Latest Content for Old Mole Variety Hour

Can social workers help folks in need when they themselves are in need -- poorly paid and over-worked?   Old Mole Iven Hale draws on her own experiences as a social worker to illuminate what social workers are up against and their need for a union to improve their work.   Read more

Poor people are often blamed for causing their own poverty by making bad choices.  Well-read Red Frann Michel draws on writings by poor and formerly poor people to show that what look like poor decisions to those who are not poor often look very different to those who ar... Read more

Although we hear a great deal about the supposed need to cut Social Security and Medicare, support is high among the people for increasing those essential supports.  Tom Becker reads from Dave Lindorff's piece on Counterpunch, "Shifting from Defense to Offense"  reportin... Read more

Joe Clement hosts the show today featuring several takes on poverty in the US and an illuminating discussion of the prospects for war or peace in the Middle East.  To hear individual segments, follow these links. To hear the whole show, use the play button below.   More ... Read more

What are the forces pushing for US military engagement in Syria and Iran?  What parts are played by Saudi Arabia and Israel?  Is the Obama administration winding down the tensions?  Middle East scholar Saeed Rahnema talks with the Old Mole's Bill Resnick about these ques... Read more

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Bill Resnick talks to Gwen Sullivan, President of the Portland Association of Teachers. They bring an update on the contract talks between the Portland Association of Teachers and the Portland Public School district board, the possibility of a strike, and the fight for q... Read more

Tom Becker reads from an article about the corrupt failure of the United Nations COP-19 Climate Summit, where industry interests controlled the conference and civil society groups hassled. It is titled "The Government Scandal That Shows The People Have to Take Radical Ac... Read more

Movie Moles, Jan Haaken and Denise Morris, review Ingmar Bergman's 1973 "Scenes from a Marriage", a film after which saw divorce rates jump when released in Bergman's native Sweden. Picking up somewhat on a theme opened up in their review of "Hope Springs", they interrog... Read more

Jan Haaken talks with Bob Joondepth, Director of Disabilities Rights Oregon, about the promises and pitfalls of the Affordable Care Act for those with mental health needs. They talk about the nuts and bolts of services people may receive, but also raise political questio... Read more