Labor Heritage Power Hour

On this week’s Labor Heritage Power Hour, we take it to the streets with the Rude Mechanical Orchestra, a New York City-based activist marching band that’s been showing up for more than two decades in support of workers, organizers, and movements for justice. We also get the latest labor arts news, including the announcement of the 2026 DC Labor FilmFest lineup, organizing victories across the cultural sector, and updates from unions representing musicians, writers, performers, and library workers. Plus: a Labor Landmark of the Week from the West Virginia Mine Wars Museum’s Courage in the Hollers trail, and a special excerpt from What They Could Never Kill, our recent Billie Holiday/Paul Robeson special, featuring Billie Holiday’s haunting “Strange Fruit,” followed by Paul Robeson’s “Joe Hill.” Broadcast on April 9, 2026; hosted by Chris Garlock and Elise Bryant; produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Kahlia Chapman. The Labor Heritage Power Hour is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network and syndicated on Pacifica’s Audioport.

This week on the Labor Heritage Power Hour: Performers at a horror-themed escape room in Los Angeles organize the first union shop in the industry, a powerful labor landmark in Victor, Colorado reminds us of the violent roots of the labor movement, and the Coalition of Labor Union Women marks 50 years of labor, art, and organizing. Plus, Bette Midler takes on a Woody Guthrie classic, a new song from Mike Stout honors the Women of Steel, and the latest labor arts news from around the world. Broadcast on April 2, 2026; hosted by Chris Garlock and Elise Bryant; produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Kahlia Chapman. The Labor Heritage Power Hour is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network and syndicated on Pacifica’s Audioport. @LaborHeritage1 @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod

On this week’s Labor Heritage Power Hour: High tower crane operator and singer/songwriter Sammy Cossairt talks with poet and master electrician Susan Eisenberg about life in the trades and her new song “TradesWoman”; a Labor Landmarks visit to Seattle’s historic Labor Temple with Conor Casey; plus stories of women-led struggles—from the 1929 Elizabethton Rayon Strike to Michigan’s “Big Annie” Clements. Broadcast on March 26, 2026; hosted by Chris Garlock and Elise Bryant; produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Kahlia Chapman. The Labor Heritage Power Hour is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network and syndicated on Pacifica’s Audioport. @LaborHeritage1 @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod

This week on the Labor Heritage Power Hour: we announce this year’s Labor Oscar winner and take a look at the little-known backstory at how union organizing prompted Hollywood bosses to create the Academy Awards. Plus, the IWW relaunches a grassroots labor film series in Bellingham, Washington; and musician Tom Kastle brings Joe Hill’s story to life in a NYC performance this Saturday. Also: labor arts news, spring chorus concerts, and Labor History in 2:00 on the 1968 KMPX radio strike. Music: Tom Kastle’s “I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill Last Night” and “Preacher and the Slave”. Broadcast on March 19, 2026; hosted by Chris Garlock and Harold Phillips; produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Kahlia Chapman. The Labor Heritage Power Hour is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network and syndicated on Pacifica’s Audioport. @LaborHeritage1 @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod

On this episode of the Labor Heritage Power Hour, we share highlights from a special edition of the program that originally aired on WPFW on International Women’s Day, hosted by Elise Bryant and celebrating Women’s History Month and the powerful role of women in the labor movement. But first, Harold Phillips brings us the latest Labor Arts News, including updates on the Labor Oscars voting, the General Strike Song Contest, and several important labor organizing victories across the country. Then we dive into Elise Bryant’s International Women’s Day special, featuring conversations with labor leaders and activists about women’s organizing, labor history, and the ongoing fight for workplace justice and equality. Guests include Chelsea Bland, President of the Metro DC Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW), Sig Milius, DC CLUW leader and Director of the Community Services Agency of the Metropolitan Washington Council AFL-CIO and Daniella Byck, member of the Washingtonian Guild (CWA). The program explores the legacy of women in labor history, the continuing struggle for pay equity and worker power, and the organizing campaigns happening right now in Washington, DC and across the country. Music featured in this episode includes: “Union Woman” – Lynn Marie Smith; “We Were There” – Bev Grant & the Brooklyn Women’s Chorus; “Misogyny” – Anne Feeney; “We Can’t Go Back” – Hali Hammer; “Bread and Roses” – SongRise. The show also highlights women labor leaders who have broken barriers in the labor movement, including Liz Shuler, President of the AFL-CIO, Roxanne Brown, President of the United Steelworkers and April Verrett, President of SEIU. 📺 Vote in the Labor Oscars: Check out the nominees and cast your vote on the LHF YouTube channel. 🎵 Submit a song to the General Strike Song Contest: Deadline: April 11; Details at laborheritage.org 📅 Labor Arts Calendar, Labor Landmarks Map, and more labor arts news. Broadcast on March 12, 2026; hosted by Chris Garlock and Elise Bryant; produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Kahlia Chapman. The Labor Heritage Power Hour is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network and syndicated on Pacifica’s Audioport. @LaborHeritage1 @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod

This week on The Labor Heritage Power Hour: SEIU President April Verrett on worker power and democracy, The Pitt star Noah Wyle on unions, Kathy Newman on Pittsburgh labor history, Sean Duffy’s favorite labor song, Labor History in 2:00 on Frances Perkins, plus the latest labor arts news and events. Broadcast on March 5, 2026; hosted by Chris Garlock and Elise Bryant; produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Kahlia Chapman. The Labor Heritage Power Hour is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network and syndicated on Pacifica’s Audioport. @LaborHeritage1 @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod @SEIU @SAG-AFTRA

On this week’s Labor Heritage Power Hour: former shipyard welder and activist Jonathan Brandow talks about his new novel Goliath at Sunset, inspired by rank-and-file organizing and multiracial solidarity in the 1970s Boston shipyards. Plus, the DC Labor Chorus is featured in Jay Mallin’s “Highly Visible” video; Set the Earth on Fire author David Correia’s favorite labor song; Labor History in 2:00 with Rick Smith; and the latest labor arts and culture news. Support the Power Hour on WPFW’s listener-powered radio: call 202-588-9739 or 1-800-222-9739 or go to wpfwfm.org or give on PayPal. Broadcast on February 26, 2026; hosted by Chris Garlock and Elise Bryant; produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Kahlia Chapman. The Labor Heritage Power Hour is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network and syndicated on Pacifica’s Audioport. @LaborHeritage1 @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod

This week on The Labor Heritage Power Hour, we bring you an all-music special from The Downbeat Music Show (Florence, Oregon), featuring powerful songs of revolution and protest. From historic anthems to contemporary voices of resistance, this hour explores how music has fueled movements, challenged injustice, and sustained working people in the fight for dignity and democracy. Your contributions power the Power Hour on our home station, WPFW 89.3FM; please give generously here (be sure to select “The Labor Heritage Power Hour” on the dropdown menu)! Broadcast on February 19, 2026; hosted by Chris Garlock and Elise Bryant; produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Kahlia Chapman. The Labor Heritage Power Hour is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network and syndicated on Pacifica’s Audioport. @LaborHeritage1 @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod

This week on the Labor Heritage Power Hour, latest labor arts news, including Lottie Walker’s one-woman show about East London union leader Sarah Wesker and the return of the Labor Oscars. We hear from songwriter Mindy Murray about her powerful new song “Striking at Kings,” inspired by the 1938 King Farm strike, plus a Labor History in 2:00 look at the 1903 Oxnard Strike. Young adult author J. Albert Mann interviews labor journalist Kim Kelly about Fight to Win and teaching labor history to young people, and we close with a fearless, funny, and furious moment from Carsie Blanton, calling for solidarity and dignity for working musicians. Broadcast on February 12, 2026; hosted by Chris Garlock and Elise Bryant; produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Kahlia Chapman. The Labor Heritage Power Hour is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network and syndicated on Pacifica’s Audioport. @LaborHeritage1 @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod

On this week’s Labor Heritage Power Hour: highlights from the 2026 Labor Grammys—including the winning song—and we talk with singer David Rovics about songwriting, AI, and why stories move people more than slogans. Plus: powerful medleys from LHF’s new Songs for Minneapolis playlist, a deep-dive interview with David Correia (Set the Earth on Fire) on the 1902 anthracite strike and the roots of modern policing, and, on Labor History in 2:00, the President calls in the feds. Plus, a tribute to beloved WPFW engineer Mighty Myke Nasella. Broadcast on February 5, 2026; Chris Garlock, host/producer; Harold Phillips, producer/announcer (labor arts news); Patrick Dixon, producer (Correia interview); David Correia interview by Sean Duffy; WPFW engineering by Kahlia Chapman.   The Labor Heritage Power Hour is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network and syndicated on Pacifica’s Audioport. @LaborHeritage1 @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod

This week on the Labor Heritage Power Hour: We explore the forgotten 1933 Funsten Nut Strike in St. Louis with playwrights Kathryn Bentley and Colin McLaughlin, creators of the new play A Brick and a Bible, about Black women workers who organized thousands during the Great Depression. Then, from the Labor Notes podcast, director Chris Sessions and Andy Myers of Working Films discuss the documentary Partners: How Starbucks Baristas Started a Labor Revolution and how screenings are being used to build real-world solidarity. Plus: the latest labor arts and history news and Labor History in 2:00. Broadcast on January 29, 2026; hosted by Chris Garlock and Shannon Drake; produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Mike Nasella & Kahlia Chapman. The Labor Heritage Power Hour is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network and syndicated on Pacifica’s Audioport. @LaborNotes @LaborHeritage1 @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod

This week on the Labor Heritage Power Hour, culture, history, and struggle collide. We begin with cultural critic Kathleen Newman, who reflects on labor themes surfacing in contemporary film and television—from Netflix’s The Beast in Me to Apple TV’s Pluribus—and how stories of power, class, and exploitation continue to shape popular culture. Next, historian Rudi Batzell takes a deep dive into the roots of division within the U.S. labor movement. Drawing from his work on race, class, and strikebreaking in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Batzell explores how racial divisions—and the legacy of slavery—shaped the limits of early union organizing. This segment comes from a labor history series produced by Patrick Dixon for America’s Work Force Radio, hosted by Ed “Flash” Ferenc. We close with highlights from the powerful DC Labor Chorus 2025 holiday concert—songs of resistance, solidarity, and immigrant justice that remind us why music remains central to movement-building. Plus: the latest labor arts news, including registration now open for the 2026 Labor Notes Conference and Great Labor Arts Exchange, organizing wins across the museum sector, and more. Broadcast on January 22, 2026; hosted by Chris Garlock and Harold Phillips; produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Mike Nasella & Kahlia Chapman. The Labor Heritage Power Hour is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network and syndicated on Pacifica’s Audioport. @LaborHeritage1 @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod

This week on the Labor Heritage Power Hour: cultural critic Kathleen Newman takes us inside The Hidden Shift, a dramatic two-screen film installation inspired by the 1892 Homestead Strike—complete with a Pinkerton, a suspected murder, and questions of loyalty and solidarity. Historian Martin Wright (Made by Labour) joins us for a conversation on working-class history and memory. Plus, the latest labor arts news—including organizing wins across museums, bookstores, animation studios, and the West Virginia Mine Wars Museum—and a new Labor History in 2 on the founding of Britain’s Independent Labour Party. Broadcast on January 15, 2026; hosted by Chris Garlock and Elise Bryant; produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Mike Nasella & Kahlia Chapman. The Labor Heritage Power Hour is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network and syndicated on Pacifica’s Audioport. @LaborHeritage1 @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod

This week on The Labor Heritage Power Hour, we explore what happens when workers recognize their power—and use it to imagine something better. We begin with a conversation about the post-pandemic union upsurge. Labor organizer and researcher Eric Dirnbach talks with Dave Kamper, author of Who’s Got the Power: Hope for Troubled Times, about graduate student organizing, teachers’ strikes, the UAW’s stand-up strike, and the return of solidarity as a force for change. Drawing on history and recent victories, Kamper reflects on why moments of crisis can also be moments of possibility. Then we head to Italy with a report from the Working Class History podcast, taking us to the 2025 Working Class Literature Festival at the occupied former GKN factory outside Florence. There, workers are fighting not only to save their jobs, but to transform their workplace into a cooperative—while creating space for writers, artists, and organizers to tell their own stories. PLUS: The 1916 Youngstown Massacre and Carsie Blanton’s “Little Flame”. From union halls to occupied factories, from organizing drives to poetry and song, this episode reminds us that labor history isn’t just something we remember—it’s something we’re still making. Broadcast on January 8, 2026; hosted by Chris Garlock and Elise Bryant; produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Mike Nasella & Kahlia Chapman. The Labor Heritage Power Hour is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network and syndicated on Pacifica’s Audioport. @LaborHeritage1 @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod

This week's Labor Heritage Power Hour: Chris and Elise spin labor songs to boost your spirits. Playlist: Unaccountable - Elise Bryant & Steve Jones; Who's Gonna Build Your Wall - Tom Russell; All You Fascists Are Bound To Lose - The Solidarity Singers of the New Jersey State Industrial Union Council; A Strike Song (VirginLV) – Culinary Union; The Communists Have the Music - They Might Be Giants; What We Want - Shelby Bottom Duo; Union Conga - Al Bradbury; Bread and Roses-Women of the World; People Have the Power - Patti Smith; Time For A General Strike - Mike Stout; Have You Been To Jail For Justice - Anne Feeney. 1/2/26 Newly-added bonus tracks: No Contract No Coffee; Are You a Human or a Bot; Prompt Engineers; Waiting for AGI (Ai-Tsuno/Dave Rovics) Original show aired 2/20/25. Broadcast on January 1, 2026 from WPFW 89.3FM in Washington, DC and on stations across the Pacifica network. Hosted by Chris Garlock and Elise Bryant; produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Mike Nasella & Kahlia Chapman. The Labor Heritage Power Hour is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network. @LaborHeritage1 @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod

On this week’s Labor Heritage Power Hour: Chris Garlock sits down with Strike While the Needle is Hot: A Discography of Workers’ Revolt authors Josh MacPhee and Kennedy Block to spin and unpack strike records from the ’60s–’80s—including the rousing 1978 EP “Ford Workers on Strike.” A fast-moving tour of worker-made music and how vinyl captured picket lines, speeches, and solidarity anthems. Broadcast on December 25, 2025 (originally released September 4, 2025) on WPFW 89.3FM in Washington, DC. Hosted by Chris Garlock and Elise Bryant; produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Mike Nasella & Kahlia Chapman. The Labor Heritage Power Hour is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network. @LaborHeritage1 @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod

This week’s Labor Radio Podcast Weekly takes a wide-angle look at where labor power is showing up right now—on the shop floor, in politics, in culture, and across the media landscape. We start on The Workers’ Mic, where hosts are joined by The Labor Radio Podcast Network’s Chris Garlock and Harold Phillips to talk about why independent labor media matters and how the Network connects worker struggles across industries and regions. From there, The Dig digs into the political moment, with Eric Blanc, Leah Greenberg, and Waleed Shahid examining the liberal resistance’s sharp left turn and what it means for organizing and strategy moving forward. On Labor Radio from WORT in Madison, it’s a packed labor news roundup—from state worker rallies and dairy workers authorizing a strike to Starbucks organizing wins and fights over school voucher transparency. We also hear from Heartland Labor Forum, which takes on the often-overlooked issue of mental health in the labor movement, spotlighting union-led programs that support members and their families. Our unusual pick this week comes from the Power Line Podcast, featuring a tailgate conversation with Austin Carr—known online as “America’s Favorite Lineman”—on life in the trades and how social media is reshaping work and identity. Plus, in our Shows You Should Know speed round, we spotlight more voices across the Network, including The Wealthy Ironworker, Boiling Point, RadioLabour Canada, El Cafecito del Día, and The CWA Hour of Power, and we pause to remember Ken Nash of Building Bridges. 👉 Subscribe, listen, and follow us at laborradionetwork.org @thedigradio @powerlinepodcast @coalition_labor @Heartland_Labor#LaborRadioPod #1u #UnionStrong #WorkersVoices #SolidarityMedia @AFLCIO Help us build sonic solidarity by clicking on the share button below. Highlights from labor radio and podcast shows around the country, part of the national Labor Radio Podcast Network of shows focusing on working people’s issues and concerns. Produced by Chris Garlock, edited by Patrick Dixon, social media guru Mr. Harold Phillips.

