Background Briefing: September 3, 2019 – Alan Minsky sits in for Ian Masters
How the Democratic Presidential Candidates Differ on the Climate Crisis
Today we have Alan Minsky, the former Program Director at KPFK, sitting in for Ian Masters while Ian is on assignment in Europe until Sunday, September 8. We begin with journalist Kate Aronoff on the subject of the climate emergency; and the differing approaches of the leading Democratic candidates for President. We talk about Hurricane Dorian as well as the 7 hour-long climate Town Hall marathon tomorrow on CNN, starting at 5pm ET and 2pm Pacific.
Making Sense of the Chaos in UK Politics
Then we are joined by Lord Jim Knight who is going to help us unravel the insanity that is transpiring in the UK Parliament. Will there be a Brexit, will there be a ‘no-deal’ Brexit, will Boris Johnson remain Prime Minister, will there be a General Election? It’s pretty much chaos; but just before we went to air, there was a vote in the UK Parliament that seems to provide some clarity, at least for the next week.
Critical Theory Over Conspiracy Theory
Then finally we speak with Douglas Lain, the publisher of Zero Books and the producer of the excellent YouTube video,“Rethinking Critical Theory: Jeffery Epstein and the Conspiracy Theory Version of History.” We ask, in this era in which progressive politics are ascendant, what role Marxist critical theory can play in contemporary American politics.