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The single-payer insurance model is the basis of the health care systems of other advanced industrial nations such as the United Kingdom and Canada, so what accounts for the apparent impracticality of achieving this reform in the United States? If the single-payer system is so much more rational and humane than the alternatives, why does it play such a marginal role in American politics? And if one is seriously committed to this reform, how might the situation change? Joining us on Radical Minds to discuss these questions and more is Helen Redmond, a medical social worker, independent journalist and a member of the Chicago Single Payer Action Network and the International Socialist Organization.

Interview conducted on April 24th, 2012 on the Radical Minds radio show.

Electoral politics are a longstanding problem for the U.S. left. In recent decades, a number of parties have formed as an alternative to the Democratic Party: the Labor Party, the Green Party, and now, the Justice Party. However, these parties risk becoming little more than networks of activists or pressure groups on the Democratic Party, and it still remains unclear whether a serious electoral challenge to the Democratic Party is possible. Radical Minds is pleased to air an edited recording of a panel organized by the Platypus Affiliated Society, which investigates several contemporary approaches to electoral politics and draws out the theories that motivate Leftist third parties. The major speakers, Lenny Brody of the Justice Party and Jason Wright of the International Bolshevik Tendency, consider how the historical achievements and failures of third parties bear upon the present.

Aired on April 10th, 2012 on the Radical Minds radio show.

A public forum with students, activists and organizers from across the globe held on April 2nd, 2012.

Transcript in Platypus Review #48 (Click below):

From teach-ins in the UK, occupations in Austria and Germany and protests in the Netherlands and Greece, responses to the economic downturn are international in character. These new developments require coordination across global networks and it is why Platypus at U. Chicago is organizing a series of international panels that we hope can take place in Universities across the world where Platypus student members havebeen able to forge connections.

We hope that this panel will be an opportunity to report on activity and form new connections across international efforts. Panelists will report on the state of the Left in their respected regions and reflect on their experience as organizers while helping formulate what the next steps in organizing and planning could look like in the months ahead.

Panelists:
Haseeb Ahmed(Maastricht)
Valentin Badura(Austria)
Cengiz Kulac (Austria)
Moritz Roeger (Germany)
Jerzy Sobotta (Germany)
Thodoris Velissaris(Greece)

Moderated by Pam C. Nogales C. (Platypus)

Radical Minds interviews Cary Nelson, Professor of English at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and President of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), on his recent book, 'No University is an Island: Saving Academic Freedom' (2010).

Aired on March 27th, 2012 on the Radical Minds radio show.

On February 28, 2012, the radio program Radical Minds on WHPK-FM Chicago broadcast an interview with Mary Gabriel, the author of Love and Capital: Karl and Jenny Marx and the Birth of a Revolution (New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2011). The interview was conducted by Spencer A. Leonard of the Platypus Affiliated Society.

Transcript in Platypus Review #47: