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KPFA - Letters and Politics

Progressive Talk

Letters & Politics seeks to explore the history behind today’s major global and national news stories. Hosted by Mitch Jeserich.

Location:

Berkeley, CA

Description:

Letters & Politics seeks to explore the history behind today’s major global and national news stories. Hosted by Mitch Jeserich.

Language:

English


Episodes
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The Pirates That Halted The Slave Trade

4/18/2024
Guest: Angela C. Sutton is an Assistant research professor at Vanderbilt University, where she has taught Seapower in History, the Golden Age of Piracy, and Comparative Slavery. She is the author of Pirates of the Slave Trade: The Battle of Cape Lopez and the Birth of an American Institution. The post The Pirates That Halted The Slave Trade appeared first on KPFA.
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Understanding Secretary Mayorkas’ Impeachment. Then, The Dangerous Dynamic Between Israel and Iran

4/17/2024
Part I. Understanding Secretary Mayorkas’ Impeachment Guest: Frank O. Bowman III is a law professor, legal historian, and former federal and state prosecutor. He is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Missouri, currently he is a Visiting Scholar at Colorado College. His most recent book is High Crimes and Misdemeanors: A History of Impeachment for the Age of Trump. His latest article is Immigration Is Not an “Invasion” under the Constitution. Part II. The Dangerous Dynamic Between Israel and Iran Guest: Stephen Zunes is Professor of Politics and International Studies at the University of San Francisco where he chairs the program in Middle Eastern Studies. He is the author of “Tinderbox: U.S. Middle East Policy and the Roots of Terrorism”, and the co-author of “Western Sahara: War, Nationalism, and Conflict Irresolution.” He is currently serving as 2024 Torgny Segerstedt Visiting Research Professor at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. The post Understanding Secretary Mayorkas’ Impeachment. Then, The Dangerous Dynamic Between Israel and Iran appeared first on KPFA.
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Climate Change From A to Z with Elizabeth Kolbert

4/16/2024
Guest: Elizabeth Kolbert is the author of Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change; The Sixth Extinction, for which she won a Pulitzer Prize, and Under the White Sky: The Nature of the Future; and her latest, H Is for Hope: Climate Change from A to Z. The post Climate Change From A to Z with Elizabeth Kolbert appeared first on KPFA.

Duration:00:59:58

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Special – KPFA’s 75th Anniversary

4/15/2024
Guest: Philip Maldari is a host and producer at KPFA Radio, currently he is the host of the Sunday Morning show. The post Special – KPFA’s 75th Anniversary appeared first on KPFA.

Duration:00:59:38

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The Lives of Smugglers (Coyotes)

4/11/2024
Guest: Jason De León is a professor of Anthropology and Chicana/o Studies and director of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is also the executive director of the Undocumented Migration Project, a research, arts, and education collective that seeks to raise awareness about migration issues globally while also assisting families of missing migrants to reunite with their loved ones. He is the author of the award-winning book The Land of Open Graves: Living and Dying on the Migrant Trail, and his latest, Soldiers and Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling. The post The Lives of Smugglers (Coyotes) appeared first on KPFA.
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Inflation and the Economy with Richard Wolff. Then, Haiti’s Disaster Capitalism

4/10/2024
Part I. Inflation and the Economy Guest: Richard Wolff is Professor of Economics Emeritus at University of Massachusetts, Amherst and a Visiting Professor at The New School University in New York. Richard Wolff is the founder of Democracy at Work and host of the weekly national television and radio program Economic Update that airs on KPFA. Part II. Haiti’s Disaster Capitalism Guest: Jake Johnston is a Senior Research Associate at the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, D.C., and the author of Aid State: Elite Panic, Disaster Capitalism, and the Battle to Control Haiti. Photo by Engin Akyurt on Unsplash The post Inflation and the Economy with Richard Wolff. Then, Haiti’s Disaster Capitalism appeared first on KPFA.

Duration:00:59:58

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U.S. Unconditional Support to Israel and the Imminent Assault on Rafah

4/9/2024
Guest: Phyllis Bennis directs the New Internationalism Project at the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS), her work focuses on the Middle East, U.S. militarism, and UN issues. She serves on the national board of Jewish Voice for Peace. She is the author of several books including “Before & After: U.S. Foreign Policy and the War on Terror,” “Challenging Empire,” and her latest, “Understanding the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict: A Primer.” The post U.S. Unconditional Support to Israel and the Imminent Assault on Rafah appeared first on KPFA.

Duration:00:59:58

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Congress, the Military Budget, and the Uncommitted Vote Campaign to Demand Permanent Ceasefire in Gaza

4/8/2024
Guest: John Nichols is the national affairs correspondent for The Nation Magazine. He is the author of several books including his latest co-written with Senator Bernie Sanders “It’s OK to Be Angry About Capitalism.” His Latest piece in the Nation is: More Than Half a Million Democratic Voters Have Told Biden: Save Gaza! The campaign to use “uncommitted” primary votes to send a message to Biden has won two dozen delegates, and it keeps growing. Photo (C): Matt Hrkac on Wikimedia Commons The post Congress, the Military Budget, and the Uncommitted Vote Campaign to Demand Permanent Ceasefire in Gaza appeared first on KPFA.
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The Sullivanians: Psychoanalysis, Marxism, & A Commune To Break The Traditional Family

