Smith tries to decipher the weird world of presidential politics; Brorby discusses his book on the literature of fracking; Naishtat, a Texas progressive icon, talks about his exit from politics.
Glenn W. Smith on Rag Radio Friday, February 19, 2016. Photo by Roger Baker / The Rag Blog.
The following podcasts are from recent Rag Radio shows. The syndicated Rag Radio program, produced in the studios of Austin’s cooperatively-run KOOP-FM, has an international audience and has become an influential platform for interviews with leading figures in politics, current events, literature, and cutting-edge culture.
♦ The Weird World of Presidential Politics with Political Guru Glenn W. Smith
Trump vs. the Pope. Bernie vs. Hillary. The Republicans vs. Sanity! Progress Texas PAC director and Rag Radio political analyst Glenn W. Smith joins Thorne Dreyer in a discussion of — YES! — the weird world of presidential politics. Glenn Smith writes a weekly column for Quorum Report, is a former political reporter for the Houston Chronicle and the Houston Post, and managed Ann Richards’ winning Texas gubernatorial campaign.
Read the full show description and download the podcast of our February 19, 2016 Rag Radio interview with Glenn Smith, here — or listen to it here:
♦ Taylor Brorby, Editor of ‘Fracture: Essays, Poems, and Stories on Fracking in America’
We visit the intersection of literature and the environment with award-winning essayist and poet Taylor Brorby, who is editor of Fracture: Essays, Poems, and Stories on Fracking in America from Ice Cube Press. Taylor talks about the special role that creative writing can play in addressing the growing concerns about our environment. We also discuss the current state of fracking and the destruction it is causing across the country.
Read the full show description and download the podcast of our February 12, 2016 Rag Radio interview with Taylor Brorby here — or listen to it here:
♦ Elliott Naishtat, Champion of Texas Progressive Politics
Democratic State Rep. Elliott Naishtat, a Texas progressive icon, joins Thorne Dreyer to talk about his life, his career, and Texas politics — and why he decided to retire after 26 years in the notoriously conservative Texas Legislature. The Austin Chronicle said that, “Along with Congressmen Lloyd Doggett, Naishtat has been the defining face of Austin progressive politics for over two decades.” This is an informative, entertaining, and very important interview.
Read the full show description and download the podcast of our January 29, 2016 Rag Radio interview with Elliott Naishtat — or listen to it here:
- Friday, Feb. 26, 2016: Folk/Country/Honky-Tonk Band, The Melancholy Rangers.
- Friday, March 4, 2016: Progressive Populist Pundit and Bernie Sanders Surrogate, Jim Hightower.
Rag Radio, a weekly hour-long syndicated radio program that has aired more than 300 original shows since September 2009, is produced and hosted by Rag Blog editor Thorne Dreyer. Tracey Schulz is engineer and co-producer.
Rag Radio is produced in the studios of KOOP 91.7-FM, a cooperatively-run all-volunteer community radio station in Austin, Texas, and is first broadcast live on KOOP every Friday from 2-3 p.m. (CDT) and streamed live on the web. All Rag Radio shows are posted as podcasts at the Internet Archive.
Rag Radio can also be heard on WFTE, 90.3-FM in Mt. Cobb, PA, and 105.7-FM in Scranton, PA., on KPFT-HD3 90.1, Pacifica radio in Houston, on KKRN 88.5-FM in Round Mountain, CA, and as a featured podcast at Veterans Today. Find details here.
After broadcast, all Rag Radio shows are posted as podcasts at the Internet Archive.
Rag Radio is produced in association with The Rag Blog, a progressive Internet newsmagazine, and the New Journalism Project, a Texas 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation.
Please contact us at ragradio@koop.org.
[Thorne Dreyer is an Austin-based writer, editor, broadcaster, and activist. A pioneering alternative journalist, Dreyer was a founding editor of the original Rag in 1966 Austin and Space City! in Houston, and managed KPFT-FM, Houston’s Pacifica radio station. Dreyer now edits The Rag Blog, hosts Rag Radio, and is a director of the New Journalism Project. Contact Dreyer at editor@theragblog.com.]
