Counterpunch Radio

In this episode of CounterPunch Radio, MV Ramana speaks with Joshua Frank about the lies and misconceptions surrounding a nuclear power revival, atomic energy’s ties to weapons proliferation, and much more. The conversation took place in January at Page Against the Machine bookstore in Long Beach, California. M. V. Ramana is the Simons Chair in Disarmament, Global and Human Security at the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, University of British Columbia, and the author of Nuclear is Not the Solution with Verso Books. Joshua Frank is co-editor of CounterPunch and co-host of CounterPunch Radio. He is the author of Atomic Days: The Untold Story of the Most Toxic Place in America, and the forthcoming, Bad Energy: The AI Hucksters, Rogue Lithium Extractors, and Wind Industrialists Who are Selling Off Our Future, both with Haymarket Books. Sponsored by Pilsen Community Books. The post Nuclear Madness: MV Ramana in Conversation w/ Joshua Frank appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

Industrial robotics company, FANUC, was the only Japanese company named in the Albanese report on Israel’s “economy of genocide.” This week on CounterPunch Radio, we speak with members of BDS Japan Bulletin and Detroit-based Engineers Against Apartheid to understand the role that FANUC robots play in the production of 155mm shells, one of the primary weapons used in the genocide in Gaza, and the complicated nature of robots as “dual-use” products — with both civilian and military application. BDS Japan discusses automation and how AI fits into Japan’s current right-wing political climate, while EAA addresses the militarization of Michigan’s manufacturing sector and how workers in the automotive industry are organizing against it. The post Battling Killer Robots w/ BDS Japan Bulletin & Engineers Against Apartheid appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

On this episode of CounterPunch Radio, Eric Draitser talks with Yassamine Mather about the Israel/US war on Iran, its geopolitical ramifications, Iranian resistance, and what it means for the future of the region. Yassamine Mather is an Iranian scholar and political activist. She is the acting editor of Critique: Journal of Socialist Theory. Her research on Iran is within the framework of the Middle East Centre, University of Oxford, where she works. She is the chair of Hands Off the People of Iran. The post The Illegal War on Iran w/ Yassamine Mather appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

This week on CounterPunch Radio, Erik Wallenberg and Joshua Frank talk to journalist Sam Kimball about Israel’s illegal occupation of Syria, Zionist expansion in Lebanon, and the US/Israel war on Iran. Read Sam Kimball’s piece, Zionist Expansion: A First-Hand Account of Israel’s Illegal Occupation of Southwestern Syria. Support the CounterPunch Investigative Fund. The post Zionist Expansion w/ Sam Kimball appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

In this episode of Counterpunch Radio, Rebecca Maria Goldschmidt speaks with Emanuel Ovadia, a researcher and educator on radical Jewish traditions in the Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA) region. Emanuel shares stories of Muslim-Jewish relations, the politics of language, and the Jewish radical traditions outside of the typical “Ashkenormative” European or American Jewish left. We discuss how the multi-lingual, transnational, and transcultural history of the region debunks zionist myths of Jewish supremacy, and the importance of uplifting the cultural memory of ancestors who may have been assimilated into “Israeli” or other colonial identities across the SWANA region. You can find Emanuel’s quarterly zine, Gazoz De Frambuaz, and his Instagram at https://linktr.ee/gdframbuaz. The post Jewish Radical Traditions of the SWANA Region w/ Emanuel Ovadia appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

On this episode of CounterPunch Radio, Joshua Frank and Erik Wallenberg are joined by Brian Jones to discuss his new book, Black History Is for Everyone, out now with Haymarket Books. In Black History Is for Everyone, Brian Jones offers a meditation on the power of Black history, using his own experiences as a lifelong learner and classroom teacher to question everything—from the radicalism of the American Revolution to the meaning of “race” and “nation.” Brian Jones has taught many ages and grades in New York City’s public schools and the City University of New York. He served as the inaugural director of the Center for Educators and Schools at the New York Public Library and was the associate director of education at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. He is also the author of The Tuskegee Student Uprising: A History. Catch Brian Jones on tour. Buy a copy of Black History Is for Everyone. The post Black History Is for Everyone w/ Brian Jones appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

