KPFA - UpFront

On today’s show, Democrats are preparing to take control of Congress, but a battle is brewing over who will lead them. Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen is challenging Chuck Schumer for Senate Majority Leader, with the backing of Bernie Sanders, while Hakeem Jeffries appears poised to become the first Black Speaker of the House. Norman Solomon, director of RootsAction and executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy, joins us to discuss the growing divide between progressive activists and the Democratic Party establishment, the influence of corporate money, and what the new Congress could mean for U.S. foreign policy and the war in Iran. Solomon is the author of The Blue Road to Trump: How Corporate Democrats Paved the Way for Autocracy. Then, as many as 2.4 million Californians could lose their health insurance by 2030, sweeping federal Medicaid cuts and changes to California’s Medi-Cal program threaten to reverse years of progress toward near-universal coverage. Christine Mai-Duc, California…

00:08 — Lisa Gilbert is Public Citizen’s co-president. She is a strong advocate of government transparency and integrity, financial reform, civil justice and consumer protection. 00:33 — Yassin al-Haj Saleh is a Syrian writer and activist. Saleh spent 16 years in Syrian prisons (1980-1996) for opposing the Assad regime and his membership in the Syrian Communist Party-Political Bureau. He is the author of nine books and has been writing on political, social and cultural subjects relating to Syria and the Arab world for several newspapers and journals outside Syria since 2000. He will be holding a talk at the UC Berkeley, Tonight from 6-7:30pm at the Social Sciences Building, Room 402. The post Trump Threatens House Democrats Over Planned Investigations; Plus, Syria Two Years After Assad’s Fall appeared first on KPFA.

Author and artist Molly Crabapple joins UpFront to discuss her new book, Here Where We Live Is Our Country: The Story of the Jewish Bund, exploring the history of a powerful Jewish socialist movement in the years leading up to World War II. She examines how the Bund resisted rising ethno-nationalism, challenged political Zionism, and fought for Jewish rights and liberation in the communities where Jews already lived. UpFront delivers a mix of local, state, and international coverage through challenging interviews, civil debates, breaking updates, and in-depth discussions with authors. The post UpFront – The Jewish Bund: A Working-Class Movement Against Nationalism and Zionism appeared first on KPFA.

00:08 — Reza Akbari is a PhD candidate in the history of modern Middle East and Iran at American University. His research focuses on Iranian politics, state-society relations, and U.S. Middle East policy. His Substack is The Guarded Domains. 00:33 — Rick Perlstein is a Historian and Columnist for the American prospect. He is the author of a four-volume series on the history of American politics and the rise of conservatism The post Iran War After the Midterms; Plus, How Congress Can End a War appeared first on KPFA.

00:08 — John Feffer is Director of Foreign Policy in Focus. 00:33 — John Nichols, Executive Editor of the Nation The post Russia’s War in Ukraine; Plus, Unpacking Election Results appeared first on KPFA.

00:08 — Forrest Wilder is a senior writer at Texas Monthly, He grew up in South Texas and the Hill Country. 00:33 — Oscar A. Chacón is a co-founder and executive director of Alianza Americas. The post How Did Texas Become the Country’s Biggest Reversal this Election; Plus, What Does a “Blue Wave” Mean for Immigration Issues appeared first on KPFA.

00:08 — Erin Reed is an transgender journalist writing the newsletter “Erin in the Morning” where she discusses LGBTQIA+ legislation, news and daily life. 00:33 — David Dayen is the executive editor of The American Prospect. His most recent book is Monopolized: Life in the Age of Corporate Power (2020). 00:45 — Tim Redmond, founder of 48hills. Tim Redmond has been a political and investigative reporter in San Francisco for more than 30 years. The post Anti-Trans Laws Passed this Election Despite Progressive Wins; Plus, California Refused to Tax Billionaires; And, San Francisco Elections Results Continued appeared first on KPFA.

