WPKN: Politics, Policy, and Planet Podcast

Interview with Martha Guzman Aceves, former Region 9 EPA administrator, conducted by Melinda Tuhus.

On May 21, an overheating chemical tank holding 6,500 gallons of methyl methacrylate at an aerospace facility in Garden Grove, California, triggered mandatory evacuations affecting 50,000 residents across Orange County. The tank was later safely cracked and depressurized, ending the immediate threat, where no one was injured. But five days later, on May 26, another chemical disaster struck when a tank holding 600,000 gallons of a caustic chemical known as “white liquor” exploded at a paper mill in Longview, Washington. Eleven workers were killed at the site.

Betw...

Interview with Sam Rosenthal, political director of Roots Action, conducted by Scott Harris.

Sam Rosenthal talks about his recent commentary, “Establishment Democrats Still Don’t Get Why They Lost in 2024,” and the critical importance—in this moment of Donald Trump’s multi-front violent attack on U.S. democracy—of having a viable political party to stand as an alternative to Trump and the Republican party’s authoritarian project.

Interview with Connecticut state Rep. Josh Elliott, deputy House speaker, conducted by Scott Harris.

Josh Elliott talks about his candidacy, the policies he’s advocating and his strategy to win the Aug. 11th primary. Elliott represents the 88th District, which comprises residents of Hamden’s Spring Glen, Whitneyville, parts of Centerville and Shepherd Hill neighborhoods.  As deputy House speaker and Majority Caucus co-chair, Elliott won 25 percent of the delegates at the state’s Democratic Convention last month, clearing the 15 percent threshold to force an August primary election against incumbent Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont. Lamont won the party’s officia...

Interview with Ben Grazda, advocacy manager with Reporters Without Borders, conducted by Scott Harris.

Ben Grazda examines some of the long-term challenges facing American journalists including economic pressure leading to the disappearance of many local news outlets; concentration of ownership; political attacks on government critics and the January 2026 FBI raid on Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson’s home, which sets a dangerous precedent for the future prosecution of journalists doing their jobs. Grazda summarizes Reporters Without Borders (Reporters Sans Frontières) World Press Freedom Index tracking the decline in freedom of the press around the world, and the...

Interview with Peter Kornbluh, author and director of the Cuba Documentation Project at the National Security Archive in Washington, D.C., conducted by Scott Harris.

Peter Kornbluh talks about his recent Nation magazine article, “The CIA Goes to Cuba” and what the Trump regime may be planning after its indictment of Raúl Castro in Florida, possibly kidnapping the aging Cuban leader as they did with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January—or a U.S. military invasion.

Kornbluh is a co-author with William M. LeoGrande of Back Channel to Cuba: The Hidden History of Negot...

The Monthly Labor Report welcomes long-time labor leader John Braxton. co-founder of Labor Against the War, to talk about the ongoing fight against the militaristic foreign policy of the US and the systemic structures that support it.
Hosts: Michael Zweig and Richard Hill

Interview with David Holtz, coordinator of the Oil & Water Don't Mix coalition, conducted by Melinda Tuhus.

David Holtz, coordinator of the Oil & Water Don’t Mix Coalition, talks about the history of the pipeline and the fight to decommission Line 5 before it ruptures and contaminates the Great Lakes, one of the largest sources of fresh water in the world.

Interview with Paul Street, an independent radical-democratic policy researcher, journalist, historian and author of This Happened Here: Amerikaners, Neoliberals, and the Trumping of America, conducted by Scott Harris.

Paul Street talks about his recent Counterpunch.org commentary, “Why Trump Is So Indifferent to Public Opinion in an Election Year.” Street is author of This Happened Here: Amerikaners, Neoliberals, and the Trumping of America. 

Interview with Mel Goodman, a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy and professor of government at Johns Hopkins University, conducted by Scott Harris.

Mel Goodman, a former CIA analyst and author of Failure of Intelligence: The Decline and Fall of the CIA, discusses the issues raised in his recent Counterpunch piece, “Sino-American Relations and the ‘Thucydides Trap.’”

Interview with Heather Digby Parton, Salon columnist and Digby’s Hullabaloo blogger, conducted by Scott Harris.

Heather Parton discusses her recent commentary, “Trump’s antiwar claims blow up in his face after Iran fiasco.” Opposition to the president’s war with Iran among Gen Z MAGA members could help create positive political change regarding U.S. foreign policy, political history and a possible new post-Trump antiwar realignment.

