WPKN: Politics, Policy, and Planet Podcast

Interview with Melinda Rostal, an epidemiologist and lead for Office of Management and Budget response with the group Defend Public Health, conducted by Melinda Tuhus.Melinda Rostal, with Defend Public Health, a national public health watch dog organization founded in the wake of Trump’s 2024 election win,  describes some of the proposed changes to regulations, their potential impact, and what people are doing to fight back.

Interview with Arthur Kanegis, director of the film documentary, "The World Is My Country," conducted by Scott Harris.Arthur Kanegis talks about his documentary film that explores the life of Garry Davis, a Broadway song and dance man who turns his war guilt over bombing civilians in World War II into electrifying action that galvanizes war-weary Europe, sparks a movement and helps pave the way for the UN to unanimously pass the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Interview with Todd Schulte, president of FWD.US, conducted by Scott Harris.Todd Schulte talks about the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that ended Temporary Protective Status and the justices’ narrow decision upholding birthright citizenship. He warns that 400,000 U.S. citizen children could still be separated from their parents because of the TPS ruling. The consequences for 1.3 million individuals with TPS and another 800,000 of their U.S. citizen spouses and children are dire. Schulte is demanding the administration reverse course on TPS, while urging Congress to pass legislation providing a pathway to citizenship.

Interview with Norman Solomon, director of RootsAction and executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy, conducted by Scott Harris.Norman Solomon talks about his Guardian commentary, “Progressive primary victories have corporate Democrats panicking,” examining how the success of democratic socialists has led to an establishment backlash, fueling divisions over how to respond.

Interview with Hanna Riley Fernandez, a writer and activist based in Burlington, Vermont, conducted by Scott Harris.Hanna Fernandez, who writes about the intersection of media and the criminal legal system, discusses her recent Nation magazine article, “Cameras Are Everywhere—and People Have Had Enough,” and issues related to growing public concern about the unregulated surveillance applications of artificial intelligence.

In today's Organic Farm Stand:   Diane's Hot Topics   Tribute to Suzanne Duesing   Honey Bee Update with Vincent Kaye   Wakeman Town Farm with guests Nicole Gerber and Jaime SmithHosted by Richard Hill and Diane Lauricella

Interview with Xavier de Janon, an attorney representing one of the defendants facing state charges, conducted by Melinda Tuhus.While there are 22 individuals facing charges across various jurisdictions, related to the ICE detention center protest, the primary federal case involves a group of 9 defendants, accused of being part of an antifa terror cell, who were convicted in March of domestic terrorism, rioting, and explosive offenses. Eight of those convicted were sentenced on June 23 to between 30 and 100 years in prison. The one defendant sentenced to 100 years in prison was convicted of attempted murder of a policeman, stating he shot and injured an officer on the scene, after he thought the officer was about to shoot one of the other protesters. The defendants, who’ve been in jail over the past year held on $1 million bail they can’t pay, say they’ll be appealing their case.  Here Xavier de Janon talks about the 30- to 100-year sentences handed down in what he believes is a  blatantly political prosecution.

Interview with Brendan Cook, a defendant in the "Swarthmore 9" case, conducted by Scott Harris.Brendan Cook discusses his and his co-defendant’s trial that begins on July 1st, stemming from the group’s May 3, 2025 arrest on third-degree “defiant trespassing” charges after the individuals refused to vacate a pro-Palestine encampment at Swarthmore College.

Interview with Guerline Jozef, executive director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance, conducted by Scott Harris.Guerline Jozef discusses Haitian Bridge Alliance’s view on the consequences of two recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings: the Mullin v. Doe case that overturns lower court decisions blocking the Trump administration’s move to end Temporary Protected Status for roughly 350,000 Haitians and 4,000 Syrians—and the Mullin v. Al Otro Lado case that allows border officials to turn away asylum seekers arriving at U.S. ports of entry along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Interview with Carol Evans, vice president of policy with Common Cause, conducted by Scott Harris.Carol Evans talks about Common Cause’s concern about and work to protect this November’s midterm election from interference and manipulation by the Trump administration and Republican party. In recent months, the president and GOP have taken multiple steps to implement measures with the intent of suppressing the votes of millions of Americans and rigging election results.

Interview with John Tarleton, editor-in-chief of The Indypendent, conducted by Scott Harris.John Tarleton discusses The Indypendent’s coverage of the city’s historic June 23rd Democratic primary election, with a focus on Democratic Socialist of America party candidates’ victories and their likely impact on both local and national politics. The Indypendent is New York City’s free progressive monthly newspaper.

Between The Lines’ Melinda Tuhus spoke with Wanda Bertram, communications strategist with the Prison Policy Initiative. Here she talks about the studies and the recommendations her organization is making to address the problem.An increasing number of Americans have been imprisoned for longer and longer sentences over the past several decades, due to the government’s so-called “War on Drugs” and politicians who appeal to voters by calling for “tough on crime” policies.These forces have led to mass incarceration in the U.S. that’s resulted in a prison population that’s now older. Three in every four people who were released from state prisons from 1991 and 2021, more than 12 million people, are over the age of 50 today. Two recent studies measure the negative health and longevity impacts of long-term incarceration later in life.

Interview with Rachel Carroll Rivas, deputy director research, reporting and analysis with the Intelligence Project at the Southern Poverty Law Center & SPLC Action.Rachel Rivas discusses the Souther Poverty Law Center’s “Annual Year in Hate & Extremism Report,” which finds that under the Trump regime, far-right extremist groups have gained new power across the federal government, private tech sector and college campuses over the course of 2025.

Interview with Pastor Doug Pagitt, executive director of the Minneapolis-based national organization Vote Common Good, conducted by Scott Harris.Pastor Doug Pagitt discusses how the resistance community he works with has been doing since the dark days of the ICE invasion in the Twin Cities in January. He talks about the Department of Justice’s recent federal criminal charges against 15 Minneapolis residents in connection with anti-ICE protests in Minneapolis-St. Paul earlier this year, accusing them of “conspiracy to impede or injure federal officers” and of allegedly “violently” impeding immigration enforcement in the Twin Cities.

Interview with Dion Nissenbaum, senior reporter with VoteBeat National, conducted by Scott Harris.Dion Nissenbaum, discusses his recent news story, “FBI Probe of Ohio Voting Rights Group Expands to Include an Affiliated National Advocacy Network,” and other Trump administration threats to the midterm election he’s been covering for VoteBeat National, a nonpartisan local reporting on elections and voting.

Interview with David Faris, professor of political science at Roosevelt University and author of The Kids Are All Left: How Young Voters Will Unite America, conducted by Scott Harris.David Faris discusses his recent Nation magazine commentary, “The Framework for the Iran Peace Deal Means Total Humiliation for Trump,” and other developments in the status of U.S.-Iran ceasefire and peace negotiations.

On this episode of RRT:   Prof. William LeoGrand, expert in U.S. policy toward Latin America and Cuba, discusses the dire conditions in Cuba and that nation's prospects for surviving the Trump regime's oil embargo and threats to "take the Island."   Kary Love, a self-described country lawyer from Michigan, discusses his recent article in Counterpunch, " "Being Honest With Ourselves 250 Years After July 4, 1776.Panel: Scott Harris, Ruthanne Baumgartner, and Richard Hill 

Interview with Ofer Neiman, a Jewish-Israeli anti-apartheid activist living in Jerusalem, conducted by Melinda Tuhus.Between The Lines’ Melinda Tuhus spoke with Ofer Neiman, an anti-Zionist Jewish-Israeli citizen and a supporter of the international Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement targeting Israel founded by Palestinian civil society. Here he assesses the likely results in Israel’s upcoming October election amid the Gaza genocide, escalating settler violence in the West Bank and the corruption charges Netanyahu faces in Israeli courts.

Interview with Yanira Arias, advocacy and leadership organizer at Alianza Americas, conducted by Scott Harris.Yanira Arias focuses on Alianza America’s call for elected officials to reject the expansion of a system that spreads fear, destabilizes families, and undermines trust in public institutions. She also describes what can be done now to mitigate the harm ICE agents will inflict across the U.S. with their new funding.

Interview with David Schultz, distinguished university professor and Winston Folkers Endowed Distinguished Faculty chair at Hamline University, conducted by Scott Harris.David Schultz discusses issues related to extending democracy into the economy and how this debate should relate to U.S. electoral politics. Schultz talks about his recent commentary, “What is Wrong With the American Left: the Abandonment of Class.” 

