COUNTERPOINT RADIO, hosted by Scott Harris, is heard every Monday night on WPKN 89.5 FM, Bridgeport, CT between 8:00 – 9:30 pm ET. Webstreaming and audio archive at http://wpkn.org

Some segments featured on Counterpoint are edited for re-broadcast on the syndicated Between The Lines radio news magazine. Visit their web site at http://www.btlonline.org for free subscriptions to mp3 - podcast audio files, program summaries and interview transcripts. An archive of current and past Counterpoint interviews are accessible for free at our Counterpoint Radio web site: http://counterpointradio.org The full 1.5 hour unedited program can be accessed for a 2 week period after the show, at the WPKN Radio archives: http://archives.wpkn.org/bookmarks/search/counterpoint

1) Graylan Scott Hagler, an advisor with FOR-USA, the founder and president of Faith Strategies USA, and retired Senior Minister at Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ in Washington, D.C. Rev. Hagler will discuss his recent column, "The Killing of Charles James Kirk: Violent Speech Leads to Violence," and his views and experiences re: Trump's deployment of National Guard troops to Washington, D.C.

2) Madison Sheppard, youth climate activist and Lead Organizer with Fridays For Future Cape Cod, will discuss the upcoming "Make Billionaires Pay" international mobilization for climate justice happening 9/19–9/21/25 -- with a focus on the issues, demands, and information on how listeners can participate in this action.

3) Justin Glawe, an independent journalist and editor of the American Doom newsletter, discusses his latest column, "Martial Law is Already Here," rising polarization and US political violence in the aftermath of the murder of Charlie Kirk in Utah, and the blatant politicization and dysfunction of the Trump FBI and Dept. of Justice.

4) Kimberly Gill, Community Director with New Haven, CT's Brave Nature School, Carl Halberg and Hugo Crick-Furman of the Bread and Puppet Theater, talk about the B&P performance at New Haven's Edgerton Park 5:30 pm on September 18th titled, "Our Domestic Resurrection Revolution in Progress Circus." Dempsey will discuss the philosophy and mission of the Brave Nature School.

COUNTERPOINT RADIO, hosted by Scott Harris, is heard every Monday night on WPKN 89.5 FM, Bridgeport, CT between 8:00 – 9:30 pm ET. Webstreaming and audio archive at http://wpkn.org

Some segments featured on Counterpoint are edited for re-broadcast on the syndicated Between The Lines radio news magazine. Visit their web site at http://www.btlonline.org for free subscriptions to mp3 - podcast audio files, program summaries and interview transcripts. An archive of current and past Counterpoint interviews are accessible for free at our Counterpoint Radio web site: http://counterpointradio.org The full 1.5 hour unedited program can be accessed for a 2 week period after the show, at the WPKN Radio archives: http://archives.wpkn.org/bookmarks/search/counterpoint

1) Trump's Authoritarian Agenda Must Be Defeated and New Guardrails Legislated to Defend Democracy

Brett Edkins, Stand Up America’s Managing Director of Policy and Political Affairs, discusses his group's work defending democracy, opposing Trump's military deployments to L.A., Washington, D.C. - and likely other US cities -- the Trump/GOP attempt to rig the 2026 midterm election -- as well as the work Stand Up America is doing with the national "Not Above the Law Coalition."

2) Trump's Destructive and Mercurial Foreign Policy Alienates Adversaries and Allies Alike

Melvin A. Goodman is a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy and a professor of government at Johns Hopkins University. A former CIA analyst, Goodman is the author of "Failure of Intelligence: The Decline and Fall of the CIA"and "National Insecurity: The Cost of American Militarism." Goodman, the national security columnist for Counterpunch.org, talks about his recent commentary, "Trump and the Post-American World," and Trump's recent attack on a speedboat that killed 11 on board off the coast of Venezuela, and the US naval buildup in the region.

