Peace Now! with Medea Benjamin and Code Pink

Americans want to think of ourselves as peace-loving people, but the facts contradict the myth: US military bases stretch around the globe; nuclear weapons poised to strike from flying fortresses circle the earth; the US is the top global arms dealer as well as Number One in the world in terms of military spending; and we live in a permanent war economy with the largest corporate welfare program in world history—hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars flowing into private companies, almost half going to no-bid contracts with Halliburton, Lockheed Martin, and Northrup Grumman. The war in Ukraine has been a boon to war-mongers and war-profiteers everywhere, and it could have been avoided. We’re joined in conversation with Medea Benjamin, a leading antiwar activist, and author of War in Ukraine: Making Sense of a Senseless Conflict. BONUS!Stay tuned, because we will shortly drop a brief, bonus episode this week — a voting guide of sorts, and a conversation with Maya Dukmasova and Charles Preston of Injustice Watch, a different kind of newsroom with a focus on serious, sustained inquiry, and journalism as an educational project—you know, the Fourth (or Fifth) Estate.

Om Podcasten

“Under the Tree” is a new podcast that focuses on freedom—a complex, layered, dynamic, and often contradictory idea—and takes you on a journey each week to fundamentally reimagine how we can bring freedom and liberation to life in relation to schools and schooling, equality and justice, and learning to live together in peace. Our podcast opens a crawl-space, a fugitive field and firmament where we can both explore our wildest freedom dreams, and organize for a liberating insurgency. "Under the Tree" is a seminar, and it runs the gamut from current events to the arts, from history lessons to scientific inquiries, and from essential readings to frequent guest speakers. We’re in the midst of the largest social uprising in US history—and what better time to dive headfirst into the wreckage, figuring out as we go how to support the rebellion, name it, and work together to realize its most radical possibilities—and to reach its farthest horizons?