Interview with Jennifer Loewenstein, former associate director of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, conducted by Scott Harris. Jennifer Loewenstein assesses the announcement that the U.S. and Iran reached an initial agreement to open the Strait of Hormuz and further extend a shaky ceasefire in the Iran war; how Israel’s ongoing attacks and invasion of Lebanon could derail this peace deal; and the lasting impact of Donald Trump’s war will have on America’s standing in the world.

Interview with William D. Hartung, senior research fellow, Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, conducted by Scott Harris.William Hartung discusses his recent Nation magazine article, “The Pentagon is Going ‘AI First,’” and issues related to growing concern about the unregulated military applications of AI. Hartung is co-author with Ben Freeman of The Trillion Dollar War Machine: How Runaway Military Spending Drives America Into Foreign Wars and Bankrupts Us At Home.

In  this episode of the Organic Farm Stand:   Diane's Hot Topix   Small Farms Report with Steve Munno   The Honey Bee update   Report: The Westport Farmers Market with Lori Cochran-Dougall, executive directorHosts: Richard Hill and Diane Lauricella

In today's episode of the Organic Farm Stand   Diane's Hot Topics   Small Farms Report with Steve Munno   Honey  Bee Update with Vincent Kaye   The science of soil fertility with Monique BoschHosted by Richard Hill and Diane Lauricella

Excerpt of talks by Fredi Guevara and Liam Henrie, crew members of the Global Sumud Flotilla, recorded and produced by Melinda Tuhus.The Global Sumud Flotilla, the largest effort so far to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid to Palestinians there, consisted of 52 boats and more than 400 volunteers from 41 countries. The boats were intercepted and boarded by the Israeli military in two waves in May, with flotilla crew members aboard the boats arrested and detained. Upon their release, most of the volunteers reported being subjected to torture and abuse, including some who said they were sexually assaulted and physically attacked, resulting in broken bones.Two American flotilla crew members, Fredi Guevara and Liam Henrie, recently spoke about their experiences at the Palestine Museum in Woodbridge, Connecticut, reminding their audience that Palestinians suffer much worse treatment at the hands of Israel on a daily basis.

Interview with Sean Strub, an AIDS activist, founder of POZ Magazine, author, and politician, conducted by Scott Harris.Sean Strub, an AIDS activist, founder of POZ Magazine, author, and politician talks about the nationwide Seven Days in June campaign, June 1–7, organized to raise awareness about the $1.2 trillion in federal cuts to healthcare programs, the fight to restore funding impacting millions of Americans, and calling on local, state, and federal leaders to protect health as a governing priority.

Interview with Alex Lawson, executive director of the group Social Security Works, conducted by Scott Harris.Alex Lawson, executive director of Social Security Works, talks about the increasing number of Social Security offices that are “temporarily closed” while others are chronically understaffed “ghost offices” that only have a skeleton crew left and can’t meaningfully serve the local community. All this while there are reports that the Trump administration is planning to use AI to spy on employees and use low staffing as an excuse to close more offices.

Interview with Christina Harvey, Stand Up America's executive director, conducted by Scott Harris.Stand Up America’s Executive Director Christina Harvey discusses her group’s national “Kick Out Corruption” Tour, being organized with End Citizens United, to expose how corruption in Washington is driving up costs for everyday Americans. Harvey offers solutions to cleaning up the waste, fraud and abuse that results from unchecked government corruption.

Interview with Sophia Tesfaye, a senior writer at Salon.com, conducted by Scott Harris.Sophia Tesfaye talks about her recent commentary, “Bari Weiss brings Trumpism to ’60 Minutes,’” regarding the Ellison family’s CBS “murder” of America’s highest rated and most watched news program; issues related to MAGA friendly billionaires’ takeover of media outlets and Donald Trump’s weaponization of the FCC and other federal agencies to destroy the nation’s free press.

Interview with Martha Guzman Aceves, former Region 9 EPA administrator, conducted by Melinda Tuhus.On May 21, an overheating chemical tank holding 6,500 gallons of methyl methacrylate at an aerospace facility in Garden Grove, California, triggered mandatory evacuations affecting 50,000 residents across Orange County. The tank was later safely cracked and depressurized, ending the immediate threat, where no one was injured. But five days later, on May 26, another chemical disaster struck when a tank holding 600,000 gallons of a caustic chemical known as “white liquor” exploded at a paper mill in Longview, Washington. Eleven workers were killed at the site.Between The Lines’ Melinda Tuhus spoke with Martha Guzman Aceves, the former Region 9 administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under President Biden, which covers California, Arizona, Nevada, Hawaii, three U.S. territories and 148 tribal nations.She’s currently a volunteer expert with the Environmental Protection Network, made up of hundreds of former EPA staffers from all levels of the agency. Here she talks about the importance of protecting workers and communities from toxic emissions, spills and explosions and her concern that under the Trump administration, safety regulations and inspections are being rolled back.

