Old Mole Variety Hour

 

The Old Mole burrows down to the roots of the great issues of our time – the struggles of ordinary people for democratic and sustainable ways of life.  The Mole goes where corporate media fear to tread, supporting grassroots challenges to top-down authority and giving voice to movements that shake the foundations of an unjust society.  The Moles' perspective is democratic, broadly socialist, and feminist.  (We count Karl Marx as a friend).

Here is why we call this show "The Old Mole"

Old Mole on Facebook

 Our theme "Mole in the Ground" is by Bascom Lamar Lunsford  (1924), somtimes blended with a newer versions, like the one  by dj/rupture, sung by Sindhu Zagoren.  It's on the album Special Gunpowder. 

Our graphic lettering is  by Charlie Ertola.

You can leave comments for the Moles at  oldmolevarietyhour@gmail.com or by clicking on the comment section for any of our audio pieces.  

 

Hosted by

Bill Resnick
Clayton Morgareidge
Denise Morris
Frann Michel
Laurie Mercier
Tom Becker
Joe Clement
Larry Bowlden
haakenj
Old Mole

Episode Archive

Old Mole Variety Hour

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Program: 
Old Mole Variety Hour
Air date: 
Mon, 01/12/2009 - 9:00am - 10:00am
Short Description: 
A program of social and political commentary from a socialist-feminist point of view.

Well-known writer and activist Holly Sklar talks with Bill Resnick about the deep changes in the economy needed to solve the problem of poverty.  The Moles  also cover the war in Gaza, and the Movie Moles tell us why the original version of The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) is better than the new one now playing. 

Old Mole Variety Hour

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Program: 
Old Mole Variety Hour
Air date: 
Mon, 01/05/2009 - 9:00am - 10:00am
Short Description: 
A program of social and political commentary from a socialist-feminist point of view.

The housing crisis continues as more people become homeless  because of foreclosures.  On this program, Bill Resnick talks with Chester Hartman, Director of Research for the Poverty and Race Research Action Council, about  the problem and how it could be solved. The Movie Moles will  review Slumdog Millionaire, and Tom Becker will read from the Guardian on the Palestinian-Israeli struggle. 

Old Mole Variety Hour

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Program: 
Old Mole Variety Hour
Air date: 
Mon, 12/29/2008 - 9:00am - 10:00am
Short Description: 
A program of social and political commentary from a socialist-feminist point of view.

This program revolves  around the prospects for universal health care in the Obama years and beyond.   Can we have real universal coverage in a profit-driven insurance system?   Why are other nations better at this than the US?   And we hear a review of  Kaye Gibbons' novel Sights Unseen in which issues of mental health are raised.  

Old Mole Variety Hour

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Program: 
Old Mole Variety Hour
Air date: 
Mon, 12/22/2008 - 9:00am - 10:00am
Short Description: 
A program of social and political commentary from a socialist-feminist point of view.

Topics on this edition of the Old Mole include:
•    How Obama’s foreign policy might affect the poorer nations of the world
•    the role of remorse in granting parole, with reference to Diane Downs
•    the dying death penalty; and
•    why Eric Holder is the only cabinet pick the  Republicans fear.
 

Old Mole Variety Hour

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Program: 
Old Mole Variety Hour
Air date: 
Mon, 12/08/2008 - 9:00am - 10:00am
Short Description: 
A program of social and political commentary from a socialist-feminist point of view.

Topics on the Old Mole Variety Hour for December 8 include
•    the music of John Lennon,
•    Gus Van Sant’s movie Milk,
•    the hearts and minds of anti-gay marriage voters, and
•    the auto industry bailout. 
 

Old Mole Variety Hour

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Program: 
Old Mole Variety Hour
Air date: 
Mon, 12/01/2008 - 9:00am - 10:00am

Today's topics include creating an economy that works for peace, sustainable production, and compassionate human caring in the current crisis and a look at the roots of the Mumbai massacre.

Old Mole Variety Hour

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Program: 
Old Mole Variety Hour
Air date: 
Mon, 11/24/2008 - 9:00am - 10:00am
Short Description: 
A program of social and political commentary from a socialist-feminist point of view.

