The consequences of capitalism during the pandemic have revealed glaring failures and monstrous brutalities. It’s a highly unstable economic system, careening from crisis to crisis. For a handful it produces unparalleled levels of wealth. But for the many, if they even have a job, it’s a pay check to pay check existence. What are the priorities? The U.S. spends close to a trillion on the military. That’s more than the next ten countries combined. Compare that with the less than $50 billion allotted to the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. With robust funding it’s very likely we would have been better prepared for the pandemic and would not be the world leader in deaths. The future? We will move toward a more humane and decent society or continue on our present destructive path.

Noam Chomsky, by any measure, has led a most extraordinary life. In one index he is ranked as the eighth most cited person in history, right up there with Aristotle, Shakespeare, Marx, Plato and Freud. The MIT professor’s contributions to modern linguistics are legendary. In addition to his pioneering work in that field he has been a leading voice for peace and social justice for many decades. He is the author of scores of books, his latest is Consequences of Capitalism.

Alternative Radio airs the 3^rd, 4^th, and 5^th Sunday mornings at 10:00 am on KRCB-FM Radio 91 / streaming @ norcalpublicmedia.org / Comcast channel 961 throughout the Bay Area / Download the FREE KRCB App @ iTunes & Google Play!

Gun violence exacts an enormous toll on U.S. society-claiming tens of thousands of lives every year. Many more thousands are wounded and scarred physically and psychologically. From malls to schools from places of worship to concerts there is no safe space. Weapons of war are easily obtainable. We have the spectacle of armed militias in combat gear roaming statehouses, threatening the lives of government officials, and invading the national Capitol itself on January 6. The main gun lobby is the National Rifle Association, the NRA. It resists common-sense reforms. No matter the tragic occasion, the NRA recites its slogan, “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” The NRA denounces calls for reasonable gun control as attacks on freedom and liberty. The organization’s actual history is hidden not only from the general public but even from its own members.

Frank Smyth is an independent journalist who has covered the NRA for many years. His articles appear in The Washington Post and The Progressive. He won a Society of Professional Journalists National Investigative Award for his Mother Jones story, “Unmasking NRA’s Inner Circle.” He is the author of The NRA: The Unauthorized History.

Alternative Radio airs the 3^rd, 4^th, and 5^th Sunday mornings at 10:00 am on KRCB-FM Radio 91 / streaming @ norcalpublicmedia.org / Comcast channel 961 throughout the Bay Area / Download the FREE KRCB App @ iTunes & Google Play!

Milton Friedman is the godfather of modern conservative economics. A Nobel-prize winner, his ideas informed what is called the Chicago School. He laid the groundwork for Reagan-era neoliberalism with his landmark essay, “The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits.” That’s pretty straightforward. Make as much money as you can. Society? It can take care of itself. In the decades since Friedman’s influential essay, concentrated monopoly corporate power has evolved into corporatism. What is it? Ralph Nader describes it as “the commercialization of just about everything at the expense of our civilization’s civic, spiritual, health, and safety values. It is crushing our democracy and corrupting our elections.”

Ralph Nader, a legendary figure, has spent a lifetime fighting on behalf of ordinary people. The Atlantic named him one of the hundred most influential figures in U.S. history. Founder of Public Citizen, he is a long-time advocate for consumer safety and workers’ rights.

Alternative Radio airs the 3^rd, 4^th, and 5^th Sunday mornings at 10:00 am on KRCB-FM Radio 91 / streaming @ norcalpublicmedia.org / Comcast channel 961 throughout the Bay Area / Download the FREE KRCB App @ iTunes & Google Play!