On today’s Labor Heritage Power Hour: "People always think this story is about you,” Bob Crachit tells Scrooge in the San Francisco Mime Troupe’s “A Red Carol” radio play. “But it ain’t about you, it’s about us - and how we let ourselves get infected with your ideas, your greed, your lies, it’s you steppin’ over the hungry and homeless and us following your lead, it’s us lettin’ you turn our government into a casino, listenin’ while you say day after day that profit is the new god, and us not standin’ up and shouting "NO!"' “It ain’t about you," Cratchit says. "It’s about us.” Click here to support the San Francisco Mime Troupe and here to support WPFW’s jazz and justice in the New Year! Produced by the San Francisco Mime Troupe; Broadcast on December 18, 2025; WPFW broadcast engineered by Kahlia Chapman. @SFTroupers @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod

This week on the Labor Heritage Power Hour, novelist Ann Goethals joins us to share the stories behind The Doublewide, her powerful debut novel about caregiving, community, and the invisible labor that holds our world together. Ann reads from the opening chapter and reflects on her years as a teacher, union activist, and caregiver navigating the realities of dementia care. We’ve also got Labor Arts News Briefs, including big wins for PAs organizing with LIUNA, a new contract at the Los Angeles Times, and a first contract victory at Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry. Plus: exciting news about the return of the Labor Oscars and Labor Grammys under the Labor Heritage Foundation’s banner. Then we turn to Labor History in 2:00, tracing the fall of the Knights of Labor and the rise of the American Federation of Labor — two very different visions of the labor movement. Plus a sneak preview of next week’s show, the San Francisco Mime Troupe’s radio drama, A Red Carol. Broadcast on December 11, 2025 on WPFW 89.3FM in Washington, DC. Hosted by Chris Garlock and Elise Bryant; produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Mike Nasella & Kahlia Chapman. The Labor Heritage Power Hour is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network. @LaborHeritage1 @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod

This week on the Labor Heritage Power Hour: Singer–songwriter and longtime movement troubadour David Rovics joins us to talk about his unlikely collaboration with an AI persona he calls Ai Tsuno, which has already produced nearly 40 songs in a stunning range of styles. We dig into what it means to “vibe code” music, how expertise and craft still matter in avoiding “AI slop,” why this technology threatens the jobs of working musicians, and why Rovics believes we’ll need something like universal basic income as AI transforms whole professions. Along the way, we hear clips from new labor anthems including No Contract, No Coffee and In the Age of AI. Then we travel back to December 3, 1946, when Oakland workers shut down their city in a historic general strike. Drawing on accounts from Stan Weir, we tell the story of how one unlikely pop hit—“Pistol Packin’ Mama,” by Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters—blared from jukeboxes dragged onto the sidewalks, becoming the unofficial soundtrack of the uprising and reminding us how popular culture and class struggle collide in surprising ways. We close with a joyful preview of the DC Labor Chorus’ annual Favorite and Sacred Songs concert (Sat., Dec. 6, free; RSVP here). We feature a powerful medley including “None of Us Are Free,” “We Did Not Come This Far” and a union-flavored holiday wish for justice and good contracts—a taste of the spirit, harmony, and solidarity waiting for audiences this weekend. Broadcast on December 4, 2025 on WPFW 89.3FM in Washington, DC and stations across the country on the Pacifica network. Hosted by Chris Garlock and Elise Bryant; editing by Patrick Dixon, produced by Chris Garlock, engineered by Mike Nasella & Kahlia Chapman. The Labor Heritage Power Hour is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network. @LaborHeritage1 @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod