We've seen it before in American history: farmers, workers, and young people taking to the streets, uniting against powerful forces of greed. In this case, it's Food Democracy Now and others taking it straight to Monsanto, maker of harm-causing genetically modified organisms. They've seen to it that we don't know when we're eating such foods and that farmers who object to Monsanto's power being subjected to legal harassment and intimidation. But today's guest David Murphy, founder of Food Democracy Now, says the fight for safe foods and farmers' rights has just begun. And we can all help.

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Gingrich kicked butt in South Carolina. Are you part of that nation?
It's not just blue vs red, North vs South. There's us here in Yankeedom, Then there's New Netherlands, The Midlands, Tidewater, Greater Appalachia, The Deep South (of course), New France, The Far West, El Norte, The Left Coast, and First Nation. You know this is accurate. Colin Woodard, author of the acclaimed new book "American Nations," reveals a history of these rival regional nations and questions whether today's boundaries will look the same in a hundred years. One Nation? Never was. Check out this thought-provoking interview.  It's our past, present, and future

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Since Newt hates it, that proves Hollywood is doing something right. While the Oscar nomintations are freshly out, bolder films are also recognized by the un-Oscars: the annual Progressive Movie Awards. The nominations are just out and while many of these nominations do overlap with the Academy Awards nominees, these are films you will certainly want to see. Some great American artists and movies are herein recognised, as we talk with Hollywood's own progressive film historian Ed Rampell.

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Every year, there are always a few truly crazy bills. But this year, the ultra-Right House leadership is behind some actually dangerous ones. Such as: making it harder to arrest in domestic violence. Doing away with medicare. Guaranteeing higher property taxes. Destroying collective bargaining rights. On the first half of The Burt Cohen Show we'll look at what the heck is going on with political veteran Kathy Sullivan. And in the second half, the issue is the unprecedented all-out assault on reproductive rights in NH with guest pro-choice veteran Liz Hager. Get active!

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Congress came back to work on January 17th 2012 and they were met by crowds of Occupy Wall Street demonstrators. This interview with Mark Bray, part of the original press team for OWS, looks at the goals, the strategies, and answers concerns about how Occupy,  if they appear too radical, might unintentionally push elected officials away from their agenda. Be forewarned: the optimism may be contagious.

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You know the prize fighter of the same name but you've never heard of the John L Sullivan from Manchester NH who served in Treasury and the Navy under Presidents Roosevelt and Truman. But there's a new book out by Stephen Clarkson abot the life and times of this man of unquestioned integrity who figured out how to raise the money for WWII in a time of depression--including heavy taxes on the richest among us, and who worked well with both sides of the political aisle to steer a  sane and flexible military course in the face of powers which were focused exclusively on the atomic bomb. A fascinating story.

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Who better to analyze the just completed New Hampshire Republican Presidential Primary than former Republican Party Chair Fergus Cullen. What happened, how influential will Ron Paul's "cause of liberty" be, how hated is Rick Perry by the party, what to expect in South Carolina on the 21st? For answers to these and other questions, listen in.

 

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Las Vegas and much of Southwestern US is lit up by dirty coal from Navajo Nation. Yet many of the impoverished people there lack electricity or water. Guest on this show is Elsa Johnson, a Navajo organizer who talks about recent successes they've had taking on Big Coal and uranium which have done such harm to the health of that nation. They're looking to the sun for a brighter economic and cultural future.

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It's more than the similar time of year. According to guest Rabbi Michael Lerner, of Tikkun Magazine and chair of the Network of Spiritual Progressives, both holidays mark times in which people without power successfully took on the powers of tyranny and economic injustice. He argues that the real spirit of the holidays can be found in movements such as Occupy Wall Street. Listen in!

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Why has Buddy Roemer been kept out of Republican debates? He was governor of Louisiana and a member of congress and maybe the reason is that he's talking about taking on the real power behind both parties. But as frontrunners come and go, he's getting more attention. The powers that be don't want him and he's counting on that issue to connect him with voters from the Tea Party right and the Occupy Wall Street left, and middle class voters who may be a bit upset too. He says he wants America to be a republic again. Pretty radical stuff.

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It used to be that the Republicans marched in lock step with religious-driven voters. According to Josh Lederman, who covers campaigns and elections for The Hill, the congressional daily newspaper, the days of the right's monopoly on support from faith based, values voters may be ending.

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The big banks, together with the privately run Federal Reserve, are strangling our economy. Nearly half the money we pay when we buy virtually anything is for interest payments. But there's no reason why states, regions, or municipalities can't start their own banks and use the profit to both reduce taxes and pay for much needed public projects. Today's informative guest is Ellen Brown, author of Web of Debt: The Shocking Truth About Our Money System and How We Can Break Free. It's already working in conservative North Dakota.
 

 

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The police are there to serve citizens and protect us from dangers. The military makes war on enemies. A big difference, obviously. But for a number of reasons, America's police have been morphing into more of a military force. Burt's gust is Alex Pareene, a columnist for Salon.com who has researched and written about the extent of this historic and rather chilling change.

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Have you ever wondered about the legal fiction of corporate personhood? You are hardly alone. There's a movement rapidly gaining steam to amend the Constitution to do away with this tremendous power now given to corporate entities at the expense of actual  human persons. Today's guest is David Cobb, spokesperson for MoveToAmend.org, which is pushing a constitutional emandment to restore government to its intended beneficiaries: we, the people.

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It's known as a school for assassins and military coups. Though it was supposed to be shut down years ago, instead they just changed the name to Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation. The Defense Dept argues it's just a few bad apples but School of The Americas Watch differs, and they are keeping up the pressure to close the school, hated throughout Central and South America, except for the wealthy elite of those countries. Today's guest is Becca Polk, youth organizer for SOAW. Listen in and learn more about our tax dollars at work and how little it's changed under Obama.

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Democrats and Republicans kicked the can down the street with the idea that the secretive supercommittee would make the hard choices on deficit cutting instead of them. In this example of bipartisanship, it appears the interests of average citizens may be left unheard; the supercommittee only listens to certain lobbyists. Burt's guest is Huffington Post columnist and financial economic advisor RJ Eskow. All is not lost. Not yet.

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Since the center has shifted so far to the right in recent years, what used to be the center in American politics is now seen as left. The New America Foundation's Michael Lind wonders if the popularity of Occupy Wall Street may indicate a real change in American opinion, helping to enable politicians to feel the pressure from the streets. Or maybe not. Lind is concerned that like 1968, if things get out of control, it may make cultural and political matters even worse. Sure is shaking things up!

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The first military use of Agent Orange was in 1961. There's a new book out, called Scorched Earth: Legacies of Chemical Warfare in Vietnam. In this segment, author Fred Wilcox discusses what he's discovered in thirty years of researching the subject: the chemical corporations knew of the dangers, congress has protected the makers of the chemical, and millions of Vietnamese and many thousands of American veterans and their families are still affected. Wilcox says there have been scorched earth policies before, but this is the first time in history a government inadvertantly poisoned its own army and is now waiting for this army to die.

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It was October 25. 2002 that a freak accident took the lives of Senator Paul Wellstone and five others. Wellstone, of course, was the biggest thorn in the side of the White House's planned war on Iraq. The guest on this show is Jim Fetzer who has thoroughly investigated and researched the evidence in the death of Wellstone, just ten days before an election he was expected to easily win, much to the discomfort of VP Cheney, who did make threats to the senator. Al evidence points to intentional electromagentic interference.

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 It's been part of American culture since the sixties. On this show we look into how feminism has evolved, with author Anna David, whose new book Falling for Me is experiencing brisk sales.

We know what it was back then, but what does feminism mean for women of today? David has stirred up some feminists with her embrace of the advice of Helen Gurley Brown, who wrote Sex and the Single Girl. On this show we discuss the difficulties and opportunities opened up by the feminist movement: career and family choices, the role of sexuality, and questions surrounding the institution of marriage. A lot more questions than answers, to be sure, but still an important and stimulating discussion.

