Bill Hicks

New World Notes #426, 28:56 (May 2)
Broadcast quality MP3 (40 MB)*
Decent quality MP3 (13MB)*

Cultural critic and stand-up comedian Bill Hicks died 22 years ago at age 32. In memoriam, we present a sampling of his recorded routines (suitable for broadcast).  With brief introductions by KD.

Included:

• The war
• The elite
• Hillbillies
• Gays in the military
• "This is your brain on drugs"
• Jay Leno
• It's only a ride

Thanks to Scooter at KPFT-FM in Houston for some of the selections here.

* Previously broadcast, as NWN #318, in April 2014. MP3 files downloaded from the links, above, are named with this older program number.

Capitalism Hits the Fan

Part 1: New World Notes #424, 28:35 (April 19)
Broadcast quality MP3 (40 MB)
Decent quality MP3 (13 MB)

Part 2: New World Notes #425, 27:42 (April 26)
Broadcast quality MP3 (39 MB)
Decent quality MP3 (13 MB)

Richard Wolff

With clarity, force, and wit, economist Richard Wolff explains the long process that got the U.S. economy into its present crisis. He shows why there are no quick fixes--while suggesting (in Part 2) some practical actions that will help. More fundamentally, we need to re-think our commitment to corporate capitalism.

Part 1 focuses on the factors most affecting workers: growing workforce, growing productivity, declining available jobs, stagnant pay, and growing consumer debt.

Part 2 focuses more on CEOs and financiers--who managed to make a bad situation much worse. Plus Wolff's practical suggestions.

Wolff gave this guest-lecture at Brown University on December 2, 2009. I have condensed it for radio broadcast. A video of the entire presentation including introductions (1:45:00) can be found on YouTube.

New World Notes previously broadcast this two-part program in April 2012 (as NWN #213-214). MP3 files downloaded from the links, above, are named with these older program numbers.

The Crisis of Civilization

Part 1: New World Notes #422, 28:04 (April 5)
Broadcast quality MP3 (39 MB)
Decent quality MP3 (13 MB)

Part 2: New World Notes #423, 29:09 (April 12)
Broadcast quality MP3 (40 MB)
Decent quality MP3 (13 MB)

U.K. political analyst Nafeez Mossadeq Ahmed has written and narrates an engaging documentary film, The Crisis of Civilization. I have condensed and adapted the film to radio,

New World Notes first broadcast this two-part program (as #238-239) in September 2012--a Presidential election year, like this one. In case you were wondering why Part Two talks a bit about George Romney.

In the film, Ahmed surveys (by my count) seven serious global crises that are now besetting Western Civilization as we know it. He argues that the seven are interconnected. So none can be fixed (or even much improved) without addressing the other six.

The seven interconnected crises are

• climate change
• peak energy
• food production and distribution
• economic instability
• international terrorism
• militarization
• destruction of civil liberties

Nafeez Mossadeq Ahmed 

Clips from old films enliven Ahmed's discussion, which is pretty interesting in itself.

In Part One of our adaptation, Ahmed looks at economic instability and terrorism.

In Part Two, he examines militarization and destruction of civil liberties. Also in Part Two, we'll read a good essay by Bruce Dixon, of Black Aganda Report, on how Obama and Romney agree on almost every issue. (Replace these names with "the Democrats" and "the Republicans," and the point is valid today too.)

Another thing politicians have agreed on: not to mention six of the crises we're identifying--and not to say anything sensible about the seventh, terrorism.  And I think that applies to every candidate running for President at any time in 2016--with perhaps the partial exceptions of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders.

Part Two has new introductions and comments by K.D.