Joe Torres

Mitch Jones

New York Times (2/21/21) This week on CounterSpin: As Texans continue to deal with impacts of a deadly combination of frigid weather and power outages, the New York Times report on the crisis allows as how “part of the responsibility for the near-collapse of the state’s electrical grid can be traced to the decision in 1999 to embark on the nation’s most extensive experiment in electrical deregulation.” There have been multiple warnings of potential problems, the Times says, “But there has not been widespread public dissatisfaction with the system, although many are now wondering if they are being well served.” It sounds a little like blaming people for not realizing they’d been sold a broken umbrella while the sun was out. If media really expect people to actively challenge the promises pushed—aggressively and constantly—by the energy industry, maybe they could do a little more challenging themselves? We’ll talk about lessons from Texas with Mitch Jones, policy director at Food &amp; Water Watch and Food &amp; Water Action.      CounterSpin210226Jones.mp3MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_0 = [	{ name: "CounterSpin210226Jones.mp3", formats: ["mp3"], mp3: "aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWRpYS5ibHVicnJ5LmNvbS9jb3VudGVyc3Bpbi9jb250ZW50LmJsdWJycnkuY29tL2NvdW50ZXJzcGluL0NvdW50ZXJTcGluMjEwMjI2Sm9uZXMubXAz", counterpart:"", artist: "", image: "", imgurl: "" }];MP3jPLAYERS[0] = { list: MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_0, tr:0, type:'single', lstate:'', loop:false, play_txt:'     ', pause_txt:'     ', pp_title:'', autoplay:false, download:false, vol:80, height:'' };Verso Books Also on the show: Part of the scandal of Black History Month is that it’s a “month” at all, of course, with the implication that the contributions and experiences of Black people in this country are ancillary to the “real” history—that’s it a class you can skip and still pass the course. The further scandal is that so much of the history we learn in February is not just little-known, but hidden—entire stories of events and movements and lives that, if they were stitched routinely into our understanding of this country, would utterly reshape it. That’s true not least of media’s own history—a  problem named and responded to with the 2011 publication of News for All the People: The Epic Story of Race and the American Media, co-authored by Juan Gonzalez and Joseph Torres. We spoke with Joe Torres, now senior director of strategy and engagement at the group Free Press, when the book came out. We’ll hear that conversation today.      CounterSpin210226Torres.mp3MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_1 = [	{ name: "CounterSpin210226Torres.mp3", formats: ["mp3"], mp3: "aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWRpYS5ibHVicnJ5LmNvbS9jb3VudGVyc3Bpbi9jb250ZW50LmJsdWJycnkuY29tL2NvdW50ZXJzcGluL0NvdW50ZXJTcGluMjEwMjI2VG9ycmVzLm1wMw==", counterpart:"", artist: "", image: "", imgurl: "" }];MP3jPLAYERS[1] = { list: MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_1, tr:0, type:'single', lstate:'', loop:false, play_txt:'     ', pause_txt:'     ', pp_title:'', autoplay:false, download:false, vol:80, height:'' };Plus Janine Jackson takes a quick look at (non-)coverage of White House press conferences.      CounterSpin2102026Banter.mp3MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_2 = [	{ name: "CounterSpin2102026Banter.mp3", formats: ["mp3"], mp3: "aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWRpYS5ibHVicnJ5LmNvbS9jb3VudGVyc3Bpbi9jb250ZW50LmJsdWJycnkuY29tL2NvdW50ZXJzcGluL0NvdW50ZXJTcGluMjEwMjAyNkJhbnRlci5tcDM=", counterpart:"", artist: "", image: "", imgurl: "" }];MP3jPLAYERS[2] = { list: MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_2, tr:0, type:'single', lstate:'', loop:false, play_txt:'     ', pause_txt:'     ', pp_title:'', autoplay:false, download:false, vol:80, height:'' };

New York Times (<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/21/us/texas-electricity-ercot-blackouts.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">2/21/21</a>) This week on CounterSpin: As Texans continue to deal with impacts of a deadly combination of frigid weather and power outages, the New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/21/us/texas-electricity-ercot-blackouts.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">report</a> on the crisis allows as how “part of the responsibility for the near-collapse of the state’s electrical grid can be traced to the decision in 1999 to embark on the nation’s most extensive experiment in electrical deregulation.” There have been multiple warnings of potential problems, the Times says, “But there has not been widespread public dissatisfaction with the system, although many are now wondering if they are being well served.” It sounds a little like blaming people for not realizing they’d been sold a broken umbrella while the sun was out. If media really expect people to actively challenge the promises pushed—aggressively and constantly—by the energy industry, maybe they could do a little more challenging themselves? We’ll talk about lessons from Texas with Mitch Jones, policy director at <a href="https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Food &amp; Water Watch</a> and Food &amp; Water Action.      CounterSpin210226Jones.mp3 MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_0 = [ 	{ name: "CounterSpin210226Jones.mp3", formats: ["mp3"], mp3: "aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWRpYS5ibHVicnJ5LmNvbS9jb3VudGVyc3Bpbi9jb250ZW50LmJsdWJycnkuY29tL2NvdW50ZXJzcGluL0NvdW50ZXJTcGluMjEwMjI2Sm9uZXMubXAz", counterpart:"", artist: "", image: "", imgurl: "" } ]; MP3jPLAYERS[0] = { list: MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_0, tr:0, type:'single', lstate:'', loop:false, play_txt:'     ', pause_txt:'     ', pp_title:'', autoplay:false, download:false, vol:80, height:'' }; Verso Books Also on the show: Part of the scandal of Black History Month is that it’s a “month” at all, of course, with the implication that the contributions and experiences of Black people in this country are ancillary to the “real” history—that’s it a class you can skip and still pass the course. The further scandal is that so much of the history we learn in February is not just little-known, but hidden—entire stories of events and movements and lives that, if they were stitched routinely into our understanding of this country, would utterly reshape it. That’s true not least of media’s own history—a  problem named and responded to with the 2011 publication of <a href="https://www.versobooks.com/books/1185-news-for-all-the-people" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">News for All the People</a>: The Epic Story of Race and the American Media, co-authored by Juan Gonzalez and Joseph Torres. We spoke with Joe Torres, now senior director of strategy and engagement at the group <a href="https://www.freepress.net/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Free Press</a>, when the book came out. We’ll hear that conversation today.      CounterSpin210226Torres.mp3 MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_1 = [ 	{ name: "CounterSpin210226Torres.mp3", formats: ["mp3"], mp3: "aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWRpYS5ibHVicnJ5LmNvbS9jb3VudGVyc3Bpbi9jb250ZW50LmJsdWJycnkuY29tL2NvdW50ZXJzcGluL0NvdW50ZXJTcGluMjEwMjI2VG9ycmVzLm1wMw==", counterpart:"", artist: "", image: "", imgurl: "" } ]; MP3jPLAYERS[1] = { list: MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_1, tr:0, type:'single', lstate:'', loop:false, play_txt:'     ', pause_txt:'     ', pp_title:'', autoplay:false, download:false, vol:80, height:'' }; Plus Janine Jackson takes a quick look at (non-)coverage of White House press conferences.      CounterSpin2102026Banter.mp3 MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_2 = [ 	{ name: "CounterSpin2102026Banter.mp3", formats: ["mp3"], mp3: "aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWRpYS5ibHVicnJ5LmNvbS9jb3VudGVyc3Bpbi9jb250ZW50LmJsdWJycnkuY29tL2NvdW50ZXJzcGluL0NvdW50ZXJTcGluMjEwMjAyNkJhbnRlci5tcDM=", counterpart:"", artist: "", image: "", imgurl: "" } ]; MP3jPLAYERS[2] = { list: MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_2, tr:0, type:'single', lstate:'', loop:false, play_txt:'     ', pause_txt:'     ', pp_title:'', autoplay:false, download:false, vol:80, height:'' };

Mitch Jones on Texas Freeze-Outs, Joe Torres on News for All the People

Celine McNicholas

This week on CounterSpin: One of the more hopeful things you might not have heard about is the revival in the House of Representatives of the Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal, or FAIR, Act, that would ban those ubiquitous small-print “agreements” that annul critical worker and consumer rights, like the ability to bring class action lawsuits. Prominent proponents include Google employees and former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson; but as bill sponsor Hank Johnson of Georgia explained, it’s really about narrowing the “massive power differential between soulless corporations and individuals just trying to get by.” We get some background on forced arbitration and why it matters from previous CounterSpin conversations with Celine McNicholas from the Economic Policy Institute and Joanne Doroshow from the Center for Justice and Democracy. (cc photo: USW Local 8599) An important if often hidden engine of the corporate corrosion of worker/consumer rights has been the National Labor Relations Board, the federal enforcer of labor law. It seems like change is afoot: Biden apparently called for the resignation of the Board’s general counsel, famously anti-union Peter Robb, 23 minutes after becoming president, fired him when he refused to resign, and then fired the next Trump appointee who took the job. We talked about the Trump-era NLRB while it was happening with Cornell University’s Kate Bronfrenbrenner. We hear part of that conversation this week.

