Coming From Left Field (Audio): Recent Episodes

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Welcome to Coming From Left Field, a conversation about politics, books, and current events.

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In this podcast, we discuss Greg's article "Obscene Wealth" from MLToday, based on Gabriel Zucman's research on U.S. wealth inequality. Zucman reveals that in 2024, the wealth of the top 0.00001% (19 households) increased by $1 trillion, surpassing Switzerland’s GDP. The top 10% possess 67% of the wealth, while the bottom 50% hold just 3%, leading to economic and political marginalization. The article argues that capitalism inherently concentrates wealth, reinforcing class divisions between capital owners and workers.

A few topics we cover in our conversation include:

  • Why wealth inequality is worse than income inequality—and how it strangles democracy.
  • The death of the middle class: From thriving factory towns to hollowed-out economies.
  • Cold War secrets: How post-WWII prosperity was a fluke (and why it collapsed).
  • Why both Democrats & Republicans serve the ultra-rich (hint: lobbyists, gerrymandering, and media control).
  • Possible answer: Replacing capitalism with socialism is presented as a viable solution.

Article in MLToday: https://mltoday.com/obscene-wealth/

Greg’s Blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

Pat’s Substack: https://patcummings.substack.com/about

Obscene Wealth #Wealth Inequality #Billionaires #Late Stage Capitalism #Robber Barons #1Percent #Oligarchy #Marxist Analysis #Rust Belt #Working Class #Leftist Podcast #Economic Justice #Jeff Bezos #Elon Musk #Dark Money#Rust Belt #Democracy In Decline#Leftist Podcast##Pat Cummings#Greg Godels#ZZ Blog#Coming From Left Field#CFLF#Podcast#zzblog#mltoday

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In this podcast we discuss Greg’s recent article in MLToday: “Antonio Gramsci: Theirs and Ours.”

Gramsci, an Italian Marxist philosopher, theorized that ruling classes maintain power through cultural hegemony—controlling institutions like media, education, and religion to shape societal norms. Surprisingly, today’s far-right (e.g., Steve Bannon, Christopher Rufo, Marine Le Pen) has weaponized Gramsci’s ideas, using his playbook to dominate politics by attacking "wokeness," reshaping schools, and leveraging media.

Meanwhile, the left has fragmented into identity politics, failing to unite around class struggle or build a counter-hegemonic movement. Gramsci’s lesson is clear: to challenge authoritarianism, progressives must reclaim cultural institutions and prioritize collective working-class solidarity over divisive individualism. The right understands this; the left must relearn it.

Article in MLToday: https://mltoday.com/antonio-gramsci-theirs-and-ours/

Greg’s Blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

Pat’s Substack: https://patcummings.substack.com/about

MLToday#Theirs and Ours#Antonio Gramsci#Steve Bannon#Christopher Rufo#Marine Le Pen#Javier Milei#Giorgia Meloni#Mussolini#Lenin#Karl Marx#Eric Hobsbawm#Cultural Hegemony#Marxism-Leninism#Class Struggle#Identity Politics#Manufacturing Consent (Chomsky)#Intersectionality#Critical Race Theory (CRT)#Far-Right Populism#MAGA Movement#Project 2025#Neofascism#Wokeness#Media Propaganda#Left’s Fragmentation#Right’s Cultural Offensive#Liberalism’s Failures#Academic Elitism#Transgender Rights Debate#)#Pat Cummings#Greg Godels#ZZ Blog#Coming FromLeftField#Coming From Left Field#zzblog#mltoday

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Our podcast features Stephen Gowans, a Canadian political analyst, author, and activist known for his anti-imperialist and socialist views on U.S. foreign policy, capitalism, and Western interventionism.

Gowans authored The Killer's Henchman: Capitalism and the Covid-19 Disaster (2022), Israel, A Beachhead in the Middle East (2019), Patriots, Traitors and Empires (2018), and Washington's Long War on Syria (2017).

His blog, “What’s Left,” critiques Western dominance, corporate media, and capitalism from an anti-imperialist and class struggle perspective.

This discussion examines U.S. foreign policy, media influence, and the challenges faced by the left in addressing capitalism. Gowans suggests a focus on Marxist-Leninist principles centered on working-class efforts rather than performative activism.

What’s Left Blog: https://gowans.blog/

Follow Stephen on twitter: @GowansStephen

Greg’s Blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

Pat’s Substack: https://patcummings.substack.com/about

Stephen Gowans#What's Left#Whats Left#Canada#Trump Tarriff#Anti-imperialism#Anti-capitalism#Marxism-Leninism#Socialism#Neoliberalism#Economic sanctions#Class struggle#Cuba blockade#Venezuela sanctions#Korean War#Media manipulation#Project Esther#Corporate media bias#Heritage Foundation#Noam Chomsky#Bolsheviks3Pandemic & capitalism (COVID-19)#Pat Cummings#Greg Godels#ZZ Blog#Podcast#Coming FromLeftField#Coming From Left Field#zzblog#mltoday#Killers Henchman# Israel A Beachhead in the Middle East# Patriots Traitors and Empires

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In this podcast, our guest is Peter Byrne, a national and international award-winning investigative reporter and science writer. His works have been published in Scientific American, Wired, Mother Jones, and New Scientist. In partnership with Project Censored, Byrne has launched Military AI Watch, a groundbreaking ten-part series that will run monthly on the Project Censored website.

This exposé reveals the manifold dangers of developing AI applications for military purposes and how the public has been kept in the dark about these efforts, which present potentially disastrous consequences for the world, while promising a financial bonanza to wealthy investors. Byrne has spent the last two years conducting in-depth research for this series and is at work on a database of selected AI weapons companies and their investors. This collaboration between Project Censored and Peter Byrne provides much-needed attention to an issue that has a profound public impact and has been under-reported for too long.

Follow Military AI Watch on Project Censored: https://www.projectcensored.org/military-ai-watch/

Peter Byrnes Website: https://www.peterbyrne.info/

Greg’s Blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

Pat’s Substack: https://patcummings.substack.com/about

Peter Byrnes#Military AI Watch#Project Censored#Andy Lee Roth#Mickey Huff#One Ring to Rule Them All#Stargate Fiasco#Data Centers#Gold Award#ChatGPT#CoPilot#DeepSeek#Wheres Daddy#Lavender#Artificial Intelligence#Predictive Policing#Military Industrial Complex#Peter Andreas#Peter Thiel#Palantir#Boeing#Lockhead Martin#Rathion#Northrop Grumman#Artificial Intelligence#SandboxAQ#Elon Musk#SpaceX#JADC2#OpenAI#Anduril#Iran Dress Codes#Pat Cummings#Greg Godels#ZZ Blog#Podcast#Coming FromLeftField#Coming From Left Field#zzblog#mltoday

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In this podcast, our guest is Malcolm Harris, the author of the national bestseller “Palo Alto: A History of California, Capitalism, and the World,” a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Today we discuss his latest book, “What’s Left: Three Paths Through the Planetary Crisis,” an ambitious work that explores political strategy, alliances, and antagonisms necessary to confront existential threats like climate change and societal collapse. It critiques capitalism's role in these crises and proposes three strategic paths for a viable future: Market Craft, Public Power, and Communism.

Climate crisis demands rapid action and Harris rejects defeatism. He offers hope that the left must organize across differences and confront the systemic obstacles built into our politics and economic system that support the status quo rather than change. In What's Left, Malcolm Harris cuts through the noise and gets real about our remaining options for saving the world.

Order the book: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/malcolm-harris/whats-left/9780316577434

Website: malcolmharris.substack.com

Twitter: @BigMeanInternet

For those in Philadelphia, a holistic nonsectarian events calendar for the Philly Left. Book events and film screenings, organizing meetings and skill shares: https://philacal.com

Greg’s Blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

Pat’s Substack: https://patcummings.substack.com/about

Malcolm Harris#Philacal#Kids These Days#Shit is Fucked Up and Bullshit#Santa Cruz#Philidephia#planetary crisis#public power#Verso Books#What's Left#Whats Left#Global Warming#Market Craft#Communism#Greta Thunberg#Pat Cummings#Greg Godels#ZZ Blog#Podcast#Coming FromLeftField#Coming From Left Field#zzblog#mltoday

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In this podcast, our guest is Nicholas H. Wolfinger, a professor of sociology at the University of Utah, specializing in family demography, marriage and divorce, and social inequality. We discuss his recent book, “Professors Speak Out: The Truth about Campus Investigations,” which examines the often opaque and controversial processes surrounding campus investigations into faculty misconduct, particularly those involving Title IX, discrimination, and other institutional policies. Drawing on firsthand accounts from professors who have undergone such investigations, Dr. Wolfinger highlights concerns about due process, transparency, and the potential for reputational harm—even in cases where allegations are unfounded or politically motivated. We discuss that accountability is necessary; however, current investigative systems frequently fail to balance fairness for both accusers and the accused. He calls for reforms to ensure greater transparency, impartiality, and faculty involvement in designing investigative procedures.

Order the book: https://www.kingsbookstore.com/book/9781680535570

Greg’s Blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

Pat’s Substack: https://patcummings.substack.com/about

nick Wolfinger#Nicolas Wolfinger#Professors Speak Out#Academic freedom#Campus investigations#Faculty rights#University policies#Higher education controversies#Due process in academia#Title IX investigations#Bias in campus investigations#Faculty grievances#Tenure disputes#Free speech on campus#Legal challenges in academia#Pat Cummings#Greg Godels#ZZ Blog#Podcast#Coming FromLeftField#Coming From Left Field#zzblog#mltoday

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In this podcast, our guest is Russell Razzaque, M.D., a practicing psychiatrist based in London, England. He earned his medical degree from the University of London and is a member of the UK Royal College of Psychiatrists. Dr Razzaque is also a writer and media commentator. He has written numerous columns across various publications, including The Guardian, The Telegraph, and The Independent. He regularly provides psychological opinions on international television news channels, including the BBC and SKY. He is particularly interested in US politics, and his contributions to the US media include op-ed pieces for The Wall Street Journal and USA Today.

Just a few months ago, he began a YouTube channel that explores progressive politics, philosophical insights, and mental health perspectives on politics, economics, and current events.

Dr. Razzaque’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@russrazz/featured

Greg’s Blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

Pat’s Substack: https://patcummings.substack.com/about

Dr Russell Razzaque#Razzaque# psychiatrist# London#Trump#Open Dialogue# Authoritarianism in America# Adolescence NetFlix# Christriantiy#MAGA#Trump Enablers#Russell Razzaque YouTube#Mindfulness#Psychiatry#Mental health awareness#Breaking Down is Waking Up book#Toxic Masculinity# #Pat Cummings#Greg Godels#ZZ Blog#Podcast#Coming FromLeftField#Coming From Left Field#zzblog#mltoday

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In this podcast, our guest is Sarah Kendzior, the best-selling author of “The View From Fly Over Country, “Hiding In Plain Sight,” and “They Knew.” Her latest book, “The Last American Road Trip: A Memoir,” is part political history and part memoir, but it is mostly a great road trip romp with her family across the United States before it is too late.

Kendzior has a PhD in anthropology from Washington University in St. Louis, where she studied authoritarian regimes of the former Soviet Union. After getting her PhD in 2012, Kendzior spent a decade writing about the decline of the United States for various publications around the world. She lives with her husband and kids in St. Louis.

Order the Book: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250879882/thelastamericanroadtrip/

Subscribe to Sarah’s Substack Newsletter: https://sarahkendzior.substack.com/

Greg’s Blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

Pat’s Substack: https://patcummings.substack.com/about

Sarah Kendzior#Last American Road Trip# American road trip#Political corruption#Trump kleptocracy# Authoritarianism in America# Surveillance capitalism# Conspiracy culture. Media disinformation# Midwest flyover country#They Knew# Hiding in plain site#Paywall censorship#Route 66 nostalgia#FBI watchlists#Paywall censorship#ransnational organized crime#Pat Cummings#Greg Godels#ZZ Blog#Podcast#Coming FromLeftField#Coming From Left Field#zzblog#mltoday

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In this podcast, our guest is Jim Painter, who spent 40 years in the newspaper business as a reporter and photojournalist and ended his career as managing editor of Phoenix’s West Valley View newspaper, published twice a week with a circulation of 80,000.

Jim was one of the first guests on our podcast four years ago. Then we talked about the state of the media, its evolution, biases, and challenges.

Today, we continued to discuss the media landscape that is controlled by a handful of conglomerates, shrinking independent outlets, staff cuts, dominance of Right-Wing consolidation, and declining revenues.

But there may be a ray of hope with independent journalism, challenging the dominance of traditional newspapers, offering alternative perspectives, and better adapting to the digital age.

We also review Jim’s new book, “Crossroad of Change,” a collection of his photos from his time in the 1980s and 1990s when he chronicled the pivotal decade of growth and development in the Phoenix Southwest Valley. Jim is a remarkable photographer, not just when he was a newspaper photojournalist, but also today.

Google Photo Album of some pictures mentioned: https://photos.app.goo.gl/6eNnK3EJrzUY97aK9

Visit Jim Painter’s art: https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/jim-painter

Order the book: https://www.amazon.com/Crossroads-Images-decade-change-Southwest/dp/B0DJJWHRVZ/

Greg’s Blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

Pat’s Substack: https://patcummings.substack.com/about

Jim Painter#Crossroads of Change#Meida#West Valley View newspaper #Alternaive Media#Newspaper decline#Phonenix history#John McCain#Goodyear#Litchfield Heritiage Center#Barry Goldwater#Luke AFB#Charles Keating##Pat Cummings#Greg Godels#ZZ Blog#Podcast#Coming FromLeftField#Coming From Left Field#zzblog#mltoday

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In this podcast, Dan Kovalik shares what's really happening in Syria after a recent trip to the country and their new “de facto” government brought to power in large part by U.S. The fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad ended a 53-year dynasty that began with his father. In Syria, the U.S. has now reaped what it has sown as the new leader, Abu Mohammad al-Julani, takes charge, a former member of ISIS.

Dan Kovalik visited the country in the latter part of January to see for himself what Syria is like under the new regime. He had something to compare this to as he had visited Syria twice back in 2021 when it was still under the leadership of Bashar al-Assad.

Dan Kovalik is a human and labor rights lawyer and peace activist. He graduated from Columbia Law School in 1993 and then began a 26-year career as the in-house counsel of the United Steelworkers AFL-CIO. Kovalik has also frequently commented on and contributed to various media outlets, sharing his perspectives on international affairs, human rights issues, and U.S. foreign policy. He has authored eight books over the last seven years. His most recent book is “The Case for Palestine.”

Greg’s MLToday Article:
https://mltoday.com/a-return-to-basics-rasmus-the-neoliberal-turn-and-exploitation/

Pat’s Substack:
https://patcummings.substack.com/

DanKovalik#CaseForPalestine#GazaStrip#Isreal#WestBank#Genocide#Syria#alJulani#TripSyria#USSanctions#EthnicCleansing#Holocost#Kakba#Hamas#Zionists#Chomsky#StephenGowans#JefferySachs#AlJazeera#ISIS#CivilRights#MiddleEast#WarCrimes#PatCummings#GregGodels#ZZBlog#ComingFromLeftField#ComingFromLeftFieldPodcast#zzblog#mltoday

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In this podcast, Zoltán Grossman discusses his book, “Unlikely Alliances: Native Nations and White Communities Join to Defend Rural Lands,” which explores the surprising alliances between Native American tribes and white ranchers, farmers, and fishers who historically competed over natural resources, came together to protect their shared environment from external threats like mining, dams, and pipelines.

