Friday, June 19, 2015

George Carlin Memorial

Part 1: New World Notes #381, 28:59 (June 23)
Broadcast quality MP3 (40 MB)
Decent quality MP3 (13 MB)

Part 2: New World Notes #382, 28:43 (June 30).
Broadcast quality MP3 (39 MB)
Decent quality MP3 (13 MB)

Ceorge Carlin, ca. 2008

On the seventh anniversary of his death we celebrate the political and cultural satire of the great stand-up comedian George Carlin. We focus on the last two decades of Carlin's long career--by which time his political views had moved well to the left of center.

Carlin is one of the most astute critics of capitalism, imperialism, American popular culture, and American arrogance--and certainly the funniest. He died on June 22, 2008.

Sketches in Part 1:
  • Religion = B.S.
  • Airlines English
  • The War on Homelessness
  • Euphemisms

1960s
Sketches in Part 2:
  • They own you / the class system
  • Airport security / germs / parents
  • The Book Club
  • American B.S. / children
With brief introductions by KD.  Suitable for airplay: naughty words have been bleeped.

Thanks to Scooter, of The innerSide radio program (KPFT-FM, Houston), and to Colorado Free Radio for some of the recorded material. The Carlin routines in Part 1 were previously broadcast in New World Notes #179 (June 2011).








Saturday, June 13, 2015

The Backlash Against Women

New World Notes #380, 28:50 (June 16)
Broadcast quality MP3 (40 MB)
Decent quality MP3 (13 MB)


Writer and activist Jennifer Roesch explores the apparent contradiction in our culture: rampant hypersexualiztion and commodification of women but also increasing repression of women's sexuality. In combatting the former, she argues, we should be careful not to promote the latter. Let's not recreate the 1950s--the late 1960s are a better model of progress and liberation.

For Roesch, the ultimate cause of both sleaze and repression is capitalism run amok. And we can't have sexual freedom without social and economic freedom.

Roesch spoke at the Socialism 2013 conference, June 27, 2013.  Audio (which I have condensed and edited for radio) courtesy of wearemany.org.



Saturday, June 6, 2015

The Empire Turns on its Citizens

New World Notes #379, 27:46 (June 9)
Broadcast quality MP3 (39 MB)
Decent quality MP3 (13 MB)

Chris Hedges

Two short talks by journalist/essayist Chris Hedges on the bad effects of empire at home.

As empires buckle under their own weight, the harsh measures of control they use to subjugate countries abroad are turned on their own citizens. We see the evidence all around us: government spying on everyone, economic plunder, militarized police, trumped-up charges against dissenters, and the world's largest prison system.
 
The goal of the repression is to crush dissent and opposition, says Hedges

Hedges selections are taken from an interview with Sonali Kolhatkar, February 9, 2015, courtesy of Uprising Radio; and from a speech in Newark, NJ, October 9, 2014, courtesy of Building Bridges Radio. Many thanks to producers Sonali Kolhatkar, Ken Nash, and Mimi Rosenberg.