Just thirty years ago, socialism seemed utterly discredited. An economic, moral, and political failure, socialism had rightly been thrown on the ash heap of history after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
But a generation of young people who don’t remember the misery that socialism inflicted on Russia and Eastern Europe is embracing it all over again. Oblivious to the unexampled prosperity capitalism has showered upon them, they are demanding utopia.
In his provocative new book, The Socialist Temptation, Iain Murray of the Competitive Enterprise Institute explains:
Why the socialist temptation is suddenly so powerful among young people
That even when socialism doesn’t usher in a bloody tyranny (as, for example, in the Soviet Union, China, and Venezuela), it still makes everyone poor and miserable
Why under the relatively benign democratic socialism of Murray's youth in pre-Thatcher Britain, he had to do his homework by candlelight
That the Scandinavian economies are not really socialist at all
The inconsistencies in socialist thought that prevent it from ever working in practice
How we can show young people the sorry truth about socialism and turn the tide of history against this destructive pipe dream
Sprightly, convincing, and original, The Socialist Temptation is a powerful warning that the resurgence of socialism could rob us of our freedom and prosperity.
Iain Murray directs the Center for Economic Freedom at the Competitive Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C., where he is vice president for strategy and a senior fellow.
Kirk Meighoo is a TV and podcast host, former university lecturer, author and former Senator in Trinidad and Tobago. He hosts his own podcast, Independent Thought & Freedom, where he interviews some of the most interesting people from around the world who are shaking up politics, economics, society and ideas. You can find it in the iTunes Store or any of your favorite podcast providers. You can also subscribe to his YouTube channel. If you are an academic who wants to get heard nationally, please check out his free training at becomeapublicintellectual.com.
Colorizing Restorative Justice: Voicing Our Realities (Living Justice Press, 2020) consists of stories that have arisen from the lived experiences of a broad range of seasoned, loving restorative justice practitioners of color—mostly women—who have fiercely unearthed realities about devastation caused by white practitioners who have unthinkingly worked without a racial or social justice consciousness. This book is thus a wake-up call for European-descended restorative justice practitioners as it is validating for Indigenous practitioners and practitioners of color and enlightening for anyone wishing to explore the intersections of indigeneity, racial justice, and restorative justice.
The authors of Colorizing Restorative Justice: Voicing Our Realities are Desirée Anderson, Rochelle Arms Almengor, Michelle Armster, Belinda Dulin, Leon Dundas, Sharon Goens-Bradley, Janice Jerome, Gaye Lang, Erica Littlewolf, Shameeka Mattis, Abdul-Malik Muhammad, Christianne Paras, Christina Parker, Gilbert Salazar, Victor Jose Santana, Barbara Sherrod, Johonna Turner, Edward C Valandra, Waŋbli Wapȟáha Hokšíla, Anita Wadhwa, Sheryl R. Wilson, and Robert G. Yazzie.
Dr. Edward C Valandra, Waŋbli Wapȟáha Hokšíla is Sičáŋǧu Thitȟuŋwaŋ and was born and raised on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation. He has served his Sičáŋǧu Thitȟuŋwaŋ Oyáte nation on the Rosebud Sioux Tribal Council, as an Inter-Tribal Bison Cooperative (ITBC) Board of Directors representative, and as his nation’s seven-member Constitutional Task Force.
In August 1795, Apaches wiped out two Spanish patrols In the desert borderlands of the what is today the American Southwest and Mexican north. This attack ended what had bene an uneasy peace between various Apache groups and the Spanish Empire. In A Bad Peace and A Good War: Spain and the Mescalero Apache Uprising of 1795-1799 (University of Oklahoma Press, 2018), Mark Santiago (the recently retired Director of the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum) examines why this peace broke down, as well as what the ensuing conflict looked like on the ground. Many historians argue that the 1790s were a period of peace in the Spanish/Apache borderlands, and Santiago presents an alternate view: that sustained conflict was the norm in this region during the twilight of the Spanish Empire. A Bad Peace and a Good War is remarkably detailed and well-researched and won the 2019 Robert Utley prize in military history from the Western History Association.
Viral videos of police brutality against Black people have generated outrage, protest, and sustained national attention this year. We talk to Bijan Stephen, a reporter at The Verge, about his latest project called “Capturing The Police,” which examines the impact these videos have on the people who film them.
Another 884,000 people filed for unemployment last week, which is more than economists were expecting. The Republicans failed to pass their “skinny” relief bill in the Senate, and it’s not clear whether another deal will be reached before the election.
And in headlines: the NFL kicks off their season, Microsoft announces election hacks, and Mike Pence gets friendly with QAnon.
Asked and answered: why some of you might be more prone to being bitten by mosquitoes* than others. Turns out, some interesting factors could make you more appetizing. Plus, in true micro wave fashion, we go over some of your delightful listener mail.
*In general, much more research needs to be done to understand all the nuances of what makes us so appealing to some mosquitoes.
Email us your scientific questions, praise, comments and concerns at shortwave@npr.org. It just might end up in an episode!
Three L.A. comedians are quarantined in a podcast studio during a global pandemic. There is literally nothing to be done EXCEPT make content. These are "The Corona Diaries" and this is Episode 81. Sitting in with us again today is our hilarious next door neighbor, Daniel Magden! Follow him on Twitter @MagdenDaniel and check out his podcast "Reefer Sadness". Music at the end is "Scarlet Begonias" by Grateful Dead.
Patriot Week, launched in 2009, is a week dedicated to honoring America’s past and studying its founding principles. Every year, Sept. 11 marks the first day of Patriot Week and Constitution Day, Sept. 17, brings it to a close.
Judge Michael Warren of Oakland County, Michigan, and his daughter, Leah, founded Patriot Week to celebrate national pride and educate Americans about the history of our country.
Warren joins the podcast on this first day of Patriot Week 2020 to explain how you and your family can take part in remembering our past over the next seven days. Click here to register for Patriot Week.
We also cover these stories:
About 857,000 workers file for unemployment insurance for the first time.
Presidential daughter Ivanka Trump says she will take the coronavirus vaccine, when it comes, on “The View.”
A new poll by Gallup and Knight Foundation finds that 69% of Americans say there is bias in the news others consume, while only 29% worry that the news they consume contains bias.
Along with her work writing and editing, Stephanie works as a product manager at Microsoft and runs Developer Content Digest, a biweekly newsletter with content tips. She has worked for companies like Digital Ocean, Github, and General Assembly.