3) Activists and Organizers Dealing with Information Overload and Trump Outrage Fatigue

Micah Sifry, Editor of the Connector newsletter, discusses his recent article, "Keep Calm and Protect Democracy," on the issues of "Pro-democracy activists and veteran organizers alike struggling with information overload and outrage fatigue -- while also reflecting on his recent conversation with Ian Bassin, the executive director of Protect Democracy on the seven steps to autocracy and how to resist them.

4) WPKN Radio Co-Sponsors Latino Heritage Month Workshops on Immigrant Rights and Safety

Pierre F. D'Haiti, Community Engagement Officer at Bridgeport CT's Housatonic Community College, talks about two workshops sponsored by WPKN during Latino Heritage Month at Housatonic September 17th and 29th. The sessions from 7 to 9 p.m., will focus on immigrant rights and safety, addressing such questions as, what should you do if ICE stops you, and what are your rights? What is the red card? What is the red folder? If you don’t know the answers to these questions, and you’re either a possible enforcement target or know someone who might be, the events could be life-saving.

COUNTERPOINT RADIO, hosted by Scott Harris, is heard every Monday night on WPKN 89.5 FM, Bridgeport, CT between 8:00 – 9:30 pm ET. Webstreaming and audio archive at http://wpkn.org

Some segments featured on Counterpoint are edited for re-broadcast on the syndicated Between The Lines radio news magazine. Visit their web site at http://www.btlonline.org for free subscriptions to mp3 - podcast audio files, program summaries and interview transcripts. An archive of current and past Counterpoint interviews are accessible for free at our Counterpoint Radio web site: http://counterpointradio.org The full 1.5 hour unedited program can be accessed for a 2 week period after the show, at the WPKN Radio archives: http://archives.wpkn.org/bookmarks/search/counterpoint

1) The U.S. Labor Movement Must Organize its Members to Fight the Trump-MAGA Fascist Threat

Bill Fletcher Jr., former president of TransAfrica Forum, a Senior Scholar with the Institute for Policy Studies, and the author of “They’re Bankrupting Us!”: And 20 Other Myths about Unions” -- his latest novel is titled, "The Man Who Changed Colors." He'll discuss the critical issues examined in his recent In These Times magazine article, "The Labor Movement Is in a Fight for Its Existence Against a Neofascist Threat."

2) A Desperate Trump Could Order the National Guard to Intervene in the 2026 Election

Justin Glawe, an independent journalist and editor of the American Doom newsletter, discusses the urgent issues examined in his recent article, "How Trump's National Guard shock troops could seize voting machines," and other concerns about the security of the 2026 midterm election that Trump and the Republican Party are clearly worried they'll lose - and now taking action on to rig the outcome.

3) Will the World Support a UN Plan That Could End Israel's Gaza Genocide?

Craig Mokhiber, former director of the New York Office of the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights, who resigned in protest from his post in 2023, due to the unfolding Gaza genocide and the UN’s failures. He'll discuss his recent article, "How the UN Could Act Today to Stop the Genocide in Palestine," and the general failure of international law in Gaza, Palestine and Israel.

4) Trump Orders Shutdown of $4 Billion RI - CT Wind Farm Project That's 80% Complete

Aziz Dehkan, Executive Director/Lead Organizer with Connecticut Roundtable on Climate and Jobs, discusses CRCJ's response to the Trump Administration's order halting construction of the Revolution Wind offshore wind project that is 80% complete, that would power 350,000 homes in CT and Rhode Island, as well as the other priorities the group is working on in the state legislature this year.

COUNTERPOINT RADIO, hosted by Scott Harris, is heard every Monday night on WPKN 89.5 FM, Bridgeport, CT between 8:00 – 9:30 pm ET. Webstreaming and audio archive at http://wpkn.org

Some segments featured on Counterpoint are edited for re-broadcast on the syndicated Between The Lines radio news magazine. Visit their web site at http://www.btlonline.org for free subscriptions to mp3 - podcast audio files, program summaries and interview transcripts. An archive of current and past Counterpoint interviews are accessible for free at our Counterpoint Radio web site: http://counterpointradio.org The full 1.5 hour unedited program can be accessed for a 2 week period after the show, at the WPKN Radio archives: http://archives.wpkn.org/bookmarks/search/counterpoint

1) Progressive Groups Push Democrats to Back Resolution Suspending US Military Aid to Israel

Sam Rosenthal, Political Director with the group RootsAction.org talks about the ongoing genocide in Gaza, and the coalition of progressive groups supporting a resolution calling for “an immediate ceasefire, an arms embargo and suspension of military aid to Israel” that will be heard at a meeting of the Democratic National Committee August 25th to 27th.

