Belabored Podcast #46: What’s Left, with Adolph Reed

Subscribe to the Belabored RSS feed here. Subscribe and rate on iTunes here. Check out the full Belabored archive here. Tweet at @dissentmag with #belabored to share your thoughts, or join the conversation on Facebook. Belabored is produced by Natasha Lewis. University of Pennsylvania political scientist Adolph Reed created quite a stir with a recent article in Harper’s magazine that criticized the left for its over-attachment to the Democrats and electoral politics and its disconnection from the labor movement. His argument—that there has been a “narrowing of social vision” on the left—has touched off quite a few debates about where things are now. On this week’s Belabored, Reed joins Sarah and Michelle to discuss his article, the need to focus on inequality, why the labor movement matters, and why Democrats relying on big money donors is like keeping a Komodo dragon in your bedroom. We also touch on a strike in Vermont, a lawsuit at McDonald’s, a modest proposal for executive salaries, and a call for justice in retail scheduling. And in “Argh!” we look at gentrification in Brooklyn and colonialism in Ireland.  News: Workers’ lawsuit against wage theft at McDonald’s New York Settles With McDonald’s Restaurants In Wage Theft Investigation Vermont bus drivers strike over dangerous conditions Michelle: The Tyranny of the On-Call Schedule: Hourly Injustice in Retail Labor Retail Action Project report on Just Hours campaign Should university presidents’ salaries be tied to those of their janitors? Conversation with Adolph Reed: Adolph Reed, "Nothing Left," Harper’s  Adolph Reed interview with Thomas Frank, Salon Argh, I Wish I’d Written That! Sarah: Molly Osberg, "Inside the Barista Class", The Awl Michelle: Timothy Egan, "Paul Ryan’s Irish Amnesia", New York Times The post Belabored Podcast #46: What’s Left, with Adolph Reed appeared first on Dissent Magazine.