AI Alarmism:  Sound and Fury Signifying What?

Our lives changed from analog to digital, and so the very way we confront and deal with information, and thoughts and memories had to be readjusted.  The technology world exploded—computers everywhere as microchips became smaller and more powerful, phones (cell, mobile, smart), fiber optics, satellites, social media, cyberspace, cybercrime, every aspect of life—economy, government, society—was not only touched but changed.  From treating technology as part of a human world, we became humans in a technological world. More

When Monsters Walk Among Us

More than four decades ago, the Greek composer and public intellectual Manos Hadjidakis issued a warning that now reads less like a reflection on fascism than a prophecy of our own time. The greatest danger, he suggested, comes when we grow accustomed to the monster, when its presence no longer shocks the conscience and its violence begins to merge with the routines of everyday life. Tolerance does not diminish the monster; it multiplies the conditions that allow it to flourish, strengthening its presence in public life until monstrosity itself acquires the authority to govern. In this instance, the collapse of conscience is inseparable from the uncoupling of “belief from judgment, conviction from action.” More

The Missed Opportunity of the 25th Anniversary of 9/11

History rarely provides opportunities for lessons learned, but the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 intelligence failure could have provided an opportunity to determine some accountability for the failure and methods to improve the performance of intelligence analysis. Thus far, it appears that politicians, pundits, and the mainstream media are not interested in lessons learned or exploring the nexus between history and policy. More

AI Bubble Economics: The Coming Crash and The Day After

The job apocalypse so touted by the AI companies, as the main reason to buy their products, hasn’t yet come to pass. A Census Bureau survey about AI (the Bureau has been running it since 2023) reported that most companies had no change in overall employment. In July the Wall Street Journal reported an EY-Parthenon survey that found the percentage of CEOs expecting significant AI-driven headcount reductions fell from 46% in January 2025 to 20% by May 2026. Software engineers, who recently were on the way to extinction with the introduction of Claude and Codex (back in February, a selloff wiped out $1 trillion from software and services stocks), are rising as a percentage of total employment. There is apparently more to software than writing code. Even translator jobs are holding steady. That expected productivity boom hasn’t shown up in the data. More

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Nurturing a Free Palestine w/ Dr. Fauziah Hasan and Azra Banu

This is part two of our series with Palestinian solidarity activists from Malaysia. Dr. Fauziah Hasan and Azra Banu of the Asia Pacific Women’s Coalition for Al Quds and Palestine discuss the importance of consisent, coalitional efforts to support Palestinian women. Dr. Fauziah sailed on the Women’s Boat to Gaza in 2016 and again on the 2025 Freedom Flotilla that was abducted by Israel. Azra participated in a humanitarian land convoy in 2010 that drove from London to Gaza, and went on a second mission to Gaza in 2012. As mothers and grandmothers, they emphasize the passing on of intergenerational activist knowledge and the necessity of nurturing a generation of young people committed to Palestinian Liberation in the Asia-Pacific.

People Power w/ Norma Hashim & Dr. Nazari Ismail of BDS Malaysia

Rebecca Maria Goldschmidt speaks with Norma Hashim and Dr. Nazari Ismail from the Hashim Sani Center for Palestine Studies at Universiti Malaya in Kuala Lumpur in this two-part podcast with solidarity activists from Malaysia. Hashim and Dr. Ismail share reflections on almost two decades of grassroots organizing with BDS Malaysia and Viva Palestina Malaysia. They discuss the recent closure of The Network School, an experimental project in “tech zionism”, and other successful campaigns to divest from Israeli companies. The Malaysian consumer boycott of Starbucks led to the closure of over 45+ locations. Their McDonald’s boycott sparked a viral legal battle, and the struggle continues against complicit corporations like Google, Amazon, Caterpillar, and resource extraction companies that serve the Pentagon, including the Australian rare earth miner Lynas. Alongside their advocacy work, Hashim shares updates from daily relief work to support communities in Gaza, who continue to survive in the unbearable living conditions.

Howard Zinn’s Outsized Life w/ Dave Zirin

This week, journalist and author Dave Zirin joins Erik Wallenberg and Joshua Frank to discuss his new biography of the late, great Howard Zinn. The book, The People’s Historian: The Outsized Life of Howard Zinn, chronicles the inspiring life of one of our greatest radical historians. Dave is embarking on a national tour in support of the book; find out if he’ll be in a city near you.