It Wasn’t Even Close: KPFK 11/7

LISTEN online HERE — SUBSCRIBE to iTunes podcast HERE
“It wasn’t even close,” says JOHN NICHOLS at TheNation.com.  John will talk about Obama’s two-million vote margin.  John was MSNBC’s man in Ohio last night, reporting for Rachel Maddow & Co. from the Teamsters’ Hall in Toledo.

Also: TOM FRANK will talk about what Obama will do with his win: pursue “the grand bargain” and make a deal with Republicans to cut the budget.  Tom’s new book, Pity the Billionaire, is out now in paperback.

And HAROLD MEYERSON will look at the Senate races, where Democrats triumphed across the board — and billionaires failed to put their candidates in office.  Harold writes about politics for the Washington Post op-ed page and The American Prospect, where he is editor-at-large.

Berlin Wall Exhibits in the US: The Nation 11/1

For Republicans today, Ronald Reagan provides the gold standard of political virtue. In their view, perhaps his greatest achievement was “winning” the cold war—the icon for which is the Berlin Wall. Pieces of the Wall are on display in a surprising number of American locations, from the low-down (a Las Vegas casino men’s room) to the more upscale (the Microsoft Art Collection in Redmond, Washington). . . .
. . . continued at TheNation.com HERE

“Ladies, Don’t Fall for Moderate Mitt!” KPFK 10/31

LISTEN online HERE — SUBSCRIBE to iTunes podcast HERE
“Ladies, don’t fall for Moderate Mitt!” – that’s KATHA POLLITT’s advice.  She’s a poet, essayist and columnist for The Nation.  PS from Katha:  “Did I mention that the gender gap is huge this year?”

“Mitt Romney’s America is the America that was,” HAROLD MEYERSON says.  “Barack Obama’s America is the America that will be…. And the distance between the two is greater, perhaps, than in any election we’ve had since the Civil War.”  Harold writes a column for the Washington Post op-ed page and is editor-at-large of The American Prospect, where he reported recently on politics in Florida.

Plus: ERWIN CHEMERINSKY on the Supremes: “If Romney wins, we can expect a frighteningly conservative high court. A victory for Obama could mean a liberal majority for the first time since 1969.”  Erwin is founding dean of the Law School at UC Irvine and wrote recently for the LA Times op-ed page.

Romney Says He’s Winning: KPFK Wed. 10/24

LISTEN online HERE — SUBSCRIBE to iTunes podcast HERE
THE SECRET HISTORY OF DISCO: Peter Shapiro talks about how disco brought a polysexual, polyracial, polymorphous celebration — to a space beyond the reach of church, state and family; how it became a worldwide phenomenon; and how it ended in a homophobic, racist backlash. His book is Turn the Beat Around.  PLAYLIST: Bee Gees, “Stayin’ Alive” 1977 #1; Gloria Gaynor, “I Will Survive” 1979 #1; Sister Sledge, “We Are Family” 1979 #2; Chic, “Good Times” 1979 #1.

also: JOHN NICHOLS on the presidential race, and on Massachusetts, where Democrat Elizabeth Warren is ahead, and Wisconsin, where Democrat Tammy Baldwin is ahead.  John is Washington correspondent for The Nation and a frequent guest on The Ed Show on MSNBC.

Plus: TOM FRANK says there is one grand political issue that defines our time – in the words of Elizabeth Warren, “the system is rigged.”  Tom writes a column for Harper’s–this month he writes about Paul Ryan as a fan of Rage Against the Machine.  Tom’s new book Pity the Billionaire is out now in paperback.

 

John Lennon & George McGovern: TheNation 10/21

George McGovern died today; his 1972 campaign changed many lives, including John Lennon’s.  Lennon had moved to New York City in 1971, and it was his support for McGovern—who died Oct. 21 at age 90—that led the Nixon administration to try to deport the ex-Beatle. The story begins with Jerry Rubin. . .
…continued at TheNation.com HERE

Gore Vidal and Harvard: Inside Higher Ed., 10/19

Gore Vidal, who died in July, was one of our greatest novelists and essayists – and yet he never went to college. In a 2007 interview I asked him why not.

“I graduated from [Phillips] Exeter,” he explained, “and I was aimed at going to Harvard. Instead I enlisted in [the Navy] in 1943. When I got out, in ’46, I thought, ‘I’ve spent all my life in institutions that I loathe, including my service in the [Navy] of the United States.’ I thought, ‘Shall I go for another four years?’ . . . … continued at Inside Higher Ed., HERE.

Cold War Memory Q&A: CBSnews.com, 10/18

Jeff Glor:  What inspired you to write the book?
Jon Wiener:  I took the tour of the Nevada Test Site and wrote about it for the “Politics of Travel” issue of The Nation magazine. . . .
. . . continued at CBSnews.com HERE

UCLA History Dept.: Dec. 3

“How We Forgot the Cold War: A Historical Journey across America.”  Talk, with comment by Robin Kelley.
UCLA Department of History, Bunche Hall 6th floor conference room. Monday Dec. 3, 3-5pm.  Sponsored by the Center for Social Theory and Comparative History;  Co-sponsored with US History Colloquium.