In this episode, CounterPunch shares voices from participants in the Zapatistas’ most recent gathering of activists, the “Semillero de Piramides, de historias, amores, y claro desamores,” in CIDECI, Universidad de la Tierra, Zapatista territory in San Cristóbal de las Casas, México. The 5 day event featured seminars and discussions with over 1000 attendees from 30 countries, to address resistance to this era of fascism. Roberto Hernandez, from San Isidro, CA, is a Chicano professor at San Diego State University, who discusses the parallelism between the ethnic cleansing of Zapatistas, Chicanxs and Palestinians. We speak with Bruno from the Comité Argentino con el Pueblo Argentino, and Ana Vázquez, a professor at the Universidad Iberoamericana in Chiapas, and other messages of solidarity with Palestine direct from Zapatista territory. The post Voices from the Semillero Zapatista w/ Roberto Hernandez, Ana Vázquez & More appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

On this episode of CounterPunch Radio, Erik Wallenberg and Joshua Frank welcome Sean J Partick Carney to discuss his 10-part series, Time Zero, on the nuclearized world. Sean J Patrick Carney is a visual artist, composer, and writer. His essays, criticism, and interviews appear frequently in publications including Artforum, Art in America, VICE, Southwest Contemporary, Artnet News, Harvard Urban Review, Glasstire, High Country News, and Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. In 2019, Carney received the Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant for short-form writing. This episode is sponsored by Pilsen Community Books. The post The Nuclearized World w/ Sean J Patrick Carney appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

In this special episode of CounterPunch Radio, Bill Ayers, friend of Pilsen Community Books and fellow podcaster at Under the Tree, introduces Amos Kennedy and fellow artists and activists Monica Trinidad and Chi Nwosu. This evening at Pilsen Community Books in Chicago included a packed-house crowd for a celebration for the release of Citizen Printer by renowned letterpress printer Amos P. Kennedy, Jr. A self-described “humble negro printer,” Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr., is internationally recognized for his type-driven messages of social justice and Black power, emblazoned in rhythmically layered and boldly inked prints made for the masses. Borrowing words from civil rights heroes such as Rosa Parks, Fannie Lou Hamer, Frederick Douglass, and Sojourner Truth, Kennedy issues fearless statements on race, capitalism, history, and politics—along with plenty of witty truisms—in his exuberant, colorful, and one-of-a-kind posters and handbills. Amos P. Kennedy, Jr. was working a corporate job when, at nearly forty, he di

On this episode of CounterPunch Radio, Erik Wallenberg and Joshua Frank welcome Ellen Schrecker to discuss the legacy of McCarthyism and the current right-wing attack on academic freedom in the U.S., and why the situation is even worse today than it was in the 1950s. Ellen Schrecker is an American historian and author who has written extensively about McCarthyism and American higher education. She is the author of many books, including The Lost Promise: American Universities in the 1960s, published by the University of Chicago Press, which provides the first comprehensive analysis of American higher education’s most turbulent decade. She holds a Ph.D. from Harvard, taught there and at NYU and Princeton, and later joined Yeshiva University, from which she retired as a full professor. Head over and grab some books from the best shop, Pilsen Community Books. The post Resisting Attacks on Academic Freedom / Ellen Schrecker appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

Rebecca Maria Goldschmidt speaks with members of the Asamblea Oaxaqueña por Palestina on Día de los Muertos in Oaxaca, México. They discuss local issues of gentrification, militarization, narco-violence, and religious Zionism, and Mexico’s political and economic ties to the colonial occupation of Palestine. Asamblea Oaxaqueña por Palestina is an autonomous, non-partisan, solidarity space formed by people from Oaxaca united to acompany the resistance of the Palestinian people. Podcast in Spanish, see English transcript here! The post The Palestinization of the World w/ Asamblea Oaxaqueña por Palestina appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

