Street art with the face of Victor Jara; "Give us your strength and bravery to struggle." Artist unknown; sponsored by the Schools of Psychology of the State Universities of Chile. Photo by Marcela Urra and licensed under Creative Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Victor_Jara_-_Danos_tu_fuerza_y_...
Norm Diamond hosts this episode of the Old Mole, which includes the following segments:
The Other 9/11: This is the 50th anniversary of the US-supported military coup in Chile that overthrew the democratically-elected, left-leaning government of Salvador Allende. Norm Diamond talks with Christian Araos about that history. They discuss how Allende was able to gain the presidency and what he was able to accomplish, the forces against him, and the continuing consequences of the coup five decades later. Araos is the Co-Chair for the Americas of the DSA International Committee.
The Life and Death of Victor Jara: Desiree Hellegers reads excerpts from their essay “Victor Jara's Hands: An Anti-fascist Memoir-Festo and Brief Personal History of Neoliberalism” about the life and music of the Chilean folksinger who was tortured to death in the wake of the U.S.-supported Chilean coup. We hear excerpts from Jara's songs alongside reflections on the long afterlife of Jara’s music, which continues to inspire anti-fascist resistance today in Chile–and around the world.
The Five Wounds: It’s not easy to write a novel that tells an engaging story, has the reader identifying with a diverse range of characters, and at the same time shines a light on how race, gender, and class affect people’s lives. But writer and photographer Matt Witt says that's what author Kirstin Valdez Quade accomplished in her extraordinary new novel called The Five Wounds.
March On Washington: We recently celebrated the 60th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Norm Diamond looks back at Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “I have a dream” speech, and how it and King’s legacy has been distorted by the right and all too often misremembered by the rest of us.
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