Old Mole Variety Hour

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Airs at: Mon, 06/05/2023 at 9:00am - 10:00am
Produced by: 
KBOO
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News, Views, Reviews, and Interviews

 

Every Monday from 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM.

A program of social and political commentary from a socialist-feminist, anti-racist and anti-colonial point of view.

The Old Mole burrows down to the roots of the great issues of our time – the struggles of ordinary people for democratic and sustainable ways of life.  The Mole goes where corporate media fear to tread, supporting grassroots challenges to top-down authority and giving voice to movements that shake the foundations of an unjust society.  The Moles' perspective is democratic, anti-capitalist, feminist, anti-colonial and anti-racist.  We count Karl Marx as a friend but are open to other voices from the left. The show includes analyses of global politics and economics, local grassroots activism, segments on the Left & the Law, and reviews of films, books, music, and theater. 

Contributors include: Julian Ankney, Larry Bowlden, Sarah Chivers, Joe Clement, Norm Diamond, Sharon Grant, Jan Haaken, Desiree Hellegers, Patricia Kullberg, Luisa Martinez, Laurie Mercier, Chelsea Ratzlaff, Bill Resnick, Victoria Saucedo, Mike Snedecker, Roben White, Matt Witt

Here is why we call this show "The Old Mole"

For individual segments and more content: View more Old Mole content

Check out our Program Blog

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Our theme song is the traditional "Mole in the Ground," sometimes performed by Clayton & Ernie, sometimes by Joe Clement,  and sometimes blended with other versions, like the one by dj/rupture, sung by Sindhu Zagoren on the album Special Gunpowder, or Blind Boy Paxton  

Our graphic lettering is by Charlie Ertola. Host portraits by Clayton Morgareidge.
 

You can leave comments for the Moles at  oldmolevarietyhour @ gmail.com or by clicking on the comment section for any of our audio pieces.  

Streams: 
KBOO Stream 1
Program status: 
Current

Writing the Interior Life

Airs at: Mon, 12/19/2022 at 9:00am - 10:00am
Produced for Old Mole Variety Hour
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Sue Miller is a novelist of the interior life, especially of relationships and what drives them. Novels of ideas and feelings rather than of dramatic events. Often harshly self-judging, there is such emotional honesty in her novels that they sizzle and burn. In this tribute... Read more

An Anti-fascist Christmas Carol

Airs at: Mon, 12/19/2022 at 9:00am - 10:00am
Produced for Old Mole Variety Hour
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Desiree Hellegers reads an excerpt from her commentary, “An Anti-fascist Christmas Carol and Tale of Two Cities: Portland, Oregon at the Crossroads,” which appears in today’s edition of Counterpunch. She reflects on the role that the persistent demonization of houseless peo... Read more

Putting Government in its Place

Airs at: Mon, 12/19/2022 at 9:00am - 10:00am
Produced for Old Mole Variety Hour
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Bill Resnick interviews David Riemer about his latest book, Putting Government in its Place, the Case for a new Deal 3.0. But don’t be fooled. He sees state policy as crucial for controlling capitalism, and he attributes our current crises of inequality, homelessness, and g... Read more

Old Mole Variety Hour for December 19, 2022

Airs at: Mon, 12/19/2022 at 9:00am - 10:00am
Produced for Old Mole Variety Hour
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  It's KBOO's end-of-year pledge drive and the first person who pledges $250 to KBOO during our show on Monday, December 19, will receive the gift of a reversible felted and beaded purple shawl, handmade from a mix of merino wool and silk by Fiber Mole Desiree Hellegers. T... Read more

Old Mole Variety Hour for December 12, 2022

Airs at: Mon, 12/12/2022 at 9:00am - 10:00am
Produced for Old Mole Variety Hour
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Denise Morris hosts this epsiode of the Old Mole about the meaning and de-meaning of routine work. In a re-broadcast from Against the Grain, Sasha Lilley interviews author Barbara Garson in a show that originally aired on April 27, 2022. We spend much of our lives at work ... Read more

Grad Students on Strike

Airs at: Mon, 12/05/2022 at 9:00am - 10:00am
Produced for Old Mole Variety Hour
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Grad student teachers, researchers, teaching assistants, and more, 48,000 of them, are now on strike across the University of California system. It’s the largest strike in the History of American higher ed, and what happens at the University of California will set the stand... Read more

Confessions of the Fox

Airs at: Mon, 12/05/2022 at 9:00am - 10:00am
Produced for Old Mole Variety Hour
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Frann Michel recommends the novel Confessions of the Fox (2018) by Jordy Rosenberg, a genre-bending work of radical speculative history from below, telling the story of the real 18th-century thief,  jailbreaker, and folk hero Jack Sheppard, reimagined here as a trans man al... Read more

In Memoriam-Yvonne Simmons

Airs at: Mon, 12/05/2022 at 9:00am - 10:00am
Produced for Old Mole Variety Hour
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In the second half of the “Life and Legacy of Yvonne Simmons,” we hear more about the remarkable life of this London street kid, who became a folk singer, international peace activist, and a founding member of Portland Peace and Justice Works. Featuring reflections from Mar... Read more

Old Mole Variety Hour for December 5, 2022

Airs at: Mon, 12/05/2022 at 9:00am - 10:00am
Produced for Old Mole Variety Hour
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  Jon Nelson hosts this episode of the Old Mole, which includes the following segments: Grad Students on Strike: Grad student teachers, researchers, teaching assistants, and more, 48,000 of them, are now on strike across the University of California system. It’s the large... Read more

Horse

Airs at: Mon, 11/28/2022 at 9:00am - 10:00am
Produced for Old Mole Variety Hour
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Book Mole Larry Bowlden reviews Horse, a 2022 novel by Geraldine Brooks about a great American racehorse and, more importantly, the turning tide of legalized slavery in 1850s America. Journalist turned novelist Brooks brings all of her prodigious talents to this superb hist... Read more