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The first guest, Toni Nagy, says "everyone who works for Wall Street has mommy and daddy issues." The Salon and Huffington Post columnist looks to how we parent the curent generation as a major factor if we want more young citizens who are not just consumers. And Burt's second guest is pediatric psychologist Dr. Anthony Rao, author of the new book: The Way of Boys. When is "boys will be boys" OK and when should adults intervene? How do we discern? Politics is personal.

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While the left has very few electoral victories, author Michael Kazin argues it has very effectively changed the nation. The author of A Godly Hero: William Jennings Bryan talks about what's gone right and wrong with America's left, and ideas for where we go from here.

 

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It's been there since the very beginning of America: the struggle between ordinary people for economic democracy and the creditor class which fears and tamps down that democracy. In this hour, William Hogeland, author of two books: Declaration, and The Whiskey Rebellion, puts Occupy Wall Street in its proper historical context. He argues that the demonstrators are totally consistent with one branch of American tradition, while their target is also consistent with another traditional branch. He argues the same essential issues have remained unresolved since the founding period.

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Outspoken author of The Death of the Liberal Class, veteran journalist Chris Hedges says those young people at Occupy Wall Street are the real patriots, the real conservatives putting fears aside to take on what he calls "the criminal class." On this segment, we look at what has changed about American capitalism in recent decades and why Hedges calls the Occupy Wall Street movement "the best among us." Coming soon to a Bank of America near you!

 

 

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Truth-telling in the face of powerful and  fierce resistance; it's part of our American identity. From Upton Sinclair's The Jungle to unnecessarily vulnerable personnel carriers in Iraq, the average citizen depends on those brave enough to tell the truth to power. What hurdles do they still face?  On the first part of the show, the guest is Tom Devine, legal director of the Government Accountability Project. They include discussion of Obama's policy on transparency in government. And the second guest is US Marine Fanz Gayle who caused all that noise a few years ago about the needless and avoidable lack of protection from insurgents' bombs in Iraq. Gayle still faces heavy personal pressure from powerful interests for his decision to tell the truth.

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Some say the fact that Hamas is against it means the proposed United Nations vote on recognizing Palestine as a state means it's probablya good idea. On the other hand, many observers see it as a power play by Mahmoud Abbas. To analyze what's at stake for the Palestinians, Israel, and the US, Burt's guest on this segment is Robert Naiman, policy director of Just Foreign Policy.

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Fukushima. The NRC trying to ram through a 20 year extension for Seabrook. Entergy fighting Vermont's legal power over the Vernon plant. Huge public relations campaigns to sell us on "safe clean nuclear."  Presidential candidates talking about our energy future. State's rights versus centralized decision making.
Burt's guest on this segment is Paul Gunter of Beyond Nuclear. It really is a crossroads for the subsidized ailing industry. A very informative discussion.

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Aside from the nearly 3,000 lives lost, what lasting damage has been done to our cherished traditional American liberties? On the first segment, Burt's guest is Marjorie Cohn, immediate past president of the National Lawyers Guild. She specifies reasons for her concerns that we are headed toward a police state. On part two, Republican presidential candidate Gary Johnson, former governor of New Mexico, talks about his concerns about secrecy, transparency, and the erosion of our basic freedoms, and what freedom means to him.

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Some progressives disenchanted with President Obama may be looking seriously at Republican Ron Paul. On this show, Alternet Washington Bureau Chief Adele Stan does just that: she takes a deeper look at who Ron Paul is and the actual positions he takes. If you're at all considering voting for him,  you owe it to yourself to give a full listen.

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How different from the usual flock of Republican presidential wannabes is front-runner Texas Governor Rick Perry? All candidates since Reagan have sought the support of the Christian Right, but there is evidence suggesting he, and Micelle Bachmann, are quite a bit more. There's something called Dominionism, which Burt's guest Sarah Posner addresses fully on this show. Posner is senior editor of Religious Dispatches, and is author of "God's Profits: Faith, Fraud, and the Republican Crusade for Values Voters." How worried should we be about the traditional separation of church and state? Give a listen.

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The mainstream media have been so wary of Martin Luther King's true message that when Glenn Beck claims to have inherited his mantle, millions actually believe him. Burt's guest on this show, Huffington Post's RJ Eskow takes a look at the real bravery behind the sanitized myth and the dangerous middle of the road squeamishness behind the softening of this great American's history.

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The Tea/Republican Party has been laregly successful in their spin that FDR failed. But beliefs once again do not match reality. Here two Roosevelt scholars, Drs. David Woolner and Thomas Ferguson,  discuss the real truth about the New Deal and it's applicability today, and they discuss the economic effects of free market fundamentalism.

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In 2009, the Koch Brothers' Americans for Prosperity pushed a movement to re-instate segregation in Wake County North Carolina through a school board election. There's a new video about the effort and AfP is threatening to sue the producers. On the first half, Burt talks with Jim Miller, Executive director of Brave New Foundation which made the film. On the second half, the North Carolina director of Americans for Prosperity explains their real target: public education in general. It's a hot one! Enjoy.

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The Tea Party these days looks with fondness to the 19th century as a time of rugged invidualism and unemcumbered free markets. As with so many mythic images, reality is exceedingly different. Like corporate personhood? Thank the railroads. Ever notice how, in labor strife the gov't generally takes the side against the workers? Appreciate the decision making process for nuclear plants? Look to railroad history. Again, our friend that 19th century behemoth, the machinations of the transcontinental railroads. Tune in for an entertaining hour.

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Even though the debt ceiling has been raised many times without flourish, the Republicans, with the support of the Obama White House, have effectively sucked the oxygen away from actual issues of economic security. On this show, economist James K. Galbraith cuts through the fear-mongering clutter, dissecting the reality behind the fierce current debate.

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Raymond Learsy is author of Oil and Finance: The Epic Corrpution 2006-2010 , and is a Reagan Republican who writes in the Huffington Post of the absolute necessity of a government which will serve small banks and their customers, instead of our new and dangerous reality where government exclusively serves the large finance houses and the oil industry, which he says basically has government backing for stealing our money. It's worse than you think.

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In the first half hour, Democratic political strategist Rpbert Creamer says the cause of the destruction of the middle class also points to the best way out of the current Great Recession. And on the second half, investigative journalist Rick Rosoff sheds light on America's greatly increased use of drones to make war without putting Americans in harms way. But what it is really accomplishing may not be so good.

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America Aflame is a major new interpretation of the civil war era. In this interview with author David Goldfield, light is shed into important dark corners, such as the tragic role played by evangelicalsm on both sides, why a post-war belief in science led the abolitionists to accept white supremacy, and why the whole horrible disaster could have been avoided.

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Many Americans see our freedom to choose as consumers as what independence is all about. But recovering corporate CEO and Huffington Post columnist Richarde Eskow on this show shines a light on how far we've veered from wha the founders envisioned as the meaning of Independence.

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Last year, Israel got a self-inflicted black eye by assaulting the flotilla of humanitarian aid meant for Gaza, killing 9, including one American. This year, Israel, clearly in concert with the US State Department, found other ways to stop the new flotilla, including the American ship The Audacity of Hope. Noted middle east scholar, professor Stephen Zunes, explains what's going on, the political pressures, and why blaming AIPAC is not enough.

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Michelle Goldberg, author of Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism, and The Means of Reproduction: Sex, Power, and the Future of the World certainly knows her stuff. On this show, the columnist for The Daily Beast talks about what she' knows about the intense power of sexuality and sex roles within the now powerful American far right.

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The president has ordered a partial withdrawal of combat troops from Vietnam Afghanistan. Of course popular sentiment figures into the decision, but what does it really mean for US presence in the region? Newseek/Daily Beast columnist Michael Tomasky offers his analysis. And for the last segment, we hear from young Afghanis for Peace.

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Greece is in crisis. Economist Mark Weisbrot, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, looks at the causes and potential solutions. And on the second half, Christina Chauvenet, of Survival International, looks at what's happening with the few remaining uncontacted tribes and what it says about the edge of imperialism.

