Electric Politics Podcast

Not the American Way

george@electricpolitics.com — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 06:00:00 -0500

For over two hundred years any notion that the United States government might officially practice torture was unthinkable, ridiculous. Under George Bush's tyranny, what have we become? Even if Congress has no stomach for a serious investigation, the thinking public must never let culpable officials off the hook. Zero tolerance for torture: it's the only civilized approach. For a sense of how a seasoned British lawyer sees the situation I turned to Philippe Sands, author of the superb, recently published case study Torture Team. Under international criminal law, Philippe explains, the arrest and prosecution of Bush officials when they travel overseas remains a very real possibility, but should shame Americans into taking remedial action for ourselves. I value Philippe's insights tremendously and thank him for talking with me. Total runtime, forty four minutes. Keep fighting!

The Gangs of Pentagon Procurement

george@electricpolitics.com — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 06:00:00 -0500

Politicians practically worship the Pentagon because it carefully, cleverly directs its gargantuan spending across almost every congressional district. And because contractors kick back a hefty tranche to politicians' bank accounts. Not so much of this supports the public good or authentic "defense." Call it the dark side of Keynesianism. Our ruinous military money conveyor can't go on indefinitely but most politicians won't discuss it or give reform the priority it deserves. And the mainstream media won't report the facts. Ordinary people are left to struggle on their own to make sense out of what's happening. So when a former top civilian official at the Pentagon declares that the weapons procurement system is completely broken, that overall spending is out of control, that we should "scrap the whole process," and who agrees an intellectually respectable argument can be made for cutting military spending by half — well, we should pay attention! Formerly the director of weapons testing, Tom Christie was extraordinarily kind to talk with me and explain things. I thank him for his candor. Total runtime an hour and ten minutes. Pass the word.

It's not "Defense" Spending

george@electricpolitics.com — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 06:00:00 -0500

One fact should be tacked on to all discussions of policy priorities: the U.S. spends over half a trillion dollars on its military, more than the rest of the world's military spending combined. To be blunt, that's insane. And it explains why the U.S. lags so far behind other advanced countries when it comes to social programs, public infrastructure, and generally every progressive metric that can be measured. There's no money left. To get at the cultural history behind our prohibitively expensive military fantasies — fantasies that go all too easily unchallenged — I turned to Dr. H. Bruce Franklin, the eminent cultural historian and author of War Stars (recently republished in a revised and expanded second edition after twenty years). It was great to talk again with Bruce, who has clearly found critical pieces of the puzzle regarding where and how American ideas about war went wrong. Total runtime an hour and twenty three minutes. Remember, it's not "Defense," it's military racketeering.

Apartheid: For or Against??

george@electricpolitics.com — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 06:00:00 -0500

The U.S. pays for and protects a system of Apartheid in Israel. The U.S. government routinely lies about this, describing Israel as a "Democracy." Worse, the U.S. encourages Israeli Jews to keep those Palestinians who live in Gaza and the West Bank in a sort of outdoor prison-cum-shooting gallery. Absolutely contrary to what many of the Left have argued, seemingly forever, Jews are the ones calling the shots. It's the most odious, obscene abuse of human beings in the world — precisely because its necessary enabler is a leader among nations but also the greatest hypocrite regarding human rights. To hear further from the Palestinian side I turned to Dr. Saree Makdisi, author of Palestine Inside Out, who seems to be picking up where his late uncle, Edward Said, left off. It was very kind of Saree to talk with me, I learned a lot, and I hope we can do it again. Total runtime an hour and four minutes. Help educate your family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, and friendly strangers.

Millennial Politics

george@electricpolitics.com — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 06:00:00 -0500

Nobody knows for sure, but it looks like a very strong turn out in 2008 by the young and by African-Americans may well be what puts the Democrats over the top. The young — the Millennial generation — in particular are something of a mystery. Larger than the Baby Boom generation, ethnically much more mixed, and (unlike generation "X") politically active, for a variety of reasons the Millennials strongly tend towards progressive policy solutions. Will this last? For some answers I turn to Dr. David Madland from the Center for American Progress, who is co-author of a recent, fascinating paper (PDF) on the Millennials. It was kind of David to talk with me and I much appreciate his insight. Total runtime forty four minutes. Enjoy!

The Art of Pragmatic Policy Making

george@electricpolitics.com — Fri, 30 May 2008 06:00:00 -0500

It's a pity when domestic politics trumps rational foreign policy in the national interest. Should we talk with Hamas, even Hezbollah? Larry Wilkerson, Colin Powell's former Chief of Staff, says yes. Should we talk with Cuba? Emphatically yes, says Larry. And why? Because the fact is, most of the time we get more of what we want by talking with people than by periodically bashing them with military power, or by ignoring them while the rest of the world maintains normal relations. Here's a startlingly intelligent tour d'horizon, starting with the issue of torture, from a guy who — in his words — was in the ether. Total runtime an hour and seven minutes. Enjoy!

