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  • June17_playbutton

    “A Moment in the Sun”: An Extended Interview with Independent Filmmaker, Author John Sayles

    June 17, 2011 | Story

    We spend the hour with legendary independent filmmaker and author, John Sayles. Over the past three decades, he has directed 17 feature films, including Return of the Secaucus Seven, Matewan, Lone Star, and Eight Men Out. He has often used his films to tackle pressing political issues, as well as themes of race, class, labor and sexuality. His newest film, Amigo, which opens in August, is set in the Philippines during the U.S. occupation. Sayles is also a celebrated author. A winner of the O. Henry award, he has just published his first novel in 20 years. It’s called "A Moment in the Sun," and it’s a sprawling work which takes the turn of the 20th century in its sights—from a white racist coup in Wilmington, North Carolina, to the first stirrings of the motion picture industry, to the bloody dawn of U.S. interventionism in Cuba and the Philippines. We talked with Sayles about his work and career before he left to screen Amigo in the Philippines. “However small your audience is, however frustrating it is to get your version of the world or what you want to talk about out there, it’s part of the conversation. And if you shut up, the conversation is one-sided,” says Sayles. [includes rush transcript]

  • Play_massey_report2

    Massey Energy Guilty: West Virginia Probe Finds Coal Giant Systemically Failed to Comply with Law

    May 23, 2011 | Story

    An independent state probe in West Virginia concludes that mining giant, Massey Energy, was responsible for the April 2010 explosion that killed 29 underground coal mining workers. It echoes preliminary findings by federal investigators earlier this year that Massey repeatedly violated federal rules on ventilation and minimizing coal dust to reduce the risk of explosion, and rejects Massey’s claim that a burst of gas from a hole in the mine floor was at fault. The report also notes Massey’s strong political influence, which it uses "to attempt to control West Virginia’s political system" and regulatory bodies. We speak with J. Davitt McAteer, who oversaw the probe and is a former top federal mine safety official. [includes rush transcript]

  • Play_last_mtn1

    The Fight over Coal Mining is a “Fight About Democracy”: New Documentary with Robert Kennedy, Jr. Chronicles Campaign to Halt Mountaintop Removal

    May 23, 2011 | Story

    We speak with environmental activist Robert Kennedy, Jr., and filmmaker Bill Haney about the new documentary, The Last Mountain, which premiered this year at the Sundance Film Festival. The film chronicles the fight against coal mining across Appalachia and Massey Energy’s devastating practice of mountaintop removal to extract layers of coal. "They have to break the law to do this. They cannot survive in the marketplace without violating the law. They violate labor laws. They violate health and safety laws. And by their own records, they’ve had some 67,000 violations of just one of the environmental statutes," says Kennedy of the coal giant that has tremendous political influence at the state and federal level. “It’s not just about the environmental destruction, it’s also about subverting democracy.” [includes rush transcript]

  • "Sundance and the Art of Democracy" By Amy Goodman

    January 26, 2011 | Blog Post

    While much of the attention is focused on the celebrities, Sundance has actually become a key intersection of art, film, politics and dissent. It is where many of the most powerful documentaries premiere, films about genuine grass-roots struggles, covering the sweep of social justice history and the burning issues of today.

  • Goodwin

    Manchin Appointing Fmr. Aide to Replace Byrd "Kabuki Theater Politics" to "Make Sure Coal’s Will Be Done in the Senate"

    July 23, 2010 | Story

    Governor Joe Manchin recently appointed former chief counsel Carte Goodwin to succeed US Senator Robert Byrd. We take a look at what the move means and issues surrounding mountaintop removal in Appalachia with Bob Kincaid, an internet broadcaster with the Head On Radio Network and a progressive voice from the Appalachian coalfields. [includes rush transcript]

  • Miner

    Mine Workers Union and Families Sue to Open Federal Probe into Deadly Massey Coal Mine Explosion

    June 11, 2010 | Story

    Just a few weeks before the April 20th explosion on BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf, twenty-nine coal miners died after an explosion at Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia. Although the Mine Safety and Health Administration has launched an investigation into the disaster, unlike the open federal investigation into the BP oil spill, the probe into Massey is taking place entirely behind closed doors. The United Mine Workers of America and families of victims killed in the West Virginia coal mine explosion recently filed suit in federal court to open up the federal investigation. We speak to journalist Jeff Biggers. [includes rush transcript]

  • "Massey Disaster Not Just Tragic, but Criminal." By Amy Goodman

    April 14, 2010 | Blog Post

    Massey Energy runs the Upper Big Branch (UBB) mine in Montcoal, W.Va., where 29 miners were killed last week. The loss of life is tragic, but the UBB explosion is more than tragic; it is criminal.

  • South_africa_coal

    World Bank Approves Multi-Billion-Dollar Loan for Coal-Fired Power Plant in South Africa

    April 09, 2010 | Story

    Even as the worst coal mine disaster in the United States in a quarter of a century unfolds in West Virginia, the World Bank has approved a controversial $3.75 billion loan for South Africa to build one of the world’s largest coal-fired power plants. Environmentalists in South Africa and abroad have criticized the decision and are urging the bank to stop supporting the development of coal plants and other large emitters of greenhouse gas emissions. We speak with one of the chief critics of the project, South African environmentalist Desmond D’Sa. [includes rush transcript]

  • Massey

    Massey Energy Mine Cited for 1,300+ Safety Violations in Years Leading up to Deadly Explosion

    April 07, 2010 | Story

    Four people remain missing in a West Virginia coal mine two days after a huge explosion killed at least twenty-five miners in the worst mining disaster in the United States in more than a quarter-century. According to federal records, MSHA cited the Upper Big Branch mine for more than 1,300 safety violations from 2005 through Monday. Fifty citations came in the last month alone. We speak with Chuck Nelson, an underground coal miner for thirty years, and journalist Jeff Biggers. [includes rush transcript]

  • Westvirginia

    25 Miners Dead in WV Coal Mine Explosion, Massey Energy Mine Cited for Hundreds of Safety Violations

    April 06, 2010 | Story

    In West Virginia, twenty-five coal miners have died after a huge explosion at a Massey Energy mine in Raleigh County. It was the worst mining disaster in the United States in more than a quarter-century. The Massey-owned mine was cited for 458 safety violations last year, and federal inspectors fined Massey more than $382,000 for repeated serious violations involving its ventilation plan and equipment. [includes rush transcript]