3 chapters across the catalog
Noam Chomsky explains how slavery was reinstituted in a more brutal form after 1877 through the criminalization of black life for minor offenses like vagrancy. This "convict leasing" system provided cheap labor for mines and railroads, fueling American industrialization. The hosts note that this system was often deadlier than traditional slavery because the "owners" had no financial stake in the laborers' survival.
Referencing Noam Chomsky's "Turning the Tide," the hosts discuss the "Fifth Freedom"—the U.S. imperial right to rob, exploit, and kill. A 1983 interview with a former agent highlights the cold reality of foreign policy measured by this right. The hosts argue that the term "white supremacy" is a more accurate identifier for what others call "the establishment" or "imperialism."
Noam Chomsky discusses "The Crisis of Democracy," a report by the Trilateral Commission that argued there was "too much democracy" in the 1960s. The elite concern was that institutions like schools and churches failed to properly indoctrinate the young. This led to the hijacking of counterculture movements, such as those in Laurel Canyon, by the military-industrial complex.