This week on CounterSpin: One of the more hopeful things you might not have heard about is the revival in the House of Representatives of the Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal, or FAIR, Act, that would ban those ubiquitous small-print “agreements” that annul critical worker and consumer rights, like the ability to bring class action lawsuits. Prominent proponents include <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/2/28/18244686/google-employees-forced-arbitration-bill-congress" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Google employees</a> and former Fox News anchor <a href="https://www.nexttv.com/news/fox-news-ex-gretchen-carlson-testifies-on-forced-arbitration" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Gretchen Carlson</a>; but as bill sponsor Hank Johnson of Georgia <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/reintroducing-the-fair-act-bill-would-end-forced-arbitration-11613057369" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">explained</a>, it’s really about narrowing the “massive power differential between soulless corporations and individuals just trying to get by.” We get some background on forced arbitration and why it matters from previous CounterSpin conversations with Celine McNicholas from the Economic Policy Institute and Joanne Doroshow from the Center for Justice and Democracy. (cc photo: USW Local 8599) An important if often hidden engine of the corporate corrosion of worker/consumer rights has been the National Labor Relations Board, the federal enforcer of labor law. It seems like <a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/01/peter-robb-alice-stock-nlrb-fired.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">change is afoot</a>: Biden apparently called for the resignation of the Board’s general counsel, famously anti-union Peter Robb, 23 minutes after becoming president, fired him when he refused to resign, and then fired the next Trump appointee who took the job. We talked about the Trump-era NLRB while it was happening with Cornell University’s Kate Bronfrenbrenner. We hear part of that conversation this week.

Celine McNicholas and Joanne Doroshow on Forced Arbitration, Kate Bronfrenbrenner on NLRB

Hyun Lee

Phyllis Bennis

Wall Street Journal (2/10/21) This week on CounterSpin: Media are soberly reporting a congressional panel’s warning against an “abrupt” or “precipitous” withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, because that might lead to “civil war” in the country. If “spinning in the grave” imagery were real, George Orwell will have screwed himself to the Earth’s core by now. The rest of us can try and puzzle out what’s behind the “more war will lead to peace” argument with Phyllis Bennis, director of the New Internationalism project at the Institute for Policy Studies, and co-author of Ending the US War in Afghanistan: A Primer.      CounterSpin210212Bennis.mp3MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_3 = [	{ name: "CounterSpin210212Bennis.mp3", formats: ["mp3"], mp3: "aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWRpYS5ibHVicnJ5LmNvbS9jb3VudGVyc3Bpbi9jb250ZW50LmJsdWJycnkuY29tL2NvdW50ZXJzcGluL0NvdW50ZXJTcGluMjEwMjEyQmVubmlzLm1wMw==", counterpart:"", artist: "", image: "", imgurl: "" }];MP3jPLAYERS[3] = { list: MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_3, tr:0, type:'single', lstate:'', loop:false, play_txt:'     ', pause_txt:'     ', pp_title:'', autoplay:false, download:false, vol:80, height:'' };AP (2/9/21)   Also on the show: “North Korea Using Cyber Attacks to Update Nukes” is the latest scary buzzword-packed headline from the region, representative of US media coverage that centers the entire story of Korea on Kim Jong Un’s potential threat to Americans—pushing aside all of the people in North and South Korea who seek an end to the militarized tension they’ve lived under for more than 70 years. We hear from Hyun Lee, US national organizer for Women Cross DMZ; they’re part of the coalition Korea Peace Now! that’s behind a new report called Path to Peace.      CounterSpin210212Lee.mp3MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_4 = [	{ name: "CounterSpin210212Lee.mp3", formats: ["mp3"], mp3: "aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWRpYS5ibHVicnJ5LmNvbS9jb3VudGVyc3Bpbi9jb250ZW50LmJsdWJycnkuY29tL2NvdW50ZXJzcGluL0NvdW50ZXJTcGluMjEwMjEyTGVlLm1wMw==", counterpart:"", artist: "", image: "", imgurl: "" }];MP3jPLAYERS[4] = { list: MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_4, tr:0, type:'single', lstate:'', loop:false, play_txt:'     ', pause_txt:'     ', pp_title:'', autoplay:false, download:false, vol:80, height:'' };  Plus Janine Jackson takes a quick look back at coverage of George Shultz’s death.      CounterSpin210212Banter.mp3MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_5 = [	{ name: "CounterSpin210212Banter.mp3", formats: ["mp3"], mp3: "aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWRpYS5ibHVicnJ5LmNvbS9jb3VudGVyc3Bpbi9jb250ZW50LmJsdWJycnkuY29tL2NvdW50ZXJzcGluL0NvdW50ZXJTcGluMjEwMjEyQmFudGVyLm1wMw==", counterpart:"", artist: "", image: "", imgurl: "" }];MP3jPLAYERS[5] = { list: MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_5, tr:0, type:'single', lstate:'', loop:false, play_txt:'     ', pause_txt:'     ', pp_title:'', autoplay:false, download:false, vol:80, height:'' };

Wall Street Journal (<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/leaving-afghanistan-the-right-way-11612999780" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">2/10/21</a>) This week on CounterSpin: Media are soberly <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/leaving-afghanistan-the-right-way-11612999780" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">reporting</a> a congressional panel’s warning against an “abrupt” or “precipitous” withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, because that might lead to “civil war” in the country. If “spinning in the grave” imagery were real, George Orwell will have screwed himself to the Earth’s core by now. The rest of us can try and puzzle out what’s behind the “more war will lead to peace” argument with Phyllis Bennis, director of the New Internationalism <a href="https://ips-dc.org/new-internationalism/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">project</a> at the <a href="https://ips-dc.org/ips-authors/phyllis-bennis/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Institute for Policy Studies</a>, and co-author of Ending the US War in Afghanistan: A Primer.      CounterSpin210212Bennis.mp3 MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_3 = [ 	{ name: "CounterSpin210212Bennis.mp3", formats: ["mp3"], mp3: "aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWRpYS5ibHVicnJ5LmNvbS9jb3VudGVyc3Bpbi9jb250ZW50LmJsdWJycnkuY29tL2NvdW50ZXJzcGluL0NvdW50ZXJTcGluMjEwMjEyQmVubmlzLm1wMw==", counterpart:"", artist: "", image: "", imgurl: "" } ]; MP3jPLAYERS[3] = { list: MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_3, tr:0, type:'single', lstate:'', loop:false, play_txt:'     ', pause_txt:'     ', pp_title:'', autoplay:false, download:false, vol:80, height:'' }; AP (<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-global-trade-nuclear-weapons-north-korea-coronavirus-pandemic-19f536cac4a84780f54a3279ef707b33" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">2/9/21</a>) Also on the show: “North Korea Using Cyber Attacks to Update Nukes” is the latest scary buzzword-packed <a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-global-trade-nuclear-weapons-north-korea-coronavirus-pandemic-19f536cac4a84780f54a3279ef707b33" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">headline</a> from the region, representative of US media coverage that centers the entire story of Korea on Kim Jong Un’s potential threat to Americans—pushing aside all of the people in North and South Korea who seek an end to the militarized tension they’ve lived under for more than 70 years. We hear from Hyun Lee, US national organizer for <a href="https://www.womencrossdmz.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Women Cross DMZ</a>; they’re part of the coalition Korea Peace Now! that’s behind a new <a href="https://koreapeacenow.org/new-report-shows-how-a-peace-first-approach-can-resolve-the-security-crisis-on-the-korean-peninsula/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">report</a> called Path to Peace.      CounterSpin210212Lee.mp3 MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_4 = [ 	{ name: "CounterSpin210212Lee.mp3", formats: ["mp3"], mp3: "aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWRpYS5ibHVicnJ5LmNvbS9jb3VudGVyc3Bpbi9jb250ZW50LmJsdWJycnkuY29tL2NvdW50ZXJzcGluL0NvdW50ZXJTcGluMjEwMjEyTGVlLm1wMw==", counterpart:"", artist: "", image: "", imgurl: "" } ]; MP3jPLAYERS[4] = { list: MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_4, tr:0, type:'single', lstate:'', loop:false, play_txt:'     ', pause_txt:'     ', pp_title:'', autoplay:false, download:false, vol:80, height:'' }; Plus Janine Jackson takes a quick look back at coverage of George Shultz’s death.      CounterSpin210212Banter.mp3 MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_5 = [ 	{ name: "CounterSpin210212Banter.mp3", formats: ["mp3"], mp3: "aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWRpYS5ibHVicnJ5LmNvbS9jb3VudGVyc3Bpbi9jb250ZW50LmJsdWJycnkuY29tL2NvdW50ZXJzcGluL0NvdW50ZXJTcGluMjEwMjEyQmFudGVyLm1wMw==", counterpart:"", artist: "", image: "", imgurl: "" } ]; MP3jPLAYERS[5] = { list: MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_5, tr:0, type:'single', lstate:'', loop:false, play_txt:'     ', pause_txt:'     ', pp_title:'', autoplay:false, download:false, vol:80, height:'' };

Ending the Forever Wars: Phyllis Bennis on Afghanistan, Hyun Lee on Korea

Basav Sen

Hannah Sassaman

(image: Institute for Policy Studies) This week on CounterSpin: We know Biden will be better than Trump on climate policy, because a poke in the eye with a stick would be better. That media are celebrating the “inclusion of scientists throughout the government” shows how very low the bar has been set. The disasters of climate disruption have next to no relationship to what corporate media say is “feasible” to address them. That’s the starting point of a conversation we had on how to move forward with Basav Sen, director of the Climate Justice project at the Institute for Policy Studies.      CounterSpin210205Sen.mp3MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_6 = [	{ name: "CounterSpin210205Sen.mp3", formats: ["mp3"], mp3: "aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWRpYS5ibHVicnJ5LmNvbS9jb3VudGVyc3Bpbi9jb250ZW50LmJsdWJycnkuY29tL2NvdW50ZXJzcGluL0NvdW50ZXJTcGluMjEwMjA1U2VuLm1wMw==", counterpart:"", artist: "", image: "", imgurl: "" }];MP3jPLAYERS[6] = { list: MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_6, tr:0, type:'single', lstate:'', loop:false, play_txt:'     ', pause_txt:'     ', pp_title:'', autoplay:false, download:false, vol:80, height:'' };(image: Prometheus Radio Project) Also on the show: You could find the news in business papers like the Wall Street Journal, industry organs like Broadband Breakfast and courtwatchers like SCOTUSblog, but a quick survey suggests that the Supreme Court case on whether media concentration means women and people of color will be forever shut out of media ownership is of no interest to major news media.  Some of the same media who find a “racial reckoning” around every corner can’t seem to connect the dots to Prometheus Radio Project vs. FCC, in which the “public interest” agency defends its efforts to undermine diversity goals. We get an update from Hannah Sassaman, former organizer with Prometheus, now policy director at Movement Alliance Project.        CounterSpin210205Sassaman.mp3MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_7 = [	{ name: "CounterSpin210205Sassaman.mp3", formats: ["mp3"], mp3: "aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWRpYS5ibHVicnJ5LmNvbS9jb3VudGVyc3Bpbi9jb250ZW50LmJsdWJycnkuY29tL2NvdW50ZXJzcGluL0NvdW50ZXJTcGluMjEwMjA1U2Fzc2FtYW4ubXAz", counterpart:"", artist: "", image: "", imgurl: "" }];MP3jPLAYERS[7] = { list: MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_7, tr:0, type:'single', lstate:'', loop:false, play_txt:'     ', pause_txt:'     ', pp_title:'', autoplay:false, download:false, vol:80, height:'' };Plus Janine Jackson takes a quick look at recent coverage of Jeff Bezos and Amazon.      CounterSpin210205Banter.mp3MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_8 = [	{ name: "CounterSpin210205Banter.mp3", formats: ["mp3"], mp3: "aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWRpYS5ibHVicnJ5LmNvbS9jb3VudGVyc3Bpbi9jb250ZW50LmJsdWJycnkuY29tL2NvdW50ZXJzcGluL0NvdW50ZXJTcGluMjEwMjA1QmFudGVyLm1wMw==", counterpart:"", artist: "", image: "", imgurl: "" }];MP3jPLAYERS[8] = { list: MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_8, tr:0, type:'single', lstate:'', loop:false, play_txt:'     ', pause_txt:'     ', pp_title:'', autoplay:false, download:false, vol:80, height:'' };

(image: Institute for Policy Studies) This week on CounterSpin: We know Biden will be better than Trump on climate policy, because a poke in the eye with a stick would be better. That media are <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/20/biden-inauguration-us-rejoins-paris-climate-accord.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">celebrating</a> the “inclusion of scientists throughout the government” shows how very low the bar has been set. The disasters of climate disruption have next to no relationship to what corporate media say is “feasible” to address them. That’s the starting point of a conversation we had on how to move forward with Basav Sen, director of the <a href="https://ips-dc.org/our-work/climate-justice/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Climate Justice</a> project at the Institute for Policy Studies.      CounterSpin210205Sen.mp3 MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_6 = [ 	{ name: "CounterSpin210205Sen.mp3", formats: ["mp3"], mp3: "aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWRpYS5ibHVicnJ5LmNvbS9jb3VudGVyc3Bpbi9jb250ZW50LmJsdWJycnkuY29tL2NvdW50ZXJzcGluL0NvdW50ZXJTcGluMjEwMjA1U2VuLm1wMw==", counterpart:"", artist: "", image: "", imgurl: "" } ]; MP3jPLAYERS[6] = { list: MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_6, tr:0, type:'single', lstate:'', loop:false, play_txt:'     ', pause_txt:'     ', pp_title:'', autoplay:false, download:false, vol:80, height:'' }; (image: Prometheus Radio Project) Also on the show: You could find the news in business papers like the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/justices-may-usher-in-the-modern-broadcast-agetwo-decades-late-11611011516" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Wall Street Journal</a>, industry organs like <a href="http://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/01/will-minority-and-female-ownership-play-a-role-in-prometheus-radio-media-ownership-case/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Broadband Breakfast</a> and courtwatchers like <a href="https://www.scotusblog.com/2021/01/tuesday-round-up-565/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">SCOTUSblog</a>, but a quick survey suggests that the Supreme Court case on whether media concentration means women and people of color will be forever shut out of media ownership is of no interest to major news media.  Some of the same media who find a “racial reckoning” around every corner can’t seem to connect the dots to Prometheus Radio Project vs. FCC, in which the “public interest” agency defends its efforts to undermine diversity goals. We get an update from Hannah Sassaman, former organizer with <a href="https://www.prometheusradio.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Prometheus</a>, now policy director at <a href="https://movementalliance.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Movement Alliance Project</a>.        CounterSpin210205Sassaman.mp3 MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_7 = [ 	{ name: "CounterSpin210205Sassaman.mp3", formats: ["mp3"], mp3: "aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWRpYS5ibHVicnJ5LmNvbS9jb3VudGVyc3Bpbi9jb250ZW50LmJsdWJycnkuY29tL2NvdW50ZXJzcGluL0NvdW50ZXJTcGluMjEwMjA1U2Fzc2FtYW4ubXAz", counterpart:"", artist: "", image: "", imgurl: "" } ]; MP3jPLAYERS[7] = { list: MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_7, tr:0, type:'single', lstate:'', loop:false, play_txt:'     ', pause_txt:'     ', pp_title:'', autoplay:false, download:false, vol:80, height:'' }; Plus Janine Jackson takes a quick look at recent coverage of Jeff Bezos and Amazon.      CounterSpin210205Banter.mp3 MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_8 = [ 	{ name: "CounterSpin210205Banter.mp3", formats: ["mp3"], mp3: "aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWRpYS5ibHVicnJ5LmNvbS9jb3VudGVyc3Bpbi9jb250ZW50LmJsdWJycnkuY29tL2NvdW50ZXJzcGluL0NvdW50ZXJTcGluMjEwMjA1QmFudGVyLm1wMw==", counterpart:"", artist: "", image: "", imgurl: "" } ]; MP3jPLAYERS[8] = { list: MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_8, tr:0, type:'single', lstate:'', loop:false, play_txt:'     ', pause_txt:'     ', pp_title:'', autoplay:false, download:false, vol:80, height:'' };

