The Lost Cause Against Reconstruction / Kidada Williams
Just as there is a lost cause narrative for the South White Northerners and Westerners have spun a related tale, and it's that they're all abolitionist.
Mar 27, 2023•1 hr 22 min
This Is Hell!
Manufacturing Dissent since 1996
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Episodes
Weapons of Mass Distraction / Chris Toensing
Today's episode takes us into the archives 20 years ago to the day. Less than a week after the United States military invaded Iraq, Middle East Report editor Chris Toensing spoke with Chuck about the narrative being spun at the time to frame the invasion as a preemptive defensive measure to remove an imminent threat to the United States. Little did Chris and Chuck know at the time just how much water the media would carry for the Bush administration and the imperialists at the Project for the Ne...
Mar 23, 2023•1 hr 22 min
Freedom Dreams of Feminism / Robin D. G. Kelley
Historian Robin D. G. Kelley returns to This is Hell! to talk about his essay titled, “Buried History: The Death and Life of Donald S. Kelley” Part of a collection of essays called “After Life: A Collective History of Loss and Redemption in Pandemic America." (Haymarket Books). Robin is a writer and professor of history at UCLA. His most recent book is "Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination" https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/206173/freedom-dreams-by-robin-dg-kelley/ Produced by Li...
Mar 21, 2023•1 hr 19 min
Botching the Coverage of a Bank Run / Dean Baker
After a multipurpose hangover cure, Center for Economic Policy and Research Senior Economist and longtime friend of the show Dean Baker edifies us with his analysis of the mainstream media's irresponsible reporting on the failure of Silicon Valley Bank along with some remarks on how the financial system might be restructured. On The Past Inside the Present, Seb continues his series on Soviet history and the origins of US-Soviet relations with a discussion of the Great Patriotic War and its signi...
Mar 20, 2023•1 hr 19 min
Hyperviolent Supercops Assassinate With Impunity / Michael Gould-Wartofsky
Writer, ethnographer, and human-rights activist Michael Gould-Wartofsky is onto talk about his TomDispatch article, "Welcome to the Predator State: Where the Scorpions on the Corner Just Might Kill You," which about the killing of Tyre Nichols by a Memphis police unit called SCORPION. And an all-new Moment of Truth with Jeff Dorchen: This week Jeff wants to conquer the world with a philosophy of radical underachievement.
Mar 15, 2023•1 hr 26 min
Atrophy and the After Life in COVID-19 Infected America / Keri Leigh Merritt
Tuesday, March 14th 2023, historian Keri Leigh Merritt returns to This is Hell! is co-editor of the collection, "After Life: A Collective History of Loss and Redemption in Pandemic America." This episode also features this week in Rotten History and new responses to the Question from Hell! Keri Leigh was a guest on the show back in 2017 to discuss a book that was selected as one of our listeners favorites of the year, "Masterless Men: Poor Whites and Slavery in the Antebellum South." Keri Leigh ...
Mar 14, 2023•1 hr 12 min
The Blood of the Congo Powers Our Tech / Siddharth Kara
After this week's hangover cure leaves us in suspense, British Academy Global Professor Siddharth Kara shares his horrifying research on the exploitation and inhumanity at the heart of the cobalt mining industry in the Congo upon which current rechargeable battery technology relies. Sebastian then brightens the mood with the first of several segments on a subject which the Western public remains ignorant: the history of the Soviet Union. Spoiler: it's not all gulags and show trials, but there we...
Mar 13, 2023•1 hr 25 min
Ethiopia's New Dam Tilts the Balance of Power / Ann Neumann
We have on Ann Neumann to discuss her new Baffler article: "Hydropower: A dam on the Nile roils democratic relations in the Horn of Africa" Jeff delivers a new Moment of Truth and the Question From Hell Contest freewheels into its cathartic culmination.
Mar 08, 2023•1 hr 25 min
Identifying American Violence / Ariane Chebel d'Appollonia
Professor Ariane Chebel d'Appollonia joins us in Hell to discuss her book "Violent America: The Dynamics of Identity Politics in a Multiracial Society" This episode also features new responses to the Question from Hell and this week in Rotten History. Dr. Ariane Chebel d'Appollonia is a professor in the School of Public Affairs and Administration (SPAA) at Rutgers University–Newark. She is also a Senior Researcher affiliated with the Center for European Studies and Comparative Politics (Sciences...
Mar 07, 2023•1 hr 21 min
Daddy DeSantis' Sunshine Imperium / Jasper Craven
Journalist Jasper Craven discusses his Baffler article, "The Sunshine Imperium: The Militarism of Ron DeSantis." Chuck and Will review the latest hangover cure, Siberian (red) ginseng, and fresh responses from this week's Question from Hell. Seb's "The Past Inside the Present" segment edifies and terrifies with a deep dive into the differences between American and Soviet nuclear doctrines.
