 |
Talking Strategy, Making HistoryAuthor: Richard Flacks
Each episode will focus on a different aspect or example of the general theme. Our kick-off frame is the awkward position that progressives find themselves in. It seems obvious, at least to a significant portion of Leftists, that working within the Democratic Party has to be part of any realistic strategy for making substantive, social democratic or radical change in the United States. What is far less clear is what this means practically, in terms of organization and elections. For many years, the slogan of the Left has been to work both inside and outside the Democratic Party. But what does that inside part actually look like? The podcast project comes from our experience as progressive activists--and from the urgency of now. Dick Flacks taught sociology at UC Santa Barbara and Umiversity of Chicago for 60 years. He's of the founding generation of Students for a Democratic Society and helped write the Port Huron Statement (along with Tom Hayden and the big Lebowski). He and his late wife Mickey recntly published a memoir of their lives--political and personal. It's called MAKING HISTORY/MAKING BLINTZES: HOW TWO RED DIAPER BABIES FOUND EACH OTHER AND DISCOVERED AMERICA. He's written a lot about the American Left--most notably MAKING HISTORY: THE AMERICAN LEFT AND THE AMERICAN MIND. His weekly radio show called'The Culture of Protest' can be heard 6 pm Thursdays on www.kcsb.org. Daraka Larimore-Hall is vice-chair of the Democratic Party of California and a political and organizational consultant working primarily for social democratic parties and trade unions abroad. A lifelong political activist, Daraka first met Dick when he was in Jr High School, and first getting involved in local progressive politics in Santa Barbara. Since then, Daraka has been a national leader and staffer for DSA, a board member of the International Union of Socialist Youth, an activist and elected officer of United Auto Workers Local 2865, as well as active in the Democratic Party at all le Language: en Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
Listen Now...
#56 Talking with Miriam Pawel about the Cautionary Tale of Cesar Chavez
Friday, 1 May, 2026
#56 Talking with Miriam Pawel about the Cautionary Tale of Cesar ChavezMiriam Pawel is one of California's leading journalist/historians. She wrote two great books about Cesar Chavez and the struggles of California"s farmworkers: THE UNION OF THEIR DREAMS (2010) and THE CRUSADES OF CESAR CHAVEZ (2014), based on extensive oral histories and immersion in the vast written and taped archives Cesar Chavez helped create. The works give deep appreciation of both the inspiring and the dark sides of the movement and his leadership. She's thought much about the recent shocking revelations; our conversation moves from the scandal to the wider contradictions of charismatic leadership in movements and how such toxicity can be avoided. We also preview Miriam Pawel's from hottom book, CALIFORNIA DREAMS, about the University of California's history and the quest for equality in the state. And don't miss her recent THE BROWNS OF CALIFORNIA (2019) (Jerry and his father and their ancestors) , and her regularly appearing columns in the New York Times, where she's a contributing opinion editor.music: Huelga en General by Los Lobos Mixed & Edited by Next Day Podcast info@nextdaypodcast.com
