The Radical Imagination Podcast

The Radical Imagination | Imagining How the World of Finance Really Works

Host Jim Vrettos interviews Professor Michael Hudson, Economist, Wall St. Analyst, Political Consultant, Commentator and Journalist; who offers his views in the way finance works and how debt is actually a tool for oppression.

The Radical Imagination- Imagining the Earth in Pain

The earth is in pain, it's real and we know it's real as we observe the climate chaos, the record high temperatures, the extinction of more and more species, the wildfires, the floods, rising seas, toxic air, drought, the tumultuous winds. Our guest today on the Radical Imagination is Rev. Billy Talen of the Earth Church and the Stop Shopping Choir.

The Radical Imagination | Imagining the Radical Love of Shlomo Carlebach and Nina Simone

We welcome to the Radical Imagination two artistic souls Abdur-Rahim Jackson and Daniel Wise who have worked together to create a magnificent film and homage to radical, universal love. The film is entitled "Soul Doctor" and is centered on the life and music of the father of contemporary Jewish music, Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach and his unlikely, exquisitely powerful relationship with the legendary African American jazz, blues singer Nina Simone.

The Radical Imagination | Imagining a 3rd Act, Front and Center. The Activism of Bill McKibben

Host Jim Vrettos interviews Bill McKibben, America's foremost environmental activist whose most recent book is The Flag, The Cross, and the Station Wagon.

The Radical Imagination | Imagining the Power of Sexual Freedom

Host Jim Vrettos and Co-host Beatty Cohan receive guest Nona Willis Aronowitz. She's an author and sex and love columnist for Teen Vogue, and the editor of two award winning anthologies of her mother Ellen Willis's groundbreaking work on feminism. Her new book Bad Sex -- Truth, Pleasure and an Unfinished Revolution -- touches on a fascinating exploration of the history of female sexual pleasure.

The Radical Imagination | Imagining Latin Music in New York City - The Pulse of Life

A strong argument can be made that music and our musicians have done more to humanize relations than sociologists or philosophers, economists or politicians. To discuss this subject, host Jim Vrettos welcomes 2 iconic figures of that history: Bobby Sanabria and Felipe Luciano

The Radical Imagination | Imagining A World Where Sanctuary Replaces Exploitation

Our guest today on the Radical Imagination is Gene Baur, who in 1986 co-founded Farm Sanctuary to combat the abuses of factory farming, advocate for institutional reforms and encourage a new awareness of animals and the benefits of cruelty-free, plant-based living. He's been in the forefront of the animal rights movement and its struggle to transform a world where sanctuary would replace exploitation.

The Radical Imagination | Imagining A New Left Internationalism in the Heart of Empire

Host Jim Vrettos receives guest Aziz Rana, a professor of law at Cornell University and one of the most articulate and courageous scholars, researchers and activists arguing for the creation of a "transnational infrastructure of left forces across the world."

The Radical Imagination | Imagining the Life and Work of Richard Cloward

Host Jim Vrettos and guest Francis Cullen, Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus at the University of Cincinnati talk about the life and work of Richard Cloward, who was an American sociologist, criminologist, community organizer and social activist.

The Radical Imagination | Imagining An End to Poverty and Economic Dependence

In this The Radical Imagination we have 2 of the leading and most original writers and activists in the country who can help us understand the contradictions and alternative visions America is grappling with: Michael Hudson & Jonathan Hartgrove.