Mar 06, 2023•1 hr 22 min
Is the Next Pandemic Inevitable? / Caroline Chen
Today we have on Caroline Chen to discuss her ProPublica series, "Roots of an Outbreak" And the Question From Hell flies right towards its effulgent fulfillment.
Mar 01, 2023•1 hr 23 min
Pretty Good Housing For All / Dan Kolbert
Chuck interviews Dan Kolbert, co-author along with Christopher Briley, Michael Maines and Emily Mottram, of, “Pretty Good House: A Guide to Creating Better Homes.” Dan has been a carpenter and contractor in Portland, Maine, for three decades. He has written for various trade publications, including Fine Homebuilding magazine, and for the past 10 years has been moderator of the original Building Science Discussion Group in Portland, Maine, where the Pretty Good House idea originated. You can see ...
Feb 28, 2023•1 hr 17 min
Poverty Amid Plenty / Liz Theoharis
Theologian, ordained minister, and anti-poverty activist Liz Theoharis is on to discuss her TomDispatch articles "Poverty Amid Plenty' and "Making it in a Poor World". Liz is Co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival and director of the Kairos Center for Religions, Rights and Social Justice at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. She is the author of, "Always With Us? What Jesus Really Said About the Poor," and, "We Cry Justice: Reading the Bible with the ...
Feb 27, 2023•1 hr 31 min
Nationalize the Railroads Now / Kari Lyderson
Journalist Kari Lydersen returns to talk about her In These Times article, "The Case for Nationalizing the Railroads." Plus, and all-new Moment of Truth and the Question from Hell reaches it's electrifying terminus.
Feb 22, 2023•1 hr 30 min
Clean Up or Cover Up? ChemTrain Capitalists & Lobbied Lawmakers Say "Trust Our Tests" / Prem Thakker
Journalist Prem Thakker speaks with host Chuck Mertz about his articles in the New Republic about the the hellish Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, where residents have been told it is safe to return to the site of an intentional burn of 1.1 million pounds of vinyl chloride, a class 1 carcinogen, despite lack of comprehensive testing and many test results remaining inconclusive. This episode was produced by Lindsey Gorry and features this week in Rotten History written b...
Feb 21, 2023•1 hr 20 min
Trump 2024 wants to Make Executions Exciting Again? / Asawin Suebsaeng
Journalist Asawin Suebsaeng discusses his Rolling Stones articles "Twitter Kept Entire 'Database’ of Republican Requests to Censor Posts " and "Trump Plans to Bring Back Firing Squads, Group Executions if He Retakes White House". This episode also features this week's Hangover Cure, new Question from Hell!, and a Past Inside the Present about Jim Crow Laws from historian Sebastion Wuepper. https://www.rollingstone.com/author/asawin-suebsaeng/
Feb 20, 2023•1 hr 20 min
Remembering the "Good" War / Elizabeth Samet
We have on Elizabeth Samet, author of, "Looking for the Good War: American Amnesia and the Violent Pursuit of Happiness." Elizabeth is a professor of English at West Point.
Feb 15, 2023•1 hr 29 min
Big Poultry Breeds Bird Flu and asks Consumers to Pay the Price / Boyce Upholt
Boyce Upholt returns to This is Hell! to discuss his piece recently published by the New Republic, "The Frightening Cost of Cheap Eggs: Why paying more for eggs could save us from another pandemic". This episode also features this week in Rotten History and new responses to the Question from Hell. Boyce Upholt is an award-winning freelance writer focused on the way we use and imagine the non-human world. He covers, among other subjects, public lands, exploration, biodiversity, foodways, infrastr...
Feb 14, 2023•1 hr 16 min
Suppression of the Black Vote Fuels Fascism / Clarence Lusane
Dr. Clarence Lusane joins This is Hell! to discuss his series of Tom Dispatch articles, explaining how MAGA fascists found inspiration in suppressing the black vote to storm the US Capitol on Jan. 6th 2021. This episode also features this week's Hangover Cure and a Past Inside the Present from Dr. Sebastian Wuepper. This Week's Question from Hell! If you could spy on anyone or anything in the United States, who or what would it be? https://truthout.org/articles/january-6-report-obscured-the-role...
Feb 13, 2023•1 hr 21 min
Revolutionary Palestinian Futures / Noura Erakat
We welcome human rights attorney Noura Erakat who wrote the Boston Review article, "Designing the Future in Palestine: Palestinian women and feminist organizations are reimagining what liberation can look like beyond national independence." Noura is Associate Professor at Rutgers University, New Brunswick in the Department of Africana Studies and the Program in Criminal Justice, and author of, "Justice for Some: Law and in the Question of Palestine."
Feb 09, 2023•1 hr 21 min
The Revolution will not be Scheduled / Sheila Liming
Writer, professor and musician Sheila Liming joins us in Hell! to talk about her recently published book, "Hanging Out: The Radical Power of Killing Time". This episode also features a Past inside the Present from Dr. Sebastian Wuepper and new responses to this week's Question from Hell! Which is "When we take over the means of production, what can we produce once in a while as a treat?" https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/717263/hanging-out-by-sheila-liming/ Sheila Liming is an associate p...