Basav Sen on Biden Climate Policy, Hannah Sassaman on Prometheus v. FCC

This week on CounterSpin: The same day’s news can include a story noting anti-abortion anger as an element in the “domestic extremism” the FBI is tracking. And one in which Joe Biden’s press secretary answers a question about the policy that denies US funding for foreign groups that perform abortions (or “counsel, refer or advocate” for abortion) by reminding reporters that Biden “attends church regularly.” And an obituary of anti-choice agitator Joseph Shiedler—a “funny,” “self-deprecating” guy, whose harassment of women at clinics the New York Times describes as “finding women who were considering abortions and persuading them not to follow through.”  Amid all that, a book review tosses off a reference to the post–World War II period as a time when ”surprise pregnancies were an obstacle to a better life,” and abortion was “taboo.” We’ll talk about actual realities of present-day abortion with Kimberly Inez McGuire, executive director of the group URGE: Unite for Reproductive &amp; Gender Equity.      CounterSpin210129McGuire.mp3MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_9 = [	{ name: "CounterSpin210129McGuire.mp3", formats: ["mp3"], mp3: "aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWRpYS5ibHVicnJ5LmNvbS9jb3VudGVyc3Bpbi9jb250ZW50LmJsdWJycnkuY29tL2NvdW50ZXJzcGluL0NvdW50ZXJTcGluMjEwMTI5TWNHdWlyZS5tcDM=", counterpart:"", artist: "", image: "", imgurl: "" }];MP3jPLAYERS[9] = { list: MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_9, tr:0, type:'single', lstate:'', loop:false, play_txt:'     ', pause_txt:'     ', pp_title:'', autoplay:false, download:false, vol:80, height:'' };Also on the show: After California’s Proposition 22 allowed app-based companies like his to skirt basic labor laws, the head of DoorDash declared the company was “looking ahead and across the country, ready to champion new benefits structures,” and they “look forward to partnering with workers, policymakers, community groups…to make this a reality.” A glimpse of what that partnering looks like: Albertsons grocery, after months of calling its workers “first responders,” made what execs called a “strategic decision” to fire their unionized deliverers and contract their work out to apps including, well huh, DoorDash. We’ll talk about defending workers in the digital economy with Open Society economic inequality fellow Bama Athreya, who also hosts the podcast The Gig.      CounterSpin210129Athreya.mp3MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_10 = [	{ name: "CounterSpin210129Athreya.mp3", formats: ["mp3"], mp3: "aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWRpYS5ibHVicnJ5LmNvbS9jb3VudGVyc3Bpbi9jb250ZW50LmJsdWJycnkuY29tL2NvdW50ZXJzcGluL0NvdW50ZXJTcGluMjEwMTI5QXRocmV5YS5tcDM=", counterpart:"", artist: "", image: "", imgurl: "" }];MP3jPLAYERS[10] = { list: MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_10, tr:0, type:'single', lstate:'', loop:false, play_txt:'     ', pause_txt:'     ', pp_title:'', autoplay:false, download:false, vol:80, height:'' };

This week on CounterSpin: The same day’s news can include a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/18/us/politics/military-capitol-riot-inauguration.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">story</a> noting anti-abortion anger as an element in the “domestic extremism” the FBI is tracking. And one in which Joe Biden’s press secretary answers a question about the policy that denies US funding for foreign groups that perform abortions (or “counsel, refer or advocate” for abortion) by <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/president-biden-takes-office/2021/01/23/959939815/biden-is-catholic-he-also-supports-abortion-rights-heres-what-that-could-mean" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">reminding</a> reporters that Biden “attends church regularly.” And an <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/20/us/joseph-m-scheidler-dead.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">obituary</a> of anti-choice agitator Joseph Shiedler—a “funny,” “self-deprecating” guy, whose harassment of women at clinics the New York Times describes as “finding women who were considering abortions and persuading them not to follow through.”  Amid all that, a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/22/books/review/american-baby-adoption-gabrielle-glaser.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">book review</a> tosses off a reference to the post–World War II period as a time when ”surprise pregnancies were an obstacle to a better life,” and abortion was “taboo.” We’ll talk about actual realities of present-day abortion with Kimberly Inez McGuire, executive director of the group <a href="https://urge.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">URGE</a>: Unite for Reproductive &amp; Gender Equity.      CounterSpin210129McGuire.mp3 MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_9 = [ 	{ name: "CounterSpin210129McGuire.mp3", formats: ["mp3"], mp3: "aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWRpYS5ibHVicnJ5LmNvbS9jb3VudGVyc3Bpbi9jb250ZW50LmJsdWJycnkuY29tL2NvdW50ZXJzcGluL0NvdW50ZXJTcGluMjEwMTI5TWNHdWlyZS5tcDM=", counterpart:"", artist: "", image: "", imgurl: "" } ]; MP3jPLAYERS[9] = { list: MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_9, tr:0, type:'single', lstate:'', loop:false, play_txt:'     ', pause_txt:'     ', pp_title:'', autoplay:false, download:false, vol:80, height:'' }; Also on the show: After California’s <a href="https://fair.org/home/proposition-22-is-a-backlash-to-victories-workers-have-had/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Proposition 22</a> allowed app-based companies like his to skirt basic labor laws, the head of DoorDash declared the company was “looking ahead and across the country, ready to champion new benefits structures,” and they “look forward to partnering with workers, policymakers, community groups…to make this a reality.” A glimpse of what that partnering looks like: Albertsons grocery, after months of calling its workers “first responders,” made what execs called a “<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/albertsons-vons-delivery-california-doordash-prop-22-2021-1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">strategic decision</a>” to fire their unionized deliverers and contract their work out to apps including, well huh, DoorDash. We’ll talk about defending workers in the digital economy with <a href="https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/grants/open-society-fellowship?fellow=bama-athreya" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Open Society</a> economic inequality fellow Bama Athreya, who also hosts the podcast <a href="https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/the-gig-bama-athreya-ReYM3mjD9QN/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Gig</a>.      CounterSpin210129Athreya.mp3 MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_10 = [ 	{ name: "CounterSpin210129Athreya.mp3", formats: ["mp3"], mp3: "aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWRpYS5ibHVicnJ5LmNvbS9jb3VudGVyc3Bpbi9jb250ZW50LmJsdWJycnkuY29tL2NvdW50ZXJzcGluL0NvdW50ZXJTcGluMjEwMTI5QXRocmV5YS5tcDM=", counterpart:"", artist: "", image: "", imgurl: "" } ]; MP3jPLAYERS[10] = { list: MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_10, tr:0, type:'single', lstate:'', loop:false, play_txt:'     ', pause_txt:'     ', pp_title:'', autoplay:false, download:false, vol:80, height:'' };

Kimberly Inez McGuire on Abortion Realities, Bama Athreya on Defending Gig Workers