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What do former Reagan US Secretary of State George Schultz, Federal Reserve Chirman Paul Volker, the former presidents/prime ministers of Colombia, Mexico, Switzerland, and Brazil all have in common? They were all part of the just concluded Global Commission on Drug Policy, which recognized the abject failure and tremendous damage caused by the drug war. Guest on this show is a former commander in the war on drugs, James Gierach.

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As the former secretary of state begins a book tour, he won't be going to Spain or France, where there are warrants out for his arrest. More Americans are calling for his prosecution for crimes against humanity. Today's guests are Debra Sweet, Director of World Can't Wait,
Joyce Horman, whose murdered husband Charlie Horman was the subject  of the movie "Missing, and Tom Keough, who organized the protest against Kissinger when he appeared at New York's 92nd St Y.
 

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In opposing the four year extesnion of the so-called Patriot Act, Senator Mark Udall said, "Americans would be alarmed if they knew how this law is being acrried out," and Sen. Ron Wyden said, "When the American people find out how their government has secretly interpreted the Patriot Act, they will be stunned and they will be angry." Listen to this interview with the ACLU's legislative counsel Michelle Richardson and you'll see what they mean. Problem is, it was all done quietly.

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Fixing elections was something from the old days of Tammany Hall and Mayor Daley, right? We'd all like to think election results can't really be messed with anymore. But they can and are. Jonathan Simon is Executive Director of the Election Defense Alliance, and he has ample reason to believe our democracy is being hacked, regularly.

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Compared to other western nations, Americans seem more accepting of our own powerlessness over institutions that run our lives. Psychologist Bruce Levine, author of Get Up, Stand Up: Uniting Populists, Energizing the Defeated, and Battling the Corporate Elite looks into the many reasons for the widespread demoralization and suggests what can be done about it.

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At this historic crossroads for US-Israel policy, manyyoung Jews are looking at the age old problem with fresh vision. Risking being called "self-haters," these Jewish Americans are stating their identity as proud Jews, while being critical of Israeli government policies, and taking on the powerhouse of AIPAC. Today's guest is Jesse Bacon, of Jewish Voices for Peace

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Our mythic history suggests America was created by God and is therefore unique among nations. We have a higher moral standing and it is right, therefore,  for us to share our benificence. Lately the term American Exceptionalism is being used by the right, as it has been before, to fan the fires of ultra-nationalism, casting severe doubt on those who would examine history and not just cling to myth. Today's guests, LSU history professors Nancy Isenberg and Andrew Burstein shed much light on the meaning and importance of the notion of American Exceptionalism.

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The war against secession began in the spring of 1861. What was won and what was lost? Historian Kirkpatrick Sale takes an alternative look at what was changed by the victory of the North.

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Up to now, the far right has suceesfully claimed the mantle of the values of America's founders. Even Glenn Beck has stolen the title of Thomas Paine's 1776 pamphlet Common Sense as the title of his own book. In this interview, Montana author and radio host Brian Kahn talks about the real values of our founders. They are applicable today for progressives in taking on the illegitimate power of the corporations which have gained sovereignty ovewr we, the people.

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Other countries do it, not America, right? Our freedom requires the ability of teachers to teach, without government dictating content. Today there is a new concerted assault on what teachers may teach, and on college professors ability to be active citizens. A University of Wisconsin professor, William Cronon, not a lefty, dared to share factual information about a right wing group imposing it's agenda on state legislatures. Today's guest is author Paul Rosenberg, talking about this new McCarthyism targeting academic freedom.

 

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Resolved: America is a republic. But are we a democracy? In this discussion historian Willam Hogeland addresses the existential conflicts inherent in the creation of our Constitution: protect the rich from dangerous democracy, or create a new-style government of, by, and for the common good. It's not as clear as one might expect, and much of the same unresolved issues continue to create conflict in 2011.

 

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How do self-identified conservatives feel about the positions of the Tea Party? University of Washington Professor Christopher Parker discusses findings of a recent poll he conducted of 1500 Republicans in 13 states. There is much dividing them, and much uniting the groups. And much worry among them all relative to their electoral chances in 2012.

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Why has what used to be considered the fringe right wing taken hold with so many Americans, particularly those who least benefit? Nationally featured blogger Chauncey DeVega (a pseudonym) delves in to what the recent polling data reveals. The bad news is our republic is threatened and authoritarian plutocracy is on the rise. The good news is Democrats should do well in 2012.

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Burt talks with University of Western Kentucky Professor of Civil War History Glenn LaFantasie about his paper: The Erosion of the Civil War Consensus. And just as violence resulted in 1861 from the hot button issues of state versus federal sovereignty, and who is an American, so the threat of violence simmers from these still-unresolved, newly re-opened issues in 2011. And once again, race plays heavily into the picture.

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What's left of the middle class is being forced to bear major cuts. Working families are under attack as never before. Meanwhile there is plenty of money...hiding in Cayman Islands corporate tax dodges. Guests today are Chuck Collins, senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies, and Liz Newman, organizer for US Uncut.org. We may be reaching a critical mass when something might actually be done about this.

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Owsley, the man who provided high quality LSD to the Grateful Dead and untold thousands of others, recently died in a car crash. Today, some 45 years after its then-legal popularization, there is renewed interest in what today's guest psychiatrist Dr Phil Wolfson calls, in his article in Tikkun magazine: Psychedelics, Spirituality, and Transformation. Tune in!

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As Japan struggles to bring its nuclear catastrophe under control. the focus of today's show is nuclear power itself. One the first half, guest is Diane D'Arrigo of the Nuclear Information Resource Service to explain what is happening at the Fukushima complex and the dangers posed. On the second half, it's Salon.com columnist Justin Elliott examining how the nuclear industry has been so successful in its public relations in the least few years. It may me a tad more challenging now.

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Recently hundreds of homeowners and community leaders targetted a Bank of America branch in Washington. Why? Keya Hicks, of the Alliance to Develop Power, an affiliate of National Peoples Action, explains they may have been too big to fail, but should not now be too big to jail.

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Recently hundreds of homeowners and community leaders targetted a Bank of America branch in Washington. Why? Keya Hicks, of the Alliance to Develop Power, an affiliate of National Peoples Action, explains they may have been too big to fail, but should not now be too big to jail.

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The Republicans in power are terrified. Their deep fear of female sexuality is what's really behind their attacks on Planned Parenthood and marriage equality. They actually see feamle sexuality as a subversive force that needs to be strictly controlled. Author Amanda Marcotte talks with Burt about this rahter bizarre aspect of genuine American exceptionalism.

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So the Obama budget is less bad than the Republican proposal. But according to today's guest Kevin Zeese, executive director of Voters for Peace, it is still dominated by the untouchable Security Budget. Democrat or Republican, the combined powers of the good old military industrial complex and Wall Street still call the shots. But all is not lost.

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Since Hollywood began making movies, right wingers have blasted movie makers for ever including any liberal themes in their art. The 1950s blacklists were just one example. Problem is, thinking and caring artists think and care. We all know about the Oscars, but the Progessive Movie Awards are just out, recognizing film makers and actors who, in 2010, made notable films which may have been overlooked. You may want to take notes as Tinseltown's Ed Rampell names names: this year's Progie Award winners.

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The movement started in Tunisia, spread to Egypt and then much of the middle east. Now thousands in Wisconsin are rising up, angry at attempts by government to take away rights. And the uprising may be spreading into other states. Why have Americans for so long accepted a belief in their own powerlessness? Is this now a struggle for democracy itself? Guest on this show is Yes! Magazine's founder and Executive Editor Sarah van Gelder, and this discussion focuses on power, who really has it: the Koch Brothers' Tea Party or the unions. And why it matters to us all.

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From privatizing water to spreading toxic sludge, when it comes to the regulatory process, it's not a level playing field; corporate interests almost always beat local popular resistance. But there's a new legal tool coming into being that can give towns more power over their own resources, and actually realize the concept of self-government. Check it out!

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February 6th was the 100th anniversary of the birth of Ronald Reagan. No doubt, he lifted American spirits. Guest on this show is Robert Parry, who broke a number of Iran-Contra stories while at the Associate Press and Newsweek in the Reagan era. There's the mythic towering image of the man and then there's the actual effects of Reagan's policies, on such matters as terrorism, the financial crisis, the deficit, and more. Perhaps he saw the White House as another acting venue. If so, he was good.