Interview with David Faris, professor of political science at Roosevelt University and author of The Kids Are All Left: How Young Voters Will Unite America, conducted by Scott Harris.

Professor Faris talks about the issues examined in his recent Nation Magazine article, “Why Ending the Iran War May Be a Never-Ending Story.” As Trump’s “excursion” veers into quagmire territory, he may just try to walk away amid a host of new distractions.

Prof. Richard Wolff, economist and author, discusses the current state of the US economy in the face of the US-Israeli war on Iran and the A.I. juggernaut.
Community organizer Seth Garbin, talks about a new initiative, Danbury Unites for Immigrants launched to support immigrant communities in Danbury, CT.
Panel: Scott Harris, Ruthanne Baumgartner and Richard Hill

Interview with Jon Copeland, an organizer with Hold the Line, conducted by Melinda Tuhus.

Two companies, Oracle and Open AI, have plans to build a huge artificial intelligence data center in southern New Mexico, near its border with Texas. To power the center they call Project Jupiter, the companies plan on using methane, which is 100 times more damaging to the climate than carbon dioxide emissions over the short term.  Between The Lines’ Melinda Tuhus spoke with Jon Copeland, an organizer with Hold the Line, that's fighting to stop the pipeline, about the state of play of the pro...

Interview with John Miksad, a member of Veterans for Peace and World Beyond War, conducted by Scott Harris.

John Miksad talks about a coalition of groups sponsoring two events in Norwalk, Connecticut on Memorial Day, May 25 to promote peace, honor the fallen and support our current troops by keeping our soldiers out of harm’s way in endless disastrous wars, including Trump’s disastrous war on Iran; Trump’s deployment of the U.S. military to attack civilian boats in the Caribbean and Pacific and his oil blockade of Cuba.

Interview with Melanie D'Arrigo, executive director with the Campaign for New York Health, conducted by Scott Harris.

Melanie D’Arrigo talks about the campaign dedicated to passing and implementing universal, single-payer health care in New York state. Supporters of the New York Health Act say that New Yorkers will pay less and get more by cutting out waste and using the negotiation power of 20 million New Yorkers. New Yorkers will save billions of dollars by not paying rising premiums, deductibles, co-pays, out-of-network charges and long-term care costs.

Interview with Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-founder and co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation and author of three books including, Woe to Women: The Bible Tells Me So," conducted by Scott Harris.

Annie Laurie Gaylor talks about the taxpayer-funded Trump regime religious rally in Washington, D.C., “Rededicate 250,” that featured white Christian nationalist rhetoric from speakers including House Speaker Mike Johnson, Franklin Graham, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and others that the Freedom from Religion Foundation criticized as an “unprecedented and shocking mix of church and state.” 

Interview with Dan Vicuña, senior policy director for Voting and Fair Representation at Common Cause, conducted by Scott Harris.

Dan Vicuña talks about the consequences of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the Louisiana v. Callais case that eviscerated the 1965 Voting Rights Act, the disenfranchisement of millions of people of color, and ways in which our nation can work toward achieving a multiracial democracy.

I made this piece as a gift to myself and to you. It is so tough right now-- so I called in some big friends. You will especially like this offering if you have a sweet spot for the amazingness of horses.

What is it like to be a queer religious leader in Florida right now? Isabelle follows up on her March 2023 piece, There’s a Bright Spot in Florida with a March 2026 interview with the incomparable Bishop Dr. Durrell Watkins. 

Interview with Thomas Meyer, strategic organizing projects director for Food & Water Watch, conducted by Melinda Tuhus.

Data centers require enormous amounts of energy and water, create noise and air pollution depending on how they’re powered—and create very few jobs. Between The Lines’ Melinda Tuhus spoke with Thomas Meyer, strategic organizing projects director for Food & Water Watch and Food & Water Action. Here he talks about the fight to stop or at least slow down the building of AI data centers in Maine and other states across the nation.

Interview with Robert Greenwald, founder and president of Brave New Films, conducted by Scott Harris.

Robert Greenwald talks about his important new documentary film, “ICE: No One Is Safe at Work,” which highlights how ICE immigration raids affect workers’ and their family’s lives and how listeners can view the film and support Brave New Film’s important work.

Brave New Films is a nonprofit production company that creates and distributes investigative political and social justice documentaries.

Interview with Dr. Henry Abraham, professor of psychiatry emeritus at Tufts University School of Medicine and co-recipient of the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize, conducted by Scott Harris.

