WEDNESDAY 10.21.26 PROGRAM Notes
6-hour loop begins at NOON, repeats until following noon
(scroll down for previous notes)
Democracy NOW! with Amy Goodman Wednesday October 21, 2026
Democracy Now! produces a daily, global, independent news hour hosted by award-winning journalists Amy Goodman and Juan González. Our reporting includes breaking daily news headlines and in-depth interviews with people on the front lines of the world’s most pressing issues. On Democracy Now!, you’ll hear a diversity of voices speaking for themselves, providing a unique and sometimes provocative perspective on global events.
CLIMATE CONNECTIONS: Houses of worship in New York City prepare for growing climate threats (00:01:30)
Free climate-readiness audits are helping religious organizations identify ways to buttress their buildings for extreme heat, flooding, and other dangers.
www.YaleClimateConnections.org
FOOD SLEUTH RADIO: Maria Doa, PhD, Senior Director of Chemicals Policy, Environmental Defense Fund. (part 2 of 2 (00:28:00)
Did you know that carcinogens are allowed for use in food, despite legal prohibitions? For example, the same chemical used to strip paint is used to decaffeinate coffee. Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Maria Doa, PhD, Senior Director of Chemicals Policy at the Environmental Defense Fund, and author of Disease by a Thousand Cuts: How a daily barrage of chemicals in our food makes us more likely to get sick over time. Doa dives into the failure of the Toxic Substances Control Act and Delaney Clause in protecting U.S. citizens from hazardous chemicals, and the corporate capture at the FDA and EPA. (part 2 of 2)
Related Websites: Analysis: 25 carcinogens allowed for use in U.S. food, despite legal prohibition: https://library.edf.org/AssetLink/02128n6uroe23n3t0006q1gal6c5676w.pdf
https://foodsleuth.transistor.fm
THIS WAY OUT: Voting While Trans: Meghan Maury-Fox (00:28:59)
Access to the ballot is under threat for thousands of US voters, and transgender activists are on the front lines fighting the dangerous new restrictions, Abigail DeRoberts speaks with Meghan Maury-Fox policy director of the Trans Law Center. In the news Hungary’s recent election is having consequences this week, as Orban’s no promo homo state begins to crumble the denouncements from international rights advocates and UN experts about the anti-LGBTQ crackdowns in Senegal and Turkey seem to have little impact and there’s political and financial capital to be gained by bending to bias ” just ask the English NHS and Facebook!
LABOR RADIO PODCAST DAILY: No One Should Have to Choose Between Food and Fuel (for 10/21/2026) (00:02:00)
The Voice podcast on families facing a choice between food and fuel. In labor history, Wisconsin dairy farmers strike for higher milk prices. Labor quote of the day: Ralph Ransom.
https://www.laborradionetwork.org
THOM HARTMANN Best of 1 Hour: The Universe Bends Toward Heat. Can We Bend It Back? (00:58:00)
Thom talks with environmentalist, author, and journalist, Bill McKibben, about how new data shown today makes it ever clearer that this is going to be an historic El Nino, and why this election is critical to our environment. The planetary life support systems relied upon by humans have deteriorated to their worst levels ever recorded amid ongoing pollution and habitat destruction, according to a key yet grim annual update by scientists.
QR CODE: Culture. Opinions. Dialogue. Entertainment. (00:59:00)
Main Segment 1 CULTURE (10 mins): How Do People in 36 Countries See the U.S. and Trump?
Main Segment 2 OPINIONS (10 mins): Gen Z Won’t Attend Church Because of Christians Love of Trump
Better Do Better (6 mins): Israeli Interference Reaches the Church Parking Lot
Q Wards Clapback (7 Mins): Tie Breaker
Main Segment 3 DIALOGUE (10 mins): How Do You Show Your Family You Love Them?
Main Segment 4 ENTERTAINMENT (10 mins): Wiz Khalifa’s Viral Parenting Advice
https://www.kpfk.org/on-air/qr-code
LITERATURE ALOUD: The Jungle by Upton Sinclair – ch. 20 (00:27:43)
It is the end of the 19th century. Like thousands of others, the Rudkus family has emigrated from Lithuania to America in search of a better life. As they settle into the Packingtown neighborhood of Chicago, they find their dreams are unlikely to be realized. In fact, just the opposite is quite likely to occur. The family, naïve to the ways of Chicago, quickly falls prey to con men and makes a series of bad decisions that lead them into wretched poverty and terrible living conditions. All are forced to find jobs in dismal working conditions for their very survival. The main character Jurgis, broken and discouraged, eventually finds solace in the American Socialist movement. This novel was written during a period in American history when “Trusts” were formed by multiple corporations to establish monopolies that stifled competition and fixed prices. Unthinkable working conditions and unfair business practices were the norm. The Jungle’s author, Upton Sinclair, was an ardent Socialist of the time. Sinclair was commissioned by the “Appeal To Reason”, a Socialist journal of the period, to write a fictional expose on the working conditions of the immigrant laborers in the meat packing industry in Chicago. Going undercover, Sinclair spent seven weeks inside the meatpacking plants gathering details for his novel. (Summary by Tom Weiss)
https://librivox.org/the-jungle-by-upton-sinclair
TEXT: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/140/140-h/140-h.htm
CHOOSE TO BE CURIOUS: Curiosity, Music-Making & Peace-Building, with Diego Carneiro (00:28:00)
Diego Carneiro is a Brazilian-born cellist. He’s had a wide and wonderful musical career, including performance, conducting and composition. But what makes him truly special is his role as an ambassador of peace and the arts — opening both ears and hearts through the bigness of his own.
“You can’t make peace or music without listening to each other.” ~ Diego Carneiro
https://lynnborton.com/2026/10/15/curiosity-music-making-peace-building-with-diego-carneiro/
THE BRADCAST: 10/20/2026 Virginia Now Voting to Restore Felon Voting Rights; Guest: Alex Burness of Bolts Mag (00:58:00)
On today’s ‘BradCast’: The GOP billionaires’ money bomb is not working on the public, as Donald Trump’s and Republicans’ approval ratings continue to plummet. The Trump Justice Department’s theatrical, cruel arrests of a dozen elderly alleged noncitizen voters violates longstanding DOJ policies, and the charges are highly likely to fall apart under scrutiny like previous Trump Administration ‘investigations’. ALEX BURNESS of Bolts Mag explains the major statewide initiative on Virginia’s ballot that would automatically re-enfranchise felons after they’ve served their time, ending the current wildly inconsistent system that turns on the whims of the governor, and the deeply racist history of felon disenfranchisement laws; and the 35 states that are voting for top election officials who will administer the 2028 presidential election.
https://bradblog.com/?cat=675
TUESDAY 10.20.26 PROGRAM Notes
6-hour loop begins at NOON, repeats until following noon
(scroll down for previous notes)
Democracy NOW! with Amy Goodman Tuesday October 20, 2026
Democracy Now! produces a daily, global, independent news hour hosted by award-winning journalists Amy Goodman and Juan González. Our reporting includes breaking daily news headlines and in-depth interviews with people on the front lines of the world’s most pressing issues. On Democracy Now!, you’ll hear a diversity of voices speaking for themselves, providing a unique and sometimes provocative perspective on global events.
CLIMATE CONNECTIONS: Why New Jersey is buying flood-prone homes (00:01:30)
The states Blue Acres program helps people move out of areas at high risk of flooding and converts their former properties to open space.
www.YaleClimateConnections.org
ENCOURAGEMENTOLOGY: When Passion Becomes Work: Does Everything You Love Need to Make Money? (00:29:00)
This episode asks: When passion becomes work, does it change the joy we find in doing what we love? We’ve all heard the advice to follow your passion and turn it into a career, but what happens when creativity becomes a responsibility or a meaningful pursuit becomes a business? In this episode of Encouragementology, were challenging the idea that everything we love needs to make money or become something bigger. Through personal experiences, psychological insights, and thoughtful reflection, well explore the difference between passion, purpose, and profession, and why a fulfilling life doesn’t require all three to come from the same place. Sometimes the greatest reward isn’t financial success or recognition. It’s simply the freedom to enjoy something for what it is.
MAKING CONTACT: The Power of Music (00:29:00)
Freedom Needs a Soundtrack tells the story of the Tibetan Freedom Concerts: co-founder Erin Potts on how music made her an activist, and former political prisoner Ngawang Sangdrol on the freedom songs nuns sang inside Drapchi Prison.
LABOR RADIO PODCAST DAILY: Right at Home in the Union Hall (for 10/20/2026) (00:02:00)
Worker Power Hour on worker dignity and supporting city workers. In labor history, Eugene V. Debs dies in 1926. Labor quote of the day: Eugene V. Debs.
https://www.laborradionetwork.org
THOM HARTMANN Best of 1 Hour: Meta Suspends the Accounts of No Kings (00:58:00)
Greg Palast – Paxton’s gun-toting war on mail in ballots. Leaked audio exposes this MAGA senators plan for cops at the polls. Will America sit back and watch Rep. Ilhan Omar deported? Now you know how fascism works – Meta suspension of the accounts of No Kings – but wait there’s more.
THE CHILDREN’S HOUR: Elections with Ballotpedia (00:53:00)
The midterm elections are every four years in the United States, and we wanted to understand how they work. Our guest is Leslie Graves, the executive director of Ballotpedia.org, a nonpartisan election information resources for voters across the nation. Leslie walks us through what we can expect to find on a ballot, how polls work, and why people who can vote should vote every time. Parents can help determine whether the next generation gets involved by making a habit of voting. We also hear from an Albuquerque Public Schools Family School educator and his multi-grade students about how reading the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights motivated them to actively encourage voter participation. Through their research, they learned that it’s the people who have the power to select leaders, and not the other way around.
Then Theatre-In-The-Makings students present a one minute play imagining New Rules For Adults #5: Age Restrictions Do Not Apply, giving kids the right to vote.
LITERATURE ALOUD: The Jungle by Upton Sinclair – ch. 19 (00:25:28)
It is the end of the 19th century. Like thousands of others, the Rudkus family has emigrated from Lithuania to America in search of a better life. As they settle into the Packingtown neighborhood of Chicago, they find their dreams are unlikely to be realized. In fact, just the opposite is quite likely to occur. The family, naïve to the ways of Chicago, quickly falls prey to con men and makes a series of bad decisions that lead them into wretched poverty and terrible living conditions. All are forced to find jobs in dismal working conditions for their very survival. The main character Jurgis, broken and discouraged, eventually finds solace in the American Socialist movement. This novel was written during a period in American history when “Trusts” were formed by multiple corporations to establish monopolies that stifled competition and fixed prices. Unthinkable working conditions and unfair business practices were the norm. The Jungle’s author, Upton Sinclair, was an ardent Socialist of the time. Sinclair was commissioned by the “Appeal To Reason”, a Socialist journal of the period, to write a fictional expose on the working conditions of the immigrant laborers in the meat packing industry in Chicago. Going undercover, Sinclair spent seven weeks inside the meatpacking plants gathering details for his novel. (Summary by Tom Weiss)
https://librivox.org/the-jungle-by-upton-sinclair
TEXT: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/140/140-h/140-h.htm
WITH GOOD REASON Weekly Half Hour: Baby Brains and Little Beats (half) (00:29:00)
Jennifer McDonel-Rivers and David Rivers have made children’s music together for years. And it’s led to one happy marriage and multiple albums of educational songs that kids love and parents don’t hate. Plus: Preterm babies are at a higher risk for autism and other developmental delays. Meghan Puglia studies how certain stimuli like touching, reaching, and talking can help improve outcomes for little ones in the NICU.
THE BRADCAST: 10/19/2026 Fox ‘News’ Polling Finds ‘Govt Corruption’ Top Issue for Voters for First Time, For Some Reason (00:58:00)
On today’s ‘BradCast’: In Tennessee, some early voters say their votes were flipped on rickety, trouble-prone touchscreen voting machines; voters should try to vote on a hand-marked paper ballot if possible. Every vote counts: in Michigan, a recount flipped the results of a contested mayoral race by just 37 votes. The Washington Post revealed the secret mega-donors to Donald Trump’s costly ballroom project and what those donors appear to have received in exchange, such as government contracts, favorable regulations, and even pardons. Trump lifted sanctions against Russia to purchase Russian diesel, helping to fund Russia’s war on Ukraine. For the first time, voters cite ‘Corruption in Government’ as their top concern in the midterm elections, ranking higher than inflation. Callers weigh in on their top reason for voting this year.
https://bradblog.com/?cat=675
MONDAY 10.19.26 PROGRAM Notes
6-hour loop begins at NOON, repeats until following noon
(scroll down for previous notes)
Democracy NOW! with Amy Goodman Monday October 19, 2026
Democracy Now! produces a daily, global, independent news hour hosted by award-winning journalists Amy Goodman and Juan González. Our reporting includes breaking daily news headlines and in-depth interviews with people on the front lines of the world’s most pressing issues. On Democracy Now!, you’ll hear a diversity of voices speaking for themselves, providing a unique and sometimes provocative perspective on global events.
CLIMATE CONNECTIONS: Coeur dAlene Tribe works to restore native prairie (00:01:30)
A nearly $1 million grant is helping restore remnant Palouse prairie and reestablish native plants on tribal land.
www.YaleClimateConnections.org
WHEN THE BIOMASS HITS THE WIND TURBINE #111 – Home Funerals, Sustainable Burials (00:29:00)
We are all going to die someday. So how would you like to go?
Many people are opting to reject the industrialized death machine that has gradually emerged in our society – one that makes those who love you spectators rather than participants in what is, after all, a natural and inevitable end to being a part of this world.
