Coming From Left Field (Audio)

“Chomsky and Me: A Memoir” with Bev Boisseau Stohl

This conversation with Bev Stohl, author of “Chomsky and Me,” takes you inside Noam Chomsky’s office and daily life in a way few people have ever seen. Drawing on nearly 25 years as Chomsky’s assistant at MIT, Bev shares intimate, funny, and moving stories about his work habits, his chaotic “checkerboard” office, his deep kindness toward ordinary people, and the emotional toll of spending a lifetime confronting war, propaganda, and injustice. Along the way we talk about Chomsky’s impact on linguistics, cognitive science, and radical politics, why he was shut out of mainstream media for telling the truth, and how he managed to keep going “by action, by moving” instead of being overwhelmed by despair. The episode is also a love letter to the broader ecosystem of radical thinkers and organizers around Chomsky: Howard Zinn and the emotional power of his memorial, civil rights legend Dorie Ladner, union lawyer and Central America activist Dan Kovalik, and the many students, filmmakers, and musicians who passed through that cramped MIT office. Bev’s memoir and stories show Chomsky not as an abstract icon but as a complicated, sometimes awkward, always deeply principled human being—and highlight her own role using humor, care, and good judgment to keep him grounded.   About Bev Stohl Bev Stohl is a writer, former MIT administrator, and longtime personal assistant to Noam Chomsky, whose memoir Chomsky and Me chronicles their quarter century working relationship. She came to Chomsky’s office from other administrative roles at MIT—including graduate programs in economics and ocean engineering—while completing her master’s degree in psychology, expecting an easier job and instead finding herself at the center of Chomsky’s intellectual and political life. Over the years she managed his chaotic schedule, coordinated visits from students, activists, and documentary crews, and became a kind of social buffer and comic counterweight to his intense focus and often somber work. Beyond the Chomsky memoir, Bev has written extensively on wider political questions on Substack, has experience doing stand-up comedy, and recently completed an audiobook edition of Chomsky and Me with a Spanish translation forthcoming. Order the book: https://orbooks.com/catalog/chomsky-and-me/ [https://orbooks.com/catalog/chomsky-and-me/] Bev’s substack: https://substack.com/@bevstohl [https://substack.com/@bevstohl] Mentioned articles: I'm no longer waiting for the storm to pass (Bev Stohl): https://substack.com/home/post/p-190768008 [https://substack.com/home/post/p-190768008] “Ensnared” and “Manipulated” (Valéria Chomsky): https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/02/09/ensnared-and-manipulated-official-statement-by-valeria-chomsky-regarding-jeffrey-epstein/ [https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/02/09/ensnared-and-manipulated-official-statement-by-valeria-chomsky-regarding-jeffrey-epstein/] Cross-Examining The Tabloid Left Show Trial of Chomsky w/ Rameez Rahman (Tara Van Duik): https://morbidsymptom.substack.com/p/cross-examining-the-tabloid-left [https://morbidsymptom.substack.com/p/cross-examining-the-tabloid-left]   Greg’s Blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/ [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbnZiaXBnYmhhZXA1VmI0NTJudjl2V3VRUVJRZ3xBQ3Jtc0tsdzVkVXZzVW5KUEZscnU4ZndWTmUweFJxRVJONGpsa0JIdi1ScDYycUxSQ2gyRnB4UU1Ca0Fkd1dQZWFPUUNWM3dodUVwNk9kR2ZSTHVSdG5zUU5nVFF6S2xnb1EzTnBiSnJWZkFHRUZuOTZ0Z3NfYw&q=http%3A%2F%2Fzzs-blg.blogspot.com%2F&v=6oUWpHKqewA] Pat’s Substack: https://patcummings.substack.com/ [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbHdOR0hWUUtEZ01GcHNDaEZPZ0hMd18xTmtPQXxBQ3Jtc0tscS1ZcUx3YW5jQUhLY1BEN21iaXFWNlhhOTlMNmljMjM5c2F2U2E3empQdEFBMmZSbEFBQmw0Z3I0Znk0bnByYXlQbnpmWnQzUmV0OWVhc090YzFlREVsYXVtd2hSZVRLN1o5UmtsN3pOUlNzeWlCRQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fpatcummings.substack.com%2F&v=6oUWpHKqewA]  #chomskyandme#memoir#bevstohl#BevBoisseauStohl#progressivepoliticspodcast#ValériaChomsky#CarolChomsky#howardzinn#normanfinkelstein#chrishedges#alanmacleod#vijahprashad#christianparenti#jefferyepstein#dankovalik#mitlinguistics#mediapropaganda#manufacturingconsent#antiwarmovement#PatCummings#PatrickCummings#GregGodels#ZZBlog#ComingFromLeftField#Podcast#zzblog#mltoday

