WPKN: Politics, Policy, and Planet Podcast

Monique Bosch, the Soil Health Program Manager with CT NOFA, gets down and dirty about the microbial basis of healthy soil that promotes nutrient dense food and a sustainable environment.Also:  Steve Munno of Massaro Farm in Woodbridge, CT, provides the Small Farms Report; and Vincent Kaye of Swords into Ploughshares Honey, presents the Honey Bee Update.Host: Richard Hill

Interview with Tom Swan, executive director of the Connecticut Citizen Action Group, conducted by Scott Harris.Tom Swan discusses CCAG’s priorities and goals in the current state legislative session, as well as initiatives a coalition of groups in the state are working on to build a firewall to protect CT residents from Trump 2.0 authoritarian federal policies targeting civil rights, education, and critical social safety net programs.

Interview with Richard D. Wolff, professor of economics emeritus at the University of Massachusetts, author of 11 books including, “Democracy at Work: A Cure for Capitalism,” and host of the weekly TV program Economic Update, conducted by Scott Harris.Richard D. Wolff examines Donald Trump’s imposition of tariffs on Canada, Mexico, China, Europe and other nations; the impact on the U.S. economy, as well as indications that the Trump regime is getting ready to manipulate government-issued economic statistics by excluding government spending from data about U.S. economic output — and the Commerce Department’s decision to disband two expert committees that worked with the government to produce reliable economic statistics.Wolff is author of 11 books including, "Democracy at Work: A Cure for Capitalism," and host of the weekly syndicated radio and TV program Economic Update.

Interview with the Rev. Jamal-Harrison Bryant, senior pastor at the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Georgia, conducted by Scott Harris.Senior Pastor Jamal-Harrison Bryant discusses his call for a 40-day “fast” from shopping at Target stores during Lent starting on March 5, in response to the company’s retreat from their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies after Donald Trump launched a campaign to eliminate DEI and decades-long civil rights policies in the federal government.

Interview with Jason Stanley, Jacob Urowsky professor of philosophy at Yale University and author of Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future, conducted by Scott Harris.Jason Stanley shares his views on the Trump regime’s unconstitutional attempt to eliminate entire federal agencies, the mass firing of government employees, the witch hunt targeting DEI and all federal anti-discrimination policies, as well as recent threats to criminalize student protest at university campuses nationwide. He is author of the books, "How Fascism Works," and "Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future."To follow our weekly updates on the Trump regime’s authoritarian playbook, subscribe to our Between The Lines Radio Newsmagazine Substack and receive additions to our “Hey AmeriKKKa, It’s Not Normal” compilation.

Sonia Hernandez and Veronica Ubaldo are team members with the community support organization Make the Road Connecticut, one of a national network of grassroots immigrant-led groups.  They share their personal stories of struggle for a better life in the US and their involvement in the fight for immigrant rights in their home town of Bridgeport, CT.Hosted by Richard Hill

A conversation with Medea Benjamin, co-director of Code Pink, and Francesca Rheannon, host of A Writer's Voice, a podcast which airs nationally and on WPKN-CT.Our guests cover topics from the ramped up oppressive measures against women's rights under Trump 2.0; to the possibilty of an end to the war in Ukraine; and the assault on DEI, free speech and public education.Hosts:  Ruthanne Baumgartner, Scott Harris and Richard Hill

This month the Labor Report focuses on the rapid devolution of the American political system into an authoritarian fascist oligarchy.Michael Zweig, economist and labor historian, provides an overview of these dangerous developments and the type of resistance needed to combat them.Special guest Sultana Hossain, recording secretary for tha Amazon Workers Union, reports on the "holiday strike" against Amazon last December; and then discusses the on-going fight by the AWU to force Amazon to negotiate a fair contract.Host: Richard Hill

Interview with Mike German, a fellow with the Liberty and National Security program at the Brennan Center for Justice, conducted by Scott Harris.Mike German talks about his new book, “Policing White Supremacy the Enemy Within,” a former FBI agent’s urgent call for law enforcement to prioritize far-right violence and end tolerance for police racism, and an increasingly dangerous situation where Donald Trump and his administration have embraced white supremacist and armed militia groups committing political violence on his behalf.

Interview with Nicole Carty, Executive Director of Get Free, a youth-led progressive activist movement, and Carson Delia, a Temple University student and Get Free member, conducted by Scott Harris.Nicole Carty and Carson Delia talk about confronting the Trump regime’s attempt to eliminate DEI policies in higher education and censor curricula that don’t conform to their white supremacist ideology. They’ll also discuss a recent incident at Temple University where students attempting to deliver a letter to the university president addressing their concerns regarding: Trump’s anti-DEI policies, were blocked by police.