Join Annie and Jay Warmke of Blue Rock Station as they speak with Donna Baker, founder of Columbus Community Deathcare about the process of conducting a home funeral and burial options that are more natural and easier on this planet that we have come to know and love
https://bluerockstation.podbean.com
ECONOMIC UPDATE: From Strike to Worker Coop [October 15th, 2026] (00:29:00)
This week on Economic Update, Professor Wolff explains why the wars in Ukraine and Iran are driving higher U.S. interest rates, affecting the diesel oil crisis, American inflation, and even the price of a Big Mac. The second half of the show features an interview with photojournalist Steve Mellon about converting the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette into the worker co-op Pittsburgh Progress.
https://economicupdate.libsyn.com
LABOR RADIO PODCAST DAILY: Organizing Beyond the Ballot Box (for 10/19/2026) (00:02:00)
Labor Radio on KBOO explores campaign skills for workplace and community organizing. In labor history, textile workers win a first contract after 17 years. Labor quote of the day: The J.P. Stevens boycott.
https://www.laborradionetwork.org
THOM HARTMANN Best of 1 Hour: Was Zelenskyy betrayed by Trump & Musk over Starlink access? (00:58:00)
Who is the traitor in the White House that limited Starshield on Ukraine? And why is Trump calling Ukraine’s renewed strikes on Russian oil refineries a disgrace? Who is the real disgrace? Phil Ittner – Live from Ukraine – Was Zelenskyy betrayed by Trump & Musk over Starlink access? Is the fossil fuel Industry about to get a Constitutional Right? Say What?! Defeat Colorado’s Amendment 82! Trumps MAGA allies openly discuss martial law. Why?! Plus David Corn, Washington D.C. Bureau Chief-Mother Jones Magazine on How Russia Won.
SPIRIT IN ACTION: Hope, Hidden Creatures, and People Power, with Dr. Dino Martins and Emma Must (00:55:00)
Guest-host Peterson Toscano brings us 2 guests for today’s show, all the way from Peterson’s new home in South Africa, sharing 2 distinct stories of courage, ecology, & grassroots resilience. Both segments highlight what happens when humans move beyond despair to protect the living world and stand up for collective survival. In the first half, Kenyan entomologist and evolutionary biologist Dr. Dino Martins offers a fresh, shockingly hopeful perspective on ecology, nature, and human survival amidst climate change, and he is the author of Hidden Creatures: Luscious Leeches, Bashful Botflies, and the Wondrous, History-Shaping World of Parasites. In the second half, poet and teacher Emma Must recounts her time as a quiet Winchester librarian who stood up against Margaret Thatcher’s aggressive motorway program at Twyford Down, reminding us of the extraordinary things ordinary citizens can accomplish when they pool their power. Check out her poetry collection, The Ballad of Yellow Wednesday
LITERATURE ALOUD: The Jungle by Upton Sinclair – ch. 18 (00:27:11)
It is the end of the 19th century. Like thousands of others, the Rudkus family has emigrated from Lithuania to America in search of a better life. As they settle into the Packingtown neighborhood of Chicago, they find their dreams are unlikely to be realized. In fact, just the opposite is quite likely to occur. The family, naïve to the ways of Chicago, quickly falls prey to con men and makes a series of bad decisions that lead them into wretched poverty and terrible living conditions. All are forced to find jobs in dismal working conditions for their very survival. The main character Jurgis, broken and discouraged, eventually finds solace in the American Socialist movement. This novel was written during a period in American history when “Trusts” were formed by multiple corporations to establish monopolies that stifled competition and fixed prices. Unthinkable working conditions and unfair business practices were the norm. The Jungle’s author, Upton Sinclair, was an ardent Socialist of the time. Sinclair was commissioned by the “Appeal To Reason”, a Socialist journal of the period, to write a fictional expose on the working conditions of the immigrant laborers in the meat packing industry in Chicago. Going undercover, Sinclair spent seven weeks inside the meatpacking plants gathering details for his novel. (Summary by Tom Weiss)
https://librivox.org/the-jungle-by-upton-sinclair/
TEXT: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/140/140-h/140-h.htm
GREEN STREET with PATTI and DOUG WOOD: The Pipeline Fight (00:29:00)
While the news about climate change continues to get worse, the oil and gas industry is busy constructing more gas pipelines to bring more fossil fuel to the market for us to burn. In the news this week, Patti and Doug talk about oil producing countries blocking a worldwide plastic treaty, the top ten foods that contain microplastics, and how a new geothermal plant is producing energy for thousands of California customers. Then Rosemary Wessel,co-founder of No Fracked Gas in Mass andtheClean Energy TransitionProgram Directorof the Berkshire Environmental Action Team talks about her work advocating for clean, renewable energy and against the expansion of natural gas pipelines in the Northeast.
https://www.greenstreetnews.org/
THE BRADCAST: 10/16/2026 Encore: The Greatest Threat to Our Midterms is Trump and his Election Conspiracy Clown Car (00:58:00)
Encore: original airdate 10/8/2026. On today’s ‘BradCast’: Donald Trump and his top election conspiracy performance artists are being very open about their planned schemes to undermine the midterm elections if Republicans lose, including Trump declaring a national emergency, seizing voting machines and ballots, and much more. We separate the loony nonsense from the serious threats, and explain actions every American can take right now to counter anything these dopes may try and throw at our democracy. Trump Mobile phone service is violating national security laws. Hurricanes in both the Pacific and the Atlantic are set to wreak havoc in the US. New court documents confirm that Exxon executives knew in 1988 that burning fossil fuels would cause catastrophic climate change and chose to deceive the public about it. Plus Desi Doyen has our new ‘Green News Report.’
https://bradblog.com/?cat=675
SUNDAY 10.18.26 PROGRAM Notes
6-hour loop begins at NOON, repeats until following noon
(scroll down for previous notes)
THE FALLON FORUM: 10.12.26: Goal of public execution is to normalize violence (00:55:01)
On this week’s Fallon Forum, Ed Fallon discusses
– Goal of public execution is to normalize violence
– California braces for major climate impacts
– US could end the war in Yemen tomorrow
– Weird weather compromises our potato harvest
EARTH RIOT RADIO: 305 Guns Kill Earth Brings Life (00:29:00)
This was the next step in the evolving spectacle of violence against children and families. It is shocking but a part of a pattern. We can go to the Earth for our solace and instruction. The natural world as a source of security seems unlikely to some. The collaborations among animals and plants can be creative and loving, guiding us to strengthen our own partnerships against predators. We are finding a new Peace in the face of the old Fascism.
BARNABY DRUTHERS: Barnaby Druthers and the Scarecrow’s Confession (00:28:00)
On a tour of America, Barnaby Druthers is convinced to investigate a mystery involving a scarecrow while haunted by the memory of his former intellectual partner, Harper Thorne.
https://www.barnabydruthers.com
Best of ATTITUDE with ARNIE ARNESEN (00:59:30)
Segment One
We begin the show with Jamie Rowen, Professor of Legal Studies at U-Mass. Amherst. We discuss the Cornell gang rape allegations and the broader implications of toxic male culture amongst young men. Specifically how the college fraternity system continues to place the imagined ‘futures’ of these young men in front of the safety and vitality of its young women effectively condoning abhorrent behaviors.
Segment Two
We then sit with Wendell Young, President of United Food and Commercial Workers 1776, and with Hanna Wolf, Senior Staff Attorney for Farm STAND. We discuss the disparity of how workers in the food industry (including farm and food processors) are being treated when compared to others covered by the NLRB. Their rights are circumscribed, so that they are treated as second-class workers, and do not have many of the rights of other workers. We focus specifically on Pennsylvania workers, but workers in other states are similarly affected.
https://www.arniearnesen.org/WP
BACKGROUND BRIEFING with IAN MASTERS: October 18, 2026 (00:59:00)
The Richest Man in the World, Who Bought the Last Election For the Republicans, Has Spent $366 Million So Far On the Midterms Including $168 Million to Elect Ken Paxton | A Brave Young Exiled Russian Journalist and the Filmmaker of MY UNDESIRABLE FRIENDS: PART II – EXILE | The Author of Crossing the Red Line: Biden, His Advisors, and Israel’s War in Gaza
https://www.backgroundbriefing.org
MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR: Part 1 Stephen Jenkinson – The Case for Elderhood in a Time of Trouble (00:59:00)
This is the first part of a two part interview with Stephen Jenkinson.
Stephen Jenkinson is a teacher, author, storyteller, spiritual activist, farmer and founder of the Orphan Wisdom School, a teaching and learning house for deep living and making human culture, rooted in knowing history, being claimed by ancestry and working for a time yet to come. Stephen is the subject of the National Film Board of Canada’s documentary film Griefwalker, about his experience working with the dying. His books include Money and the Soul’s Desire, Die Wise: A Manifesto for Sanity and Soul, and more recently Come of Age: The Case for Elderhood in a Time of Trouble.
There are more old people than ever before, and people are living longer than ever. But, there are virtually no elders in our society. No elder wisdom to pass down. And we see the effect of that in our world.
Now more than ever we need to call forth elderhood in each other and ourselves, otherwise the world will devolve into self delusion and destruction. And we are well on the way there already.
This is a powerful interview with a deeply insightful man.
DEEP DIVE CYBERSECURITY SHOW: Meta Is Acting Like A Predator. This Isn’t Hyperbole. (00:58:00)
The company that has egregiously data mined us and even aided and abetted war crimes and a literal genocide now has a cute and cuddly AI designed to appeal to children, despite their promises that it will be for adults only… for now. We bring the receipts and cite our sources, including psychological studies and whistleblowers that prove just how horrific this corporation actually is. We cover this disaster and so much more.
SATURDAY 10.17.26 PROGRAM Notes
6-hour loop begins at NOON, repeats until following noon
(scroll down for previous notes)
TECHTONIC with MARK HURST: Deirdre Loughridge and Thomas Patteson, authors, The Museum of Imaginary Musical Instruments (00:59:30)
For centuries, people have imagined strange and fantastical musical instruments – sometimes predicting later technologies like phonographs and generative AI. And then there’s the infamous cat piano. Deirdre Loughridge and Thomas Patteson discuss their book The Museum of Imaginary Musical Instruments.
KEEPING DEMOCRACY ALIVE: Brazil: Why What Rubio is Doing is So Bad (00:58:00)
There was something called the Union of South American Nations. It was when left governments vowed to fight fascism collectively. It all started with the election of Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez. The US and the International Monetary Fund couldn’t stand that independence and robust sovereignty. Now, driven by the economic violence of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, right wing fascism is making a comeback in Brazil and much of Latin America. On this show economics expert Mark Weisbrot explains the gravity of the current presidential campaign in Brazil and its implications for the rest of South and Central America. And it’s implications for us in the United States. It’s all about power over the entire Western Hemisphere.
AGING MATTERS: Aging in the Age of AI (00:58:00)
Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to computers, devices, or machines that use data to make predictions and complete tasks such as learning new things, solving problems, and making decisions. Overall, 35% of people age 50+ report interest in using AI to help live safely, independently, and connected in their daily lives.
The Honorable Rev. Dr. John Unger, Professor, Shepherd University, talks about why AI-enabled technology holds potential to address challenges and improve quality of life for older adults, ways AI is currently serving this population, and factors to consider as this technology evolves.
https://www.agingmattersonline.com
GROWING GREENER: My Neighbors 1/4-Acre Garden Takes the Title for Insect Biodiversity (00:29:00)
Many British garden designers, and their admirers in the United States claim that plant biodiversity is the key to supporting the most diverse insect populations, and that introduced plant species are as effective or better than locally native ones. A garden up the block from me in Connecticut suggests the fallacy of that claim.
https://www.thomaschristophergardens.com
TUC RADIO: Michael Parenti: God and His Demons – Part Two (00:29:00)
This is the second part of Dr. Michael Parenti’s talk on his book: God and His Demons. The 2010 book covers the many evils committed in the name of godly virtue throughout history, and the threat posed by fundamentalists and theocratic reactionaries.
Parenti (1935-2026_ was one of the nation’s leading progressive political analysts. He was a prolific author and an engaging speaker. Parenti grew up in a conservative, catholic, working class Italian community in New York city. After receiving his Ph.D. in political science from Yale he taught at colleges and universities, in the United States and abroad. He risked and ended his academic career when he openly opposed the war on Vietnam. He served on the board of judges for Project Censored and was the author of 22 books, among them: Democracy for the Few, Contrary Notions, Superpatriotism, History as Mystery, and Dirty Truths.
This talk was recorded at the Unitarian Universalists Hall in Berkeley, CA, on April 27, 2010.
THE BOPST SHOW: Icky Thump (00:55:34)
The Bopst Show, the critically acclaimed music radio show hosted by artist, musician, writer, DJ and founding member of GWAR, Chris Bopst, features a wide variety of music that knows no one genre, era, or inspiration. On this edition, you’ll hear the southern funk of the Chocolate Buttermilk Band, the Tex-Mex rock of the Krayolas, and the classic country of Red Foley as well as tunes by Slayer, Kikagaku Moyo, and many others locked out of the nation’s largest terrestrial bandwidths.
podomatic.com/podcasts/chrisbopst
RALPH NADER RADIO HOUR #659 (00:58:00)
Ralph speaks to Peter Maybarduk of Public Citizen about how the Trump Administration’s drug pricing deals favor Big Pharma. Then, some advice for progressive candidates from Ralph and former NYC Public Advocate Mark Green.
https://www.ralphnaderradiohour.com
FRIDAY 10.16.26 PROGRAM Notes
6-hour loop begins at NOON, repeats until following noon
(scroll down for previous notes)
Democracy NOW! with Amy Goodman Friday October 16, 2026
Democracy Now! produces a daily, global, independent news hour hosted by award-winning journalists Amy Goodman and Juan González. Our reporting includes breaking daily news headlines and in-depth interviews with people on the front lines of the world’s most pressing issues. On Democracy Now!, you’ll hear a diversity of voices speaking for themselves, providing a unique and sometimes provocative perspective on global events.
https://www.democracynow.org/shows
CLIMATE CONNECTIONS: These ingenious fishponds fed Hawaiians before colonialism (00:01:30)
Restoring these fisheries could make Hawaii more self-sufficient.
www.YaleClimateConnections.org
THE LABOR HERITAGE POWER HOUR: Native Workers and Immigrant Solidarity (00:55:00)
Who controls our work – and who gets included when we say solidarity? We explore two histories that challenge easy answers about worker power. Historian Colleen ONeill, author of “Waging Sovereignty”, discusses Native workers struggles for sovereignty, including control over their labor and workplaces with cultural anthropologist Aubrey Edwards. Then Eladio Bobadilla, author of Dangerous Migration, talks with El Cafecito del Dia producer Carmen Rodriguez about the politics of anti-immigrant fear and the labor movements complicated relationship with undocumented workers. Plus the latest labor arts news briefs.
