WPKN Archives: 05.05.25: Counterpoint host Scott Harris discusses Trump's attack on democracy with Ralph Nader; Israel's food blockade and violation of human rights in Gaza; Yale bans Pro-Palestinian campus group; RFK Jr's disinformation on vaccines and public health

Episode Info

Original Aired:
Monday, May 5th, 2025
8:03PM to 9:31PM

Duration:
1 hour, 28 minutes

Posted:
Monday, May 5th, 2025 8:02PM

Tags:
democracy israel war fascism un gaza palestinians disinformation constitution trump ralphnader yale deportation freespeech authoritarianism ruleoflaw famine repression hhs publichealth blockade extortion vaccines icj rfkjr measles unrwa protestban bengvir


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Episode: 05.05.25: Counterpoint host Scott Harris discusses Trump's attack on democracy with Ralph Nader; Israel's food blockade and violation of human rights in Gaza; Yale bans Pro-Palestinian campus group; RFK Jr's disinformation on vaccines and public health

COUNTERPOINT RADIO, hosted by Scott Harris, is heard every Monday night on WPKN 89.5 FM, Bridgeport, CT between 8:00 – 9:30 pm ET. Webstreaming and audio archive at http://wpkn.org

1) Ralph Nader, America’s best known and most effective public interest lawyer, who ran for president four times with the Green Party and as an independent, talks about the current constitutional crisis under the Trump regime, and his new book, "Civic Self-Respect," a handbook on democracy and the ways in which citizens are empowered by their several roles, not only as voters, but through other roles: such as worker, parent and veteran.

2) Craig Mokhiber, an international human rights lawyer and former director of the New York Office of the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights who resigned in protest in 2023 because of the unfolding genocide in Gaza and the UN’s failures. He'll discuss Israel's blockade of food supplies to Gaza starving 2.3 million Palestinians, recent International Court of Justice hearings on Israel's attack on, and interference with UNRWA and other UN agencies in Palestine -- and the long term impact of Israel and the U.S. government's undermining of international law and the likely impact on future conflicts around the world.

3) Mark Colville, a longtime social justice activist who leads New Haven, CT's Amistad Catholic Worker House, and a Yale student discuss Yale University administrators decision to revoke Yalies4Palestine university club status, the larger issues of freedom of speech on campus, the illegitimate conflation of any criticism of Israel with antisemitism, and the Trump administration's attack on colleges and university federal funding in an effort to suppress dissent and academic freedom.

4) Dr. Kristen Panthagani, PhD, a resident physician, Yale Emergency Scholar at Yale New Haven Hospital, and a research fellow focusing on population health, epidemiology, communication and misinformation. She'll discuss criticism of Trump-appointed HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s spread of disinformation about the safety of vaccines, promotion of bogus "cures" for the growing measles epidemic, regressive rhetoric about people suffering with autism, the mass firing of federal research scientists and budget cuts ending research into Alzheimers and cancer.

Some segments featured on Counterpoint are edited for re-broadcast on the syndicated Between The Lines radio news magazine. Visit their web site at http://www.btlonline.org for free subscriptions to mp3 - podcast audio files, program summaries and interview transcripts. An archive of current and past Counterpoint interviews are accessible for free at our Counterpoint Radio web site: http://counterpointradio.org The full 1.5 hour unedited program can be accessed for a 2-week period after the show, at the WPKN Radio archives: http://archives.wpkn.org/bookmarks/search/counterpoint

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