WPKN: Politics, Policy, and Planet Podcast

Interview with Greg Palast, filmmaker, journalist and author of several New York Times bestsellers including "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy," conducted by Scott HarrisGreg  talks about his recent investigation, “How Venezuela’s New President Will Save Us from Trump’s Crazy: The Radical Pragmatist versus Rubio’s Vulture,” explaining how billionaire and Trump donor Paul Singer is one of the prime beneficiaries of the U.S. military attack and abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, as Singer is about to take over CITGO, the crown jewel of Venezuela’s oil empire.

Interview with Madison McVan, a reporter with the Minnesota Reformer, an independent, nonprofit news organization where she covers the impact of the Trump administration in her state, conducted by Scott Harris.Madison McVan talks about Minnesota residents’ response to Trump’s deployment of a flood of ICE agents to the state; the federal agent killing of Alex Pretti, the 37-year-old intensive care unit nurse; the earlier ICE agent killing of Renee Good and the Jan. 23 statewide general strike. She also discusses Trump’s threat to invoke the Insurrection Act and send in potentially thousands of active-duty U.S. military to Minnesota. 

Interview with Melvin Goodman, senior fellow at the Center for International Policy,  a professor of government at Johns Hopkins University and a former CIA analyst, conducted by Scott Harris.Melvin Goodman, whose most recent book is titled, American Carnage: The Wars of Donald Trump, talks about President Trump’s disastrous foreign policy including his attack on Venezuela and kidnapping of its president; threats to takeover Greenland and breakup NATO; his irrational imposition of tariffs around the world and the subject of his recent columns, “Donald Trump, Poster Child for Megalomania” and “Nazi Germany 1933 and MAGA America 2025.” 

The Monthly Labor Report interviews Faye Guenther, president of United Food and Commercial Workers (Local 3000), who leads over 50,000 members across Washington state, northeast Oregon and northern Idaho. Faye discusses her progressive union's strategies that led to victories in five strikes in the past two years.Special guest: Michael ZweigHost: Richard Hill

Interview with FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, the lone Democrat serving on the Federal Communications Commission, conducted by Scott Harris.Commissioner Gomez talks about her concerns regarding the concentration of media ownership, FCC censorship and interference in the exercise of First Amendment right to free speech, the future of public media and the expansion of broadband access.

Interview with Tamika Middleton, chief political and strategy officer with Women's March, and Saniyah Yolanda, student leader, conducted by Scott Harris.Tamika talks about the Jan. 20th Free America Walkout protest and other important work Women’s March is prioritizing. Student leader Saniyah Yolanda of the group Get Free, a youth-led progressive activist movement, talks about the work they’re doing organizing students for the Friday, Jan. 23 school walkout protest.

Interview with Rabbi Jill Jacobs, CEO of T'ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, conducted by Scott Harris.Rabbi Jacobs talks about her group T’ruah’s condemnation of the ICE killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis, as she and religious leaders call for accountability, justice and an end to ICE brutality nationwide.

Interview with Yint Hmu coordinator of Public Citizen's democracy campaign, conducted by Scott Harris.Yint Hmu discusses the work her group is doing to challenge and resist the Trump authoritarian agenda both at home and abroad, including their many lawsuits and national protest organizing. She talks about the explosive situation in Minneapolis in the aftermath of the ICE shooting death of Renee Good, as Trump threatens to invoke the Insurrection Act and declare martial law.

The Organic Farm Stand presents:   Hot Topics with Diane Lauricella   Small Farms Report with Steve Munno   Nutrient-rich soil and how it produces nutrient-dense food with Monique Bosch Hosts: Richard Hill and Diane Lauricella

Resistance Roundtable interviews:  1. Sandra Levinson, executive director of the Center For Cuban Studies, about Trump's recent threat to crush Cuba in the wake of the invasion of Venezuela and the abduction of President Nicolas Maduro (www.centerforcubanstudies.org);   2. Costanza Segovia, director of CT For All (www.connecticutforall.org), an immigrant rights group, discusses the increased threats to Connecticut immigrants with the massive surge in new minimally trained ICE personal.Panel: Scott Harris, Ruthanne Baumgartner and Richard Hill