Episodes

  • Science Fiction and the Far Right

    Science Fiction and the Far Right
    Apr 27 2026
    Fiction that imagines alternate futures is often associated with the left — with writers like Octavia Butler and Ursula LeGuin. But the tropes of science fiction are well-suited to the right and, as Jordan Carroll illustrates, far right authors and aficionados have populated the ranks of speculative fiction since its inception, including James Madole ardent science fiction fan and neo-Nazi party founder. Carroll discusses the right’s ongoing fight to claim the future. Jordan S. Carroll, Speculative Whiteness: Science Fiction and the Alt-Right University of Minnesota Press, 2024 Photo by Robynne O on Unsplash The post Science Fiction and the Far Right appeared first on KPFA.
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    Less than 1 minute
  • The Political Power of the Police

    The Political Power of the Police
    Apr 22 2026
    The power the police wield on the streets of this country is plain to see. Less visible, but no less formidable, is the immense political power and influence that the police exercise. Historian Stuart Schrader describes how police unions amassed enormous power over the last fifty years. Stuart Schrader, Blue Power: How Police Organized to Protect and Serve Themselves Basic Books, 2026 The post The Political Power of the Police appeared first on KPFA.
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    1 hr
  • The Decline of U.S. Capitalism?

    The Decline of U.S. Capitalism?
    Apr 21 2026
    The left has a long history of predicting the decline of US capitalism and empire. Some argue that Trump is a symptom of that decline — a strongman chosen by capital to set things right — and that the ill health of U.S. capitalism is paralleled by the decline of the dollar. Political economist Stephen Maher counters that U.S. capitalism is robust — to the detriment of most of us. Gregory Albo and Stephen Maher, eds. Socialist Register 2026: Late-Stage Capitalism? Accumulation in the Ruins Monthly Review Press, 2025 The post The Decline of U.S. Capitalism? appeared first on KPFA.
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    1 hr
  • American Jews and the Left

    American Jews and the Left
    Apr 20 2026
    Jews and the left have been closely associated with each other for well over a century, both in Europe where the Nazis genocidally linked one with the other, and in the United States. Scholar Benjamin Balthaser considers the history of American Jews and the left, including in opposition to Jewish nationalism, arguing that the recent florescence of Jewish anti-Zionism is a return to a much longer tradition. (Encore presentation.) Benjamin Balthaser, Citizens of the Whole World: Anti-Zionism and the Cultures of the American Jewish Left Verso, 2025 Photo credit: Bruce Emmerling The post American Jews and the Left appeared first on KPFA.
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    1 hr
  • Fuentes on Aggression; Graeber on Egalitarianism

    Fuentes on Aggression; Graeber on Egalitarianism
    Apr 15 2026
    We often are told there is no other way to organize society — that by our very nature, we’re destined to try to dominate each other. But are such assumptions merited? Primatologist Agustín Fuentes pulls apart the supposedly evolutionary case that humans are hardwired for war. And the late anthropologist David Graeber discusses the active cultivation of pessimism about our ability to organize society in a more egalitarian way. To celebrate KPFA Radio’s 77th birthday, please donate to Against the Grain and KPFA! Photo by Egor Myznik on Unsplash The post Fuentes on Aggression; Graeber on Egalitarianism appeared first on KPFA.
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    1 hr
  • (Not) Taxing the Rich

    (Not) Taxing the Rich
    Apr 14 2026
    It’s widely recognized that vast amounts of wealth are now concentrated in the hands of the very few. But less well understood, scholar Ray Madoff argues, is how the U.S. tax code played a key role in that process. She delineates how progressive taxation and the estate tax — designed to tax the inherited wealth of the rich — have been eviscerated. And she also argues that philanthropy, perversely, has increased the wealth of the 1%. Ray D. Madoff, The Second Estate: How the Tax Code Made an American Aristocracy University of Chicago Press, 2025 Photo by Alexander Grey on Unsplash The post (Not) Taxing the Rich appeared first on KPFA.
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    1 hr
  • Infrastructures of War and Repression in Iran

    Infrastructures of War and Repression in Iran
    Apr 13 2026
    Trump has not only threatened Iran’s civilian infrastructure, but the U.S. and Israel have systematically targeted it since the start of their attack. Historian Golnar Nikpour reflects on the human costs of the war. And she discusses the Iranian state and prison system since the early 20th century and places recent mass protests — the largest in Iranian history — in the context of cycles of protest and repression in modern Iran. Golnar Nikpour, The Incarcerated Modern: Prisons and Public Life in Iran Stanford University Press, 2024 Photo credit: Saeed Karimi The post Infrastructures of War and Repression in Iran appeared first on KPFA.
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    1 hr
  • Counting Care Work

    Counting Care Work
    Apr 8 2026
    Many in our society are struggling to provide care for their families or communities. Often they don’t have time to do it and can’t afford to pay for it. The right realizes this and has tried to woo women with a glorified vision of domestic life. Economist Nancy Folbre discusses the early fight for the recognition of unpaid care work as real work, while the economics profession has mainly ignored it, despite its crucial importance for capitalism. Nancy Folbre, Making Care Work: Why Our Economy Should Put People First UC Press, 2026 Photo by Jill Brand on Unsplash The post Counting Care Work appeared first on KPFA.
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    1 hr