Podcasts about it can't happen here

In Episode 54 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg explores the twin threats of a totalitarian order that the United States faces at this history-making moment: Trump-fascism, perhaps to be lubricated by a "Reichstag Fire" scenario ahead of the November election, and a post-pandemic "new normality" of complete surveillance and social control. Eerily predictive of these twin dystopias are two works of "future fiction" from the 20th century—It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis and The Machine Stops by EM Forster. With the Black Lives Matter uprising deepening the ugly backlash from the Trump camp and a COVID-19 "second wave" looming, the US is poised on a razor's edge between long-overdue leaps of social progress and descent into some kind of updated American variant of fascism. Listen on SoundCloud, and support our podcast via Patreon. Production by Steph Rywalt We ask listeners to donate just $1 per episode via Patreon. A total of $30 per episode would cover our costs for engineering and producing. We are currently up to $25. www.patreon.com/countervortex New episodes will be produced every two weeks. We need your support.

On this special Thanksgiving edition of Parallax Views, American conservatives have often laid claim to the founding fathers and the historical traditions of America. This begs the question: Is there a radical tradition in American history that contrasts this narrative? Our guest on this edition of the program, historian and sociologist Harvey J. Kaye, the Ben & Joyce Rosenberg Professor of Democracy and Justice Studies at the University of Wisconsin Green Bay, says there is in his new collection of essays and interviews entitled Take Hold of History: Make America Radical Again (Zero Books, 2019). Harvey J. Kaye speaking with legendary broadcast journalist Bill Moyers Our conversation covers a great deal of ground beginning with how Harvey became interested in America's radical tradition. From there we delve into a number of areas including his admiration for Thomas Paine, the founding father who wrote Common Sense, and the importance of Franklin Dealanor Roosevelt's Four Freedoms. We even talk a bit about religion, Abraham Lincoln's alleged correspondence with Karl Marx, the sociologist C. Wright Mills (who famously popularized the Power Elite theory of societal organization), and the classic novel It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis (which warned of the possibility of fascism coming to America). All that and more on this edition of Parallax Views. TAKE HOLD OF OUR HISTORY:MAKE AMERICA RADICAL AGAINBYHARVEY J. KAYEAVAILABLE NOWFROM ZERO BOOKS SUPPORT PARALLAX VIEWS ON PATREON! WHERE YOU CAN HEAR... PARALLAX VIEWSTHE WEEK THAT WASCURRENT EVENTSPROGRAM

Tess recalls a trip back to New York, while the Night Callers discuss solid milk [cheese], hypocritical vegans, and a certain dangerous creature brought to Colombia by Pablo Escobar. Sincere apologies to the one guy who was really grossed out by the mayo discussion – you may want to skip 14:40 - 18:16 and 22:08 - 26:23. Happy Night Call! This episode is sponsored by: [Wander Beauty](https://www.wanderbeauty.com/makeup/call) [Dead Man Talking](https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/audioboom/dead-man-talking) Call in to Night Call at 240-46-NIGHT Articles and media mentioned this episode: News Report, [Airline Forgets to Pressurize Cabin](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/20/nosebleeds-on-indian-flight-after-crew-forget-to-pressurise-cabin) TV Show, [I Was a Teenage Pillow Queen](https://www.iwasateenagepillowqueen.com/) TV Miniseries, [V](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085106/) Book, [It Can't Happen Here](https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780451465641) by Sinclair Lewis Article, New York Times, ["On Ecstasy, Octopuses Reached Out for a Hug"](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/20/science/octopus-ecstasy-mdma.html) Book, [Ghost Hunter's Guide to Los Angeles](https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781589804043) by Jeff Dwyer Documentary, [Raccoon Nation](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2200465/) Article, Motherboard, ["Pablo Escobars Hippos Keep Having Sex and No One Is Sure How to Stop Them"](https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/gv5dgx/pablo-escobars-hippos-keep-having-sex-and-no-one-is-sure-how-to-stop-them) "Night call" by [4aStables.](https://www.4astables.com/) Sound effects by [klankbeeld](https://freesound.org/people/klankbeeld/sounds/169972/) and [Robinhood76](https://freesound.org/people/Robinhood76/sounds/336217/) from [freesound.org](https://freesound.org/home/). Learn more about your ad-choices at https://news.iheart.com/podcast-advertisers