00:08 — Steve Phillips is the founder of Democracy in Color, a political media organization. His latest book is Are White Men Smarter Than Everybody Else? 00:33 — Mitchell Plitnick, is a political analyst and writer. He is the president of ReThinking Foreign Policy, and is co-author, with Marc Lamont Hill, of Except for Palestine: The Limits of Progressive Politics. 00:45 — Rouzbeh Parsi is Affiliated researcher in the Department of History & Human Rights Studies at Lund University. The post Debriefing Election Results; Plus, What Midterm Results Signal about Foreign Policy; And, What Comes Next in the War with Iran? appeared first on KPFA.

00:08 — Steve Phillips is the founder of Democracy in Color, a political media organization. His latest book is Are White Men Smarter Than Everybody Else? 00:33 — Joe Eskenazi is managing editor and columnist at Mission Local. 00:45 — Eileen Ma is an attorney and the Democracy and National Initiatives Program Director at the Asian Law Caucus. They recently launched: Know Your Voting Rights: Resources for 2026 Elections. The post Election Day Coverage; Plus, Knowing Your Voter Rights; And, San Francisco Elections appeared first on KPFA.

00:08 — John Feffer is Director of Foreign Policy in Focus. 00:33 — John Nichols, Executive Editor of the Nation. The post Russia’s War in Ukraine; Plus, Election Day Preview appeared first on KPFA.

00:08 — Akela Lacy is a Senior Politics Reporter at The Intercept and co-host of The Intercept Briefing podcast. 00:20 — Eli Day is a reporter covering politics, history, and racial and economic justice. He is a Detroit native and has been closely following the Michigan Senate race. 00:33 — Carter Lavin is Co-Founder of the Transbay Coalition, grassroots public transportation advocacy group. Gregg A. Diéguez is President of the Committee for Affordable Bay Area Transit and Director of Sustainability at SHIFT Bay Area. The post The Billions AIPAC Spent on this Election Cycle; Plus, Abdul El-Sayed and Michigan Senate Race; And, Regional Transit Proposition Debate appeared first on KPFA.

08:00 — John Nichols, Executive Editor of the Nation. 33:00 — Jordan Grimes is Legislative Director at Greenbelt Alliance. The post Election Day Preview; Questions on Proposition 45 appeared first on KPFA.

00:08 — Rouzbeh Parsi is an Affiliated researcher in the Department of History & Human Rights Studies at Lund University. 00:33 — Suzanne Jimenez is Chief of Staff of SEIU-UHW, the lead ballot sponsor of Prop 40. David Kline is Vice President of Communications & Research at The California Taxpayers Association. The post The Prospect of a Post-Election Escalation in the Iran War; Plus, Proposition 40 Debate appeared first on KPFA.

00:08 — Joel Beinin Professor of Middle East History, Emeritus at Stanford University. The post Implications of the Israel Elections Results appeared first on KPFA.

00:08 — Ana Tereza Duarte Lima de Barros, political scientist working as a professor at the Central College of Recife in Brazil. 00:33 — Dr. John Swartzberg, clinical professor emeritus of infectious diseases at UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health. The post Lula Wins Brazil Elections; Plus, Corona Calls with Dr. Swartzberg appeared first on KPFA.

00:08 — Shireen Al-Adeimi is an associate professor of language and literacy at Michigan State University, where her research focuses on classroom discourse and dialogue. For more than a decade, she has written and spoken extensively about the war in Yemen, with a particular focus on US involvement and foreign intervention. 00:33 — Dee Rosario was a lieutenant with the fire department of East Bay Regional Parks District when the Oakland Hills firestorm started. We recorded this interview for the anniversary 5 years ago, after he’d retired from working for the parks district, but while he was still serving on its board, representing district 2. He stepped down from that elected position last year. The post The War in Yemen; Plus, 35 years since the Oakland Hills Fire appeared first on KPFA.

00:08 — Shrishti Khanna is a Mumbai-based writer and activist. Her work focuses on India-Israel relations, authoritarianism and digital surveillance. Her writing has appeared in The Wire, The New Arab, and Azad Essa’s Hostile Homelands newsletter. 00:33 –– Emanuel Maiberg is a reporter for 404 Media. The post Inside India’s Cockroach Movement; Plus, Amazon Mass Ordering, Scanning and Burning Rare Books appeared first on KPFA.

00:08 — Dean Baker is a senior economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research. 00:33 — Sean Dugar is a Berkeley native whose family has called the city home for over a century. Sean has previously served as Political Director for Congresswoman Barbara Lee’s U.S. Senate bid and mayoral campaign in Oakland. The post CorWeave Debt Spiral and the AI Bubble; Plus, Questions on Measure Z appeared first on KPFA.

00:08 — Owen Dahlkamp is a Congress Tech Reporter at POLITICO, with a focus on how tech policy and politics shape Capitol Hill. 00:33 — YES: Trent Lange is President and Executive Director of the California Clean Money Action NO: David Kline is Vice President of Communications & Research at The California Taxpayers Association. The post What’s Inside the AI Regulation Bill Anthropic is Pitching to Lawmakers? Plus, Proposition 4 Debate appeared first on KPFA.

00:08 — John Feffer is Director of Foreign Policy in Focus. 00:33 — Dr. John Swartzberg, clinical professor emeritus of infectious diseases at UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health. The post Russia’s War in Ukraine; Plus, Corona Calls appeared first on KPFA.

00:08 — Eugene Cordero is professor of Meteorology and Climate Science at San Jose State University. 00:20 — Francisco Ortiz, is the President of the United Teachers of Richmond (UTR), the labor union representing educators and staff in the West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCCUSD). 00:33 — Connie Chan is serves as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors for District 1 and is currently running to represent California’s 11th Congressional District, a seat held by Nancy Pelosi for nearly four decades. The post Climate Change, Hurricane Isais and El Niño; Plus, Richmond Community Sees ICE Arrests Near Schools; And, Interview with Connie Chan, Candidate Running to Represent San Francisco in Congress appeared first on KPFA.

00:08 — Melissa Sanchez is a Chicago based reporter for ProPublica covering immigration and labor. Anna Clark is a reporter for ProPublica covering stories rooted in the Midwest that have national resonance. 00:33 — Wendy Fry is an investigative journalist for Calmatters, reporting on immigration. The post Investigation Shows Survivors of Domestic Violence Turned Over to ICE; Plus, Expansion of ICE Efforts Across California Ahead of November Elections appeared first on KPFA.

00:08 — Laura Wojcik is a video journalist at Mediapart, an independent French digital newspaper. She regularly covers urban issues, working-class neighborhoods, gender-based and sexual violence. 00:33 — Aisha Jumaan is president of Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation. She has worked as a public health professional for thirty years with establishments such as the CDC, UNFPA and UNDP and is currently working as an Independent Consultant coordinating health-related projects in Yemen. 00:48 — Nazy Kaviani is Executive Director of Diaspora Arts Connection, a non-profit organization with the goal of helping artists in diaspora and fostering lasting connections among diverse cultural and ethnic groups within the Bay Area through arts and culture events. The post Protests in France; Plus, Escalations in Yemen and Saudi Arabia; And, “Let Her Sing” Celebrates 10 Years appeared first on KPFA.

00:08 — John Nichols, Executive Editor of the Nation. 00:33 — Joel Beinin Professor of Middle East History, Emeritus at Stanford University. The post US Midterm Elections; Plus, Upcoming Israeli Elections appeared first on KPFA.

00:08 — Molly Crabapple is an artist and author of the New York Times bestseller, Here Where We Live is Our Country. Her previous book, Brothers of the Gun, an illustrated collaboration with Syrian war journalist Marwan Hisham, was longlisted for a National Book Award. Her animated films have won two Emmys and an Edward R. Murrow Award. Her art is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art. The post Fund Drive Special: Story of the Jewish Bund with Molly Crabapple Part 2 appeared first on KPFA.