On the Old Mole Variety Hour, film theorist Robert Samuels talks with Jan Haaken about the politics of comedy and irony in entertainment, as for example in Madagascar 2, Tropic Thunder, Religulous, and W.  Bill Resnick and Economist Arthur McEwan discuss the spiraling economic crisis.  And Clayton Morgareidge looks at the situation in Afghanistan in light of President-elect Obama’s policy to ramp up the war there.  

Old Mole Variety Hour

Categories:
Program: 
Old Mole Variety Hour
Air date: 
Mon, 11/17/2008 - 9:00am - 10:00am
Short Description: 
A program of social and political commentary from a socialist-feminist point of view.

The Movie Moles discuss “Queen of Hearts,” a documentary about Darcelle’s – the nation’s oldest suriving Drag club right here in Portland.  We also hear from David Oaks who challenges the dominance of drugs and the medicalizing of madness in psychiatry.  He urges organizing psychiatric survivors around patients’ rights.  

Old Mole Variety Hour

Categories:
Program: 
Old Mole Variety Hour
Air date: 
Mon, 11/10/2008 - 9:00am - 10:00am
Short Description: 
A program of social and political commentary from a socialist-feminist point of view.

Today the Moles  reflect  on the Obama victory: its impact on black folks and the left’s response: euphoria, high hopes, and the advice he’s  getting on health care,  unions, the environment, as well as worries about his first appointments.   We’ll also hear  a  tribute to the late Studs Terkel.

Old Mole Variety Hour

Categories:
Program: 
Old Mole Variety Hour
Air date: 
Mon, 11/03/2008 - 9:00am - 10:00am

 

Bill Resnick looks at the entrenched forces in the US policy making apparatus that will challenge the new President -- like the Federal Reserve,  the army, and the dominant role in Congress of conservative Democrats.  Denise Morris interviews an activist from Dicentra, a Portland  area collective that creates radical communities of care, networks of support, and  movements based on relationship building and collective narratives  from our lives. 


Audio

Clinton or Obama?

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program: 
Old Mole Variety Hour
program date: 
Sun, 02/03/2008

 Christopher Hayes, Washington Editor of The Nation magazine, talks with the Old Mole's Bill Resnick about similarities and differences between the two Democratic candidtates.  They also discuss their limitations.  Hayes recently wrote "The Choice" in which he declares his preference.  You can read it here.

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Cascade Festival of African Films

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program: 
Old Mole Variety Hour
program date: 
Sun, 02/03/2008

 Brooke Jacobson and Jan Haaken tell us what's going on at the African Film Festival now underway at the PCC Cascade Campus and at other Portland venues.  For the schedule, click here, or  phone (503) 244-6111 ext. 3630.

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Movie Moles: "Mad Money"

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program: 
Old Mole Variety Hour
program date: 
Sun, 02/03/2008

 Movie Mole Denise Morris and special guest Sahrah Sayyam review the female heist/caper  movie "Mad Money."  

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Old Mole Variety Hour for February 4, 2008

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program: 
Old Mole Variety Hour
program date: 
Sun, 02/03/2008

 This edition of the Old Mole Variety Hour is hosted by Denise Morris and is about Africa, movies, and presidential politics.  The arrow above will get you the whole show.  You can hear the pieces, and get more information about them, by clicking on their titles below.

1.  The Choice: Clinton or Obabma?  Christopher Hayes of The Nation talks with Bill Resnick about the strengths and limitations of the two candidates.

2.  Everybody Reads.  Maude Heines and Jan Haaken explain the Multnomah County Library program Everybody Reads and discuss the book that "everybody" is currently reading.  

3.  The Cascade Festival of African Films.  Jan Haaken and Brooke Jacobson discuss the films being shown at the African Film Festival going on this month. 

4.  Mad Money.  The Movie Moles review this female heist movie.  

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African Film Festival

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program: 
Old Mole Variety Hour
program date: 
Sun, 01/27/2008

 The African Film Festival is going on all this month.  Jan Haaken and PC Peri of the Flying Focus Video Collective discuss the films that will be shown and their importance in bringing greater awareness of African diversity to Portland.  You can learn all about the films and how to see them by clicking here.  