Zoltán Grossman is known for his work in Native American and Indigenous Studies within the field of geography. He focuses on the intersections of racial and ethnic nationhood, natural resources, militarism, and settler colonialism. His research emphasizes social movement alliances, environmental justice, and decolonization.

Order the books:

“Unlikely Alliances: Native Nations and White Communities Join to Defend Rural Lands”

https://orcabooks.com/book/9780295741529

Zoltán Grossman Social Media:

Website: https://sites.evergreen.edu/zoltan

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zoltan.grossman

Greg’s Blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

Pat’s Substack: https://patcummings.substack.com/about

ZoltánGrossman#ZoltanGrossman#BoldtDecision#BretWeinsien#BenjamanBoyce#EvergreenStateCollege#Evergreen#EnvironmentalAlliances#KeystonXL#fishery#Dinali#GulfofMexico#GulfofAmeria#Greenland#Trump#SalishSea#SettlerColonalism#DoctrineofDiscovery#Crossculturalcooperation#Indigenousrights#BlackLivesMatter#BLM##PatCummings#PatrickCummings#GregGodels#ZZBlog#ComingFromLeftField#ComingFromLeftFieldPodcast#zzblog#mltoday

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In this podcast, Jesse Hagopian discusses his recent book, ““Teaching Truth: The Struggle for Antiracist Education,” a powerful call to action to defend honest education in the face of increasing censorship, attacks on teachers, the destructive Project 2025 playbook, and constant pressures to dismantle our public education system. Hagopian argues that the struggle for a liberatory education is crucial for democracy and challenges the status quo by highlighting the importance of teaching truth and resisting efforts to regulate knowledge

Jesse Hagopian is an award-winning educator and a prominent voice on educational equity, social justice unionism, and the school-to-prison pipeline. He teaches Ethnic Studies at Seattle's Garfield High School and is known for his activism against standardized testing.

Order the books:

“Teach Truth: The Struggle for Antiracist Education” https://www.kingsbookstore.com/book/9798888902516

Jesse Hagopian Social Media:

Website: https://iamaneducator.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JessedHagopian

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessehagopian

Rethinking School Magazine: https://rethinkingschools.org/magazine/

Black Lives Matter at School: https://www.blacklivesmatteratschool.com/

Teaching for Black Lives: https://rethinkingschools.org/books/teaching-for-black-lives/

Zinn Education Project: https://www.zinnedproject.org/

Greg’s Blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

Pat’s Substack: https://patcummings.substack.com/about

TeachTruth#LindaMcMahon#ChristopherRufo#JesseHagopia#DemocracyNow#AntiracistEducation#RacialJustice#EducationalEquity#CriticalRaceTheory#SocialJustice#BlackLivesMatter#BLM#ZinnProject##EthnicStudies#PublicEducation#Censorship#EducationalActivism#SystemicRacism#TeachingforLiberation#HistoricalAccuracy#DemocracyinEducation#UncritialRaceTheory#howardZinn#MelissaTemple#Rainbowland##BlackHistoryMonth#PatCummings#PatrickCummings#GregGodels#ZZBlog#ComingFromLeftField#ComingFromLeftFieldPodcast#zzblog#mltoday

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n this podcast, Aran Shetterly discusses his recent book, “Morningside: The 1979 Greensboro Massacre and the Struggle for an American City's Soul,” a recounting of all but forgotten, though no less shocking, 1979 racial tragedy that divided Greensboro, North Carolina and then the nation. The book details how a caravan of Klansmen and Neo-Nazis attacked a procession of protestors, resulting in the deaths of five people. This event, known as the Greensboro Massacre, highlights the racial conflict, economic anxiety, and clashes of ideologies that were prevalent at the time.

Aran Shetterly is a writer, editor, and narrative historian. He received numerous fellowships, including the Virginia Humanities Fellowship and the National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship. He holds a BA in Literature from Harvard College and an MA in American Studies.

Mentioned in the podcast:

Nelson Johnson | Beloved Community Center
https://belovedcommunitycenter.squarespace.com/rev-nelson-n-johnson

Video | Greensboro Massacre
https://youtu.be/Ia8qiglxscw

Greg’s article on Lorraine Hansberry | MLToday
https://mltoday.com/lorraine-hansberry-never-to-be-forgotten-a-life-too-short/

Order the books:

“Morningside: The 1979 Greensboro Massacre and the Struggle for an American City's Soul”

https://www.harpercollins.com/products/morningside-aran-shetterly

"The Americano: Fighting with Castro for Cuba’s Freedom"
https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/aran-shetterly/the-americano/9781565128521/

Magazine: Inside Mexico
https://www.inside-mexico.com

Aran Shetterly Social Media:

X: @aranshetterly
Website: https://www.aranshetterly.com/

Greg’s Blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

Pat’s Substack: https://patcummings.substack.com/about

AaronShetterly#Morningside#1979GreensboroMassacre#GreensboroMassacre#MargoLeeShetterly#HiddenFigures#CivilRightsMovement#LaborRights#KuKluxKlan#KKK#SocialJustice#RacialViolence#CommunistWorksParty#NelsonJohnson#BelovedCommunityCenter#AmericanNazis#DeathToTheKlan#LorraineHansberry#RasinInTheSun#NeoNazis#1979#BlackHistoryMonth#PatCummings#PatrickCummings#GregGodels#ZZBlog#ComingFromLeftField#ComingFromLeftFieldPodcast#zzblog#mltoday

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In this podcast, Alan MacLeod discusses his recent books and journalism. Dr. Macleod completed his PhD in Sociology at Glasgow University focusing on research interests of social media, Internet subcultures, propaganda, fake news, and Latin American politics. He is a prolific journalist and has contributed to FAIR.org, The Guardian, Salon, The Grayzone, Jacobin Magazine, and MintPress News.

His most recent books include:

“Bad News from Venezuela: Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting,” which examines how Western media has reported on Venezuela since the election of President Hugo Chavez in 1998 including coverage that is often distorted and contributes to the spread of misinformation and "fake news" in support or the US imperialism and hegemony.

"Propaganda in the Information Age: Still Manufacturing Consent" is a collaborative volume that updates Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky's propaganda model for the modern media landscape. The book explores how the original ideas from their 1988 book, "Manufacturing Consent," remain relevant today.

Order the books:

Bad News from Venezuela
https://www.kingsbookstore.com/book/9781032178752

Propaganda in the Information Age
https://www.kingsbookstore.com/book/9781138366404

Alan MacLeods Social Media:

Instagram: @alan.r.macleod

X: @AlanRMacLeod

MintPress News: https://www.mintpressnews.com/author/alan-macleod/

Greg’s Blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

Pat’s Substack: https://patcummings.substack.com/about

AlanMacLeod#MintPressNews#BadNewsfromVenezuela#PropagandaInformationAge#Venezuela#FakeNews#Misreporting#MediaBias#HugoChavez#Neoliberalism#WesternMedia#Journalism#PropagandaModel#Chavismo#MediaStudies#LatinAmerican#NoamChomsky#EdwardHerman#Disinformation#Cambridge#Analytica#SyrianCivilWar#Russiagate#MediaFilters#egirls#LunchBagLujan#Jolani#PhillipCross#8200#PatCummings#PatrickCummings#GregGodels#ZZBlog#ComingFromLeftField#ComingFromLeftFieldPodcast#zzblog#mltoday

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In this podcast, Michelle Phelps discusses her book, “Minneapolis Reckoning- Race, Violence & the Politics of Policing in America,” which traces the history of the Minneapolis Police Department, from its founding through to the murder of George Floyd and subsequent reforms. Phelps provides a vivid picture of the possibilities and limits of challenging police power, showing how the dual meaning of the police—as both a promise of state protection and a threat of state violence—creates complex politics that thwart change.

Michelle S. Phelps is a Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Minnesota. Her research focuses on the sociology of punishment, particularly the rise of probation supervision as a criminal justice sanction and its relationship to mass incarceration. She has published extensively in interdisciplinary peer-reviewed journals and co-authored the book "Breaking the Pendulum: The Long Struggle Over Criminal Justice" with Philip Goodman and Joshua Page.

Order the book:

Minneapolis Reckoning- Race, Violence & the Politics of Policing in America by Michelle S. Phelps
https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691245980/the-minneapolis-reckoning

Greg’s Blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

Pat’s Substack: https://patcummings.substack.com/about

MichellePhelps#MichelleSPhelps#PoliceReform#BlackLivesMatter#BLM#MPD#PoliceReform#Chauvin#GeorgeFloyd#GunViolence#Powderhorn#OverPolice#CURA#CommunityPolicing#DeeschalationTraining#BodyCamera#PolitcalActivism#ViolencePrevention#CAHOOTS#CUAPB#MinneapolisPolice#ViolenceInteruptionProgram#waronpoverty#KernerReport#PatCummings#PatrickCummings#GregGodels#ZZBlog#ComingFromLeftField#ComingFromLeftFieldPodcast#zzblog#mltoday

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In this podcast, Tariq Ali discusses the second volume in his memoir series, following “Street Fighting Years.” The book, “You Can’t Please All: Memoirs 1980-2024” covers Ali’s life and political activism from 1980 to 2024. It includes autobiographical notes, journalism, essays, political commentary and personal reflections.

Tariq Ali is a Pakistani-British political activist, writer, historian, filmmaker, and public intellectual. He is well-known for his anti-imperialist stance and has been involved in various political movements since his youth. Ali has written or co-authored over 100 fiction and nonfiction books, covering a wide range of topics, including geopolitics and the history of post-colonialism.

Order the book:

You Can't Please All: Memoirs 1980-2024 by Tariq Ali
https://www.versobooks.com/products/2937-you-can-t-please-all

Bhupen-Khakhar painting mentioned:
https://brooklynrail.org/2017/02/artseen/Bhupen-Khakhar/

Greg’s Blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

Pat’s Substack: https://patcummings.substack.com/about

TariqAli#IslamQuintet#EdwardSaid#DerekJarman#ChristopherHitchen#Bhutto#MaryKayWilmers#SusanWatkins#NewLeftReview#StreetFightingYears#StreetFiightingMan#HugoShavez#MickJaeger#JohnLennon#BhupenKhakhar#ChrisHedges#PolitcalActivism#VietnamProtest#AnitImperisalism#Palestine#LeninScenario#OliverStone#postcolonialism#WinstonChurchill#PatCummings#PatrickCummings#GregGodels#ZZBlog#ComingFromLeftField#ComingFromLeftFieldPodcast#zzblog#mltoday

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In this podcast, Andy Lee Roth discusses the annual publication of Project Censored State of the Free Press, which takes the pulse of the media and shares the 25 most essential but underreported stories of the past year. Editors Mickey Huff, Shealeigh Voit, and Andy Lee Roth look back on a year in which significant news stories lost out to coverage of celebrities and non-events. They highlight 25 of the most underreported stories of 2024.

Andy Lee Roth is the associate director of Project Censored, a nonprofit media watchdog organization. He coordinates the Campus Affiliates Program, a network of students and faculty at colleges and universities across North America who research and identify the top "censored" news stories. He earned a PhD in Sociology from the University of California–Los Angeles and a BA in Sociology and Anthropology from Haverford College.

Order the book:
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/760692/project-censoreds-state-of-the-free-press-2025-by-mickey-huff/

Greg’s Blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

Pat’s Substack: https://patcummings.substack.com/about

AndyLeeRoth#AndyRoth#MickeyHuff#ShealeighVoit#StateoftheFree Press2025#ProjectCensord#FreePress2025##AI#algorithms#SocialMedia#MediaBias#Censorship#FirstAmendment#Journalism#Newsworthiness#AlgorithmicLiteracy#ShadowBanning#HorseRaceReporting#AlanMacleod#KevinGosztola#Gatekeepingmodel#Censorshipbyproxy#qualitativedataanalysis#PatCummings#PatrickCummings#GregGodels#ZZBlog#ComingFromLeftField#ComingFromLeftFieldPodcast#zzblog#mltoday

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In this podcast, we talk with Jeff Schuhrke about his book ‘Blue Collar Empire: The Untold Story of US Labor’s Global Anticommunist Crusade.” This book recounts the AFL-CIO’s global anticommunist crusade in the late 20th century, shows how it took place in partnership with the US government’s Cold War-era quest to control labor struggles abroad and explores what this history means for the possibility of international solidarity in the US labor movement today.

Jeff Schuhrke is a labor historian, journalist, union activist, and assistant professor at the Harry Van Arsdale Jr. School of Labor Studies, SUNY Empire State University in New York City.

Order the book:
https://www.versobooks.com/products/2979-blue-collar-empire

Greg’s Blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

Pat’s Substack: https://patcummings.substack.com/about

JeffSchuhrke#BlueCollarEmpire#AFL#CIO#AFLCIO#CIA#AFCIO#anticommunism#anticommunist#coldwar#foreignpolicy#FreeTradeUnion#CommunistParty#HarryVanArsdale#USLabor#USImperalism#TradeUnions#RedScare#GoodNeighbors#EndowingDemocracy#MamaMaida#PatCummings#GregGodels#ZZBlog#ComingFromLeftField#ComingFromLeftFieldPodcast#zzblog#mltoday

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In this podcast, we talk with Charles Derber and Yale Magrass about their book, “Who Owns Democracy?: The Real Deep State and the Struggle Over Class and Caste in America.” This book uniquely reverses today’s MAGA conspiratorial concept of the deep state to reveal how a very real “deeper state” is evident throughout history, back to the founding of American democracy.

Charles Derber, Professor of Sociology at Boston College, has written 26 books on politics, democracy, fascism, corporations, capitalism, climate change, war, culture wars, and social change.

Yale Magrass is a Chancellor Professor of Sociology at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth. He is the author/coauthor of nine books, most co-authored with Charles Derber, and eighty articles. His work focuses on how militaristic capitalism distorts everyday life as it promotes inequality, bullying, environmental devastation, and war.

Order the book:

Who Owns Democracy?: The Real Deep State and the Struggle Over Class and Caste in America by Charles Derber and Yale R. Magrass https://www.kingsbookstore.com/book/9781032781907

Greg’s Blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

Pat’s Substack: https://patcummings.substack.com/about

CharlesDerver#YaleMagrass#YaleRMagress#deepstate#WhoOwnsDemocracy#Americanfascism#capitalistclass#capitalistdeep#caste#ChristianRight#CIA#ColdWar#communist#deepdemocracy#DemocraticParty#elites#fascist#FDR#GildedAge#identitypolitics#JPMorgan#JimCrow#proto#fascism#racism#Reagan#MAGA#RepublicanParty#slavery#socialist#WallStreet#corporatepower#neofascism#Americanmilitarism#PatCummings#GregGodels#ZZBlog#ComingFromLeftField#ComingFromLeftFieldPodcast#zzblog#mltoday

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In this podcast, we talk with Rob Larson about his book, “Mastering the Universe: The Obscene Wealth of the Ruling Class, What They Do with Their Money, and Why You Should Hate Them Even More.” Larson is a professor of economics for the past 18 years and has authored numerous books, including “Bit Tyrants: The Political Economy of Silicon Valley” and “Capitalism vs. Freedom: The Toll Road to Serfdom”. He writes for Jacobin and Dollars & Sense and is the House Economist for Current Affairs magazine.