THOM HARTMANN Best of 1 Hour: America, Mafia State? (00:58:00)
Vast amounts of money are flooding into the midterm elections- journalist Craig Unger shares his deep dive on the murky powers working the levers of power. Plus – Rachel Bitecofer on possible GOP plans to refuse to seat the new Congress.
LABOR RADIO PODCAST DAILY: Yellow Vests and Union Busting (for 10/16/2026) (00:02:00)
Workers Mic examines union busting at Amazon. In labor history, John Brown raids Harpers Ferry to fight slavery. Labor quote of the day: John Brown.
https://www.laborradionetwork.org
SEA CHANGE RADIO: John Stoehr on Trump’s Dementia (00:29:00)
As we approach the midterm elections, the increasingly desperate, despotic, and diminished President of the United States is more unhinged than ever – saying he can do whatever he wants and repeatedly suggesting that Iran bomb San Diego and Los Angeles. This week on Sea Change Radio, we speak with opinion journalist John Stoehr of The Editorial Board to get his insights into the decomposing brain of Donald Trump and to contemplate what it means for this country. We discuss the role of the press in enabling the current state of affairs at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., examine options for Democrats if they’re able to regain power in November, and speculate on what lies ahead for the Republican Party after the Donald has gone.
LAURA FLANDERS AND FRIENDS: A.M. Homes: The Unfolding of American Democracy (00:28:00)
Salman Rushdie praised A.M. Homes novel, The Unfolding as, A terrific black comedy, written almost entirely in pitch-perfect dialogue, that feels terrifyingly close to the unfunny truth. In this episode, A.M. and Laura discuss political fiction, women writers and the unraveling of American democracy. Homes is an American writer best known for her novel The End of Alice, about a convicted child molester and murderer and Music for Torching, about the run-up to a school shooting. The Unfolding, written in the decade before the January 6th Insurrection, is similarly anticipatory. It follows a Republican donor plotting a mob assault on Washington. Also included, a clip of a solidarity reading at the New York Public Library in support of Rushdie. And a commentary from Laura on the reality journalism of the late Barbara Ehrenreich.
THE BOPST SHOW: Icky Thump (00:55:34)
The Bopst Show, the critically acclaimed music radio show hosted by artist, musician, writer, DJ and founding member of GWAR, Chris Bopst, features a wide variety of music that knows no one genre, era, or inspiration. On this edition, you’ll hear the southern funk of the Chocolate Buttermilk Band, the Tex-Mex rock of the Krayolas, and the classic country of Red Foley as well as tunes by Slayer, Kikagaku Moyo, and many others locked out of the nation’s largest terrestrial bandwidths.
podomatic.com/podcasts/chrisbopst
THE BRADCAST: 10/15/2026 DOJ Files Limp ‘Noncitizen’ Voting Roll Lawsuit in CA After Its Nationwide Voting Roll Scheme Found Unlawful (00:58:00)
On today’s ‘BradCast’: Cowardly Donald Trump chickened out and cancelled Pete Hegseth’s scheme to livestream the execution of the Ft. Hood shooter, amid widespread public condemnation and warnings it would serve as a recruiting tool for terrorists. The Government murdering prisoners is barbaric. Election experts debunked the Trump Justice Department’s lawsuit against California over alleged noncitizen voters; they note that DOJ is in violation of state and federal laws, and cites constitutional authorities it does not have. A federal judge blocked the Trump DOJ’s nationwide scheme seeking unredacted, sensitive voter roll data from all 50 states. The US Supreme Court rejected an appeal from sore-loser election denier Kari Lake to avoid paying the legal fees of election officials she targeted in her frivolous lawsuits. Plus Desi Doyen has our new ‘Green News Report.’
https://bradblog.com/?cat=675
THURSDAY 10.15.26 PROGRAM Notes
6-hour loop begins at NOON, repeats until following noon
(scroll down for previous notes)
Democracy NOW! with Amy Goodman Thursday October 15, 2026
Democracy Now! produces a daily, global, independent news hour hosted by award-winning journalists Amy Goodman and Juan González. Our reporting includes breaking daily news headlines and in-depth interviews with people on the front lines of the world’s most pressing issues. On Democracy Now!, you’ll hear a diversity of voices speaking for themselves, providing a unique and sometimes provocative perspective on global events.
https://www.democracynow.org/shows
CLIMATE CONNECTIONS: Fitness influencers make the case for plant-based protein (00:01:30)
Advocates say eating more plants could benefit athletes’ health while also reducing the climate impact of their diets.
www.YaleClimateConnections.org
LISTENING TO AMERICA with Clay Jenkins #1725 Mesa Verde, Bears Ears and National Monuments (00:54:04)
Host David Horton debriefs Clay on his recent cultural tour of the National Monuments of the Four Corners area. Clay teamed up with his friend Dr. Susan Ryan to visit Mesa Verde National Park, Bears Ears National Monument, and Canyon of the Ancients National Monument with a group of 20 participants from across the U.S. The goal was to explore the history and current status of America’s National Monuments in the wake of President Trump’s executive orders reducing the size of Bears Ears by more than 90%. Susan Ryan was an outstanding cultural tour lead, explaining how Southwestern archaeology is changing in the 21st century to show much greater respect for Indigenous communities. Clay performed as the 26th president, Theodore Roosevelt, and helped lead discussions of the 1906 Antiquities Act text and its several important ambiguities. This episode was recorded on October 9, 2025.
LABOR RADIO PODCAST DAILY: Our Labor, Our Lives (for 10/15/2026) (00:02:00)
Native and immigrant worker struggles on the Labor Heritage Power Hour. In labor history, Wilson signs Labors Magna Carta. Labor quote of the day: Woodrow Wilson.
https://www.laborradionetwork.org
THOM HARTMANN Best of 1 Hour: Is the Soft Secession Actively Underway? (00:58:00)
North Dakota Made $231.8 Million From Its State Bank. Why Isn’t Your State Doing This? Thom talks with journalist and political strategist, Christopher Armitage, about how North Dakota has owned their own bank since 1919. The bank has earned the state $231.8 million in 2025, a 17.2% return on investment. We ask ourselves why this is not happening with other states?! Also Pro-democracy states (and cities) are finally learning what red states have known all along: you don’t need federal approval to govern.
RISING UP WITH SONALI – 2026-10-13 (00:58:30)
This week, well go to Seattle, Washington, where La Resistencia, a local immigrant rights organization, has been tracking ICE detentions and on-going hunger strikes inside detention centers, as well as documenting regular flights of detainees out of the state via King County airport. Josefina Mora-Cheung, Director of Organizing at La Resistencia will be my guest. Then, just weeks before the high-stakes midterm elections, well examine the dismal state of voting rights in the United States and how it got to this point. Michael Miller is a professor of political science at Barnard College and he’ll join me to discuss the new book he has co-authored with Kevin T. Morris called An American Problem: How the Country Built “and the Supreme Court Broke” the Voting Rights Act.
https://risingupwithsonali.com
LITERATURE ALOUD: The Jungle by Upton Sinclair – ch. 17 (00:26:15)
It is the end of the 19th century. Like thousands of others, the Rudkus family has emigrated from Lithuania to America in search of a better life. As they settle into the Packingtown neighborhood of Chicago, they find their dreams are unlikely to be realized. In fact, just the opposite is quite likely to occur. The family, naïve to the ways of Chicago, quickly falls prey to con men and makes a series of bad decisions that lead them into wretched poverty and terrible living conditions. All are forced to find jobs in dismal working conditions for their very survival. The main character Jurgis, broken and discouraged, eventually finds solace in the American Socialist movement. This novel was written during a period in American history when “Trusts” were formed by multiple corporations to establish monopolies that stifled competition and fixed prices. Unthinkable working conditions and unfair business practices were the norm. The Jungle’s author, Upton Sinclair, was an ardent Socialist of the time. Sinclair was commissioned by the “Appeal To Reason”, a Socialist journal of the period, to write a fictional expose on the working conditions of the immigrant laborers in the meat packing industry in Chicago. Going undercover, Sinclair spent seven weeks inside the meatpacking plants gathering details for his novel. (Summary by Tom Weiss)
https://librivox.org/the-jungle-by-upton-sinclair
TEXT: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/140/140-h/140-h.htm
WINGS #27-26 War Is Peace (00:29:00)
By far the longest official war in US history is its 20-year assault on Afghanistan. President George W. Bush began it, on grounds the Taliban refused to surrender Osama Bin Laden, who claimed credit for attacking the US World Trade Center and Pentagon. Ten years later, under President Obama, Bin Laden was found and killed; yet the war continued another ten years. Renowned Indian author Arundhati Roy denounced that war as futile and inhuman from its beginning. In this program, Roy reads her essay War is Peace, in which she dissects the fallacies – and the greed – behind that war (and all others).
THE BRADCAST: 10/14/2026 Trump Admin Weaponizing Against Public, Tribal Lands in U.S. West; Guest: Laiken Jordahl of Center for Bio-Diversity (00:58:00) On today’s ‘BradCast’: Inflation and prices are soaring, higher than during the Biden Administration, mostly due to increased cost of energy caused by Donald Trump’s War on Iran. Voters are increasingly leaning toward Democrats in deep ‘red’ states. Trump’s Justice Department launched a new pretext to interfere with California’s elections, threatening unspecified consequences if state officials don’t withhold ballots based on dubious claims of non-citizen voters on the rolls. A new report confirms that damage to the Reflecting Pool was the fault of Trump’s no-bid contractor, not by ‘vandals.’ LAIKEN JORDAHL of the Center for Biological Diversity explains the Trump Administration’s latest plan to bulldoze thousands of protected saguaro cacti on tribal lands in Arizona to construct his ineffective border wall; the administration’s broader attacks on Americans’ beloved public lands; and much more
https://bradblog.com/?cat=675
WEDNESDAY 10.14.26 PROGRAM Notes
6-hour loop begins at NOON, repeats until following noon
(scroll down for previous notes)
Democracy NOW! with Amy Goodman Wednesday October 14, 2026
Democracy Now! produces a daily, global, independent news hour hosted by award-winning journalists Amy Goodman and Juan González. Our reporting includes breaking daily news headlines and in-depth interviews with people on the front lines of the world’s most pressing issues. On Democracy Now!, you’ll hear a diversity of voices speaking for themselves, providing a unique and sometimes provocative perspective on global events.
CLIMATE CONNECTIONS: Only about half of U.S. teens can correctly identify the causes of climate change (00:01:30)
But over 80% say they’re worried about it.
www.YaleClimateConnections.org
FOOD SLEUTH RADIO: Maria Doa, PhD, Senior Director of Chemicals Policy, Environmental Defense Fund. (part 1 of 2) (00:28:00)
Did you know that our Environmental Protection Agency is changing science due to corporate capture? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Maria Doa, PhD, Senior Director of Chemicals Policy at the Environmental Defense Fund, and author of Disease by a Thousand Cuts: How a daily barrage of chemicals in our food makes us more likely to get sick over time. Doa spent 30 years at the U.S. EPA and describes changes in the agency during the current Trump administration, including the dismantling of scientific programs. She also discusses the roles of the EPA and FDA re how chemicals are assessed for safety.
(part 1 of 2)
Related Websites: EPAs Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-know Act: https://www.epa.gov/epcra
https://foodsleuth.transistor.fm
THIS WAY OUT: The Mission of the Trans Journalists Association (00:28:59)
Abigail DeRoberts speaks with Tre’vell Anderson, executive director of the Trans Journalists Association, about challenging media bias, supporting trans journalists, and transforming how transgender lives and communities are represented in the news. The program also features transgender person speaking from a 1968 KPFA broadcast preserved by the Pacifica Radio Archives. In NewsWrap, protests erupt in Taipei following police raids on LGBTQ+ venues; openly LGBTQ+ candidates make gains in Brazils elections as the right-wing Liberal Party strengthens its congressional position; LGBTQ+ voters prepare for the U.S. midterms amid debates over transgender rights; advocates spotlight the challenges LGBTQ+ survivors face in seeking domestic violence support; and a record number of school book bans puts LGBTQ+ stories among the targets of growing censorship.
LABOR RADIO PODCAST DAILY: It Is a 24-Hour Job (for 10/14/2026) (00:02:00)
Balancing journalism and family on SAG-AFTRA podcast. In labor history, Canadian workers strike against wage controls. Labor quote of the day: International Working Peoples Association Manifesto.
https://www.laborradionetwork.org
THOM HARTMANN Best of 1 Hour: Will Democrats Enforce the Law? (00:58:00)
If the GOP loses power, can there be real consequences for all the blatant law-breaking- starting with Putin’s buddy in the White House? Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal answers listener questions directly.
QR CODE: Culture. Opinions. Dialogue. Entertainment. (00:59:00)
Ilhan Omar’s Home Searched Ahead of Midterm Elections / ICE is Still Murderous / What’s the Story Behind Your Tattoos? / Too Short Walks Back Comment on Attending Diddy Party
https://www.kpfk.org/on-air/qr-code
LITERATURE ALOUD: The Jungle by Upton Sinclair – ch. 16 (00:24:48)
It is the end of the 19th century. Like thousands of others, the Rudkus family has emigrated from Lithuania to America in search of a better life. As they settle into the Packingtown neighborhood of Chicago, they find their dreams are unlikely to be realized. In fact, just the opposite is quite likely to occur. The family, naïve to the ways of Chicago, quickly falls prey to con men and makes a series of bad decisions that lead them into wretched poverty and terrible living conditions. All are forced to find jobs in dismal working conditions for their very survival. The main character Jurgis, broken and discouraged, eventually finds solace in the American Socialist movement. This novel was written during a period in American history when “Trusts” were frmed by multiple corporations to establish monopolies that stifled competition and fixed prices. Unthinkable working conditions and unfair business practices were the norm. The Jungle’s author, Upton Sinclair, was an ardent Socialist of the time. Sinclair was commissioned by the “Appeal To Reason”, a Socialist journal of the period, to write a fictional expose on the working conditions of the immigrant laborers in the meat packing industry in Chicago. Going undercover, Sinclair spent seven weeks inside the meatpacking plants gathering details for his novel. (Summary by Tom Weiss)
https://librivox.org/the-jungle-by-upton-sinclair/
TEXT: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/140/140-h/140-h.htm
CHOOSE TO BE CURIOUS: No Do-Overs in Paradise, with Stephen Collector (00:28:00)
Photograph and author Stephen Collector’s career has been an exercise in curiosity and sustained attention. A lifetime of being outside, looking closely at landscapes, animals, and people, noticing what others walk past.
