Michael Parenti, The Supremely Political Court

In February, 2017 the name of Michael Parenti and references to his 23 books and countless lectures are flooding the Internet. It appears that his writings on history, the demise of US democracy, capitalism and the rule of the one percent, fascism, patriotism and US First-ism that span the decades from the late 1960s to 2014 were meant to be read and used today. Michael Parenti was born into a working class Italian family in East Harlem, New York City. He went on to receive his Ph.D. in political science at Yale in 1962. His academic career was cut short by his dismissal after he was arrested for protesting the US war on Vietnam. Parenti became an independent scholar, lecturer and author. The 12 part TUC Radio series "Democracy What Went Wrong" with recordings of Parenti’s lectures was produced in 1995. Parenti comments on major institutions such as the military, the CIA, media, corporations, universities, police, and the Supreme Court, offering suggestions on how to regain democratic control. We chose to rebroadcast Michael Parenti’s extraordinary history and analysis of the Supreme Court since that court and a Trump nominee dominate the media in early 2017. Over 20 years ago Parenti already pointed to the role of the court in concentrating wealth in the top 1 percent, and the way in which the Supreme Court expanded the power of corporations and laid the groundwork for what later became the Citizens United ruling of 2010. And Parenti shows how the Supreme Court began to give powers to the President in matters of foreign policy and national security that neither Congress nor the constitution had granted. He said: “... by Judicial Fiat the President could now do whatever he wanted in the absence of specific legislative prohibitions.” As of the date of this recording it still remains to be seen how the executive order issued by Donald Trump on January 27 barring citizens from seven Muslim majority countries from entering the US for 90 days, all refugees for 120 days and indefinitely preventing refugees from Syria from coming to the US will be decided by the current Supreme Court of 2017. Given the analysis made by Michael Parenti 20 years ago the outcome is uncertain.

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Fascism, Crisis and the Urgency to Act, with Sunsara Taylor; Fidel Fajardo-Acosta, Attacks on Academics; Erin Brockovich, Aliso Canyon

Sunsara Taylor, Fascism on the March, Sharpening Crisis, and the Urgency to Act. Fidel Fajardo-Acosta, the right-wing Professor "Watchlist." Erin Brockovich on the plan to re-open the Aliso Canyon gas field

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Words: How We Learn What They Mean When They are Spoken and Heard

Words: what they mean to the speaker and what they mean to the listener are the bedrock of human communication and cultural understanding.   Susanna Janssen, a teacher and dedicated advocate of learning foreign languages at any age, is the author of Wordstruck! The Fun and Fascination of Language. In this edition of Radio Curious, we discussed the multiple aspects of the meanings of words, how words translate from one language to another, and how Janssen sometimes seems to have a different personality in different languages.

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Sammy Roth: Rewiring the West

What do you think of when you hear the word, "billionaires?" Ruthless capitalists? Decadent narcissists? Evil cheese-puffs? What about renewable power? Well, today on Sea Change Radio we hear from Sammy Roth, energy reporter for The Desert Sun, who recently wrote a three-part series about how some American billionaires with deep roots in the fossil fuel industry, are planning bold clean power initiatives. We talk about the enormous wind farm that conservative tycoon Philip Anschutz hopes to build in Wyoming, discuss the efforts that famed investor Warren Buffett is making to enter California's electricity marketplace, and learn what "balancing authorities" are and the role they play in our electric grid. Is what's happening in the West just another capitalist scheme to benefit the 1%, or might these moves actually reduce climate pollution and lower energy bills?

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Remainder of the Jonathan Cook interview, plus a BDS action alert

Our feature presentation this week is the remainder of an interview, the first half of which we presented last week, with British journalist Jonathan Cook. As we said then, Cook lives and writes from Nazareth, a predominately Palestinian/Arab city in the north of Israel. This interview is about ten years old, and was done on the occasion of the publication of his book Blood and Religion: The Unmasking of the Jewish and Democratic State, but it continues to resonate because he goes into great detail describing the plight of Palestinians who live in the state of Israel and constitute some 20% of Israel’s citizens. Because the interview was too long for one broadcast we split it between last week's and this week's edition on This Week In Palestine. We left off last week, and now continue, with his description of problems Palestinian/Arabs have in finding professional work in Israel where they live. Although the Palestinian population is highly educated, finding work as a professional, a doctor, engineer, lawyer, or academic is close to impossible. We pick up at the point where Jonathan Cook observes that much of the purpose of this is to make life difficult for Israeli Arabs, so that they will leave. Before that, an action alert: The Zionist lobbies in Massachusetts, with JCRC at the helm, are trying again to pass legislation designed to punish and weaken the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement. Unsuccessful last term, the lobby is trying again with stealth antidiscrimination legislation that doesn't even mention BDS, but would promote targeting of the BDS movement. Specifically, the bill forbids the state from contracting with institutions and individuals who boycott companies that profit off the Israeli occupation and policies of apartheid. Framed as an anti-discrimination measure, the bill looks innocuous but of course it's not. The sponsors and bill numbers are State Senator Creem of Newton (SB92) and State Rep. Paul McMurtry of Dedham (HB779). We urge our listeners to weigh in as soon as possible. Closing this episode, we read from an instructive article in Mondoweiss written by Palestinian journalist Sherene Khalel. The subject is Palestinians' concerns and non-concerns about the now-begun Trump presidency. It’s posted at http://mondoweiss.net/2017/01/palestinians-react-inauguration/.

