Episodes

This week, journalist and author Dave Zirin joins Erik Wallenberg and Joshua Frank to discuss his new biography of the late, great Howard Zinn. The book, The People’s Historian: The Outsized Life of Howard Zinn, chronicles the inspiring life of one of our greatest radical historians. Dave is embarking on a national tour in support of the book; find out if he’ll be in a city near you. The post Howard Zinn’s Outsized Life w/ Dave Zirin appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

This week, Egyptian journalist, blogger, photographer, and author Hossam el-Hamalawy joins CounterPunch’s Eric Draitser to discuss his new book Counter-Revolution in Egypt: Sisi’s New Republic, published by Verso. The conversation explores modern Egyptian history and how the state developed into its current form, with much of the focus on the Egyptian Revolution of 2011 and the events that followed. El-Hamalawy blends an analysis of Egyptian political economy, military history, sociology, and so...

On this episode of CounterPunch Radio, Erik Wallenberg and Joshua Frank talk with journalist and author Tara Lohan about her new book, Undammed: Freeing Rivers and Bringing Communities to Life. Tara has been working as an environmental journalist and editor for more than 15 years. Her work has been published by The Nation, the American Prospect, Salon, High Country News, Grist, The Revelator, Adventure Journal, and others. She is also the editor of two books on the global water crisis. The pos...

In this episode of CounterPunch Radio, Rebecca Maria Goldschmidt speaks with Seungjoon Lee, a maritime activist and filmmaker based on Jeju Island. Having recently returned from attempting to break the siege on Gaza with the Freedom Flotilla Coalition and being kidnapped by the IOF in international waters, Lee shares his thoughts on the radical possibilities for future maritime direct action. They discuss the current situation on Jeju, where activist communities continue their struggle against m...

Award-winning journalist and author Karim Zidan joins CounterPunch to discuss his work at SportsPolitika, where he covers the intersection of politics and sports, money and power. Host Eric Draitser chats with Zidan about the dark side of the World Cup, from its fascist roots to its decades-long support for right-wing dictatorships. They also cover Zidan’s early work covering the rise of MMA and the far-right fascist culture that has grown up around it. From UFC at the White House to Saudi money...

On this episode of CounterPunch Radio, Tori Tsui talks with Karim Ali, co-founder of the Gaza Sunbirds. Karim Ali is a Palestinian award-winning community organiser and co-founder of the Gaza Sunbirds – a para-cycling team of Palestinian amputee athletes. The post Gaza Sunbirds w/ Karim Ali appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

Award-winning journalist and author Barrett Brown returns to CounterPunch Radio to discuss the critical period before 2016 when online activism emerged, fusing with political movements and bringing down regimes. During that time, Brown became the public face of Anonymous and the burgeoning transparency movement, which led to the US Government targeting him and his eventual imprisonment. Learn the inside story of the hacking efforts, which powerful individuals and entities were exposed, how Brown...

CounterPunch explores the upcoming UFC White House spectacle and the Hollywood, DC, and Gulf power brokers at the nexus of US politics, sports and entertainment. Host Eric Draitser welcomes veteran combat sports journalist Nate Wilcox, Editor-in-Chief of The MMA Draw, to the show to discuss the White House event, the mythology around Trump’s relationship with the UFC and Dana White, the role of Ari Emanuel and TKO Group in monopolizing combat sports and playing all sides of the power structure, ...

In this episode of CounterPunch Radio, Rebecca Maria Goldschmidt speaks with Dr. Nadine Ortega, co-founder of Tagnawa Hawai’i, about grassroots mutual aid disaster recovery. Dr. Ortega breaks down the socio-economic and historical conditions that have led to the recent Kona Low flooding on O’ahu and the 2023 Lahaina, Maui fires, which have disproportionately affected Native Hawaiian, Filipino, and other immigrant communities. She shares stories about the importance of cross-class and interethnic...

Journalist Arun Gupta returns to CounterPunch Radio to discuss the state of the left, antiwar politics, and much more. Arun talks to host Eric Draitser and provides his analysis of the No Kings movement and how leftists should understand it, as well as a retrospective of the antiwar movements around Iraq and Vietnam. He explores the importance of physical community and organization using the example of New York’s Lower East Side, where he resides. The conversation also touches on the Left’s hist...

On this episode of CounterPunch Radio, Erik Wallenberg and Joshua Frank sit down with Gilbert Achcar to discuss Israel, Palestine, Iran, Lebanon, and the most botched US war ever. Gilbert Achcar is Emeritus Professor at SOAS, University of London. He is the author of many books, most recently, The Gaza Catastrophe: The Genocide in World-Historical Perspective. The post The Most Botched Imperial War w/ Gilbert Achcar appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

On this episode of CounterPunch Radio, host Tori Tsui talks to Sean Adams, founder of Drowned in Sound. Tori and Sean talk about Spotify, AI, militarism, capitalism, independent music, how we can harness music’s power for social change, and much more. Founded in 2000 by Sean Adams, the UK-based Drowned in Sound has evolved from a music website into a podcast and newsletter-focused platform covering indie, electronic, and alternative music, featuring news, reviews, interviews, and community foru...