In this book, Larson delves into the extreme wealth and influence of the ruling class. This includes the problems of wealth distribution, the extravagant lifestyles and moral failings of the ultra-wealthy and their negative impact on societal issues, including environmental destruction and public health crises.

Order the book:

Mastering the Universe: The Obscene Wealth of the Ruling Class, What They Do with Their Money, and Why You Should Hate Them Even More: https://www.kingsbookstore.com/book/9798888900857

Mentioned in the podcast:

Current Affairs Magazine: https://www.currentaffairs.org/

World Inequity Database: https://wid.world/

A New Approach to Measuring Income Inequality Over Recent Decades | RAND: https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RBA516-1.html

Greg’s Blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

Pat’s Substack: https://patcummings.substack.com/about

RobLarson#NathanJRobinson#NathanRobinson#BillGates#billionaire#carbon#ElonMusk#ClimateChange#WorldInequityDatabase#CurrentAffairsMagazine#economics#economists#Richistain#masteringtheUniverse#ObsceneWealth#Rand#ClimateCrisis#IncomeInequity#Captial#GuildedAge#ThomasPiketty#UltraWealthy#WealthDistribution#PatCummings#GregGodels#ZZBlog#ComingFromLeftField#ComingFromLeftFieldPodcast#zzblog#mltoday

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In this podcast, we talk with Nathan J. Robinson about the book he co-wrote with Noam Chomsky, “The Myth of American Idealism: How U.S. Foreign Policy Endangers the World.” In this book, Noam Chomsky and Nathan J. Robinson outline America’s pursuit of global domination, offering an incisive critique of the self-serving myths that dominant elites in the United States continue to push. They discuss Washington's role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the impact of policies on The Global South, and the potential for future conflicts with Russia and China. They argue that U.S. power poses a significant threat to global security.

Noam Chomsky is institute professor emeritus in the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and laureate professor in the Agnes Nelms Haury Program in Environment and Social Justice at the University of Arizona. His work is widely credited with revolutionizing modern linguistics, and he is equally renowned for his incisive writings on global affairs and U.S. foreign policy. Chomsky is the single most cited and published living author, winner of numerous international awards, and has written over one hundred books,

Nathan J. Robinson is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Current Affairs magazine. He is the author of Why You Should Be a Socialist and Responding to the Right, and his articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The New Republic, among others. Robinson holds a JD from Yale Law School and a PhD in sociology and social policy from Harvard University.

Order the book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/738224/the-myth-of-american-idealism-by-noam-chomsky-and-nathan-j-robinson/

Current Affairs Magazine: https://www.currentaffairs.org/

Nathan J. Robinson’s Website: https://www.nathanjrobinson.com/

Greg’s Blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

Pat’s Substack: https://patcummings.substack.com/about

NoamChomsky#NathanJRobinson#NathanRobinson#TheMythofAmericanIdealism#CritiqueForeignPolicy#globalinstablity#JakartaMehod#VincentVevins#ArmsControl#Cuba#GlobalSouth#IsraeliPalestanConflict#WorldBank#USInterventions#EcomonicDomination#VijahPrashad#ClimateCrisis#DavidFrum#ClimateDisturciont#MythAmercianIdealism#ManufacturingConsent#IndonesianMassKIllings#MediaControl#PatCummings#GregGodels#ZZBlog#ComingFromLeftField#ComingFromLeftFieldPodcast#zzblog#mltoday

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In this podcast, we talk with Frank Schaeffer to discuss his recent blog post regarding “Project 2025” and its origins in the theologically conservative Opus Dei and deep-pocket conservative think tanks. Schaeffer is an author, film director, screenwriter, and painter. He is the son of theologian and author Francis Schaeffer, who, with other evangelicals, is responsible for the pro-life movement and the religious-right that emerged in the 1970s. His crisis of faith and disillusionment with the movement led to his departure in the mid-80s.

Duty to Warn: May I Tell You What Project 2025 Really Is?
https://frankschaeffer.substack.com/p/duty-to-warn-may-i-tell-you-what

Frank Schaeffer’s Substack:
https://frankschaeffer.substack.com/

Frank Schaeffer’s Art
https://www.frankschaefferart.com

Greg’s Blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

Pat’s Substack: https://patcummings.substack.com/about

FrankSchaeffer#CrazyforGod#HeritageFoundaton#Project2025#ChristianRight#OpusDei#ReligiousRight#FrancisSchaeffer#EdithSeville#FrankSchaefferArt#JerryFarwell#JamesDobson#BillGraham#ReligiousRight#ElonMusk#PatRobertson#TuckerCarlson#PeterTheil#WhyIAmAnAthiest#MandateForLeadership#DutyToWarn#PowellMemo#ChristoFacism#Patriarchy#Evangelical#PatCummings#GregGodels#ZZBlog#ComingFromLeftField#ComingFromLeftFieldPodcast#zzblog#mltoday

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Nolan Higdon and Allison Butler are specialists in media literacy and, with their book, Surveillance Education: Navigating the Conspicuous Absence of Privacy in Schools, they focus attention on the pervasive use of digital surveillance technologies in schools that often results in a pernicious effect on students.

Nolan Higdon is a founding member of the Critical Media Literacy Conference of the Americas, a Project Censored National Judge, an author, and a lecturer at Merrill College and the Education Department at the University of California, Santa Cruz, USA.

Allison Butler is a Senior Lecturer and Director of the Media Literacy Certificate Program in the Department of Communication at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA. She is also Co-Director of the Mass Media Literacy non-profit organization, where she develops and runs training programs for teachers covering critical media literacy in K–12 schools, Vice President on the Board of the Media Freedom Foundation, and a spokesperson for Project Censored.

Order the book:
https://www.kingsbookstore.com/book/9781032812274

Nolan Higdon’s Substack:
https://nolanhigdon.substack.com

Mentioned in the podcast
Project Censored
https://www.projectcensored.org/

Greg’s Blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

Pat’s Substack: https://patcummings.substack.com/about

NolanHigdon#AllisonButler#MediaLiteracy#SurveillanceEducaton#Privacy#ProjectCensored#DigitalSurveillance#SurveillanceCaptialism#DataBreach#CritialMediaLiteracy#AnatomyofFakeNews#FakeNews#DigitalCulture#TikTokHarm#ChallengeVideo#Secition230#InternetHarm#PatCummings#GregGodels#ZZBlog#ComingFromLeftField#ComingFromLeftFieldPodcast#zzblog#mltoday

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Dr. Vanessa Wills is a political philosopher, ethicist, educator, and activist based in Washington, DC. She is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at George Washington University. Her areas of specialization are moral, social, and political philosophy, nineteenth-century German philosophy (especially Karl Marx), and the philosophy of race. She is a founding editor of Spectre Journal, a biannual journal of Marxist theory, strategy, and analysis.

In her book Marx's Ethical Vision, she presents novel Marxist positions in various philosophical debates and covers a wide range of Karl Marx's writings while giving a holistic account of his views throughout his life.

Order the book:
Marx's Ethical Vision by Vanessa Christina Wills https://www.kingsbookstore.com/book/9780197688144

Spectre Journal
https://spectrejournal.com/

Vanessa, the Jazz Singer!
From Indiana With Love-Feme (feat. Vanessa Wills)
https://youtu.be/4Ssr_K3EbIA

Mentioned by Greg:
Rhiannon Giddens new version of Peggy Seeger's classic:
https://youtu.be/lmwwqHmwZq8

Greg’s Blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

Pat’s Substack: https://patcummings.substack.com/about

VanessaWills#VanessaChristinaWills#AnalyticalMarxism#MarxsEthcialVision#CommunistManifesto#MoralObjectivism#Philosophy#Alienation#HistoricalMaterialst#Captalism#Spectre#SpectreJournal#CapitalismCritcism#MoralPhilosphy#GeorgeWashingtonUniveity#EthicsAngelaDavis#PatCummings#GregGodels#ZZBlog#ComingFromLeftField#ComingFromLeftFieldPodcast#zzblog#mltoday

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Vijay Prashad is a historian, journalist, and executive director of the Tri-Continental Institute for Social Research. He has authored or edited 72 books. In “On Cuba,” co-written with Noam Chomsky, they trace Cuban history from the 1950s revolution to the present, interrogating U.S. interventions and extracting lessons on U.S. power and influence in the Western Hemisphere. This book thoroughly analyzes the U.S. government’s long-standing vendetta against Cuba.

Order the book:
On Cuba: Reflections on 70 Years of Revolution and Struggle by Noam Chomsky and Vijay Prashad: https://www.kingsbookstore.com/book/9781620978573

Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research:
https://thetricontinental.org/

Call to Action: a Remarkable Open Letter on US Designation of Cuba as Sponsor of Terrorism:
https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/09/18/call-to-action-a-remarkable-open-letter-on-us-designation-of-cuba-as-sponsor-of-terrorism/

Greg’s Blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

Pat’s Substack: https://patcummings.substack.com/about

OnCuba#Cuba#CubaHistory#Relectionson70yearsofRevolutionStruggle#VijayPrasad#NoamChomsky#TheWithdrawl#WashingtonBullets#FidelCastro#TriContinentalInstituteforSocialResearch#TriContinentalInstitute#PeaceActivist#Cubahistory#USEmpire#colonialism#SvenLindquvist#ExterminateAlltheBrutes#MonroeDoctrine#economicsanctions#embargo#PatCummings#GregGodels#ZZBlog#ComingFromLeftField#ComingFromLeftFieldPodcast#zzblog#mltoday

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Betsy Phillips, a journalist and historian, is the author of the new book about three unsolved bombings by segregationists in the civil rights era, “Dynamite Nashville: Unmasking the FBI, the KKK, and the Bombers Beyond Their Control.” Phillips not only paints a detailed picture of the social dynamic of the times but reveals how a violent fringe of racists came to national prominence. In Dynamite Nashville, Phillips unmasks "The Confederate Underground," identifying its principal leader, J.B. Stoner, and shines a much-needed historical spotlight on unsung civil rights hero and near martyr Z. Alexander Looby.

Order the book:
Dynamite Nashville: Unmasking the FBI, the KKK, and the Bombers Beyond Their Control
https://www.kingsbookstore.com/book/9798986614571

Greg’s Blog (subscribe!): http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

BestyPhillips#DynamiteNashville#FBI#KKK#JBStoner#ZAlexanderLooby#FreddieOConnel#HattieCotton#HattieCottonBombing#JewishCommunityCenter#1950sSynagoguebombings#TheConfederateUnderground#ConferateUnderground#LoobyBombing#Segregation#BrownVBoard#BrownBoardOrEdcuaton#MLKing#UnsolvedBombing#segregationists#HistoricNashville#CivilRights#JohnLewis#DianeNash#JamesEarlRay#assasinationMLK#NeoNazis#PatCummings#GregGodels#ZZBlog#ComingFromLeftField#ComingFromLeftFieldPodcast#zzblog#mltoday

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Dr. David Detmer is a Professor of Philosophy at Purdue University Calumet and author of numerous books and professional articles. In his new book, “Zinnophobia: The Battle Over History in Education, Politics, and Scholarship,” Detmer offers an extended defense of the work of radical historian Howard Zinn, author of the bestselling A People's History of the United States, against his many critics. It includes a discussion of the attempt to ban the book in classrooms, a brief summary of Zinn's life and work, an analysis of Zinn's theorizing about bias and objectivity in history, and a detailed response to twenty-five of Zinn's most hostile critics, many of are (or were) eminent historians.

Order the book:
https://www.kingsbookstore.com/book/9781785356780

Greg’s Blog (subscribe!): http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

DavidDetmer#DaveDetmer#Zinnophovia#HowardZinn#NoamChomsky#APeoplesHistory#APeoplesHistoryoftheUnitedStates#Renaissance#NorthernLights#MitchDaniels#BookBann#ZinnEducationProject#MaryGrabar#SamWineburg#DavidGreenberg#WarProtest#BostonUniversity#SpellmanCollege#PatCummings#GregGodels#ZZBlog#ComingFromLeftField#ComingFromLeftFieldPodcast#zzblog#mltoday

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Dr. Matthew Ferrence is an English professor at Allegheny College. In 2020, he ran for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in a deeply red district and lost badly.

In his new book, “I Hate It Here, Please Vote For Me: Essays on Rural Political Decay,”Ferrence chronicles his election defeat to explore how the American political narratives refuse to recognize the existence and value of rural progressive voters and how his election defeat offers insight into the politics of our nation.

In essays focused on living in the countryside, the political power of poetry, and his landslide election loss, Ferrence offers a counter-narrative to stereotypes of rural American voters and emphasizes the misunderstanding of our Red-Blue divide.

Order the book:
https://wvupressonline.com/I-Hate-It-Here-Please-Vote-For-Me

Greg’s Blog (subscribe!): http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

MattTerrence#MatthewTerrence#IHateItHere#PleaseVoteForMe#Campaigns#Electons#RuralPoltics#RedBlueDivide#PolticalScience#PolticalDecay#AlleghenyCollege#Meadville#BradleyRose#Poetry#PoetryBan#PennsylvaniaHouseofRepresentatives#ElectionReform#GreenParty#ToxicModeration#RuralRage#TheWisconsinIdea#AppalacihiaNorth#WendellBerry#Fetterman#FlyOverCountry#PatCummings#GregGodels#ZZBlog#ComingFromLeftField#ComingFromLeftFieldPodcast#zzblog#mltoday

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Dr. Gerald Horne is Moores Professor of History and African-American Studies at the University of Houston. He is a renowned historian who has extensively researched and written about issues of racism, labor, politics, civil rights, and international relations. He has authored more than thirty books and numerous scholarly articles. Cornel West describes Dr. Horne as " one of the great historians of our time.”

Today, we discussed his new book, “Armed Struggle? Panthers and Communists; Black Nationalists and Liberals in Southern California through the Sixties and Seventies.” This book examines the complex dynamics and interactions of the Black Panther Party, including their communist influences, community social programs, FBI sabotage, and lasting influences.

Order the book:
https://www.intpubnyc.com/browse/armed-struggle/

Follow Dr. Horne on KPFK 90.7 FM, Freedom Now, Saturday 11 AM -12 PM:
https://www.kpfk.org/on-air/freedom-now/

Greg’s Blog (subscribe!): http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

GeraldHorne#ArmedStruggle#ArmedStruggle?#BlackPantherParty#BP#Communist#Communistparty#CP#GerogeJackson#RedScare#BlackNationalist#Scottsboronine#HeuyNewton#EldridgeCleaverBenDavis#AngelaDavis#SlaveRebellions#Cointerpro#JEdgarHoover#MathewJohnson#PoiiceBrutality#KPFK#FreedomNow#AfricanAmericanStudies#RebeccaMooresChair#MooresProfessor#PatCummings#GregGodels#ZZBlog#ComingFromLeftField#ComingFromLeftFieldPodcast#zzblog#mltoday

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Vincent Bevins is an award-winning journalist. He reported for the Financial Times in London, then served as the Brazil correspondent for the Los Angeles Times, before covering Southeast Asia for the Washington Post.

