Ralph Nader Radio Hour
Ralph Nader Radio Hour
Is The U.S. Turning Into Russia?/DC Statehood?
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Is The U.S. Turning Into Russia?/DC Statehood?

Ralph welcomes back Yale historian Timothy Snyder, author of “On Tyranny,” to talk about his new book “The Road To Unfreedom: Russia, Europe, America.” Then journalist Mark Plotkin tells us the status of DC statehood. Plus, Ralph weighs in on Gaza.


Timothy Snyder is a Professor of History at Yale University and one of the foremost scholars on European history. Professor Snyder is also a member of the Committee on Conscience of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and has written many award winning books, including Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin.” Last year, his handbook “On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons From the Twentieth Century first written as a Facebook post in the wake of Donald Trump’s ascension to the White House went on to becoming a New York Times bestseller. His latest work is The Road To Unfreedom: Russia, Europe, and America.

“Blacks and Hispanics may not expect progress, but white people in America expect the American dream to be true. And I think when it’s turned out for them not to be true or to be much more difficult… People think “I did this on my own… The government didn’t have anything to do with it.” That’s a myth. That’s a myth that white people believe. White people, of course, need the government just as much as anybody else does; but they’ve been taught that they don’t need help. It’s other people that need help. And so you can tell them a story, which says, ‘Well, if you’re suffering, it’s not that the government can help you. It’s that other people are hurting you. The immigrants are taking your stuff. The Blacks are taking your stuff.’ And you get caught in that story, because it makes you feel good. It makes you feel like you’re special, and it’s the other people who are somehow doing something that’s wrong.” 

Timothy Snyder, author of “The Road to Unfreedom: Russia, Europe, America”


Mark Plotkin writes for the political website, The Hill,  is a contributor to the BBC on American politics and is also a columnist for DC paper, The Georgetowner. He previously worked as the political analyst for WAMU-FM, Washington’s NPR affiliate, and for WTOP-FM, Washington’s all-news radio station. He is a winner of the Edward R. Murrow Award for excellence in writing.

“Don’t view it politically. View it like a black person not being able to go to a hotel, a Jewish person not being able to join a country club, an ‘Irish Need Not Apply’ – or any other ethnic group. It is purposeful, legal, and deliberate exclusion. Then the indigenous population should be blamed. If they’re not so concerned about their colonial status and their second-class citizenship, why should I be?” 

Journalist Mark Plotkin on the issue of DC Statehood

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Ralph Nader Radio Hour
Ralph Nader Radio Hour
Ralph Nader talks about what’s happening in America, what’s happening around the world, and most importantly what’s happening underneath it all.