Interview with Sam Rosenthal, political director of Roots Action, conducted by Scott Harris.Sam Rosenthal talks about his recent commentary, “Establishment Democrats Still Don’t Get Why They Lost in 2024,” and the critical importance—in this moment of Donald Trump’s multi-front violent attack on U.S. democracy—of having a viable political party to stand as an alternative to Trump and the Republican party’s authoritarian project.

Interview with Connecticut state Rep. Josh Elliott, deputy House speaker, conducted by Scott Harris.Josh Elliott talks about his candidacy, the policies he’s advocating and his strategy to win the Aug. 11th primary. Elliott represents the 88th District, which comprises residents of Hamden’s Spring Glen, Whitneyville, parts of Centerville and Shepherd Hill neighborhoods.  As deputy House speaker and Majority Caucus co-chair, Elliott won 25 percent of the delegates at the state’s Democratic Convention last month, clearing the 15 percent threshold to force an August primary election against incumbent Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont. Lamont won the party’s official endorsement with about 75 percent of the delegate vote.

Interview with Ben Grazda, advocacy manager with Reporters Without Borders, conducted by Scott Harris.Ben Grazda examines some of the long-term challenges facing American journalists including economic pressure leading to the disappearance of many local news outlets; concentration of ownership; political attacks on government critics and the January 2026 FBI raid on Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson’s home, which sets a dangerous precedent for the future prosecution of journalists doing their jobs. Grazda summarizes Reporters Without Borders (Reporters Sans Frontières) World Press Freedom Index tracking the decline in freedom of the press around the world, and the steep decline here in the U.S.

Interview with Peter Kornbluh, author and director of the Cuba Documentation Project at the National Security Archive in Washington, D.C., conducted by Scott Harris.Peter Kornbluh talks about his recent Nation magazine article, “The CIA Goes to Cuba” and what the Trump regime may be planning after its indictment of Raúl Castro in Florida, possibly kidnapping the aging Cuban leader as they did with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January—or a U.S. military invasion.Kornbluh is a co-author with William M. LeoGrande of Back Channel to Cuba: The Hidden History of Negotiations between Washington and Havana. Kornbluh is also the author of The Pinochet File: A Declassified Dossier on Atrocity and Accountability.

The Monthly Labor Report welcomes long-time labor leader John Braxton. co-founder of Labor Against the War, to talk about the ongoing fight against the militaristic foreign policy of the US and the systemic structures that support it.Hosts: Michael Zweig and Richard Hill

Interview with David Holtz, coordinator of the Oil & Water Don't Mix coalition, conducted by Melinda Tuhus.David Holtz, coordinator of the Oil & Water Don’t Mix Coalition, talks about the history of the pipeline and the fight to decommission Line 5 before it ruptures and contaminates the Great Lakes, one of the largest sources of fresh water in the world.

Interview with Paul Street, an independent radical-democratic policy researcher, journalist, historian and author of This Happened Here: Amerikaners, Neoliberals, and the Trumping of America, conducted by Scott Harris.Paul Street talks about his recent Counterpunch.org commentary, “Why Trump Is So Indifferent to Public Opinion in an Election Year.” Street is author of This Happened Here: Amerikaners, Neoliberals, and the Trumping of America. 

Interview with Mel Goodman, a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy and professor of government at Johns Hopkins University, conducted by Scott Harris.Mel Goodman, a former CIA analyst and author of Failure of Intelligence: The Decline and Fall of the CIA, discusses the issues raised in his recent Counterpunch piece, “Sino-American Relations and the ‘Thucydides Trap.’”

Interview with Heather Digby Parton, Salon columnist and Digby’s Hullabaloo blogger, conducted by Scott Harris.Heather Parton discusses her recent commentary, “Trump’s antiwar claims blow up in his face after Iran fiasco.” Opposition to the president’s war with Iran among Gen Z MAGA members could help create positive political change regarding U.S. foreign policy, political history and a possible new post-Trump antiwar realignment.

