Virtually Speaking

Evolutionary biologist and medical doctor Frank Ryan calls in from the UK to talk with Jay about the role of viruses in evolution. Dr. Ryan is the author of Metamorphosis and Virolution.  New to the subject? Try this on viruses.

This week Chicago Dyke and Jay Ackroyd discuss developments of the week, often highlighting issues neglected or misrepresented on the Sunday morning broadcasts. Always informative, always passionate, frequently with a touch of snark.

On FDR's second bill of rights, and how Glenn Greenwald misconstrued the focus of Social Security and Medicare. These are programs designed to support the middle class, not the destitute.

  Olivier covers Congress and politics for Agence France-Presse, the world's oldest and third-largest news agency.  He' and Jay talk about Congress and the debt limit negotiations.  

Cynthia Liu, a former academic, founded an education news site, K12NewsNetwork.com which highlights the priorities of parents, educators, and students who blog in support of neighborhood public schools. She also developed and launched a California School Funding Map Tool on K12NewsNetwork.com, widely adopted by supporters of revenue extensions in the recent struggle to pass a balanced state budget. Jeff Bryant is a marketing and communications strategist for nonprofit organizations, many of which are education related. He is an Associate Fellow at Campaign for America's Future where he writes about education policy at CAF's blog (ourfuture.org), and he is a former front-page blogger at OpenLeft.com where he wrote about education policy under the handle jeffbinnc. We'll be discussing the for-profit charter schools movement and what parents need to know. Recovering journalist and class warrior Susie Madrak explores the impact of current events on the daily lives of working class people.

Sundays @ 6pm pacific | 9pm eastern •VIRTUALLY SPEAKING SUNDAYS: OUR MEDIA NOT THEIRS | Two writers from the excellent VSS media panel discuss developments of the week, often highlighting issues neglected or misrepresented on the Sunday morning broadcasts. Always informative, always passionate, frequently with a touch of snark.

Stuart Zechman and Culture of Truth| This week in liberalism: a continuing conversation. Tonight's question: Ought Liberals believe that Barack Obama really believes that “solving” the deficit “problem” will allow liberals to begin getting more of our priorities enacted — starting with more federal spending to create jobs? They discuss Obama: Progressive or New Democratic Centrist. Looting Social Security, Nat'l Infrastructure Board, and more.

Recovering journalist and class warrior Susie Madrak explores the impact of current events on the daily lives of working class people. Tonight Susie talks with Spocko beginning at 5 min 30 secs.Read him at http://www.spockosbrain.com/. Matt Stoller beginning at 19 min 40 secs. Read him at http://mattstoller.com/

Sundays @ 6pm pacific | 9pm eastern •VIRTUALLY SPEAKING SUNDAYS: OUR MEDIA NOT THEIRS | Avedon Carol and Correntewire's Lambert Strether and Vastleft in a wide ranging conversation. “Our Media Not Theirs” |  Developments of the week, highlighting issues neglected or misrepresented on the Sunday morning broadcasts of traditional media. Authentic, informative and passionate.

Ongoing conversation centering on the nature and political realities of liberalism. Social Security, kabuki. Follow @Stuart_Zechman @Bobblespeak

Stirling Newberry and Ian Welsh consider the intersections of global economics, US political theater, Canadian politics and democratic values: The Personal is Not* the Political.

Recovering journalist and class warrior Susie Madrak talks with writer - politics, arts, books, movies, parenthood and, occasionally, home repair -  Lance Mannion about current political stories in the traditional and non traditional media.

Ongoing discussion centering on the nature and political realities of liberalism. No call-ins: recorded the previous Thursday.

We open with Virtually Speaking A-Z, at 8pm EDT, to discuss the debt limit kabuki, and then we turn to tomatoes. A former contributing editor at Gourmet magazine, Barry ist he author of the recently released Tomatoland, a book about industrial tomato agriculture and blogs at politicsoftheplate.com. His work on a dairy farm and fishing boat taught him that writing about food was easier than producing it.

Susie Madrak chats with investigative reporter and Philadelphia Magazine staff writer Steve Volk about his new book: “Fringe-ology: How I Tried to Explain Away the Unexplainable – and Couldn’t.“