On this episode, Erik Wallenberg and Joshua Frank talk with climate justice campaigner and author Tori Tsui. Tori is a Senior Advisor for the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty and is a climate justice lead for Brian Eno’s Earth Percent. Her debut book, It’s Not Just You, explores the intersection of mental health and climate change and was shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize. The U.S. version is scheduled for release in April 2026. The post Beyond Eco-Anxiety w/ Tori Tsui appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

On this episode of CounterPunch Radio, Erik Wallenberg and Joshua Frank talk to Presleigh Hayashida and Sophie Shepherd about efforts to evict genocide profiteers out of the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Gen Z organizing, and much more. Presleigh Hayashida is a Brooklyn-based community organizer working on general anti-fascist organizing and the movement for a Free Palestine. More The post Genocide Profiteers Out of Brooklyn Navy Yard + Gen Z Organizing w/ Presleigh Hayashida and Sophie Shepherd appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

On this episode of CounterPunch Radio, Erik Wallenberg and Joshua Frank talk to Josh MacPhee and Kennedy Block, authors of the new book, Strike While the Needle is Hot: A Discography of Worker’s Revolt, published by Common Notions Press. Josh MacPhee is a founding member of the Justseeds Artists’ Cooperative, the author of An Encyclopedia More The post Strike While the Needle is Hot w/ Josh MacPhee and Kennedy Block appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

On this episode of CounterPunch Radio, Rebecca Maria Goldschmidt speaks with anti-Zionist Jewish community organizers in Brazil and Argentina from Vozes Judaicas por Libertação and JudíesxPalestina about their recent protective presence trip to the West Bank with the Center for Jewish Non-violence. They share a report back on the impacts of ongoing settler and occupational More The post The Anti-Zionist Movement in Latin America w/ Vozes Judaicas por Libertação and JudíesxPalestina appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

On this episode of CounterPunch Radio, we are excited to present a panel discussion featuring Ramzy Baroud and Janene Yazzie, which took place last July at Socialism 2025 in Chicago. Ramzy and Janene discuss the connections between Indigenous struggles worldwide and how the fight for a free Palestine is a fight for justice on all More The post From Turtle Island to Palestine w/ Ramzy Baroud and Janene Yazzie appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

On this episode of CounterPunch Radio, Joshua Frank and Erik Wallenberg talk with Leona Morgan about nuclear colonialism in the Southwest and beyond. Leona Morgan (Diné/Navajo) is an Indigenous community organizer who has been fighting nuclear colonialism since 2007. The Albuquerque-based activist co-founded and works with the Nuclear Issues Study Group and Diné No Nukes, More The post Ending Nuclear Colonialism w/ Leona Morgan appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

On this episode of CounterPunch Radio, Rebecca Maria Goldschmidt talks with members of Punks Against Apartheid to discuss the history of the network, their entry points into Palestine organizing, and the current watershed moment of cultural intifada across global stages. In 2011, PAA launched a successful cultural BDS campaign against Dead Kennedys’ Jello Biafra, who More The post Racism Ain’t Punk w/ Punks Against Apartheid appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

In this episode of CounterPunch Radio, Joshua Frank and Erik Wallenberg talk with Sasha Davis about his new book, Replace the State: How to Change the World When Elections and Protests Fail.  Sasha Davis writes about how to create positive social change – even when elections and protests don’t work. He received a PhD from More The post Replace the State! w/ Sasha Davis appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

Rebecca Maria Goldschmidt speaks with Ace Kishi, guesthouse owner, and Jeronimo Gehres, former hotel manager, in Kyoto, who have taken action against Israeli soldiers vacationing in Japan. Both Gehres’ refusal to book accommodation for an active duty soldier in June 2024, and Kishi’s requirement for guests to sign a “war crimes pledge”, have gone viral More The post Front Desk Intifada w/ Japanese Hotel Managers Resisting Israeli War Criminals appeared first on CounterPunch.org.