His first book, The Jakarta Method, came out in 2020 and was named one of the best books of the year by the Financial Times and NPR. Today we discuss his book, “If We Burn: The Mass Protest Decade and the Missing Revolution.” From 2010 to 2020, more people participated in protests than at any other point in human history. “If We Burn” investigates, why haven’t we seen significant revolutionary change from these uprisings? This is an important book that should be read by scholars and activists.

Vincent’s website: https://vincentbevins.com/

Vincent’s substack: https://substack.com/@northsouthnotes

Order the books

If We Burn: The Mass Protest Decade and the Missing Revolution by Vincent Bevins

https://www.kingsbookstore.com/book/9781541788978

SUB

Greg’s Blog (subscribe!): http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

VincentBevins#IfWeBurn#MassProtest#JakartaMethod#LondonSchoolEconomics#Chomsky#Lenin#WomensMarch#OccupyWallstreet#UNRWA#EthnicCleansing#Holocost#Kakba#Hamas#Zionists#Chomsky#ManufacturingConsent#ArabeSpring# GeziPark#UkraineEuromaidan#HungerGames#PolitialSciende#Indonesia #PatCummings#GregGodels#ZZBlog#ComingFromLeftField#ComingFromLeftFieldPodcast#zzblog#mltoday

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Daniel Kovalik is an American lawyer, human rights activist, author, and academic. He has been involved in various legal and human rights issues, particularly focusing on workers' rights, indigenous rights, and international law. In the book, “The Case for Palestine: Why It Matters and Why You Should Care,” Kovalik unveils the brutal realities of the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza, exposing the devastating toll exacted on its civilian population. It documents the role of the United States in sponsoring this destruction by providing unwavering support to Israel.

Dan’s website: https://danielmkovalik.weebly.com/

Order the books

The Case for Palestine: Why It Matters and Why You Should Care By Dan Kovalik, Forward by George Galloway

https://www.kingsbookstore.com/book/9781510780590

Greg’s Blog (subscribe!): http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

DanKovalik#CaseForPalestine#GazaStrip#Isreal#WestBank#Genocide#LiveratonTheology#WestBank#Rafah#UNRWA#EthnicCleansing#Holocost#Kakba#Hamas#Zionists#Chomsky#Oct7#GeorgeGalloway#AlJazeera#activist#CivilRights#MiddleEast#WarCrimes#PatCummings#GregGodels#ZZBlog#ComingFromLeftField#ComingFromLeftFieldPodcast#zzblog#mltoday

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Jesse Hagopian is a high school teacher in Seattle, a union organizer, co-author of several books, and a powerful force in pushing back against the "over-testing" of students. Jesse’s writing has appeared in publications like The Seattle Times, The Nation, The Progressive, and his commentary on education and politics has been featured in Time magazine, The New Yorker, The PBS News Hour with Gwen Ifill, The Dan Rather Report, and Democracy Now!

Jesse’s website: https://iamaneducator.com/

Order the books

More Than a Score: The New Uprising Against High-Stakes Testing By Jesse Hagopian (Editor), Diane Ravitch (Preface by), Alfie Kohn (Foreword by)

Black Lives Matter at School: An Uprising for Educational Justice By Jesse Hagopian, Denisha Jones, Opal Tometi (Foreword by)

Support the documentary film project by Magnum Opus Films, “Help Us Tell The Story of Discovering Where Our Ancestors Were Enslaved-Where I Got My Name: A Story of Struggle and Self Discovery.”

GoFundMe
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-us-tell-the-story-of-our-enslaved-ancestors

Greg’s Blog (subscribe!): http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

JesseHogopain#MoreThanAScore#GarfieldHighSchool#BLM#BLMatschool#optoute#MAPboycott#TestBoycott#CriticalRaceTheory#CRT#ChristopherRufo#FairTest#DianeRavvitch#TeacherUnion#NEA#GeraldLenoir#EnslavedAncestors#MississippiSlave#HighstakesTesting#activist#SeattleSuit#culturewars#EducationPolicy#StandardizedTesting#MomsForLiberty#PatCummings#GregGodels#ZZBlog#ComingFromLeftField#ComingFromLeftFieldPodcast#zzblog#mltoday

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Our guest is Mike Hixenbaugh, senior investigative reporter for NBC News. He has been named a Pulitzer Prize finalist and won a Peabody Award for reporting on the battle over race, gender, and sexuality in American classrooms. “They Came for the Schools,” his first book, is the winner of the prestigious Lukas Work-in-Progress Award. We also discuss his Peabody Award-winning and Pulitzer Prize finalist “Southlake” podcast and his most recent podcast, “Grapevine,” which, unfortunately, is referred to on several occasions as “Grapeview.”

Order the book: They Came for the Schools: One Town's Fight Over Race and Identity, and the New War for America's Classrooms

https://www.kingsbookstore.com/book/9780063307247

Greg’s Blog (subscribe!): http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

MikeHixenbaugh#TheyCamefortheSchools#CarrollSchoolBoard#CarrollISD#ChristianNationalizm#Southlake#Texas#CriticalRaceTheory#CRT#ChristopherRufo#Grapevine#LBTQ#PatriotMobile#DeSantis#SouthlakeFamiliesPAC#TuckerCaarlson#viralvideo#Nword#GregAbott#NBCInvestigation#culturewars#EducationPolicy#DEI#MomsForLiberty#SevenMountainIdology#micoragressions#PatCummings#GregGodels#ZZBlog#ComingFromLeftField#ComingFromLeftFieldPodcast#zzblog#mltoday

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Our guest on this podcast is investigative journalist Tim Schwab. His book, “The Bill Gates Problem: Reckoning with the Myth of the Good Billionaire.” It is a definitive critique of Bill Gates and other billionaires who use their immense wealth to forge into the world of unaccountable power philanthropy.

Order the book: The Bill Gates Problem

https://www.kingsbookstore.com/book/9781250850096

Greg’s Blog (subscribe!): http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

Timschwab#billgates#melindagates#melindafrench#billionaires#philantropy#theBillGatesProblem#microsoft#billmelindagatesfoundaton#mythgoodbillionare#neilkrause#jonshelton#commoncore#stackranking#edlabs#seattletimes#JesseHagopian#commoncore#mccarverproject#tacomapublicschools#smallschools#meritpay#tacomahousingauthority#stackranking#gatesfarmland#dianerativich#PatCummings#GregGodels#ZZBlog#ComingFromLeftField#ComingFromLeftFieldPodcast#zzblog#mltoday

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In this podcast, our guest is a poet, Pat’s sister, Janice O’Mahony. She lives on Whidbey Island, Washington, and has immersed herself in the community's creative environment.

Janice has always been creative, but once she retired, she focused on being a “poet.” She has published her works in journals and books and spends much of her time honing her bard craft.

Order the book OUT OF THE BLUE four voices
https://store.bookbaby.com/book/out-of-the-blue1

Greg’s Blog (subscribe!): http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

Poems

(12:47) Bad Art

(15:20) 26 Letters

(28:05) 2nd Act

(30:46) Advanced Directive

(33:06) Dentist Day

(36:10) Dodge Ball Target

(44:28) Decorum

(50:23) Starch

(52:55) Morning Glories

(57:25) What I Want to Know

(1:00:06) Pickup Sticks

Janiceomahony#outoftheblue#whidbeyilsand#poetry#DianneShiner#DallasHuth#FaithWilder#kevinmiller#dereksheffield#etrimbathcreative#bookbaby#creativity#poemsdad#ginodeschruyver#lisatice#militarybrat#ptsd#PatCummings#GregGodels#ZZBlog#ComingFromLeftField#ComingFromLeftFieldPodcast#zzblog#mltoday

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This podcast examines education policies, history, and reform from two academics; Dr. Neil Kraus, is Professor of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin, River Falls. His book, The Fantasy Economy: Neoliberalism, Inequality, and the Education Reform challenges the basic assumptions of the education reform movement. Dr. Jon Shelton is Associate Professor of Democracy and Justice Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. His book, “The Education Myth: How Human Capital Trumped Social Democracy” traces how the predominant American view of education evolved from an instrument of democratic instruction to the primary path to a good job.

Both professors offer a different perspective on our present educational landscape. Together they merge politics, public policies, history, economics, and labor relations to provide insight to the purpose of education.

Order the book: The Education Myth
https://www.kingsbookstore.com/book/9781501768149

Order the book: The Fantasy Economy
https://www.kingsbookstore.com/book/9781439923719

Greg’s Blog (subscribe!): http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

NeilKraus#JonShelton#UW#universitywisconsin#educationreform#fantasyeconomy#educationmyth#STEM#neoliberalism#reagan#wisconsin#humancapital#scottalker#wisconsinidea#socialjustice#nationatrisk#workforce2000#charterschools#education#nochildleftbehind#onlinelearning#PatCummings#GregGodels#ZZBlog#ComingFromLeftField#ComingFromLeftFieldPodcast#zzblog#mltoday

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Les Leopold’s book, “Wall Street’s War on Workers: How Mass Layoffs and Greed Are Destroying the Working Class and What to Do About It,” connects the dots between long-term trends in corporate capitalism and the last 50 years of neoliberal attacks on the working class. He shows the direct relationship between deregulation, predatory private equity firms, mass layoffs, stock buybacks, and the resulting destruction of the middle class.

As a longtime labor educator and journalist, Leopold describes how the Democrats have lost the longstanding support of millions of urban and rural workers and how both parties take their marching orders from Wall Street and wealthy donors.

Order the book: Wall Street’s War on Workers (https://www.kingsbookstore.com/book/9781645022336)

Substack: (https://lesleopold.substack.com/)

Webiste: (https://runawayinequality.org/)

Greg’s Blog (subscribe!): http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

LesLeopold#WallStreetsWarOnWorkers#WallStreet#TonyMazzocchi#HedgeFunds#stockbuybacks#LaborInstiture#OberlinCollegy#LayOffs#masslayoffs#MingoCounty#WhiteRuralRage#ThomHartmann#MattTaibbi#ChrisHedges#RuralPoverty#HedgeFunds#PrivateEquity#LeverageBuyouts#NeoLiberal#PatCummings#GregGodels#ZZBlog#ComingFromLeftField#ComingFromLeftFieldPodcast#zzblog#mltoday

FjHkr0T5PBYmOzjeuv9V

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Kevin Gosztola’s book, “Guilty of Journalism,” is an essential guide to the case against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. As a journalist, Kevin has been reporting on Julian Assange for more than a decade and returns to our podcast to discuss London's High Court recent decision regarding his extradition to the United States. This is an important matter that impacts the future of journalism, freedom of speech, and democracy itself.

Order the book: https://www.sevenstories.com/books/4493-guilty-of-journalism

House Bill 934: https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-resolution/934

Follow Kevin:

https://substack.com/@kgosztola

https://thedissenter.org/

https://www.youtube.com/@Kevin_Gosztola

Greg’s Blog (subscribe!): http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

KevinGosztola#JulianAssange#EspionageAct#Belmarsh#AbbyMartin#projectcensored#espionageact#censorship#vault7#pressfreedom#trial#RoyalCourts#RogerWalters#JusticeJeremyJohnson#ChleseaManning#StellaAssange#CIAwaronjourlists#GuiltyofJournalism#whistleblowers#underreported#PatCummings#GregGodels#ZZBlog#ComingFromLeftField#ComingFromLeftFieldPodcast#zzblog#mltoday

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Today, our guest is Kathrine Yeske Taylor, a rock journalist who has interviewed hundreds of musicians. In her book, “She’s a Badass,” Taylor focuses on twenty significant women in rock such as Ann Wilson, Joan Osborne, Paula Cole, Suzi Quatro, Orianthi and more. She devotes an entire chapter to each one, taking an in-depth look at the incredible talent and influence they had on our music landscape.

Order the book:

She's a Badass: Women in Rock Shaping Feminism

https://www.kingsbookstore.com/book/9781493072545

Kathrine’s social media:

https://www.facebook.com/katherine.yeske.taylor/

https://www.instagram.com/kyt_in_nyc/

Greg’s Blog (subscribe!): http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

Music List:

  1. Suzi Quatro
    Suzi Quatro – “Can The Can” (1973)
  2. Ann Wilson
    Heart - "Barracuda" (1977)
  3. Exene Cervenka (X)
    John Doe and Exene Cervenka (X)- The New World live (1983)
  4. Gina Schock
    The Go-G0’s – “We Got The Beat” -American Bandstand (1982)
  5. Lydia Lunch
    Sonic Youth & Lydia Lunch-“Death Valley '69” (1985)
  6. Suzanne Vega
    “Luka” (1988)
  7. Cherie Currie (the Runaways)
    The Runaways – “Cherry Bomb” (2007)
  8. Joan Osborne
    Joan Osborne – “One Of Us” (1996)
  9. Donita Sparks (L7)
    L7 – “Pretend That We're Dead” (Live At The Download Festival 2018)
  10. Amy Ray (Indigo Girls)
    Indigo Girls – “Closer to Fine” (on David Letterman 1989)
  11. Tanya Donelly (Throwing Muses, the Breeders, Belly)
    Belly - Feed The Tree (1993)
  12. Paula Cole
    Paula Cole – “I Don't Want to Wait” (1996)
  13. Tobi Vail (Bikini Kill)
    Bikini Kill – “Rebel Girl” (1992)
  14. Laura Veirs
    Laura Veirs - "Sun Song" (2013)
  15. Catherine Popper
    Puss n Boots- "Jesus, Etc." (2013)
  16. Amanda Palmer
    Amanda Palmer – “Runs In The Family” (2008)
  17. Bonnie Bloomgarden (Death Valley Girls)
    Death Valley Girls - "Magic Powers" (The Roxy 2022)
  18. Orianthi
    Orianthi - "According To You" (2009)
  19. Fefe Dobson
    Fefe Dobson - "Stuttering" (2010)
  20. Sade Sanchez (L.A. Witch)
    L A Witch - "Fire Starter" (2020)

womenrock#Shesabadass#KathrineTaylor#KathrineYeskeTaylor#rockcritic#rollingstone#book#feministbook#SuziQuatro#AnnWilson#ExeneCervenka#GinaSchock#SuzanneVega#JoanOsborne#AmyRay#IndigoGirls#AmandaPalmer#Orianthi#alicecooper#PatCummings#GregGodels#ZZBlog#ComingFromLeftField#Podcast

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Today, our guest is Dr. Judith Herman, one of America’s most influential psychiatrists and a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. She received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies and is a distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association.

Today, we discuss two of her books, the 1992 classic “Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence – from Domestic Abuse to Political Terror,” and her recent book “Truth and Repair: How Trauma Survivors Envision Justice.”

Order the books:

Truth and Repair

Trauma and Recovery

Greg’s Blog (subscribe!): http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

traumahealing#childhoodtrauma#trauma#healing#traumarecovery#women#intergenerationaltrauma#healingjourney#therapy#psychology#JudithHerman#PTSD#Reagan#Deinstitutionalization#VictimsViolenceProgram#Freud#Hysteria#ConsciousnessRasingGroups#ChristineBlaseyFord#PatCummings#GregGodels#ZZBlog#ComingFromLeftField#Podcast#mltoday

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Kevin Gosztola, has spent the last decade covering Julian Assange, WikiLeaks, and the wider war on whistleblowers and journalists. His book, “Guilty of Journalism” offers a balanced and comprehensive perspective on all the events leading up to what press freedom advocates have called the trial of the century.

Noam Chomsky noted that Kevin’s book is “Essential reading for those who care about freedom of expression and elementary justice” and the late Daniel Ellsberg stated “Kevin Gosztola is a rare journalist who understands the abominable threat that the case against Assange poses to press freedom.”

Order the book: https://www.sevenstories.com/books/4493-guilty-of-journalism

Follow Kevin:
https://substack.com/@kgosztola
https://thedissenter.org/
https://www.youtube.com/@Kevin_Gosztola

Greg’s Blog (subscribe!): http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

KevinGosztola#JulianAssange#AbbyMartin#projectcensored#espionageact#censorship#vault7#pressfreedom#trial#RoyalCourts#RogerWalters#JusticeJeremyJohnson#ChleseaManning#StellaAssange#CIAwaronjourlists#GuiltyofJournalism#whistleblowers#underreported#PatCummings#GregGodels#ZZBlog#ComingFromLeftField#ComingFromLeftFieldPodcast#zzblog#mltoday

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Andy Lee Roth is the associate director of Project Censored, an American nonprofit media watchdog organization. He holds a PhD in sociology from UCLA.

Project Censored was founded in 1976 by Dr. Carl Jensen at Sonoma State University to research and publicize news media censorship in the news and to develop students’ critical thinking skills and media literacy. Every year, they publish a book, “State of the Free Press,” that highlights the top 25 censored stories and media analyses that promote independent investigative journalism and education about the crucial role of our free press.

Order the book: https://www.project-censored.org/shop/p/state-of-the-free-press-2024

Website: https://www.projectcensored.org/

Greg’s Blog (subscribe!): http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

andyleeroth#andyroth#mickeyhuff#projectcensored#stateoffreepress#censorship#corporatemedia#freeepress#medialiteracy#journalism#stories#underreported#newsdeserts#russiagate#PatCummings#GregGodels#ZZBlog#ComingFromLeftField#ComingFromLeftFieldPodcast#zzblog#mltoday#CarlJensen

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Three years ago, we started the podcast Coming From Left Field… where we talk about politics, books, and current events. In this podcast we reflect on some of our guests we have hosted over the 68 episodes, argue where we agree and disagree, and provide observations about our current political apocalypse.

Greg’s Blog (subscribe!): http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

Marxism-Leninism Today (MLToday): https://mltoday.com/

Timestamps:

(01:45) book discussion “How Democracies Die”

(14:14) Dan Kovalik, “Cancel This Book,” “Pink Tide,” “Trip to Russia & Crimea”

(16:24) book discussion Karl Marx

(20:47) Carlos Garrido, “Last Years of Marx” book discussion

(22:41) Eddie Smith, “Blackshirts and Reds” book discussion

(24:38) Christian Parenti, “First Privilege Walk & Radical Hampton”

(26:22) Janice O’Mahony & Kevin Miller, “A Couple of Poets”

(27:49) Stephen Gowans, “Israel, A Beachhead in the Middle East”

(30:07) Jim Painter, “Media,” & “The Black March Novel”

(30:49) Hoss Hollwedel, “”Exterminate All the Brute” & “Amazon unions”

(32:21) Toni Gilpin, “The Long Deep Grudge:

(32:47) Roger Keeran, “The Communist Party and the Autoworkers”

(34:06) Tony Monterio, “The lost legacy of Henry Winston”

(37:09) Walter Johnson, “The Broken Heart of America”

(39:09) Tariq Ali, “Winston Churchill”

(39:20) Vijay Prashad, “The Withdrawal”

(39:25) Joanna Moncrieff, “The Serotonin Theory of Depression”

(41:42) Gerald Horne, “Black Liberation / Red Scare”, “Jazz and Justice”

(45:14) Walter Bragman, “Moms for Liberty”

(45:21) Anthony Conwright, “Jan 6, Big Lie”

(45:31) Kathryn Joyce. “War on Public Schools”

(45:42) Andy Campbell, “We Are Proud Boys”

(47:53) Suzanne Gordon, “Wounds of War”

(49:42) Bill Ehrhart, “Thank You for Your Service,” “Smedley Butler,” “Essays”

(51:27) Norman Finkelstein,” I'll Burn That Bridge When I Get to It!”

(54:29) Ruth Ben-Ghiat, “Strongmen”

(57:16) Fredrik deBoer, “Cult of Smart,” ”How Elites Ate the Social Justice Movement”

PatCummings#GregGodels#ZZBlog#ComingFromLeftField#ComingFromLeftFieldPodcast#DanKovalik#KarlMarx#MidwesternMarist#CarlosGarrido#EddieSmith#Blackshirts#MichaelParinti#ChristianParenti#JaniceO’Mahony#KevinMiller#Poets#StephenGowans#JimPainter#ToniGilpin#RogerKeeran#CommunistParty#TonyMonterio#WalterJohnson#TariqAli#VijayPrashad#JoannaMoncrieff#GeraldHorne#JazzandJustice#WalterBragman#AnthonyConwright#KathrynJoyce#Andy#Bill Ehrhart#WDEhrhart#NormanFinkelstein#RuthBen-Ghiat#Strongmen#FredrikdeBoer

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Stephen Bezruchka is a graduate of Harvard, Johns Hopkins, and Stanford universities. He now is an Associate Teaching Professor Emeritus, Health Systems, and Population Health at the University of Washington. He worked for three decades as an emergency physician.

In “Inequity Kills Us All” Bezruchka takes a deep dive into the global health data and considers his years of experience as an ER doctor and a public health educator to expose how unjust economics adds up to poor health and higher mortality, and how living in a society with entrenched hierarchies increases the negative effects of illnesses for everyone, and early life lasts a lifetime.

Order the book https://www.amazon.com/Inequality-Kills-Us-All-COVID-19s/dp/1032278390/

Website: https://stephenbezruchka.com/

InequalityKillsUsAll#StephenBezruchka#TrekkingNepal#TrekkinginNepal#GlobalHealth#SchooolofpublicHealth#HealthData#UniversityofWashington#UW#InequityHealthcare#PublicHealth#RichardWilkinson#lifeexpecancy#AirRageSyndrome#Medicare#StressandHealth#HealthOlypics#PatCummings#GregGodels#ZZBlog#ComingFromLeftField#ComingFromLeftFieldPodcast

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67 – “They Knew: How a Culture of Conspiracy Keeps America Complacent” with Sarah Kendzior

Sarah Kendzior is the New York Times bestselling author of Hiding in Plain Sight and The View from Flyover Country. Today we discuss her third book, “They Knew: How a Culture of Conspiracy Keeps America Complacent” which delves into the world of conspiracy theories and their impact on American society. She argues that the proliferation of conspiracy theories has eroded trust in institutions, undermined democracy, and hindered collective action to address pressing issues.

Kendzior is known for her reporting on St. Louis, her coverage of the 2016 election, and her academic research on authoritarian states. She was named by Foreign Policy as one of the "100 people you should be following on Twitter to make sense of global events." Her reporting has been featured in many publications, including Politico, Slate, The Atlantic, Fast Company, The Chicago Tribune, TeenVogue, The Globe and Mail, and The New York Times. She lives in St. Louis.

Order the book: https://www.amazon.com/They-Knew-Culture-Conspiracy-Complacent/dp/1250210720

Subscribe to Sarah’s substack: https://substack.com/@sarahkendzior

Website: https://sarahkendzior.com/

TheyKnew#HowaCultureofConspiracyKeepsAmericaComplacent#SarahKendzior#conspiracytheory#ViewfromFlyoverCountry#authoritarianism#BakerHotel#NormanBaker#Putin#JeffreyEpstein#LolitaExpress#Pizzagate#QAnnon#GaslitNation#HidingInPlainSite#DonaldTrump#cooruption#oligarchs#St.Louis#StLouis#PatCummings#GregGodels#ZZBlog#ComingFromLeftField#ComingFromLeftFieldPodcast

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Charlie Derber is a professor of sociology at Boston College and the author of 25 books. Current work focuses on the crises of capitalism, globalization, corporate power, American militarism, the culture of hegemony, the climate crisis, and the new peace and global justice movements.

Today we discuss the book, “Dying for Capitalism: How Big Money Fuels Extinction and What We Can Do About It” by Charles Derber and his co-author, Suren Moodliar.

Order the book:
https://www.amazon.com/Capitalism-Universalizing-Resistance-Charles-Derber/dp/103251258X/

Greg’s article (mentioned) “An Overdue Look at the Environmental Crisis”: https://mltoday.com/an-overdue-look-at-the-environmental-crisis/

CharlesDerber#CharlieDerber#SurenMoodiar#ClimateCrisis#ClimateChange#Militarism#EnvironmentalDistruction#FredrickDouglass#Abolishonists#triangleofextinction#Chomsky#Marx#PatCummings#GregGodels#ZZBlog#ComingFromLeftField#ComingFromLeftFieldPodcast

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Theresa Amato is a public advocate, attorney, and founder of the Citizen Advocacy Center in Illinois. She was the national campaign manager and in-house counsel for Ralph Nader for his presidential runs in both 2000 and 2004.

“Grand Illusion: The Myth of Voter Choice in a Two-Party Tyranny” is a powerful argument for electoral reform, especially related to third-party and independent candidates. Phil Donahue’s book review stated Amato “takes the biggest swing―not a jab, but a roundhouse punch―at America’s corrupt electoral system.”

Grand Illusion: The Myth of Voter Choice in a Two-Party Tyranny:
https://www.amazon.com/Grand-Illusion-Choice-Two-Party-Tyranny/dp/1595583947

Citizen Advocacy Center:
https://www.citizenadvocacycenter.org/

Greg’s Blog (subscribe!): http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

TheresaAmato#GrandIllusion#TheMythofVoterChoiceinaTwo-PartyTyranny#RalphNader#CitizenWorks#CitizensAdvocacyCenter#ballotaccess#ThirdParty#ElectoralSystem#PresidentalDebates#RossPerot#PatBuchanan#electonlaws#AlGore#ElectorialReform#PatCummings#GregGodels#ZZBlog#CultofSmart#ComingFromLeftField#ComingFromLeftFieldPodcast

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Freddie DeBoer has written for many mainstream publications but, in the past few years, has established himself as a Substack community for 47K readers who have had enough of the polarized media. Today, we will discuss his new book, “How Elites Ate the Social Justice Movement,” which explores why a passionate but unfocused social justice movement failed.

Freddie’s Website: https://fredrikdeboer.com/

Order the book: https://www.amazon.com/How-Elites-Social-Justice-Movement/

Freddie’s Substack (subscribe!): https://freddiedeboer.substack.com/

Greg’s Blog (subscribe!): http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

Freddiedeboer#Fredrikdeboer#HowElitesAteTheSocialJusticeMovement#Substack#GeorgeFloyd#NonProfitIndustrial#IdentiySyntheses#BLM#BlackLivesMatter#DefundPolice#FredHampton#SamHarris#YaschaMounk#NGO#Marx#PatCummings#GregGodels#ZZBlog#CultofSmart#ComingFromLeftField#ComingFromLeftFieldPodcast

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It is hard to describe Peter Serko. He’s been a counselor, IT professional, playwright, filmmaker, museum quality photographer and now, add novelist. After acquiring a tattered cardboard box with old books, photos, and diaries from his great-grandmother, Peter became inspired to research his family genealogy and write a historical fiction novel about Hattie, a 14 year old girl and distant relative trying to make sense of post-Civil War America.

We also discuss Peter’s play, “My Brother Kissed Mark Zuckerberg” and film, “Footnote” which is a loving tribute to his brother who died of AIDS in the late 1980’s, and his photography.

The David Serko Project: https://davidserko.com
Here is a link to the book on Amazon: https://a.co/d/7Fw5KGt

Watch Footnote on VIMEO(38 min): https://vimeo.com/203771933

Peter’s Photography: https://peterserko.com/transformation-art-changes-a-city/

PeterSerko#HattieWar#Hattie’swar#DavidSerko#ActUp#Footnote#AIDS#HIV#ArtChangesACity#Transformation#DavidSerkoProject#Wintrop#VashonIsland#Vashon#PatCummings#GregGodels#ZZBlog#Photograpy #ComingFromLeftField#ComingFromLeftFieldPodcast

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Professor and author, Christian Parenti, discusses a wide range of topics today including his article in NONSITE.org, ‘The First Privilege Walk,’ which may be the symbolic origin story of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion industry. We also overview his book 'Radical Hamilton' and how the founding father was more progressive for his time than credited. In a fun, free-for-all exchange, many other topics are covered such as COVID, wokeness, policing, political economy vs capitalist economic development, and the left’s response to the pandemic.

References:

The First Privilege Walk -NONSite.org

Radical Hamilton: Economic Lessons from a Misunderstood Founder -Verso Books

ChristianParenti#PrivelegeWalk#RadicalHampilton#FBI#MannyElis#Nonsite#leftpolitics#COVID#NaomiKlein#CharlesBeard#Grayzone#Trumpderangement#PatCummings#GregGodels#ZZBlog#Marcuse#DEI#DiAngelo#MichaelParenti#ComingFromLeftField#ComingFromLeftFieldPodcast

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Our guest today is award-winning investigative journalist and contributing writer at The Intercept, Trevor Aaronson. His seminal book “The Terror Factory: Inside the FBI’s Manufactured War On Terrorism” exposed the questionable counterterrorism tactics the Bureau used so they could claim it was winning the “war on terror.” His recent podcast, ‘Alphabet Boys” is a secret investigation of the FBI, CIA, DEA, ATF, and other alphabet agencies. He asks the question, “Are America’s top cops catching criminals -- or creating them?”

  • Website: https://trevoraaronson.com/
  • Podcast: Alphabet Boys Podcast: Trojan Hearse
  • Book: The Terror Factory: Inside the FBI’s Manufactured War On Terrorism
  • TED Talk: How this FBI strategy is actually creating US-based terrorists by Trevor Aaronson (1,377,952 views):
  • Greg's ZZs Blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

TrevorAaronson#InvesitgativeReporter#PoliticsNews#FBI#ChinookCenter#ChurchCommittee#leftpolitics#TuckerCarlson#survalience#PatCummings#GregGodels#alphabet#alphabetboys#alphabetboyspodcast#snitchjacketing#BLM#blacklivesmatter#blm##blackidentity#ComingFromLeftField#ComingFromLeftFieldPodcast

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Our guest today, Alfred de Zayas, is a prominent scholar, lawyer, historian, and human rights expert. He has an impressive academic background, having earned a law degree from Harvard Law School, as well as a Ph.D. in history from the University of Göttingen in Germany. Throughout his career, he has focused on international law, human rights, and the protection of civilians in armed conflicts.

Website: http://alfreddezayas.com/
Blog: https://dezayasalfred.wordpress.com/

Greg's ZZs Blog:
http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

AlfreddeZayas#DeZayas#UnitedNations#TheHumanRightsIndustry#CounteringMainstreamNarratives#FakeNews#FakeLaw#FakeFreedom#BuildingaJustWorldOrder#rapporteur#humanrights#Ukraine#GregGodels#zzblog#PatCummings#ComingFromLeftField#Podcast

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Bill Ehrhart’s experiences in the Vietnam War have defined his life—first as an enlisted member of a Marine infantry battalion, then as an author, poet, and teacher who has spent fifty years explaining the war and its consequences in books, lectures, and interviews. In this podcast, we discuss his recent book of essays on diverse topics, being a teacher, the VA, coming from Vietnam, and much more. Here is a link to a few supplemental pictures: http://comingfromleftfield.com/ehrhart

W.D. Ehrhart home page: https://wdehrhart.com/

Buy the book: https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/what-we-can-and-cant-afford/

Greg's ZZs Blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

BillEhrhart#WDEhahart#Poet#ThankYouForYourService#KenBurns#WhatWeCanandCantAfford#PatriotismAmericanLife#Poet#EssayonVietnam#MomsforLiberty#Veteran#GregGodels#zzblog#PatCummings#ComingFromLeftField#Podcast#mcfarlandbooks

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Vijay Prashad is an American-based Indian Marxist historian; he has written over 20 books and is the founder and executive director of the Tri-Continental Institute for social research. In this podcast, we discuss his recent book with Noam Chomsky, "The Withdrawal," and his observations regarding our foreign policy with China.

