L.A. Labor: The Great Exception – KPFK Wed. 4/6

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HAROLD MEYERSON of The American Prospect says the labor movement in L.A. is the great exception nationally – instead of fighting defensive battles, they are winning new jobs at decent wages—mostly, union jobs in government construction projects.  Harold wrote about L.A. labor for the L.A. Times op-ed page.

Plus: Women of Wal-Mart, Unite!  NELSON LICHTENSTEIN reports on the class-action suit of women workers at Wal-Mart – which would be the largest in the history of the world.  Nelson teaches labor history at UC Santa Barbara and is the author of The Retail Revolution, a history of Wal-Mart.

Also: Men, Women and Unions: Why cops and firemen change the picket line equation.  NATASHA VARGAS-COOPER worked as an SEIU organizer for five years; now she’s covering the Wisconsin story – and writing about it for The Atlantic the New York Times op-ed page.

Change Comes to Nixonland: L.A. Times op-ed 4/5

Watergate was “the ultimate stress test” for the nation, says Timothy Naftali, director of the Nixon Library. It was also a stress test for the National Archives and the Nixon Library. . . .
. . . continued at the L.A. Times op-ed page HERE

From Fukushima to Washington DC – KPFK 3/30

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 Nuclear power industry execs testified in Washington yesterday that we have nothing to worry about – except perhaps the fact that almost all American nuclear power plants have backup batteries that would last only half as long as those at Japan’s troubled Fukushima.  DAN HIRSCH comments: he’s head of Committee to Bridge the Gap, which has been fighting nuclear power for more than three decades.

Plus, our Wisconsin update:  JOHN NICHOLS reports live from Madison  – he calls it “Lawless FitzWalkerstan.” WATCH recall campaign TV ad HERE

Also: Lincoln and slavery: how our greatest president changed his mind about abolition, emancipation, and black voting rights: historian ERIC FONER explains — and provides helpful hints about updating a lecture on Lincoln.  His book The Fiery Trial just won the Bancroft Prize and the Lincoln Prize, the two biggest awards in the history profession.  (originally broadcast 12/1/10)

Imagine No Religion: The Nation 3/24

When John Lennon sang “Imagine there’s no heaven” in 1971, rock critics called the song “utopian.” But 40 years later, researchers have found that religion is indeed disappearing in nine countries . . . .
. . . continued at TheNation.com HERE.

Fukushima: Thinking the Unthinkable –KPFK 3/23

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 We’ve had very little reporting on what the worst human and environmental consequences might be following the nuclear disasters at Fukushima.  But, TOM ENGELHARDT says, we do have “the irradiated zone of the nuclear imagination,” where pulp fiction has dwelled on planetary disasters.  Tom edits TomDispatch.com, where his new piece, “The Worst That Could Happen,” is now posted.

Plus: The epic story of black migration out of the South –ISABEL WILKERSON tells that story in The Warmth of Other Suns. Her award-winning book is out now in paperback.  (originally broadcast 9/21/10)

Also: Haiti’s Aristide problem: Haitians voted for a new president on Sunday, just after former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide returned from seven years in exile.  AMY WILENTZ says that, as president, Aristide “changed nothing structurally.” Amy’s unforgettable book about Haiti is THE RAINY SEASON; her piece “The Haitian Lazarus” appeared in the New York Times op-ed page.

From Fukushima to Diablo Canyon: KPFK Wed 3/16

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 The danger of nuclear power, from Fukushima to Diablo Canyon: DAN HIRSCH explains why the risks of nuclear power are too great.  Dan heads the Committee to Bridge the Gap, and teaches at UC Santa Cruz; we saw him on “The Last Word” with Lawrence O’Donnell on MSNBC Monday night.

Plus: MARK LeVINE has just returned from Bahrain, where Saudi troops have intervened to defend the American-backed king from popular protest.  Mark, a historian at UC Irvine, is the author of Heavy Metal Islam: Religion, Popular Culture and Resistance in the Middle East.

Also: Do you worry about Money? want more Money?  worry about wanting more Money? Then you need to go to the workshop run by Robin and Randy Petraeus, Power Couple (TIM HAMELIN & JOCELYN TOWNE).  JONAS OPPENHEIM talks about his hilarious play “FREE $$$,” which runs at the Sacred Fools Theater in Hollywood Thurs and Sun nights thru April 3.  info at http://www.freemoney4U.info.

Crisis for Workers in Wisconsin: KPFK Wed 3/9

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 In Wisconsin tonight, Republicans voted to strip workers of collective bargain rights in a surprise coup.  JOHN NICHOLS reports live from Madison on a developing crisis. READ John’s latest piece at TheNation.com HERE.  WATCH Michael Moore’s speech in Madison HERE.  (Photo: Milwaukee workers attack scabs in 1946–NYTimes.)

Also: The legendary FATHER GREG BOYLE, Jesuit pastor of Dolores Mission in Boyle Heights starting in 1986, has made it his mission to help gang members who want to quit.  He founded Homeboy Industries in 1988.  Now his wonderful book: Tattoos on the Heart: Stories of Hope and Compassion is out in paperback. (first aired 5/12/10)

Plus:   How a generation of women came to realize their dissatisfaction with domestic life didn’t reflect a personal inadequacy but rather a social and political injustice:  STEPHANIE COONTZ talks about Betty Friedan’s book The Feminine Mystique, 50 years after its publication.  Stephanie’s new book is A Strange Stirring: The Feminine Mystique and American Women at the Dawn of the 1960s. Watch Stephanie on The Colbert Report HERE.