Progressive Commentary Hour

Richard Heinberg is widely regarded as one of the world’s experts in peak oil, its repercussions on the world economy, food and transportation, and the need to transition away from fossil fuels and create a more sustainable future. He is currently the Senior Fellow at the Post Carbon Institute. He was featured in Leonardo DiCaprio’s film “The Eleventh Hour” and frequently appears on major media networks to address our fossil fuel based culture and the future of climate change.   Richard is the author of over ten books on oil depletion, energy economics, climate change and ecological issues, including “The End of Growth: Adapting to Our New Economic Reality.” His most recent publication is “Snake Oil: How Fracking’s False Promise of Plenty Imperils Our Future. His websites are RichardHeingberg.com AND   PostCarbon.org.Kurt Cobb is an author, speaker, and columnist who speaks and writes frequently on peak oil, energy and the environment. He is a regular contributor to The Christian Science Monitor and has written columns for the Paris-based science news site Scitizen.  Kurt’s writings have been featured on Resilience, The Oil Drum, OilPrice.com, Investing.com, Peak Oil Review, Common Dreams, Le Monde Diplomatique, and many other sites. He is a founding member of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas—USA, and has served on the board of the Arthur Morgan Institute for Community Solutions.  Kurt is a graduate of Stanford University and his novel “Prelude: A Novel About Secrets, Treachery and the Arrival of Peak Oil” is a startling reinterpretation of contemporary events and a window onto our energy future. His website is ResourceInsights.blogspot.com.Kevin Kamps the specialist in Radioactive Waste Storage and nuclear facility operations for Beyond Nuclear, a non profit organization opposing nuclear power and weapons and advocating for safeguarding our future. For years he was a leader opposing the nuclear industry’s efforts to dump radioactive waste in Yucca Mountain Nevada and to challenge federal subsidies for new reactors and nuclear waste projects. He has traveled to Chernobyl which resulted in his founding a chapter of the International Chernobyl Children’s Project and continues to network with anti-nuclear groups across the nation protesting the relicensing of old decaying reactors and efforts to shut existing ones down. His website is www.BeyondNuclear.org.Dr. Zane Selvans is a planetary geophysicist turned energy and climate policy wonk. He is currently the Director of Research and Policy at Clean Energy Action, a nonprofit based in Boulder Colorado where he focuses on coal supply issues, carbon and risk pricing, and renewable energy alternatives. He is has especially active in decarbonizing the city of Boulder’s electricity supply.   Zane has a doctorate in geophysics from the University of Colorado and has worked at the university’s Laboratory of Atmospheric and Space Physics and NASA’s jet propulsion laboratory and has done research on the climate of Mars and the techonics of Jupiter’s moon Europa. His organization’s website is CleanEnergyAction.org and his twitter is @ZaneSelvans

Peter Koenig is a former economist and water resource specialist for the World, where he was employed for three decades. A native of Switzerland, Peter has traveled extensively throughout the world, especially thru South America, working on numerous World Bank development and environmental projects.  He is a regular contributor to Global Research and Voice of Russia, and is the author of a fictionalized novel based upon his work and observations with the World Bank -- “Implosion: An Economic Thriller About War, Environmental Destruction and Corporate Greed.” 

Dr. Andrew Wakefield (Andy) is an gastroenterologist and academician specializing in inflammatory bowel disease and the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine or MMR. He is a former Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons and has published over 130 original scientific papers and book chapters. In 1998, he and his colleagues at the Royal Free Hospital in London reported a novel inflammatory bowel disease in children with developmental disorders such as autism.  Dr. Wakefield resisted pressure to stop his investigations into a possible link between vaccinations, intestinal inflammation and autism. In 2001 he was awarded the fellowship of the Royal College of Pathologists and he has been a board member of the American charity Medical Interventions for Autism.   Dr. Wakefield is the co-founder and director of the Autism Media Channel which has been airing on different television stations – www.AutismMediaChannel.com. His book “Callous Disregard: Autism and Vaccines, The Truth Behind the Tragedy” published by Skyhorse Press recounts his research into autism, the MMR vaccine and GI illnesses and his legal struggles by government and medical health authorities to discredit him and his work.Dr. David Lewis is a former senior research microbiologist with the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Research and Development department and the only EPA scientist to be a lead author on research published in Nature, the Lancet and Nature Medicine. He was responsible for discovering that HIV could be transmitted through certain dental equipment, which led to the standardization of heat-sterilization in dentistry. His research also forced the EPA to abandon the policy of promoting sewage sludge on farms, which subsequently forced him to lose his job when he turned his attention to studying illnesses and deaths associated with this practice – including biosolids link to autism.  Dr. Lewis has received many awards and is currently the Senior Science Advisor to the national Whistleblowers Center. He has also reviewed the research of Dr. Wakefield, which was provided to him personally by Andy, and has his own case going with Brian Deer.  He is the author of a recently published book:  “Science for Sale” which details how the US government uses powerful corporations and leading universities to support policies, silence top scientists, jeopardize public health and protect corporate profits.  Dawn Loughborough is the President of the D.A.I.R. Foundation, a non profit organization dedicated to defending the interests of physicians and scientific researchers working in the best interest of public and environmental health, and whose research has been suppressed.  DAIR has been supporting and generating funds for Dr. Wakefield’s legal case. She is also the Principal of the Enterprise Solutions Group, a consulting firm providing IT solutions to the healthcare industry.  Dawn has three children, two who were injured following vaccination.  She has a Masters degree in Law Education from the University of Baltimore and a degree in journalism from Indian University.  Her website is DairFoundation.org.

Dr. Mark Weisbrot is the co-director, with Dean Baker, of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington DC, specializing in domestic and international economic policy and US economic relations with Latin America. He writes weekly column for the Guardian Unlimited in the UK and is a frequently contributor on economic policy issues for McClatchy news services and Brazil’s largest newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo. Mark is also the President of Just Foreign Policy, an independent non profit organization dedicated to reforming US foreign policy based upon diplomacy, cooperation and international law. He has a PhD in economics from the University of Michigan and co-wrote the screenplay with Tariq Ali (Tar-eek Al-ee) for Oliver Stone’s film “South of the Border” – about leftist governments in Latin America. His organization’s website where you can find his writings is CEPR.org.

Peter Dale Scott is a former professor of English at the University of California at Berkeley (where he was also the co-founder of the Peace and Conflict Studies Program), a recognized poet, and a former Canadian diplomat and a scholar and author on the domestic and international political issues including taxation, war and conflict, the drug trade, the politics of oil and the assassination of JFK. His theory of “deep politics”, a term Peter coined, was descriptive as a more realistic way of objectively looking at evidence that would otherwise be characterized as “conspiratorial” in the main stream media. He is the author of “The Road to 911”, published in 2007, and more recently has published two volumes in a new series: “The War Conspiracy: JK, 911 and The Deep Politics of War” AND America War Machine: Deep Politics, the CIA Global Drug Connection and the Road to Afghanistan” Peter was also one of the witnesses to appear at the International Hearings on 911 in Toronto. His website is PeterDaleScott.net.   Prof. James Tracy is an associate professor in the Department of Communications at Florida Atlantic University where he specializes in media history and analysis, the politics of communications, and the sociology behind commercial and alternative news media in communicating current events. He received significant notoriety for his criticism of the news coverage of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre. He holds a doctorate in Mass Communications from the University of Iowa and is closely affiliated with Project Censored and is a regular contributor to GlobalResearch as well as other alternative news outlets, academic journals and book chapters. James’ writings and articles can be found on his blog MemoryHoleBlog.com. Kris Millegan is a publisher, writer and musician. He is the founder and chief editor of TrineDay Books, a publishing house founded to serve as a vehicle to get suppressed publications and controversial authors to the market and reach a wider audience. Trineday publishes well-researched and insightful investigations and analyses on alternative interpretations to historical events that might otherwise being called conspiracy theories. Many of Trineday’s authors have appeared on this program over the years. In the past Kris collaborated with investigative reporter Daniel Hopsicker on his book Barry and Boys: The CIA, the Mob and Amerca’s Secret History. He is also the author of “Fleshing Out Skull and Bones: Investigations into America’s Most Powerful Secret Society.” Kris’ father was employed in secret operations with the OSS in the Pacific, primarily in the Philippines, and later served as the Branch Chief Head of the CIA’s East Asia Office before leaving the agency in 1959. It was through Kris’ association with his father that an interest in covert operations sparked him him early and lead to the creation of TrineDay. The website is TrineDay.net

A special discussion on the US intrusion in Ukraine with guests Ray McGovern, Coleen Rowley, Peter van Buren, and Dr. Michael MacMichael.

Gary Null discusses progressive issues with some of the most remarkable minds in the world.

Dr. Bart Billings is a retired Army Colonel, a former military psychologist and founder and director of both the military-wide Human Assistance Rapid Response Team Program to deal with combat stress and the International Military and Civilian Combat Stress Conference, which has been in existence for 21 years. He initiated the Congressional Hearing in February 2010 to tackle the growing relationship between psychiatric medication and the rise in military suicides. In 2014, Dr. Billings was awarded the Human Rights Award from the Citizen’s Commission on Human Rights for his diligent efforts to bring greater public attention and awareness of the failures of modern drug-based psychiatry. Dr Billings has appeared on numerous television and radio programs including ABC’s Night Line and US News and World Report. He is currently completing a book on health and nutrition, The Psychology of Eating, and continues his advocacy for an integrative, wellness approach to combat stress and mental disorders to replace the current military psychiatric paradigm.Vera Sharav is the Founder and President of the Alliance for Human Research Protection, a national human rights and public interest information organization that exposes unethical research practices biomedical field, which undermine the dignity and rights and safety of people. Vera is particularly expert in the hidden dangers of psychotropic drugs and corporate and federal malfeasance in downplaying and/or ignoring their hazards. Her efforts in the past have resulted in the suspension of the EPA's pesticide experiments on children, exposing experimental AIDS drugs and vaccines in foster homes and standing up against Eli Lilly in federal court over the association of Zyprexa and diabetes. Her advocacy has been featured in the Boston Globe and has resulted in the cessation of 29 clinical trials at the NIH. Her articles and investigations can be found on the Alliance's website at AHRP.org.

Andrew Harvey is an internationally renowned religious scholar, teacher, and author of over thirty books.  He is the founder of the Institute of Sacred Activism, an international organization dedicated to inspiring people to become more active and vital in challenging our global crises and to commit themselves to peace and sustainability.Andrew was born in India, studied at Oxford University where he was a fellow at All Soul’s College. Over the years he has taught at Oxford, Cornell, the California Institute for Integral Studies and other institutions.  He is perhaps best known for having explored all the different religions in depth, particularly Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Sufism, and interpreting them in a passionate manner while also preserving their essential meaning and significance for our own time.Andrew has received many awards for his writings including the Benjamin Franklin Award. His most recent book is “Radical Passion: Sacred Love and Wisdom in Action” and before that “The Hope: A Guide To Sacred Activism” which won the Nautilus Silver Award for Social Change.

Will speak to tonight's guests Amy Mall, Karen Sussman, and Robert Mrowka in regards to the diversion of water resources and threats to endangered species.

Will discuss with Barbara Fisher and Norma Erickson about the safety, effectiveness, and the affordability of vaccines. 

Will be talking about mindfulness, self, and the decisions we make.

NATO’s mission in militarized globalization and intervening on behalf of US interestsRick Rozoff has been an active opponent of war, militarism and intervention for over 40 years. He is the manager of Stop NATO and its internet activities, which focuses on the threat of international militarization, especially through globalization, of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Rick has written over 300 articles on international affairs, frequently published on the Center for Research in Globalization and VoltaireNet, and his research and writings are frequently cited in investigations into postmodern geopolitics. Rich frequently appears ion radio and television programs in Russia, the Middle East, Africa and the Caribbean.RickRozoff.Wordpress.comProf. Stephen Zunes (Zoo-ness) is a Professor of Politics and International Studies at the University of San Francisco, where he chairs the program in Middle Eastern Studies. He is recognized as one the country’s leading scholars of U.S. Middle East policy and of strategic nonviolent action, Professor Zunes received his PhD. from Cornell University and previously served on the faculty of Ithaca College, the University of Puget Sound, and Whitman College. He serves as a senior policy analyst for the Foreign Policy in Focus project of the Institute for Policy Studies, an associate editor of Peace Review, a contributing editor of Tikkun, and chair of the academic advisory committee for the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict.Among his publications, the most recent is “Western Sahara: War, Nationalism and Conflict Irresolution” and earlier “Tinderbox: US Foreign Policy and the Roots of Terrorism” co-written with Richard Falk. His website is www.StephenZunes.org

The cycles of financial booms, panics, busts and meltdowns and why we don’t learn our lessonsBob Swarup is a respected international expert and author on financial markets, speculative investing and regulation in London UK.  After receiving two masters degrees  from Cambridge University and the University of London, and a doctorate in cosmology from Imperial College London, Dr. Swarup went to work in the financial industry to manage investiments. He sat on the boards of hedge funds and private equity firms and works closely with economic think tanks and policymakers. His articles have appeared on Huffington Post and market publications, and he is the author of the recent “Money Mania: Booms, Panics and Busts from Ancient Rome to the Great Meltdown.

The new age of transhumanism and the future deconstruction of the human beingDaniel Estulin is a Russian-Canadian investigative journalist and author currently living in Spain best known as the independent researcher who has infiltrated the agendas and conversations conducted at the infamous Bilderberg meetings. He has a background in military intelligence from back living in Russia, and has been researching the history and ongoing activities of the Bilderberg group and other organizations such as Council on Foreign Relations and the Trilateral Commission – for almost 20 years.Daniel’s recent book is “TransEvolution: The Coming Age of Human Deconstruction” which lays out a future map for where humanity is heading within the rush to create a trans- or post-human. He has also written the bestsellers “The True Story of the Bilderberg Group”and “Shadow Masters”. Daniel also hosts the most popular television program on Russian TV’s Spanish channel. DanielEstulin.com