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CPR News, February 7, 2017

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Black History Month Jams

The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit Show - A musical mid-life crisis -- a late-night search for meaning and happiness airs on WRIR LP Monday nights from 9 PM to 11 PM. Stream the show @ www.wrir.org

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Oingo/Depeche - EPs

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Suicidal Queer Teens Turn to Trevor + global news + more!

Trumped teens turn to The Trevor Project; Screen Actors mix politics with prizes; Ellen schools the president about "Finding Dory"; the Boy Scouts of America transitions on gender identity, another judge questions Lebanon’s "unnatural" sex laws, Estonia registers its first married gay couple, Trump taps a Scalia clone as a Supreme bathroom battle looms, and more global LGBT news!

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B&D Approach Febraury 2, 2017

DJ Ducats - Quick Mix December 1, 2016 (clean) 1. X & Homeboy - Sadat X ft. Homeboy Sandman 2. 9 Elements - KRS One 3. Strange Brew - Marco Polo ft. Gangrene 4. And I Rock - Biz Markie 5. Battlefield - 7L & Esoteric 6. Brother, Brother - Big Daddy Kane ft. Little Daddy Shane 7. Poet Has Come - Blaq Poet 8. Bombard - Da Circle 9. Home Sweet Home - M.O.P. ft. Lord Have Mercy 10. Astonishing - Marco Polo ft. Large Professor, Inspectah Deck, O.C. and Tragedy Khadafi 11. Compton - The Game Drederick Crate-Em mix 1. Anyway It Goes - Beneficence ft. MC Eiht 2. Horizons (remix) - MindsOne & DJ Iron ft. John Robinson 3. The Jersey Connection - The Enforcers (K-Def & El Da Sensei) 4. See No Evil - Dotz ft. DJ JabbaThaKut 5. Friday Afternoon - Astro Mega

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If Music Could Talk - Feb 5 2017

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Cynthia's Midnight Oil Show for February 6|7

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CPR News, February 6, 2017

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The Motherland Influence: February 5, 2017

African, Latin & Caribbean music.

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AMBIANCE CONGO: February 5, 2017

Congolese popular music.

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Jazz;The Good Life; 2/5/17; set 1

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Jazz; The Good Life; 2/5/17; set 2

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Interview from Donetsk w/Prof. Miquel Puertas, February 6, 2017

Interview from Donetsk w/Prof. Miquel Puertas of Donetsk National Technical University. NOTE: Contains profanity, not ready for air in US.

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VII Seminário Internacional da REDE CASLA-CEPIAL

Brasil: Entre os dias 16, 17 E 18 de novembro de 2016, a Rede Internacional CASLA-CEPIAL promoverá, com o apoio da Casa Latino-americana, da Pró-reitoria de Extensão e Assuntos Culturais da UEPG e da Fundação Araucária, da APP Sindicado, dos Grupos de Pesquisa Interconexões (UEPG) e Meio Ambiente, Sociedade e Cultura (UFPR) o VII Seminário Internacional da REDE, intitulado “Por uma ecologia de Saberes: produção social do conhecimento e desconstrução da colonialidade”. Veja os detalhes aqui: https://goo.gl/cA3hpO

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Leftover Shows from April 2005

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Leftover Shows from March 2005

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Leftover Shows from February 2005 Part 2

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Leftover Shows from February 2005 part 1

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The Stuph File Program - Episode #0390

An eclectic collection of interviews and odd news designed to entertain

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From the Margins - February 5, 2017

Rally and march yesterday in Fredericton as part of a national day of action to show solidarity with Muslim families in light of the Islamophobia that led to the Quebec mosque massacre. And also to stand against the US exec order and Muslim ban; their suspension of their refugee program and Canada’s need for law and policy changes to welcome refugees and ensure justice for immigrants and refugees. Events took place in over 13 cities across the country. Many thousands gathered across the country and estimates of about 500 at the peak in Fredericton. Recap of the event, talk about what more needs to happen

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The Happy Station Show February 5 2017

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Climate: Breaking the Silence

"Beyond the Green Zone" war reporter Dahr Jamail covers climate change like no other. His stories and his story. Then Peruvian climate activist, anthropologist and feminist Maria Alejandra Rodriguez Acha adds another fresh perspective.

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YouthSpeaksOut! on "Cannabis & the Brain 2016""

A new presentation by Ralph Cantor on "Marijuana, Alcohol, & the Adolescent Brain." As cannabis use becomes normalized in our society, thankfully, it is important to recognize how this may affect future generations. It is our responsibility to understand how cannabis works in the brain and impacts social development of our youth. Ralph further describes how other substances affect the brain, which is also applicable to brains of all ages. Really worth listening to, even if you have heard Ralph before, or think you understand what THC is doing in the brain. 58 minutes

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40 - Japan

Journey Without Maps brings you vintage, rare, and underground global music from uncharted sonic territories. Every week, I unearth a new musical landscape: African soul & funk, Latin rhythms, eastern European electronica, Middle East psychedelic, Asian surf rock … and more.

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#466 -- Chris Hedges - Bernie Sanders

In a fiery post-Inauguration speech, Chris Hedges calls for resistance--not just to Trump but to the whole corrupt and oppressive system. Then KD reads a similar though milder short essay by Bernie Sanders. In-between: an appropriate song by Ethan Miller and Kate Boverman.

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