LA Progressive

Moral Rot at the Heart of Our Country

Predatory lending, predatory treatment of low-wage workers, predatory destruction of small businesses through private equity vehicles, predatory violation of young girls and boys: it's all part of the same lawless romp for these high-flying folks. Dick Price and Sharon Kyle of the LA Progressive have a conversation with Peter Laarman, a retired minister who formerly led Progressive Christians Uniting in Los Angeles. Peter says, “When I studied my Bible as a kid in Wisconsin, I was always puzzled and even a bit disturbed by the way in which those prophets would almost invariably shmoosh together what seemed to me like very different offenses: sexual immorality, worship of false gods, and economic oppression. Is God equally pissed off about all these things? I asked myself: how very strange that God can’t focus His anger a little more precisely. Or maybe God enjoys being pissed off in general. As I say, it was all rather confusing to a teenaged farm boy. Now that I am in my eighth decade, I think I understand these things a little better. In the first place, I understand that “God is angry” is the prophets’ way of saying something is deeply wrong. In other words, you don’t have to believe in an angry God in order to appreciate prophetic critique. And second, I understand that grouping together sexual violation, religious profanation, and economic exploitation is exactly the right way to frame moral rot at the heart of any nation, as these three forms of oppression usually run together.”. Peter Laarman’s column can be found at https://www.laprogressive.com/author/peter-laarman [https://www.laprogressive.com/author/peter-laarman] Get full access to LA Progressive at laprogressive.substack.com/subscribe [https://laprogressive.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

How Charlie Kirk Echoes Horst Wessel

Trump friend-turned-foe Conway has enraged the MAGA right by charging [https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.msn.com_en-2Dus_news_world_george-2Dconway-2Ddoubles-2Ddown-2Dafter-2Dcomparing-2Dnazi-2Dassassination-2Dto-2Dcharlie-2Dkirk-2Dkilling_ar-2DAA1MnmKo-3Focid-3Dmsedgntp-26pc-3DNMTS-26cvid-3Dff0f1f7248fe48028aad97d2afdb16b6-26ei-3D5-26ref-3Dforwardky.com&d=DwMFaQ&c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&r=Quy6Wex9qZX4bNOre8UheujKTdpIribYUJL2tXdXXrZm2A0HvzbaWKLhiTCmFgWk&m=XlrPajBXb3MleiqIWJHHngOTY220YMiI8W2Je439cNjxS7EYSwTUJ0FObdcnEZ5T&s=UAMX0w9_hn_NXOQK2PX1r948Mt_hizsrFOYoe4WtUVA&e=] on X, “They may not want to hear it, and it may incense them, but the parallels between what the Nazis did then [with Wessel], and what Trump and MAGA are doing today [with Kirk], are striking, chilling – and as any expert on authoritarianism will tell you, straight out of the same toxic, but dog-eared, playbook.” In a conversation with Dick Price and Sharon Kyle of the LA Progressive, emeritus professor of history at the West Kentucky Community and Technical College in Paducah, KY, Berry Craig explains why the comparison between the murder of Horst Wessel and Charlie Kirk is important to understand. This conversation was sparked by an article written by Berry Craig for the LA Progressive. Here is a link to that article: https://www.laprogressive.com/progressive-issues/charlie-kirk-echoes-horst-wessel Get full access to LA Progressive at laprogressive.substack.com/subscribe [https://laprogressive.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Collateral Damage: The Global Health Crisis War Leaves Behind

Andrea Mazzarino, the co-founder of Brown University’s Costs of War Project [https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/] joins Dick and Sharon to discuss the consequences of war rarely discussed. While conventional casualty figures focus on battlefield deaths, Andrea Mazzarino asserts that the indirect toll—the number who die or suffer due to illness, malnutrition, disrupted infrastructure, lack of healthcare, mental trauma, and disability is significantly higher. Shockingly, of over one million lives lost, at least 800,000 are traced to these secondary effects. Mazzarino, who is also an activist and social worker, is the co-editor of the new book War and Health: The Medical Consequences of the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan [https://www.amazon.com/dp/1479894613/ref=nosim/?tag=tomdispatch-20]. Her extensive research in this field provides essential information for those who believe there are alternatives to war. You kind find Andrea Mazzarino’s articles here: https://www.laprogressive.com/author/andrea-mazzarino [https://www.laprogressive.com/author/andrea-mazzarino] Please support independent media and subscribe to the LA Progressive https://www.laprogressive.com/ [https://www.laprogressive.com/] You can find us where ever you use social media https://linktr.ee/laprogressive [https://linktr.ee/laprogressive] Get full access to LA Progressive at laprogressive.substack.com/subscribe [https://laprogressive.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

White Christian Nationalism - Trump's Most Loyal Base

The rapid rise of a pugilistic and politicized white evangelicalism occurred in direct tandem with the virulent reaction to the advances of the midcentury civil rights movement. Peter Laarman a retired minister who formerly led Progressive Christians Uniting in Los Angeles joins Dick and Sharon of the LA Progressive to discuss how white christian nationalism was sparked by the same elements that promote predatory capitalism. To read the full article that launched this conversation, click here: https://www.laprogressive.com/science-and-religion/dangerous-white-christians [https://www.laprogressive.com/science-and-religion/dangerous-white-christians] If you appreciate the discussions here, please like, share and subscribe: https://www.laprogressive.com/ [https://www.laprogressive.com/] Get full access to LA Progressive at laprogressive.substack.com/subscribe [https://laprogressive.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Jeff Mackler: A Revolutionary Voice from the Margins

In a political landscape increasingly defined by polarization and corporate influence, Jeff Mackler stands as a principled voice for revolutionary socialism. As the national secretary of Socialist Action, a Trotskyist political organization, Mackler has spent decades fighting capitalism, imperialism, and environmental destruction—often from far outside the mainstream. His is a politics rooted not in triangulation or compromise, but in unwavering commitment to justice, equality, and the working class. Jeff Macker joins Sharon Kyle and Dick Price of the LA Progressive as they discuss his political activism and the future of the United States as it turns decidedly more authoritarian Mackler may not be a household name, but his life’s work spans from the streets of labor picket lines to the frontlines of the movement to free Mumia Abu-Jamal. He’s been an educator, a climate organizer, a political prisoner advocate, and a two-time presidential candidate. His vision is not simply to reform the system—but to replace it entirely. To read more content written by Jeff Mackler on the LA Progressive go to: https://www.laprogressive.com/author/jeff-mackler [https://www.laprogressive.com/author/jeff-mackler] Please share this podcast Get full access to LA Progressive at laprogressive.substack.com/subscribe [https://laprogressive.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]