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What is a corporate person, and how has if affected our democracy? About a hundred years before the crucial Citizens United decision, a legal fiction was created called corporate personhood. And it's caused great harm to our democratic system. Now Vermont state Senator Virginia Lyons has started the national ball rolling with her resolution to end corporate personhood.

On the second haf of the show, Burt and constitutional law Professor John Greabe analyze the Florida federal judge's ruling striking down the entire bi-partisan Health Care Reform Bill. It ain't over yet.

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For about forty years, there have been attempts to turn NH into a "Right to Work" state. With nearly half of the House of Representatives being new members in 2011, there's concern this year the bill has a better chance. But if you're not a union member, as most NH workers are not, why should you care? In this segment, Mark MacKenzie, head of the NH AFL-CIO, takes on some common misunderstandings.

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 There's one set of economic rules for big finance and another set for the rest of us. Our tax dollars are subsidizing non-productive gambling by the "too big to fail" finance houses, while everyone else in capitalism has to follow  the hard rules of the market. Progresssives are just as beholden to Wall Street as Republicans. So says guest Les Leopold, author of The Looting of America. A very informative discussion.

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With the FCC approval of the Comcast takeover of NBC-Universal, there is a new, unprecedented consolidation of media and internet power in the hands of one company. As Sen. Al Franken puts it: "When the same compnay owns the content and the pipes that deliver that content, consumers lose." A democracy and a republic depend on a diversity of voices, which is now threatened. Concentration and centralization of power may well be the old Soviet style, but our guest, Free Press campagin director Tim Karr says we Americans should be mad as hell and not take it anymore.

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Some of America's top income earners understand that it's in their interest to pay more taxes. Our country's economic stability is at stake and, as Thomas Jefferson understood, the survival of a democracy depends on a strong middle class, which has been so decimated recebtly. Chuck Collins, co-founder (along with Bill Gates Sr.) of Wealth for the Common Good is Burt's guest on this segment. They're not giving up on repealing the deficit-worsening Bush tax cut and instituting a new .25% financial speculation tax. It's in their benefit, too.

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Many Americans dismiss the charge that the right-wing talk of Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, and Bill O'Reilly contributed significantly to the Tucson massacre, insisting, "Oh, they all do it." But is this true? And what happens if the hard right does not reflect on it's inflammatory words? Is freedom of speech in danger? Burt's guest on this show is columnist Melissa McEwan.

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Young Afghans are leading the way for leaders to follow. On this segment, the guest is Uzayr Humkar, an Afghan living in Los Angeles who serves on the steering committee of the new international group Afghans for Peace. They oppose both the Taliban and the US/NATO occupation. A road for peace is laid out. Will our leaders listen and follow? 

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Are We Too Dumb for Democracy? The first guest is U Michigan researcher Brendan Nyhan whose recent study shows that beliefs determine which facts we accept, perhaps rendering democracy unworkable.
Along similar lines of thought, on the second half of the show, former senator and presidential candidate Gary Hart disucsses his concerns about what’s happening to the resources we hold in common. All focus seems to be on “what’s mine,” and what we all rely on is being neglected --at our peril.

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Dan Ellsberg says,"If I put out the Pentagon Papers in every detail, same as before, I would now be called a terrorist." Jason Ditz of antiwar.com is guest on this show. What is truly frightening, he argues, is the lack of reaction to the truths which are revealed by WikiLeaks. How seriously are our freedoms, our existence as a democracy, threatened by the cult of secrecy and the clampdown on truth-tellers?

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U of Wisconsin-Madison History Professor Alfred McCoy knows quite a bit about empire. He's written many books on America's empire, and recently convened a group of 140 international historians to examine empires in transition. His latest article is Four Scenarios for the Coming Collapse of the American Empire. Much food for thought.

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As we head in to 2011, we face a deeply divided, crumbling America: red and blue, super rich and a beaten down middle class. Federal Reserve policies threaten the stability of the dollar. Some say the alternative to chaos between left and right, rich and poor, is to peacefully enable new regional self-governments. Voices from the left are starting to agree with voices from the right on secession as an alternative. Guest on this show is William Miller, who leads something called Secession University.

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We were snookered. He's not as advertised, instead we're seeing that Obama is a willing captive of Wall Street, the insurance lobby, and the other oligrachic forces and has turned his back on the hope that put him in office. Chris Hedges, author of the new book Death of the Liberal Class, argues that the familiar Democratic mechanisms for listening to and serving the working and middle classes is no longer functioning. He argues action in the streets is our only recourse.

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One ot the UK's best ever singer/songwriters and performers, Graham Parker has been at it since the mid 1970s. His new DVD is coming out December 7th. GP is a gutsy and intense rocker, who has a lot to say.

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It couldn't have been a tougher election year, but California's Proposition 19, which would have legalized recreational use of marijuana for adults, very nearly won. Stephen Gutwillig is that state's director of the Drug Policy Alliance, and on this segment he discusses the political dynamics for Prop 19 in 2010 and why prospects are good in many states for 2012. 

 

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The White House Commission on the Deficit recommends cuts in social security and medicare. Not too damn likely. Bob Borosage, founder and president of The Institute for America's Future and chair of Progressive Majority organized a Citizens Commission on Jobs, Deficits and America's Economic Future. Give a listen to some common sense solutions.

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He's America's most widely syndicated political cartoonist: in the New York Times Magazine, Washington Post, LA Times, Village Voice. His new book is called "The Anti-American Manifesto," but he's really pro-American people and principals, just wants to bring down the government. He advocates a real on-the-streets revolution from the left. Rall argues it's going to happen, so we should get ready.

 

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We remember Nixon's infamous spying on Americans. Controls were then put in place to stop it.  Today there is an ever expanding movement by both corporations and government agencies to use new communications tools for domestic surveillance purposes. GW Schulz, who is with the Center fpr Investigative Reporting, talks about how pervasive domestic spying has become. What can we do about it? Use the internet!

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On November 3rd, Ben Bernanke's Federal Reserve Bank announced it would print another 600 billion dollars. What's the goal, what does it mean for our economy? Listen in as Burt and University of Montreal Economic Profressor Rod Tremlay discuss the matter so non-economists can understand. And the troubling question is raised: Who has real power over our economy?

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Rabbi Michael Lerner, editor of Tikkun Magazine and chair of the Network of Spiritual Progressives talks about his "10 Commandments to Revive Progressives After the November Defeat." He suggests ways to get over the perception liberals are elitists. And on the second half, Robert Creamer, author of "Stand Up Straight: How Progressives Can Win," explains why it would be a big mistake for Obama to now tack to the center.

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Now is the hard part for the right: governing. Burt's guest on this podcast is Adele Stan, Washington Bureau Chief for Alternet. Which way will President Obama move: center or left? How powerful will the Tea Party be and how will the GOP handle them? Are elections from now on owned by big corporate interests? Might it actually be good news for progressives for 2012?

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On November 2nd, Californians will vote on ending prohibition of marjuana. Burt's guest is Hanna Liebman Dershowitz, an attorney in Los Angeles, co-chair of the Proposition 19 legal subcommittee. It's an intense struggle with ramifications for the entire nation. It's not just about controlling and taxing marijuana, it's about local control, too.

 

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Can we advance national security goals and cut the Department of Defense budget? Congressmen Barney Frank and Ron Paul joined with 53 others calling on the White House study on deficit reduction to look at ways to reduce the massive spending and adapt America's military policy to what's really needed to keep us secure. Burt's guest is Christopher Hellman with the National Priroties Project. Chris has worked for some 20 years on defense issues in Washington.

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Famous for its coal mines, eastern Kentucky also pays a high monetary and air quality price for electricity generated by coal. But a number of members of the region's electric co-op are determined to bring democracy back to that entity, as was originally intended, and secure a more sustainable energy future. Such solutions from the bottom up are replicable for the entire nation.

