Robert Steinbrook, director of Public Citizen's of Health Research Group, conducted by Scott Harris. Dr. Steinbrook discusses his views on the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice vote last week changing CDC’s recommendations for administering the hepatitis B vaccine to infants, major Trump administration and HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr.’s cuts to research on canc...

Interview with Alex Lawson, executive director of Social Security Works, conducted by Scott Harris. Alex Lawson talks about the U.S. healthcare crisis, where Donald Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress have refused to restore Affordable Care Act health insurance subsidies and if not approved, will cause many of the 24 million ACA recipients to see their monthly insurance premiums double or...

Interview with John Gartner, a prominent psychotherapist, author and founder of Duty to Warn, conducted by Scott Harris. John Gartner shares his concerns about President Trump’s deteriorating mental health as he nears the end of his first year in his second term in the White House. He also addresses the cult-like devotion Trump continues to command from millions of Americans. He cofounded the grou...

Interview with Nell Bernstein, author of In Our Future We Are Free: The Dismantling of the Youth Prison, conducted by Scott Harris. Nell Bernstein recounts the story of how a coalition of parents, activists and prison officials launched a successful campaign in states across the U.S. to end the prosecution of young people as adults, slashing the number of children locked in cages by a stunning 75...

Interview with Maurice Carney, executive director of Friends of the Congo, conducted by Scott Harris. Maurice Carney discusses Africa observers’ concerns over Donald Trump’s recent meeting with the leaders of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, where they signed an agreement aimed at ending the conflict in eastern Congo, while opening the region’s critical mineral reserves to the U.S. gov...

Interview with Matthew Hoh, Eisenhower Media Network fellow, conducted by Scott Harris. Hoh discusses the Trump regime’s announced intention to launch covert CIA operations and airstrikes against Venezuela, as well as the U.S. bombing of suspected drug boats in the Caribbean and Pacific seas amid news reports of standing orders to kill survivors of those attacks. Hoh is a former U.S. Marine Corps...

Vermont Independent U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders’ speech from the floor of the U.S. Senate Feb. 4, 2025. Sen. Sanders denounced the Trump administration’s defiance of the U.S. Constitution and rule of law, describing it as a dangerous move toward oligarchy, authoritarianism and kleptocracy . Rebroadcast of his Feb. 4, 2025 speech from the U.S. Senate floor.

Interview with David Rovics, an internationally known songwriter, musician, writer and podcaster, conducted by Scott Harris. David Rovics talks about his latest album of songs, “Ai Tsuno’s Army of Robots,” created with artificial intelligence. He explores the controversy, skepticism and fear surrounding this new powerful technology regarding job displacement, privacy and the potential for abuse an...

Interview with Gerry Condon, a Vietnam-era veteran and war resister, former president and current national board member of Veterans For Peace (VFP), conducted by Scott Harris. Gerry Condon talks about VFP’s support for the legislators’ message to active duty military and National Guard men and women, advising them they have an obligation to refuse illegal orders to fight illegal wars at home or ab...

Interview with John Noël, deputy climate program director of Greenpeace USA, conducted by Scott Harris. John Noël talks about the lack of action to phase out fossil fuels at the UN COP30 Climate Summit in Belem, Brazil that ended Nov. 22. He also addresses the Trump regime’s refusal to send a U.S. delegation to COP30 and the global impact of a diminished U.S. role in green energy production, as we...

Interview with Sasha Abramsky, journalist and author, conducted by Scott Harris. Sasha Abramsky discusses his recent Nation and TruthOut commentaries that have tracked Donald Trump’s increasing depravity and erratic behavior which the nation has witnessed in recent weeks. Abramsky also talks about his new book, American Carnage: How Trump, Musk, and DOGE Butchered the U.S. Government, which follow...