WPKN: Politics, Policy, and Planet Podcast

Interview with Tzeporah Berman, founder and chair of the Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative, conducted by Melinda Tuhus.Earlier this year, the first-ever conference on transitioning away from fossil fuels took place in Santa Marta, Colombia, co-hosted by then-Colombian President Gustavo Petro and the Netherlands. No fossil fuel lobbyists were allowed and only countries that made a commitment to drawing down their emissions were in attendance. One of the key issues discussed at the conference was the Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative, a global campaign advocating for a new binding international legal agreement to halt the expansion of fossil fuels and phase out the use of coal, oil, and gas. Tzeporah Berman discusses the importance of cutting the supply as well as the demand for fossil fuels, and action nations and individuals can take to support that goal.

Interview with Nick Licata, author of Becoming A Citizen Activist, conducted by Scott Harris.Nick Licata talks about his recent Counterpunch article, “Trump’s Restrictions on Mail-In Voting Will Reduce the Republican Vote,” and shares his views on Trump’s other plans to subvert the outcome of the Nov. 3 election. Licata has served five terms on the Seattle City Council, has been named the progressive municipal official of the year by The Nation and is the founding board chair of Local Progress, a national network of 1,000 progressive municipal officials.

Interview with Bill Blum, a Los Angeles lawyer and a former state of California administrative law judge, conducted by Scott Harris.Bill Blum talks about his recent commentaries regarding the midterm election, “Will Jan. 3 Be the New Jan. 6?”Blum notes, When it comes to election subversion, expect the worst when Congress reconvenes in 2027, and “Trump’s Voter Purge Machine Just Got a Boost From the Supreme Court,” as well as other threats looming over the midterm election.

Interview with Paul Heideman, author of Rogue Elephant: How Republicans Went from the Party of Business to the Party of Chaos, conducted by Scott Harris.Paul Heideman discusses his recent Jacobin magazine article, “Where are the Democratic Socialists of America Going?” which examines how the group is successfully navigating the U.S. electoral system but continues to face considerable challenges in rooting itself in the U.S. working class.

Interview with Frida Berrigan, a long-time activist and author of “It Runs In The Family: On Being Raised by Radicals and Growing Into Rebellious Motherhood”, conducted by Scott Harris.Frida Berrigan, an activist who lives in southeastern Connecticut and opposes the ever-stretching shadow of militarism, talks about her recent commentary, “Where Are the Iran War Protests?” She notes that despite a wildly unpopular war with Iran, a mass protest movement for peace hasn’t materialized — at least in the ways we’ve been taught to recognize.