IdeaSphere: A Platform for Today's Voices

Series produced by Guy Rathbun

Series image

This weekly show is devoted to political, social, economic, ecological, philosophical and religious ideas.

This series has been broadcast on public radio, and podcast on National Public Radio for the past 10 years, and has included such luminaries as Robert Reich, Chris Hedges, Michael K. Hudson, Vincent Buligosi, Richard Heinberg, and many more.


561 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
Caption: Professor Ruth Colker
The rules of public discourse are not what they used to be. In fact, you can say, they are quite similar to what they used to be. Nevertheless, we ...

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  • Added: Nov 09, 2021
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Dr. Melanie Joy
The average American consumes more than 234-pounds of meat every year. That’s chicken, beef, pork, turkey, veal, lamb, and fish. That may not even ...

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  • Added: Nov 02, 2021
  • Length: 28:59
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: J.M. Beach
Measuring what and how much students learn is a daunting task. That’s the basic problem for education in America. But when you investigate the educ...

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  • Added: Oct 26, 2021
  • Length: 28:59
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Morris Pearl
It’s in the tax code. And it’s the rich who manipulate that tax code. Over 70 percent of Americans believe that the economy is rigged to favor the ...

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  • Added: Oct 19, 2021
  • Length: 28:59
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: Khyati Joshi
America holds the promise of religious freedom. The US is recognized as the most religiously diverse country in the world. In reality, though, Chri...

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  • Added: Oct 12, 2021
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: Kyle Harper
They’re rooted deeply in our global past. Germs. They’ve always been with us. It’s our wealth, health, power and inequity that determine how well w...

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  • Added: Oct 05, 2021
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Leonard Rubenstein
It’s a horrific common occurrence in war. Especially modern warfare. Hospitals and health care facilities are relentlessly under attack, and health...

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  • Added: Sep 28, 2021
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Edward J. Watts
We’re hearing a lot of rhetoric about the decline of American society. Politicians cloak themselves in the need for a renewal to an America of the ...

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  • Added: Sep 21, 2021
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Dr. Heather Hurwitz
The Occupy movement of 2011 was thought to be unified. Although it created a foundation for future actions, the movement did perpetuate status-quo ...

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  • Added: Sep 14, 2021
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Edgar Villanueva
Our world is out of balance. Systemic racism is an ever-present shame. If that’s not enough, the culprit of our imbalance is the foundational princ...

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  • Added: Sep 07, 2021
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Samantha Montano
By now, most people are waking up to the reality of climate change. Between fires and hurricanes, a large swath of our planet is becoming uninhabit...

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  • Added: Aug 31, 2021
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Seth Blaustein
Massive wildfires, flooding and natural disasters: It’s obvious to most observers now that climate change is no hoax. But, most of us feel that the...

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  • Added: Aug 24, 2021
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Dave Lindorff
It’s no longer out of sight out of mind. Many of our landfills have become a public health hazard. That’s especially true of those near a body of w...

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  • Added: Aug 17, 2021
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Gretchen Ricker
It’s enjoyable to get involved in something that’s bigger than ourself. But debt should not be one of them. Yet, knowing that, our tendency is to b...

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  • Added: Aug 09, 2021
  • Length: 29:01
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: David Potter
Throughout history governments rise and fall with varying degrees of success and failure. Democracies are not immune. It’s entirely unpredictable. ...

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  • Added: Aug 02, 2021
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Samuel Cohn
The adage: If one does not learn from the past, one is doomed to repeat it. Although that doesn’t mean people or their governments are going to rep...

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  • Added: Jul 27, 2021
  • Length: 29:01
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: John Cavanaugh
Water. As people are becoming more aware of the seriousness of climate distruption, it’s become easier to discuss the shortage as well as the extre...

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  • Added: Jul 20, 2021
  • Length: 29:01
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Book Cover, Credit: N. Putens
When the Sierra Club was created in 1892, its original mission was to preserve the wilderness. The men who formed the group under the leadership of...

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  • Added: Jul 12, 2021
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: stef m.shuster
If you think medical treatment for the trans gender population sounds like a straightforward, easily addressed protocol. It’s not. Even today it’s ...

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  • Added: Jul 06, 2021
  • Length: 29:01
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Annie Murphy Paul
If someone said to you, “You’re out of your mind,” you might feel insulted. On the other hand, you could take that as a compliment. Research is fin...

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  • Added: Jun 29, 2021
  • Length: 29:01
  • Purchases: 1