His new book, No Do-Overs in Paradise: Journeys Through Wild Places and Inner Landscapes, combines his stunning photographs with outdoor adventure stories, meditations on skill and craft — and the lessons we learn from pursuing our passions and finding our people.
Curiosity, in practice.
THE BRADCAST: 10/13/2026 Admin Defies Court Orders, Raids Dem Congresswoman; Guest: Attorney Keith Barber (00:58:00)
On today’s ‘BradCast’: The Trump Administration continues to violate direct court orders and take corrupt actions as it destroys the central legal tenet known as ‘presumption of regularity’ — the concept that federal government attorneys will speak and act truthfully and ethically. Attorney KEITH BARBER explains three disturbing cases over the weekend, starting with the Trump administration’s continued airing of taxpayer-funded Trump campaign ads in violation of a judge’s order. The administration then cut down 430 trees at the D.C. public golf course, in violation of a court order. The administration then raided the D.C. residence of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), violating Justice Department policy prohibiting law enforcement actions against candidates within 60 days of an election. Trump’s Ambassador to Greece, former Fox ‘News’ host Kimberly Guilfoyle, resigned over blatant corruption allegations. Plus Desi Doyen has our new ‘Green News Report.’
https://bradblog.com/?cat=675
TUESDAY 10.13.26 PROGRAM Notes
6-hour loop begins at NOON, repeats until following noon
(scroll down for previous notes)
Democracy NOW! with Amy Goodman Tuesday October 13, 2026
Democracy Now! produces a daily, global, independent news hour hosted by award-winning journalists Amy Goodman and Juan González. Our reporting includes breaking daily news headlines and in-depth interviews with people on the front lines of the world’s most pressing issues. On Democracy Now!, you’ll hear a diversity of voices speaking for themselves, providing a unique and sometimes provocative perspective on global events.
CLIMATE CONNECTIONS: Monterey Bay area in California is investing in climate change resiliency and training a workforce (00:01:30)
Colleges and universities in the area are teaching people skills like habitat restoration and piloting drones to monitor coastal changes.
www.YaleClimateConnections.org
ENCOURAGEMENTOLOGY: The Strengths You Take for Granted: Recognizing the Gifts You Already Have (00:29:00)
This episode is an invitation to stop focusing so much on what you’re missing and take a closer look at what you’re already working with. Some of our most valuable strengths are easy to overlook simply because they come naturally to us. In this episode, we explore how recognizing those abilities can help us use them more intentionally, understand where they may be overused, and stop expecting everyone else to operate from the same set of strengths. Because when we understand what we bring and become curious about what others bring, differences stop looking so much like deficiencies and start becoming opportunities for deeper connection.
MAKING CONTACT: Local News: What Will It Take to Save It? (00:29:00)
Local news in the United States has been decimated. Since the early 2000s, communities have lost more than 80 percent of their local journalists, leaving tens of millions of Americans in news deserts, with less civic engagement, more government waste, and higher borrowing costs. This week, media scholar Victor Pickard explains why the commercial model that once paid for local journalism was never built to serve democracy, and makes the case for publicly funded, community-owned media. Then Matt Pearce of Rebuild Local News walks through the policies already moving, from Illinois’ journalist tax credits to California’s new Community News Act, and what it takes to build public support that survives a change in power.
LABOR RADIO PODCAST DAILY: Promises to Workers, Policies Against Them (for 10/13/2026) (00:02:00)
Boiling Point on Trumps broken promises to workers. In labor history, San Jose Mercury News carriers win their strike. Labor quote of the day: John Maynard Keynes.
https://www.laborradionetwork.org
THOM HARTMANN Best of 1 Hour: Are Trump and Hegseth Really Going to Broadcast a Government Led Snuff film? (00:58:00)
The war is expanding…the attacks on Saudi Arabia are brutal. Are Trump and Hegseth really going to expose America to a Government led Snuff film? Is there any lower point the Trump administration can sink to? ICE shoots NYC man in a car with his 5 yr old near school pick up. But, wait. There’s more. ICE shoved a NJ child in the street in a horrifying arrest of another parent while his children were clinging to him. Benedict Arnold Sold Out America Once. Is Trump Doing It Again, This Time for Putin? Plus actor and activist Mimi Kennedy says it is time to talk about voting.
THE CHILDREN’S HOUR: The Heart (00:53:00)
Hold your hand against your chest. Do you feel something thumping? That’s your heart! Its an organ in your body that keeps you alive. Today, were learning all about the heart with Dr. Sally Vender, medical director and pediatric cardiac anesthesiologist at Presbyterian Health in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The heart is responsible for pumping blood throughout the body. Once blood picks up oxygen in the lungs, the heart distributes this oxygenated blood to the brain and the rest of the body.
This energized blood helps allow us to think and move! Once we’ve used the oxygen, the heart cycles the deoxygenated blood back through the lungs to repeat the process.
LITERATURE ALOUD: The Jungle by Upton Sinclair – ch. 15 (00:35:44)
It is the end of the 19th century. Like thousands of others, the Rudkus family has emigrated from Lithuania to America in search of a better life. As they settle into the Packingtown neighborhood of Chicago, they find their dreams are unlikely to be realized. In fact, just the opposite is quite likely to occur. The family, naïve to the ways of Chicago, quickly falls prey to con men and makes a series of bad decisions that lead them into wretched poverty and terrible living conditions. All are forced to find jobs in dismal working conditions for their very survival. The main character Jurgis, broken and discouraged, eventually finds solace in the American Socialist movement. This novel was written during a period in American history when “Trusts” were formed by multiple corporations to establish monopolies that stifled competition and fixed prices. Unthinkable working conditions and unfair business practices were the norm. The Jungle’s author, Upton Sinclair, was an ardent Socialist of the time. Sinclair was commissioned by the “Appeal To Reason”, a Socialist journal of the period, to write a fictional expose on the working conditions of the immigrant laborers in the meat packing industry in Chicago. Going undercover, Sinclair spent seven weeks inside the meatpacking plants gathering details for his novel. (Summary by Tom Weiss)
https://librivox.org/the-jungle-by-upton-sinclair
TEXT: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/140/140-h/140-h.htm
ALAN WATTS: Stop Thinking about Life -1968 full lecture (00:22:56)
Alan Wilson Watts (6 January 1915 – 16 November 1973) was a British philosopher, writer, and speaker, best known as an interpreter and populariser of Eastern philosophy for a Western audience. Born in Chislehurst, England, he moved to the United States in 1938 and began Zen training in New York. Pursuing a career, he attended Seabury-Western Theological Seminary, where he received a master’s degree in theology. Watts became an Episcopal priest in 1945, then left the ministry in 1950 and moved to California, where he joined the faculty of the American Academy of Asian Studies. Watts gained a large following in the San Francisco Bay Area while working as a volunteer programmer at KPFA, a Pacifica Radio station in Berkeley. Watts wrote more than 25 books and articles on subjects important to Eastern and Western religion, introducing the then-burgeoning youth culture to The Way of Zen (1957), one of the first bestselling books on Buddhism. In Psychotherapy East and West (1961), Watts proposed that Buddhism could be thought of as a form of psychotherapy and not a religion. He considered Nature, Man and Woman (1958) to be, “from a literary point of view—the best book I have ever written.” He also explored human consciousness, in the essay “The New Alchemy” (1958), and in the book The Joyous Cosmology (1962). Towards the end of his life, he divided his time between a houseboat in Sausalito and a cabin on Mount Tamalpais. Many of his books are now available in digital format and many of his recorded talks and lectures are available on the Internet. According to the critic Erik Davis, his “writings and recorded talks still shimmer with a profound and galvanizing lucidity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gWnuU8Ltt8
THE BRADCAST: 10/12/2026 (Encore: US, Russia Collude to Weaken UN Treaty on Autonomous AI ‘Killer Robot’ Weaponry; Guest: Verity Coyle of Human Rights Watch) (00:58:00)
Encore: original airdate 9-30-2026. On today’s ‘BradCast’: Donald Trump touted a voluntary agreement with top AI companies pledging to police themselves with no guardrails, regulation or restrictions on development or use of AI tools. At a recent U.N. conference to develop an international treaty to regulate the use of lethal autonomous weaponry, the Trump Administration and Russia reportedly colluded to remove crucial clauses intended to protect civilians, like mandatory human review of AI military targets before a strike. VERITY COYLE, Deputy Director for Arms in the Crisis, Conflict and Arms division at Human Rights Watch, explains the dangers of lethal autonomous weapons systems, how to ensure guardrails and accountability governing the use of AI in military weaponry, and much more. A horrifying airline incident onboard a flight from Dubai to Israel is under investigation.
https://bradblog.com/?cat=675
MONDAY 10.12.26 PROGRAM Notes
6-hour loop begins at NOON, repeats until following noon
(scroll down for previous notes)
Democracy NOW! with Amy Goodman Monday October 12, 2026
Democracy Now! produces a daily, global, independent news hour hosted by award-winning journalists Amy Goodman and Juan González. Our reporting includes breaking daily news headlines and in-depth interviews with people on the front lines of the world’s most pressing issues. On Democracy Now!, you’ll hear a diversity of voices speaking for themselves, providing a unique and sometimes provocative perspective on global events.
CLIMATE CONNECTIONS: She had unexplained blood pressure fluctuations and bouts of pneumonia. It took years to learn why (00:01:30)
Today, Tami McGraw runs a Facebook support group for others with her condition.
www.YaleClimateConnections.org
WHEN THE BIOMASS HITS THE WIND TURBINE: Episode 182 – The Problem with Lithium (00:29:00)
Lithium and specifically lithium batteries promise to be the oil of the coming decades. But like oil, it comes at a price. There has already been a military coup of a democratically elected government (applauded by the US govt, sound familiar?) over control of this resource. Mining practices are wreaking havoc on some regions of the world ” and the transition to lithium is just beginning.
But is the future of lithium all doom and gloom, or the dawn of a bright new age?
https://bluerockstation.podbean.com
ECONOMIC UPDATE: On the Edge of Sports [October 8th, 2026] (00:29:00)
In this week’s episode of Economic Update, Professor Wolff delivers updates on Trump’s effort to buy votes for Republicans and its consequences, World Wars 1 and 2 as culminations of capitalist colonialism, the U.S. as the inheritor of prior colonialisms to become the world’s first global imperialist police force securing the wealth flow to the U.S. that is now in decline. The second half of today’s show features an interview with Dave Zirin, author of the new book The People’s Historian: The Outsized Life of Howard Zinn.
https://economicupdate.libsyn.com
LABOR RADIO PODCAST DAILY: Turning the Tide for Labor (for 10/12/2026) (00:02:00)
The Dig confronts declining union membership and how labor can fight back. In labor history, 2,000 Los Angeles garment workers strike for union recognition in 1933. Labor quote of the day: John F. Kennedy.
https://www.laborradionetwork.org
THOM HARTMANN Best of 1 Hour : The Baltics Prepare for the Worst as Russia’s Threat Grows (00:58:00)
Thom talks with veteran war correspondent, Phil Ittner, about how in recent months, Lithuania and other Baltic nations have seen a growing number of Russian incursions into their airspace as the Kremlin tests its neighbor’s limits. Plus Trump is escalating Iran while talking about American cities as collateral damage. History shows just how dramatically an attack can reshape both an election and a presidency. Does Kimberly Guilfoyle show us perfectly the grift world of the Trump family and friends?
SPIRIT IN ACTION: Endangered Species, Int’l Criminal Court, CO Status, & Corruption Index from Ecotopia Soon (00:55:00)
In this edition of Spirit In Action, our guest-host is Mark Leach and he talks about the weakening of the Endangered Species Act, why we should support the International Criminal Court, why and how young people should know how to seek conscientious objector status, why this is actually a good time to prepare for a career in public service, why he’s optimistic, and an original piece of research linking corruption with income disparity. These are the links that are useful when helping young people prepare for seeking Conscientious Objector status. Friends General Conference, Church of the Brethren, and Center on Conscience and War. Mark conducted a rank correlation statistical test that found a strong link between income disparity (GINI values from cia.gov) and perception of corruption. The corruption values can be found in The World Population Reviews report. We encourage everyone to read it. Mark Leach is a retired ecologist who emphasized finding effective ways everyday people could restore and protect functioning ecosystems. In recent years, hes brought his message of positive participation to social issues. But he has little tolerance for the liars and social parasites who put wealth first. You can reach him at mark.ecotopia.soon@gmail.com.
