WPKN: Politics, Policy, and Planet Podcast

The Organic Farm Stand checks in with Vincent Kaye about his honey bees as the winter solstice approaches;and visits with Murray Gates, owner of Artza Mendi Farm in Sprague, CT, for a conversation about regenerative farming  and organic  poultry and egg production.Hosted by Richard Hill and Diane Lauricella

Talk by Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University graduate student arrested by ICE in March 2025, produced by Melinda Tuhus.The event featured a conversation between Khalil and Stanley Heller, chairman of the Connecticut-based Middle East Crisis Committee and sponsor of Khalil’s appearance.  He began by describing his court cases, both as a plaintiff and a defendant.

Interview with Eric Ross, a Ph.D. candidate in the history department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, conducted by Scott Harris.Eric Ross discusses the rising tensions and violence directed by the Trump regime targeting Venezuela, and his recent article, “The Trump Corollary: U.S. Imperialism in Latin America from the Monroe Doctrine to Maduro,” with a view to better understanding the current crisis in the context of the long history of U.S. military intervention in Latin America.

Interview with Dr. Robert Steinbrook, director of Public Citizen's of Health Research Group, conducted by Scott Harris.Dr. Steinbrook discusses his views on the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice vote last week changing CDC’s recommendations for administering the hepatitis B vaccine to infants, major Trump administration and HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr.’s cuts to research on cancer, Alzheimer’s and other chronic diseases, as well as general administration threats to public health.

Interview with Alex Lawson, executive director of Social Security Works, conducted by Scott Harris.Alex Lawson talks about the U.S. healthcare crisis, where Donald Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress have refused to restore Affordable Care Act health insurance subsidies and if not approved, will cause many of the 24 million ACA recipients to see their monthly insurance premiums double or triple, resulting in millions losing their coverage. He also discusses long term solutions to America’s broken health care system.

Interview with John Gartner, a prominent psychotherapist, author and founder of Duty to Warn, conducted by Scott Harris.John Gartner shares his concerns about President Trump’s deteriorating mental health as he nears the end of his first year in his second term in the White House. He also addresses the cult-like devotion Trump continues to command from millions of Americans. He cofounded the group, Duty to Warn in 2017, with other mental health professionals and laypeople to warn the community-at-large of impending danger of Donald Trump’s presidency.

Interview with Nell Bernstein, author of In Our Future We Are Free: The Dismantling of the Youth Prison, conducted by Scott Harris.Nell Bernstein recounts the story of how a coalition of parents, activists and prison officials launched a successful campaign in states across the U.S. to end the prosecution of young people as adults, slashing the number of children locked in cages by a stunning 75 percent.

Interview with Maurice Carney, executive director of Friends of the Congo, conducted by Scott Harris.Maurice Carney discusses Africa observers’ concerns over Donald Trump’s recent meeting with the leaders of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, where they signed an agreement aimed at ending the conflict in eastern Congo, while opening the region’s critical mineral reserves to the U.S. government and American companies.

Interview with Matthew Hoh, Eisenhower Media Network fellow, conducted by Scott Harris.Hoh discusses the Trump regime’s announced intention to launch covert CIA operations and airstrikes against Venezuela, as well as the U.S. bombing of suspected drug boats in the Caribbean and Pacific seas amid news reports of standing orders to kill survivors of those attacks.Hoh is a former U.S. Marine Corps captain and State Department officer, Iraq War combat veteran and Afghanistan War State Department officer.

Vermont Independent U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders’ speech from the floor of the U.S. Senate Feb. 4, 2025.Sen. Sanders denounced the Trump administration’s defiance of the U.S. Constitution and rule of law, describing it as a dangerous move toward oligarchy, authoritarianism and kleptocracy. Rebroadcast of his Feb. 4, 2025 speech from the U.S. Senate floor.