This week Eric welcomes back to the show author and journalist Dave Zirin to discuss the strike wave in US professional sports and what it means for the future. Eric and Dave discuss the NBA being in the forefront of the issue, the significance of professional baseball getting involved, and the future of the NFL in this year of COVID and police brutality. The conversation touches on everything from the diametrically opposed roles of Kaepernick and Obama to the political and economic concerns at the heart of the issues. Don’t miss CounterPunch Radio this week!

This week Eric welcomes to the show California State Senate candidate Jackie Fielder to discuss her campaign, the issues facing San Franciscans, and the overlapping crises facing all workers in the US. Eric and Jackie discuss why she launched the campaign, and how her experiences as an indigenous woman, and especially as a water protector at Standing Rock, helped shape her politics and activism. From there, the conversation touches on labor issues, the housing apocalypse in California, the raging wildfires and pandemic and how they’re impacting workers, what “democratic socialism” really means, and so much more. Don’t miss CounterPunch Radio this week!

This week Eric welcomes to the show journalist Doug Henwood to talk about the latest terrifying economic numbers, how COVID is changing the economic life of America’s working class, what we should expect in the near- and medium-term, and so much more. The second half of the show finds Doug and Eric discussing Trump’s attempts to undermine the election, what a constitutional crisis in the US would look like, and whether the US is a failed state. Also, the specter of fascism makes its usual appearance. Hot, spicy takes abound in this week’s CounterPunch Radio. Don’t miss it!

This week Eric welcomes to show journalists Alex Kotch and Walker Bragman to discuss the latest developments from Trumpistan, the state of left journalism, and their new media project OptOut. The conversation begins with discussion of Trump’s threat to cancel the election, his Portland goon squads, and the shadowy American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) getting in on the culture war. They talk class war, Trump’s real base, and the myopia of Americans. The second half of the chow is focused on left media, the importance of developing our own independent media ecosystem, and the new app OptOut. Lots of good stuff packed into this week’s CounterPunch Radio, don’t miss it!

This week Eric welcomes to the show Laura Briggs, author of the new book “Taking Children: A History of American Terror.” Eric and Laura discuss Trump’s family separation policy and the long and shameful American tradition of breaking up families and stealing children. Briggs explains the economic and social function of such practices in context of slavery, dispossession of Native peoples, and US imperialism in Latin America. The conversation touches on many points including the bipartisan nature of such policies and ways we might begin to resist.

This week Eric sits down with commentator, journalist, and author, Grace Blakeley, to discuss her new book “Stolen: How to Save the World from Financialisation.” Eric and Grace explore the nature of the neoliberal period and what the process of financialization has done to the economic, political, and social life of the Global North. The conversation touches on everything from the nature of financialization as intertwined with imperialism to the role of electoral politics versus that of mass mobilization and street organizing. Jeremy Corbyn and Bernie Sanders make cameos, as do Lenin, Hilferding, and Schumpeter. Oh, and also climate breakdown. It’s socialism or barbarism, and the choice is ours. Don’t miss this wide-ranging chat on CounterPunch Radio!

This week Eric welcomes journalist Sumedha Pal to the show to discuss how the coronavirus pandemic is impacting India and its 1.2 billion people. Sumedha explains the devastation of India’s health care system, the mismanagement of the crisis by the central government, and the impact COVID is having on the rural poor, indigenous people, urban sex workers, and other marginalized groups. In the second half of the conversation, Sumedha details her personal experience with the health care system during the pandemic, as well as providing updates on the situation in Kashmir one year after the lockdown, growing tensions with China, India’s far right ultra-nationalist forces, and more.

Break music: The Mekons – “Last Night on Earth”

This week Eric sits down with journalist and author Lucy Schiller to discuss her recent investigation into the multi-billion dollar senior living industry in the COVID era, and the concept of loneliness in our world today.

Music: Dean Wareham – “Wayfaring Stranger”

This time Eric chats with journalist, author, and chef Arun Gupta about his recent investigation into the COVID pandemic in rural agriculture and its impact on migrant workers. Eric and Arun also discuss the ongoing #BLM protests, real journalism and the danger of spreading unverified rumors in times of social struggle, and Arun’s new Instagram cooking series, “Apocalypse Chow” As always, Arun Gupta on CounterPunch Radio is a must-listen!

Music: The Coup – Laugh/Love/F**ck