Past/present religious/spiritual influences: Quaker
LITERATURE ALOUD: The Jungle by Upton Sinclair – ch. 14 (00:20:17)
It is the end of the 19th century. Like thousands of others, the Rudkus family has emigrated from Lithuania to America in search of a better life. As they settle into the Packingtown neighborhood of Chicago, they find their dreams are unlikely to be realized. In fact, just the opposite is quite likely to occur. The family, naïve to the ways of Chicago, quickly falls prey to con men and makes a series of bad decisions that lead them into wretched poverty and terrible living conditions. All are forced to find jobs in dismal working conditions for their very survival. The main character Jurgis, broken and discouraged, eventually finds solace in the American Socialist movement. This novel was written during a period in American history when “Trusts” were formed by multiple corporations to establish monopolies that stifled competition and fixed prices. Unthinkable working conditions and unfair business practices were the norm. The Jungle’s author, Upton Sinclair, was an ardent Socialist of the time. Sinclair was commissioned by the “Appeal To Reason”, a Socialist journal of the period, to write a fictional expose on the working conditions of the immigrant laborers in the meat packing industry in Chicago. Going undercover, Sinclair spent seven weeks inside the meatpacking plants gathering details for his novel. (Summary by Tom Weiss)
https://librivox.org/the-jungle-by-upton-sinclair
TEXT: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/140/140-h/140-h.htm
ALAN WATTS: We Worry About Problems We Don’t Even Have (00:08:03)
An inspirational and profound speech from the late philosopher Alan Watts. Original Audio sourced from: “Alan Watts – Taoist Way”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47YEyPnXfvw
GREEN STREET with PATTI and DOUG WOOD: Reducing Breast Cancer Risk – with Dr. Jenny Kay (00:29:00)
Less than ten percent of all breast cancer cases are the result of inherited genes. That means that most cases can be related to environmental exposures, including chemicals in our food, our air, our water, and the products that surround us. In the news this week, Patti and Doug talk about a new report on the environmental links to cancer, the legal case against plastic recycling fraud, and how climate change and wildfire smoke are limiting the ability of rainforests to absorb carbon dioxide. Then Dr. Jenny Kay of the Silent Spring Institute talks about her work identifying the things in our environment that can increase the risk of breast cancer, including products commonly found in many homes.
https://www.greenstreetnews.org
THE BRADCAST: 10/9/2026 (Encore: Trump Rolls Back U.S. Fuel Efficiency Standards Amid Global Oil Crisis; Guest: Dan Becker, Center for BioDiversity) (00:58:00)
Encore: original airdate 9-29-2026. On today’s ‘BradCast’: US consumer confidence in the economy has fallen to the lowest levels since 2012. Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declared a statewide emergency over soaring diesel prices. After the Trump Administration eviscerated the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and fired most of the federal government’s cybersecurity experts, the FBI was hacked in a massive security breach that exposed extensive private data on former and current bureau employees. Trump Defense Sec. Pete Hegseth announced that military agencies will now be ‘deployed to defend our election infrastructure.’ DAN BECKER of the Center for Biological Diversity explains the Trump Administration’s new rollback of fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks, which will raise energy costs for Americans, worsen pollution and climate change, ensure that US automakers will be unable to compete in global markets, and more. Plus Desi Doyen has our ‘Green News Report.’
https://bradblog.com/?cat=675
SUNDAY 10.11.26 PROGRAM Notes
6-hour loop begins at NOON, repeats until following noon
(scroll down for previous notes)
THE FALLON FORUM 10.5.26: Biggest corporate giveaway in Iowa’s history is a political ploy (00:55:01)
On this week’s Fallon Forum, Ed Fallon discusses
– Constitutional amendment on the ballot in Iowa, with Ed Tibbetts
– Billion-dollar corporate handout is about politics, with Charles Goldman
– Trump’s taxpayer-financed self-promotion ads
– Momentum building to protect environment, with Kathy Byrnes Fallon, Birds & Bees Urban Farm
EARTH RIOT RADIO 304 -Golden Eagle (00:29:00)
200 paintings, 49 years 10 months, Golden Eagles, RedRum Collective, spiritual leader Lenny Foster from Navajo Nation, and Leonard Peltier at Turtle Mountain. New York City welcomes and celebrates the creative work of Leonard Peltier and generations of activists who helped secure his release. His commitment to the truth, to his innocence, to the lives of his People and to the creative energies that carried him inspire each one of us to do more with what we have.
BARNABY DRUTHERS: Barnaby Druthers: The Lost Isolde (00:28:00)
When a painting is stolen from the Excalibur Gallery, a premier gallery in the region, Barnaby and Harper are called in to investigate the theft with some unusual stipulations for the investigation!
https://www.barnabydruthers.com
Best of ATTITUDE with ARNIE ARNESEN October 10, 2026 (00:59:30)
Segment One
We begin the show with Bill Curry and Aaron Rosenthal. Curry is a lawyer and two time candidate for governor of Connecticut and a White House advisor in the administration of Bill Clinton. Aaron Rosenthal is the Research Director at North Star Policy Action. We discuss what the Democrats ought to do if they gain control of the Congress and the Senate. We look at many options, and discuss the effects of those options.
Segment Two
We then sit with Jay Zagorski, author of “Power of Cash.” We discuss how gambling has become such widespread, mostly because it is ‘frictionless’. That is, no actual cash is exchanged. Easy access to virtual money has made many people not ‘feel the pain’ of losing enough. This is also true for purchases of goods. This practice also discriminates against poor people who do not have credit cards or bank accounts.
https://www.arniearnesen.org/WP
BACKGROUND BRIEFING with IAN MASTERS: October 10, 2026 (00:59:00)
The Democrats Daunting To-Do List When They Take The House and Senate | Hegseth’s Obscene Focus on Lethality Mimics Iran’s Public Executions and Gives Aid and Comfort to Jihadis | Why Did Leading California Democrats Cave to Larry and David Ellison’s Blackmail?
https://www.backgroundbriefing.org
MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR: (00:59:00)
Justine Mastin and Linda Garski are a dynamic duo of licensed marriage and family therapists, and the authors of a wonderful book that takes a highly unique and fun approach to psychotherapy, called Starship Therapise: Using Therapeutic Fan Fiction To Re-Write Your Life. They also host a podcast titled Starship Therapise.
We talk about the creative and healing power of fan fiction to re-write and re-conceive our lives individually and collectively. That the way we see the world is based on internalized constructs that can be de-constructed, de-colonized and de-canonized, and ultimately re-written, re-structured and created anew into a better world we know in our heart is possible.
DEEP DIVE CYBERSECURITY SHOW: Meta Is Acting Like A Predator. This Isn’t Hyperbole. (00:58:00)
The company that has egregiously data mined us and even aided and abetted war crimes and a literal genocide now has a cute and cuddly AI designed to appeal to children, despite their promises that it will be for adults only… for now. We bring the receipts and cite our sources, including psychological studies and whistleblowers that prove just how horrific this corporation actually is. We cover this disaster and so much more.https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-deep-dive-radio-show-and-nicks-nerd-news/id1262505658
SATURDAY 10.10.26 PROGRAM Notes
6-hour loop begins at NOON, repeats until following noon
(scroll down for previous notes)
TECHTONIC with MARK HURST: Don Fleming guest hosts: Kenneth ” What is the Frequency (00:59:30)
Conversations with creators and thinkers who are charting the way forward in a tech-saturated society. In our shift to a digital future, we need alternatives to Big Tech. Homepage: techtonic.fm
KEEPING DEMOCRACY ALIVE: Farm Country is Trump Country. Well, Not So Much Any More (00:58:00)
He claimed to be the best friend American farmers ever had. But with the new tariffs and the Iran war dragging out, and the loss of global markets, farm country is not so safe for Trumpers. In fact some angry farmers have decided to run for congress. Farmers used to be allied with the labor movement, and that’s happening again. The impoverished countries of the world were not the only ones affected by the end of USAID; many farmers relied on the program. On this show The New Republic’s Monica Potts tells us of the return of the farmer politician. Even Arkansas’s Tom Cotton may be in trouble.
AGING MATTERS: Gray Divorce (00:58:00)
The term “gray divorce” refers to the rising trend of couples aged 50 and older “often married for decades” ending their marriages. Rates of gray divorce have been increasing for decades and show no signs of slowing down.
Nicole Rochester, MD, Host, Your nEXt Chapter podcast, https://yournextchapter.co/, and Betsy Pake, Certified Master Coach, https://betsypake.com/, talk about why gray divorce is increasing, challenges and discoveries older divorced women and men experience, and how they can reimagine the future and redefine their identity.
https://www.agingmattersonline.com
GROWING GREENER: Declaring Peace with Pocket Gophers (00:29:00)
Shawn Maestretti, principal of Studio Petrichor, a celebrated landscape design and installation firm in Altadena, California, describes his conversation with pocket gophers, generally reviled as a pest in western gardens, and how he has come to respect not only this native creature’s right to share the landscape but also the invaluable role it can play as a soil engineer.
https://www.thomaschristophergardens.com
TUC RADIO: Michael Parenti: God and His Demons – Part One (00:29:00)
This is the first part of Dr. Michael Parenti’s talk on his book: God and His Demons. The 2010 book covers the many evils committed in the name of godly virtue throughout history, and the threat posed by fundamentalists and theocratic reactionaries.
Parenti (1935-2026_ was one of the nation’s leading progressive political analysts. He was a prolific author and an engaging speaker. Parenti grew up in a conservative, catholic, working class Italian community in New York city. After receiving his Ph.D. in political science from Yale he taught at colleges and universities, in the United States and abroad. He risked and ended his academic career when he openly opposed the war on Vietnam. He served on the board of judges for Project Censored and was the author of 22 books, among them: Democracy for the Few, Contrary Notions, Superpatriotism, History as Mystery, and Dirty Truths.
This talk was recorded at the Unitarian Universalists Hall in Berkeley, CA, on April 27, 2010.
THE BOPST SHOW: The Limits We Set (00:56:10)
The Bopst Show, the critically acclaimed music radio show hosted by artist, musician, writer, DJ and founding member of GWAR, Chris Bopst, features a wide variety of music that knows no one genre, era, or inspiration. On this edition, you’ll hear the Scottish riot grrrl sound of Lung Leg, the space age lounge of the big band stylings of Tommy Dorsey, the post-punk aggressions of Idles, and the moody dub of Noel Ellis as well as tunes by Nina Simone, Mr. Lif, and many others locked out of the nation’s largest terrestrial bandwidths.
podomatic.com/podcasts/chrisbopst
ALAN WATTS: Relief of Anxiety (00:05:08)
Alan Wilson Watts (6 January 1915 – 16 November 1973) was a British philosopher, writer, and speaker, best known as an interpreter and populariser of Eastern philosophy for a Western audience. Born in Chislehurst, England, he moved to the United States in 1938 and began Zen training in New York.
RALPH NADER RADIO HOUR #658 (00:58:00)
Ralph welcomes Dr. Alison Galvani, the founding director of the Yale Center for Infectious Disease Modeling and Analysis, and co-author of the forthcoming article, Projected Economic Gains and Lives Saved Under Universal Health Care in the United States. Then our constitutional law expert, Bruce Fein, stops by to tell us about a letter he and Ralph sent to states Attorneys General urging them to prosecute Donald Trump for exhorting his followers to commit voter fraud in the forthcoming midterm congressional elections. Finally, we respond to your feedback on how to be a smart voter.
https://www.ralphnaderradiohour.com
FRIDAY 10.09.26 PROGRAM Notes
6-hour loop begins at NOON, repeats until following noon
(scroll down for previous notes)
Democracy NOW! with Amy Goodman Friday October 9, 2026
Democracy Now! produces a daily, global, independent news hour hosted by award-winning journalists Amy Goodman and Juan González. Our reporting includes breaking daily news headlines and in-depth interviews with people on the front lines of the world’s most pressing issues. On Democracy Now!, you’ll hear a diversity of voices speaking for themselves, providing a unique and sometimes provocative perspective on global events.
https://www.democracynow.org/shows
CLIMATE CONNECTIONS: Working through climate despair can lead to action (00:01:30)
A 10-step support program helps people acknowledge the severity of climate change, sit with uncertainty, and build the resilience to make a difference.
www.YaleClimateConnections.org
THE LABOR HERITAGE POWER HOUR: More Than a Cog on the Assembly Line (00:55:00)
Union Hall Arts gives workers time to create, while historian Tina Wei explores workplace fatigue and the human labor behind AI. Plus, Joe Hills enduring songs, Detroit’s gentle anarchist Joseph Labadie and the latest labor arts news.
THOM HARTMANN Best of 1 Hour: Guarding our Post Offices from What? (00:58:00)
Trump’s toadies are quietly assigning masked, anonymous private police forces for duty in key Post Offices during the election. Plus- Medicare activist Alex Lawson joins Thom with the latest antics of the so-called healthcare industry- how are they working the system to skim even more money into their pockets?
LABOR RADIO PODCAST DAILY: More Than a Cash Register (for 10/9/2026) (00:02:00)
Labor and Healthcare Confidential highlights AutoZone workers skills. In labor history, United Hebrew Trades is founded in 1888. Labor quote of the day: Morris Hillquit.
https://www.laborradionetwork.org
SEA CHANGE RADIO: Global South Debt: Niranjali Amerasinghe of ActionAid USA (00:29:00)
Developing countries around the world are finding themselves in a vicious cycle. As global emissions rise, climate disasters accelerate, hitting the developing world hardest. These countries then take out high-interest loans, sinking deeper into debt, which forces them to shelve climate change mitigation strategies. This week on Sea Change Radio, we welcome Niranjali Amerasinghe of ActionAid USA to discuss the work of her organization. We look at how debt in the Global South severely hampers the ability of those countries to fight the devastating impacts of climate change, and talk about the harms of the Trump administration’s drastic aid cuts on the earth’s most vulnerable populations.
LAURA FLANDERS AND FRIENDS: Poet Laureate Joy Harjo’s Girl Warrior Guide (00:28:00)
We are in what today’s guest calls a dark night of our national soul. Many of us are feeling hopeless, uncomfortable and stuck, but it is possible to make it through the darkness. Generations before us survived the unthinkable; if the past has a story to tell, what’s todays? This notion of coming into ourselves and embracing our stories is what Joy Harjo, the internationally renowned poet, performer, writer and activist of the Muscogee Creek Nation takes up in her long-spanning career. Harjo is just out with Girl Warrior: On Coming of Age, a guide, dedicated especially to Indigenous girls, for people trying to find their way in a time of transformation. She is the author of two American Book Awards winners: In Mad Love and War and Crazy Brave, and was executive editor of the groundbreaking When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through: A Norton Anthology of Native Nations Poetry. She was the first Indigenous Poet Laureate and served three terms from 2019 to 2022. Join Harjo and Flanders for this illuminating conversation on finding courage this winter, plus a commentary from Laura on releasing the files on Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls.