"Mankind Must Put An End To War..."

george@electricpolitics.com — Fri, 23 May 2008 06:00:00 -0500

"...or war will put an end to mankind." (JFK in a September 25, 1961 speech to the UN General Assembly.) A lot of people, these days, understand that the risks of nuclear war are too great. But what are those risks, exactly? As it turns out, nobody knows, and until now nobody's tried to figure them out. Dr. Martin E. Hellman — not for the first time — spotted the obvious that everybody else missed. His new project, Defusing the Nuclear Threat, starts by proposing a serious, urgent study of the existing threat. Of course, it's common sense. It was kind of Martin to talk with me and I am amazed at his insight. Total runtime an hour and one minute. Please join the nuclear risk project! [Graphic credit Mark Vallen, for fair use.]

The Art of Faith

george@electricpolitics.com — Fri, 16 May 2008 06:00:00 -0500

Follow what you know how to do well. Frank Schaeffer's memoir, Crazy for God, offers an unexpected mirror into the American experience. From being one of the brains behind the founding of the evangelical political right, to his stalwart, enthusiastic support for Obama today (we talk about Obama a lot), Frank's trajectory has taken him through various stations of faith. Strong character having been bred into him, he's managed eventually to come to terms with it all. A great example of personal resiliency. And he's a spectacularly brilliant writer to boot. It was kind of Frank to take time to talk with me and I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation. Total runtime one hour. Have Faith → find Grace.

Wild Horses Flying

george@electricpolitics.com — Fri, 09 May 2008 06:00:00 -0500

Horses have always been with us. At Lascaux. On the Ural steppes. Among the Sumerians, the Scythians, the Chinese… It's not much of an exaggeration to say that the domestication of the horse made civilization possible. And here's a little known fact: horses evolved in North America, were wiped out by the ice age about 8,000 years ago, but not before they crossed the Bering land bridge and spread throughout the rest of the world. When the Spanish reintroduced horses to the New World, they were an indigenous species belatedly coming home. Horses, wild horses, are woven into the texture of the American character. Yet they are terribly endangered, by us. To hear more about this amazing and troubling story I turned to Deanne Stillman, author of Mustang, The Saga of the Wild Horse in the American West. It's a powerfully written, very moving book. Deanne was one of the very first guests on EP and it was a great pleasure to talk with her again. Total runtime an hour and seventeen minutes. Tears allowed.

Of Tongues and Ticking Time Bombs

george@electricpolitics.com — Fri, 02 May 2008 06:00:00 -0500

Governments always insist on keeping their practice of torture secret — as well they should, because torture almost never works. And, in fact, it generally has profoundly negative, unintended, practical consequences. While we intuit that torture is wrong, we only know of its futility thanks to a few intrepid researchers who patiently sift the archives. For a sample of what can be known I turned to Dr. Darius Rejali, author most recently of the encyclopedic (and aptly titled) Torture and Democracy. It was kind of Darius to take time to talk with me and I appreciate his wisdom and insight. Total runtime an hour and three minutes. Be educated!

The Art of Energy Politics

george@electricpolitics.com — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 06:30:00 -0500

To Peak Oil aficionados (I'm including me here) it may be something of a surprise to learn that not all is doom and gloom, that the catastrophic collapse of civilization as we know it is neither imminent nor inevitable. In fact, we have an amazing, working, macro-scale example of emergent energy independence — right now — in Germany. To get the inside scoop I turned to Dr. Hermann Scheer, a member of the German parliament (Bundestag), and driving force behind German energy innovations. If only we were so lucky as to have an American equivalent of Dr. Scheer! Listen, and don't take "no" for an answer. Total runtime, an hour and five minutes.

The Basic Right to Health Care

george@electricpolitics.com — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 06:30:00 -0500

By most measures the U.S. has one of the worst health care systems (and most expensive) of any advanced country in the world. Why is that? To try to make some sense of the politics of health care I turned to Dr. Steffie Woolhandler, co-founder of Physicians for a National Health Program. Thank you, Steffie, for your great determination and leadership! Clearly, a lot of doctors are fed up with their patients (read, clients) being corporations instead of real people. And I think most Americans are fed up with the undue burdens of our system, too. My only prediction here is, the problems will get worse before they get better. Total runtime fifty seven minutes. Listen and think. And next time you see a doctor, push for health care reform!

