Audio

America's Future Now: We Are the Change is the plenary opening session of the 2010 America's Future NOW! conference June 7. Speakers are Robert L. Borosage, co-director of the Campaign for America's Future; Andy Stern, former president of the Service Employees International Union; Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins, Chief Executive Officer of Green For All; and Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post.

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The change agenda at America's Future NOW!

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In what is perhaps the most in-depth, critical look at the life and worldview of Glenn Beck, Alexander Zaitchik exposes a man who has battled mental illness, fabricated a key part of his family history and peddles a warped view of history as he builds a political base with his Fox News and radio shows. Zaitchik does this in his new book, "Common Nonsense: Glenn Beck and the Triumph of Ignorance," and he discusses key findings in the book with Sara Robinson.

In the interview, Zaitchik explains the man behind what he calls "the cult of Beck": an ex-disc jockey prone to shockingly cruel on-air antics who seemingly couldn't hold on to a job who evolved into an evangelist blending strands of Mormonism, right-wing orthodoxy and historical distortions into a potent brew that is a hit with Tea Party populists.

Zaitchik tells Robinson that it is important to understand what drives Beck and to be prepared to refute the ideological statements Beck makes. But Zaitchik concludes that the most important thing that progressives can do to counter Beck's "lies" is to "come up with our own agenda that is educative and based in reality."

Zaitchik will appear on a panel entitled "Tea Parties, Beck, Bachmann and Blarney" at the America's Future NOW! conference in Washington June 7-9. Read more about the Zaitchik interview on our blog.

Trade expert Clyde Prestowitz, president of the Economic Strategy Institute, discusses his new book, "The Betrayal of American Prosperity," at the AFL-CIO headquarters in Washington May 18. The book looks at what Prestowitz calls the "false doctrine" of free trade and suggests a new framework for how America should compete in the global economy.

RELATED: "American Betrayal, Sponsored by Intel"

As the Senate continues its debate on a financial reform bill, the Institute for America's Future Report, "Big Bank Takeover," looks at who's really behind the scenes attempting to control the debate. In this podcast, Bob Borosage, Co-Director, Campaign for America’s Future; Stephen Lerner, Director, Service Employees International Union’s Banking and Finance Campaign; Kevin Connor, Co-Director, Public Accountability Initiative, and George Goehl, Executive Director, National People’s Action, discuss the revolving door of government officials and lobbyists used by the financial sector to stymie reform and the "Showdown on K Street" planned to counter the financial sector's influence.

This podcast features highlights from a news conference call by a group of progressive leaders seeking to counter the largely one-sided debate about how to reduce the federal deficit being promoted by Wall Street billionaire Peter G. Peterson and other deficit hawks. Roger Hickey, co-director of the Campaign for America’s Future, is joined in the call by Robert Kuttner, The American Prospect, Demos, and author of the new book, "A Presidency in Peril"; Heidi Hartmann, economist and President of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research; and Dean Baker, economist and co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research.

Hickey said that the experts were part of a broader coalition that is seeking to "pull this deficit discussion back on the basis of reality" rather than on the false assertion that reducing the deficit required drastic cuts in Social Security, Medicare and other safety-net programs.

Hear the full news conference call here, and read Bill Scher's account of the call here.

Hours after President Obama's deficit commission had its first meeting at the White House, a group of progressive leaders argued during a news conference call that Wall Street billionaire Peter G. Peterson was exerting undue influence over the commission's deliberations, resulting in a largely one-sided debate about how to reduce the federal deficit.

Roger Hickey, co-director of the Campaign for America’s Future, said that the experts were part of a broader coalition that is seeking to "pull this deficit discussion back on the basis of reality" rather than on the false assertion that reducing the deficit required drastic cuts in Social Security, Medicare and other safety-net programs.

Joining Hickey in the call was Robert Kuttner, The American Prospect, Demos, and author of the new book, "A Presidency in Peril"; Heidi Hartmann, economist and President of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research; and Dean Baker, economist and co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research.

In addition to the news conference, Hickey and other writers have participated in an online Virtual Summit on Fiscal and Economic Responsibility at ourfuture.org/virtualsummit.

On WHMP in Western MA, I debated local GOP operative Isaac Mass about the pending health care bill and put some persistent right-wing myths to rest about "government takeover," the "Cornhusker Kickback" and the supposed "$1 trillion price tag."

On the Sunday March 15, 2010 edition of “The Rick Smith Show” airing on WHYL 960 AM in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, OurFuture.org’s Bill Scher explains how America’s wealthiest heirs are scrambling to keep windfall inheritance taxes extremely low so they won’t have to contribute their fair share to reduce the deficit. Plus, a preview of the coming week in health care.

The Campaign for America's Future worked with group of private citizens frustrated with the slow pace of health care reform to produce this radio ad, the centerpiece of a media campaign in key congressional districts urging Democratic members of Congress to support health care reform.

“The advertisements are meant to inform and energize independents and rank-and-file Democrats to push forward and encourage their representatives to pass meaningful legislation during this congressional session,” said Roger Hickey, co-director of Campaign for America’s Future. “President Obama has laid down an agenda for passage and engaged our country’s leaders. It is up to the Congress to move forward now!”

The campaign begins with a radio advertisement entitled "Reform Now" that will air on stations in New York, Philadelphia, Detroit, Columbus, Ohio and Charlottesville, Va.

» Right-click this link to download the ad.

Small business owners, by a more than two-to-one margin, support the kind of financial reforms being sought by the Obama administration and back the creation of a consumer financial protection agency, according to a poll conducted by the Main Street Alliance, which represents entrepreneurs in 16 states. That runs counter to the message of business opposition to financial reform being promoted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Jeanne Boiseneau, who owns a movie casting agency in Richmond, Va., discussed the poll and her views on financial reform in this interview.