Monthly Archives: March 2025

Henry Giroux & Michael Klare

Returning in our first segment, is Paulo Freire Distinguished Scholar in critical pedagogy and Chair for Scholarship in the Public Interest at McMaster University, Henry Giroux.

In our second segment is Michael Klare, who is a Five Colleges professor emeritus of Peace and World Security Studies, whose department is located at Hampshire College. He is currently the secretary for the Arms Control Association board of directors, and a senior visiting fellow working on emerging technologies—such as lethal autonomous weapons and unmanned aerial vehicles—and how arms control strategies can mitigate their adverse impacts.

We spoke with Henry Giroux on March 24, 2025 from his home in Hamilton, Ontario, and Michael Klare on March 25th from his in Washington, D.C. Our conversation with Michael Klare begins at 25:05.

What a week! When we interviewed Michael Klare, the news of the Signal Group Chat had just broken. Since then, more has come to light. We were able to report that against the wishes of the government of Greenland, Usha Vance, Michael Waltz (he of the inclusion of the Atlantic’s Editor in Chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, in the infamous group chat) and Energy Secretary, Chris Wright, would be coming, whether Greenland wanted them to or not. Then, Vice President JD Vance announced he didn’t want “Usha to have all the fun,” so he would be coming, too. Then, the Prime Minister of Denmark condemned Trump’s escalated rhetoric. Now, The visit by the Americans is to be limited to the US Military Base in Northern Greenland. That’s as of the afternoon of March 27th. Who knows what will have happened by airtime on March 28th? Word has it that Greenlanders have created red MAGA caps – Make America Go Away.

We ended the program with the news from the talented Marsh Family, who turn current events into parodic art. They are a British mom, dad, 2 brothers and 2 sisters. We shared “You Were Not Supposed to Message It Through” and “I Put Up Tariffs.” Although we were not able to include them in the audio, due to copyright/royalty issues, the links to them are included below.

Articles and videos pertinent to this edition of Forthright Radio:

You Were Not Supposed to Message It Through https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPfwtXulKS4

I Put Up Tariffs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DyNjjSxO8s

Trump’s Reign of Cruelty: Gangster Capitalism and the Unraveling of the Social https://www.laprogressive.com/progressive-issues/gangster-capitalism

Law in Mahmoud Khalil’s Case Was Once Struck Down — by Trump’s Sister https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/24/us/politics/mahmoud-khalil-trump-sister-law.html?searchResultPosition=1

Trump is setting the US on a path to educational authoritarianism https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/mar/17/trump-us-path-educational-authoritarianism

Yale professor who studies fascism fleeing US to work in Canada https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/26/yale-professor-fascism-canada

Government Science Data May Soon Be Hidden. They’re Racing to Copy It. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/21/climate/government-websites-climate-environment-data.html

A New Military-Industrial Complex Arises https://tomdispatch.com/a-new-military-industrial-complex-arises/

How a Cheap Drone Punctured Chernobyl’s 40,000 Ton Shield https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/25/world/europe/drone-chernobyl-shield-ukraine-war.html

Pete Hegseth’s Dangerous War on America https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/trump-hegseth-woke-democracy-military-dei/

Trump Confronts a Rising China https://tomdispatch.com/trump-confronts-a-rising-china/

Town Hall Bozeman Public Library 3-21-25 https://kgvm.org/show/town-hall-bozeman-public-library-3-21-25/

Veterans Rally Helena, MT 3-14-25 https://kgvm.org/show/veterans-rally-helena-mt-3-14-25/

A Montana Senator Seeks to Be Trump’s Voice in Beijing https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/22/world/asia/trump-china-xi-daines.html?searchResultPosition=1

UN Moves to Expand Autonomous Weapons Discussions https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2024-12/news/un-moves-expand-autonomous-weapons-discussions

Beyond a Human “In the Loop”: Strategic Stability and Artificial Intelligence https://www.armscontrol.org/issue-briefs/2024-011/beyond-the-loop

Democrat vows to ‘stop Doge’s illegal power grab’ at non-profit peace institute https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/18/don-beyer-musk-doge-usip

