Douglas Egerton – “The Wars of Reconstruction”

In 1870, there were some 1,500 African American officeholders in the United States, including a U.S. Senator, several Congressmen, many state legislators, and a state Supreme Court justice. Yet in less than 20 years, African Americans were almost entirely chased out of elected office. Douglas Egerton, a history professor at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, NY, looks at the subject in a new book, “The Wars of Reconstruction: The Brief, Violent History of America’s Most Progressive Era”.

A Tribute to Pete Seeger

Pete Seeger, one of the pioneers of folk music, died this week at the age of 94. He penned iconic songs like “Turn, Turn, Turn” and “If I Had a Hammer”. But he may best be known for popularizing the old spiritual, “We Shall Overcome”. He introduced the song to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1957, and it went on to become a civil rights anthem. We revisit a 2012 conversation with Seeger from the “Smiley & West” radio show.

Cristina Finch – Femicide in Latin America

During the last decade, there has been an epidemic of murder against women in Latin America simply because of their gender. The phenomenon is called “femicide”. The violence against victims is often brutal, with women’s bodies typically dumped in alleys, parks, or on the side of the road. Cristina Finch, managing director of Amnesty International USA’s Women’s Human Rights Program, tells us what’s being done about the murders of women and girls.

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Camilo José Vergara – “Harlem: The Unmaking of a Ghetto”

In 1970, award-winning photographer Camilo José Vergara took to the streets of Harlem to document the gradual collapse of a community. As he photographed the iconic New York district over the next 43 years, Harlem evolved from a decaying ghetto into a thriving multicultural neighborhood. Vergara joins us to discuss his latest volume of photography, “Harlem: The Unmaking of a Ghetto”. Copyright Jose Camilo Vergara, from Harlem: The Unmaking of a Ghetto, published by the University of Chicago Press. All rights…

Jeanne Theoharis – “The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks”

Civil rights icon Rosa Parks didn’t make national headlines until she refused to move to the back of a Montgomery, Alabama bus in 1955, but she had already spent years in an often dangerous struggle for civil rights. Professor Jeanne Theoharis of Brooklyn College at the City University of New York joins us to discuss “The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks”, her new biography of the civil rights icon.

J. Peter Pham – Cease-fire in South Sudan

This week, a cease-fire was declared in the violent conflict in South Sudan that has left 10,000 civilians dead and 200,000 displaced since mid-December. The question now is whether the fragile peace between the opposing sides will hold. J. Peter Pham, director of the Africa Center at the Atlantic Council, joins us to discuss the conflict.

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Neera Tanden – “A Woman’s Nation Pushes Back from the Brink”

“A Woman’s Nation Pushes Back from the Brink”, a study released this week by The Shriver Report and the Center for American Progress, found that one in three American women lives in or near poverty. Neera Tanden, president of the Center for American Progress, joins us to discuss the study’s findings.

Kshama Sawant and Karen Kubby – Socialist Elected Officials

Kshama Sawant made history this year when she was sworn in to the Seattle City Council as an avowed socialist. She joins us to talk about how her socialist agenda fits into a capitalist society. We also hear from Karen Kubby, a former council member in Iowa City, who talks about her 11-year tenure as the council’s lone socialist.

Maj. Neill Franklin – Legalizing Drugs in America

On January 1, Colorado became the first state in the nation to permit legal sales of marijuana for recreational use. Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), an organization that supports legalizing drugs, hopes more states will follow. The executive director of LEAP, retired police major Neill Franklin, joins us to explain why.

Sterlin Harjo and Dr. Hugh Foley – “This May Be the Last Time”

In 1962, filmmaker Sterlin Harjo’s grandfather disappeared from the town of Sasakwa, OK. As the Native American community searched for the missing man, they sang the hymns their ancestors sang while being forced out West along The Trail of Tears. Harjo joins us to discuss his documentary, “This May Be The Last Time”. Dr. Hugh Foley, professor of cinema and Native American Studies at Rogers State University, also joins us the discussion to offer a historical…

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“In the first hour of our special two-hour conversation on poverty in America, panelists Sasha Abramsky, Jessica Bartholow, Greg Kaufmann, and Amy Sosa discuss efforts to increase the minimum wage, the role of organized labor in easing poverty, sporadic employment and long-term unemployment, cuts in SNAP benefits, and the demonization of the poor, among other topics.”

 


 
“Our special two-hour conversation on poverty in America with panelists Sasha Abramsky, Jessica Bartholow, Greg Kaufmann, and Amy Sosa concludes with more discussion of the issues and personal stories surrounding poverty in America, 50 years after President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty initiatives.”

 


 
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