THE BOPST SHOW: The Limits We Set (00:56:10)
The Bopst Show, the critically acclaimed music radio show hosted by artist, musician, writer, DJ and founding member of GWAR, Chris Bopst, features a wide variety of music that knows no one genre, era, or inspiration. On this edition, you’ll hear the Scottish riot grrrl sound of Lung Leg, the space age lounge of the big band stylings of Tommy Dorsey, the post-punk aggressions of Idles, and the moody dub of Noel Ellis as well as tunes by Nina Simone, Mr. Lif, and many others locked out of the nation’s largest terrestrial bandwidths.
podomatic.com/podcasts/chrisbopst
THE BRADCAST: 10/8/2026 The Greatest Threat to Our Midterms is Trump and his Election Conspiracy Clown Car (00:58:00)
On today’s ‘BradCast’: Donald Trump and his top election conspiracy performance artists are being very open about their planned schemes to undermine the midterm elections if Republicans lose, including Trump declaring a national emergency, seizing voting machines and ballots, and much more. We separate the loony nonsense from the serious threats, and explain actions every American can take right now to counter anything these dopes may try and throw at our democracy. Trump Mobil phone service is violating national security laws. Hurricanes in both the Pacific and the Atlantic are set to wreak havoc in the US. New court documents confirm that Exxon executives knew in 1988 that burning fossil fuels would cause catastrophic climate change and chose to deceive the public about it. Plus Desi Doyen has our new ‘Green News Report.’
https://bradblog.com/?cat=675
THURSDAY 10.08.26 PROGRAM Notes
6-hour loop begins at NOON, repeats until following noon
(scroll down for previous notes)
Democracy NOW! with Amy Goodman Thursday October 8, 2026
Democracy Now! produces a daily, global, independent news hour hosted by award-winning journalists Amy Goodman and Juan González. Our reporting includes breaking daily news headlines and in-depth interviews with people on the front lines of the world’s most pressing issues. On Democracy Now!, you’ll hear a diversity of voices speaking for themselves, providing a unique and sometimes provocative perspective on global events.
https://www.democracynow.org/shows
CLIMATE CONNECTIONS: Working through climate despair can lead to action (00:01:30)
A 10-step support program helps people acknowledge the severity of climate change, sit with uncertainty, and build the resilience to make a difference.
www.YaleClimateConnections.org
LISTENING TO AMERICA with Clay Jenkins #1724 Great Censorship Legal Cases (00:57:09)
Clay Jenkinson gives four or five lectures annually for the Smithsonian Associates. In his most recent talk, he analyzed three notorious 20th-century censorship cases, all involving books once regarded as obscene. First, the case against James Joyce’s novel Ulysses, thought by some to be the greatest novel of the century, went to trial in 1933. Second, the trial of D.H. Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover in 1960, banned in England not just for its explicit sex scenes, but because the adulterous affair was between an aristocratic woman and a mere working-class gardener. And finally, Allen Ginsberg’s Beat Generation poem Howl, published by City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco, was tried in 1957. Each case was full of dramatic twists, irony, and humor, and in each case a judge or jury decided these amazing works of literature were not legally obscene. This episode was recorded on August 15, 2026.
LABOR RADIO PODCAST DAILY: More Than a Cash Register (for 10/9/2026) (00:02:00)
Labor and Healthcare Confidential highlights AutoZone workers skills. In labor history, United Hebrew Trades is founded in 1888. Labor quote of the day: Morris Hillquit.
https://www.laborradionetwork.org
THOM HARTMANN Best of 1 Hour: Dismissing Election Monitors (00:58:00)
Trump’s administration is getting rid of international observers, while directing ICE to ‘investigate’ voter fraud in the swing states based on lists provided by fraudsters. And anyone who objects could be labeled a terrorist. What could go wrong? Plus Sabrina Haake with the Haake Tak
RISING UP WITH SONALI – 2026-10-06 (00:58:30)
This week, well begin our show with a conversation from the last leg of an 8-day 100-mile pilgrimage led by faith leaders and immigrant rights activists from Adelanto Detention Center in Southern California’s high desert, to Metropolitan Detention Center in Downtown LA. My guest, Rev. Jennifer Gutierrez with Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice, or CLUE Justice will join us from the streets of LA as she finishes up the last leg of the so-called Clear the Road to Freedom Pilgrimage. Then, well turn to Sabrina Bernadel with the National Center for Youth Law about Donald Trump’s decimation of civil rights protections for students. She’ll offer new and exciting model legislation for states to take up the mantle of protecting students civil rights. Finally, Darien Pollock, an assistant professor of Philosophy at Boston University joins us to discuss his new book, Street Knowledge: The Hidden Ways Social Change Happens
https://risingupwithsonali.com
LITERATURE ALOUD: The Jungle by Upton Sinclair – ch. 13 (00:22:39)
It is the end of the 19th century. Like thousands of others, the Rudkus family has emigrated from Lithuania to America in search of a better life. As they settle into the Packingtown neighborhood of Chicago, they find their dreams are unlikely to be realized. In fact, just the opposite is quite likely to occur. The family, naïve to the ways of Chicago, quickly falls prey to con men and makes a series of bad decisions that lead them into wretched poverty and terrible living conditions. All are forced to find jobs in dismal working conditions for their very survival. The main character Jurgis, broken and discouraged, eventually finds solace in the American Socialist movement. This novel was written during a period in American history when “Trusts” were formed by multiple corporations to establish monopolies that stifled competition and fixed prices. Unthinkable working conditions and unfair business practices were the norm. The Jungle’s author, Upton Sinclair, was an ardent Socialist of the time. Sinclair was commissioned by the “Appeal To Reason”, a Socialist journal of the period, to write a fictional expose on the working conditions of the immigrant laborers in the meat packing industry in Chicago. Going undercover, Sinclair spent seven weeks inside the meatpacking plants gathering details for his novel. (Summary by Tom Weiss)
https://librivox.org/the-jungle-by-upton-sinclair
TEXT: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/140/140-h/140-h.htm
ALAN WATTS: The Purpose of Life Is Not in The Future (00:06:04)
Welcome to Way of Thinking! Alan Watts talks about how we sometimes think that happiness, awakening, spirituality or joy is in the future. Making us chase every kind of things and in the end realizing that everything was a lie and “joy” “love” “peace” is here and now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21VTKiEgAvw
WINGS #26-26 Wife Beaters (00:28:51)
Two leaders in the movement to stop domestic violence share their experience and ideas on topics like why batterers often get custody of children, whether and how batterers can change, and how misogyny is like racism, encouraged by society and requiring self-awareness to work on. Both want to change the attitudes of the courts that tend to treat domestic violence as relatively trivial and are often harder on women than their batterers.
THE BRADCAST: 10/7/2026 Saudi Arabia’s Trump Family Bribes Not Paying Off as War Expands in Middle East; Guest: Nicholas Grossman, Univ. of IL (00:58:00)
On today’s ‘BradCast’: A climate change-intensified, record-shattering extreme heat is broiling Southern California. A rapidly-intensifying hurricane, fueled by record-warm ocean waters, is headed for the US Gulf Coast. Big Oil is begging the rightwing supermajority on the US Supreme Court to dismiss dozens of climate change liability lawsuits. Donald Trump’s Iran War continues to spike gasoline and diesel prices, shaking up the US midterm elections. NICHOLAS GROSSMAN of the University of Illinois explains his new article detailing the Saudi Arabia’s failed bet on Trumpism; how the Saudis’ unprecedented bribes paid to Trump and his family have failed to pay off now that Saudi Arabia faces direct attacks from Trump’s Iran War; potential pathways out of the mess; when and how this ill-considered war might conclude, and much more.
https://bradblog.com/?cat=675
WEDNESDAY 10.07.26 PROGRAM Notes
6-hour loop begins at NOON, repeats until following noon
(scroll down for previous notes)
Democracy NOW! with Amy Goodman Wednesday October 7, 2026
Democracy Now! produces a daily, global, independent news hour hosted by award-winning journalists Amy Goodman and Juan González. Our reporting includes breaking daily news headlines and in-depth interviews with people on the front lines of the world’s most pressing issues. On Democracy Now!, you’ll hear a diversity of voices speaking for themselves, providing a unique and sometimes provocative perspective on global events.
CLIMATE CONNECTIONS: Board game helps players learn about climate impacts on tribal communities (00:01:30)
Inspired by the Menominee Tribe and Reservation in Wisconsin, the game tasks players with responding to floods, fires, droughts, and other extreme weather events.
www.YaleClimateConnections.org
FOOD SLEUTH RADIO: Niaz Dorry, North American Marine Alliance discusses sustainable seafood. (part 2 of 2) (00:28:00)
Did you know that there are many more species of fish living in our oceans than are available to consumers in the marketplace? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Niaz Dorry, Coordinating Director for the North American Marine Alliance. Dorry discusses the benefits of calculated inefficiencies in our food system, the importance of scale, and the impacts of climate change on seafood sustainability. (Part 2 of 2))
Related Websites: https://www.namanet.org/
https://foodsleuth.transistor.fm
THIS WAY OUT: Tara Hoot Defends the Arts (00:28:59)
Drag Queen Tara Hoot talks defending the Kennedy Center with Jeb Backe and a listen back to the first National Coming Out Day. In the news this week, Serbia’s lesbian Prime Minister abruptly becomes President in a partisan pre-election gambit, while the US midterms separate the supportive progressives from the transphobic performers. US civil rights law is open to interpretation, and so is discrimination and sexual assault, or so it seems and a Virginia street gets a lesbian name and an English castle gets a rainbow ring.
LABOR RADIO PODCAST DAILY: Calling the Union-Busting Bluff (for 10/7/2026) (00:02:00)
The Garage Mind hears gambling-industry workers call out union-busting lies. In labor history, Joe Hill is born in Sweden. Quote of the day: Joe Hill, performed by Paul Robeson.
https://www.laborradionetwork.org
THOM HARTMANN Best of 1 Hour: Canadian Child With Autism Trapped in ICE Detention Center (00:58:00)
A mother and her daughter, who now live in Texas, have been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Edward Warner, his wife Tania and his seven-year-old step-daughter Ayla, who has autism, were coming back from a friends baby shower on Saturday when they went through an ICE checkpoint in Sarita, Texas.
QR CODE: Culture. Opinions. Dialogue. Entertainment. (00:59:00)
Main Segment 1 CULTURE (10 mins): More Americans are Cutting Off their Parents
Main Segment 2 OPINIONS (10 mins): Socialism is More Popular than Ever in the U.S. According to Polls
Better Do Better (6 mins): Oregon Police Charging Millions to Release Records about One Officer
Q Wards Clapback (7 Mins): The Chorus
Main Segment 3 DIALOGUE (10 mins): What Will Future Generations Wish Wed Done Differently?
Main Segment 4 ENTERTAINMENT (10 mins): 14 Classic Rap Albums that Turn 30 in 2026
https://www.kpfk.org/on-air/qr-code
LITERATURE ALOUD: The Jungle by Upton Sinclair – ch. 12 (00:20:07)
It is the end of the 19th century Like thousands of others, the Rudkus family has emigrated from Lithuania to America in search of a better life. As they settle into the Packingtown neighborhood of Chicago, they find their dreams are unlikely to be realized. In fact, just the opposite is quite likely to occur. The family, naïve to the ways of Chicago, quickly falls prey to con men and makes a series of bad decisions that lead them into wretched poverty and terrible living conditions. All are forced to find jobs in dismal working conditions for their very survival. The main character Jurgis, broken and discouraged, eventually finds solace in the American Socialist movement. This novel was written during a period in American history when “Trusts” were formed by multiple corporations to establish monopolies that stifled competition and fixed prices. Unthinkable working conditions and unfair business practices were the norm. The Jungle’s author, Upton Sinclair, was an ardent Socialist of the time. Sinclair was commissioned by the “Appeal To Reason”, a Socialist journal of the period, to write a fictional expose on the working conditions of the immigrant laborers in the meat packing industry in Chicago. Going undercover, Sinclair spent seven weeks inside the meatpacking plants gathering details for his novel. (Summary by Tom Weiss)
https://librivox.org/the-jungle-by-upton-sinclair
TEXT: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/140/140-h/140-h.htm
ALAN WATTS: The Purpose of Life Is Not in The Future (00:06:04)
Welcome to Way of Thinking! Alan Watts talks about how we sometimes think that happiness, awakening, spirituality or joy is in the future. Making us chase every kind of things and in the end realizing that everything was a lie and “joy” “love” “peace” is here and now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21VTKiEgAvw
CHOOSE TO BE CURIOUS: Curiosity & Biomimicry: Learning from the Genius of Nature, with Sara El Sayed (00:28:00)
I keep my eyes open for disciplines that incorporate curiosity in systematic ways — that seek to seek with fresh eyes — to discover stories from the raw materials around us. That led me to biomimicry, the conscious emulation of nature’s genius. Nature has been solving life’s problems for a long time. What might we learn by attending to those solutions? Might we train ourselves to look more closely? What do we notice when we observe carefully what nature is doing? Sara Aly El Sayed, Director of the Biomimicry Center and Assistant Research Professor at the Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems at Arizona State University, has thoughts!
THE BRADCAST: 10/6/2026 Good, Bad and Ugly News, One Month from Midterm Election Day (00:58:00)
On today’s ‘BradCast’: Some mostly encouraging news for the 2026 midterms and pro-democracy forces, along with plenty of caveats and concerning developments. New polling finds more Americans now identify with Democrats than in any of their quarterly surveys since 2009, and support for Democratic candidates continues to grow in generic polling averages. Republicans are diverting resources from previously safe seats in key U.S. Senate races in “red” states like South Carolina. Democratic candidates are holding their own against Republican billionaires’ record ad spending. The Trump Administration is blocking international election observers for the first time in decades. The Defense Department quietly made it harder for overseas non-military voters to vote. Plus Desi Doyen has our new ‘Green News Report.
https://bradblog.com/?cat=675
TUESDAY 10.06.26 PROGRAM Notes
6-hour loop begins at NOON, repeats until following noon
(scroll down for previous notes)
Democracy NOW! with Amy Goodman Tuesday October 6, 2026
Democracy Now! produces a daily, global, independent news hour hosted by award-winning journalists Amy Goodman and Juan González. Our reporting includes breaking daily news headlines and in-depth interviews with people on the front lines of the world’s most pressing issues. On Democracy Now!, you’ll hear a diversity of voices speaking for themselves, providing a unique and sometimes provocative perspective on global events.
CLIMATE CONNECTIONS: Cincinnati gives out nearly $1 million to residents fighting climate change (00:01:30)
The city’s Seeds of Change program is funding community gardens, composting efforts, solar installations, a bike repair program, and more.
www.YaleClimateConnections.org
ENCOURAGEMENTOLOGY: The Beauty We Stop Noticing: Learning to See Whats Been There All Along (00:29:00)
This episode explores what happens when the familiar becomes so familiar that we stop truly seeing it. In a world filled with movement, information, stimulation, and endless opportunities for something new, it can be surprisingly easy to overlook the ordinary beauty already woven into our lives. This episode isn’t about rejecting technology, escaping your responsibilities, or forcing yourself to slow everything down. It’s about becoming more intentional with your attention, rediscovering curiosity, and learning to look again at the people, places, routines, and simple moments that have been there all along.