Dr. Henry Abraham talks about a group of 36 leading physicians and other doctors with expertise in mental health, who he’s acting as a spokesperson for, “who issued a statement calling for President Donald J. Trump’s immediate, lawful removal from office for medical reasons. His mental instability, coupled with his sole, unchecked authority to launch nuclear weapons, makes him a clear and present danger to the safety of all Americans.”

Dr...

Interview with Martin O'Malley, former commissioner of the Social Security Administration in the Biden administration and former governor of Maryland and mayor of Baltimore, conducted by Scott Harris.

Commissioner O’Malley talks about the impact of the Trump administration’s downsizing of the Social Security workforce on customer service; how to fairly address the projected shortfall in the Social Security Trust Fund by 2032 and the current Trump regime attack on democratic institutions and the rule of law.

Interview with James Zogby, co-founder and president of the Arab American Institute and director of Zogby Research Services, conducted by Scott Harris.

James Zogby discusses the dire situation in Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza under continuing military attack by Israel—critically important news that’s been lost or ignored by most corporate media coverage during the Iran war. Zogby is also director of Zogby Research Services, a firm that conducts public opinion surveys across the Middle East.

Interview with Vernon Haltom, executive director of Coal River Mountain Watch, conducted by Melinda Tuhus.

There was a small victory against the powerful coal companies operating in West Virginia, when on April 21, a federal judge blocked the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ decision to grant a Clean Water Act permit for valley fills associated with a mountaintop removal site on Coal River Mountain. Between The Lines’ Melinda Tuhus spoke with Vernon Haltom, the longtime executive director of Coal River Mountain Watch, who talks about the status of coal extraction in southern West Virginia and the significance of t...

Interview with Liz Dupont-Diehl, associate director of the Connecticut Citizen Action Group (CCAG), conducted by Scott Harris.

Liz Dupont-Diehl discusses the people who will lose health care coverage this year and in 2027 include those losing Access Health CT financial help, enrollees in the Covered TCT program, and whose coverage will be impacted by new work requirements and other bureaucratic obstacles designed to discourage enrollment in these programs.

Connecticut Citizen Action Group is part of a statewide coalition that’s advocating for urgent legislative action to prevent an estimated 250,000 Connecticut residents from losing access to affordable he...

Interview with Micah Sifry, Journalist and editor of the Connector newsletter, conducted by Scott Harris.

Micah Sifry talks about his recent Substack piece, “MayDay: The Pro-Democracy Movement Structure Test.” He comments on the results of this year’s nationwide May Day actions that called for “no work, no school, no shopping” and how this tactic, if effective, could impact future resistance plans to disrupt business-as-usual to counter Trump’s expected interference in the November 2026 midterm election.

The Connector Newsletter focuses on the intersection of politics, movements, organizing and technology, with an emphasis on how we make our dem...

Interview with Phyllis Bennis, director of the Institute for Policy Studies’ New Internationalism Project and author of Understanding Palestine & Israel, conducted by Scott Harris.

Phyllis Bennis, examines the dire situation in the West Bank with a rising number of murders of Palestinians and land seizures by Israeli settlers — and ongoing deadly Israeli attacks in Gaza that’s been lost in most of the corporate media coverage, overshadowed by the Iran war. She also discuses the important issues raised in her recent article, “The U.S.-Iran War is Illegal. Here’s Why That Matters.”

Interview with Marjorie Cohn, professor emerita at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, dean of the People’s Academy of International Law and past president of the National Lawyers Guild, conducted by Scott Harris.

Marjorie Cohn, author of the books, “Drones and Targeted Killing: Legal, Moral and Geopolitical Issues” and “The United States and Torture: Interrogation, Incarceration and Abuse,” takes a critical look at the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the Louisiana v. Callais case that’s decimated what was left of the Voting Rights Act, as examined in her commentary, “The US Supreme Court, Race & the Right to Vote...

Interview with Pam Garrison, West Virginia tri-chair of the Poor People's Campaign, conducted by Melinda Tuhus.

Between The Lines’ Melinda Tuhus spoke with her about the campaign’s work and mission. Here Garrison reflects on battles against the coal industry and construction of fossil fuel pipelines across her state — and how poor people are faring today where many of the gains of recent years have been lost to powerful corporate interests under the Trump administration.

Interview with Greg Palast, filmmaker, journalist and author of several New York Times bestsellers including The Best Democracy Money Can Buy, conducted by Scott Harris.

