The People’s Republic
Regular episodes including: #2 Breaking Up the Men’s Club, which looks at Vermont’s record on women’s rights, Burlington’s other progressive mayors, and Instant Run Off voting; #6 This Too Will Pass; #7 Doomsday Scenarios; #8 Watergate Blues; #9 Orwellian Days; #10-12 Planet Pacifica; #13 Mind Games
Episodes
November 22, 2019 • 15 mins
All facts are not equal. The same goes for opinions. But it’s wrong to weaponize either of them — that’s disinformation. This episode tackles the topic with fantasy, black comedy, an unflinching look at what really happened in Crimea and Ukraine, and thoughts on why some progressives have trouble responding to what Putin has been doing. With theme music from The Untouchables and David Frye as Henry Fonda and Richard Nixon.
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November 10, 2019 • 29 mins
Progressive Media’s Fragile Democracy: After decades of struggle at Pacifica Radio over the control of local stations and program content, suspicion and distrust have led to hostile factions, crisis management, repeated lawsuits, and a byzantine, burdensome structure that has proven almost impossible to sustain. In this episode, Pacifica’s last decade — management fights, national collapse and succession struggles, along with news,...
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November 4, 2019 • 29 mins
Progressive Media’s Fragile Democracy: The original idea was to nurture an open exchange of ideas that could help people come to know each other as human beings, dialogue that demonstrated the possibility of peace. But over 50 years Pacifica Radio evolved into something else: a national progressive radio network, a source of “alternative” news and viewpoints, and a platform for many underserved constituencies. In this episode, Lew ...
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October 27, 2019 • 24 mins
Progressive Media’s Fragile Democracy: Pacifica Radio, the original listener-supported network, is hovering on the edge of insolvency, while legendary station WBAI is under siege. It’s happened before. But this could be the end. What does it say about progressive media and democracy? Former CEO Greg Guma begins a new series that goes behind the headlines. In this episode, the latest WBAI shutdown, Dan Coughlin’s journey, and the st...
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October 14, 2019 • 14 mins
Are we at the threshold of fascism? And if so, is there a way out, and enough time to save the environment, reclaim self-government, restore communities and protect human rights? Maybe. But we already know that it’s been coming for a while. Like a castaway in a sci fi novel, Greg was once transported to such an Orwellian future and lived to tell the tale. In this episode, he recreates the experience, and looks at the real and prese...
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October 4, 2019 • 19 mins
Impeachment. It’s happened before. But after Nixon was gone, and especially after his hand-picked successor Gerald Ford pardoned him, a deep disillusionment set in. Unfortunately, we may be headed there again. In 1974, after watching the Watergate hearings for months, only to have Nixon and Ford sidestep accountability and undermine justice, Greg was in a funk. Then he heard that Ford would be visiting Vermont. Here’s what happened...
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August 27, 2019 • 23 mins
There are so many stories about the end of civilization, too many to list, maybe too many for our health. It could become a self-fulfilling prophecy. In this episode, Greg assesses our worst presidents — the real and the imagined, and our obsession with the end of everything, or a new dark age if we’re lucky. With scenes from the Mercury Theatre’s classic alien invasion on the radio. Theme music by Dave Lippman.
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August 20, 2019 • 20 mins
Every day we get more examples that prove nothing is certain — and almost everything is in flux. Trump may be a master con artist, but the harsh realities are piling up. This episode looks at culture war and progressive values, Bernie Sanders’ campaign chest, lost horizons at Pacifica Radio and Burlington College, resistance to the F-35s, and learning to live with the unexpected. With theme music by Dave Lippman.
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July 13, 2019 • 13 mins
Two mayors, pioneer women, and the Vermont Men’s Club: “The three-member Vermont congressional delegation is all male — and always has been. No woman has ever represented the state in Washington, DC. And only one has been governor. Unfortunately, it’s an old story.” In this episode, Greg talks about the oldest private men’s club in Vermont — state politics. Also, more thoughts and recollections from the years between Bernie Sanders...
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