book-reviews | Forthright Radio

We steer clear of works of fiction – not only do we want our conversations to be based in facts, but it’s a hassle to dance around spoilers. Maybe like me you vaguely know that Frances Perkins is an important person in Women’s History, mostly because she was the first female to serve in the United States Cabinet, and like me, you have a blurry visual in your mind of an unsmiling, rather severe older woman who had something to do with the New Deal and the Depression. Maybe you never wondered why Franklin Roosevelt appointed her as his Secretary of Labor, or what made her so effective in identifying social injustices and doing things to rectify them.

Stephanie Dray, explained what compelled her to tell Frances Perkins story – that so many of the things we take for granted today: weekends, food and fire safety regulations, unemployment insurance, social security and so much more. Her deep research has resulted in her latest book, BECOMING MADAM SECRETARY, just out from Berkley Books. Her earlier books, many of which were NYT bestsellers, include THE WOMEN OF CHATEAU LAFAYETTE, MY DEAR HAMILTON, AMERICA’S FIRST DAUGHTER, and THE NILE TRILOGY. In BECOMING MADAM SECRETARY she uncovers the forgotten history of the intellectually brilliant, politically pragmatic and physically courageous woman, who remains the longest serving cabinet member in US History, Frances Perkins.

We spoke with Stephanie Dray via Skype on the Vernal Equinox of 2024.

Long before she became part of New York or the federal governments, Frances Perkins was a “radical” activist to investigate and reform the most lethal aspects of corporate capitalism., as when she worked aas the Director of the NY Consumers’ League in 1909.

Just before the signing of the Social Security Act, Frances Perkins had been informed that her husband had escaped from the mental hospital in which he had been confined. Immediately after the signing, she had to rush to New York to try to find him for his own safety.

Not only has she been honored as a national hero with this stamp, but the Episcopal Church celebrates her as a saint in their liturgy on May 13th.

When Women Lost the Vote https://www.amrevmuseum.org/virtualexhibits/when-women-lost-the-vote-a-revolutionary-story

How Trump Ends Social Security https://hartmannreport.com/p/how-trump-ends-social-security-4bb

Trump Wants to Destroy Social Security, But Biden Plan Would Improve and Expand It https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/biden-vs-trump-on-social-security?utm_source=Common+Dreams&utm_campaign=fc4122f9bf-Top+News%3A+Mon.+3%2F18%2F2024&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-37878a46b5-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D

As cruel wars rage across three continents and civilian casualties soar, it is easy to forget, or perhaps never to have known, that people have been analyzing the causes of war and organizing and working for peace for a very long time. These days, the term FREE TRADE is associated with right wing free marketers and multi-national corporate globalization, but this was not the story in the 19th century. Beginning in the 1840s, left-wing globalists became the leaders of the transnational peace and anti-imperialist movements of their times.

Marc-Allen Palen is an historian at the University of Exeter specializing in the intersection of British and American imperialism within the broader history of globalization since 1800. He is co-director of The History and Policy Global Economics and History Forum in London. His commentary has appeared in the Washington Post, the New York Times, NBC, the BBC, and the Conversation, among other international journals. He is the editor of the Imperial & Global Forum. His earlier book is The ‘Conspiracy’ of Free Trade: the Anglo-American Struggle over Empire and Economic Globalization, 1846-1896.

His second book, Pax Economica: Left-Wing Visions of a Free Trade World is published by Princeton University Press. In it, he explores how political economy, gender, humanitarianism, religion and ideology have shaped global imperial expansion. He documents the evolution of thinking about the impact of trade policies with social theories and the connections made not only across the Atlantic, but around the world, linking those policies with war and peace. Hard as it may be to believe these days, by the end of 19th century, an unlikely alliance of liberal radicals, socialist internationalists, feminists, and Christians envisioned free trade as essential for a prosperous and peaceful world order. And they struggled, too, with rampant nationalism, protectionism and geopolitical conflict, as well as exploitation of underdeveloped regions. The more I learned about the actual history, which Dr. Palen documents, the more dismayed I was that this history has been hidden, and the more determined I became to share it.
We spoke with Marc-William Palen on February 20th via Skype.

End fossil-fuel era to address colonial injustices, urges prominent historian https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/15/end-fossil-fuel-era-to-address-colonial-injustices-urges-prominent-historian

Polish farmers dump grain in protest as Ukraine dispute deepens https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/20/polish-farmers-dump-grain-in-protest-as-ukraine-dispute-deepens

Martin Luther King Jr memorial vandalized in Colorado park https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/21/martin-luther-king-jr-memorial-vandalized-denver-colorado-park

Fire Burns Down Mississippi John Hurt Museum https://www.democracynow.org/2024/2/22/headlines/fire_burns_down_mississippi_john_hurt_museum

Charles V. Hamilton, an Apostle of ‘Black Power,’ Dies at 94 https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/18/us/charles-v-hamilton-dead.html