Greg Palast talks about his recent article, “Mr. Colbert, I’m not laughing anymore.” Palast investigates far right activist Gregg Phillips, recently appointed as associate administrator of FEMA’s Office of Response and Recovery, who claims he was tele-transported to a Waffle House. Phillips is the discredited conspiracy theorist behind the group True the Vote, whose film, “2,000 Mules” claims that Jewish billionaires paid black men to stuff ballot boxes in Atlanta, Philadelphia and Detroit—...

Interview with Cameron Landin, executive vice president of College Democrats of America, and a student at the University of Chicago, conducted by Scott Harris.

Landin discusses his views on some of the Democratic party’s positions on issues including the Trump-Netanyahu war on Iran, U.S. aid to Israel and proposed progressive legislation such as Medicare for All. He also talks about some of the Democrat’s internal issues including the role of AIPAC in campaigns, as well as RootsAction and other progressive activists’ call for the release of the Democrat’s 2024 Election Autopsy Report.

Interview with Steve Ellner, associate managing editor of Latin American Perspectives and retired professor of Venezuela's Universidad de Oriente, conducted by Scott Harris.

Steve Ellner talks about his recent commentary, “U.S. Imperialism Enters a New Stage: The Left Needs to Take a Close Look at It,” which examines Donald Trump’s rhetoric and actions against Iran, Venezuela and Cuba which have few parallels in modern history.

Interview with Lindsay Koshgarian, program director with the National Priorities Project at the Institute for Policy Studies, conducted by Scott Harris.

Lindsay Koshgarian talks about her group’s recent report, “Tax Day 2026: Taxpayers Are Paying More than $4,000 for War.” The report notes that while more than half of Americans are struggling to afford basic necessities, Donald Trump and the GOP passed the “Big Ugly Bill” that cut taxes for the wealthiest Americans, cut health insurance and food assistance for millions of Americans, and added billions in new spending for war and mass deportations

Interview with Osprey Orielle Lake, founder and executive director, Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network, WECAN, conducted by Melinda Tuhus.

Many of WECAN's members, including frontline women leaders from around the world, have participated in previous UN climate summit meetings and will be involved in this conference as well. They will be participating in discussions to propose solutions to the climate crisis, such as the need for investments in reforestation, renewable energy and food sovereignty.

Interview with Steve Phillips, host of the Democracy in Color podcast and author of Are White Men Smarter than Everybody Else?, conducted by Scott Harris.

Steve Phillips, the best-selling author of Brown Is the New White and How We Win the Civil War, talks about his new book, Are White Men Smarter Than Everybody Else? observing that just six years after the racial reckoning that followed the murder of George Floyd, America is witnessing a full-scale assault on equality unparalleled since the overthrow of Reconstruction, while offering a powerful offensive strategy to combat resurgent white supremacy.
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Interview with Saru Jayaraman, co-founder and president of One Fair Wage, director of the Food Labor Research Center at the University of California, Berkeley and author of One Fair Wage: Ending Subminimum Pay in America, conducted by Scott Harris.

Saru Jayaraman talks about the #Next250 national mobilization coinciding with the U.S. 250th anniversary, where a massive gathering is planned in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, June 27, grounded in a Declaration of Interdependence to elevate historically excluded voices and build a forward-looking civic agenda rooted in shared responsibility and democratic participation.

Interview with Rebecca Roberts, a member and organizing manager of About Face: Veterans Against the War, conducted by Scott Harris.

National Guard veteran Rebecca Roberts discusses the work she and others do at About Face providing guidance and advice to active-duty U.S. military servicemen and women navigating their rights of conscience and seeking conscientious objector status during the current illegal U.S. war on Iran.

Interview with Kevin Martin, president of Peace Action and the Peace Action Education Fund, the nation’s largest grassroots peace network with chapters and affiliates in states across the U.S., conducted by Scott Harris.

Kevin Martin talks about what his and other anti-war groups are doing to oppose Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu’s illegal war in Iran and Lebanon, action being taken to pressure Congress to invoke the War Powers Act, and how listeners can get involved. 

Excerpt of press conference by Bishop William Barber, founding director of the Yale University Divinity School's Center for Public Theology and Public Policy, recorded and produced by Melinda Tuhus.

The Center held a three-day conference, April 12-14, titled: “What are the Moral and Spiritual Issues of the 2026 Elections?” On the last day of the conference Bishop Barber's press conference responded to the U.S. and Israeli war on Iran and President Trump’s social media posts threatening to annihilate Iran’s civilization and attacking Pope Leo, a critic of the war.