Countries must bolster climate efforts or risk war, Cop30 chief executive warns https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/mar/18/countries-must-bolster-climate-efforts-or-risk-war-cop30-chief-executive-warns

Chinese state media celebrates Trump’s cuts to Voice of America and Radio Free Asia https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/mar/18/chinese-state-media-celebrates-trumps-cuts-to-voice-of-america-and-radio-free-asia

Inside the El Salvador mega-prison where Trump is sending hundreds of immigrants https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/trump-deportation-el-salvador-cecot-prison-b2716191.html?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us

‘Segregated facilities’ are no longer explicitly banned in federal contracts https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/03/18/nx-s1-5326118/segregation-federal-contracts-far-regulation-trump?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us

Justice department removes disability guidelines for US businesses https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/19/justice-department-disability-business-guidelines

Major-power conflict ‘no longer unimaginable’, Australian intelligence review finds https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/mar/21/australia-independent-national-intelligence-review-2024

Senator Claude Malhuret on the End of American Democracy https://washingtonspectator.org/senator-claude-malhuret-on-the-end-of-american-democracy/

Trump’s firings of federal workers with DEI jobs were illegal, complaint claims https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trumps-firings-federal-workers-with-dei-jobs-were-illegal-complaint-claims-2025-03-26/

Lydia Reeder and Pagan Kennedy

This edition of Forthright Radio is in two segments. In the first part, award-winning author, Lydia Reeder, discusses her latest book, THE CURE FOR WOMEN: DR. MARY PUTNAM JACOBI AND THE CHALLENGE TO VICTORIAN MEDICINE THAT CHANGED WOMEN’S LIVES FOREVER, published by St. Martin’s Press. It explores the pseudoscience that ties women’s health issues to their reproductive biology, and highlights the women doctors, scientists and suffragists, particularly Dr. Mary Putnam Jacobi, who fought back against these attempts to control women’s bodies and lives. At the end of her book, she quotes Ely Van De Warker, who wrote, “A woman’s ovaries belong to the Commonwealth; she is merely their custodian.”

We spoke with Lydia Reeder via Skype on March 7th, 2025.

Mary Putnam Kennedy

Then, in our second segment, we speak with Pagan Kennedy about her latest book, THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE RAPE KIT: A TRUE CRIME STORY. Our interview with Pagan begins at 25:50.

We spoke with Pagan Kennedy on March 10, 2025.

Rape Kit and Contents

Judge clarifies: Yes, Trump was found to have raped E. Jean Carroll https://web.archive.org/web/20240116123815/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/07/19/trump-carroll-judge-rape/

Vitullo Evidence Collection Kit for Sexual Assault Examination https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object/nmah_2009657

‘I screamed and the world listened’: how astronaut Amanda Nguyen survived rape to fight for other victims https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/mar/05/i-screamed-the-world-listened-how-astronaut-amanda-nguyen-survived-rape-fight-for-other-victims

Pronatalists are ascendant on the right. Can they agree on how to make Americans have more babies? https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/11/what-is-pronatalism-right-wing-republican

Idaho’s parental consent law prohibits minors from accessing rape kit exams without parents https://idahocapitalsun.com/2024/08/06/idahos-parental-consent-law-prohibits-minors-from-accessing-rape-kit-exams-without-parents/

Idaho’s anti-trans law makes it illegal to medically examine child rape victims https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2024/08/idahos-anti-trans-law-makes-it-illegal-to-medically-examine-child-rape-victims/

Idaho set to train 250 sexual assault nurse examiners by the end of the year https://idahocapitalsun.com/2024/08/09/idaho-set-to-train-250-sexual-assault-nurse-examiners-by-the-end-of-the-year/

Andrew Tate, Accused of Sex Trafficking, Is Trump’s Kind of Guy https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/28/opinion/andrew-tate-donald-trump.html?searchResultPosition=1

Ultrasound now needed for pill abortions in Wyoming after lawmakers override veto https://apnews.com/article/wyoming-pill-abortion-bill-law-veto-override-087e35a9d245a8d063fc8c047f4fe050