Wenhua Zongheng, Quarterly Journal of Chinese Thought

https://dongshengnews.org/en/whzh-vol1-no1/

https://dongshengnews.org/en/whzh-vol1-no2/

The Withdrawal: Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, and the Fragility of U.S. by Noam Chomsky (Author), Vijay Prashad (Author), Angela Y. Davis (Introduction) | (2022)

https://www.kingsbookstore.com/book/9781620977606

Greg’s Article on MLToday: "Mired in Opportunism"

https://mltoday.com/mired-in-opportunism/

VijayPrasad#NoamChomsky#Russia#China#Iraq#Libya#Afghanistan#TheWithdrawl#WenhuaZongheng#TriContinentalInstitute#PeaceActivist#zzblog#PatCummings#GregGodels#ComingFromLeftField#Podcast

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Daniel Kovalik, is a human rights lawyer, author, and professor. He has focused on issues such as labor rights, human rights, and international law. He has written numerous books that criticize what he sees as U.S. foreign policy agendas and media narratives that demonize certain countries.

In this podcast we discuss his recent trip to Russia and Crimea where, as a peace activist, he tries to make sense of the Ukraine conflict and offer context for understanding and resolution.

Photo Album (supplement to podcast)
https://comingfromleftfield.com/photos

Dan’s books:
https://www.amazon.com/stores/Dan-Kovalik/author/B06XZ9ZRSD

Greg's ZZs Blog:
http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

DanKovalik#RickSterling#Russia#Crimea#Columbia#Venezuela#Nicaragua#AlexSaab#Putin#Ukraine#PeaceActivist#zzblog#PatCummings#GregGodels#ComingFromLeftField#Podcast

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We welcome Norman Finkelstein to our podcast, a prominent political scientist known for his writings, research, and scholarship on the middle east. In 2020, he was named the fifth most influential political scientist in the world.

In his new book,” I'll Burn That Bridge When I Get to It! Heretical Thoughts on Identity Politics, Cancel Culture, and Academic Freedom,” he discusses how the Left undermines class politics from within, the misguided legacy of Barack Obama, the censorious culture within US academia and his new book, and the crazy politics of social activists like Kimberlé Crenshaw, Ta-Nehisi Coates, and Robin DiAngelo.

Norman Finkelstein website:
https://www.normanfinkelstein.com/

Order the book: I'll Burn That Bridge When I Get to It!:
https://www.kingsbookstore.com/book/9798986788425

Greg's ZZs Blog:
http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

Finkelstein#IlBurnThatBridgeWhenIGettoIt#NormanFinkelstein#IlBurnThatBridgeWhenIGettoIt#KimberléCrenshaw#TaNehisiCoates#RobinDiAngelo#AlanDershowitz#BrandyLee#zzblog#PatCummings#GregGodels#ComingFromLeftField#Podcast#Chomsky#Identypolitics#WhiteFragility#Dershowitz#wokeness#cancelculture#academicfreedom#academicfreedom#politicalcorrectness#cancelculture#MattKennard#SilentCoup#WEBDubois#PaulRobeson

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Walker Bragman is a journalist, JD, occasional cartoonist, and co-founder of OptOut Media Foundation. He writes for Salon, The Hill, Truth Out, Huffington Post and other publications. His recent reporting involves “Moms for Liberty,” an astroturf organization influenced by right-wing dark money that has been accused of using "parental rights" as a cover for strategically harassing public schools.

Links to Walker Bragman’s journalism:

Important Context News: https://www.importantcontext.news/

OptOut News: https://www.optout.news/

Greg's ZZs Blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

Walkerbragman#momsforliberty#M4L#MFL#parentrights#astroturf#maskmandates#rondesantis#twitter#matttaibbi#schoolboardharrassmen#concerntparents#InformedParentsofWashington#PeninsulaSchoolDistrict#antivax#sexeducastion#bookbanning#CRT#bookbans#SEL#antiunion#teacherunions#zzblog#PatCummings#GregGodels#ComingFromLeftField#Podcast

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Sarah Augustine, a Pueblo (Tewa) descendant, is the founder and co-chair of the Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery, a legal principal that originated in the 15th and 16th centuries to justify colonial expansion and domination of indigenous land rights and tribal sovereignty. We discuss impact of this doctrine, native boarding schools, combating the “extractive logic” of exploiting nature for profit rather than social value and rights for indigenous people.

Book:
The Land Is Not Empty: Following Jesus in Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery

Website:
The Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery

Greg's ZZs Blog:

SarahAugustine#DoctrineofDiscovery#DoctrineDiscovery#CoaltiontoDismantleDocturineDiscovery#TheLandIsNotEmpty#Tewa#Pueblo#Yakima#BoardingSchools#indigenious#PopeFrancis#zzblog#PatCummings#GregGodels#SIHF#WHO#ComingFromLeftField#Podcast# AnabaptistWitness #NativeAmerican

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William Z. Foster was one the most recognized and respected labor leaders in U.S. history. Chris Townsend is his prodigy. A long-time union organizer and, with the support of others, is instrumental in the unionization of Starbucks stores across the country.

Book:
Working Class Giant by Arthur Zipser
https://www.intpubnyc.com/browse/working-class-giant/

Links:

The Undercover Organizers Behind America’s Union Wins-Portside
https://portside.org/2023-04-04/undercover-organizers-behind-americas-union-wins

Secret Union Tactic Fuels Unprecedented Labor Wins- Bloomberg News Original- YouTube:
https://youtu.be/6xDlvGn0F6A

Greg's ZZs Blog:

http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

ChrisTownsendt#WorkingClassGiant#WillamFoster#WillaimZFoster#Salting#Union#Strabucks#Amazon#zzblog#PatCummings#GregGodels#JazBrisack#HowardSchultz#LaborOrganizing3ComingFromLeftField#WorkingClass #ClassStruggle#LaborHistory

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The promise that you can “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” is central to the story of the American Dream. Not so fast…. Acclaimed journalist Alissa Quart argues that at the heart of our suffering is a do-it-yourself ethos, the misplaced belief in our independence, and the conviction that we must rely on ourselves alone.

Alissa Quart website:

http://www.alissaquart.com/

Book:

Bootstrapped: Liberating Ourselves from the American Dream by Alissa Quart

https://www.kingsbookstore.com/book/9780063028005

Economic Hardship Project

https://economichardship.org/

Podcast:

Going For Broke

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/going-for-broke/id1585501973

Greg's ZZs Blog:

http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

AlissaQuart#EconomicHarship#NickelandDimet#GoingForBroker#Bootstrapping#littlehouseontheprairie#BarbaraEhrenreich#GregGodels#zzblog#PatCummings#ComingFromLeftField

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Carlos Garrido provides a comprehensive development of his concept of the purity fetish, tracing the outlook to the Eleatic school of Ancient Greek philosophy and showing how it has appeared in 20th and 21st century Western Marxism and contemporary U.S. socialism.

Book:
"The Purity Fetish and the Crisis of Western Marxism" by Carlos Garrido
https://www.midwesternmarx.com/books.html

Please subscribe to the Midwestern Marx YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/@MidwesternMarx

Greg's ZZs Blog:
http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

CarlosGarrido#MidwesternMarxism#PurityFetisht#FreddieDeboer#Socialism#SovietUnion#Cubanrevolution#China#CrisisWesternMarxism#Socialism#Socialist#GregGodels#zzblog#PatCummings#ComingFromLeftField

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Nathan Robinson is the editor of Current Affairs magazine and is a leading voice of millennial left politics. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New Republic, The Nation, Salon, The Guardian, and elsewhere.

We discuss his new book where he gives a detailed explanation of how conservative arguments work and why we need to resist them, then goes through twenty-five separate talking points, showing precisely why each one fails.

Book:
Responding to the Right: Brief Replies to 25 Conservative Arguments by Nathan J. Robinson
https://www.kingsbookstore.com/book/9781250777744

Magazine:
Current Affairs: A Magazine of Politics and Culture
https://www.currentaffairs.org/

Greg's ZZs Blog:
http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

NathanRobinson#NathanJRobinson#Respondingtotheright#CurrentAffairs#Magazine#Brief Repliesto25ConservativeArguments#NoamChomsky#FreddieDeBoer#Woke#Wokism#Right-Wing#ConservativeArguments#Socialism#Socialist#GregGodels#zzblog#PatCummings#ComingFromLeftField

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Our “friend of the show,” Bill Ehrhart returns to our podcast to discuss General Smedley D. Butler, one of the most colorful officers in the Marine Corps' long history; he was one of the two Marines who received two Medals of Honor for separate acts of outstanding heroism.

Butler and Ehrhart are both cut from the same cloth, Marines, opinionated, and on the correct side of politics.

Supplemental pictures and videos:

https://ComingFromLeftField.com/sb

Books:

War Is A Racket by Smedley D. Butler

Gangsters of Capitalism: Smedley Butler, the Marines, and the Making and Breaking of America's Empire by Jonathan M. Katz

Devil Dog: The Amazing True Story of the Man Who Saved America (Pulp History) by David Talbot (Author), Spain Rodriguez (Illustrator)

Greg's ZZs Blog:

http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

BillEhrart#WDEhart#WarIsARacket#SmedleyButler#MarineCorps#MetalHonor#Ultra#RachelMaddow#GregGodels#zzblog#PatCummings#ComingFromLeftField#Podcast#BuisnessPlot#BonusArmy#OverthroughRoosevelt#Facisim

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Ruth Ben-Ghiat is a Professor of History and Italian Studies at New York University. She is an MSNBC Opinion Columnist and commentator on CNN, MSNBC, and other media outlets about authoritarianism, Fascism, and threats to democracy around the world.. Her latest book, Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present, looks at how illiberal leaders use propaganda, corruption, violence, and machismo - and how they can be defeated.

The book:

Strongmen- Mussolini To The Present

https://www.kingsbookstore.com/book/9780393868418

Substack:

Ruth Ben-Ghiat Lucid Substack

https://lucid.substack.com/

Greg's ZZs Blog:

http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

RuthBenGhiat#RuthBen-Ghiat#Strongmen#MussolinitoPresent# authoritarianism #Factism#Facist#propaganda#machismo#Trump#illiberal#Putin#Lucid#GregGodels#zzblog#PatCummings#ComingFromLeftField#Podcast

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Tom Hulst was a policy advisor to Washington Governor Daniel J. Evans, an administrator in the State Office of Public Instruction, superintendent of Peninsula School District, and college political science teacher. His book “The Footpaths of Justice William O. Douglas” is a remarkable tribute to Douglas, hiking, place, and family.

Tom’s book:

The Footpaths of Justice William O. Douglas: A Legacy of Place

https://www.kingsbookstore.com/book/9780595330409

Greg's ZZs Blog:

http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

TomHulst#TomRHulstl# TheFootpathsofJustice#WilliamODouglas#ALegacyofPlace#Originalist#Yakima#Hiking#PacificNW#FreeSpeech#FreeSpeech#Environmentalism#GregGodels#zzblog#PatCummings#ComingFromLeftField#Podcast

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Anthony Conwright is a writer and educator based in New York City. He contributes to Mother Jones, The Nation, Huffington Post, New Republic, and others. He is a remarkable journalist, always with a refreshingly unique perspective on our modern political economy. Follow his works on:

Mother Jones:

https://www.motherjones.com/author/anthony-conwright/

The Nation:

https://www.thenation.com/authors/anthony-conwright/

Huffington Post:

https://www.huffpost.com/author/aconwright-628

Greg's ZZs Blog:
http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

ERRATA 20:13 Michael Brown was the young man killed in Ferguson, MO (2014), not Freddie Gray

AnthonyConwright#MotherJonesl#TheNation#HuffingtonPost#Jan6#BigLie#Facism#Journalsit#Commitee10#RobertPape#LostCause#AdamHochshild#Fergeson#GregGodels#zzblog#PatCummings#ComingFromLeftField#Podcast

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Tariq Ali is a writer, activist, and longtime public intellectual. He has authored many books and is a member of the editorial committee of the New Left Review. He contributes to The Guardian, CounterPunch, and the London Review of Books.

His most recent book is a critical review that exposes Churchill’s leadership in the context of forgotten Imperial crimes.

Book:

“Winston Churchill: His Times, His Crimes” with Tariq Ali

https://www.versobooks.com/books/3971-winston-churchill

Greg's ZZs Blog:
http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

TariqAlil#WinstonChurchill#Empireft#Colonialism#WWII#WarCrimes#ChurchillWarCriminal#TimesHis Crimes#BritishEmpire#BengalFamine#CarolineElkins

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Stansfield Smith is a member of Chicago ALBA Solidarity, formerly the Chicago Committee to Free the Cuban 5. Stansfield is a long-time anti-war activist and opposed U.S. interference over the years in Latin America. He is a prolific writer, and his works have appeared in publications such as CounterPunch, Dissident Voice, MLToday, Black Agenda, CovertAction Magazine, and MultiPolarisia.

Links:
Part 1: National Security State Censoring of Anti-Imperialist Voices the Latest Phase of their Long-Term Strategy to Divide and Control the Left (Jun 23, 2022)

https://tinyurl.com/yjpschj3

Part 2: Behind the Decline of the US Left (Nov 28, 2022):

https://tinyurl.com/9f63ta9n

Greg's ZZs Blog:
http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

StanSmithl#StansfieldSmith#Behindthedeclineoftheusleft#Leftpolitics#ChicagoALBASolidarity#ChicagoCommiteetoFreeCuban5#Cuban5#LatinAmerica#PinkTide#mediacensorship#Anti-imperialism#DivideLeft#compatibleleft#twitterfiles#matttiabbi#GregGodels#zzblog#PatCummings#ComingFromLeftField#Podcast

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Andy Campbell, the Senior Editor of Huffington Post, joined us today to discuss his book, “We Are Proud Boys: How a Right-Wing Street Gang Ushered in a New Era of American Extremism .” Andy is considered an expert on American extremism, having covered the modern rise of the far-right at the ground level, including the neo-Nazi rallies in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017.

Links:
“We Are Proud Boys: How a Right-Wing Street Gang Ushered in a New Era of American Extremism” by Andy Campbell:

https://www.amazon.com/Are-Proud-Boys-Right-Wing-Extremism/dp/0306827468

Andy Campbell articles in Huff Post:

https://www.huffpost.com/author/andy-campbell

Greg's ZZs Blog:
http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

AndyCampbell#WeAreProudBoys#ProudBoys#GavinMcInness#Extemist#Jan6#EnruqyeTarrio#VICE#HuffingtontPost#HuffPost#JoeRogan#GregGodels#zzblog#PatCummings#ComingFromLeftField#Podcast

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Today’s guest is an American poet, writer, scholar, and Vietnam veteran.  Bill (W.D.) Ehrhart has been called "the dean of Vietnam war poetry." His activism in the form of his prolific literary work has been featured in numerous articles, books, periodicals, and even Ken Burns’ documentary, The Vietnam War.

