2016 Programs

2016 Program Archive

August 18 - The Twentieth Anniversary of the Beginning of the End of the Soviet Union

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First we are joined in the studio by one of Russia’s best-known documentary film makers Marina Goldovskaya who has made an extraordinary film about her best friend Anna Politkovskya, the heroic Russian journalist who was mysteriously murdered on Putin’s birthday and remains a symbol of freedom in Russia. A freedom that started twenty years ago, but with the murder of Anna Politkovskaya in 2006, began to be slowly and inexorably extinguished – with authoritarian repression continuing today as the Putin regime rolls back freedom and democracy in Russia, prompty Gorbachev to remark on the BBC today that Putin has "castrated" Russian democracy and should not run for president again..

Goldovskaya

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Part 2

Then we look back at the last twenty years of Russia from a different perspective from another documentary film maker Robin Hessman, whose award-winning film “My Perestrioka”, traces the lives of young Russian schoolmates who came of age at the end of the Soviet Union and have since tried to adjust to the democratic changes and reversals with varying degrees of success in the new Russia, that in many ways is going back to the old.

 Robin Hessman

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Part 3

Then finally we are joined by the documentary film makers Amanda Pope and Tchavdar Giorgiou who made the fascinating documentary “The Desert of Forbidden Art’ that tells the story of an extraordinary Russian who collected thousands of art treasures forbidden by Stalin and preserved them for posterity in a unlikely museum he built in the deserts of Central Asia.

Amanda Pope

Tvachar

 

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August 17th - Leo Panitch on his book - "In And Out of Crisis; The Global Financial Meltdown and Left Alternatives"

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We examine one subject that dominates the news, and that is the economy. We take an in-depth look into the disconnect between economic realities and political possibilities as it appears increasing likely we are heading for a double-dip recession and further painful but totally unnecessary austerity that will result in the impoverishment of millions more Americans than those already out of work, in addition to a making life more difficult for a growing majority of our fellow citizens trying to keep their heads above water.

Professor of Political Science at York University Leo Panitch joins us. He is the author of “In And Out of Crisis; The Global Financial Meltdown and Left Alternatives” and we talk about alternatives to the defensive retreat of American workers and the Middle Class who are attempting to hold onto what they have, rather than develop new strategies to go on the offensive in a new democratic direction.

 

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Will the Republics Survive the Empire? – State vs. Defense: The Battle to Define America’s Empire by Stephen Glain

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 Today we look into one subject in depth and that is the American Empire and the conflicting forces within it, State versus Defense. We speak with the author of an important new book that not only reveals the hidden history of manipulation and miscalculation that changed the Republic into an Empire, but we look into the extent to which the Empire is destroying the Republic, and finally ahead to what might be the final folly of Empire, a war between the U.S. and China.

Stephen Glain, the author of the new book “State Vs. Defense: The Battle to Define America’s Empire” joins us for an extended in-depth interview into our foreign policy, what shaped it, who controls it, and how it can be changed before it is too late.

 

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Aug 15 - What Makes Rick Perry Presidential; Ron Paul's Almost Win; Why The Rich Aren't Empathetic

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 We will begin with a profile of Texas Governor Rick Perry who has just entered the race for president, shaking up a crowded field of Republican candidates, none of whom have broken out of the pack, perhaps explaining why Perry is already considered a front-runner. Emmy award-winning television news correspondent James Moore, who has covered Texas politics for decades, joins us.

Part 2

 Then political scientist Jonathan Weiler, author of Authoritarianism and Polarization in American Politics joins us to discuss another front runner, who has moved from the fringes to the mainstream of the Republican Party. We will discuss how close Libertarian Ron Paul came to winning in Iowa and how he can at the same time, appeal to both dope-smoking anti-war activists and anti-government gun lovers.

Part 3

 Then finally, we will look into an article in Monday’s New York Times that President Obama referred to, “Stop Coddling the Super-Rich”, written by one of America’s richest billionaires, Warren Buffet. Dr Michael Kraus, lead author of a new study which finds that wealthy people are less empathetic, joins us to discuss why Warren Buffet is the exception to that rule.

 

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Aug 14 - Bachmann Wins Pawlenty Loses; Who Are The Libyan Opposition?; Gloria Steinem on "Gloria"

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 We will begin with the victory in the Iowa straw poll for Michele Bachmann and the loss of her Minnesota twin, Governor Pawlenty who has now withdrawn from the race. The Director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the University of Minnesota Lawrence Jacobs joins us to assess the chances of this insurgent candidate who has all but made Sarah Palin irrelevant.

Part 2

 Then we will look into divisions within the ranks of the Libyan opposition that appear to be not only hampering efforts to remove the Qaddaffi dictatorship, but are also raising questions about exactly who NATO is supporting in its protracted effort at regime change through bombing. Wayne White a former Senior Analyst with the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research, who has studied Libya extensively, joins us.

Part 3

Then Gloria Steinem joins us. She is the subject of a new documentary on HBO airing on Monday night “Gloria: In Her Own Words”. The founder of Ms Magazine and an active member of Equality Now, Gloria reflects on the status of women in America today and her long struggle to improve it.

 

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