On this episode of CounterPunch Radio, Joshua Frank and Erik Wallenberg are joined by Thomas Zeitzoff to talk about his new book, No Option But Sabotage: The Radical Environmental Movement and the Climate Crisis. No Option But Sabotage explores how far activists are willing to go to defend the planet in the face of repression and the escalating climate crisis. Thomas Zeitzoff is a professor in the School of Public Affairs at American University. His research focuses on political violence, social...

On this episode of Counterpunch Radio, Rebecca Maria Goldschmidt speaks with Dr. Shahd Abusalama, Palestinian academic, writer, and artist, born and raised in Jabalia Refugee Camp, in northern Gaza. Shahd discusses her book, Between Reality and Documentary: A Historical Representation of Gaza Refugees in Colonial, Humanitarian and Palestinian Documentary Film, published in 2025 by Bloomsbury and SOAS Palestine Studies, and reflects on her recent book and film tour in Japan. Recorded during the o...

On this episode of CounterPunch Radio, Erik Wallenberg and Joshua Frank welcome back Ramzy Baroud to discuss his new book, Before the Flood, a profound exploration of Palestinian history and resilience through the personal stories of his family—the al-Badrasawis. Beginning with intimate details of village life in Beit Daras prior to the Nakba. They also talk about the ongoing war in Iran and Israel’s larger strategy for the region. You can catch Ramzy Baroud on the road this spring and summer. ...

In this episode of CounterPunch Radio, MV Ramana speaks with Joshua Frank about the lies and misconceptions surrounding a nuclear power revival, atomic energy’s ties to weapons proliferation, and much more. The conversation took place in January at Page Against the Machine bookstore in Long Beach, California. M. V. Ramana is the Simons Chair in Disarmament, Global and Human Security at the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, University of British Columbia, and the author of Nuclear is N...

Industrial robotics company, FANUC, was the only Japanese company named in the Albanese report on Israel’s “economy of genocide.” This week on CounterPunch Radio, we speak with members of BDS Japan Bulletin and Detroit-based Engineers Against Apartheid to understand the role that FANUC robots play in the production of 155mm shells, one of the primary weapons used in the genocide in Gaza, and the complicated nature of robots as “dual-use” products — with both civilian and military application. BD...

On this episode of CounterPunch Radio, Eric Draitser talks with Yassamine Mather about the Israel/US war on Iran, its geopolitical ramifications, Iranian resistance, and what it means for the future of the region. Yassamine Mather is an Iranian scholar and political activist. She is the acting editor of Critique: Journal of Socialist Theory. Her research on Iran is within the framework of the Middle East Centre, University of Oxford, where she works. She is the chair of Hands Off the People of ...

This week on CounterPunch Radio, Erik Wallenberg and Joshua Frank talk to journalist Sam Kimball about Israel’s illegal occupation of Syria, Zionist expansion in Lebanon, and the US/Israel war on Iran. Read Sam Kimball’s piece, Zionist Expansion: A First-Hand Account of Israel’s Illegal Occupation of Southwestern Syria. Support the CounterPunch Investigative Fund. The post Zionist Expansion w/ Sam Kimball appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

In this episode of Counterpunch Radio, Rebecca Maria Goldschmidt speaks with Emanuel Ovadia, a researcher and educator on radical Jewish traditions in the Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA) region. Emanuel shares stories of Muslim-Jewish relations, the politics of language, and the Jewish radical traditions outside of the typical “Ashkenormative” European or American Jewish left. We discuss how the multi-lingual, transnational, and transcultural history of the region debunks zionist myths o...

On this episode of CounterPunch Radio, Joshua Frank and Erik Wallenberg are joined by Brian Jones to discuss his new book, Black History Is for Everyone, out now with Haymarket Books. In Black History Is for Everyone, Brian Jones offers a meditation on the power of Black history, using his own experiences as a lifelong learner and classroom teacher to question everything—from the radicalism of the American Revolution to the meaning of “race” and “nation.” Brian Jones has taught many ages and g...

In this episode, CounterPunch shares voices from participants in the Zapatistas’ most recent gathering of activists, the “Semillero de Piramides, de historias, amores, y claro desamores,” in CIDECI, Universidad de la Tierra, Zapatista territory in San Cristóbal de las Casas, México. The 5 day event featured seminars and discussions with over 1000 attendees from 30 countries, to address resistance to this era of fascism. Roberto Hernandez, from San Isidro, CA, is a Chicano professor at San Diego...

On this episode of CounterPunch Radio, Erik Wallenberg and Joshua Frank welcome Sean J Partick Carney to discuss his 10-part series, Time Zero, on the nuclearized world. Sean J Patrick Carney is a visual artist, composer, and writer. His essays, criticism, and interviews appear frequently in publications including Artforum, Art in America, VICE, Southwest Contemporary, Artnet News, Harvard Urban Review, Glasstire, High Country News, and Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. In 2019, Carney receive...

In this special episode of CounterPunch Radio, Bill Ayers, friend of Pilsen Community Books and fellow podcaster at Under the Tree, introduces Amos Kennedy and fellow artists and activists Monica Trinidad and Chi Nwosu. This evening at Pilsen Community Books in Chicago included a packed-house crowd for a celebration for the release of Citizen Printer by renowned letterpress printer Amos P. Kennedy, Jr. A self-described “humble negro printer,” Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr., is internationally recognize...