Old Mole Variety Hour

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Airs at: Mon, 10/13/2025 at 9:00am - 10:00am

Airs at: Mon, 02/02/2026 at 9:00am - 10:00am
Produced by: 
KBOO
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Views, Reviews, and Interviews from a socialist-feminist, anti-racist and anti-colonial point of view.

 

Every Monday from 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM.

A program of social and political commentary from a socialist-feminist, anti-racist and anti-colonial point of view.

The Old Mole burrows down to the roots of the great issues of our time – the struggles of ordinary people for democratic and sustainable ways of life.  The Mole goes where corporate media fear to tread, supporting grassroots challenges to top-down authority and giving voice to movements that shake the foundations of an unjust society.  The Moles' perspective is democratic, anti-capitalist, feminist, anti-colonial and anti-racist.  We count Karl Marx as a friend but are open to other voices from the left. The show includes analyses of global politics and economics, local grassroots activism, segments on the Left & the Law, and reviews of films, books, music, and theater. 

Contributors include: Julian Ankney, Larry Bowlden, Joe Clement, Norm Diamond, Kevin Foster, Jan Haaken, Desiree Hellegers, Patricia Kullberg, Luisa Martinez, Laurie Mercier, Frann Michel, Denise Morris, Bill Resnick, Victoria Saucedo, Sophie Smith, Mike Snedecker, Roben White, Matt Witt

Here is why we call this show "The Old Mole"

For individual segments and more content: View more Old Mole content

Check out our Program Blog

Subscribe to our podcast (see above; search the show name on iTunes; also available on Googleplay)

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Our theme song is the traditional "Mole in the Ground," sometimes performed by Clayton & Ernie, sometimes by Joe Clement,  and sometimes blended with other versions, like the one by dj/rupture, sung by Sindhu Zagoren on the album Special Gunpowder, or Blind Boy Paxton  

Our graphic lettering is by Charlie Ertola. Host portraits by Clayton Morgareidge.
 

You can leave comments for the Moles by clicking on the comment section for any of our audio pieces.  

Streams: 
KBOO Stream 1
Program status: 
Current

Politics of Climate Change

Airs at: Mon, 04/25/2011 at 12:00am
Produced for Old Mole Variety Hour
 Why has the US been behind other industrial countries in the planetary struggle to reduce carbon emissions?  Eric Pooley is an award-winning magazine editor and author of The Climate War who has joined the Environmental Defense Fund as Senior Vice President for Strategy... Read more

Who Creates Jobs, and What is a Job?

Airs at: Mon, 04/25/2011 at 12:00am
Produced for Old Mole Variety Hour
 Politicians argue about what is the best way to create jobs.  But who has the power to create jobs, and why?  And what is a job, anyway?  Clayton Morgareidge comments.  You can read his remarks here.  The music heard at the end is "Dear Employer," performed by Five Minu... Read more

Movie Moles: "Meek's Cutoff"

Airs at: Mon, 04/25/2011 at 12:00am
Produced for Old Mole Variety Hour
 Meek's Cutoff is a new film by a woman director about the Oregon Trail and filmed in Oregon.  It has been called an "anti-Western".   Movie Moles Wendy Webb and Jan Haaken discuss its story and what it is saying about the role of women.   Read more

Book Mole: "Hungry for the World"

Airs at: Mon, 04/25/2011 at 12:00am
Produced for Old Mole Variety Hour
 Hungry for the World is a memoir by Kim Barnes about a young woman fleeing patriarchal domination of family and church to make a life on her own.  Our reviewer Larry Bowlden admires her writing and courage, and hopes she will fly further in a sequel.  More of Larry's re... Read more

April 25 Old Mole Variety Hour

Airs at: Mon, 04/25/2011 at 12:00am
Produced for Old Mole Variety Hour
 Clayton Morgareidge hosts today's show.  We hear a discussion of political obstacles in fighting climate change and what needs to be done; some questions about who creates jobs and what a job is; a conversation among Movie Moles about women on the Oregon Trail in Meek's... Read more

The Economics of Public Goods

Airs at: Mon, 04/18/2011 at 12:00am
Produced for Old Mole Variety Hour
 Martin and Bill connect the ideological, political and economic aspects of neoliberalism and talk about the obfuscation over the last 30 years of the state and public goods in the economy.   Martin Hart-Landsberg is a professor of economics at Lewis and Clark College an... Read more

Movie Moles: Atlas Shrugged

Airs at: Mon, 04/18/2011 at 12:00am
Produced for Old Mole Variety Hour
 Joe and Frann talk about the new film based on Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand's magnum opus and exploration of a capitalist utopia. They consider the wooden acting and painful pacing, but also the representations of business and liberal capitalist government; the fascist fant... Read more

Old Mole Variety Hour April 18th

Airs at: Mon, 04/18/2011 at 12:00am
Produced for Old Mole Variety Hour
 Today's show, hosted by Denise Morris, features two conversations about Ayn Rand, an interview about public goods and the economy, and the latest scores for the current class-war. For information about our theme music and our graphics, go to our main page. You can also ... Read more

The Virtue of Selfishness or The Soul of Man Under Socialism

Airs at: Mon, 04/18/2011 at 12:00am
Produced for Old Mole Variety Hour
 Joe and Clayton consider selfishness and altruism in the context of Ayn Rand's work. They bring in Oscar Wilde's 1891 essay "The Soul of Man Under Socialism" - which almost sounds like an essay Rand would write - as an alternative understanding of the same dynamics of a... Read more

Guess Who's Winning the Class War?

Airs at: Mon, 04/18/2011 at 12:00am
Produced for Old Mole Variety Hour
 Tom Becker reads "Class-Warfare Scorecard: guess who's winning?" Mike Whitney deflects the myth that our economic woes are due (primarily) to "credit addled shoppers going crazy at Macy's." Instead, wages have stagnated since the 1970s, money has accumulated among those... Read more