Hitting Left
186 episodes - English - Latest episode: 27 days ago - ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsEach week brothers Mike and Fred Klonsky, bloggers and activists engage in conversation, often with in-studio guests. Topics may be local, national or international, but always with a Chicago sensibility and perspective, and always from "the Left side of the plate."
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Episodes
With Danny Lyon.
March 31, 2024 19:19 - 58 minutes - 108 MBMike's guest on this edition of Hitting Left is author, photojournalist and filmmaker, Danny Lyon, whose camera captured the history of SNCC and the 60’s Civil Rights Movement. Danny, who was born in 1942 in New York, is one of the most influential documentary photographers of his generation. While still a student at the University of Chicago, he was imprisoned in the South and became the first photographer for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). His photographs formed t...
With Fred Klonsky and Tracy Ullman.
March 15, 2024 18:00 - 56 minutes - 104 MBJoining Mike this episode of Hitting Left are Fred Klonsky and investigative reporter for NBC news, Tracy Ullman. Fred talks about this year's Oscar broadcast and the politics of awards. Tracy discusses the sordid connection between the corruption of the Chicago Democratic Machine and the mass murderer and pedophile, John Wayne Gacy.
With Fred Klonsky and Steve Goldsmith.
March 01, 2024 20:38 - 1 hour - 60.5 MBJoining Mike on this edition of Hitting Left is brother, retired teacher and activist Fred Klonsky and Steve Goldsmith. Steve is a veteran activist and currently the president of the Torrance California Refinery Action Alliance combatting the dangers of hydrogen fluroide (HF) to people and the environment.
Rabbi Brandt Rosen and Yanaton Shapira
February 23, 2024 21:44 - 58 minutes - 107 MBJoining Mike Klonsky on this edition of Hittiing Left is Rabbi Brandt Rosen of the Chicago anti-Zionist Jewish congregation, Tzekek, and Yonatan Shapira, an Israeli former military helicopter pilot.
With Rachel Rubin.
February 03, 2024 13:43 - 1 hour - 110 MBJoining Mike on this 7th anniversary edition of Hitting Left is Rachel Rubin, Senior Medical Officer at Cook County Department of Public Health.
With Kathy Kelly.
January 06, 2024 14:17 - 59 minutes - 108 MBMike's guest on this edition of Hitting Left is American peace activist, pacifist and author, Kathy Kelly.
With Al Haber and Mike James.
December 16, 2023 15:33 - 58 minutes - 108 MBJoining Mike in the Lupen Radio studio on this editioin of Hitting Left are veteran '60s (and current) activists, Al Haber and Michael James. Al was a co-founder of Students For a Democratic Society (SDS) and its first president. Mike was also an SDS organizer and founder of Rising Up Angry. He has a new book out with the same name.
With Illinois state senator Robert Peters.
December 01, 2023 20:57 - 56 minutes - 104 MBJoining Mike on this edition of Hitting Left is Illinois state senator Robert Peters talking about the Gaza protests and more.
With Mike James, Judy Gumbo and Pat Thomas.
November 17, 2023 19:43 - 58 minutes - 107 MBMike will taking a look back at the 1968 Democratic Convention protests in Chicago and anticipating the upcoming DNC in Chitown next August. Joining Mike are '68 Movement veterans Mike James and Judy Gumbo plus author Pat Thomas.
With Juan Gonzalez.
October 27, 2023 19:14 - 57 minutes - 105 MBJoining Mike Klonsky on this edition of Hitting Left is Juan Gonzalez. Juan is an author, Co-Host of Democracy Now!, Senior Fellow at Great Cities Institute of UIC, former NY Daily News columnist, and once upon a time, a Young Lord.
With Luis Rodriquez.
October 13, 2023 18:25 - 58 minutes - 106 MBMike's guest this episode of Hitting Left is poet, novelist, journalist, critic, and columnist, Luis Rodriguez. Luis was the 2014 Los Angeles Poet Laureate. He is recognized as a major figure in contemporary Chicano literature identifying himself as a native Xicanx writer. His best-known work, Always Running: La Vida Loca, Gang Days in L.A., received the Carl Sandburg Literary Award and has been controversial on school reading lists for its depictions of gang life. Joining Luis in the ...
