“What (the Syriza victory in Greece) teaches is, when two parties seem to have a lock on politics, like the traditional two in Greece did, the system can undo their dominance. And if it can happen in Greece, why not in the United States as well?”
– Interview with Richard Wolff, professor of economics at New School University, on the rise of Greece’s Syriza (Coalition of the Radical Left) party and its ripple effects around the world.
Listen to the entire program using these links, or to individual interviews via the links appearing prior to each segment description below.
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Leftist Syriza Party Victory in Greece Strengthens Anti-Austerity Movement Across Europe
Interview with Richard Wolff, professor of economics at New School University, conducted by Scott Harris
Running on an uncompromising anti-austerity platform, Greece’s Syriza party, the Coalition of the Radical Left, won a decisive victory over the conservative New Democracy party in the economically battered nation’s Jan. 25 election. Syriza fell only two seats short of winning an absolute majority in Greece’s 300-seat Parliament, prompting party leader Alexis Tsipras to form an alliance with the small, center right Independent Greeks party to form a governing coalition. Story continues
Fracking Opponents Make Their Voices Heard at Pennsylvania Governor’s Inauguration
Pennsylvania mother Penni Lechner and the Delaware Riverkeeper Maya van Rossum
On Jan. 20, Democrat Tom Wolf was inaugurated governor of Pennsylvania, after his November defeat of incumbent Republican Tom Corbett. While taking more progressive stands than his predecessor on several issues, his support for natural gas fracking differs from Corbett’s only in that he says he wants to “make it safer” and charge a tax on the gas that companies extract, earmarking the funds for the state’s education budget. He describes his stand on fracking as “having his cake and eating it, too.” Story continues
Unchecked Climate Change and Nuclear Weapons Modernization Moves ‘Doomsday Clock’ Two Minutes Closer to Midnight
Interview with Kennette Benedict, executive director and publisher of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, conducted by Scott Harris
In 1945, a group of scientists who worked on the Manhattan Project, which developed the world’s first atomic bomb during World War II, founded the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Two years later, the publication created the “Doomsday Clock,” “using the imagery of apocalypse (midnight) and the contemporary idiom of nuclear explosion (countdown to zero), to convey threats to humanity and the planet. The Bulletin’s Security Board, which includes 17 Nobel Laureates, makes the decision on when to move the Doomsday clock’s minute hand forward or backward. Story continues
This week’s summary of under-reported news
Compiled by Bob Nixon
- The mysterious death of Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman put President Christina Fernandez de Kirchner on the defensive about her alleged role in blocking an investigation into the 1994 bombing of Argentina’s Jewish community center that killed 85 people. (“What is known about Alberto Nisman’s death,” BBC news, Jan. 22, 2015; “Questions mount over death of Argentine prosecutor,” Reuters, Jan. 20, 2015; “Argentina’s Fernandez says prosecutor death was no suicide,” Reuters, Jan. 22, 2015)
- Africa is home to one-third of the world’s mineral resources, including two-thirds of diamond mines and a heavy concentration of rare minerals used to power the digital economy. (“The twilight of the resource curse?” Economist, Jan. 10, 2015)
- The American Prospect magazine reports Norfolk, Virginia is in peril, as rising waters caused by climate change and sinking land puts the community at risk from storm surges. (“Atlantic surging, Virginia sinking,” American Prospect, Winter 2015)
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