Links: W.D. Ehrhart’s books from McFarland Publishing:

https://mcfarlandbooks.com/?s=W.+D.+Ehrhart&search_id=product&post_type=product

W.D. Ehrhart Articles in the LA Progressive |Jun 2014 to Nov 2022: https://www.laprogressive.com/author/w-d-ehrhart

Webpage: https://wdehrhart.com/index.html

Greg's ZZs Blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

BillEhrhart#WDEhahart#Poet#ThankYouForYourService#KenBurns#Vietnam#Veteran##GregGodels#zzblog#PatCummings#ComingFromLeftField#Podcast

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Our guest today is an award-winning New York Times best-selling historian Adam Hochschild to discuss his book, “American Midnight: The Great War, a Violent Peace, and Democracy’s Forgotten Crisis.” Adam Hochschild is a prominent historian, author of eleven books, and a co-founder, editor, and writer at Mother Jones magazine.

Links: “American Midnight: The Great War, a Violent Peace, and Democracy’s Forgotten Crisis.”

https://www.harpercollins.com/products/american-midnight-adam-hochschild?variant=40001056014370

Greg's ZZs Blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

AdamHochschild#AmericanMidnight #WoodrowWilson#JEdgarHoover#Debs#Facism#WW1#GregGodels#zzblog#PatCummings#ComingFromLeftField#Podcast

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Our guests today are Joe Jamison (pen name: Thomas Kenny) and Roger Keeran, authors of “Socialism Betrayed: Behind the Collapse of the Soviet Union.”  Although written two decades ago, it remains the definitive expose of what led to the overthrow of the Soviet Union. With the recent death of Mikhail Gorbachev, their book is especially relevant, providing a clear and insightful analysis of this historic event.

Links:

“Socialism Betrayed: Behind the Collapse of the Soviet Union”:

https://bookshop.org/p/books/socialism-betrayed-behind-the-collapse-of-the-soviet-union-roger-keeran/7617565

Greg's ZZs Blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

JoeJamsion#ThomasKenny#RogerKeeran#SocialismBetrayed#CollapseSovietUnion# Mikhail Gorbachev#Ukraine#SecondEconomy#CarlosMartinez#MidwesternMarxist#JeffreySommers#CollapseUSSR#RiseChina#NATOExpansion#Marx#Communism# GregGodels#zzblog#PatCummings#ComingFromLeft Field#Podcast

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Our guest today is Kathryn Joyce, an investigative reporter at Salon. She recently authored a three-part series: ‘The war on public schools is being fought from Hillsdale College,” which focuses on a private Christian school playing an outsized role in nearly all our current fights about education.

Hillsdale is a “feeder school” for the Trump administration, its leadership directed Trump’s “patriotic education” 1776 Commission. Their lecture series and related magazine are the place where right-wing politicians and thinkers go to pilot their most ambitious ideas.

Links:

“The war on public schools is being fought from Hillsdale College”: https://www.salon.com/2022/03/16/salon-investigates-the-on-public-schools-is-being-fought-from-hillsdale-college/

Kathryn Joyce website (articles and books): http://kathrynjoyce.com/

Political Research Associates Articles – Ben Lorber Research Analyst: https://politicalresearch.org/bio/ben-lorber

Greg's ZZs Blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

KathrynJoyce#WarPublicSchools#Education#Christian#HillsdaleCollege#CriticalRaceTheory#CRT#ChristopherRufo#RightWingCollegeLies#Salon#PeninsulaSchoolDistrict#InformedParentsofWashington#Imprimis#charterschools#GregGodels#zzblog#PatCummings#ComingFromLeft Field#Podcast

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Our guest today is Dan Canon, a civil rights lawyer, teacher, and author of "Pleading Out: How Plea Bargaining Creates a Permanent Criminal Class."  His book is a searing analysis of America’s assembly-line approach to criminal justice and the shameful practice at its core: the plea bargain.

Canon is also known as counsel for Kentucky and Indiana plaintiffs in the landmark cases successfully supporting changes in marriage equality laws.

Links:

Dan’s book: “Pleading Out: How Plea Bargaining Creates a Permanent Criminal Class”: https://www.basicbooks.com/titles/dan-canon/pleading-out/9781541674684/

Greg's ZZs Blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

DanConan #PleadingOut# civilrights#lawyer#criminaljustice #marriageequality #Plea Bargaing#Attorney# #polticalanalysis #greggodels #zzblog #zzsblog #patcummings #ComingFromLeftField #podcast #laborhistory #unionbusting

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Our guest today is Dan Kovalik, a prolific author of many books on Latin America. He sheds light on the “pink tide,” the trend of numerous self-proclaimed socialist democracies moving away from neoliberal authoritarian regimes.

Links: Dan Kovalik Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Kovalik

Preorder Dan’s book: Nicaragua: A History of US Intervention & Resistance– January 1, 2023: https://www.amazon.com/Nicaragua-History-US-Intervention-Resistance/dp/1949762602

Greg's ZZ's Blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

DanKovalik#pinktide#Columbia#Venezuela#Nicaragua#GustavPetro#NicolasMaduro#Marxist#polticalanalysis#greggodels#patcummings#zzsblog#comingfromleftfield#podcast#operationcondor#politicaleconomy#capitalism#latinamerica

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Our guest today, Eddie Smith, is a political scientist with expertise in anti-imperialism and socialist projects. He is co-host of the popular podcast, Midwestern Marx, which has over 24,000 subscribers. Today we discuss Michael Parenti’s classic, Blackshirts & Reds, and other topics regarding class, capitalism, and contemporary Marxism.

Links:

  • Midwestern Marx YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/c/MidwesternMarx/ )
  • Midwestern Marx Tik Tok (https://www.tiktok.com/discover/midwestern-marx )
  • Eddie’s July 3, 2021 article: American Slavery and Global Capitalism (https://www.midwesternmarx.com/articles/american-slavery-and-global-capitalism-by-edward-liger-smith/ )
  • Website WTF Happened in 1971 (https://wtfhappenedin1971.com/ )
  • Link to Greg's blog: ZZs Blog (http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/)

EddieSmith #EdwardLigerSmith #midwesternmarx #marxism #parenti #michaelparenti #blackshirtsandreds #polticalanalysis #greggodels #zzblog #zzsblog #patcummings #ComingFromLeftField #podcast #racism #politicaleconomy #slavery #capitalism #KyleKulinski

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Our guest today, psychiatrist Dr. Joanna Moncrieff, has created quite a buzz with her recent journal article that capsized the brain chemistry imbalance hypothesis of depression. The article is scientifically sound and well respected by her peers; however, it is a threat to the big pharma industry and other narratives regarding the individual defect theory of mental health.

  • Marx, Spinoza, and the Political Implications of Contemporary Psychiatry | CounterPunch by Bruce Levine | June 7, 2022
  • The Political Economy of the Mental Health System: A Marxist Analysis | Frontiers in Sociology by Joanna Moncrieff | Jan 17, 2022
  • The serotonin theory of depression: a systematic umbrella review of the evidence | Molecular Psychiatry by Joanna Moncrieff | June 21, 2022

JoannaMoncrieff #UniversityCollegeLondon #seritonin #depressioin #mentalhealth #molecularpsychiatry #politicaleconomy #Frontierssociology #brainchemisrty #bigpharma #counterpunch #greggodels #zzblog #zzsblog #patcummings #ComingFromLeftField #podcast

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One of our favorite guests, Dr. Gerald Horne, joins us today to discuss his book, “Jazz and Justice: Racism and the Political Economy of the Music.” A remarkable scholar discusses the history of jazz, “the story of a beautiful lotus, growing from the filth of the crassest form of human immiseration.”

Order the book: https://www.kingsbookstore.com/book/9781583677858

Link to Greg's blog (ZZs Blog): http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

Spotify Playlists Jazz Musicians by Location New Orleans: https://spoti.fi/3Is9AXs

Kansas City: https://spoti.fi/3uA7jn4

St. Louis: https://spoti.fi/3yOAaqu

New Jersey: https://spoti.fi/3OS8xm0

Chicago: https://spoti.fi/3yqGcvX

Pittsburgh: https://spoti.fi/3OUHSoA

Cuba: https://spoti.fi/3ynYm1r

New York: https://spoti.fi/3NW6N9Q

Memphis: https://spoti.fi/3Rde87Q

geraldhorne #marvinhorne #jazzhistory #jazz activism #anti-fascism #charlesmingus #archieshepp #jazzjustice #greggodels #zzblog #zzsblog #patcummings #ComingFromLeftField #podcast #racism #politicaleconomy #music #jimcrow

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Today we talk with Stephen Gowans, a political analyst, and writer who shows how capitalism, its incentives, and its power dominate the political process and impeded the protection of public health.

Order the book, “The Killer's Henchman: Capitalism and the Covid-19 Disaster”

Link to Stephen’s blog (What's Left): https://gowans.blog/

Link to Greg's blog (ZZs Blog): http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

StephenGowans

Gowans

KillersHenchman

The Killer'sHenchman

COVID

CovidDisaster

WhatsLeft

CapitalismCovid

GregGodels

ZZblog

ZZsblog

PatCummings

ComingFromLeftField

podcast

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Today we talk with Angel Krempa, a former Starbucks shift supervisor in Buffalo, New York, who was fired in retaliation for organizing one of the first successful unionization efforts against the coffee giant.  In 2020, not a single one of the company's 9,000 stores had a union. In the past few months, more than 150 Starbucks voted to unionize, and the corporate overlords are not happy.

Link to Greg's blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

AngelKrempa

Starbucks

Worker Unitied

HowardSchultz

RossannWilliams

Union

GregGodels

WorldFederationTradeUnion

WFTU

ZZblog

ZZsblog

PatCummings

ComingFromLeftField

podcast

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Today, we welcomed Kent Garrett and Jeanne Ellsworth to discuss their book, " The Last Negroes at Harvard," a story of 18 remarkable Black men admitted to Harvard’s class of 1963. The book is equal parts memoir, group biography, and history of a turbulent civil rights era.

Book:  The Last Negroes at Harvard (2020)

https://thelastnegroesatharvard.com/

Podcast: available on Spotify and Apple Podcast

Link to Greg's blog :

ZZs Blog

KentGarrett

JeanneEllsworth

LastNegroesatHarvard

Classof1963

Harvard

CivilRights

Memoir

GregGodels

ZZblog

ZZsblog

PatCummings

ComingFromLeftField

Podcast

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Today, we welcomed Dr. Mark Vonnegut to discuss his book, "The Heart of Caring: Reflections from a life lived in medicine." Dr. Vonnegut, son of writer Kurt Vonnegut, has practiced pediatrics for the last forty years. We discuss the crisis in the health care system and how for-profit influences are harming the mission of helping patients.

Books: 

The Heart of Caring: Reflections from a life lived in medicine (2022)

Just Like Someone Without Mental Illness Only More So: A Memoir (2011)

The Eden Express: A Memoir of Insanity (1975)

Link to Greg's blog :

ZZs Blog

MarkVonnegut

TheHeartofCaring

Pediatrics

MentalIlness

Memoir

KurtVonnegut

BiPolar

Godels

ZZblog

ZZsblog

Cummings

ComingFromLeftField

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Today, we welcomed Sam Quinones to discuss his book, "The Least of Us: True Tales of America and Hope in the Time of Fentanyl and Meth." The book follows his 2015 release,  Dreamland: The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic. Both books are critically acclaimed.

In January 2022, The Least of Us was nominated for a National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) award for Best Nonfiction Book of 2021.

Book: 

The Least of Us: True Tales of America and Hope in the Time of Fentanyl and Meth (2021)

Dreamland: The True Tale of America's Opiate (2015)

Link to Greg's blog :

ZZs Blog

SamQuinones

TheLeastofUs

Dreamland

Podcast

Meth

Fentanyl

Homeless

Drugaddiction

GregGodels

ZZblog

ZZsblog

PatCummings

ComingFromLeftField

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Today, we welcomed Carlos L. Garrido to discuss Marcello Musto's book, "The Last Years of Karl Marx: An Intellectual History," and his research focus, including Marxism, Hegel, and early 19th Century American socialism.

Book: 

Marcello Musto's book, "The Last Years of Karl Marx: An Intellectual History"

The Midwestern Marxist YouTube channel:  (https://www.youtube.com/c/MidwesternMarx/) and website:  (https://www.midwesternmarx.com/ )

The article mentioned: A Critique of Western Marxism's Purity Fetish 

Link to Greg's blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com 

Carlos L Garrido

MidwesternMarxist

Marcelo Musto

The Last Years of Marx

GregGodels

ZZblog

ZZsblog

PatCummings

ComingFromLeftField

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We welcomed today Chris Townsend to discuss his four decades as a union organizer and the relevance of William Z. Foster’s book, “American Trade Unionism” on today’s labor struggles. 

Book: 

American Trade Unionism by William Z. Foster https://www.intpubnyc.com/product/american-trade-unionism/

Link to Greg's blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com

ChrisTownsend

American Trade Unionism

WilliamFoster

UE

ATU

podcast

Amazon

ChrisSmalls

GregGodels

ZZblog

PatCummings

ComingFromLeftField

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Greg and Pat welcome Dr. Jennifer Sherman to discuss her book "Dividing Paradise: Rural Inequality and the Diminishing American Dream.” Dr. Sherman is a Professor of Sociology at Washington State University and her work focuses on rural America, poverty, and inequality.

Book: Dividing Paradise: Rural Inequality and the Diminishing American Dream

https://www.kingsbookstore.com/book/9780520305144

Link to Greg's blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com

JenniferSherman

DividingParadise

WSU

Sociology

podcast

GregGodels

ZZblog

ZZsblog

PatCummings

ComingFromLeftField

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Greg and Pat welcomed Brian Becker to discuss the Ukraine situation and his book "Imperialism in the 21st Century.” Brian Becker is the National Coordinator of the ANSWER Coalition and an insightful journalist on the “The Socialist Program” which is part of the BreakThrough News podcast. His observations on the Ukraine conflict deserve a wide audience.

Book: Imperialism in the 21st Century.

https://www.liberationschool.org/imperialism-in-the-21st-century/

BreakThrough News podcast

https://www.youtube.com/c/BreakThroughNews/featured

Link to Greg's blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com

BrianBecker

Imperialism21stCentury

BreakThrough

TheSocialstProgram

podcast

GregGodels

ZZblog

ZZsblog

PatCummings

ComingFromLeftField

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Greg and Pat welcome Suzanne Gordon to discuss her book " Wounds of War: How the VA Delivers Health, Healing, and Hope to the Nation's Veterans.” Suzanne Gordon is an award-winning journalist and author of numerous books regarding healthcare systems, teamwork, patient safety, and nursing.

We are also joined today with guest Bob Bonner, a retired VHA nurse and long-time fighter for better care as a local union president representing hospital workers.