2) Labor Day 2025: Unions Organize Nationwide 'Workers Over Billionaires' Rallies to Fight Trump Attacks on Working Families.

Constanza Segovia, Organizing Director with Connecticut For All, discusses plans underway for Labor Day protests nationally and in Connecticut on the theme of 'Workers Over Billionaires,' where the Trump administration has over the past 7 months launched multiple attacks on working families and labor unions.

3) US Science, Public Health Under Attack as HHS Sec. RFK Jr. Cuts All Federal Funding for mRNA Vaccine Research

Dr. Ferric C. Fang, MD, Professor of Laboratory Medicine, Pathology, and Microbiology at the University of Washington School of Medicine, discusses his views on the decision by HHS Sec. RFK Jr. and NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, to cancel all federal contracts for research on mRNA vaccines, "because the public lacks trust in the technology," and the consequences for U.S. and global public health in normal times, and in the event of future deadly pandemics.

4) Floundering Democrats Urged to Follow FDR's Example of Uncompromising Battle to Enact Progressive Popular Economic Policies

Heather Digby Parton, a contributing writer to Salon.com, discusses the important issues examined in her recent Salon article, "Paging FDR: Democrats need to embrace New Deal-style politics," where she recounts how President Franklin Delano Roosevelt fought for the underdog — and was brazenly ruthless, urging floundering Democrats to follow FDR's lead.

5) Danbury, CT Organizes Community Resistance to Escalating ICE Raids and Abductions

Sierra-Marie Gerfao, Director of Family Ministry at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Danbury, and Juliana Soares and organizer with the group Greater Danbury Unites for Immigrants, talk about the escalation of violent ICE raids and abductions in Danbury, and elsewhere around Connecticut, and what opponents of this lawless repression are doing to rally resistance against the Trump regime's dehumanizing policy.

COUNTERPOINT RADIO, hosted by Scott Harris, is heard every Monday night on WPKN 89.5 FM, Bridgeport, CT between 8:00 – 9:30 pm ET. Webstreaming and audio archive at http://wpkn.org

Some segments featured on Counterpoint are edited for re-broadcast on the syndicated Between The Lines radio news magazine. Visit their web site at http://www.btlonline.org for free subscriptions to mp3 - podcast audio files, program summaries and interview transcripts. An archive of current and past Counterpoint interviews are accessible for free at our Counterpoint Radio web site: http://counterpointradio.org The full 1.5 hour unedited program can be accessed for a 2 week period after the show, at the WPKN Radio archives: http://archives.wpkn.org/bookmarks/search/counterpoint

1) Assessing Trump's 7-Months of Authoritarian Rule

Jason Stanley, Professor of Philosophy and Chair of American Studies at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto, and author of "Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future," and "How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them." Professor Stanley will examine the Trump regime's 7 month history of imposing authoritarian rule, including his issuing a recent executive order mandating an expansive review of the the Smithsonian Institution's museum exhibitions, materials and operation, to ensure they align with President Donald Trump's view of history.

2) Trump's Militarized Occupation of Washington, DC: A Rehearsal for Takeover of Other US Cities

Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, Co-Founder & Executive Director of the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund, discusses her group's response to Donald Trump's militarized takeover of Washington, D.C., and growing concern that this is yet another test (along with Los Angeles) that's laying the groundwork for the deployment of the U.S. military to cities across the nation, and the possible future invocation of the insurrection act and suspension of constitutional rights.