“Here Where We Live Is Our Country: The Story of the Jewish Bund” with Molly Crabapple

This episode, artist, writer, and journalist Molly Crabapple discusses her new book, “Here Where We Live Is Our Country.” Through the conversation, she explores how art, memory, and reportage can challenge borders, social movements, and official narratives, focusing on the lives of workers, migrants, and resisters who carve out solidarity and dignity in hostile conditions. The discussion highlights the politics of looking—who is seen, who is erased—and how visual storytelling can expose injustice while honoring the full humanity of people living on the front lines of crisis and conflict. Across the episode, Crabapple reflects on her own trajectory from artist to collaborator with radical journalists documenting war, incarceration, and economic exploitation. She talks about the responsibilities of depicting suffering, the intersections of culture and organizing, and why “Here Where We Live Is Our Country” reframes “country” as the networks of care and struggle we build together rather than flags or passports. If you’re interested in labor history, social movements, and the role of art in political resistance, this conversation offers a sharp, visually rich lens on the world we live in and the worlds we’re trying to create. Molly Crabapple is an artist, writer, and journalist whose work sits at the intersection of illustration and political reportage. She first gained prominence for her intricate, densely detailed drawings and has since become known for visual essays and collaborations that address topics such as war, authoritarianism, incarceration, and economic inequality. Her illustrations and writing have appeared alongside investigative journalism and essays in major outlets, and she has worked extensively with reporters documenting events in the Middle East, Europe, and the United States. Crabapple is also the author of the memoir “Drawing Blood: A Radical Artist's Memoir of NYC Nightlife, Occupy, and Witness Journalism,” (2015), which examines her own life, work, and the political awakenings that informed her art and “Brothers of the Gun: A Memoir of the Syrian War,”(2018), a ground-level reflection on revolution and war. With “Here Where We Live Is Our Country,” she continues this trajectory, using image and text to honor the people and places that rarely make it into official histories, but whose lives and struggles define the world we actually inhabit.   Order the book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/646320/here-where-we-live-is-our-country-by-molly-crabapple/ [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/646320/here-where-we-live-is-our-country-by-molly-crabapple/]          Molly’s Website: https://www.mollycrabapple.com [https://www.mollycrabapple.com]   Greg’s Blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/ [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbnZiaXBnYmhhZXA1VmI0NTJudjl2V3VRUVJRZ3xBQ3Jtc0tsdzVkVXZzVW5KUEZscnU4ZndWTmUweFJxRVJONGpsa0JIdi1ScDYycUxSQ2gyRnB4UU1Ca0Fkd1dQZWFPUUNWM3dodUVwNk9kR2ZSTHVSdG5zUU5nVFF6S2xnb1EzTnBiSnJWZkFHRUZuOTZ0Z3NfYw&q=http%3A%2F%2Fzzs-blg.blogspot.com%2F&v=6oUWpHKqewA] Pat’s Substack: https://patcummings.substack.com/ [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbHdOR0hWUUtEZ01GcHNDaEZPZ0hMd18xTmtPQXxBQ3Jtc0tscS1ZcUx3YW5jQUhLY1BEN21iaXFWNlhhOTlMNmljMjM5c2F2U2E3empQdEFBMmZSbEFBQmw0Z3I0Znk0bnByYXlQbnpmWnQzUmV0OWVhc090YzFlREVsYXVtd2hSZVRLN1o5UmtsN3pOUlNzeWlCRQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fpatcummings.substack.com%2F&v=6oUWpHKqewA]  #MollyCrabapple#HereWhereWeLiveIsOurCountry#politicalart#Bund#JewishBundism#laborhistory#workingclassstruggles#warandresistance#migrationandborders#solidaritymovements#leftistpodcast#Zionism#SamRothbort#PatCummings#PatrickCummings#GregGodels#ZZBlog#ComingFromLeftField#Podcast#zzblog#mltoday