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In this revealing interview, author David Rosen looks at what really drives the Tea Party. It's not just the fiscal insurrectionists, angry formerly middle class Americans. And it's not just the oligarchs who fund the movement for their own benefit either. Beneath the focus on the economy is a deep fear about sexual roles. And that subject drives the concerns of both the economic and the social conservative factions of the Tea Party.

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What would happen to our economy if the Republicans actually passed their new "Pledge to America?" UMass economics professor Richard Wolff dissects the facts.

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 If you oppose any part of the "war on terror," that makes you a terrorist, right?  With recent raids on antiwar organizers homes in the midwest, the Obama Justice Department is purposely chilling our freedoms. That's the opinion of Heidi Boghosian Executive Director of the National Lawyers Guild which just released a report: “The Policing of Political Speech: Constraints on Mass Dissent in the U.S. And on the second half of this show, Katherine Albrecht talks about the increased use of spychips and secretly planted GPS devices. And you thought Nixon and Mitchell were dangerous to freedom of speech.

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Guest Kevin Mattson stirred up a hornet's nest with an article in the American Prospect titled "Forget Populism." Many on the left came down hard on the Ohio University history professor's piece, arguing progressives are the true home of populism. Tune in for one of the most informative and entertaining editions of The Burt Cohen Show.

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One of America's top political strategists, Robert Creamer, says the power of the Palin touch in the September 14th primaries, the strength of the Tea Party, is very good news for progressives chances in the upcoming general elections. IF they find some backbone, go on the offensive, and stop the defensive posture.

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Bud Welch's then 23 year old daiughter Julie was killed in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. At first he wanted to kill the killers himself. Now he's on a national crusade to end America's death penalty. He even met with the father of Timothy McVeigh. He says the death penalty brings neither closure nor justice.

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Politics in NH have never been hotter. On this show, Burt's guests are Portsmouth Herald editor for news Rick Fabrizio and former state Republican Party Chair Fergus Cullen, analyzing the races for US Senate, Congress, and Governor. And they discuss the question of the identity of the Republican Party in these Tea Party times, as well as the prospects for 2012 if Republicans sweep in 2010.

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Terrorism is what the bad guys do, right? In this fascinating and revealing interview, author Douglas Valentine describes the state terrorism at the very root of the national security state. We always thought this was about keeping us safe from attack. But in reality, it has undermined our republic, perhaps fatally.

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In economically difficult times, the pressure is on to cut public services in favor of economic development. But according to a new non-partisan study by the Political Economy Research Institute, that's precisely the wrong approach. For both the short and long term, public investment works best. And no, it's not that scary Socialism monster.

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They're everywhere. Genetically modified organisms, or GMOs are in many foods we eat. It's largely banned in Europe, where they call it Frankenfoods. Dr. Shiv Chopra's name has become synonymous with food safety. And he has a blueprint for food safety. We are not powerless.

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The issue of ensuring access to the internet for all points of view is just beginning to bubble up. But even though the Tea Party is a beneficiary of the so-far even playing field, they want to turn control over to the big corporations. Listen in and go figure.

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From Mad magzine writer to publisher of The Realist and author of many books, Paul Krassner has made his mark on history. One of the founders of The Yippies, Krassner is still at it with his observations of the culture war which began with the right wing's attacks on the Woodstock generation.

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Equal marriage supporters are celebrating, sure. But reproductive rights are also affected by Judge Vaughn Walker's recent decision overturning California's Proposition 8, which had banned same sex marriages. What lies ahead for equal marriage rights? How might the ruling fare on appeal? What about the US Supreme Court? Listen in.

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Proponents insist it will make America energy independent while polluting less. But is nuclear power that good to deserve a bailout to the tune of $54 billion of our money? On this show, Nuclear Information Resource Services executive director Michael Mariotte explains the battle is far from over. And nuclear is far from clean.

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It's being called the Summer of Liberal's Discontent. The 2008 election was all about Hope, but why is so little action being taken to address unemployment?  On this segment, Les Leopold, author of the Looting of America, consultant to the Blue-Green Alliance, explains what he thinks is going on and how public pressure might still work.

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Politicians are scrambling to look more deficit cutting than their competitor. But according to Micheal Lind, policy director of the Economic Growth Program at the New America Foundation, that's not only terrible economics, but bad politics as well. 

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It was June 28th 2009 that there was a coup d'etat in Honduras. In one of the first tests of the new Obama Administration, many hoped for a change of course, away from the old cold War framing of Latin American political; realities. But AlterNet columnist Kari Lydersen, who just returned from Honduras, explains, it is difficult to discern any difference between the policies of Reagan and Bush and the Obama/Hillary Clinton approach. This is not good news for the people of Honduras, or for the interests of the United States for that matter.

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 Seeking to find the real Hugo Chavez, filmmaker Oliver Stone (Platoon, Born on the 4th of July, JFK) traveled to Venezuela with a film crew and ended up talking with other left-leaing new South American presidents, such as Bolivia's Evo Morales and others. In this edition of the Burt Cohen Show, co-writer Mark Weisbrot addresses the attacks on the film published recently in the New York Times, and discusses the reasons why the movie was made. South of the Border opens in theatres in early July.

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Despite the ominous mood of much of the country, the 1988 Democratic presidential nominee, former governor Michael Dukakis remains optimistic. In this interview, he talks about Obama and Afghanistan, energy and enviromental policy, the Tea Party movement, and what he hears from young people across America.

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Republicans are backed into a corner, so watch out! All Democrats support imposing major reforms on how the financial sector does business. But no Republicans. Burt discusses the status with Robert Creamer, political strategist who helped President Obama pass Health Care Reform. Could meaningful reform actaully happen?

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As the Israelis stole Scott Harmann's cell phone, there were some audio difficulties. Butlisten in and you get a clear picture of the mission of the Free Gaza Flotilla, and what it was like on the high seas when the IDF attacked.

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Exoneration: the Rosenberg Sobell Case in the 21st Century is a soon-to-be publiched book by David Alman, who with his late wife Emily wasw deeply involved nearly 60 years ago. Howard Zinn said this book "raises challenges to the justice system in our country." The book is a new revelation of facts about the political trial in which Julius and Ethel were put to death.

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Tar sands are the worlds dirtiest, most climate destroying oil. In what looks to be the largest industrial project in human history, ExxonMobil has begun its tar sands mining project in Alberta Canada. It requires bulding new roads into the wild to accomodate 48 wheel trucks. How crazy is this? Guest today is reporter Dahr Jamail who has thoroughly researched the project.

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With his new book called Violence, Veils, and Bloodlines, reporting from War Zones, veteran war correspondent Louis Salome describes the depth of tribal identification around the world and discusses his observation that all humans, including Americans, have tribalism in our DNA. What does that mean for the future? Listen in.

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Brushed aside for decades, a recent conference of scientists focused on the potential uses of LSD and other psychedelics. On this editon of The Burt Cohen Show, guest Randolph Hencken of Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies talks about Psychedelic Science for the 21st century. If carefully controlled, should LSD and other psychedelic drugs become available as a tool for addressing psychological problems? If it  can be of significant benefit to humankind, why not prescribe?

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Laurel Krause was just 15 when her 19 year old sister Allison was killed by National Guard soldiers at Kent State in 1970. Forty years later, Laurel organized a truth tribunal.  With new audio evidence coming out, it appears the truth about who gave the order and how the truth got covered up will emerge. But help is needed.

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Oil threatens disaster in the gulf. Yet Obama is sticking with his call for more drilling. How bad is the oil threat really? What are the realities and riskes involved in offshore drilling? On this show, the guest is  John Demos, Northeast Regional Director of the Alaska Wilderness League talking about petroleum politics and the potential for more harm from Drill Baby Drill.

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On this somber anniversary, the first guest is Peter Rivierre, a campus activist at the University of New Hampshire tells about what happened when three of the Chicago 8 were set to speak on campus after the massacre. And on the second half, current student activist Alex Freid talks about what students in 2010 are doing to commemorate the tragic event.

