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Beneath The Surface
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Sunday, June 8, 2025 10:00 am
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0:59:06
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| Guest:
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| David Ost
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| Topic
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| Polish Election and the Global Far Right
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David Ost on Poland’s stunning June 1 presidential election.The race was tight, but in the end, Karol Nawrocki, the far-right, hardline nationalist with MAGA-style politics and Trump’s backing, narrowly defeated Warsaw's liberal mayor Rafał Trzaskowski.
After recent electoral defeats for Trumpist candidates in Canada, Australia, and Romania, it seemed an international anti-Trump bump was underway. But Polish voters, just two years after electing liberal leader Donald Tusk, have swung back to the right. What does this election reveal about the continuing attraction of the authoritarian-nationalist-populist right to working class voters?
Ost argues Tusk overpromised and underdelivered, dampening turnout—echoing Biden/Harris’s troubles in the U.S. Meanwhile, the liberal left ran against Nawrocki’s negative personal qualities and tough working class background, not his reactionary, xenophobic agenda—feeding class resentment and fueling the far right.
Populism has shown to have staying power, and center left liberal governance has failed to offer a durable counter. Is Poland a warning to left liberals everywhere? And what are the implications for Ukraine, Europe and the globe?
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| Host:
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| Suzi Weismann
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| Guest:
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| Davis Ost
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| Topic
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| Polish Eleftion
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Here's the full hour of the show Beneath the Surface Sundays 10-Due to technical difficulties on Sunday June 8 at 10am, the wrong show played at the start of the show. The correct full hour has been uploaded, please take a listen.
Sunday June 8, 2025 10am PST: David Ost on the Polish Election and the Global Far Right.
Polish expert David Ost joins us to unpack Poland’s stunning June 1 presidential election. The race was tight, but in the end, Karol Nawrocki, the far-right, hardline nationalist with MAGA-style politics and Trump’s backing, narrowly defeated Warsaw's liberal mayor Rafał Trzaskowski.
After recent electoral defeats for Trumpist candidates in Canada, Australia, and Romania, it seemed an international anti-Trump bump was underway. But Polish voters, just two years after electing liberal leader Donald Tusk, have swung back to the right. What does this election reveal about the continuing attraction of the authoritarian-nationalist-populist right to working class voters?
Ost argues that Tusk in power promised a program of radical changes, but delivered too little, dampening enthusiasm and turnout, not unlike what happened to Biden and Harris. He also argues that the liberal left campaigned on Nawrocki’s negative personal qualities, including his tough working class background, rather than his reactionary, xenophobic policies – missteps that fed class resentment and fueled the far right.
Populism has shown to have staying power, and center left liberal governance has failed to offer a durable counter. Is Poland a warning to left liberals everywhere? And what are the implications for Ukraine, Europe and the globe. KPFK 90.7FM, streaming live and archived at www.kpfk.org
Podcast information, audio archives and more at
https://bit.ly/3k3iPCH
We are also on Facebook-- become a fan (hit “like”) BTS to receive updates on shows and more.
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www.kpfk.org
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Beneath The Surface
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Sunday, May 25, 2025 10:00 am
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1:00:12
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| John Dinges
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| Topic
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| The Americans Disappeared by Pinochet
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Journalist and author John Dinges joins us to discuss his new book "Chile in Their Hearts: The Untold Story of Two Americans Who Went Missing After the Coup."
Dinges lived in Chile from 1972-78, from the heady days of Allende’s Popular Unity government to the years of terror following the coup of September 11, 1973. His book reopens the case of Charles Horman and Frank Teruggi—two young Americans who went to Chile to participate in the democratic socialist process of President Salvador Allende’s Popular Unity government. They were disappeared -- went ‘missing,’ and were executed in the days following the military takeover.
Their story inspired the Oscar-winning film "Missing," which depicted Horman as the man who knew too much about U.S. involvement in the coup. But "Chile in Their Hearts" challenges that version as a myth—and uncovers the sham investigation and coverup behind its conclusions.