“Getting Shot At: Essays on War, Conflict & Culture Clash” with Bill Ehrhart

Vietnam veteran, poet, educator, and essayist Bill (W.D.) Ehrhart joins our podcast to discuss his new collection, “Getting Shot At: Essays on War, Conflict and Culture Clash.” Drawing on more than fifty years of writing and activism, Ehrhart reflects on how Vietnam shattered his belief in American good intentions and how that disillusionment informs his sharp, plain-spoken essays on U.S. militarism, culture wars, and historical amnesia. The conversation ranges from controversial poems and “snowflake” politics on both the left and the right to the corrosive impact of technology on education and to his relationships with truth-tellers like Daniel Ellsberg and H. Bruce Franklin. Thoughtful, funny, and unsparing, this episode is essential listening for anyone trying to understand how past wars shape our present conflicts—and what it means to keep telling the truth in a country that keeps trying to forget.   About Bill Ehrhart Bill Ehrhart was born in Pennsylvania in 1948 and enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps straight out of high school, serving 13 months in Vietnam during some of the war’s heaviest fighting. After returning home, he became one of the most widely recognized Vietnam veteran poets, publishing numerous collections of poetry, several volumes of memoir—including “Vietnam-Perkasie” and “Passing Time”—and multiple books of essays on war, politics, and American culture. Ehrhart earned a Ph.D. in American Studies and spent decades teaching, most notably at the Haverford School, where his work in the classroom paralleled his public writing as a critic of U.S. militarism and historical myth-making. His poems and essays are known for their plain-spoken language, narrative clarity, and unflinching moral engagement, qualities that have led scholars and fellow writers to describe him as “the dean of Vietnam War poetry” and a persistent voice of conscience.   Order the book: https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/getting-shot-at/ [https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/getting-shot-at/]         Bill’s Website: https://wdehrhart.com/ [https://wdehrhart.com/] Follow Bill online: LA Progressive: https://www.laprogressive.com/author/w-d-ehrhart [https://www.laprogressive.com/author/w-d-ehrhart]  The New Hampshire Gazette: https://www.nhgazette.com/author/w-d-ehrhart/ [https://www.nhgazette.com/author/w-d-ehrhart/]  Greg’s Blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/ [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbnZiaXBnYmhhZXA1VmI0NTJudjl2V3VRUVJRZ3xBQ3Jtc0tsdzVkVXZzVW5KUEZscnU4ZndWTmUweFJxRVJONGpsa0JIdi1ScDYycUxSQ2gyRnB4UU1Ca0Fkd1dQZWFPUUNWM3dodUVwNk9kR2ZSTHVSdG5zUU5nVFF6S2xnb1EzTnBiSnJWZkFHRUZuOTZ0Z3NfYw&q=http%3A%2F%2Fzzs-blg.blogspot.com%2F&v=6oUWpHKqewA] Pat’s Substack: https://patcummings.substack.com/ [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbHdOR0hWUUtEZ01GcHNDaEZPZ0hMd18xTmtPQXxBQ3Jtc0tscS1ZcUx3YW5jQUhLY1BEN21iaXFWNlhhOTlMNmljMjM5c2F2U2E3empQdEFBMmZSbEFBQmw0Z3I0Znk0bnByYXlQbnpmWnQzUmV0OWVhc090YzFlREVsYXVtd2hSZVRLN1o5UmtsN3pOUlNzeWlCRQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fpatcummings.substack.com%2F&v=6oUWpHKqewA]    #W.D.Ehrhart#BillEhrhart#GettingShotAt#EssaysonWarConflictandCultureClash#Vietnam#veteranpoet#VietnamWarliterature#Antiwarveteran#Progressivepolitics#U.S.militarism#DanielEllsbergPentagonPapers#BruceFranklinVietnammyth#Snowflakeculture#Free#Technologyandeducation#Warmemoirandessays#LAProgressivewriter#NewHampshireGazette#PatCummings#PatrickCummings#GregGodels#ZZBlog#ComingFromLeftField#Podcast#zzblog#mltoday

