A Conversation with Randi Weingarten About Fighting Back Against the War on America's Public Schools

Randi Weingarten is the guest on this week's episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show. She is the president of the American Federation of Teachers and one of the country's leading advocates (and defenders) for public education and a true "we the people" democracy. 

During this episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show, Randi and Chauncey discuss the war on America's public schools and teachers being waged by Donald Trump and Betsy DeVos, how "privatization" and other neoliberal "reforms are actually hurting American society, race and class and the Commons, gangster capitalism, and the ways that the battle for health care and public education intersect.

This week's podcast also features a special segment honoring the life and work of the American auteur and master filmmaker George Romero who passed away several weeks ago. 

Author Joe Lansdale stops by to offer his thoughts on Romero's legacy and the politics and impact of Night of the Living Dead. "Champion" Joe also tells a great story--as only he can--about seeing Night of the Living Dead at a drive-in theater during its initial release in 1968.

Writer and podcaster Alasdair Stuart also sits down at the virtual bar and salon to offer his insights about George Romero's impact on the United Kingdom in addition to sharing some thoughts on the present state of zombie horror cinema. 

In this week's episode, Chauncey DeVega reflects on how in Donald Trump's America history may not be repeating itself but it sure does rhyme. To that end, Chauncey shares a newspaper column from The New York Times that was written in 1922. The author's conclusion? Hitler did not really hate the Jews and was just pandering to get support from an ignorant public. 

This episode with Randi Weingarten, Joe Lansdale, and Alasdair Stuart can be downloaded from Libysn and also listened to here.

The Chauncey DeVega Show is available on Itunes, Spotify and at Stitcher.