It’s that time of year again for the usual “Best of…” lists where critics review their picks for the best (and sometimes worst) in music, movies, fashion, and the like and give people at holiday parties something to argue about. For the past three years my approach has been a little different as I prefer to offer a few “Special End of Year Awards” to Sonoma County theatres and artists. Here is Part I of my 2017 awards: The “Now You See It, Now You Don’t” Award - The Santa Rosa Junior College production of It Can’t Happen Here opened on October 6 and closed on October 8. The adaptation of the 1935 Sinclair Lewis novel about the rise of a populist blow-hard to the Presidency had a lot to say about our current political climate, but not a lot of people had a chance to see it. Its run was cut short with the closure of the SRJC campus as a result of the fires. The “Show Must Go On” Award – There were many theatre companies that understandably postponed their runs during the North Bay fires. Cinnabar Arts and Spreckels Theatre Company went on with their scheduled openings of Quartet and Monty Python’s Spamalot. While neither facility was in immediate danger, I was conflicted about the decision. I attended both productions, enjoyed them both, and was glad they decided to open. That being said, I’m still not sure they should have. The “Yes, There IS Diversity in Sonoma County, Dammit” Award – The Santa Rosa Junior College production of Lin Manuel-Miranda’s In the Heights proved the claim that there isn’t a diverse enough talent pool from which to cast many shows is suspect. Perhaps choosing shows in a season that speak and appeal to more diverse artists and audiences would widen the pool. Maybe it’s also time to check some artistic egos at the door and go and find them. The “Big Things Come in Small Packages” Award – The studio theatres of Sonoma County’s largest companies often offered superior work to that displayed on their main stages - 6th Street’s Visiting Mr. Green and A Masterpiece of Comic… Timing and Spreckels’ The Sugar Bean Sisters and Little Women, the Musical for example. The “Out of Left Field” Award – Not many people are willing to venture out to Monte Rio to catch theatre. You should give it a shot. You’re not going to get the bells and whistles other production companies may provide, but Curtain Call can do a lot with a little. They put on an excellent production of The Elephant Man with local comedian James Rowan giving an incredibly touching performance as John Merrick. Live theatre continues to struggle in Sonoma County (as it does most any place else.) Like many residents, the theatre community did not escape the fires unscathed with some companies losing their performance space and others losing equipment, props and costumes. Numerous theatre artists lost their homes. Live theatre will go on because Sonoma County supports it but, as with every other part of our community, change is inevitable. Tune in next week for Part II of my awards. Here’s to an artistically invigorating 2018. I’ll see you at the theatre.

If you want to avoid dystopia, you're going to need plenty of independent journalists. Why else would so many great works of dystopian fiction make a point of describing how the press has been muzzled, marginalized or eradicated? To learn more, Meg and Toby talk to Clay Wirestone, the news editor at the Topeka Capital-Journal in Topeka, Kansas and a writer whose work has appeared in Mental Floss and many other places. We discuss the importance of independent watchdog journalism and run through recent threats to press freedoms in the U.S. Also: Clay explains why, sometimes, facts just aren't enough. Toby talks about why he used a reporter as a character in his novels. Meg recommends It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis ... and tells listeners about a Radio Free Dystopia drinking game that's apparently becoming a thing. #journalism #dystopia #PressOn

In business we often hear those meaningless four words, “this time it’s different.” Usually it means that it isn’t. That it’s just a delusional way to look at the same old problems. In the current political landscape, it certainly seems things are really different. But from what? It’s different from political norms, certainly. But is it all that different from the early 1930’s, as we watched the rise of Hitler and Mussolini in Europe and the populism and racism of Huey Long here at home? Originally published in 1935, It Can't Happen Here by Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winning author Sinclair Lewis, is a satirical and dystopian look at the rise of fascism in America. It has new and profound relevance today. Sales of this prescient and 82 year old book have skyrocketed as we learn more about it from Dr. Sally Parry, the Executive Director of the Sinclair Lewis society. My conversation with Dr. Sally Parry:

Dr. Parry talks about the renewed interest in Sinclair Lewis' 1935 novel IT CAN'T HAPPEN HERE. She addresses similarities between that book and the current political scene in the U.S.

Authors Guy Vanderhaeghe, David Frum, and Walter Kirn discuss the upcoming U.S. Presidential Election with Noah Richler by examining the two candidates as they relate to Jack London's "The Iron Heel," Robert Penn Warren’s "All the King's Men," and Sinclair Lewis's "It Can't Happen Here.” Actress Janet Green (a.k.a. Janet Porter) reads Lynn Crosbie’s new poem, “Here Pussy,” written exclusively for 128 Sterling. Alix Ohlin, author of “Inside” and “Signs and Wonders,” reads original prose.