“"When the Revolution Comes: A Fight for the Future of the Working Class" with Chris Smalls

In this episode, our guest is Chris Smalls, discussing his new book, “When the Revolution Comes: A Fight for the Future of the Working Class.” Smalls, best known as the co-founder and former president of the Amazon Labor Union, led the first successful union drive at an Amazon warehouse in the United States. Smalls traces his path from growing up working class in Hackensack, New Jersey, to becoming a warehouse worker and supervisor at Amazon, leading a COVID walkout over unsafe conditions, and being fired and smeared from the very top of the company. From there, we get into the nuts and bolts of how a small group of workers with a shoe-string budget, a table at the bus stop, and a lot of persistence built enough trust and solidarity to beat a trillion-dollar corporation at its own facility. Along the way, we talk about the broken NLRB, Amazon’s years long strategy of appeals to avoid bargaining, and why Smalls believes strikes and independent, worker led organizing are the only way to force the company to negotiate in good faith. We conclude our conversation with Smalls connecting his fight at the fulfillment warehouse to a broader internationalist politics, talking about meeting Amazon workers and militant unions in Europe and tying Amazon and Google’s cloud and AI contracts for the Israeli military directly to the same surveillance infrastructure used on workers at home. He’s candid about the cost of taking a public stand for Palestine including lost followers, speaking invitations, even a potential movie deals—and about how quickly liberal politicians and union leadership disappear when a labor struggle becomes explicitly anti-imperialist. If you’re interested in what serious, unapologetic working-class politics looks like in practice, you will enjoy this conversation.   About Chris Smalls Chris Smalls (born July 4, 1988) is an American labor organizer and prominent voice for worker rights, racial justice, and economic democracy.  He has been widely profiled in major media outlets and was named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People, while continuing to support union drives and picket lines. Order the book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/724036/when-the-revolution-comes-by-chris-smalls/ [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/724036/when-the-revolution-comes-by-chris-smalls/] Chris’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chris.smalls_/ [https://www.instagram.com/chris.smalls_/] Greg’s Blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/ [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbnZiaXBnYmhhZXA1VmI0NTJudjl2V3VRUVJRZ3xBQ3Jtc0tsdzVkVXZzVW5KUEZscnU4ZndWTmUweFJxRVJONGpsa0JIdi1ScDYycUxSQ2gyRnB4UU1Ca0Fkd1dQZWFPUUNWM3dodUVwNk9kR2ZSTHVSdG5zUU5nVFF6S2xnb1EzTnBiSnJWZkFHRUZuOTZ0Z3NfYw&q=http%3A%2F%2Fzzs-blg.blogspot.com%2F&v=6oUWpHKqewA] Pat’s Substack: https://patcummings.substack.com/ [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbHdOR0hWUUtEZ01GcHNDaEZPZ0hMd18xTmtPQXxBQ3Jtc0tscS1ZcUx3YW5jQUhLY1BEN21iaXFWNlhhOTlMNmljMjM5c2F2U2E3empQdEFBMmZSbEFBQmw0Z3I0Znk0bnByYXlQbnpmWnQzUmV0OWVhc090YzFlREVsYXVtd2hSZVRLN1o5UmtsN3pOUlNzeWlCRQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fpatcummings.substack.com%2F&v=6oUWpHKqewA]  #AmazonLaborUnion#ChrisSmalls#WhentheRevolutionComes#labormovement#labororganizing#Amazonunion#Amazonwarehouse#JFK8#AmazonStatenIsland#ProjectNimbus#Palestinesolidarity#COVIDwhistleblower#JeffBezos#unionbusting#NLRB#DemocraticPartyandlabor#anticapitalism#Times100ChrisSmalls#radicalpolitics#Teamsters#Palestineandlabor#PatCummings#PatrickCummings#GregGodels#ZZBlog#ComingFromLeftField#Podcast#zzblog#mltoday

