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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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Beneath The Surface
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Sunday, April 13, 2025 10:00 am
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1:00:12
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| Guests:
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| Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez et al
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| Topics
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| Fighting Oligarchy in LA, Gloria Molina Grand Park April 12
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| Hear the powerful "Fighting Oligarchy: Where We go From Here?" rally, held April 12 in downtown Los Angeles at the Gloria Molina Grand Park. Headlined by Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the event drew a staggering crowd – probably double the 36,000 who RSVPed, many arriving hours early to stand up against the Trump-Vance-Musk wrecking crew. Their agenda? Slashing essential programs, targeting immigrants and dissenters, unleashing economic chaos with reckless tariffs -- all to further enrich the top .1 percent at the expense of everyone else. Also taking the stage to fight the Oligarchy were Joan Baez, Maggie Rogers and Neil Young, plus Unionists and Congresspeople Ro Khanna and Pramila Jayapal among others.
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Beneath The Surface
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Sunday, March 30, 2025 10:00 am
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0:58:43
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| Guest:
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| Joy Neumeyer
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| Topics
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| Russia's Political Prisoners
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Journalist and historian Joy Neumeyer on her March 13 piece in The New York Review of Books, “Russia, Letters from the Opposition.” Last summer, Neumeyer wrote to 14 of Vladimir Putin’s political prisoners—dissidents locked away in penal colonies for opposing Russia’s war on Ukraine. While human rights organizations estimate that some 20,000 anti-war critics have been detained, a smaller number face trial and sentencing, disappearing into Russia’s vast prison system. Neumeyer was struck by the deeply personal, often unexpected responses she received—offering a rare glimpse into the lives, fears, and resilience of those behind bars.
While figures like Boris Kagarlitsky, Russia’s most well-known left-wing critic, have drawn international attention—including on this program—many political prisoners remain unknown, their suffering largely overlooked both inside and outside Russia. In this conversation, Neumeyer shares the powerful insights from her correspondence, revealing not just the punishments these prisoners endure, but also their defiance, hope, and unwavering resistance.
We explore Putin’s escalating repression, the deeply human stories of imprisoned dissidents, and the culture of war and propaganda that fuels the political climate in Russia. And we’ll ask a critical question: what happens to these prisoners if—and when—the war ends?
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Beneath The Surface
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Sunday, March 23, 2025 10:00 am
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1:00:12
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| Guests:
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| Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders
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| Topics
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| Bernie Sanders & AOC hit the road, leading the resistance
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| We play the full Greeley, Colorado rally with Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, part of a “Fighting Oligarchy” tour through multiple Western states, showing the divided, cautious and capitulationist Dems what a fight looks like. The rallies are drawing record size crowds and they are asking the attendees to do a lot more than show up and listen. They are encouraging people to organize -- working people, unions, and everyone opposed to the billionaire’s agenda that Trump/Musk represent. Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are attracting attention because they have become the leaders, not just of the left, but of the Democratic Party’s mainstream liberal base by making the case that a fight against a billionaire “oligarchy” should be the focal point of the party’s resistance to the Trump/Musk/Vance administration. As Bernie says, “Our job in the coming weeks and months is not just to take Trump on every step of the way but to do more. It’s to have a vision for where our country should be going.”
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Beneath The Surface
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Sunday, March 16, 2025 10:00 am
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1:00:15
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| Guest:
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| Barry Eidlin with Eric Blanc
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| Topic
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| We Are the Union
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There are many reasons to be pessimistic about the world these days. But one bright spot is labor’s recent resurgence. Workers across the country, in a wide array of sectors, are organizing on a scale not seen in several decades, and are winning some important victories.
One key feature of labor’s resurgence is that workers themselves are leading the way. Instead of the usual staff-driven campaigns this new wave of organizing is being driven by a bottom-up energy we haven’t seen in a long time. Important challenges remain – organizing is up, but nowhere near the scale needed to reverse labor’s trajectory. And with the Trump-Musk chainsaw to workers rights across the board, worker organizing is more important than ever to counter MAGA’s onslaught on democracy writ large.
Eric Blanc's new book is "We Are the Union: How Worker-to-Worker Organizing is Revitalizing Labor and Winning Big." Based on extensive research with workers on the ground, as well as his own organizing experiences, it examines in detail what is driving the organizing upsurge, and how it provides a model for reversing labor’s fortunes. In it, Blanc puts forth a model of worker-to-worker organizing, showing how it works, and explaining why it is labor’s best and only hope for the future. It’s a compelling read, providing that elusive mix of academic rigor and accessible writing.
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