3) Transactional Corruption: Paramount's Firing of Stephen Colbert Linked to FCC Approval of Corporate Merger

Sydney Register, Press Secretary with the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, and Aaron Stephens, PCCC's Senior Legislative Strategist, will discuss their group's campaign targeting Paramount's cancellation of Stephen Colbert's contract on the Late Show linked with the company's request for FCC approval of their $8 billion merger with Skydance -- and PCCC's response to the Trump regime and GOP's unprecedented effort to gerrymander 5 Congressional seats in Texas and possibly 8-10 seats in other states in advance of the 2026 mid term election.

4) Debunking Trump's Many Lies About The Homeless

Susan Campbell, Distinguished Lecturer, College of Arts & Sciences at the University of New Haven, discusses her recent commentary, "Debunking lies about America's homeless," in the context of President Trump's takeover of the Washington, D.C.'s Police Department and his announced deployment of 800+ National Guard troops to "crack down on crime and homelessness."

COUNTERPOINT RADIO, hosted by Scott Harris, is heard every Monday night on WPKN 89.5 FM, Bridgeport, CT between 8:00 – 9:30 pm ET. Webstreaming and audio archive at http://wpkn.org

Some segments featured on Counterpoint are edited for re-broadcast on the syndicated Between The Lines radio news magazine. Visit their web site at http://www.btlonline.org for free subscriptions to mp3 - podcast audio files, program summaries and interview transcripts. An archive of current and past Counterpoint interviews are accessible for free at our Counterpoint Radio web site: http://counterpointradio.org The full 1.5 hour unedited program can be accessed for a 2 week period after the show, at the WPKN Radio archives: http://archives.wpkn.org/bookmarks/search/counterpoint

1) David Daley, former editor in chief of Salon, is the author of the national bestseller, "Antidemocratic: Inside the Far Right's 50-Year Plot to Control American Elections," and Ratf**ked: Why Your Vote Doesn't Count," which helped spark the drive to reform gerrymandering. Daley, whose work has appeared in The New Yorker, the New York Times, the Atlantic, and the Guardian, discusses his recent Nation article, "How the GOP Hopes to Gerrymander Its Way to a Midterms Victory," in view of what Trump and Republicans are doing to carve out 5 new GOP-leaning districts in Texas, and what democracy defenders could and should be doing now to prevent the further erosion of our democratic system and ensure the integrity of elections in both the short and long term.

2) Candice Fortin, US Campaign Manager with the climate group 350.org will provide an overview of the Trump regime's multi-pronged attack on all federal climate regulations, the short and long term impact on the environment, what if anything states can do to implement their own climate regulations -- and how climate/environmental activist groups like 350.org can challenge these policies both in court and in the streets.

3) Media Matters for America Senior Fellow Matt Gertz will assess how corporate and MAGA media are covering public demand for release of the Epstein files, with some cooperating with the Trump White House by amplifying clearly bogus distraction stories designed to tamp down the controversy. He'll also comment on Paramount corporation's decision to cancel The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and concerns that Pres. Trump's lawsuits and many other attempts to intimidate media outlets, constitutes a very real threat to free speech, freedom of the press, and democracy itself.

4) Kellie Snider, a contemporary American artist discusses the nation's history of white supremacy and racism-- before, during and after slavery. She'll also talk about her work as an artist, and the intersection of art and politics during our current crisis where the Trump regime is launching attacks on virtually all democratic institutions.

COUNTERPOINT RADIO, hosted by Scott Harris, is heard every Monday night on WPKN 89.5 FM, Bridgeport, CT between 8:00 – 9:30 pm ET. Webstreaming and audio archive at http://wpkn.org

Some segments featured on Counterpoint are edited for re-broadcast on the syndicated Between The Lines radio news magazine. Visit their web site at http://www.btlonline.org for free subscriptions to mp3 - podcast audio files, program summaries and interview transcripts. An archive of current and past Counterpoint interviews are accessible for free at our Counterpoint Radio web site: http://counterpointradio.org The full 1.5 hour unedited program can be accessed for a 2 week period after the show, at the WPKN Radio archives: http://archives.wpkn.org/bookmarks/search/counterpoint

1) Jennifer Loewenstein, former associate director of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, examines the current famine crisis in Gaza, the Trump regime's incoherent and dishonest policies toward Gaza and Palestinians; France, U.K, & Canada's plan to recognize a Palestinian state -- and what if any difference that policy shift could make.

