KPFA - Against the Grain

The struggle for labor across the color line has often been credited to white activists. However, as sociologist Cedric de Leon argues, the black labor movement, independently organized outside of the official union movement, propelled such efforts. He discusses the black labor movement’s divisions, including in the face of the state’s attempt to destroy it. (Encore presentation.)
Cedric de Leon, Freedom Train: Black Politics and the Story of Interracial Labor Solidarity UC Press, 2025
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Jessica Mitford revived muckraking journalism in the United States, shaping generations of investigative writers who followed her. She also lived a committed life on the left, despite her ultra-reactionary English upper class origins. Carla Kaplan argues that Mitford is woman for our times.
Carla Kaplan, Troublemaker: The Fierce, Unruly Life of Jessica Mitford Harper, 2025
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Big Tech’s owners see themselves as visionaries — as singularly capable of understanding and shaping the future — in contrast to the rest of us. Adrian Daub explores the worldview of Silicon Valley’s owners.
Adrian Daub, What Tech Calls Governing Stanford University Press, 2026
Photo by Igor Shalyminov on Unsplash
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After a century of drug prohibition, during which the use of many illicit drugs increased, states and countries are moving to decriminalize the usage of certain psychoactive substances. As corporations rush to profit, legal scholar Kojo Koram argues for the legalization of drugs without commercial gain.
Kojo Koram, The Next Fix: The Winners and Losers in the Future of Drugs Verso, 2026
Photo by Freestocks on Unsplash
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Recessions, trade wars, labor unrest — in moments of societal crisis in the United States, Asian-Americans have been perennially targeted, from the destruction of Chinatowns by white mobs, to the mass internment of Japanese-Americans during WW2, to attacks against Asians during Covid. Historian Scott Kurashige reflects on more than 175 years of anti-Asian violence and its connection to U.S. empire abroad and a divided working class at home. (Encore presentation.)
Scott Kurashige, American Peril: The Violent History of Anti-Asian Racism UC Press, 2026
Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash
The post U.S. Capitalism, Empire, and Anti-Asian Violence appeared first on KPFA.