Chris Savage

Talia Buford

Water in a Flint, Michigan, hospital, 2015. This week on CounterSpin: Michigan’s attorney general has indicted nine state officials, including former Gov. Rick Snyder, the state’s former health director and two of the emergency managers of the city of Flint, for exposing at least 100,000 people to dangerous levels of lead in their drinking water, and for an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease killed at least 12 people and sickened many more. In an op-ed for The Hill (1/19/21), Michigan Rep. Dan Kildee called the 2014 decision to switch the source of Flint’s drinking water “one of the greatest environmental injustices in our lifetimes.” Which is true, but “the environment” didn’t do it: It’s often forgotten that Flint was a crisis of democracy—as decision-making had been taken out of the hands of Flint’s elected officials, and given to an “emergency manager” tasked with reining in costs—a  system that seems to be used disproportionately in communities of color, taking decisions out of community hands but leaving them to deal with their fallout. There’s been a $640 million settlement of class action lawsuits, but Michigan Radio (1/11/21) reports that some civic leaders say the deal presents inappropriate hurdles—young children might not get their settlement if they don’t undergo a specific bone lead test—and some question how money could ever compensate Flint residents for months and months of washing and bathing and cooking with bottled water, to avoid exposing themselves and their families to a neurotoxin, all while officials deflected and denied and belittled concerns. We talked about Flint on CounterSpin, in its particulars and in terms of how it fits into bigger questions around environmental racism, resource control and local governance. In light of the renewed attention around the story—which has not ended, even as media looked away—we revisit some of those conversations this week.

Water in a Flint, Michigan, hospital, 2015. This week on CounterSpin: Michigan’s attorney general has <a href="https://www.michigan.gov/ag/0,4534,7-359-92297_47203-549541--,00.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">indicted</a> nine state officials, including former Gov. Rick Snyder, the state’s former health director and two of the emergency managers of the city of Flint, for exposing at least 100,000 people to dangerous levels of lead in their drinking water, and for an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease killed at least 12 people and sickened many more. In an op-ed for The Hill (<a href="https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/politics/534829-getting-justice-for-flint-after-water-crisis" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">1/19/21</a>), Michigan Rep. Dan Kildee called the 2014 decision to switch the source of Flint’s drinking water “one of the greatest environmental injustices in our lifetimes.” Which is true, but “the environment” didn’t do it: It’s often forgotten that Flint was a crisis of democracy—as decision-making had been taken out of the hands of Flint’s elected officials, and given to an “emergency manager” tasked with reining in costs—a  system that seems to be used disproportionately in communities of color, taking decisions out of community hands but leaving them to deal with their fallout. There’s been a $640 million settlement of class action lawsuits, but Michigan Radio (<a href="https://www.michiganradio.org/post/critics-say-they-are-gravely-concerned-about-proposed-flint-water-crisis-settlement" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">1/11/21</a>) reports that some civic leaders say the deal presents inappropriate hurdles—young children might not get their settlement if they don’t undergo a specific bone lead test—and some question how money could ever compensate Flint residents for months and months of washing and bathing and cooking with bottled water, to avoid exposing themselves and their families to a neurotoxin, all while officials deflected and denied and belittled concerns. We talked about Flint on CounterSpin, in its particulars and in terms of how it fits into bigger questions around environmental racism, resource control and local governance. In light of the renewed attention around the story—which has not ended, even as media looked away—we revisit some of those conversations this week.

Chris Savage, Talia Buford & Peggy Case on Flint Water Crisis

Keri Leigh Merritt

Elisabeth Rosenthal

CNN (1/7/21) This week on CounterSpin: As media sift through the fallout of the January 6 attack on the Capitol, it’s important to see that the insurrectionists were not simply victims of a modern disinformation campaign, hoodwinked via social media into believing that Donald Trump got more votes in the election; they were also participating in a tradition “deeply rooted in the American experience,” as historian Eric Foner put it, that says that only some people’s votes should count—that Black political power, as exercised in Georgia, represents a threat to the “natural” societal dominance of white people, and that violence is appropriate to neutralize that threat and maintain that status quo. That resonance is why historians are shaking their heads as media talk about January 6 as “unprecedented”; while shocking and dispiriting, it has layers and layers of precedent that need to be learned and engaged, if we are ever to actually have the racial reckoning that corporate media are forever insisting we’ve already had. Keri Leigh Merritt is an independent historian and filmmaker, author of the book Masterless Men: Poor Whites and Slavery in the Antebellum South. Her essay, co-authored with Rhae Lynn Barnes, “A Confederate Flag at the Capitol Summons America’s Demons,” appeared on CNN.com. We talk with her about this country’s past that is never dead, or indeed even past.      CounterSpin210115Merritt.mp3MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_11 = [	{ name: "CounterSpin210115Merritt.mp3", formats: ["mp3"], mp3: "aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWRpYS5ibHVicnJ5LmNvbS9jb3VudGVyc3Bpbi9jb250ZW50LmJsdWJycnkuY29tL2NvdW50ZXJzcGluL0NvdW50ZXJTcGluMjEwMTE1TWVycml0dC5tcDM=", counterpart:"", artist: "", image: "", imgurl: "" }];MP3jPLAYERS[11] = { list: MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_11, tr:0, type:'single', lstate:'', loop:false, play_txt:'     ', pause_txt:'     ', pp_title:'', autoplay:false, download:false, vol:80, height:'' };Kaiser Health News (12/24/20) Also on the show: You don’t have to choose between the assault on the electoral process by violent, disinformed white nationalists, and a disease that has killed more than 380,000 people in this country and left many it didn’t kill with lasting health problems—both are major crises. And just as many people could and did predict something like the attack on the Capitol, many could and did predict that the distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine would be marred by the Trump administration being the Trump administration, and the hollowing out of public health infrastructure. We talk about the troubled vaccine rollout with Elisabeth Rosenthal, longtime journalist, now editor in chief of Kaiser Health News.      CounterSpin210115Rosenthal.mp3MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_12 = [	{ name: "CounterSpin210115Rosenthal.mp3", formats: ["mp3"], mp3: "aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWRpYS5ibHVicnJ5LmNvbS9jb3VudGVyc3Bpbi9jb250ZW50LmJsdWJycnkuY29tL2NvdW50ZXJzcGluL0NvdW50ZXJTcGluMjEwMTE1Um9zZW50aGFsLm1wMw==", counterpart:"", artist: "", image: "", imgurl: "" }];MP3jPLAYERS[12] = { list: MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_12, tr:0, type:'single', lstate:'', loop:false, play_txt:'     ', pause_txt:'     ', pp_title:'', autoplay:false, download:false, vol:80, height:'' };

