Shows / KPFA - Against the Grain
KPFA - Against the Grain
Acclaimed program of ideas, in-depth analysis, and commentary on a variety of matters—political, economic, social, and cultural—important to progressive and radical thinking and activism. Against the Grain is produced and hosted by Sasha Lilley.
Episodes
KPFA - Against the GrainWeaponizing the Left’s Media Criticism
How did conservatives come to dominate so much of the media in the U.S.? Historian A.J. Bauer looks at the formative period between the advent and repeal of…
KPFA - Against the GrainDeferring to Computers
For many decades, the idea has held sway that we humans should leave consequential decisions to a higher power: computers. And that assumption has become more…
KPFA - Against the GrainWhy Trans Misogyny?
The backlash against trans people, which has swept both the United States and the world in recent years, is not as new as it seems, according to historian…
KPFA - Against the GrainRethinking Capitalism
The rise and fall of unemployment, our dependence on the market for our livelihoods — such things are taken as a given. But economist Clara Mattei suggests we…
KPFA - Against the GrainAgainst the Attention Economy
It’s been called a new gold rush, yet not of our external environment, but of our internal environment — of our minds and psyches. Historian of science D…
KPFA - Against the GrainTexas: Vanguard of the Far Right
The Texas Republican Party has evolved from a corporate libertarian institution to one in which free market capitalism and evangelical Christianity are united…
KPFA - Against the GrainThe Anti-Defamation League and the Left
Scholar Emmaia Gelman reflects on the Anti-Defamation League’s long history of targeting the left in the United States and abroad. She describes the purported…
KPFA - Against the GrainAI, the Media, and the Billionaire Class
The Trump administration has exposed the enormous power, as well as astounding wealth, of the billionaire class. And the power of that class partially emanates…
KPFA - Against the GrainFighting Surveillance
The revelations of widespread surveillance by the National Security Agency after 9/11 brought to light one aspect of how the government has capitalized on…
KPFA - Against the GrainTriumph of the Yuppie
In the 1980s, yuppies were celebrated in the media and reviled by many others. Working in finance or as management consultants or lawyers, they quickly put…
KPFA - Against the GrainSex and Strength
Are women as strong as men? According to science writer Starre Vartan, in some cases, they are stronger. She argues that scientific research over the last…
KPFA - Against the GrainControlling Workers
Over the past four centuries, owners have sought to wrest control of the labor process away from the workers in plantations, factories, and warehouse. Ideas…
KPFA - Against the GrainHow the GOP Lurched Further to the Right
The Republican Party has traditionally been the party of the business class. But since the era of Newt Gingrich in the 1990s, the GOP has been marked by…
KPFA - Against the GrainChanging Sound
We inhabit a world in which what we look at — what we see, read, scroll through — has often supplanted what we hear. The visual has replaced sound. But, of…
KPFA - Against the GrainCapitalism and Insect-Borne Diseases
Over the last half century, diseases carried by insects — such as malaria and dengue, Zika and Lyme disease — have greatly increased. Sociologists Brent Kaup…
- KPFA - Against the Grain
Fund Drive Special: Artificial Intelligence, the Media, and the Billionaire Class
If it weren’t obvious before, the Trump administration has exposed the enormous power, as well as astounding wealth, of the billionaire class. And the power of…
- KPFA - Against the Grain
Against the Grain – May 19, 2026
A radio and web media project whose aim is to provide in-depth analysis and commentary on a variety of matters — political, economic, social and cultural —…
- KPFA - Against the Grain
Fund Drive Special: Against the Attention Economy
It’s been called a new gold rush, but not of our external environment, which continues to be plundered, but of our internal environment — of our psyches…
- KPFA - Against the Grain
Fund Drive Special: Fossil Capitalism and Trees
For as long as we’ve known, humans have revered ancient trees. We have also destroyed them, especially since the advent of colonialism and fossil fuel…