Feb 08, 2023•1 hr 25 min
COVID-19, Continued / Rob Wallace
Agroecologist and epidemiologist Rob Wallace returns to This is Hell! to discuss his new book, "The Fault in our SARS, COVID-19 in the Biden Era". Also featuring this week's Hangover cure and Rotten History. Rob Wallace is an evolutionary epidemiologist with the Agroecology and Rural Economics Research Corps. He is author of Big Farms Make Big Flu and coauthor of Clear-Cutting Disease Control: Capital-Led Deforestation, Public Health Austerity, and Vector-Borne Infection. He has consulted with t...
Feb 07, 2023•1 hr 25 min
Coplovers Hit Back Against Reforms With Fearmongering / Katya Schwenk
We have on journalist Katya Schwenk to discuss her Baffler Magazine article, "The Crime Wave That Wasn't." Faithful correspondent Jeff Dorchen explores ways to dissolve world Leadership. And the Question From Hell contest collapses into its barn-burning resolution.
Feb 01, 2023•1 hr 22 min
Fear of Black Consciousness / Lewis Gordon
Dr. Lewis Gordon, department head and professor of philosophy at the University of Connecticut, discusses his most recent book titled, Fear of Black Consciousness. This episode also features this week in Rotten History and new responses to the Question from Hell! Lewis Gordon is a philosopher at the University of Connecticut who works in the areas of Africana philosophy, existentialism, phenomenology, social and political theory, postcolonial thought, theories of race and racism, philosophies of...
Jan 31, 2023•1 hr 19 min
For Tortuguita and the Trees: Stopping Cop City / Rachel Garbus
Recorded Monday, January 30th 2023, we speak with Rachel Garbus, a writer and editor based in Atlanta. Rachel discusses her piece recently published on Welcome to Hell World titled, "Stopping Cop City, the murder of Tortuguita, and the trees that got us here". This episode also includes a new Question from Hell! and this week's Hangover Cure. https://www.welcometohellworld.com/stopping-cop-city-the-murder-of-tortuguita-and-the-trees-that-got-us-here/ Rachel Garbus is a writer, editor and oral hi...
Jan 28, 2023•1 hr 22 min
The Lost Interviews pt. 3 / Max Haiven
NOW IT CAN BE TOLD: we spin the never-before-aired-on-WNUR-because-it-was-the-start-of-covid interview from 3/25/20 with Max Haiven who had, at that time, just written the ROAR Magazine article, “No return to normal: for a post-pandemic liberation: Today, new forms of solidarity, mutual aid, and common struggle are emerging in the pandemic. How will they shape tomorrow’s struggles for a post-capitalist world?” Also, from behind the paywall we retrieve Chuck's poignant recollection of his long-li...
Jan 25, 2023•1 hr 24 min
The Lost Interviews Pt. 2 / Eileen Applebaum
We revisit the strange times of the early 2020 Covid-19 pandemic social breakdown with interviews that never before graced the radiowaves of 89.3 WNUR, Northwestern University community radio across Evanston and North Chicago. At the time, we were locked down and out of the broadcasting studio. This interview was originally recorded on March 31st, 2020 with economist Eileen Applebaum about her article, "The U.S. Response to COVID-19: What’s in Federal Legislation and What’s Not, but Still Needed...
Jan 24, 2023•1 hr 16 min
The Lost Interviews Pt. 1 / Vijay Koinjivadi
We play the first of three "lost" interview from the early days of the Pandemic that was never played on the radio. We also present this week's Question from Hell! as well as the Hangover Cure. And then producer Seb has a best-off repeat of a Past inside the Present from last summer, the last he will read live in studio before leaving for greener pastures.
Jan 23, 2023•1 hr 27 min
Big Pharma Rigs the Game and Gouges Away / Julia Rock
Reporter, public records requester, researcher Julia Rock joins us to discuss her article at The Lever, "How Big Pharma Actually Spends Its Massive Profits: New research shows that pharmaceutical companies have spent more on enriching shareholders than drug research and development over the past decade."
Jan 18, 2023•1 hr 24 min
Limbo: War Crime and Punishment / Rebecca Gordon 2016
Our host Chuck Mertz postpones his scheduled interview with philosopher Rebecca Gordon due to stomach flu. Lindsey Gorry fills in at the studio by playing back Gordon's interview with This is Hell! in 2016 about the case for prosecuting the Bush administration for post 9/11 war crimes. Also featuring an extra sticky week in Rotten History and new responses to the Question from Hell. Rebecca Gordon teaches at the University of San Francisco. She is the author of Mainstreaming Torture, American Nu...
Jan 17, 2023•1 hr 10 min
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