Keeping Democracy Alive with Burt Cohen

Latest Episodes
Justice and Peace: What Teaching Yiddish Literature to Kids Offers
Under Trump 2.0, we adults are taught to fear The Other, we must become a monolinguistic culture: English over all. But during this week of Jewish high holy days, we ask what is this ancient language
Are High Tech Weapons The Answer to Low Budget Terrorism?
We all know what terrorism is. Weve seen it on the ground in Israel. Thats terrorism on the cheap. Is the answer the most modern ultra high tech bombers to decimate the enemy? For centuries, a key m
Gavin Newsom: Democrats Savior ’28?
The far right got a major boost with the martyrdom of Charlie Kirk. What used to be the Republican party is no more. The young mans appeal to other young men is a major hurdle for traditional patrio
Public Theater: A Way to Measure Democracy
When America was indeed great, the federal government brought theater to all people. Free. In a mirror opposite of Trump 2.0, under FDR there was the Federal Theater project in which one quarter of th
Historian Michael Kazin on America’s Enduring Actual Greatness
There is in fact a lush garden of American greatness and it is not MAGA. Though less well known, there is a proud history of successful dissent which does make America great. Military power and straig
Rising in the UK and the US: A Democratic Left
Englands Labour Party is a lot like Americas Democratic Party: all over the map. Both used to be the party of laboring people. The UKs current PM Kier Starmer won claiming to be of the left. Now he
The Trump Era and the Psychology of Moral Courage
Researchers are beginning to understand why some of us demonstrate what is called moral courage and others do not. In fact, most of us actually have a warped sense of our own moral courage. We like
Why Mamdani May Revitalize the Democratic Party: 1911 CA Precedent
After 2024, the mainstream of the Democratic Party is in the wilderness, but Zohran Mamdani may lead a way out. This weeks guest Fred Glass, talks about what early 20th century California history can
A Blueprint for A Future Israel/Palestine
Innumerable people have tried over many years to stop the forever wars between Israel and Palestine. With the world now horrified by the use of starvation as a weapon, the urgency of a resolution has
“Just Following Orders”?
American military service members certainly did not sign up to fight the American people. Yet with the massive deployment of national guard and marines to stop protests in Los Angeles, that was indeed