Interview with David Faris, professor of political science at Roosevelt University and author of The Kids Are All Left: How Young Voters Will Unite America, conducted by Scott Harris.Professor Faris talks about the issues examined in his recent Nation Magazine article, “Why Ending the Iran War May Be a Never-Ending Story.” As Trump’s “excursion” veers into quagmire territory, he may just try to walk away amid a host of new distractions.

Prof. Richard Wolff, economist and author, discusses the current state of the US economy in the face of the US-Israeli war on Iran and the A.I. juggernaut.Community organizer Seth Garbin, talks about a new initiative, Danbury Unites for Immigrants launched to support immigrant communities in Danbury, CT.Panel: Scott Harris, Ruthanne Baumgartner and Richard Hill

Interview with Jon Copeland, an organizer with Hold the Line, conducted by Melinda Tuhus.Two companies, Oracle and Open AI, have plans to build a huge artificial intelligence data center in southern New Mexico, near its border with Texas. To power the center they call Project Jupiter, the companies plan on using methane, which is 100 times more damaging to the climate than carbon dioxide emissions over the short term.  Between The Lines’ Melinda Tuhus spoke with Jon Copeland, an organizer with Hold the Line, that's fighting to stop the pipeline, about the state of play of the project and what comes next.

Interview with John Miksad, a member of Veterans for Peace and World Beyond War, conducted by Scott Harris.John Miksad talks about a coalition of groups sponsoring two events in Norwalk, Connecticut on Memorial Day, May 25 to promote peace, honor the fallen and support our current troops by keeping our soldiers out of harm’s way in endless disastrous wars, including Trump’s disastrous war on Iran; Trump’s deployment of the U.S. military to attack civilian boats in the Caribbean and Pacific and his oil blockade of Cuba.

Interview with Melanie D'Arrigo, executive director with the Campaign for New York Health, conducted by Scott Harris.Melanie D’Arrigo talks about the campaign dedicated to passing and implementing universal, single-payer health care in New York state. Supporters of the New York Health Act say that New Yorkers will pay less and get more by cutting out waste and using the negotiation power of 20 million New Yorkers. New Yorkers will save billions of dollars by not paying rising premiums, deductibles, co-pays, out-of-network charges and long-term care costs.

Interview with Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-founder and co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation and author of three books including, Woe to Women: The Bible Tells Me So," conducted by Scott Harris.Annie Laurie Gaylor talks about the taxpayer-funded Trump regime religious rally in Washington, D.C., “Rededicate 250,” that featured white Christian nationalist rhetoric from speakers including House Speaker Mike Johnson, Franklin Graham, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and others that the Freedom from Religion Foundation criticized as an “unprecedented and shocking mix of church and state.” 

Interview with Dan Vicuña, senior policy director for Voting and Fair Representation at Common Cause, conducted by Scott Harris.Dan Vicuña talks about the consequences of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the Louisiana v. Callais case that eviscerated the 1965 Voting Rights Act, the disenfranchisement of millions of people of color, and ways in which our nation can work toward achieving a multiracial democracy.

I made this piece as a gift to myself and to you. It is so tough right now-- so I called in some big friends. You will especially like this offering if you have a sweet spot for the amazingness of horses.

What is it like to be a queer religious leader in Florida right now? Isabelle follows up on her March 2023 piece, There’s a Bright Spot in Florida with a March 2026 interview with the incomparable Bishop Dr. Durrell Watkins. 

Interview with Thomas Meyer, strategic organizing projects director for Food & Water Watch, conducted by Melinda Tuhus.Data centers require enormous amounts of energy and water, create noise and air pollution depending on how they’re powered—and create very few jobs. Between The Lines’ Melinda Tuhus spoke with Thomas Meyer, strategic organizing projects director for Food & Water Watch and Food & Water Action. Here he talks about the fight to stop or at least slow down the building of AI data centers in Maine and other states across the nation.

Interview with Robert Greenwald, founder and president of Brave New Films, conducted by Scott Harris.Robert Greenwald talks about his important new documentary film, “ICE: No One Is Safe at Work,” which highlights how ICE immigration raids affect workers’ and their family’s lives and how listeners can view the film and support Brave New Film’s important work.Brave New Films is a nonprofit production company that creates and distributes investigative political and social justice documentaries.