MAKING CONTACT: How Grocery Chains Create Food Deserts (00:29:00)
When a supermarket closes, you’d expect another grocer to move in. But across the country, chains write restrictive covenants into deeds and leases that bar any competing grocery store from opening on that site, sometimes for decades after the original store is gone. Advocates call them zombie covenants: the store is dead, but the restriction lives on. They help explain why so many low-income neighborhoods and communities of color are still waiting on a place to buy fresh food. This week we trace the story from white flight and redlining to today’s consolidated grocery industry, hear from a former Whole Foods purchasing chief about why chains treat stores like ATMs, and follow the fight over California’s AB 1857, the Grocery Store Access Act. Plus what cities from Chicago to Woonsocket, Rhode Island have tried, and what a public grocery store could look like.
LABOR RADIO PODCAST DAILY: We Want to Be a Union (for 10/6/2026) (00:02:00)
Grocery Nerds explores organizing at Mothers Market under private equity. In labor history, fired United flight attendants win a $37 million settlement. Labor quote of the day: Stephen King.
https://www.laborradionetwork.org
THOM HARTMANN Best of 1 Hour: Helping Misguided MAGA Folks Find their Way Out (00:58:00)
Thom talks with investigative reporter and activist, Heidi Siegmund Cuda, about while attention is being diverted to AIs future kill threat, the Trump regime is already engaging in mass killings..
THE CHILDREN’S HOUR: Greenland (00:53:00)
With a name like Greenland, you might expect the country to be covered with lush plants. Actually, its quite the opposite! When Viking Eric the Red came to the island in 982, he wanted to attract more of his countrymen and so gave it a very appealing name. Fellow Norsemen were certainly in for a surprise when they arrived to a place that is 85% covered in ice! This chilly country is brimming with beautiful culture and fascinating history, as explained by our guest, Naja Lund Aparico.
LITERATURE ALOUD: The Jungle by Upton Sinclair – ch. 11 (00:26:37)
It is the end of the 19th century. Like thousands of others, the Rudkus family has emigrated from Lithuania to America in search of a better life. As they settle into the Packingtown neighborhood of Chicago, they find their dreams are unlikely to be realized. In fact, just the opposite is quite likely to occur. The family, naïve to the ways of Chicago, quickly falls prey to con men and makes a series of bad decisions that lead them into wretched poverty and terrible living conditions. All are forced to find jobs in dismal working conditions for their very survival. The main character Jurgis, broken and discouraged, eventually finds solace in the American Socialist movement. This novel was written during a period in American history when “Trusts” were formed by multiple corporations to establish monopolies that stifled competition and fixed prices. Unthinkable working conditions and unfair business practices were the norm. The Jungle’s author, Upton Sinclair, was an ardent Socialist of the time. Sinclair was commissioned by the “Appeal To Reason”, a Socialist journal of the period, to write a fictional expose on the working conditions of the immigrant laborers in the meat packing industry in Chicago. Going undercover, Sinclair spent seven weeks inside the meatpacking plants gathering details for his novel. (Summary by Tom Weiss)
https://librivox.org/the-jungle-by-upton-sinclair
TEXT: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/140/140-h/140-h.htm
WITH GOOD REASON Weekly Half Hour: Unheard (00:29:00)
Sitting in a doctor’s office trying to understand medicalese is really frustrating. Suzanne Makarem found forty women who switched to nontraditional medical professionals after years of feeling unheard by their doctors. Many of them now only see their traditional doctors for blood tests, vaccines and annual check ups. Plus: The United States and New Zealand are the only countries that allow pharmaceutical companies to advertise directly to consumers. So ever since the late 90s, American cable stations are littered with direct-to-consumer drug ads that urge people to ask their doctor today if a certain drug is right for them. Staci Defibaugh says that these ads are not just promoting drugs to patients. They’re showing people how to be an activated patient.
THE BRADCAST: (00:58:00)
Independent, investigative news, detailed reporting, interviews and snarky commentary.
More detailed episode notes will be posted when available – please check back!
https://bradblog.com/?cat=675
MONDAY 10.05.26 PROGRAM Notes
6-hour loop begins at NOON, repeats until following noon
(scroll down for previous notes)
Democracy NOW! with Amy Goodman Monday October 5, 2026
Democracy Now! produces a daily, global, independent news hour hosted by award-winning journalists Amy Goodman and Juan González. Our reporting includes breaking daily news headlines and in-depth interviews with people on the front lines of the world’s most pressing issues. On Democracy Now!, you’ll hear a diversity of voices speaking for themselves, providing a unique and sometimes provocative perspective on global events.
CLIMATE CONNECTIONS: We’ve given up half our home: Climate-related flooding on the rise in Juneau, Alaska (00:01:30)
Climate change is making glacial lake outbursts much more frequent.
www.YaleClimateConnections.org
WHEN THE BIOMASS HITS THE WIND TURBINE 180 – Be the Change you Want to See (00:29:00)
So you want to change the world. We know the political and social structures that helped make that possible in the past are deaf and/or broken. So how can you begin to create effective change from where you are… with the resources you have available?
Join Jay and Annie Warmke of Blue Rock Station for a discussion on how not to feel helpless and hopeless in a world that often feels overwhelming and dysfunctional.
https://bluerockstation.podbean.com
ECONOMIC UPDATE: Millennials Speak [October 1st, 2026] (00:29:00)
In this week’s episode of Economic Update, Professor Wolff delivers updates on the September 6th German elections and their meanings, the importance of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and the undemocratic internal organizations of major capitalist corporations. The second half of today’s show features an interview with stand-up comedian, activist, and media commentator Francesca Fiorentini.
https://economicupdate.libsyn.com
LABOR RADIO PODCAST DAILY: The Past Has Work to Do (for 10/5/2026) (00:02:00)
Working History connects labors past to today’s struggles. In labor history, Hollywood Black Friday erupts at Warner Bros. Quote of the day: Lech Walesa.
https://www.laborradionetwork.org
THOM HARTMANN Best of 1 Hour: Kyiv Faces a New Reality as Winter Draws Near (00:58:00)
Thom talks with veteran war correspondent, Phil Ittner, about how Kyiv has become a frontline city – and winter is on the way. The residents of Ukraines capital prepare for power cuts, drones and bitter cold by stocking up on generators, food and dry showers. Treasury quietly gave Trump ballroom donor a pass to deal with sanctioned Russian bank. You just heard that right – Putin is paying for the ballroom.
SPIRIT IN ACTION: Anti-war Youth to Organic Farmer to Canadian Government: Tony McQuail (00:55:00)
Tony McQuail brings with him a wide and passionate view of what the world needs, and the commitment to make it happen. From his antiwar activism from age 16, to his move to Canada where he and his wife founded MeetingPlaceOrganicFarm.CA, to the numerous organizations he has founded and worked for to bring folks together in world-healing, Tony makes crops and people grow. He has run for national office in Canada, and is now focused on local election. Among the groups/organizations/projects he’s worked with are Holistic Management Canada, Farmers for Climate Solutions, Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario, Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training, Huron County Federation of Agriculture, Huron Local of the National Farmers Union, Ontario’s Environmental Farm Plan Program, and many more. Track his current campaign work at tonymcquailgreenprogressive.ca. Tony McQuail and Meeting Place Organic Farm are in Lucknell, Ontario, in Canada.
Past/present religious/spiritual influences: Quaker
LITERATURE ALOUD: The Jungle by Upton Sinclair – ch. 10 (00:27:09)
It is the end of the 19th century. Like thousands of others, the Rudkus family has emigrated from Lithuania to America in search of a better life. As they settle into the Packingtown neighborhood of Chicago, they find their dreams are unlikely to be realized. In fact, just the opposite is quite likely to occur. The family, naïve to the ways of Chicago, quickly falls prey to con men and makes a series of bad decisions that lead them into wretched poverty and terrible living conditions. All are forced to find jobs in dismal working conditions for their very survival. The main character Jurgis, broken and discouraged, eventually finds solace in the American Socialist movement. This novel was written during a period in American history when “Trusts” were formed by multiple corporations to establish monopolies that stifled competition and fixed prices. Unthinkable working conditions and unfair business practices were the norm. The Jungle’s author, Upton Sinclair, was an ardent Socialist of the time. Sinclair was commissioned by the “Appeal To Reason”, a Socialist journal of the period, to write a fictional expose on the working conditions of the immigrant laborers in the meat packing industry in Chicago. Going undercover, Sinclair spent seven weeks inside the meatpacking plants gathering details for his novel. (Summary by Tom Weiss)
https://librivox.org/the-jungle-by-upton-sinclair
TEXT: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/140/140-h/140-h.htm
GREEN STREET with PATTI and DOUG WOOD: ITS ALL ABOUT FOOD (00:29:00)
There is nothing more important for your health, well-being, and longevity than the food you eat, but our current food system isnt helping you. In the news this week, Patti and Doug talk about the politics of food, data centers using tricks to avoid regulation of their emissions, and a UN report on the importance of restoring forests. Then pediatrician Dr. Larry Palevsky talks about the new food pyramid, and how consumers need to know more about how their food is grown (or manufactured) and what’s actually in it.
https://www.greenstreetnews.org
THE BRADCAST: 10/2/2026 (Encore: Merging and ‘Murdering’ the Media; Guest: Robert Greenwald, Brave New Films (00:58:00)
Encore: original airdate 9-21-2026. On today’s ‘BradCast’: Donald Trump launched an unprecedented ban on CNN, MS Now (formerly MSNBC) and Politico at the White House. The banned networks filed suit over the blatant First Amendment violation, and White House press pool members halted video coverage of Trump at the White House in solidarity. Paramount’s new settlement with states clears the path for its merger with Warner Bros., which will place scores of media outlets under the control of the rightwing billionaire Ellison family, including CBS News and CNN. ROBERT GREENWALD of the nonprofit Brave New Films discusses the disturbing implications of the Paramount merger and his timely new documentary, “Murdering 60 Minutes,” exploring how rightwing control has degraded the iconic news magazine, and much more. CA Gov. Gavin Newsom signed new election security laws to protect the midterm elections.
https://bradblog.com/?cat=675
SUNDAY 10.04.26 PROGRAM Notes
6-hour loop begins at NOON, repeats until following noon
(scroll down for previous notes)
THE FALLON FORUM 9.28.26: An interview with former US Senator Tom Harkin (00:55:01)
On this week’s Fallon Forum, Ed Fallon discusses
– Tom Harkin talks about the Vietnam War “tiger cages”
– Tom and Ed discuss the upcoming election
– Ed reviews some of the weeks top stories
– October garden Q & A, with Kathy Byrnes Fallon, Birds & Bees Urban Farm
EARTH RIOT RADIO: 303 When Freedom Isn’t Free (00:29:00)
The USA shouts and sings that it invented FREEDOM and will go anywhere anytime
to defend that FREEDOM -but oh children beware the Devil. Our so called Freedom is putting too much pressure on the Earth, and lo! the Earth is responding. Earth’s Evolution demands our Revolution. The riddle of our time is not easily answered.
BARNABY DRUTHERS: Barnaby Druthers; the Patient (00:28:00)
A patient with a head wound awakes in a hospital. Is she Harper Thorne, captured while on an important mission or a deluded shopgirl who reads Harper Thorne stories? We proudly present: The Patient
https://www.barnabydruthers.com
Best of ATTITUDE with ARNIE ARNESEN October 3, 2026 (00:59:30)
Segment One
We begin the show with Chris Kromm, Executive Director of the Institute for Southern States. We discuss the effects of Hurricane Helene on North Carolina and the FEMA response. We talk about what resources were needed, and what resources were actually provided by FEMA.
Segment Two
We then sit with Alex Sammon, feature writer for Slate. We discuss how Trump has been speaking endlessly about communists recently. Alex decided to visit the headquarters of these USA Communists, and describes them as vastly different than Trump and others on the right would want you to believe.
https://www.arniearnesen.org/WP
BACKGROUND BRIEFING with IAN MASTERS October 1, 2026 (00:59:00)
A “Christian” Crusader In Charge of the Nuclear Arsenal Who Is Invested in the End Times Should Scare Us All | “Everyone Got Pete Hegseth Wrong” | How Citizens are Fighting Back Against ICE Cruelty Their Taxpayer Money Is Funding
https://www.backgroundbriefing.org
MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR: Cloud Six – A Satirical Novel with Author Amy Fusselman (00:59:00)
Amy Fusselman is a writer whose work has appeared in the NYT, The Atlantic and the Washington Post, among other publications, and she is the author of six books of nonfiction and fiction, including Savage Park, Idiophone, Means and her new book is Cloud Six, a satirical novel about the afterlife.
This is my fourth interview/conversation with Amy over the past 11 years.
DEEP DIVE CYBERSECURITY SHOW: The US/China AI Conflict Grows & Why Taiwan Will Be The Catalyst for WWIII (00:58:00)
US AI companies are accusing Chinese AI companies of ripping them off. The global theaters of conflict are starting to merge and, with the US shifting resources away from eastern Asia, Taiwan is in the crosshairs.
We cover this and so much more.
SATURDAY 10.03.26 PROGRAM Notes
6-hour loop begins at NOON, repeats until following noon
(scroll down for previous notes)
TECHTONIC with MARK HURST: Let’s all ridicule AI (00:59:30)
Sometimes it seems like the only reasonable response to the insanity of AI is to ridicule it – mercilessly. Comedians, journalists, academics, and at least one radio host are getting in on the fun. To maintain our sanity, let’s all ridicule AI.
KEEPING DEMOCRACY ALIVE: The Danger of Teaching About Fascism Grades K-12 (00:56:56)
Since so many public schools forbid the teaching of divisive concepts, social studies teachers are cut off; they can’t do their jobs. The far right is afraid of education, and teachers are seen as dangerous. But a conference was recently held looking into this problem by teachers and scholars, moderated by our guest Professor Sebastiaan Faber, who is on the board of the group keeping the anti-fascist work of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade alive and active. On this show we look into this new repressive patriotic education.