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Derivatives. Hedge Funds. Sub-prime. What does all this mean and how are you affected by it all? On this edition of The Burt Cohen Show, Burt's guest is Robert Marrone who spent 30 years on Wall Street. He explains how these confusing terms impact the price you pay for everything from groceries to business loans from the bank. Will the Dodd bill rein in the "too big to fail" banks? Listen in.

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Peter Galbraith was UN Special Envoy to Afghanistan. That is until Hamid Karzai banished him for pointing out that the election was a fraud. Listen in, as Galbraith offers valuable insights into realistic solutions. And enjoy the extra music in the beginning.

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With the vacancy on the Supreme Court, could this be the time to reverse
the routine elevation of corporate interests over individual rights? Burt's guest is David Gespass, president of the National Lawyers Guild, which is arguing for a Supreme Court nominee who values traditional individual liberties more than preservation of corporate power. They'll look at how far the court has come to make John Paul Stevens a "liberal," and look at some of the candidates on Obama's "short list"
 

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The next big showdown in Washington is on Obama's efforts to rein in the big banks and hold them accountable. Burt's first guest is Heather Booth who is leading the charge on this issue for Americans United For Change. Following that is a discussion with Mark Sump, a pioneer in merging technology and grassroots strategy. about why there's no talk of a new New Deal.

 

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Since the US invasion after 9/11, opium has become the base of the Afghanistani economy. In the first segment, Alfred McCoy, author of the Politics of Heroin: CIA Complicity in the Global Drug Trade provides insight into the overwhelming power of opium in that war. In part two, Burt speaks with Merle Ratner of the Vietnam Agent Orange Relief and Reponsibility Campaign about the continuously exploding bomb of Agent Orange and efforts to help the generations of victims.

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The apparent cover up of child abuse in the highest reaches of the Catholic Church continues to shock the world. But there's a growing group of church members working to bring justice. On this show, Burt's guest is Ed Wilson a leader of "Voice of The Faithful," whose theme is: Keep the Faith, Change the Church. Church leaders say they are the problem, causing schism and weakening the church. Listen and decide for yourself.

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On the first half Dan Quinn of the Texas Freedom Network explains how all American textbooks will be affected by the incredibly ultra-right wing new standards for social studies books. On the second half, Burt's guest is Robert Creamer, a major player in the passage of health care reform. They talk about how this takes the wind out of the sails of the Republicans and changes the narraive of the Obama presidency.

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Republicans down. But are they out? The passage of health care reform dramatically changes the narrative for November 2010 and maybe beyond. Burt's guest was to be Robert Creamer, author of "Stand Up Straight; How Progressives Can Win," a key player in the media effort for the bill. But when someone named Barack Obama asked him to be there for the signing, Creamer had to cancel with Burt at the last minute. But you'll still want to hear Burt discuss the suddenly changed new fate of Republicans and their Tea Party leaders.

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We all remeber defeating the evils of apartheid in South Africa with pressure from throughout the world. Some say apartheid is now the reality in Israel, others disagree. Judy Rebick is a professor at Ryerson University in Toronto and on this show talks about why she organized that city's events for Israel Apartheid Week. Is it too strong a word? Listen in and decide for yourself.

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On March 9th, hundreds protested silently as others paid $1000 a plate to support the Israeli Defense Forces. Led by Jews Say No, they are questioning the US unconditional support for the State of Israel in the wake of the assault on Gaza and continued settlements in Palestinian areas. Burt's guest today is Felice Gelman of Jews Say No. Could a change be in the air?

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Is the Tea Party a dangerous  bunch of gun-toting racists? Do they present a serious threat of radical right wing violence? Should they be considered a hate group? The guest today is Mark Potok, author of a new report by the watchdog group the Southern Poverty Law Center.

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Hope and change. America certainly expected a new more practical approach to or potential trading partners in Central and South America. But in this interview, Mark Weissbrot co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, in Washington, D.C. analyzes Secretary of State Clinton's recent trip to that region, and is not encouraged.

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We have Teddy Roosevelt to thank for Japan attacking Pearl Harbor, according to James Bradley, acclaimed author of Flags of Our Fathers and Flyboys. On this Burt Cohen Show, they discuss  Bradley's new book, The Imperial Cruise, which is all about TR's white supremacist policies which caused a racist war against the Fillipinos and encouraged Japan to become a militaristic nationalistic empire, leading to Bradley's own father fighting at Iwo Jima and the deaths of millions. This is some fascinating history, stranger than fiction, with great relevance for today.

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A revival of nuclear power lurks just ahead, and President Obama seems to be the number one advocate. On the first half of this show, Burt talks with Dan Weiss of the Center for American Progress about the economic effects of a $54 billion nuclear subsidy. On part two, Michael Marriotte Executive Director of the Nuclear Information and Resource Service talks about the effects of nuclear power on America's energy independence.

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The political right has always been afraid of the power of Hollywood. Thus the Hollywood 10 and other attempts to quash left-message films. But combining art and politics is a tricky business. On this show, Burt discusses the newly announced Progies: the 2009 nominations for best progressive films and artists, with Boston Phoenix film critic Gerald Peary and Hollywood author Ed Rampell.

 

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On this show, Burt speaks with one of America's top economists about deficit spending and what must be done to restore long term economic stability. Despite the strutting "deficit peacocks," Galbraith points out the real history of the usefulness of deficit spending.

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From the bottom up. That's the approach taken by Transition Towns; how to bring people together in hard hit towns and effectivley revitalize them. Burt's guest today, Tina Clarke, talks about communities coming together, listening to one another, shairing in economic costs and benefits.

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What the heck is going on with Yemen? Suddenly America seems quite interested in the few Al Qaeda operatives and Burt's guest today, Conn Hallinan, of Foreign Policy in Focus, sheds a lot of light on the complex realities behind the snapshot image you see on corporate news. Could it be yet another big muddy?

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Cracking down on undocumented immigrants may be a priority of the hard right, but Burt's guest today, Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum insists comprehensive reform, now working its way through congress, can be of significant benefit to our economy.

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Today's guest is author Michael Lind, policy director of the New America Foundation, who argues that Franklin Roosevelt's 1944 State of the Union speech ranks right up there with King's " I Have a Dream" speech and Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. He called for a second bill of rights: economic rights. Rights, not priviledges: what a concept.

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A national organization of 17,000 physicians are urging defeat of the Senate version. Burt's guest on this show is Dr. Thomas Clairmont of PNHP who argues the current bill is worse than doing nothing.

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In the greatest recession since the Great Depression, it seems much of FDR's New Deal is applicable once again. On this Portside, Burt's guest is Steven Herzenberg, executive director of the Keystone Research Center. How much of the New Deal is applicable to America's current high unemployment? Would massive spending on public works jobs help or hurt the economy? There's a lot to think about from this podcast.

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It's quite different from the old Parti Quebecois. At a recent convention a new left-leaning independent Quebec begins to emerge. Burt's guest is Richard Fidler who reported on the well-attended gathering. There may be much for us who live south of the border to learn.

 

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Cash for clunkers worked well, helping people get more fuel efficient cars. Now there's an idea called Cash for Caulkers, a new program to create jobs retrofitting homes and businesses, addressing global warming and helping to break our oil addiction. On this show,Burt's guest is Les Leopold author of "The Looting of America," who has both praise and criticism for the Cash for Caulkers idea.

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On December 10, 1948 the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, with Eleanor Roosevelt leading the effort. Sixty one years later, what is the status of those inherent rights across the world? The northeast regional Director of Amnesty International checks in.

 

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It's been a decade after the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act, the Depression-era safeguard that prohibited the commingling of commercial and investment banks. This repeal gave rise to all-in-one financial behemoths like Citi, ushered in the too-big-to-fail era, and nearly toppled the global financial system. Today all taxpayers are paying the price. On this Portside, Burt Cohen talks with Nomi Prins,author of "It Takes a Pillage: Behind the Bailouts, Bonuses and Backroom Deals from Washington to Wall Street." Before becoming an economic journalist and author, Nomi worked on Wall Street as a managing director at Goldman Sachs, and worked at Bear Stearns in London. If you care about reining the power of Wall Street this is a show you won't want to miss.

