Bob Buzzanco: Green & Red’s Best of 2021

December 31, 2021Posted inPeoples' History, politics

cross-posted from Afflict the Comfortable

Green & Red had a hell of a year in 2021! It wasn’t the best of times. It was mostly the worst of times. But we did some fantastic shows.Here’s a (too long) list of some of my favorites (not really in any specific order, I just listed them as they came to mind. They’re all great!). We’ve seen a really big increase in listeners this year, so keep spreading the word about Green & Red so we’re more than the best lefty podcast people haven’t heard……

Scott’s Top Green and Red Episodes of 2021

December 28, 2021Posted inChomsky, Climate, politics, pop culture

by Scott Parkin

Turns out 2021 wasn’t much better than 2020. Pandemic. Political crisis. Economic crisis. Climate crisis. The cascading crises keep coming at us.

BUT, Bob and I did some fantastic episodes covering a span of topics from peoples’ history of the 1960s with Noam Chomsky to politics in the middle east to campaigns and struggle related to the #climatecrisis and #COP26 to a whole bunch of left wing pop culture. Plus a lot more.

We also talked a lot about how to the Democrats fail time and time again, even when in the majority and handed gifts like the ruling class turning on the GOP and the capitol riot.

I’m proud of ALL the episodes we produced and the guests we interviewed.

So here’s my end of year click bait list of my most fav Green and Red episodes:

The “Rainforest Chernobyl:” Chevron, Ecuador and the Persecution of Steven Donziger

December 21, 2021Posted inClimate, Peoples' History

We go into a deep background on Chevron, their poisoning of the Ecuadoran Amazon and the company’s persecution of attorney Steven Donziger.

Episode here: https://apple.co/3sqpuvs

While drilling in the Ecuadorian Amazon from 1964 to 1990, Texaco deliberately dumped more than 16 billion gallons of toxic wastewater, spilled roughly 17 million gallons of crude oil, and left hazardous waste in hundreds of open pits dug out of the forest floor. In 2001, Chevron merged with Texaco. The result was, and continues to be, one of the worst environmental disasters on the planet.  It’s been called the “Rainforest Chernobyl.”

Prof. Alex Vitale on Politics and Policing

December 18, 2021Posted inpolitics

For many years, black and brown Americans living in cities, towns and rural areas across the nation have rightfully been afraid of uniformed  officers. Far too often, police officers engage in indefensible violence against the very people they are supposed to serve and protect.

Listen in here:https://apple.co/3sfmK3R

The long arm (and brutal violence) of the law also extends to homeless populations, the mentally ill, sex workers, people facing eviction, protestors, workers on strike and many others. This is a result of the emergence of the new Gilded Age brought on by austerity and ever-widening economic gaps.

We talk with Professor Alex Vitale (@avitale) at Brooklyn College about policing in our current state of affairs. We discuss the need for police, how liberal politicians continue to support the police (as well  large numbers of rank and file Democrats, according to polls) and the influence and role of police unions.  We also get into the “Defund the Police” movement, the backlash against it, the war on drugs, gun control and how the current debate around police is effected by rising homicide rates.

Johnny Cash’s Politics, w/ historian Michael Stewart Foley

December 13, 2021Posted inpolitics, pop culture

*Citizen Cash: The Political Life of Johnny Cash* is a fantastic new  book by Michael Stewart Foley, and we sat down and talked to him all about it.  This is a must-listen, must-see episode.

Listen in: https://bit.ly/CashGandR

We talked about Cash’s upbringing in the depression and how the New Deal helped his family and led him to develop a “politics of empathy.”  We  discussed his views on race, and especially his “Blood, Sweat, and  Tears” album.

Celebrating “America’s greatest intellectual” Noam Chomsky

December 6, 2021Posted inChomsky, Foreign Policy, Peoples' History

Cited as “America’s greatest intellectual,” Noam Chomsky is know for his deep critique of the ruling class and his role in supporting movements fighting it. As Chris Hedges has said he “makes the powerful, as well as their liberal apologists, deeply uncomfortable.”

Listen in: https://bit.ly/ChomskyBdayGandR

December 7th is Noam’s 93rd birthday and we are celebrating him with this new segment and sharing our past episodes about and with him all week.