ALAN WATTS: The Illusion of Wealth – It is not money (00:08:53)
A powerful and thought-provoking speech about money and wealth by the great philosopher Alan Watts.
AGING MATTERS: Physician/Patient Communication (00:57:59)
Effective communication between physicians and their patients is the cornerstone of quality health care and directly impacts health outcomes, patient satisfaction, and treatment adherence. Recent studies reveal communication between older adults and physicians is becoming less effective due to physical, psychological, and systemic barriers affecting both patient and provider.
Neil Farber, MD, Internal Medicine (retired) and Author, Treating a Broken System: A Physicians Cure for the Healthcare Crisis, https://neiljfarber.com/, talks about causes for communication breakdown between physicians and their patients, issues contributing to this problem, and advice to help patients have more productive physician
https://www.agingmattersonline.com
GROWING GREENER: Sustainable Color that Mixes Natives with Exotic Favorites (00:29:00)
Rewilding (with Dahlias) was the irresistible title that Jessica Williams chose for the Digging Deeper garden tour and talk she gave for the Garden Conservancy. On this week’s Growing Greener Jessica shares how she does not fertilize, mulch, or irrigate her lush, colorful, and wildlife-rich garden, and how she enlisted the bees in her program to breed the black-leaved dahlias whose blossoms make her Odd Duck Farm a living jewel box.
https://www.thomaschristophergardens.com
TUC RADIO: Michael Parenti: Theocracy VS. Democracy (00:29:00)
Michael Parenti (1933-2026) said that democracy can’t survive under religious rule – whatever that religion may be. Parentis warning in this archival recording is as timely and urgently expressed as it was when this speech was first given during the second term of the Reagan administration. This talk is also very funny. Parenti explains how God may be considered as a founding father and why Woody Allen calls him an underachiever. It is easy to extend this timeless analysis to the present circumstances. With roots in a working class Italian district of New York and a Ph.D. in political science from Yale Michael Parenti has become an internationally known writer and lecturer. He is the author of twenty books.
THE BOPST SHOW: Better Way To Live (00:56:21)
The Bopst Show, the critically acclaimed music radio show hosted by artist, musician, writer, DJ and founding member of GWAR, Chris Bopst, features a wide variety of music that knows no one genre, era, or inspiration. On this edition, you’ll hear a cappella sounds of the 180 Gs, Irish hip hop from Kneecap, and the pure pop for now people sounds of XTC as well as tunes by Lambrini Girls, Jimmy Ross and many others locked out of the nation’s largest terrestrial bandwidths.
podomatic.com/podcasts/chrisbopst
RALPH NADER RADIO HOUR #656 (00:58:00)
Ralph welcomes Mary Berry the daughter of the late American novelist, poet, essayist, environmental activist, cultural critic, and farmer, Wendell Berry. Ms. Berry runs the non-profit Berry Center in New Castle, Kentucky, which serves as a repository for the study of small farm agriculture and preserves the legacy of her family’s work. Then, with the midterms on the horizon, Ralph and the team talk about how to be a smart voter. Plus, Ralph has some choice words for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s so-called Free Enterprise Express.
https://www.ralphnaderradiohour.com
FRIDAY 10.02.26 PROGRAM Notes
6-hour loop begins at NOON, repeats until following noon
(scroll down for previous notes)
Democracy NOW! with Amy Goodman Friday October 2, 2026
Democracy Now! produces a daily, global, independent news hour hosted by award-winning journalists Amy Goodman and Juan González. Our reporting includes breaking daily news headlines and in-depth interviews with people on the front lines of the world’s most pressing issues. On Democracy Now!, you’ll hear a diversity of voices speaking for themselves, providing a unique and sometimes provocative perspective on global events.
https://www.democracynow.org/shows
CLIMATE CONNECTIONS: Proposed bill would mandate alpha-gal labeling on food and drug packaging (00:01:30)
Lone star tick bites can cause alpha-gal syndrome, which involves an allergic reaction to red meat and other animal products.
www.YaleClimateConnections.org
THE LABOR HERITAGE POWER HOUR: Night Shifts, Mine Strikes and Workers on Stage (00:55:00)
Clifford Thompson honors his postal-worker mother in Ma at the Post Office, and the Labor Memory Project traces coalfield solidarity. Plus, Bread & Roses Missouri’s Workers Opera turns organizing struggles into art.
ALAN WATTS: The Purpose of Life Is Not in The Future (00:06:04)
Welcome to Way of Thinking! Alan Watts talks about how we sometimes think that happiness, awakening, spirituality or joy is in the future. Making us chase every kind of things and in the end realizing that everything was a lie and “joy” “love” “peace” is here and now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21VTKiEgAvw
THOM HARTMANN Best of 1 Hour: What is the Trump Contagion? (00:58:00)
Forensic psychiatrist, violence expert and President of the World Mental Health Coalition, Dr. Bandy Lee joins Thom Hartmann for an in depth talk about the increasing danger of Trump’s ill health. Her latest book is The Psychology of Trump Contagion: An Existential Threat to American Democracy and All Humankind.”
LABOR RADIO PODCAST DAILY: When Work and Worth Collide (for 10/2/2026) (00:02:00)
PowerLine explores a lineman’s mental health crisis. In labor history, the AFL backs a six-hour day and five-day week in 1934. Quote of the day: Eleanor Smeal.
https://www.laborradionetwork.org
SEA CHANGE RADIO: Climate Justice Leaders: Shannon Fernando + Sachu Constantine (00:29:00)
This week on Sea Change Radio, we circle back with the leaders of two nonprofits trying to make a difference in two very different ways. First, we speak with Shannon Fernando, the founder and CEO of Alabaster International, as she describes her organizations business model and tells us about the promising African staple crop enset. Then, we hear from the Executive Director of Vote Solar, Sachu Constantine, to learn more about all things energy-related under the sun. We discuss the harm inflicted upon the solar industry by the current administration, look at some encouraging developments in both residential and commercial solar, and examine what we can do to keep lowering costs and get away from fossil fuels.
LAURA FLANDERS AND FRIENDS: Illinois Leads the Way: What the End of Cash Bail Means for Racial Equity (00:28:00)
What happened when Illinois ended cash bail? As Laura’s guests explain, this deeply discriminatory and unjust system puts a ransom on people’s heads, disproportionately impacts Black and Brown people, and favors the wealthy who can buy their freedom while leaving the poor to languish in jail. Bail reform has faced tremendous pushback over the years, but Illinois implemented the first-of-its-kind Pretrial Fairness Act, ending cash bail statewide in 2023. The historic win didn’t happen overnight. In this episode some of those most involved explain what it took and describe the surprising results. Sharone R. Mitchell Jr., the Cook County Chief Public Defender was the lead policy expert for the Coalition to End Money Bond. Mitchell also heads the states largest public defender office. State Senator Robert Peters represents Illinois 13th District and was one of the main sponsors of the Pretrial Fairness Act. He chairs the Senate Labor Committee. Bryce Covert followed this important and under-covered story for The Nation magazine. What has Illinois to teach the nation? All that plus Lauras commentary: Illinois has moved out of the Middle Ages. What’s holding the rest of the nation back?
THE BOPST SHOW: Better Way To Live (00:56:21)
The Bopst Show, the critically acclaimed music radio show hosted by artist, musician, writer, DJ and founding member of GWAR, Chris Bopst, features a wide variety of music that knows no one genre, era, or inspiration. On this edition, you’ll hear a cappella sounds of the 180 Gs, Irish hip hop from Kneecap, and the pure pop for now people sounds of XTC as well as tunes by Lambrini Girls, Jimmy Ross and many others locked out of the nation’s largest terrestrial bandwidths.
podomatic.com/podcasts/chrisbopst
THE BRADCAST: 9/30/2026 US, Russia Collude to Weaken UN Treaty on Autonomous AI ‘Killer Robot’ Weaponry; Guest: Verity Coyle of Human Rights Watch (00:58:00)
On today’s ‘BradCast’: Donald Trump touted a voluntary agreement with top AI companies pledging to police themselves with no guardrails, regulation or restrictions on development or use of AI tools. At a recent U.N. conference to develop an international treaty to regulate the use of lethal autonomous weaponry, the Trump Administration and Russia reportedly colluded to remove crucial clauses intended to protect civilians, like mandatory human review of AI military targets before a strike. VERITY COYLE, Deputy Director for Arms in the Crisis, Conflict and Arms division at Human Rights Watch, explains the dangers of lethal autonomous weapons systems, how to ensure guardrails and accountability governing the use of AI in military weaponry, and much more. A horrifying airline incident onboard a flight from Dubai to Israel is under investigation.
https://bradblog.com/?cat=675
THURSDAY 10.01.26 PROGRAM Notes
6-hour loop begins at NOON, repeats until following noon
(scroll down for previous notes)
Democracy NOW! with Amy Goodman Thursday October 1, 2026
Democracy Now! produces a daily, global, independent news hour hosted by award-winning journalists Amy Goodman and Juan González. Our reporting includes breaking daily news headlines and in-depth interviews with people on the front lines of the world’s most pressing issues. On Democracy Now!, you’ll hear a diversity of voices speaking for themselves, providing a unique and sometimes provocative perspective on global events.
https://www.democracynow.org/shows
CLIMATE CONNECTIONS: How a Washington State farm dramatically slashed its irrigation needs (00:01:30)
The approach could help farmers adapt to droughts.
www.YaleClimateConnections.org
LISTENING TO AMERICA with Clay Jenkins #1723 On the Trail of Marco Polo (00:57:09)
Author and explorer Denis Belliveau talks with Clay about his epic journey along the entire Silk Road in the footsteps of Marco Polo. Polo (ca. 1254-1324) traveled from Venice to the far end of China between 1271 and 1295 AD. He visited Kublai Khan in the legendary Xanadu. Denis Belliveau and his traveling companion, Francis O’Donnell, needed 70 visas to make the immense journey, none of it by airplane, much of it on foot, horse, camel, and such fortunate rides they could cadge along the way. They traveled with what Belliveau calls “reckless bravado and a lot of testosterone,” through Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, India, Tibet, and China, among other nations. They were, so far as anyone knows, the first people ever to retrace the entire Marco Polo journey. The result was a PBS documentary and excellent book, In the Footsteps of Marco Polo. You can also learn more at his website: In the Footsteps. This episode was recorded on April 8, 2026.
LABOR RADIO PODCAST DAILY: Don’t Forget the Roses (for 10/1/2026) (00:02:00)
On todays Labor Radio Podcast Daily: Labor Heritage Power Hour explores how workers rediscover their artistic side through theater. In labor history, NHL owners begin a 103-day lockout. Quote of the day: Jack McCallum.
https://www.laborradionetwork.org
THOM HARTMANN Best of 1 Hour: Trump and RFK Jr.’s Gutting of CDC Should Terrify Everyone” (00:58:00)
The grim state of affairs at the Trump CDC should terrify everyone, Brad Woodhouse, president of the advocacy group Protect Our Care, said in a statement on Monday in response to reporting by The New York Times, which shows how Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other administration officials have made the CDC a skeleton of the powerhouse it was.
RISING UP WITH SONALI – 2026-09-29 (00:58:30)
This week, I present a climate change special First, well hear from award winning journalist Joshua Frank, whose new book is called Bad Energy: The AI Hucksters, Rogue Lithium Extractors, and Wind Industrialists Who Are Selling Off Our Future. Franks book is a warning against how not to transition to a green energy future and an assertion of the fact that unfettered capitalism, which caused the problems of climate change, cannot be part of the solution. Then, in a case that is the first of its kind, a Washington woman is suing big oil companies like Exxon Mobil over the 2021 death of her mother whose cause of death was hyperthermia linked to a record-breaking heat dome in the Pacific Northwest. Mike Meno of the Center for Climate Integrity will share more about the case, and whether suing Big Oil can help end fossil fuel domination.
https://risingupwithsonali.com
LITERATURE ALOUD: The Jungle by Upton Sinclair – ch. 8-9 (00:46:22)
It is the end of the 19th century. Like thousands of others, the Rudkus family has emigrated from Lithuania to America in search of a better life. As they settle into the Packingtown neighborhood of Chicago, they find their dreams are unlikely to be realized. In fact, just the opposite is quite likely to occur. The family, naïve to the ways of Chicago, quickly falls prey to con men and makes a series of bad decisions that lead them into wretched poverty and terrible living conditions. All are forced to find jobs in dismal working conditions for their very survival. The main character Jurgis, broken and discouraged, eventually finds solace in the American Socialist movement. This novel was written during a period in American history when “Trusts” were formed by multiple corporations to establish monopolies that stifled competition and fixed prices. Unthinkable working conditions and unfair business practices were the norm. The Jungle’s author, Upton Sinclair, was an ardent Socialist of the time. Sinclair was commissioned by the “Appeal To Reason”, a Socialist journal of the period, to write a fictional expose on the working conditions of the immigrant laborers in the meat packing industry in Chicago. Going undercover, Sinclair spent seven weeks inside the meatpacking plants gathering details for his novel. (Summary by Tom Weiss)
https://librivox.org/the-jungle-by-upton-sinclair
TEXT: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/140/140-h/140-h.htm
ALAN WATTS: We Worry About Problems We Don’t Even Have (00:08:03)
An inspirational and profound speech from the late philosopher Alan Watts. Original Audio sourced from: “Alan Watts – Taoist Way”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47YEyPnXfvw
THE BRADCAST: 9/30/2026 US, Russia Collude to Weaken UN Treaty on Autonomous AI ‘Killer Robot’ Weaponry; Guest: Verity Coyle of Human Rights Watch (00:58:00)
On today’s ‘BradCast’: Donald Trump touted a voluntary agreement with top AI companies pledging to police themselves with no guardrails, regulation or restrictions on development or use of AI tools. At a recent U.N. conference to develop an international treaty to regulate the use of lethal autonomous weaponry, the Trump Administration and Russia reportedly colluded to remove crucial clauses intended to protect civilians, like mandatory human review of AI military targets before a strike. VERITY COYLE, Deputy Director for Arms in the Crisis, Conflict and Arms division at Human Rights Watch, explains the dangers of lethal autonomous weapons systems, how to ensure guardrails and accountability governing the use of AI in military weaponry, and much more. A horrifying airline incident onboard a flight from Dubai to Israel is under investigation.
https://bradblog.com/?cat=675