CNN (<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/07/opinions/capitol-riot-confederacy-reconstruction-birth-of-a-nation-merritt-barnes/index.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">1/7/21</a>) This week on CounterSpin: As media sift through the fallout of the January 6 attack on the Capitol, it’s important to see that the insurrectionists were not simply victims of a modern disinformation campaign, hoodwinked via social media into believing that Donald Trump got more votes in the election; they were also participating in a tradition “deeply rooted in the American experience,” as historian Eric Foner <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/2021/01/historians-on-the-unprecedented-chaos-in-congress/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">put it</a>, that says that only some people’s votes should count—that Black political power, as exercised in Georgia, represents a threat to the “natural” societal dominance of white people, and that violence is appropriate to neutralize that threat and maintain that status quo. That resonance is why historians are shaking their heads as media talk about January 6 as “unprecedented”; while shocking and dispiriting, it has layers and layers of precedent that need to be learned and engaged, if we are ever to actually have the racial reckoning that corporate media are forever insisting we’ve already had. Keri Leigh Merritt is an independent historian and filmmaker, author of the book Masterless Men: Poor Whites and Slavery in the Antebellum South. Her <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/07/opinions/capitol-riot-confederacy-reconstruction-birth-of-a-nation-merritt-barnes/index.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">essay</a>, co-authored with Rhae Lynn Barnes, “A Confederate Flag at the Capitol Summons America’s Demons,” appeared on <a href="http://CNN.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">CNN.com</a>. We talk with her about this country’s past that is never dead, or indeed even past.      CounterSpin210115Merritt.mp3 MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_11 = [ 	{ name: "CounterSpin210115Merritt.mp3", formats: ["mp3"], mp3: "aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWRpYS5ibHVicnJ5LmNvbS9jb3VudGVyc3Bpbi9jb250ZW50LmJsdWJycnkuY29tL2NvdW50ZXJzcGluL0NvdW50ZXJTcGluMjEwMTE1TWVycml0dC5tcDM=", counterpart:"", artist: "", image: "", imgurl: "" } ]; MP3jPLAYERS[11] = { list: MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_11, tr:0, type:'single', lstate:'', loop:false, play_txt:'     ', pause_txt:'     ', pp_title:'', autoplay:false, download:false, vol:80, height:'' }; Kaiser Health News (<a href="https://khn.org/news/article/analysis-some-said-the-vaccine-rollout-would-be-a-nightmare-they-were-right/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">12/24/20</a>) Also on the show: You don’t have to choose between the assault on the electoral process by violent, disinformed white nationalists, and a disease that has killed more than 380,000 people in this country and left many it didn’t kill with lasting health problems—both are major crises. And just as many people could and did predict something like the attack on the Capitol, many could and did predict that the distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine would be marred by the Trump administration being the Trump administration, and the hollowing out of public health infrastructure. We talk about the <a href="https://khn.org/news/article/analysis-some-said-the-vaccine-rollout-would-be-a-nightmare-they-were-right/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">troubled vaccine rollout</a> with Elisabeth Rosenthal, longtime journalist, now editor in chief of Kaiser Health News.      CounterSpin210115Rosenthal.mp3 MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_12 = [ 	{ name: "CounterSpin210115Rosenthal.mp3", formats: ["mp3"], mp3: "aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWRpYS5ibHVicnJ5LmNvbS9jb3VudGVyc3Bpbi9jb250ZW50LmJsdWJycnkuY29tL2NvdW50ZXJzcGluL0NvdW50ZXJTcGluMjEwMTE1Um9zZW50aGFsLm1wMw==", counterpart:"", artist: "", image: "", imgurl: "" } ]; MP3jPLAYERS[12] = { list: MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_12, tr:0, type:'single', lstate:'', loop:false, play_txt:'     ', pause_txt:'     ', pp_title:'', autoplay:false, download:false, vol:80, height:'' };

Keri Leigh Merritt on the New Lost Cause, Elisabeth Rosenthal on Troubled Vaccine Rollout

Military Times‘ photo of a gallows erected on Capitol Hill by pro-Trump militants. (photo: Sarah Sicard) This week on CounterSpin: As we recorded on January 7, the Washington Post was calling for Donald Trump’s removal from office. To which one might respond: Ya think? Media who egged on Trump’s candidacy, trivialized his venality and normalized as extreme-but-within-range his and his party’s every anti-democratic outrage, are poorly placed to take principled umbrage when that juggernaut takes the course that everyone and their mother said it would. Headlines suggesting the insurrection at the Capitol was the Trump era’s “last gasp” suggest a continued refusal to acknowledge the multiple factors that drove and abetted it, that go well beyond Trump and are going nowhere with Trump’s deposal, today or in two weeks’ time. Some say the deferential police treatment of rampaging white nationalists who brought their own gallows, as opposed to the abuse that routinely meets nonviolent Black and brown protestors, betrays a double standard; our guest says no, it reflects the single standard of white supremacy. We talk about coverage of the January 6 attack on the Capitol with political scientist Dorothee Benz.      CounterSpin210108Benz.mp3MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_13 = [	{ name: "CounterSpin210108Benz.mp3", formats: ["mp3"], mp3: "aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWRpYS5ibHVicnJ5LmNvbS9jb3VudGVyc3Bpbi9jb250ZW50LmJsdWJycnkuY29tL2NvdW50ZXJzcGluL0NvdW50ZXJTcGluMjEwMTA4QmVuei5tcDM=", counterpart:"", artist: "", image: "", imgurl: "" }];MP3jPLAYERS[13] = { list: MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_13, tr:0, type:'single', lstate:'', loop:false, play_txt:'     ', pause_txt:'     ', pp_title:'', autoplay:false, download:false, vol:80, height:'' };Washington Post image of police barricades at the Capitol. assaulting the Capitol. And speaking of law enforcement: We’ll also hear briefly from activist/attorney Mara Verheyden-Hilliard of the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund. They’re demanding an investigation of federal and local police planning and response to yesterday’s events.      CounterSpin210108Verheyden-Hilliard.mp3MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_14 = [	{ name: "CounterSpin210108Verheyden-Hilliard.mp3", formats: ["mp3"], mp3: "aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWRpYS5ibHVicnJ5LmNvbS9jb3VudGVyc3Bpbi9jb250ZW50LmJsdWJycnkuY29tL2NvdW50ZXJzcGluL0NvdW50ZXJTcGluMjEwMTA4VmVyaGV5ZGVuLUhpbGxpYXJkLm1wMw==", counterpart:"", artist: "", image: "", imgurl: "" }];MP3jPLAYERS[14] = { list: MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_14, tr:0, type:'single', lstate:'', loop:false, play_txt:'     ', pause_txt:'     ', pp_title:'', autoplay:false, download:false, vol:80, height:'' };Plus Janine Jackson takes a quick look at media coverage of Julian Assange’s extradition denial and Trump’s Blackwater pardons.      CounterSpin210108Banter.mp3MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_15 = [	{ name: "CounterSpin210108Banter.mp3", formats: ["mp3"], mp3: "aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWRpYS5ibHVicnJ5LmNvbS9jb3VudGVyc3Bpbi9jb250ZW50LmJsdWJycnkuY29tL2NvdW50ZXJzcGluL0NvdW50ZXJTcGluMjEwMTA4QmFudGVyLm1wMw==", counterpart:"", artist: "", image: "", imgurl: "" }];MP3jPLAYERS[15] = { list: MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_15, tr:0, type:'single', lstate:'', loop:false, play_txt:'     ', pause_txt:'     ', pp_title:'', autoplay:false, download:false, vol:80, height:'' };

