June 26 - The Death of Earth's Oceans; Overpopulation and the Future of the Planet; The New Gilded Age and Rise of the 21st Century U.S. Plutocracy

Full Program

Part 1

We begin with the alarming new report on the state of the oceans that cover two-thirds of this planet. Sylvia Earle, the National Geographic’s explorer-in-residence and former chief scientist of NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, joins us. We examine this latest warning of a mass extinction and look into ways to reverse the drift towards the death of the Earth’s oceans.

Part 2

Then we examine the main culprit behind the looming mass extinction of the ocean, and by extension, the Earth, and that is overpopulation.  The head of the largest grassroots population organization in the U.S., Population Connection, (formerly Zero Population Growth) John Seager, joins us.  We look into the future of this planet on which the population has doubled since 1968 and will double again by 2030.

Part 3

Then we have a conversation with labor historian Jefferson Cowie about the new Gilded Age and the rise of the 21st century American plutocracy. He is the author of Stayin’ Alive: The 1970’s and the Last Days of the Working Class. We look into the possibility of another Teddy Roosevelt emerging from America’s political class, locked in the grip of greed, to restore a government of the people, "by the people and for the people."