With Carlos Martinez
September 30, 2023 08:05 - 56 minutes - 104 MBJoining Mike on this episode of Hitting Left is Carlos Martinez. Carlos is co-founder of the No Cold War campaign. He is an activist based in London, He's author of "The East Is Still Red: Chinese Socialism in the 21st Century". He has given presentations and discussions on topics such as "Give Peace a Chance: China and the World Today". His work focuses on socialism, peace, and international relations.
Another Hitting Left Music Show.
August 25, 2023 15:33 - 57 minutes - 65.5 MBThis week host Mike Klonsky shares some more of his favorite tunes.
With Pidgeon Pagonis and Dr. Curly "Boo" Johnson.
August 19, 2023 16:44 - 58 minutes - 108 MBJoining Mike this episode is Pidgeon Pagonis, an American intersex activist, writer, artist, and consultant. They are an advocate for intersex human rights and against nonconsensual intersex medical interventions and author of Nobody Needs to Know. It's Pidgeon's second guest appearance on Hitting Left. Mike's guest for the second half of the show will be former Harlem Globetrotter star, Dr. Curly "Boo" Johnson. Former Globetrotter (18 years) Owner CBJ Skills For Life Basketball Acade...
With Troy LaRaviere
August 12, 2023 13:00 - 57 minutes - 105 MBJoining Mike on this edition of Hitting Left is Troy LaRaviere. Troy is head of the Chicago Principal and Adminstrators Association. He has recently been in a battle to defend the careers of some Black CPS principals who’ve been removed from their posts unfairly, according to Troy, as part of a patten of racial discrimination against Black school leaders.
With Bob Zellner.
August 04, 2023 22:44 - 58 minutes - 107 MBJoining Mike on this episode of Hitting Left is Bob Zellner. 84 year old Bob Zellner has been a social justice organizer since he first joined the original Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in 1961 at the age of 19.
With Corey Stevenson, John Daley and Fred Klonsky.
June 02, 2023 22:06 - 58 minutes - 108 MBOn Hitting Left with Mike Klonsky and Friends, Mike is joined by Corey Stevenson, John Daley & Fred Klonsky. Today the focus is on Chicago. There's a new mayor in town. Are we really the "sanctuary city" that we claim to be? Memorial Day Weekend gun violence and more.
With Carl Davidson.
May 26, 2023 20:11 - 58 minutes - 107 MBJoining Mike on this show is Carl Davidson, veteran activist and Marxist philosopher.
With Jon Melrod.
May 19, 2023 19:52 - 59 minutes - 109 MBJoining Mike this morning is Jon Melrod, author of Fighting Times: Organizing on the Front Lines of the Class War.
With Diane Ravitch and Charles Tocci.
May 12, 2023 21:56 - 57 minutes - 106 MBNoted eucator, writer and historian of education Diane Ravitch joins Charles Tocci, professor of education at Chicago's Loyola Univesity with host Michael Klonsky on this episode of Hitting Left.
With Marie Newman.
May 06, 2023 16:23 - 58 minutes - 107 MBFormer Chicago member of Congress Marie Newman joins Mike Klonsky on this edition of Hitting Left.
With Mario Smith, Rudy Lozano Jr., John Daley and Fred Klonsky.
April 07, 2023 19:36 - 57 minutes - 106 MBAssessing the Chicago election results.
With Medea Benjamin and Rudy Lozano Jr.
March 24, 2023 17:46 - 59 minutes - 109 MBMike is joined by anti-war activist Medea Benjamin, founder of Code Pink in the first hald of this podcast. Community organizer election Rudy Lozano Jr. is on the second half to talk about the Chicago mayoral election.
With Renaldo Hudson, Amanda Klonsky and Jennifer Soble.
March 17, 2023 18:08 - 1 hour - 113 MBOn this podcast a conversation about criminal justice reform and prisoner rights with Renaldo Hudson, who spent 37 years incarcerated in IL prisons, including many years on death row. We'll also hear from prison activists Amanda Klonsky and Jennifer Soble.
With Fred Klonsky and Dr. Pedro Noguera.
March 10, 2023 21:32 - 57 minutes - 104 MBFred and Mike talk about the Chicago mayoral election between Paul Vallas (on the Right) and Brandon Johnson (on the Left). Then they are joined by noted educator Dr. Pedro Noguera, Dean of the Rossier School of Education, who knows more than a few things about Vallas' destructive educational policies.
Music of the Freedom Movement.
February 18, 2023 20:26 - 48 minutes - 56 MBHere's the latest in our Hitting Left Music series, Sounds From the Freedom Movements. We start off with a song from early hip-hop poets, Digable Planets called Femme Fetal. Recorded two decades ago, it anticipated the Supreme Court’s ruling outlawing abortion rights. Thar will be followed by music from the anti-fascist Lula movement in Brazil. Buffy Sainte Marie, Pete Seeger, Stevie Wonder. Steve Earle, and much more. Playlist: 1. La Femme Fetal by Digable Planets ...
With Ray Long
February 03, 2023 21:39 - 59 minutes - 109 MBJoining Mike on this episoide is veteran Illinois political and investigative Tribune reporter, Ray Long. Like Mike, Ray is a long-time Dodger fan, and someone who has documented the state and city's history of poliical corrumption. Author of The House that Madigan Built: The Record Rule of Illinois' Velvet Hammer.
With Patty Loew and Nick Estes.
January 27, 2023 22:12 - 56 minutes - 104 MBJoining Mike Klonsky are Northwestern Professor Patty Loew, director of the Center for Native American and Indigenous Research at Northwestern University. She is a member of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe. She’ll be talking about the legendary Indian athlete, Jim Thorpe. Also joining us will be and Native American activist/author/educator Nick Estes with more on the case of Leonard Peltier.
With Carl Davidson
January 27, 2023 22:01 - 50 minutes - 46.1 MBMike Klonsky discusses the war in Ukraine and more with "old, new-left) socialist writer, philosopher, and 60's SDS leader, Carl Davidson.
With Reuben Jonathan Miller and Amanda Klonsky.
January 20, 2023 19:46 - 58 minutes - 106 MBGuests this episode are Reuben Jonathan Miller and Amanda Klonsky. Professor Miller is A 2022 MacArthur Fellow, His research at the University of Chicago, examines how racialized and poor people experience law, crime control, and social welfare policy. Dr. Amanda Klonsky is a teacher, author, and longtime prison activist whose current work focuses on Covid in Prisons
With Reuben Jonathan Miller and Amanda Klonsky.
January 20, 2023 19:42Guests this episode are Reuben Jonathan Miller and Amanda Klonsky. Professor Miller is A 2022 MacArthur Fellow, His research at the University of Chicago, examines how racialized and poor people experience law, crime control, and social welfare policy. Dr. Amanda Klonsky is a teacher, author, and longtime prison activist whose current work focuses on Covid in Prisons
With Rabbi Brant Rosen
January 14, 2023 15:06 - 58 minutes - 106 MBRabbi Brant Rosen of the Chicago Tzedek congregation joins Mike on this edition of Hitting Left. Tzedek is an intentional Jewish congregation based on core values of justice, equity and solidarity. Rabbi Rosen and Mike discuss recent developments in Israel and Palestine.
A music show this week.
January 03, 2023 15:41 - 50 minutes - 58.1 MBContinuing the music shows for December. But next week Carl Davidson, long time Movement activist and writer, will be Mike's guest.
Music of the Movement.
December 16, 2022 17:05 - 59 minutes - 110 MBMike is taking a break from the usual political talk. Instead he shares some of his favorite Movement songs.
With Prexy Nesbitt
November 18, 2022 19:24 - 57 minutes - 106 MBVeteran civil rights activist, teacher and South Africa anti-apartheid organizer Prexy Nesbitt joins Mike and co-host Susan Klonsky.
With Leila Wills.
November 04, 2022 17:34 - 59 minutes - 110 MBJoining Mike and Susan Klonsky this week is Leila Wills talking about the Black Panther Party and preserving our history.
With Medea Benjamin of Code Pink
October 28, 2022 20:33 - 59 minutes - 110 MBJoining Mike and co-host Susan Klonsky is Medea Benjamin from the anti-war group Code Pink. They talk about the war in Ukraine and the urgent need to get all sides to the table for peace talks.
With Clem Balanoff.
October 24, 2022 12:33 - 1 hour - 110 MBJoining Mike and guest host Fred Klonsky is Clem Balanoff, veteran political and labor organizer to discuss the mid-term elections.
With Pedro Noguera.
October 14, 2022 18:00 - 57 minutes - 106 MBJoining Mike on Hitting Left is Pedro Noguera, the Emery Stoops and Joyce King Stoops Dean of the University of Southern California Rossier School of Eduction. He is recognized as a leading scholar of urban public education, equity, and school reform.
With Jose Rico.
October 07, 2022 20:10 - 57 minutes - 106 MBJoining Mike and Susan is veteran Chicago educator, policy advocate and community organizer, Jose Rico.
With Ed Marszewski and John Daley
October 01, 2022 14:37 - 1 hour - 110 MBThis week's Hitting Left podcast has Lumpen Radio's Ed and John for a discussion of alternative media and it's role in Chicago.
With Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
September 24, 2022 22:49 - 57 minutes - 106 MBJoing Mike and Susan Klonsky this week is a hell-raiser in her own right, their old friend, historian, activist, and author, Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz.
With Floyd Webb
September 17, 2022 20:41 - 1 hour - 110 MBJoing Mike and Susan is Floyd Webb, a film maker with knowledge of all kinds of media and social movements
With Jerry Harris
September 10, 2022 12:11 - 49 minutes - 89.8 MBJerry Harris, national secretary of the Global Studies Association, author and educator join Mike and Susan to discuss the international situation, war in Ukraine, China, Russia and issues of war and peace.
With Dr. Timothy Tyson
September 03, 2022 11:39 - 58 minutes - 108 MBThis edition of Hitting Left has Mike and Susan Klonsky talking to Dr. Timothy Tyson. Dr. Tyson is senior research scholar at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University and adjunct professor of American Studies at the University of North Carolina. His most recent book is The Blood of Emmett Till.
Fred Klonsky returns as a guest.
August 20, 2022 13:00 - 58 minutes - 107 MBRetired teacher, activist, art maker returns as a guest and joins Mike and Susan Klonsky to discuss the week's events and how we're going to spend the $4.80 ComEd must pay its customers as a penalty for corruption.
With Susan Klonsky and Chesa Boudin.
August 12, 2022 19:57 - 59 minutes - 109 MBSusan cohosts with Michael and discuss the past weeks news much of it involving Donald Trump. They are then joined by former San Francisco DA, Chesa Boudin who was recently the succesful target of a right-wing recall effort costing a record 7 million dollars.
Chicago's guaranteed income.
August 05, 2022 14:33 - 52 minutes - 96.7 MBSusan and Mike talk about the right to abortion. Harish Patel joins them to discuss Chicago's latest progressive pilot: a guaranteed annual income.
Hitting Left
July 29, 2022 22:19 - 57 minutes - 105 MBMike Klonsky is joined once again by co-host Susan Klonsky to discuss the week's news along with John Daley producing. Helen Shiller, former Chicago alder and social justice active joins them during the second half of the show.
Hitting Left
July 23, 2022 15:25 - 58 minutes - 107 MBMike is back in the Lumpen Radio studio in Bridgepoort's Prosperity Sphere with co-host Susan Klonsky reviewing the week's news. In the second half hour they are joined by Amanda Klonsky to discuss Covid in prisons.