EP22: A History of Municipal Socialism in the US; The Military Occupation of DC
In the September episode of our podcast, we focus American cities. In our first segment, Chris Sturr interviews Professor Shel Stromquist about the history of municipal socialism in the United States. He reminds us that in the early 20th century there were over 150 municipalities across the country with socialist governments. He also emphasized that these socialist governments were directly responsible for improving the material conditions of the working class by constructing key infrastructure projects like drainage systems and clean drinking water. In our feature segment, we spoke with Professor John Willoughby about the situation in Washington DC. As of early October, the Trump administration has dispatched the National Guard to Chicago and is attempting to do so in other cities like Portland. In this context, we zoom in on DC and have a wide-ranging conversation about the repression, the organized and spontaneous resistance to what can only be called a military occupation, and the history of the movement for self-determination since the 1860s.
#DC #MunicipalSocialism #occupation #FreeDC
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Dollars and Sense Debrief with Chris Sturr and Shel Stromquist - 2:23 minutes
Feature interview with John Willoughby - 17:46 minutes
[audio mp3="https://kkfi.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Upload_e4p_sept2025-5.mp3"][/audio]
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EP21: Class and Inequality in India and China, Military Keynesianism
In the August episode of Economics for the People, we interview Professor Vamsi Vakulabharanam about his book Class and Inequality in India and China, 1950-2010. On the eve of Indian Independence from British rule, and upon the conclusion of the Chinese Civil War, both countries were similar in economic terms. However, their trajectories diverged significantly over the period of time under investigation. Why? In our regular Dollars and Sense segment, Chris Sturr interviews Richard Wolff about Military Keynesianism: how it ended the Great Depression, its impact on the US economy over the 20th century, and why the ruling class continues to support it.
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Feature interview with Vamsi Vakulabharanam - 2:07 minutes
Dollars and Sense Debrief with Chris Sturr and Richard D. Wolff - 36:32 minutes
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EP20: Cryptocurrency
Our July episode is all about crypto. We present two different perspectives on how to understand cryptocurrency. In our Dollars & Sense Debrief, Chris Sturr interviews economist Gerald Epstein from the University of Amherst, who talks about the risks of crypto to the financial system as a whole. Our feature interview is with Professor Rohan Grey, in which we discuss crypto in detail. What is it? How does it affect the working class? What is the future of crypto? Rohan also dissects the crypto legislation that passed in Congress and was signed by President Trump this month. Additionally we converse about the STABLE Act (2020) proposed by Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, which Professor Grey helped design, which would have provided an alternative regulatory framework for crypto.
#crypto #finance
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Dollars and Sense Debrief with Chris Sturr and Gerald Epstein - 3 minutes
Feature interview with Rohan Grey - 21:30 minutes
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EP19: Wildcat strikes in Asia, Socialism in Seattle
In our June episode, we spoke with Kshama Sawant about her campaign to win the House seat in Seattle's 9th Congressional district. Kshama was a member of city council in Seattle for about a decade, helping to win important victories for the working class such as the highest minimum wage in the US, the Amazon tax, and stronger protections for tenants. She is also co-founder of the organization Workers Strike Back. Additionally, we discussed tariffs, imperialism, and working class unity. In the Dollars and Sense Debrief, Chris Sturr interviewed economist Amanda Page-Hoongrajok about the recent history of wildcat strikes in the garment industry of Vietnam, China, and Bangladesh.
#wildcatstrikes #fightback #socialism #kshamasawant
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Dollars and Sense Debrief with Chris Sturr and Amanda Page-Hoongrajok - 3 minutes
Feature interview with Kshama Sawant - 18:25 minutes
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EP18: Fusion of state and finance, work intensification
In the May edition of our podcast, Chris Sturr speaks with Mike Prokosch about the widespread practice of short staffing, which is basically polite language for work intensification. Mike gives […]
The post EP18: Fusion of state and finance, work intensification appeared first on KKFI.
Economics For the People takes you on a journey to explore the transformative power of economics when it is harnessed for the working classes, to advance social justice, and to create an inclusive and equitable society. It is an open invitation to participate in collectively shaping and reimagining an economy that prioritizes the needs and aspirations of the working classes, marginalized communities, and individuals of different gender expressions, sexualities, and abilities. The show features diverse voices, experiences and perspectives that often remain unheard in mainstream conversations about economics, markets and numbers.
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