Website: https://www.suzannecgordon.com/ 

Book: Wounds of War: How the VA Delivers Health, Healing, and Hope to the Nation's Veterans

Advocacy: https://www.veteranspolicy.org/

Link to Greg's blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com

SuzanneGordon

WoundsofWar

VHA

VA

BobBonner

GregGodels

PatCummings

ComingFromLeftField

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Greg and Pat welcome Dr. Mark Kruger to discuss his book "The St. Louis Commune of 1877: Communism in the Heartland ." Dr. Kruger is a retired professor that also had a career practicing law and serving as a municipal judge.  Dr. Kruger's book tells a captivating story about a little-known chapter of labor history, the first general strike in America that resulted in a major US city being ruled by communists.

Book: https://www.powells.com/book/st-louis-commune-of-1877-communism-in-the-heartland-9781496228130

Articles on" The Veiled Profit" parade in St Louis:

  • The Atlantic
  • The Nation

Link to Greg's blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com

MarkKruger

StLouis

Commune1877

Communist

VeiledProphet

GregGodels

PatCummings

ComingFromLeftField

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Greg and Pat welcome Dr. Freddie deBoer, to discuss his book “The Cult of Smart: How Our Broken Education System Perpetuates Social Injustice.” Dr. deBoer is a creative essayist and academic whose writings have appeared in such places as The New York Times, Harper’s, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, Politico, and Jacobin. He is one of the most original and prolific voices in essays today, and his anti-tribal style has earned him admiration from political thinkers of all quadrants.

Book: https://www.powells.com/searchresults?keyword=Fredrik+deBoer

Substack: https://freddiedeboer.substack.com/

Link to Greg's blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com

FredrikDeBoer

FreddieDeBoer

TheCultofSmart

EducationalReform

Meritocracy

GregGodels

PatCummings

ComingFromLeftField

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Greg and Pat welcome Tony Pecinovsky, author and nationally known historian on the Communist Party, USA. Today we discuss two of his books, "Let Them Tremble: Biographical Interventions Marking 100 Years of the Communist Party, USA" and "The Cancer of Colonialism: W. Alphaeus Hunton, Black Liberation, and the Daily Worker, 1944-1946." Pecinovsky has appeared on C-SPAN's "Book T.V." and regularly speaks on college and university campuses across the country.

Books and articles about Tony:

http://www.workerseducationsociety.org/officers/

https://www.peoplesworld.org/authors/tony-pecinovsky/

https://www.powells.com/searchresults?keyword=Tony+Pecinovsky

Link to Greg's blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com

TonyPecinovsky

CPUSA

LetThemTremble

CancerofColonialism

GregGodels

PatCummings

ComingFromLeftField

PeoplesWorld

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Greg and Pat welcome Dr. Jack Rasmus, professor in the Economics and Politics departments at Saint Mary's College of California. Dr. Rasmus is the author of numerous books and articles about the economy. Today we discuss his latest book, "The Scourge of Neoliberalism: US Economic Policy from Reagan to Trump," and other topics related to our present economic and political situation.

Web: https://jackrasmus.com/ Twitter: (@drjackrasmus) Alternative Visions  on the Progressive Radio Network: https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/alternative-visions-progressive-radio-network-RBcaS7f9PWX/ Books: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/447807.Jack_Rasmus

Link to Greg's blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com

JackRasmus

Neoliberalism

Economics

GregGodels

PatCummings

ComingFromLeftField

https://youtu.be/-iQxgGse0ZY

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Greg and Pat welcome Dr. Tony Monterio, scholar/activist and one of the most cited DuBois scholars in the world to discuss the legacy of Henry Winston. Winston, committed to equal rights and communism, was an advocate of civil rights for African Americans decades before the idea of racial equality emerged as a mainstream current of American political thought. 

Anthony Monterio (Key Wiki) : http://keywiki.org/Anthony_Monteiro 

Link to Saturday Free School (Website): http://www.saturdayfreeschool.org/ 

(FaceBook): https://www.facebook.com/TheSaturdayFreeSchool

Link to Greg's blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com

TonyMonteiro

AntonyMonteiro

WEBDuBois

HenryWinston

SaturdayFreeSchool

GregGodels

PatCummings

ComingFromLeftField

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Greg and Pat welcome Dr. Walter Johnson, who is the Winthrop Professor of History and Professor of African and African American Studies at Harvard University.  Dr. Johnson's work focuses on the history of slavery, capitalism, white supremacy, Black resistance, and US imperialism.

Today we discuss " The Broken Heart of America: St. Louis and the Violent History of the United States (2020). The book analyzes the pervasive exploitation and radical resistance in America told through the turbulent history of St. Louis.

Link to Dr. Johnson's vitae: https://scholar.harvard.edu/wjohnson/biocv  Link to Greg's blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com 

WalterJohnson

BrokenHeartofAmerica

StLouis

Slavery

GregGodels

PatCummings

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Greg and Pat welcome Dr. Gerald Horne, who holds the Moores Professorship of History and African American Studies at the University of Houston.  Dr. Horne is the author of more than thirty books and one hundred scholarly articles and reviews.  He addresses pivotal points of racism across the gamut, ranging from labor, politics, and civil rights to international relations and war.

Today we discuss "Black Liberation/Red Scare: Ben Davis and the Communist Party," which is a study centered on the life of the remarkable African American leader Ben Davis, Jr. (1904-64). The book analyzes Davis's activism and political progression as the civil rights movement took flight.

Link to Dr. Horne's vitae and books:

Link to Greg's blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com

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Greg and Pat welcome back Janice O'Mahony and Kevin Miller for a second round pf poetry reading. Also included is special guest, Derek Sheffield, nationally recognized poet, teacher and editor of Terrain.org. In this podcast we put pandemics, politics, and an over-heated planet on the back burner, and engage with some lighter verse.

Poem Index:

(0:16:31_Derek) Transcendentalism by Lucia Perillo

(0:22:57_Kevin) Racehogs by David Lee

(0:27:27_Janice) Patriarch’s Birthday Party Nine Days Away Blues by Janice O’Mahony

(0:31:55_Derek) For Those Who Would See 3 by Derek Sheffield

(0:37:00_Kevin) After Hearing Birdnote on the Song - Sparrow’s Double Scratch by Kevin Miller

(0:42:51_Janice) Year of the Monkey by Janice O’Mahony

(0:54:51_Derek) Sans Teeth by Dennis Held

(1:00:32_Kevin) A Retired Farmer Working as A Greeter at Wal-Mart by Leo Dangel

(1:04:48_Janice) Denim by Janice O’Mahony

(1:09:38_Derek) Ornithology Lesson by Jan Wallace

(1:13:25_Kevin) Sunset Knoll by George Bilgere

(1:15:47_Janice) Just the Facts by Janice O’Mahony

Books by Janice O'Mahony

Whidbey Island: Reflections on People & the Land (2014) by Elizabeth Guss, Janice O'Mahony, Mary Richardson (available at https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/ )

Books by Kevin Miller

Light That Whispers Morning (1994), Everywhere Was Far (1998), Home & Away (2008) and Vanish (2020) (available at https://www.kingsbookstore.com/ )

Books by Derek Sheffield

Through the Second Skin (2013), Dear America: Letters of Hope, Habitat, Defiance, and Democracy (2020) and Not for Luck (2021) (available at https://www.kingsbookstore.com/ )

Link to Greg's blog: ZZ's Blog

http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com

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Greg and Pat have a one-on-one discussion about Biden's first six months as president. How is he doing at the end of his first semester?  We discuss his executive orders, COVID, border crisis, economics, bipartisan cooperation, foreign policy, defense,  media coverage, and a grade.

Link to Greg's blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com

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Greg and Pat welcome noted author, Geoffrey Fox, to discuss his soon-to-be-released book, "Rabble!" about the Paris Commune. The demise of the commune was both tragic and predictable. The events of 150 years ago lit a fire of reform and hope that still burns.

Some pictures of the Paris Commune 1871 from the Library of Congress:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/KZNWxJHEP5eB3wkE6

Geoffrey's new book, "Rabble!":

https://www.troubador.co.uk/bookshop/historical/rabble/

Background on the Paris Commune:

https://geoffreyfox.com/2021/05/the-paris-commune-and-the-crisis-of-imperialism/

Other books by Geoffrey Fox:

https://go.authorsguild.org/members/854

Link to Greg's blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com

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Greg and Pat welcome friend of the show, Richard Hollwedel, to discuss the Sven Lindquvist 1992 book, “Exterminate All the Brutes” which was recently made into a  HBO four-part documentary series directed by Raoul Peck. The book and documentary delves deeply into the legacy of European colonialism from the Americas to Africa.

Link to Greg's blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com 

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Greg and Pat welcome Kay Tillow, a veteran union activist from Louisville, is executive director of the Nurses Professional Organization. She and the NPO have spent 21 years battling to organize nurses who work for Louisville-based Norton Healthcare, Kentucky's most extensive health care system. Most recently, Kay has turned her attention to supporting a single-payer health care system.

Link to Kentuckians for Single-Payer Health Care: http://kyhealthcare.org/author/kay

Information on July 24, 22021 March for Medicare for All: http://kyhealthcare.org/posts/louisville-and-20-other-cities-plan-march-for-medicare-for-all-july-24-2021 

Link to Greg's blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com 

Errata:  (25:00) Pat said "63% of doctors support a public option". The correct percent is 73%.

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Greg and Pat welcome Stephen Gowans, an independent political analyst from Ottawa and author of several acclaimed books: Washington's Long War on Syria (2017), Patriots, Traitors and Empires: The Story of Korea's Struggle for Freedom (2018) and  Israel, A Beachhead in the Middle East: From European Colony to US Power Projection Platform (2019)

Link to Stephen’s blog: https://gowans.blog/

Stephen’s books: https://www.barakabooks.com/?post_type=dd-product&s=Stephen+Gowans

Link to Greg's blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com 

Errata: (17:32) Pat sai: "We must stand AGAINST Israel against terrorists." It should have been: "We must stand WITH Israel against terrorism."

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Greg and Pat welcome the poets Janice O’Mahony and Kevin Miller for conversation and reading of selective poems that cover current events, politics, and other matters.

Books by Janice O’Mahony

Whidbey Island: Reflections on People & the Land (2014) by Elizabeth Guss, Janice O'Mahony, Mary Richardson (available at https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/ )

Books by Kevin Miller

Light That Whispers Morning (1994), Everywhere Was Far (1998), Home & Away (2008) and Vanish (2020) (available at https://www.kingsbookstore.com/ )

Poem Index:

(05:24_Kevin) Alive So Who Is Complaining

(09:08_Janice) Just Wondering

(15:58_Kevin) After Pogroms Ending In River

(19:10_Janice) Intake At The Veterans Center

(26:00_Kevin) The United State Of Dog Fish

(30:56_Janice) Selma 1986

(36:08_Janice) I Got Nothing

(40:10_Kevin) Consider Religion

(42:11_Janice) The Poem That Led To My Arrest

(52:07_Kevin) Vanish

(53:52_Janice) Our Place

Poem Greg mentioned: Bertholt Brecht: Concerning the Infanticide, Marie Farrar (1922)

https://muvs.org/en/topics/literary-quotes/bertolt-brecht-concerning-the-infanticide-marie-farrar-1922-en/

Link to Greg's blog: ZZ's Blog

http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com

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Greg and Pat welcome Dr. Toni Gilpin, author of "The Long Deep Grudge: A Story of Big Capital, Radical Labor, and Class War in the American Heartland." Dr. Gilpin is a labor historian, writer, and activist who holds a Ph.D in American History from Yale University.  Her writing has been published in progressive media outlets and labor-connected journals like Jacobin and In These Times, and she was the recipient of the 2018 Debra Bernhardt Award for Labor Journalism.

Order the book: https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/1383-the-long-deep-grudge

Link to Greg's blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com

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Greg and Pat welcome Dr. Jennifer Berkshire, co-author with Dr. Jack Schneider of "A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door: The Dismantling of Public Education and the Future of School." Dr. Berkshire writes about education and politics for the Nation, the New Republic, the Baffler, and other publications. She and Dr. Schneider are co-hosts of the educational policy podcast "Have You Heard."

A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door: The Dismantling of Public Education and the Future of School: https://thenewpress.com/books/wolf-sc...​

Have You Heard Podcast: https://haveyouheardblog.com/have-you...​

Link to Greg's blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com​

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Greg and Pat welcome an American historian Dr. Roger Keeran.  Dr. Keeran is now Professor Emeritus of the Empire State College at SUNY after retiring in 2013.  He has taught successively at Cornell, Princeton, Rutgers, and the New York State University. A specialist of Labor and Policy studies published, in 1980, The Communist Party and the Auto Workers Unions.  Dr. Keeran demonstrates the extent to which the very formation of a solid and permanent industrial union in the automobile industry depended upon the dedication of a cadre of individuals whose own social vision far transcended the union movement itself.

  • Dr. Keeran's book, The Communist Party and the Auto Workers' Union, is available from International Publishers
  • 1976 BBC documentary regarding the Great Sit Down against General Motors in February 1937. Included: women's roles in settling the strikes.
  • Link to Greg's blog: ZZ's Blog

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Greg and Pat welcome good friend Richard (a.k.a “Hoss”) Hollwedel.  We discuss Bessemer Alabama Amazon warehouse workers making a final push toward unionizing, Jeff Bezo’s business blueprint that is sorting our country into “winner-take-all” and “left-behind” places, some thoughts of unions, capitalism, and a little Karl Marx for good measure too.  Hoss brings to the conversation a few decades of competing with the Amazon model in book sales and distribution and a rich family history of working in union shops.

Link to Greg's blog: ZZ's Blog

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Greg and Pat welcome retired newspaper editor and journalist Jim Painter to discuss "The Media," including broadcasting, publishing, and the internet. Jim made a career in newsrooms as a reporter, photographer, opinion column writer, and newspaper editor.  Jim is also the author of The Black March, a novel of World War II, based on his father's experience, as a crewman in the Eighth Air Force, flying B-17s.

Link to Jim's book, The Black March

Link to Jim's photography: Fine Art America

Link to of Jim's photography from his college and reporter days in Arizona: photography

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Greg (co-host of the podcast)  is a prominent scholar of the communist-socialist labor union movements of the post-New Deal communist movement from a Marxist-Leninist perspective. His writings have appeared in numerous publications in the US and internationally.  In this episode, Pat (co-host) interviews Greg on Karl Marx, his influence on philosophy, economics, political change, and current relevance.

Link to Greg's blog: ZZ's Blog

Link to :Marxism-Leninism Today

ML Today is an electronic journal containing articles and commentaries on the theory and practice of Marxism-Leninism contemporary dialectical and historical materialism. https://mltoday.com/

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Greg and Pat discuss the 2018 book “How Democracies Die” by political scientists Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt.

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Greg and Pat welcome author and human rights lawyer Dan Kovalik to discuss “cancel culture”, a modern form of ostracism. The timing is right because, on April 27, 2021, Dan will be releasing his latest book, “Cancel This Book; The Progressive Case Against Cancel Culture.”

Link to more on Dan’s book, Cancel This Book

Link to Greg’s blog: ZZ’s Blog

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Greg and Pat discuss the 2020 book “The People, No: A Brief History of Anti-Populism” by historian Thomas Frank.

Link to Greg’s blog: ZZ’s Blog  

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Greg and Pat discuss the 2018 book “How Democracies Die” by political scientists Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt. 

Link to Greg’s blog: ZZ’s Blog