Pricing the Elixir of Life

george@electricpolitics.com — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 06:30:00 -0500

Few people know as much about the water situation in the U.S. as Dr. Robert J. Glennon. Though I'd take a different tack than he would in knocking heads together I think he's proposed innovative, workable, "market-ish" based ways to rationalize water usage. And I completely agree with him that the problem is how to prevent a crisis from becoming a catastrophe. Total runtime an hour and three minutes. Comments welcome!

Bleeding The Hyperpower Dry

george@electricpolitics.com — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 07:00:00 -0500

Among available options, "victory" in Iraq doesn't exist. For an army of occupation perhaps it never did. The smart thing would be to get out as fast as practicably possible — sadly, that doesn't seem to be in the cards. Policy preferences aside, nevertheless, it's helpful to try to understand the political-military dynamic. For that I turned once again to Wayne White, a top middle east analyst, formerly with the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research. This is his third appearance on EP. I'm very grateful to Wayne for sharing his professional insight and considerable wisdom. He knows the game. Total runtime here of an hour and nineteen minutes. Please redistribute the link liberally.

Who Is My Neighbor?

george@electricpolitics.com — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 07:00:00 -0500

For decades the Republican Party has used fear to drive religious voters away from the Democrats. The Republicans succeeded so spectacularly that much of the Democratic Party establishment got conditioned to automatically — and wrongly — write off Evangelicals. It's a big part of the reason why Democrats lose elections. To get some perspective on religion in politics I turned to Amy Sullivan, the nation editor at Time magazine and author of The Party Faithful: How and Why Democrats Are Closing the God Gap, who is herself an Evangelical Christian. It was very kind of her to talk with me and I greatly appreciate her smarts and her good humor. This is a shorter, 'six-questions' type format conversation. Total runtime thirty nine minutes. Enjoy!

Skimbleshanks

george@electricpolitics.com — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 06:30:00 -0500

Of all the books on 9/11 Peter Dale Scott's learned The Road To 9/11(University of California Press, 2007) deserves special recognition for situating the events of 9/11 in an intelligible, albeit complicated, context. Unlike other leftist social critics who see a simple narrative in government actions, Peter sees rich textures in what he calls 'the deep state.' An agnostic about what actually happened on 9/11 Peter nevertheless convincingly and powerfully argues that everything is not as it seems. Here, we take up 9/11 as well as larger philosophical themes. Total runtime an hour and sixteen minutes. Enjoy!

The Organic Agriculture Movement

george@electricpolitics.com — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 06:00:00 -0500

Organic food tastes better. It's healthier. It costs a bit more, but surveys show that, counterintuitively, it isn't consumed disproportionately by the affluent. And the most remarkable thing: organic food is increasing its market share relatively quickly. To learn about the current state of the organic agriculture movement and what accounts for its success I turned to Dr. Brian Obach, a committed organic consumer who's been trying to explain social movements for twenty years. As an organic consumer myself I find Brian's insights fascinating and surprisingly relevant to larger questions of progressive political mobilization. Total runtime an hour and fifteen minutes. Enjoy!

Neptune's Cornucopia

george@electricpolitics.com — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 06:00:00 -0500

Some mistakes you don't get to "do-over." Wiping out a unique fish, the Menhaden, the keystone species of America's Atlantic and Gulf fisheries, amounts to ecocide. And a peculiarly foolish mistake, too — nothing great accrues to any of the grubby perpetrators, or their equally grubby political enablers. Devastation only provides literally chicken-feed to a few. Dr. H. Bruce Franklin, an eminent literary expert and historian of American culture, tells this fish story in an unforgettable way. Please also buy his book, The Most Important Fish in the Sea. Total runtime an hour and eleven minutes. Spread the word!

A Vulture's Bonanza

george@electricpolitics.com — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 07:00:00 -0500

Protectionism can be a good thing. Protectionism, in fact, is the only way that a developing country can become developed. And, I daresay, it's the only way an industrial country like the U.S. can retain its industrial base and high standard of living in the face of wage arbitrage by large corporations that offshore their operations. Moreover, if, as Dr. Ha-Joon Chang argues, a rational high culture results from industrialization (and not the opposite, as is often wrongly — and racially — assumed) then logically the kind of de-industrialization we're experiencing in the U.S. should corrupt our culture. And that is exactly what I think is happening. Even by design nothing could better suit the vulture capitalist class and their lackeys. For the ammunition you'll need to defeat neo-liberal "free trade" arguments please read Ha-Joon's splendid book, Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism. Total runtime here an hour and eleven minutes. Listen and think critically for yourself.

