Old Mole Variety Hour

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Airs at: Mon, 05/26/2025 at 9:00am - 10:00am

Airs at: Mon, 02/02/2026 at 9:00am - 10:00am
Produced by: 
KBOO
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Views, Reviews, and Interviews from a socialist-feminist, anti-racist and anti-colonial point of view.

 

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, Joe Clement, Norm Diamond, Kevin Foster, Jan Haaken, Desiree Hellegers, Patricia Kullberg, Luisa Martinez, Laurie Mercier, Frann Michel, Denise Morris, Bill Resnick, Victoria Saucedo, Sophie Smith, 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

Subscribe to our podcast (see above; search the show name on iTunes; also available on Googleplay)

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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 by clicking on the comment section for any of our audio pieces.  

Streams: 
KBOO Stream 1
Program status: 
Current

The Plot Against Social Security

Airs at: Mon, 05/19/2025 at 9:00am - 10:00am
Produced for Old Mole Variety Hour
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  We share selected audio from a briefing on Social Security presented by Alex Lawson of Social Security Works for the group Radical Elders on April 10, 2025,  shared here with their permission.  Lawson explains how Social Security works, how and why it is being intenti... Read more

Malcolm Chaddock In Memoriam

Airs at: Mon, 05/19/2025 at 9:00am - 10:00am
Produced for Old Mole Variety Hour
  Desiree Hellegers speaks with long time Portland Veterans for Peace organizer Dan Shea, and we hear audio of VFP organizer Mike Hastie at Chaddock's April memorial service,  as they reflect on the deep commitment to peace and justice that animated Chaddock's wide-rang... Read more

Labor Internationalism

Airs at: Mon, 05/19/2025 at 9:00am - 10:00am
Produced for Old Mole Variety Hour
  Laurie Mercier speaks to Dianne Feeley, a retired autoworker and editor of Against the Current, about UAW president Shawn Fain’s disappointing embrace of Trump’s tariffs and the need for labor internationalism to strengthen workers’ power in the U.S. and across border... Read more

Old Mole Variety Hour for May 19, 2025

Airs at: Mon, 05/19/2025 at 9:00am - 10:00am
Produced for Old Mole Variety Hour
  Labor Internationalism, Malcolm Chaddock Remembered, Saving Social Security: Frann Michel hosts this episode, featuring these segments: Labor Internationalism:  Laurie Mercier speaks to Dianne Feeley, a retired autoworker and editor of Against the Current, about UAW pr... Read more

Copaganda

Airs at: Mon, 05/12/2025 at 9:00am - 10:00am
Produced for Old Mole Variety Hour
  News media, public officials, and the police themselves keep telling us that public safety requires ever more policing, despite all evidence to the contrary. In Copaganda: How Police and the Media Manipulate Our News (New Press, 2025), civil rights lawyer Alec Karakat... Read more

Bad Air

Airs at: Mon, 05/12/2025 at 9:00am - 10:00am
Produced for Old Mole Variety Hour
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According to the 2025 Annual Report of the American Lung Association, fifty-five years after the passage of the landmark Clean Air Act, nearly half of US residents breathe unhealthy air. One significant contribution to this problem is the inadequacy of the regulatory app... Read more

Old Mole Variety Hour for May 12, 2025

Airs at: Mon, 05/12/2025 at 9:00am - 10:00am
Produced for Old Mole Variety Hour
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  Patricia Kullberg hosts this episode of the Old Mole, which includes the following segments: Copaganda: News media, public officials, and the police themselves keep telling us that public safety requires ever more policing, despite all evidence to the contrary. In Co... Read more

Old Mole Variety Hour for May 5, 2025

Airs at: Mon, 05/05/2025 at 9:00am - 10:00am
Produced for Old Mole Variety Hour
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  After four decades of neoliberalism, capitalism is becoming neofeudal. So argues Jodi Dean, who lays out neofeudalism’s main features, explains why she believes capitalism is on the way out, and identifies which sectors of society could spearhead the struggle against ... Read more

Old Mole Variety Hour for April 28, 2025

Airs at: Mon, 04/28/2025 at 9:00am - 10:00am
Produced for Old Mole Variety Hour
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  Desiree Hellegers hosts this episode, featuring these segments: Deportation Nation Part 2: In the second half of a wide-ranging discussion, Luisa Martinez speaks with immigration lawyer Daniel Kanstroom about the ideology, history and political economy of immigration i... Read more

Deportation Nation Part 2

Airs at: Mon, 04/28/2025 at 9:00am - 10:00am
Produced for Old Mole Variety Hour
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  In the second half of a wide-ranging discussion, Luisa Martinez speaks with immigration lawyer Daniel Kanstroom about the ideology, history and political economy of immigration in the United States, with attention to gender and poverty. They discuss as well the debate... Read more