“When the Revolution Comes" with Chris Smalls

In this episode, our guest is Chris Smalls, discussing his new book, “When the Revolution Comes: A Fight for the Future of the Working Class.” Smalls, best known as the co-founder and former president of the Amazon Labor Union, led the first successful union drive at an Amazon warehouse in the United States. Smalls traces his path from growing up working class in Hackensack, New Jersey, to becoming a warehouse worker and supervisor at Amazon, leading a COVID walkout over unsafe conditions, and being fired and smeared from the very top of the company. From there, we get into the nuts and bolts of how a small group of workers with a shoe-string budget, a table at the bus stop, and a lot of persistence built enough trust and solidarity to beat a trillion-dollar corporation at its own facility. Along the way, we talk about the broken NLRB, Amazon’s years-long strategy of appeals to avoid bargaining, and why Smalls believes strikes and independent, worker-led organizing are the only way to force the company to negotiate in good faith. We conclude our conversation with Smalls connecting his fight at the fulfillment warehouse to a broader internationalist politics, talking about meeting Amazon workers and militant unions in Europe and tying Amazon and Google’s cloud and AI contracts for the Israeli military directly to the same surveillance infrastructure used on workers at home. He’s candid about the cost of taking a public stand for Palestine including lost followers, speaking invitations, even a potential movie deals—and about how quickly liberal politicians and union leadership disappear when a labor struggle becomes explicitly anti-imperialist. If you’re interested in what serious, unapologetic working-class politics looks like in practice, you will enjoy this conversation.   About Chris Smalls Chris Smalls (born July 4, 1988) is an American labor organizer and prominent voice for worker rights, racial justice, and economic democracy.  He has been widely profiled in major media outlets and was named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People, while continuing to support union drives and picket lines. Order the book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/724036/when-the-revolution-comes-by-chris-smalls/ [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/724036/when-the-revolution-comes-by-chris-smalls/] Chris’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chris.smalls_/ [https://www.instagram.com/chris.smalls_/] Greg’s Blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/ [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbnZiaXBnYmhhZXA1VmI0NTJudjl2V3VRUVJRZ3xBQ3Jtc0tsdzVkVXZzVW5KUEZscnU4ZndWTmUweFJxRVJONGpsa0JIdi1ScDYycUxSQ2gyRnB4UU1Ca0Fkd1dQZWFPUUNWM3dodUVwNk9kR2ZSTHVSdG5zUU5nVFF6S2xnb1EzTnBiSnJWZkFHRUZuOTZ0Z3NfYw&q=http%3A%2F%2Fzzs-blg.blogspot.com%2F&v=6oUWpHKqewA] Pat’s Substack: https://patcummings.substack.com/ [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbHdOR0hWUUtEZ01GcHNDaEZPZ0hMd18xTmtPQXxBQ3Jtc0tscS1ZcUx3YW5jQUhLY1BEN21iaXFWNlhhOTlMNmljMjM5c2F2U2E3empQdEFBMmZSbEFBQmw0Z3I0Znk0bnByYXlQbnpmWnQzUmV0OWVhc090YzFlREVsYXVtd2hSZVRLN1o5UmtsN3pOUlNzeWlCRQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fpatcummings.substack.com%2F&v=6oUWpHKqewA]  #AmazonLaborUnion#ChrisSmalls#WhentheRevolutionComes#labormovement#labororganizing#Amazonunion#Amazonwarehouse#JFK8#AmazonStatenIsland#ProjectNimbus#Palestinesolidarity#COVIDwhistleblower#JeffBezos#unionbusting#NLRB#DemocraticPartyandlabor#anticapitalism#Times100ChrisSmalls#radicalpolitics#Teamsters#Palestineandlabor#PatCummings#PatrickCummings#GregGodels#ZZBlog#ComingFromLeftField#Podcast#zzblog#mltoday