War Mongers

george@electricpolitics.com — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 07:00:28 -0500

Following my conversation about the Israel Lobby with John Mearsheimer in early January, I thought it would be helpful to take a more detailed look at the neo-cons. So I turned to Jim Lobe, Washington Bureau Chief of the Inter Press Service news agency, a recognized expert on the subject who knows probably almost as much about the neo-cons as they do themselves. Jim explains in a very straight-forward and thoughtful way how the neo-con godlings (my term) are out to create perpetual war. It was kind of Jim to talk with me and I hope we can do it again. Total runtime an hour and thirty one minutes. Enjoy!

Kosovo Options

george@electricpolitics.com — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 06:00:00 -0500

According to many (usually) reliable sources, this weekend the Albanian majority in the Serbian province of Kosovo will, with tacit U.S. support, unilaterally declare independence. If not this weekend, then soon enough. Though unlikely to spark a new, full-blown round of Yugoslavia's civil war — made dormant by the Dayton agreement in 1995 — Kosovo's putative independence creates as many problems as it solves, or more. To get a sense of what's at stake and what sorts of logical options might be pursued I turned to Sir Ivor Roberts, who was the UK's Ambassador to Yugoslavia in the mid-1990s, now head of Trinity College, Oxford. Sir Ivor's perceptive analysis should be a model not only for those who struggle with Balkan issues but also those more generally concerned with humanitarian and other types of intervention. It was very gracious of Sir Ivor to take the time to talk with me, which I much appreciate. Total runtime an hour and eight minutes.

Ghost Wars

george@electricpolitics.com — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 07:00:00 -0500

International terrorists should be subject to normal police procedure and normal judicial trials. Disappearing people into an international gulag isn't any kind of a serious policy — indeed, it's merely terrorism of another sort. To understand a bit more about how our approach to terrorism could be so badly misguided I turned to Stephen Grey, an independent UK journalist and author most recently of Ghost Plane: The True Story of the CIA Rendition and Torture Program. Stephen has also recently returned from being embedded with British troops in Afghanistan, so we get a bonus report from the front. Total runtime an hour and two minutes. Light a candle.

Whither Pakistan?

george@electricpolitics.com — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 07:00:00 -0500

There aren't many experts on Pakistan's nuclear program, or in particular on its command and control systems. And fewer still who are also sensibly articulate about Pakistani politics. We're fortunate to have Dr. Shaun Gregory, Director of the Pakistan Security Research Unit at the University of Bradford, to explain things. No doubt about it: Pakistan has turned into a fine mess — it'll require sustained intelligent attention to recover safely but even so, outside help doesn't guarantee stability. At least, with Shaun's briefing, the stakes are considerably clearer. Total runtime fifty five minutes. Listen carefully.

Green Grievances

george@electricpolitics.com — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 07:00:00 -0500

Most Americans want policies neither party has offered them: an end to the occupation of Iraq; return to the rule of law and constitutional protections; workable health care; decent paying jobs; a clean and safe environment; energy security — in short, the replacement of monied special interests by public spirited actors. Internationally, similar preferences have translated into electoral success for Green parties. Here in the U.S., not so much. Why not? According to John Murphy, a Green Party activist from Pennsylvania, Greens have been co-opted by the Democrats, who are more interested in winning elections than in implementing socially progressive policies. I think John's right, and I also think his prescription of what to do about it makes sense. This one starts with some dry procedural nuts and bolts but soon moves into lively, interesting territory. Total runtime an hour and nine minutes. Listen and participate!

Scala Naturæ

george@electricpolitics.com — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 07:00:00 -0500

Consider this: The human neocortical surface covers 2,275 cm2, about the size of a dinner napkin, but the common dolphin neocortical surface covers 3,745 cm2, bigger than an unfolded newspaper. Making a very rough adjustment for mass, humans have a "gyrification index" of 1.75; dolphins run up to 2.7, killer whales even higher. In terms of brain to body size our highly evolved human brains are slightly larger and have a larger absolute number of neurons, while cetacean brains have more glial cells, a structure whose utility for cognition is still poorly understood. The fact is, scientists cannot say for sure that human brains are superior. They may be, but then again they may not. We simply don't know. To be prudent about it, if we suppose that dolphins might actually be smarter, don't we owe it to ourselves to treat them with respect? Or even if we are the smarter ones, how rare is it to coexist on a planet with another intelligent life form? To talk about the responsibilities of humans to other animals — spiritual, legal, and otherwise — I turned to Dr. Paul Waldau, a leading American expert, and co-editor of A Communion of Subjects. It was a real pleasure to talk with Paul. Very thought provoking. And I'm grateful to him for the opportunity to learn more about something important. Total runtime an hour and eight minutes. Enjoy!