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Many Americans are angry at bigness and frustrated with their own sense of powerlessness. it would be logical for these sentiments to support progressive populism, but instead the hard right seems to own it. On this edition of Portside, Burt talks with Michael Lind, Policy Director of New America's Economic Growth Program and many questions are answered. Some Democrats get it, but most do not.

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The international community refused to recognize the coup of June 28th, which ousted the elected president of Honduras. On November 29th an election was held, but most nations do not recognize it as legitimate. On this Portside, Burt Cohen gets the lowdown on the realities on the ground in Honduras from Vicki Gass of the washington Office on Latin America. What does all this mean for US relations with Latin America?

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In the first half, Burt speaks with Mike Madden, Washington correspondent for Salon, about his observations of the mood at the recent meeting of the Republican Governors Association. In part two, Burt speaks with political consultant Robert Creamer who sheds some light on the Trigger option now being considered in the senate health care reform debate.

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National security: What are our tax dollars buying? Are we really securing our nation? What about jobs for Americans? On this Portside, Burt talks with Heidi Garrett-Peltier, co-author of a new report on US employment effects of military and domestic priorities.

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As part of the House-passed health care reform bill, an amendment was added which many say is the most serious erosion of reproductive rights since the Hyde Amendment back in 1976. On this Portside, Burt Cohen looks at what it really means for women, with his guest Jodi Jacobson of Reproductive Rights Reality Check.

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If military victory in Afghanistan is impossible, what strategy might work in our favor there? Burt's guest Ralph Lopez, director of the Afghan Marshall Plan Exit Strategy describes what he thinks will work and what's being done to make it reality.

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 So-called fiscal conservatives worry about the deficit. But on this Portside, Evan Pollack of the Economic Policy Institute argues deficit spending is exactly what our economy needs, for both short and long term recovery. And it can't be nickeled and dimed.

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All political analysts recognize the women of Afghanistan are the key to peace and stability in the region. Burt's guest on this edition of Portside is Jodie Evans, co-founder of Code Pink, who personally presented a petition to President Obama from women of Afghanistan. Evans says life has not improved for women under US occupation.

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Could the tea party activists be the undoing of any Republican surge?
While seeming to breathe new life into the party, they're also waging war on some party-picked candidates. On the first half of Portside, Burt Cohen analyzes this turn of events with Lawrence Jacobs, director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance and the University of Minnesota.
And on part two, Burt delves into the politics of the public option discussion with Newsweek reporter Robert Parry, the investigative journalist who uncovered Oliver North's role in the Iran-Contra scandal.

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On this Portside, Burt Cohen talks with Eric Bohlert contributing editor to Rolling Stone and a senior fellow at Media Matters for America about something new in American politics: the press becoming the opposition political party. Of course we're talking about Fox News. What does this mean for the role of the press as the fourth estate?

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Pulitzer Prize winning author Jane Smiley is Burt's guest on this edition. She recently wrote "Other Economists In The Room," on the Huffington Post in response to a piece by Paul Krugman. Economists, she argues, are missing the point regarding genuine economic recovery

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Writing on Huffington Post, the New America Foundation's Steven Hill suggests that Obama may lack the power to realize the change Americans voted for. Of course Obama is no LBJ, but on this Portside, it seems apparent that the structure of American government itself works to stifle real change.

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According to San francisco Professor Stehen Zunes, History demonstrates the power of active, non-violent resistance. On this Portside, Burt speaks with Zunes on it's applicability today. What are the factors which lead to real power for resistance movements?  At what point do such actions achieve success?

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Not all wealthy Americans are possessed by greed. On this Portside, Burt Cohen talks with Oscar Meyer heir Chuck Collins who is heading up a new organization called Wealth for the Common Good. They are pushing to repeal the Bush tax cuts on the wealthiest. Many recognize they pay less than their fair share and are urging the Obama Administration to correct the inequities and enhance the country's economic security.

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The political and social divide in America is the greatest since Vietnam.
On this Portside, Burt Cohen interviews Daniel Miller, president of the Texas Nationalist Movement. "Sovereignty or Secession" is their chant.
Should the currently united states have another opportunity to divide, this time peacefully? Is devolution, self-government, inevitable?

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Huffington Post columnist Robert Creamer (author of How Progressives Can Win) talks with Burt about what the childishness of the current crop of fringe disruptors means for the GOP. Will this become their new identity, how much risk to Republicans, and to Democrats?

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Americans Who Tell the Truth is the name of Robert Shetterly's portrait series. In this Portside, Burt Cohen and Shetterly look into what it means that neither President Obam nor the Democrats stood in the way of a 21st century lynching of Van Jones. what are the implications? who's next on the right's hit list?

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 Now that pro-choice Obama is president, the anti-choice movement is reeling. Jodi Jacobson, senior political editor of RH Reality Check talks about new realities, at the federal and state level on this issue.

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Americans voted for real change last November. In this Portside  Peace Action's National Director Kevin Martin talks with Burt about how much change there is or is not. Are the weapons contractors still setting policy, or have we begun to change course?

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Most Americans were shocked the horrific images of Abu Ghraib, but Alfred McCoy was not.  He’s been following the Central Intelligence Agency since the early 1970s, when it tried to stop the publication of his book, The Politics of Heroin: CIA Complicity in the Global Drug Trade. As soon as McCoy saw the images, his reaction was recognition. In this discussion with Burt Cohen, McCoy talks about the CIA's pioneering research into methods of psychological torture.  The photos from Abu Ghraib were no aberration: they represent policy out of the CIA's several-decade-old torture playbook. What happens to the perpetrators of torture? Listen in to this edition of Portside.

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On this Portside, Burt dicusses the roots of the health insurance reform debate with UMass economics professor Richard Wolff, who argues the trend has been our govenrment answering to big money interests more and more. Yet he believes the Blue Dogs might still be turned to listen to the people. Wolff also argues that national health is cheaper and better for private enterprise.

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Standing in the way of Obama's health insurance reform are the Blue Dogs, a group of conservative Democrats in Congress. On this edition of portside, Burt talks with Donna Smith, legislative advocate for the California Nurses Association about who the Blue Dogs are really working for and what they really aim to achieve.

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Here  he comes to save the day!  Not Mighty Mouse, Dennis Kucinich. On the first part of this Portside, columnist Joshua Holland explains the Ohio congressman’s plan (with bipartisan support) to save single payer health care by enabling states to enact their own single payer health care plans. And on part two you’ll learn about the Hopscotch Terrorists: Four Californians on trial for violating the  Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act. Their crime; passing out leaflets and writing in chalk on the sidewalk. A spokesman for the Center for Constitutional Rights explains this is no joke.

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Is the American Clean Energy and Security Act a good first step or does it effectively lock pollution in place? On the first half of this edition of Portside, Burt Cohen talks with Jesse Jenkins of the Breakthrough Institute about the questionable good of the Waxman-Markey bill now headed to the Senate. On the second half, Burt looks at CaliforniaTV stations pulling the plug on ads advocating taxing marijuana to ease the massive state budget deficit.

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The House-passed Waxman-Markey Bill may do little to cut emmissions and create green jobs in America, but wall St stands to gain a lot. Burt Cohen talks with Teryn Norris of the Breaktrough Institute on the first half. In part two, Burt talks with Author Leslie Savan about the odd love affair between the neo-cons and Iran's Ahmadinijad.

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At last gay couples are gaining the right to marry. But given how often marriage is sexless and oppressive to the individuals involved, others are wondering: Is it time to rethink the whole institution?  On this edition of Portside Burt Cohen talks with author Amanda Marcotte about the myth and uniquely American fascination and obsession with marriage .

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Have you had it with creeping centralization? Bugged that your tax dollars are being used to prop up bigness? Well there may be an answer. On this edition of Portside, Burt Cohen talks with author Paul Starobin, whose article "Divided We Stand" appeared recently in the Wall Street Journal. We're talking about real devolution, America breaking up into more realistic groupings, new voluntary associations of states. Starobin suggests new regional governments may be inevitable with the collapse of the top heavy US economy.

