We are living through the 6th great extinction of species and governments are almost nothing to curb it. Scientist Douglas Tallamy, however, proposes a blueprint for a grassroots effort to restore habitat in a meaningful way, seeing nature not as something to be preserved in parks and reserves far from us, but all around us in our cities and suburbs, farmlands and ranches.

The post Fund Drive Special: Rebuilding Habitats in Our Yard appeared first on KPFA.

Award-winning artist/illustrator Nate Powell discusses his graphic adaptation of James Loewen’s classic text “Lies My Teacher Told Me.”

The post Fund Drive Special: Adapting Loewen’s “Lies” appeared first on KPFA.

Since last autumn, we’ve witnessed an unspeakable crime perpetrated by the state of Israel with our tax dollars. And that crime has been rationalized by much of the U.S. media. Israeli scholar Ilan Pappe says that such justifications rest partly on a distorted view of the history of Palestine/Israel. He suggests that dismantling the mythologies about the formation and nature of the state of Israel is key to fighting for justice.

The post Fund Drive Special: Ilan Pappe on Zionist Mythologies appeared first on KPFA.

Degrowthers, Half Earthers, advocates of green growth—what distinguishes the ecological left’s various camps? Does it matter if an approach appears impracticable? Is only a post-capitalist future a sustainable one? And which thinkers are driving the debate, or trying to? Benjamin Kunkel considers a range of strategies advanced by contributors to New Left Review. (Encore presentation.)

Benjamin Kunkel and Lola Seaton, eds., Who Will Build the Ark? Debates on Climate Strategy from New Left Review Verso, 2023

The post Left Climate Strategies appeared first on KPFA.

Every year, more than 80,000 African Americans die prematurely. The medical establishment relies on genetics or dietary patterns to explain such appalling numbers. But sociologist George Lipsitz argues that black people, as well as Native Americans and Latinos, are made sick by where they live — and that the most important cause of health hazards for people of color is residential discrimination.

Resources:

George Lipsitz, The Danger Zone Is Everywhere: How Housing Discrimination Harms Health and Steals Wealth UC Press, 2024

The post Health and Place appeared first on KPFA.

When and where did the practice of forcing incarcerated people to work without wages begin? Robin Bernstein reveals that prison-based slavery in the U.S. originated not in the South but in Auburn, New York. The Auburn System, under which incarcerated workers were prohibited from talking and were put in solitary confinement each night, spread across the country and beyond.

Robin Bernstein, Freeman’s Challenge: The Murder That Shook America’s Original Prison for Profit University of Chicago Press, 2024

The post How Carceral Slavery Began appeared first on KPFA.

What does the expansion and intensification of nighttime labor say about the workings of capitalism, and what did Marx say about wage labor done in the wee hours? Paul Apostolidis draws from the working-day chapter in Marx’s Capital an emphasis on social reproduction, which he believes should be a key focus of contemporary worker struggles. (Encore presentation.)

Paul Apostolidis, The Fight for Time: Migrant Day Laborers and the Politics of Precarity Oxford University Press, 2019

(Image on main page by Rwendland.)

The post Nighttime Labor appeared first on KPFA.

Our world is replete with problems, calling out for repair and change. Silicon Valley entrepreneurs have solutions at the ready – tech fixes and innovations that they claim will make a difference. Scholar Julie Guthman discusses the problem with such solutions, and the mindset that has permeated institutions of higher learning which reward the development of such fixes over critical thinking and systemic change.

Resources:

Julie Guthman, The Problem with Solutions: Why Silicon Valley Can’t Hack the Future of Food UC Press, 2024

The post Silicon Valley’s Quick Fixes appeared first on KPFA.

No one escapes trauma or avoids stress. But what happens to our ability to imagine and pursue justice when individual and collective trauma goes unaddressed? Hala Khouri lays out a framework for understanding trauma; she also points to the important role that embodied practices can play in processes of healing and self-care.

Tessa Hicks Peterson and Hala Khouri, eds., Practicing Liberation: Transformative Strategies for Collective Healing and Systems Change North Atlantic Books, 2024

Hala Khouri, Tessa Hicks Peterson and Keely Nguyễn, Practicing Liberation Workbook: Radical Tools for Grassroots Activists, Community Leaders, Teachers, and Caretakers Working Toward Social Justice North Atlantic Books, 2024

The post Trauma, Healing, and Social Change appeared first on KPFA.

A large segment of Americans now find work via online labor market platforms — not just low-wage drivers for Uber, but highly educated lawyers and architects, software engineers and data scientists. Sociologist of work and technology Hatim Rahman discusses the ways that algorithms are used to control these workers, intentionally keeping them constantly off guard.

Resources:

Hatim Rahman, Inside the Invisible Cage: How Algorithms Control Workers UC Press, 2024

The post Digital Labor Platforms and the Control of Skilled Workers appeared first on KPFA.

Of what use is utopian thinking? Is hope something we need to cultivate, or rediscover? Jon Greenaway looks at how the German philosopher Ernst Bloch (1885-1977) thought about history, human consciousness, revolution, Marxism, religion, and fascism. (Encore presentation.)

Jon Greenaway, A Primer on Utopian Philosophy: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Ernst Bloch ZerO Books, 2024

Mat Callahan and Yvonne Moore, Working-Class Heroes PM Press/Free Dirt, 2019

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