Military Times‘ <a href="https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2021/01/06/entire-dc-guard-activated-after-pro-trump-protestors-storm-capitol-building/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">photo</a> of a gallows erected on Capitol Hill by pro-Trump militants. (photo: Sarah Sicard) This week on CounterSpin: As we recorded on January 7, the Washington Post was <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/remove-trump-incitement-sedition-25th-amendment/2021/01/06/b22c6ad4-506d-11eb-b96e-0e54447b23a1_story.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">calling</a> for Donald Trump’s removal from office. To which one might respond: Ya think? Media who egged on Trump’s candidacy, trivialized his venality and normalized as extreme-but-within-range his and his party’s every anti-democratic outrage, are poorly placed to take principled umbrage when that juggernaut takes the course that everyone and their mother said it would. Headlines suggesting the insurrection at the Capitol was the Trump era’s “last gasp” suggest a continued refusal to acknowledge the multiple factors that drove and abetted it, that go well beyond Trump and are going nowhere with Trump’s deposal, today or in two weeks’ time. Some say the deferential police treatment of rampaging white nationalists who brought their own gallows, as opposed to the abuse that routinely meets nonviolent Black and brown protestors, betrays a double standard; our guest says no, it reflects the single standard of white supremacy. We talk about coverage of the January 6 attack on the Capitol with political scientist Dorothee Benz.      CounterSpin210108Benz.mp3 MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_13 = [ 	{ name: "CounterSpin210108Benz.mp3", formats: ["mp3"], mp3: "aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWRpYS5ibHVicnJ5LmNvbS9jb3VudGVyc3Bpbi9jb250ZW50LmJsdWJycnkuY29tL2NvdW50ZXJzcGluL0NvdW50ZXJTcGluMjEwMTA4QmVuei5tcDM=", counterpart:"", artist: "", image: "", imgurl: "" } ]; MP3jPLAYERS[13] = { list: MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_13, tr:0, type:'single', lstate:'', loop:false, play_txt:'     ', pause_txt:'     ', pp_title:'', autoplay:false, download:false, vol:80, height:'' }; Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/remove-trump-incitement-sedition-25th-amendment/2021/01/06/b22c6ad4-506d-11eb-b96e-0e54447b23a1_story.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">image</a> of police barricades at the Capitol. assaulting the Capitol. And speaking of law enforcement: We’ll also hear briefly from activist/attorney Mara Verheyden-Hilliard of the <a href="http://www.justiceonline.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Partnership for Civil Justice Fund</a>. They’re demanding an investigation of federal and local police planning and response to yesterday’s events.      CounterSpin210108Verheyden-Hilliard.mp3 MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_14 = [ 	{ name: "CounterSpin210108Verheyden-Hilliard.mp3", formats: ["mp3"], mp3: "aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWRpYS5ibHVicnJ5LmNvbS9jb3VudGVyc3Bpbi9jb250ZW50LmJsdWJycnkuY29tL2NvdW50ZXJzcGluL0NvdW50ZXJTcGluMjEwMTA4VmVyaGV5ZGVuLUhpbGxpYXJkLm1wMw==", counterpart:"", artist: "", image: "", imgurl: "" } ]; MP3jPLAYERS[14] = { list: MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_14, tr:0, type:'single', lstate:'', loop:false, play_txt:'     ', pause_txt:'     ', pp_title:'', autoplay:false, download:false, vol:80, height:'' }; Plus Janine Jackson takes a quick look at media coverage of Julian Assange’s extradition denial and Trump’s Blackwater pardons.      CounterSpin210108Banter.mp3 MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_15 = [ 	{ name: "CounterSpin210108Banter.mp3", formats: ["mp3"], mp3: "aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWRpYS5ibHVicnJ5LmNvbS9jb3VudGVyc3Bpbi9jb250ZW50LmJsdWJycnkuY29tL2NvdW50ZXJzcGluL0NvdW50ZXJTcGluMjEwMTA4QmFudGVyLm1wMw==", counterpart:"", artist: "", image: "", imgurl: "" } ]; MP3jPLAYERS[15] = { list: MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_15, tr:0, type:'single', lstate:'', loop:false, play_txt:'     ', pause_txt:'     ', pp_title:'', autoplay:false, download:false, vol:80, height:'' };

Dorothee Benz on January 6 Insurrection, Mara Verheyden-Hilliard on Police Responsibility

A reflection of the sorts of conversations we hope have offered some voice or context or information that you might not have heard elsewhere, or that might help you assess the news you are hearing.

Best of CounterSpin 2020

Lisa Gilbert

Dean Baker

While we await the day that Trump's face and voice are no longer at the top of every newscast, it ain't over til it's over. And harms he does as a lame duck are harms nonetheless.

Lisa Gilbert on Lame Duck Trump, Dean Baker on Trickle-Down Economics

CounterSpin is the weekly radio show of FAIR, the national media watch group.

Jessica Martinez

Workers in fields, factories and hospitals, endangered by the pandemic, are now held up as pawns, as some lawmakers look to make workers' health and safety a "tradeoff" for Covid relief.

Jessica Martinez on Gutting Worker Protections, Mitch Stoltz on Breaking Up Big Tech

"Critical Race Theory [is] basically the idea that we still have problems with structural racism, and we don't get away from those problems by not talking about it, by having the 'see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil' approach."

‘This Order Puts the Weight of the Federal Government Behind Anti-Antiracism’

Kimberlé Crenshaw

Kimberle Crenshaw

Trump's obviously suppressive executive order has been largely shrugged off by media that ought to be sounding the alarm.

Kimberlé Crenshaw on the Equity Gag Order

"Family members of the condemned are often erased and have been, for the most part, throughout this process, and I try to really keep that at the center of my work."

‘These Executions, Disturbing as They Are, Have Flown Largely Under the Radar’

Ajit Pai

"He's failed in his job to make sure that the people come first, and not these companies."

‘The Chairmanship of Ajit Pai Has Been a Disaster’

Gaurav Laroia

Liliana Segura

As with many aspects of his presidency, the execution spree is both Trump being especially gruesome, and his simply making use of a gruesome machinery he certainly didn't create.

Liliana Segura on Trump’s Execution Spree, Gaurav Laroia on Ajit Pai’s FCC

"We say, on the one hand, that they’re essential; we would like to compel them to go to work so that the rest of us could have the comfort of still ordering in our T-bone steaks and what have you. But we don’t pay these people in a way that reflects how essential they are."

‘Emancipation Never Really Came to Agriculture’

'We've had decades-long underfunding of state and local public health departments, and just myopic funding cuts for pandemic preparedness. And this hampers coordinated access, and leaves us ill-prepared to reach the very populations that are the most affected by this virus."

‘The Ones With the Most Risk Are the Ones We’re Most Ill-Prepared to Reach with the Vaccine’

"Historically, siege was considered an act of war; to undertake a siege against a foreign population was considered an act of war. And these sanctions are basically a form of siege against a civilian population, to extort some sort of political goal from their leadership."

‘Trump Has Let the Military Establishment Do Everything It Wants to Do’

Ricardo Salvador

As those of who do so celebrate Thanksgiving, we ought also to acknowledge the work that brings the harvest from the earth to the plate.

Ricardo Salvador on US’s Dysfunctional Food System

I have been looking for a news podcast that allowed for thoughtful critique of the political spectrum and have found it and more in counter spin. I am thankful for your work and insights. Please keep reporting.

Thank you

A corrective to the corporate media. Only half an hour a week, an amazing podcast.

Extremely important podcast

CounterSpin

Dana Brown

Jim Naureckas

As we now sit, eyes glued to every media, journalists carry a great responsibility: to translate evolving information, projections and recommendations into accessible news that reflects appropriate gravity without being unhelpfully alarmist.

Jim Naureckas on Covid-19, Dana Brown on Public Ownership of Pharmaceuticals

Diane Archer

The Partnership for America’s Health Care Future (PAHCF), a coalition of drugmakers, insurance companies and private hospitals, is lobbying hard to sink the popular Medicare for All proposal. Which side are corporate media on?

Diane Archer on Medicare for All

US media bring images of Yemen's suffering, but you could think it was happening on Mars, if the dots are not connected between the bombs and the hunger and the cholera, and elected US congressmembers voting again and again to be part of it.

Hassan El-Tayyab on US Out of Yemen, Kate Bronfenbrenner on Labor Board vs. Labor

Brenda Choresi Carter

Lawrence Glickman

Election Focus 2020: The upshot for many seems to be that to beat Trump, Democrats should run someone as much like him as possible, and must on no account run a "nontraditional" candidate, no matter how excited people are about them.

Election Focus 2020: The upshot for many seems to be that to beat Trump, Democrats should run someone as much like him as possible, and must on no account run a "nontraditional" candidate, no matter how excited people are about them.

Brenda Choresi Carter on the Electability Myth, Lawrence Glickman on Racism & Euphemism

Ruha Benjamin

Some examples of discriminatory design are obvious—which doesn't mean the reasons behind them are easy to fix. And then there are other questions around technology and bias—in policing, in housing, in banking—that require deeper questioning.

Ruha Benjamin on Race After Technology

Joe Emersberger

The gap between what the law says LGTBQ people merit, and the harms and hardships they experience, can be cavernous.

Dorothee Benz on LGBTQ Rights, Joe Emersberger on Ecuador Protests

Puerto Rico is a living lesson about climate disaster capitalism, the failure and cruelty of austerity, and the need for new ways forward.

Julio López Varona on Puerto Rico’s Disaster Capitalism

Alex Vitale

World events can be confusing, but they're made much more so by media coverage that insists, against all evidence, that righteousness is what guides US foreign policy.

Khury Petersen-Smith on Turkey & the Kurds, Alex Vitale on the Purpose of Policing

Karl Grossman

We'll talk about the dangers of the weaponization of space, combined with a press corps that can't get past giggling about it.

Karl Grossman on the Weaponization of Space

Sasha Abramsky

Who, at this point, is served when corporate media consider Trump's cruel attacks on immigrants in any context other than cruelty?

