Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Adobe Flash Player version 9.0.115 or higher is required to watch video inline on this webpage, and JavaScript must be enabled. You can choose another option on the listen/watch page if you prefer.

Real Video MP3 Purchase DVD/CD  More Formats…

Headlines

  • Tariq Ali on Britain’s Political Deadlock, Gordon Brown’s Resignation and Pakistan’s Role in the Times Square Bombing Attempt

    Tariq-ali

    In Britain, the unfolding political drama following last week’s inconclusive elections has taken a new twist. On Monday, Prime Minister Gordon Brown offered to resign as head of the Labor Party later this year. He announced the opening of formal negotiations with the rival Liberal Democrats to form a progressive alliance and block the Conservative Party from retaking power. The Conservatives, led by David Cameron, won most seats in Parliament in last week’s elections but fell short of a majority. We speak with longtime political commentator and writer Tariq Ali in London. [includes rush transcript]

  • "The People of Greece Are Fighting for the Whole of Europe": Tariq Ali and Mark Weisbrot Discuss Greece’s Economic Crisis and Popular Uprising

    Greece-banknotes

    The European Union and the International Monetary Fund have approved a nearly $1 trillion package to stop Greece’s debt crisis from spilling beyond its borders into the rest of the eurozone. Stocks surged in Europe, Asia and the United States Monday after EU leaders agreed to a $960 billion package to contain Greece’s financial troubles. Meanwhile, the austerity measures demanded by the IMF and the European Union as a condition of their loan are continuing to exact their toll. Greece’s two main unions have continued to hold protests against the reforms. In a statement, one of the unions said, "The crisis should be paid by...all those who looted public finances." Last week nearly 100,000 people participated in a mass demonstration and a twenty-four-hour general strike against the austerity measures. [includes rush transcript]

  • Pioneering African American Actress, Singer and Civil Rights Activist Lena Horne, 92, Dies

    Stormyweather

    Lena Horne enjoyed a six-decade singing career on stage, television and in film. She was the first black woman to be signed to a long-term contract by a major Hollywood studio. She helped break racial boundaries by acting alongside white entertainers, but she was segregated on screen so producers could clip out her singing when the movies ran in the South. In the 1950s, she was blacklisted in part because of her friendship with Paul Robeson and W.E.B. Du Bois. In 1963, Lena Horne took part in the March on Washington alongside Harry Belafonte and Dick Gregory and was part of a group, which included authors James Baldwin and Lorraine Hansberry, that met with Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy to urge a more active approach to desegregation. We air a rare 1966 interview with Lena Horne from the Pacifica Radio Archives and speak to her biographer, James Gavin. [includes rush transcript]