WPKN: Politics, Policy, and Planet Podcast

Interview with Mary Turner, president of National Nurses United, the largest union and professional association of registered nurses in the U.S., conducted by Scott Harris.Mary Turner discusses two issues the union is currently addressing: National Nurses United’s demand Congress take agent action to restore Affordable Health Act (ACA) subsidies to prevent a spike in monthly health insurance premiums for some 24 million ACA policy holders. Turner also talks about the union’s concerns over President Trump’s executive order banning state regulations on artificial technology medical applications.

Interview with John Bonifaz, constitutional attorney, and co-founder and president of Free Speech For People, conducted by Scott Harris.John Bonifaz discusses Rep. Al Green’s recent introduction of articles of impeachment against Donald Trump, which was tabled by a House vote of 237-140, and what accountability for Trump’s long list of unconstitutional and corrupt actions would and should look like if Democrats win back control of the House and/or Senate in the 2026 midterm election.

Interview with Medea Benjamin, co-founder of Code Pink Women for Peace and author, conducted by Scott Harris.Medea Benjamin talks about President Trump’s unconstitutional march to war with Venezuela, some pushback now seeing in Congress, the work Code Pink is doing to raise awareness about the regime’s murderous interventionist policy and the current lack of an active and effective U.S. peace movement.

Interview with John Nichols, executive editor of The Nation magazine, author, conducted by Scott Harris.John Nichols talks about his recent Nation magazine article, “Zohran Mamdani on FDR, LaGuardia—and Trump,” on his hopeful interview with New York City mayor-elect and the current political environment where there are increasing signs Donald Trump’s MAGA world might be starting to fracture.Nichols is author, co-author and editor of over a dozen books. His latest book is co-written with Sen. Bernie Sanders is the New York Times bestseller, It’s OK to Be Angry About Capitalism.

The Monthly Labor Report interviews Olivia "Liv" Ryan, a Starbucks shift supervisor and a lead organizer with Starbucks Workers United (SBWU). which has mounted a national strike against the Starbucks corporation. Economist Michael Zweig talks about his trip to Vietnam and Australia where he met with labor organizations and discussed working class agendas and strategies.Host: Richard Hill

The Monthly Labor Report interviews Olivia "Liv" Ryan, a Starbucks shift supervisor and a lead organizer with Starbucks Workers United (SBWU). which has mounted a national strike against the Starbucks corporation. Economist Michael Zweig talks about his trip to Vietnam and Australia where he met with labor organizations and discussed working class agendas and strategies.Host: Richard Hill

The Organic Farm Stand checks in with Vincent Kaye about his honey bees as the winter solstice approaches;and visits with Murray Gates, owner of Artza Mendi Farm in Sprague, CT, for a conversation about regenerative farming  and organic  poultry and egg production.Hosted by Richard Hill and Diane Lauricella

Talk by Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University graduate student arrested by ICE in March 2025, produced by Melinda Tuhus.The event featured a conversation between Khalil and Stanley Heller, chairman of the Connecticut-based Middle East Crisis Committee and sponsor of Khalil’s appearance.  He began by describing his court cases, both as a plaintiff and a defendant.

Interview with Eric Ross, a Ph.D. candidate in the history department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, conducted by Scott Harris.Eric Ross discusses the rising tensions and violence directed by the Trump regime targeting Venezuela, and his recent article, “The Trump Corollary: U.S. Imperialism in Latin America from the Monroe Doctrine to Maduro,” with a view to better understanding the current crisis in the context of the long history of U.S. military intervention in Latin America.

Interview with Dr. Robert Steinbrook, director of Public Citizen's of Health Research Group, conducted by Scott Harris.Dr. Steinbrook discusses his views on the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice vote last week changing CDC’s recommendations for administering the hepatitis B vaccine to infants, major Trump administration and HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr.’s cuts to research on cancer, Alzheimer’s and other chronic diseases, as well as general administration threats to public health.