IdeaSphere: A Platform for Today's Voices

Series produced by Guy Rathbun

Series image

This weekly show is devoted to political, social, economic, ecological, philosophical and religious ideas.

This series has been broadcast on public radio, and podcast on National Public Radio for the past 10 years, and has included such luminaries as Robert Reich, Chris Hedges, Michael K. Hudson, Vincent Buligosi, Richard Heinberg, and many more.


371 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
A Technology Tsunami
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: IdeaSphere: A Platform for Today's Voices
Caption: Professor Ed Hess
America is set to lose tens of millions of job in the next 15 years. Some of the best research today estimates that one half of all U.S. jobs will ...

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  • Added: Apr 22, 2019
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 1
Lockdown on RIkers
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: IdeaSphere: A Platform for Today's Voices
Caption: Mary E. Buser
The island became a workhouse in the 1880s. Converted to a jail 50-years later, Rikers Island is not a prison.

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  • Added: Apr 12, 2019
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 1
Killing America’s Heartland
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: IdeaSphere: A Platform for Today's Voices
Caption: Dr. Jonathan M. Metzl
Over the past decade many low and middle income white American’s have thrown their support to conservative politicians. The claim is to make Americ...

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  • Added: Apr 05, 2019
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 1
Race and Social Change
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: IdeaSphere: A Platform for Today's Voices
Caption: Dr. Max Klau
Recent events in America have once again turned the spotlight on the issues of race. Just when we think we are overcoming our racial divide, anothe...

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  • Added: Mar 28, 2019
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 2
Dying to Work: Death and Injury in the American Workplace
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: IdeaSphere: A Platform for Today's Voices
Caption: Jonathan D. Karmel
America’s workers are experiencing another setback in workplace safety. The Trump Administration is blocking a rule that requires most employers to...

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  • Added: Mar 22, 2019
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 1
The Twitter Presidency
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: IdeaSphere: A Platform for Today's Voices
Caption: Dr. Brian Ott
No president has used social media quite like President Trump. Twitter is his instrument of choice, and more often than not, he uses the popular pl...

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  • Added: Mar 15, 2019
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 1
Other's Milk: The Potential for Exceptional Breastfeeding
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: IdeaSphere: A Platform for Today's Voices
Caption: Dr. Kristin J. Wilson
Just two generations ago, breastfeeding was considered second best to infant formula. Today, however, it’s regarded as a newborn’s birthright.

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  • Added: Mar 07, 2019
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 2
Raising White Kids
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: IdeaSphere: A Platform for Today's Voices
Caption: Dr. Jennifer Harvey
America is one of the most racially diverse nations in the world. We’re also a country full of racial tension. These conflicting truths make it esp...

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  • Added: Mar 01, 2019
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 1
City of a Million Dreams
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: IdeaSphere: A Platform for Today's Voices
Caption: Jason Berry
In 2018, New Orleans celebrated its 300th year. The colorful tapestry that make up its history is like no other in America. Likewise, the dichotomy...

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  • Added: Feb 22, 2019
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 2
End Medical Debt
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: IdeaSphere: A Platform for Today's Voices
Caption: Jerry Ashton
Nearly 2-million people will be declaring bankruptcy this year. It’s not because they are careless with their expenses. The cause is unpaid medical...

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  • Added: Feb 15, 2019
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 2
A Defense of Freedom
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: IdeaSphere: A Platform for Today's Voices
Caption: Professor Peter L.P. Simpson
Illiberalism. Now that’s a word you just don’t hear very often. If it sounds like a play on liberalism, you’re right. It’s the lack, or even oppos...

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  • Added: Feb 08, 2019
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 1
How Democracies Die
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: IdeaSphere: A Platform for Today's Voices
Caption: Professor Steven Levitsky
Democracies around the world are struggling. Autocratic regimes are on the rise. Now, America’s democratic structures are showing signs of stress.

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  • Added: Feb 03, 2019
  • Length: 28:59
  • Purchases: 1
Sparking Prosperity
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: IdeaSphere: A Platform for Today's Voices
Caption: Robert E. Friedman
The financial crash of 2008 hit middle and working class families especially hard. They are still struggling.

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  • Added: Jan 23, 2019
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 2
How Fascism Works
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: IdeaSphere: A Platform for Today's Voices
Caption: Professor Jason Stanley
When the people of a country become severely divided, it becomes easier for power to fall into the iron grip of fascism. All it takes is well-desig...

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  • Added: Jan 17, 2019
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 1
State of Confusion
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: IdeaSphere: A Platform for Today's Voices
Caption: Dr. Bryant Welch
Americans are having difficulty distinguishing fact from fiction: Moral from immoral. Society norms are being toppled every day. The word unprecede...

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  • Added: Jan 10, 2019
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 1
Ensuring Poverty
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: IdeaSphere: A Platform for Today's Voices
Caption: Professor Felicia Kornbluh
A central idea of feminism is “Looking at the world as if women matter.” Yet, during the most important public policy debate about women and povert...

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  • Added: Jan 03, 2019
  • Length: 29:01
  • Purchases: 1
Mortal Republic
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: IdeaSphere: A Platform for Today's Voices
Caption: Edward J. Watts
Citizens of ancient Rome willingly sacrificed their freedom for autocracy. When people are convince they have a lot to fear, it’s easier for a powe...

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  • Added: Dec 27, 2018
  • Length: 29:01
  • Purchases: 1
End Kids Cancer
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: IdeaSphere: A Platform for Today's Voices
Caption: End Kids Cancer
Cancer is the second leading cause of death in children from 1 to 14 years old. According to the American Cancer Society more than 10,000 children ...

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  • Added: Dec 18, 2018
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 1
America First
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: IdeaSphere: A Platform for Today's Voices
Caption: Bradley W. Hart
In September 1941, a hero-celebrity stood before a crowd in Iowa and emphatically stated the words, “America First.” Charles Lindbergh was the spea...

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  • Added: Dec 04, 2018
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 1
Redlined: A Memoir of Race, Change, and Fractured Community in 1960s Chicago
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: IdeaSphere: A Platform for Today's Voices
Piece image
The home ownership gap continues to widen.

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Nov 27, 2018
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 1

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