2) Richard W. Behan a contributor to Counterpunch the progressive news and commentary website, talks about his recent article, "The Peril of Spectacle, Especially Jeffrey Epstein’s" and where the deepening bipartisan suspicion and anger about Donald Trump's expanding scandal may take the country -- and serve as a distraction from the central, existential fight to defend democracy against Trump-Republican Party fascism.

3) Rebecca Gordon is a retired professor of philosophy at the University of San Francisco, longtime political and faculty union activist, who writes regularly for TomDispatch.com. Author of several books, including "Mainstreaming Torture" and "American Nuremberg," Professor Gordon, discusses her important coverage of how the Trump regime is expanding the surveillance state targeting perceived enemies to extend and consolidate authoritarian power, described in her recent article, “The United Surveillance States of America.”

4) Ayesha R. Clarke, Executive Director of the Connecticut based group Health Equity Solutions, examines how the federal slashing of social safety net programs in Trump's recently passed budget bill will impact Connecticut, and what Governor Lamont and the state legislature can do to prepare and offset the pain and disruption to essential services serving the state's most vulnerable residents.

COUNTERPOINT RADIO, hosted by Scott Harris, is heard every Monday night on WPKN 89.5 FM, Bridgeport, CT between 8:00 – 9:30 pm ET. Webstreaming and audio archive at http://wpkn.org

Some segments featured on Counterpoint are edited for re-broadcast on the syndicated Between The Lines radio news magazine. Visit their web site at http://www.btlonline.org for free subscriptions to mp3 - podcast audio files, program summaries and interview transcripts. An archive of current and past Counterpoint interviews are accessible for free at our Counterpoint Radio web site: http://counterpointradio.org The full 1.5 hour unedited program can be accessed for a 2 week period after the show, at the WPKN Radio archives: http://archives.wpkn.org/bookmarks/search/counterpoint

1) Melvin Goodman, a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy, professor of government at Johns Hopkins University, a former CIA analyst and author, talks about his recent Counterpunch commentary, "The Waste and Futility of the Golden Dome National Defense System," estimated to cost between $161 and $542 billion over two decades, and the larger danger of expiring U.S.-Russia nuclear arms control treaties.

2) Sharif Abdel Kouddous is the Middle East and North Africa editor with Drop Site News, who received a George Polk Award for his investigation into the killing of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. He'll discuss his coverage of Israel's starvation campaign against Gaza's 2.3 million Palestinian civilians -- and the Trump regime's role in this war crime via the U.S. backed "Gaza Humanitarian Foundation" -- as reported in his recent article, "Palestinians Are Collapsing in Gaza's Streets From Israeli-Imposed Starvation Campaign."

3) Robert Greenwald is founder and president of Brave New Films, a nonprofit production company that creates and distributes investigative political and social justice documentaries. He'll talk about his new documentary, titled, "Gaza: Journalists Under Fire," which exposes Israel’s crimes against journalism and humanity, where more than 200 Gaza-based journalists have been killed since the October 7, 2023 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel -- through the lives and deaths of Palestinian journalists Belal Jadallah, Heba Al-Abadla, and Ismail al-Ghoul.

4) Mother Jones' magazine DC bureau reporter, Hannah Levintova, talks about her investigation featured in the Public Radio series, Reveal, titled, "The Landlord Gutting America's Hospitals," which examines how a real estate company buys up hospitals and then leases them back to health care systems, causing dozens of its hospitals to go bankrupt, close or be sold because profits were sucked out of them - resulting in the deterioration of patient care.