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With the political and cultural demise of America's right wing evangelicals, what next for the Christian church? On this edition of  Portside, Burt Cohen speaks with Rev. Scot McKnight, internationally known speaker and professor of religious studies to talk about what he calls the Emerging Movement of the 21st century church.

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In the 1990s, the president and Democrats in Congress rubber stamped billions in aid for Israel, not matter what. On this Portside, Burt Cohen talks with Stephen Zunes, chair of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of San Francisco and senior policy analyst for Foreign Policy In Focus. Progressives can't blame Bush for this one; the Clinton administration, with the support of Congressional Democrats, made possible the dramatic expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and thus made chances for peace much worse.

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Candidate Barack Obama made closing the prison camp at Guantanamo one of his first priorities. Now he and the Democrats seem to be dithering. On this edition of Portside, Burt Cohen talks with Rolling Stone columnist Mat Taibbi about Obama and the Democrats looking Bush-ish to the world. And speaking of changes in the world, in the second half, Burt speaks with reporter Jay Hartling in San Salvadorl. She was present at the inauguration of El Salvador's first left wing President Mauricio Funes, who was with the FMLN in their long war against the American-backed government.

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Afraid to be called flip-floppers, many politicans act on beliefs instead of new realities. On today's Portside, Burt Cohen talks with philosophy and logic professor John Kozy about the friction between old mindsets and new challenges, and how this endangers America's emergence from the recession

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It looks like the US senate is about to make the global economic downturn worse...with your tax dollars. On this edition of Portside, Burt Cohen first talks with economist Mark Weisbrot about the plan to slip over a hundred billion of our dollars to the International Monetary Fund. And on the second half, Burt talks with author Paula Crossfield about why she says unfettered capitalism is bad for your diet and America's health.

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Ann Jones, author of Kabul in Winter, is Burt's guest. She spent years in Afghanistan and reveals much about realities on the ground and what's in store for what's become Obama's war.

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Will Obama End the War on Drugs? On this edition of Portside, Burt's guest is Peter Christ,  a twenty year police veteran of the drug war and now a spokesperson for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. What are the changes we can expect? Could the federal government actually be coming to its senses?

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Finally there seems to be agreement we need to reduce carbon emissions. On the next Portside, Burt Cohen looks at the prospect of a carbon tax. Polluting industries oppose a tax on carbon emissions and mainstream environmental groups seek to compromise by stopping with a cap and trade system. But will that get the job done? Is a carbon tax too drastic?
Tune in to find out what this may mean for you.

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Has the tide turned? Equal marriage rights seem to be sweeping the country, and New Hampshire is close, very close. On this edition of  Portside, Burt Cohen talks with Mo Baxley, head of the Freedom to Marry Coalition. Why isn't civil union good enough? And perhaps most interesting, why are the opponents so desperately afraid of equal marriage?

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On this Portside, Burt Cohen and Huffington Post analyst Adele Stan look at what's behind the populist anger in the recent Tea Parties. And how well is President Obama navigating the terrain? Join Burt Cohen and Adele Stan as they figure it all out.

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For the last 75 years or so, when you say the word "Socialism" nearly everyone recoils.  But now, according to sports historian David Zirin "Socialism's all the rage."  Oddly enough, it's the right wing which is creating a new interest in what the word really means. On this Portside, Burt Cohen pries open the veil of fear to examine what Socialism might really mean for America.

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A new report says Israel deliberately targeted civilians--including
people holding white flags of surrender-- during its war on Gaza.
On this edition of Portside, Burt Cohen's guest is Huwaida Arraf, one of the
primary authors of the just-released report by the National Lawyers
Guild. Will Israel participate in a UN investigation? What happens if they don't? What can America do?

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President Obama just announced a new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan.
On this edition of Portside, Burt Cohen talks with PJ O'Brien, of Votevets.org about why American veterans of the Afghanistan war are so strongly supportive of the president's new, not just military, approach to the region. Can it really prevent another Vietnam?

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Proponents of nuclear power always point to France, where about 80% of electricity comes from atomic fission. But not all is well in the land of wine and cheese. Onthis edition of  Portside, Burt Cohen talks with  Linda Gunter, co-founder of Beyond Nuclear about significant radiological and other environmental damage in France. On this, the 30th anniversary of Three Mile Island.

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The new depression is shaking everything up. Some on the left say they've been right all along. And that Adam Smith is now officially dead and that Marx is resurrected. On this edition of Portside, Burt Cohen talks with socialist author Ashley Smith who argues that Marx's ideas are more relevant today than ever.

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In the face of an ever-deepening and widening recession, the debate about spreading the wealth, which began in the 2008 campaign, promises to escalate. The disparity in wealth has never been greater and there's a new push to actually address this long-term, systemic problem.  On this edition of Portside Burt Cohen talks with Lew Daly, co-author of "Unjust Deserts: How the Rich are Taking Our Common Inheritance and Why We Should Take it Back."

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Might there actually be some benefits to come from America's new depression?  On this edition of Portside, Burt Cohen talks with Benjamin Barber, whose lead story in a recent issue of The Nation suggests now may be a moment in history when we start to rethink the dominance of the market over the public good. Could this be the time when we start to shake off our national dependence on massive mindless consumerism and create a more sustainable economic system?

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It was an all out war in Gaza. Not all Jews, in America or in Israel, support Israel's hawkishness. On this edition of Portside, Burt Cohen talks with Rabbi Hersh Lowenthal, spokesperson for Jews Against Zionism, who argues the State of Israel has no connection with Jews or Judaism. In fact, these ultra-conservative Jews see Zionism as harmful to Jews around the world.

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It's here in America! Be very very afraid. It's called European SOCIALISM!! Are you scared yet? On this edition of Portside, Burt Cohen looks at what it is the Republicans are trying to make you so afraid of. Burt's guest is John Feffer, co-director of Foreign Policy in Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies. European Socialism: what is it?

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Who was the greatest American president? Everyone knows it was Abraham Lincoln whose 200th birthday we celebrated in February 2009. But in this edition of  Portside, Burt Cohen talks with Thomas DiLorenzo, author of The Real Lincoln about the more controversial aspects of our 16th president: was the war against the South really necessary? Why was it so crucial to save the union? Did Lincoln change the very nature of America's government?

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It used to be only the most extreme in Israel advocated expulsion of its Arab citizens from their homes. On this edition of Portside, Burt Cohen talks with University of California foreign policy analyst Conn Hallinan about the new, more widely accepted racism in the Zionist state.

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Should Americans expect real change in military and foreign policy under Obama?

George McGovern thinks there are reasons to be hopeful.

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Far from being ended by the war against the South, slavery became more widespread and brutal after the Civil War. And it continued until World War II. (You can also listen to the full hour interview with Douglas Blackmon.)

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Is America finally starting to emerge from the dark ages of the drug war? On this segment, Burt speaks with author Charles Shaw regarding new scientific inquiries into possible psychological benefits of the controlled use of LSD and other psychedelic drugs.

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He put Charles Manson in jail. In a new book, VINCENT BUGLIOSI tells why George W. Bush should be prosecuted for murder.

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Former Nixon White House strategist KEVIN PHILLIPS talks about his new book: "Bad Money; Reckless finance, Failed Politics and the Global Crisis of American Capitalism."

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Did Franklin Roosevelt miss a chance to scare the Nazis off? Burt talks with author DOMINIC TIERNEY about his new book "FDR and the Spanish Civil War."

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Everyone knows the South was defeated in its effort to secede from the north. But on today's Portside, Burt Cohen talks with Louisiana's DONNIE KENNEDY, a leader of what's called the League of the South. While he is on the political right, at a recent secessionist convention, Kennedy found much in common with people on the left.

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Everyone knows the South was defeated in its effort to secede from the north. But on today's Portside, Burt Cohen talks with Louisiana's DONNIE KENNEDY, a leader of what's called the League of the South. While he is on the political right, at a recent secessionist convention, Kennedy found much in common with people on the left.

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KIRKPATRICK SALE, head of a new separatist think tank, explains why secession from the Union is an idea whose time is coming again.

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