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Beneath The Surface
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Sunday, May 18, 2025 10:00 am
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1:00:12
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| Guest:
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| Juan Cole
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| Topics
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| A Trump Foreign Policy? Middle East Upheaval
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Juan Cole joins us to break down Donald Trump’s dramatic pivot in the Middle East: sidelining Israel, cozying up to Gulf monarchies, cutting billion-dollar deals, promising to lift sanctions on Syria, and exploring a new nuclear agreement with Iran.
Trump vowed a quick peace in Gaza and Ukraine, but neither materialized. Instead, we’re seeing zigzags between personal enrichment schemes, back channel talks, and diplomatic snubbing. Is this strategic realignment, opportunism, or just more chaos?
We unpack the U.S.-brokered hostage deal with Hamas that bypassed Netanyahu, the collapse of the Assad regime, and the regional powers now vying for influence over Syria’s new government—amid Trump’s promise to lift sanctions. Is a coherent Trump doctrine beginning to emerge? Juan Cole gives us the big-picture view.
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Beneath The Surface
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Sunday, May 11, 2025 10:00 am
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1:00:12
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| Guest:
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| Emil Draitser
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| Topics
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| Soviet satirist on "Laughing All the Way to Freedom"
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Emil Draitser —Soviet satirist turned American memoirist—joins us to talk about "Laughing All the Way to Freedom," his sharp, funny, and poignant account of becoming American after growing up Soviet and Jewish in the USSR. With self-deprecating humor, Emil, who was punished for trespassing the boundaries of public criticism in the USSR, recollects his growing pains as he overcame his indoctrinated upbringing in a totalitarian society to embrace the chaotic freedoms of 1970s America. Emil recounts the culture shock, contradictions, and gradual transformation of becoming American— and not just on paper. It’s a story of reinvention, told through the eyes of someone who came to this country when immigrants like him were actively welcomed by the U.S. government.
But times have changed. In our conversation today, we ask Emil to reflect on that contrast—between his own experience as a Cold War refugee – a soviet Jew -- and the climate faced by immigrants today, under an administration increasingly hostile to those seeking a new life on American soil.
We’ll also touch on the new Russian-American ‘friendship’ between Putin and Trump, imperial autocrats determined to redefine the character of politics, Putin in Ukraine and Trump in the Americas—and beyond.
Please support this program and this station. We’ll offer copies of Emil’s book as our thank you for your listener sponsorship – you can pledge during the program at 818 985-5735 or online at kpfk.org KPFK 90.7 FM Los Angeles / 98.7 FM Santa Barbara
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Beneath The Surface
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Sunday, April 20, 2025 10:00 am
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1:00:12
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| Guest:
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| Alan Wald
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| Topics
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| Universities under attack, antisemitism weaponized to silenc
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Alan Wald unpacks the Trump offensive against higher education—a campaign that escalated after last spring’s crackdown on student encampments protesting Israel’s war on Gaza, waged with US support.
Since October 7, universities have cracked down on protests under the guise of protecting “Jewish student safety.” But is this truly about safety, or about silencing dissent?
What does it mean when universities suppress protests in the name of “Jewish student safety”—even when many of those protesting are Jewish?
Despite the repression, these crackdowns haven’t earned universities favor with the government. Congressional hearings forced the resignation of university presidents, and now the Trump administration is threatening to withdraw federal research funds. Columbia University buckled, while Harvard, Princeton and others are holding the line and fighting back.
At the center of it all is the redefinition and weaponization of antisemitism as a political tool used to quash criticism of Israeli policy and chill speech. This isn’t just censorship. It’s an authoritarian bid to impose ideological control over the academy.
Alan Wald has tracked this turn -- its roots, its enablers, and its eerie echoes of McCarthyism. He helps us understand where we are—and what it means.
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