Meditations and Molotovs

Meditations and Molotovs - 05.01.17

Monday, May 1st - On today's program Vince plays Part 3 of Adam Curtis' documentary, "Century of the Self." In the 1960s, a radical group of psychotherapists challenged the influence of Freudian ideas in America. They were inspired by the ideas of Wilhelm Reich, a pupil of Freud's, who had turned against him and was hated by the Freud family. He believed that the inner self did not need to be repressed and controlled. It should be encouraged to express itself.

Out of this came a political movement that sought to create new beings free of the psychological conformity that had been implanted in people's minds by business and politics. This program shows how this rapidly developed in America through self-help movements like Werber Erhard's Erhard Seminar Training - into the irresistible rise of the expressive self: the Me Generation.

But the American corporations soon realized that this new self was not a threat but their greatest opportunity. It was in their interest to encourage people to feel they were unique individuals and then sell them ways to express that individuality. To do this they turned to techniques developed by Freudian psychoanalysts to read the inner desires of the new self.

Meditations and Molotovs - 04.24.17

On today's program, Vince plays Part 2 of Adam Curtis' documentary "Century of Self" - "Engineering Consent."

This episode explores how those in power in post-war America used Freud's ideas about the unconscious mind to try and control the masses.

The US government, the CIA and corporations came to believe Freud's underlying premise - that deep within all human beings were dangerous and irrational desires and fears. They were convinced that it was the unleashing of these instincts that had led to the barbarism of Nazi Germany. To stop it ever happening again they set out to find ways to control this hidden enemy within the human mind.

Meditations and Molotovs - 04.17.17

On today's program, Vince plays Part 1 of the four part documentary series Century of Self.

The Century of the Self is a 2002 British television documentary series by filmmaker Adam Curtis that focuses on the work of psychoanalysts Sigmund Freud and Anna Freud, and PR consultant Edward Bernays. In episode one, Curtis says, "This series is about how those in power have used Freud's theories to try and control the dangerous crowd in an age of mass democracy."

Meditations and Molotovs - 04.10.17

On today's program, Vince speaks with TruthOut's top environmental journalist, his friend Dahr Jamail. Vince first met Dahr back in 2007 when he was working with the antiwar movement and Dahr was writing his book on GI Resistance (after returning from Iraq, where his unembedded reporting was second to none). Today, however, they talk about abrupt climate change, staying sane in the context of ecological collapse, and why they remain engaged in activism.

Dahr spent more than one year in Iraq as one of only a few independent US journalists in the country. He has also has reported from Syria, Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan. He is now focussing on anthropogenic climate disruption and the environment.

Dahr’s stories have been published with Truthout, Inter Press Service, Tom Dispatch, The Sunday Herald in Scotland, The Guardian, Foreign Policy in Focus, Le Monde, Le Monde Diplomatique, The Huffington Post, The Nation, The Independent, and Al Jazeera, among others. Dahr’s writing has been translated into French, Polish, German, Dutch, Spanish, Japanese, Portuguese, Chinese, Arabic and Turkish. On radio as well as television, Dahr has reported for Democracy Now! and Al-Jazeera, and has appeared on the BBC, NPR, and numerous other stations around the globe.

Meditations and Molotovs - 04.03.17

On today's program, Vince revisits a theme he's written and talked about for many years: blowback, or, the unintended yet predictable consequences of militarism and empire. Russia, as a result of their military actions in the Middle East and beyond, experienced another form of blowback today, as nine people were murdered when someone (or a group of people) detonated an explosive device in a crowded metro station in St. Petersburg.

Meanwhile, analysts and corporate media outlets in the U.S. engage in detailed debates and conversations about the causes and consequences of Russian militarism and blowback, while never drawing comparisons to the U.S.

Meditations and Molotovs - 03.27.17

 On today's program, Vince speaks with Andrew J. Bacevich about his most recent book, "America's War for the Greater Middle East." Bacevich is Professor of International Relations and History at Boston University. A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, he received his PhD in American Diplomatic History from Princeton University. Before joining the faculty of Boston University, he taught at West Point and Johns Hopkins.

Bacevich is the author of Washington Rules: America’s Path to Permanent War (2010). His previous books include The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism (2008); The Long War: A New History of US National Security Policy since World War II (2007) (editor); The New American Militarism: How Americans Are Seduced by War (2005); and American Empire: The Realities and Consequences of U. S. Diplomacy (2002).

Meditations and Molotovs - 03.20.17

Bush, Blair and Co. are primarily responsible for the war in Iraq and the horrors that followed, however liberals, Democrats, and particularly the corporate news media (the same folks who gave the world President Trump) share a large portion of responsibility as well. They created the atmosphere necessary for the faux "War on Terror" (can't wage war on a tactic), which is simply the latest justification for U.S. hegemony and imperialism. Today, let's talk about history and why it still and always matters.

Meditations and Molotovs - 03.13.17

On today's program, Vince talks about the importance of culture in the realm of political organizing. All too often political events are dry, stuffy and honestly, not very fun. But that's not always the case. From Chicago's West Side to Melbourne, Australia, and beyond, Vince has encountered activists, artists and poets who are creating non-consumerist spaces and culture that truly engages their respective communities. The ultimate goal is to empower people to create their own spaces, mediums, outlets and so on. Creating culture shouldn't be intimidating - it should be fun.

Meditations and Molotovs - 03.06.17

March 6th - 2017: On today's program, Vince finishes his three part conversation with Sergio Alexander Kochergin as they reflect on their time with Iraq Veterans Against the War, Veterans for Peace, and the broader peace and justice movement. They also discuss Sergio's time in India, studying in the EU and reflections on activism and political organizing. 

Meditations and Molotovs - 02.28.17

 Today is part two of Vince's conversation with former Scout Sniper (USMC), activist, filmmaker and Vince's main compadre, the great Sergio Alexander Kochergin.

Sergio has a Master's Degree in Political Economy of Agriculture and the Environment and Economics of Development at the University of Rotterdam's Institute of Social Studies in The Hague, Netherlands. For the past 24 months, he's been working on a documentary about events in Ukraine, where Sergio was born and raised.