Sasha Abramsky on Trump’s New Attack on Immigrants

Katie Hill

Mallory McMaster

Stephen Miller

Michael Edison Hayden

Calls are coming in for the resignation of Trump policy advisor Stephen Miller, after leaked emails show him promoting white nationalist books and ideas to the far-right outlet Breitbart.

Michael Edison Hayden on Stephen Miller, Mallory McMaster on Katie Hill

Ed Morales

Elite outlets are not the first place to look for a serious understanding of fast-moving but deeply rooted events in Puerto Rico, where massive popular protests have just led to the resignation of Gov. Ricardo Rossello.

Ed Morales on Puerto Rico Protests

Kevin Kumashiro

CounterSpin talks with Kevin Kumashiro about student-loan debt cancellation as just the beginning of a conversation about the role of education in an aspiring democracy.

Kevin Kumashiro on Student Debt Cancellation

Amin Husain

Cultural institutions are important sites of public conversation, but the public doesn't have much say in who gets to lead that conversation, or the stories they tell.

Amin Husain on Decolonizing Museums, Nikole Hannah-Jones on School Resegregation

Peter Maybarduk

Corporate media are constitutionally committed to leaving unchallenged the notion that our choice is between sending folks back to workplaces and public spaces that might be unsafe, and letting them stay home and give up paychecks and health insurance.

Jim Naureckas on Coronavirus False Choices, Peter Maybarduk on Pharmaceutical Price-Gouging

Neil DeMause

Surprisingly, some media followed the lead of community organizers and questioned the Amazon deal—questions Amazon pulled out over rather than engage.

Neil deMause on Amazon’s Retreat, Nina Besser Doorley on Women’s Healthcare Restrictions

Election Focus 2020: The Democratic primary process has foregrounded far more "radical" ideas—and public receptivity to them—than corporate elites are comfortable with.

Election Focus 2020: The Democratic primary process has foregrounded far more "radical" ideas—and public receptivity to them—than corporate elites are comfortable with.

Jim Naureckas on Democratic Primaries, Nina Luo on Decriminalizing Sex Work

Abortions will happen, as they always have. The question is what they'll be like, for whom? If that's your question about the future, it makes sense to talk with the people who are doing the work now -- of support, advocacy and funding to allow women to access safe and affordable abortion care.

Oriaku Njoku & Jill Heaviside on Abortion Rights in Georgia and Beyond

Corporate media generally judge the potential for cessation of violence by how it affects US interests; we look at Afghanistan through a different lens.

Phyllis Bennis on Afghanistan Armistice?

Johanna Bozuwa

Naomi Walker

The $150 billion designated for state, local and tribal governments as relief from the Covid-19 crisis is nowhere near what those governments will need—and not just that, but forcing them to cut budgets just as they need to be spending more is going to drive a cycle that only hurts more those already hurting.

Naomi Walker on Covid-19 Relief, Johanna Bozuwa on the Last ‘New Normal’

The best podcast episodes on non-current politics. Covering topics such as universal basic income, democracy, poverty & justice and more. For anyone interested in learning more about politics that affect that world, not just now, but in the longer term. Add episodes you're interested into your queue below!

OwlTail

Roger Ailes started Fox News and is described by many as one of the main drivers of the polarisation of US politics. 
If you don't know about Ailie you should. A great place to start is the ShowTime miniseries "The Loudest Voice". 
This interview is with Joe Lindsley who worked directly for Ailes for 2 years. 
"Very earlier on, Roger called me Ailes Junior. He told my dad, 'I've never met anyone more like me than Joe.'" As the protégé of Fox News chairman Roger Ailes, Joe Lindsley was closer to the man who built Fox News than any Fox executive.
Lindsley recounts how Ailes would routinely ask him to change media coverage of stories based on 'who is good and bad' and how Ailes said 'there is no such thing as truth'. 
This interview corroborates much of the TV miniseries "The Loudest Voice".

A 1st hand account of Roger Ailes

"Very earlier on, Roger called me Ailes Junior. He told my dad, 'I've never met anyone more like me than Joe.'" As the protégé of Fox News chairman Roger Ailes, Joe Lindsley was closer to the man who built Fox News than any Fox executive. He helped write Ailes' speeches, sat next to him at executive meetings, and went to church with his family on Sundays. What moved the ambitious twenty-something to abandon the conservative media titan? For a deeper dive into his epic odyssey, check out Joe's memoir — Fake News / True Story: www.inkshares.com/books/fake-news-true-story

Reckonings

"Very earlier on, Roger called me Ailes Junior. He told my dad, 'I've never met anyone more like me than Joe.'" As the protégé of Fox News chairman Roger Ailes, Joe Lindsley was closer to the man who built Fox News than any Fox executive. He helped write Ailes' speeches, sat next to him at executive meetings, and went to church with his family on Sundays. What moved the ambitious twenty-something to abandon the conservative media titan? For a deeper dive into his epic odyssey, check out Joe's memoir — Fake News / True Story: <a href="https://gate.sc/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.inkshares.com%2Fbooks%2Ffake-news-true-story&amp;token=d4a977-1-1558671273247" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">www.inkshares.com/books/fake-news-true-story</a>

#18 || The defection of a Roger Ailes warrior

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair sits down with Glenn Thrush in London to discuss the relationship between American and British politics, his close relationship with the Clintons, Brexit, and the danger of approaching politics with a closed-mind.

POLITICO's Off Message

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair sits down with Glenn Thrush in London to discuss the relationship between American and British politics, his close relationship with the Clintons, Brexit, and the danger of approaching politics with a closed-mind.

Tony Blair: Centrism may be dead

Best Non-Current Politics Podcasts

The best podcast episodes on parenting. Interviewing experts and talking through common issues surrounding parenting. This topic is filled with important lessons and insights for anyone listening. Add episodes you're interested into your queue below!

Parenting is fraught with uncertainty, changing with each generation. This hour, TED speakers share ideas about raising kids and how — despite our best efforts — we're probably still doing it wrong. Guests include former Stanford dean Julie Lythcott-Haims, former firefighter Caroline Paul, author Peggy Orenstein, psychologist Dr. Aala El-Khani, and poet Sarah Kay.

TED Radio Hour

Turning Kids Into Grown-Ups

The multibillion-pound parenting industry tells us we can all shape our children to be joyful, resilient and successful. But what if it’s all bunk? Intelligence Squared are bringing together a panel of top geneticists and parenting experts to explore just how important parenting is.Arguing in favour of the motion are Robert Plomin, Psychologist and Professor of Behavioural Genetics at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King’s College London; and Stuart Ritchie, Lecturer in the Social Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre at King’s College London.Arguing against the motion were Susan Pawlby, a developmental Clinical Psychologist with over 30 years of experience working with mothers and babies both in clinical and research contexts; and Ann Pleshette Murphy, a therapist, parenting counsellor and advocate for young children and their families.The debate was chaired by Xand van Tulleken, a medical doctor and broadcaster who has presented numerous shows for the BBC and Channel 4, often alongside his identical twin brother Chris.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/intelligencesquared.See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Intelligence Squared

The multibillion-pound parenting industry tells us we can all shape our children to be joyful, resilient and successful. But what if it’s all bunk? Intelligence Squared are bringing together a panel of top geneticists and parenting experts to explore just how important parenting is. Arguing in favour of the motion are Robert Plomin, Psychologist and Professor of Behavioural Genetics at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King’s College London; and Stuart Ritchie, Lecturer in the Social Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre at King’s College London. Arguing against the motion were Susan Pawlby, a developmental Clinical Psychologist with over 30 years of experience working with mothers and babies both in clinical and research contexts; and Ann Pleshette Murphy, a therapist, parenting counsellor and advocate for young children and their families. The debate was chaired by Xand van Tulleken, a medical doctor and broadcaster who has presented numerous shows for the BBC and Channel 4, often alongside his identical twin brother Chris.  Support this show <a href="http://supporter.acast.com/intelligencesquared" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">http://supporter.acast.com/intelligencesquared</a>.See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.

CounterSpin

Weekly hand curated podcast episodes for learning