Keeping Democracy Alive With Burt Cohen

The environmental movement is often derided as elitist. But as our guest Liza Featherstone of the New Republic and Jacobin magazines tells it, by planting wild miniforests there’s no such polarization. The ultra-rich may have their gated sanctuaries whereas miniforests The post Miniforests as a Joyous Part of Class War appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.

Laws intended to fight mafia crime are being used to crush legitimate protest. We’ve all seen excessive police force on campuses, and many legislators are also doing their part to chill our treasured freedom of speech and assembly. In These The post The War on Protest Escalates appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.

For many decades the Supreme Court was reliably on the side of voting rights. Incrementally, quite steadily, the justices have chipped away at our constitutional rights. On this show Professor Josh Douglas and I discuss his new book: The Court The post The Court Versus the Voters: Who’da Thunk it?! appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.

Another Earth Day has come and gone, and how are we doing? The 19th and 20th century systems of control of the earth have failed; there’s a connection between famines, global warming  and empire. Especially in the face of climate The post The Earth for Humanity: A How-To appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.

Listening to working people’s concerns is key. Democrats have almost always won this constituency. That is until recently. Biden’s shift to the economic left is connecting and can yield electoral success. The New Republic’s Timothy Noah says tangible gains like The post Yes, Biden Can WIn the Working Class appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.

Democracy is itself largely improvisation. Pushing back against the powers that be; the mainstream. Our guest Randy Fertel, author of the new book Winging It; Improv’s Power and Peril in the Age of Trump, says rationality alone is not enough; The post The Power of What Appears to be Improvisation appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.

Truman was down and nearly out. Then he did a campaign whistle stop tour of America and beat the odds. TV eye candy is one thing but seeing a president in the flesh connects far better, and connection is needed The post Should Biden Whistle Stop Campaign Across America? appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.

After decades in a coma, the nuclear industry is back. But the truth is nuclear power is not an acceptable stopgap measure, it’s a diversion from real, actually economic, safer solutions. On this show policy analyst Paul Gunter tells the The post Nuclear Rebranding as “Green?” Mere Window Dressing. appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.

It’s basic to the very essence of America. On this show Constitutional Law Professor John O. McGinnis argues that commerce was the mother’s milk of the American Revolution and that the virtues of commerce and idealism need not conflict. Listen The post There’s No Conflict Between Commercialism and Idealism appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.

We’ve built all the dams we need and that nature can handle. Development in flood zones is still happening faster than more sustainable locations. In his new book; Seek Higher Ground, The Natural Solution to Our Urgent Flooding Crisis, award The post Seek Higher Ground: The Laws of Nature are Not Optional appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.

Most of us can guess but there’s nothing like serious scientific research when it comes to understanding political change. In her forthcoming book  How the Heartland Went Red, Harvard’s Stephanie Termullo shares her findings from extensive field research in three The post Why Place Supplants Issues in the Heartland appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.

It’s a systemic problem: what is “reasonable,” what is acting “in good faith” when America’s police violate citizens rights or even kill them? As of now, police are protected, enjoying unique immunity which no one else has. In this show The post Shielded: How Did Police Become Untouchable? appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.

They claim loudly they’re protecting freedom and innocent children, but the truth is the right is oppressing both. On this show psychoanalyst Avgi Saketopoulou, co-author of Gender Without Identity, argues there is not one true and immutable authentic identity with The post Gender Identity: Is it Fixed or Changeable? appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.

It’s gotta be eye catching. Journalism works by way of fear and anxiety. How it gets presented affects how we understand the news. On this show Tufts University lecturer and author Nan Levinson and your host discuss questions about the The post Is There Journalism That Doesn’t Love A War? appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.

If you have cared about equality in education in recent decades, you know of the work of America’s foremost advocate for public schools Jonathan Kozol. In schools named after Martin Luther King Jr, he sees a new punitive autocratic pedagogic The post The Irony of Racism in Decrepit MLK Urban Schools appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.

It’s the bedrock of who we are today. But to believe there was agreement among the “Founding Fathers,” that they aimed to to replace plutocracy with democracy is just wrong. In this lively interview, historian Woody Holton reveals fascinating little-known The post The Truth Behind the Myth of the American Revolution appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.

In light of the Israeli state’s massive assault on Gaza, the question comes up: what does it mean to be a  Jew? Our guest veteran New York Times sportswriter Robert Lipsyte says being a Jew entails certain responsibilities and obligations; The post Netanyahu and Jewish Identity appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.

The intent is humiliation, eating away at one’s humanity. How can that make one a better person? Former figure skater Keri Blakinger’s new book Corrections In Ink tells the story from the inside and asks:  does locking up groups of The post “As if We Were Trash.” One Woman’s Prison Memoir appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.

In her new book Of Rule and Office: Plato’s Ideas of the Political, Princeton Professor of Politics Melissa Lane shows how the orange one serves both anarchy and tyranny. Better politicians use virtue and justice to achieve success, and get The post Plato: The Benefits of Acting Justly appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.

Politicians know the consequences of voters being ignored.There are tens of millions of people who used to be middle class but a revived Poor People’s Campaign just may connect and inspire. According to today’s guest, campaign policy director Shailly Gupta The post Waking the Sleeping Giant: 85 Million Americans appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.