4/4/2024
Guest: Alexander Stille is the San Paolo Professor of International Journalism at Columbia University. He is the author of many books including Benevolence and Betrayal: Five Italian Jewish Families Under Fascism; Excellent Cadavers: The Mafia and the Death of the First Italian Republic. His latest, The Sullivanians: Sex, Psychotherapy, and the Wild Life of an American Commune. The post The Sullivanians: Psychoanalysis, Marxism, & A Commune To Break The Traditional Family appeared first on KPFA.
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American Democracy and the Tyranny of the Minority

4/3/2024
Guest: Daniel Ziblatt is a Professor of Government at Harvard University. He is the co-author of How Democracies Die, and most lately, Tyranny of the Minority: Why American Democracy Reached the Breaking Point, also co-authored with Steven Levitsky. The post American Democracy and the Tyranny of the Minority appeared first on KPFA.
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How The Opium Trade Fueled Global Capitalism

4/2/2024
Guest: Amitav Ghosh is the author of several bestselling books including, Ibis Trilogy, composed of Sea of Poppies (shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize), River of Smoke, and Flood of Fire. His other novels include The Circle of Reason, which won the Prix Médicis étranger, and The Glass Palace. He is the author of many works of nonfiction, including The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable and The Nutmeg’s Curse: Parables for a Planet in Crisis. Mr. Gosh has received two-lifetime achievement awards and five honorary doctorates. In 2018, Ghosh became the first English-language writer to win the Jnanpith Award, India’s highest literary honor. His latest is Smoke and Ashes: Opium’s Hidden Histories. The post How The Opium Trade Fueled Global Capitalism appeared first on KPFA.

Duration:00:59:59

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The Story of T’tc-Tsa and California Slavery

4/1/2024
Guest: Jean Pfaelzer is a public historian, commentator, and professor of American studies at the University of Delaware. Her books include Driven Out: The Forgotten War Against Chinese Americans; Rebecca Harding Davis: Origins of Social Realism; The Utopian Novel in America; and her latest, California, a Slave State. The post The Story of T’tc-Tsa and California Slavery appeared first on KPFA.

Duration:00:59:58

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The Pornography Wars

3/28/2024
Guest: Kelsy Burke is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She is the author of The Pornography Wars: The Past, Present, and Future of America’s Obscene Obsession. The post The Pornography Wars appeared first on KPFA.
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The Black Women in The Communist Party 1919-1956

3/27/2024
Guest: Charisse Burden-Stelly is associate Professor of African American studies at Wayne state. and a member of the Black Alliance for Peace Research and Political Education Team. She is the c-editor, along with Jodi Dean, of the book ORGANIZE, FIGHT, WIN: Black Communist Women’s Political Writing. The post The Black Women in The Communist Party 1919-1956 appeared first on KPFA.
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The Houthis & Yemen: A History

3/26/2024
Guest: Shireen Al-Adeimi is a non-resident fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft and assistant professor of language and literacy at Michigan State University’s College of Education. The post The Houthis & Yemen: A History appeared first on KPFA.

Duration:00:59:58

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The Murder of Regina Martinez Perez

3/25/2024
Guest: Katherine Corcoran is a former Associated Press bureau chief for Mexico and Central America and is currently co-coordinator of MasterLAB, an investigative editor training program in Mexico City. She is the author of In The Mouth Of The Wolf: A Murder, A Cover-up, and The True Cost Of Silencing The Press. The post The Murder of Regina Martinez Perez appeared first on KPFA.
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The Pursuit of Happiness, The Founders, and America Today

3/21/2024
Guest: Jeffrey Rosen is President and CEO of the National Constitution Center, where he hosts We the People, a weekly podcast of constitutional debate. He is also a professor of law at the George Washington University Law School and a contributing editor at The Atlantic. His latest book is, The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America. The post The Pursuit of Happiness, The Founders, and America Today appeared first on KPFA.

Duration:00:59:58

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The Roots and Legacy of the Qur’an

3/20/2024
Guest: Mohamad Jebara is a scriptural philologist and prominent exegetist. A semanticist and historian of Semitic cultures, he has served as Chief Imam as well as headmaster of several Qur’anic and Arabic language academies. He is the author of Muhammad, the World-Changer: An Intimate Portrait, and his latest, The Life of the Qur’an: From Eternal Roots to Enduring Legacy. The post The Roots and Legacy of the Qur’an appeared first on KPFA.

Duration:00:59:58

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The Axis of Resistance: Palestine & West Asia Fight Against Imperialism

3/19/2024
Guest: Ibrahim Aoude is a Professor Emeritus of Ethnic Studies at the University of Hawaii-Manoa. He is the editor of the journal Arab Studies Quarterly (which was founded by Edward Said in 1979). Professor Aoude is an expert on Hawai‘i Political Economy and Middle East politics. The post The Axis of Resistance: Palestine & West Asia Fight Against Imperialism appeared first on KPFA.

Duration:00:59:58

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The Balfour Declaration: How the British Empire Broke Its promises to the People of Palestine

3/18/2024
Guest: Peter Shambrook is an independent scholar and historical consultant to the Balfour Project, which works to advance equal rights for all in Palestine/Israel. He is the author of French Imperialism in Syria, 1927–1936, and his latest, Policy of Deceit: Britain and Palestine, 1914-1939. The post The Balfour Declaration: How the British Empire Broke Its promises to the People of Palestine appeared first on KPFA.