Coming From Left Field (Audio)

Dr. David Detmer is a Professor of Philosophy at Purdue University Calumet and author of numerous books and professional articles.  In his new book, “Zinnophobia: The Battle Over History in Education, Politics, and Scholarship,” Detmer offers an extended defense of the work of radical historian Howard Zinn, author of the bestselling A People's History of the United States, against his many critics. It includes a discussion of the a...

Dr. Matthew Ferrence is an English professor at Allegheny College.  In 2020, he ran for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in a deeply red district and lost badly.

In his new book, “I Hate It Here, Please Vote For Me: Essays on Rural Political Decay,” Ferrence chronicles his election defeat to explore how the American political narratives refuse to recognize the existence and value of rural progressive voters and how his ele...

Dr. Gerald Horne is Moores Professor of History and African-American Studies at the University of Houston. He is a renowned historian who has extensively researched and written about issues of racism, labor, politics, civil rights, and international relations. He has authored more than thirty books and numerous scholarly articles. Cornel West describes Dr. Horne as " one of the great historians of our time.”

Today, we discussed his...

Vincent Bevins is an award-winning journalist. He reported for the Financial Times in London, then served as the Los Angeles Times' Brazil correspondent before covering Southeast Asia for the Washington Post.

His first book, The Jakarta Method, came out in 2020 and was named one of the year's best books by the Financial Times and NPR.  Today, we discuss his book, “If We Burn: The Mass Protest Decade and the Missing Revolution.”  ...

Daniel Kovalik is an American lawyer, human rights activist, author, and academic. He has been involved in various legal and human rights issues, particularly focusing on workers' rights, indigenous rights, and international law.  In the book, “The Case for Palestine: Why It Matters and Why You Should Care,” Kovalik unveils the brutal realities of the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza, exposing the devastating toll exacted on its civil...

Jesse Hagopian is a high school teacher in Seattle, a union organizer, co-author of several books, and a powerful force in pushing back against the "over-testing" of students. Jesse’s writing has appeared in publications like The Seattle Times, The Nation, The Progressive, and his commentary on education and politics has been featured in Time magazine, The New Yorker, The PBS News Hour with Gwen Ifill, The Dan Rather Report, and De...

Our guest is Mike Hixenbaugh, senior investigative reporter for NBC News. He has been named a Pulitzer Prize finalist and won a Peabody Award for reporting on the battle over race, gender, and sexuality in American classrooms. “They Came for the Schools,” his first book, is the winner of the prestigious Lukas Work-in-Progress Award. We also discuss his Peabody Award-winning and Pulitzer Prize finalist “Southlake” podcast and his mo...

Our guest on this podcast is investigative journalist Tim Schwab. His book, “The Bill Gates Problem: Reckoning with the Myth of the Good Billionaire.” It is a definitive critique of Bill Gates and other billionaires who use their immense wealth to forge into the world of unaccountable power philanthropy.

Order the book: The Bill Gates Problem

https://www.kingsbookstore.com/book/9781250850096

Greg’s Blog (subscribe!): http://zzs...

In this podcast, our guest is a poet, Pat’s sister, Janice O’Mahony. She lives on Whidbey Island, Washington, and has immersed herself in the community's creative environment.

Janice has always been creative, but once she retired, she focused on being a “poet.” She has published her works in journals and books and spends much of her time honing her bard craft.

Order the book OUT OF THE BLUE four voices https://store.bookbaby.com/...

This podcast examines education policies, history, and reform from two academics; Dr. Neil Kraus, is Professor of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin, River Falls.  His book, The Fantasy Economy: Neoliberalism, Inequality, and the Education Reform challenges the basic assumptions of the education reform movement. Dr. Jon Shelton is Associate Professor of Democracy and Justice Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Gree...

Les Leopold’s book, “Wall Street’s War on Workers: How Mass Layoffs and Greed Are Destroying the Working Class and What to Do About It,” connects the dots between long-term trends in corporate capitalism and the last 50 years of neoliberal attacks on the working class. He shows the direct relationship between deregulation, predatory private equity firms, mass layoffs, stock buybacks, and the resulting destruction of the middle clas...

Kevin Gosztola’s book, “Guilty of Journalism,” is an essential guide to the case against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.  As a journalist, Kevin has been reporting on Julian Assange for more than a decade and returns to our podcast to discuss London's High Court recent decision regarding his extradition to the United States.  This is an important matter that impacts the future of journalism, freedom of speech, and democracy itsel...

Today, our guest is Kathrine Yeske Taylor,  a rock journalist who has interviewed hundreds of musicians.  In her book, “She’s a Badass,” Taylor focuses on twenty significant women in rock such as Ann Wilson, Joan Osborne, Paula Cole, Suzi Quatro, Orianthi and more.  She devotes an entire chapter to each one, taking an in-depth look at the incredible talent and influence they had on our music landscape.

Order the book:

She's a Badas...

Today, our guest is Dr. Judith Herman, one of America’s most influential psychiatrists and a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. She received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies and is a distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. 

Today, we discuss two of her books, the 1992 classic “Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence – from Do...

Kevin Gosztola, has spent the last decade covering Julian Assange, WikiLeaks, and the wider war on whistleblowers and journalists. His book, “Guilty of Journalism” offers a balanced and comprehensive perspective on all the events leading up to what press freedom advocates have called the trial of the century.

Noam Chomsky noted that Kevin’s book is “Essential reading for those who care about freedom of expression and elementary jus...

Andy Lee Roth is the associate director of Project Censored, an American nonprofit media watchdog organization. He holds a PhD in sociology from UCLA.

Project Censored was founded in 1976 by Dr. Carl Jensen at Sonoma State University to research and publicize news media censorship in the news and to develop students’ critical thinking skills and media literacy. Every year, they publish a book, “State of the Free Press,” that highli...

Three years ago, we started the podcast Coming From Left Field… where we talk about politics, books, and current events. In this podcast we reflect on some of our guests we have hosted over the 68 episodes, argue where we agree and disagree, and provide observations about our current political apocalypse.

Greg’s Blog (subscribe!): http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/   

Marxism-Leninism Today (MLToday): https://mltoday.com/

Timestamps:

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Stephen Bezruchka is a graduate of Harvard, Johns Hopkins, and Stanford universities. He now is an Associate Teaching Professor Emeritus, Health Systems, and Population Health at the University of Washington. He worked for three decades as an emergency physician.

In “Inequity Kills Us All” Bezruchka takes a deep dive into the global health data and considers his years of experience as an ER doctor and a public health educator to ex...

67 – “They Knew: How a Culture of Conspiracy Keeps America Complacent” with Sarah Kendzior

Sarah Kendzior is the New York Times bestselling author of Hiding in Plain Sight and The View from Flyover Country.  Today we discuss her third book, “They Knew: How a Culture of Conspiracy Keeps America Complacent” which delves into the world of conspiracy theories and their impact on American society.  She argues that the proliferation of c...