Letters and Politics – July 31, 2025

A look at burning political issues and debates and their historical context within the US and worldwide, hosted by Mitch Jeserich. The post Letters and Politics – July 31, 2025 appeared first on KPFA.

Guest: Ann Schmiesing is professor of German and Scandinavian studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. She is the author of Disability, Deformity, and Disease in the Grimms’ Fairy Tales and most lately, The Brothers Grimm: A Biography. The post The Story Behind the Grimm Brothers’ Tales appeared first on KPFA.

Guest: Emily Hauser is a senior lecturer in classics and ancient history at the University of Exeter, UK. She is the author of three novels reimagining the women of Greek myth: For the Most Beautiful, For the Winner, and For the Immortal. She is also the author of How Women Became Poets, and most recently, of Penelope’s Bones: A New History of Homer’s World through the Women Written Out of It. The post Women in Ancient History: Penelope’s Bones appeared first on KPFA.

Guest: Laura Spinney is a science journalist and the author of Pale Rider: The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How It Changed the World and most recently, Proto: How One Ancient Language Went Global. The post The Origins of the Proto-Indo-Europeans appeared first on KPFA.

Guest: Laurence Rees is an award-winning English historian and documentary filmmaker. He has authored several books including The Holocaust: A New History, Hitler and Stalin,  Auschwitz: A New History, and his latest, The Nazi Mind: Twelve Warnings from History.   The post Understanding the Psychology of Nazis appeared first on KPFA.

Guest: Andrew Hartman is professor of history at Illinois State University. He is the author of A War for the Soul of America: A History of the Culture Wars, Education and the Cold War: The Battle for the American School, and his latest, Karl Marx in America.     The post Karl Marx in America appeared first on KPFA.

Guest: Clay Risen is a historian and a reporter and editor at The New York Times.  He is the author of several books including The Crowded Hour, a New York Times Notable Book of 2019, and his latest, Red Scare: Blacklists, McCarthyism, and the Making of Modern America. The post Red Scare: The Early Years appeared first on KPFA.

Guest: Kelsy Burke is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She is the author of The Pornography Wars: The Past, Present, and Future of America’s Obscene Obsession. The post The Pornography Wars appeared first on KPFA.

Guest: Naomi Oreskes is professor of the history of science at Harvard University.  Her books include, The Collapse of Western Civilization: A View from the Future, Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming, and her latest with historian of science and technology Erik Conway, The Big Myth: How American Business Taught Us to Loathe Government and Love the Free Market. The post The Century Long PR Campaign Linking Capitalism to Democracy appeared first on KPFA.

Guest: George Monbiot is an author, journalist, and environmental campaigner. His books include Feral, Heat, Regenesis, and his latest,  Invisible Doctrine: The Secret History of Neoliberalism co-authored with Peter Hutchison. George Monbiot and Peter Hutchison also co-produced the film Invisible Doctrine. The post George Monbiot on The Secret History of Neoliberalism appeared first on KPFA.