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Movie Review: Persepolis

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program: 
Old Mole Variety Hour
program date: 
Sun, 01/27/2008

 Our Movie Moles Frann Michel and Denise Morris comment on Persepolis, the animated film based on the graphic novel of the same name by Marjane Satrapi.  The film (and the book) is the autobiographical story of a young girl growing up in revolutionary Iran.  You can learn more about the film here, and listen to the author being interviewed on Kboo here.  There's also more about the film from Amin Farzanefar at this site.

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On the Global Waterfront

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program: 
Old Mole Variety Hour
program date: 
Sun, 01/27/2008

 Susan Erem, co-author of On the Global Waterfront: The Fight to Free the Charleston 5, talks with the Old Mole's Bill Resnick about how the longshoremen of South Carolina were prosecuted on trumped-up charges of inciting a riot, and how, with international labor support, they were victorious.  Bill and Susan discuss the political forces at play in the case.  More about the book here.  

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Old Mole Variety Hour for January 28, 2008

Categories:
program: 
Old Mole Variety Hour
program date: 
Sun, 01/27/2008

 Here is the January 28 show in its entirety.  Hosted by Tom Becker, it includes these segments, which can be heard individually by clicking on them.

1.  Algernon Alston and Bill Resnick discuss race, poverty, and the sinking economy.  

2.  The African Film Festival going on in Februrary is discussed by PC Peri and the Old Mole's Jan Haaken.

3.  Movie Moles Frann Michel and Denise Morris give us the scoop on Persepolis, a film about an Iranian girl growing up in the midst of the Iranian revolution.

4.  Bill Resnick interviews Suzan Eram about her  book On the Global Waterfront.  It's a success story of international labor support.   

Additional information and links will be found at the web pages for  each of these segments.  

  • Title: OMV 1_28_08
  • Length: 53:54 minutes (49.35 MB)
  • Format: MP3 Stereo 44kHz 128Kbps (CBR)
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Race, Poverty, and the Economy

Categories:
program: 
Old Mole Variety Hour
program date: 
Sun, 01/27/2008

 Bill Resnick talks with Algernon Alston of the Economic Policy Institute (epi.org) about what the recession means for people of color and those with limited incomes.  They discuss policies that could lift the burden and the liklihood of their enactment.  Alston's writings on these issues can be found at the EPI website.  

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Economic Crisis and the Left

Categories:
program: 
Old Mole Variety Hour
program date: 
Sun, 01/20/2008

 Bill Resnick talks with labor activist and writer Sam Gindin about what progressives need to do when the economy goes in the tank.  Economic crises don't signal the end of capitalism or the rise of the working class.   The answer: Organize!  More about Sam Gindin here.  Gindin's essay "Anti-Capitalism and the Terrain of Social Justice" won the Daniel Singer prize, and you can read it here.    

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Comments

podcast

Submitted by troutdaleindependent on Thu, 08/16/2012 - 8:17am.

Hi, when will the August 13th podcast be posted? 

Avatar's Jake Sully is ---- Tarzan - - -

Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 01/15/2010 - 12:43am.

 

A great review I've seen on Avatar (and how the soldier will save the people):

http://www.progressive.org/mp/danto010510.html

There is a link from there that exposes Cameron's plot as a mirror of Pocahontas, amazing parallel!      http://failblog.org/2010/01/10/avatar-plot-fail/

 

Since watching Avatar, I have viewed older videos on DVD and would rate that ahead of Avatar.

 

mel

 

 

 

commentary transcripts

Submitted by KBOO (not verified) on Mon, 08/04/2008 - 10:57am.

It's convenient to have the Old Mole audio files available.
Even more useful for some of us would be transcripts of the commentaries (Clayton Morgareidge). Written material allows a person a chance to review, consider, digest and refer to mentioned references & thinkers. The "Well Read Red" commentary from 4 Aug 08 is a good example of a piece I'd like to read at my own pace.

transcripts

Submitted by Clayton Morgareidge on Tue, 08/05/2008 - 6:41pm.
We will see to it that this happens whenever there is a prepared text. Thanks for the suggestion. Clayton Morgareidge The Old Mole Variety Hour

These folks are so profound

Submitted by Joe (not verified) on Sat, 07/26/2008 - 2:23pm.

These folks are so profound and fascinating, especially the Resnick guy. Wow!

good post

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