Old Mole Variety Hour

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Coming Soon

Airs at: Mon, 10/13/2025 at 9:00am - 10:00am
Airs at: Mon, 02/02/2026 at 9:00am - 10:00am
Hosted by: 
Patricia Kullberg, Bill Resnick, Denise Morris, Frann Michel, Laurie Mercier, Joe Clement, Jan Haaken, Larry Bowlden, Jon Nelson, OldMoleVarietyHour
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.  

Topic tags: 
Activism, Class, Race, Gender, Sexuality, Labor, Legislation, Environment/Climate, Government/Politics, Energy/Natural Resources, Economy, Law/Court/Crime, LGBTQ, Arts/Culture, Fiction, Film, Movement for Racial Justice, Indigenous, Housing/Homelessness, Health, Disability, COVID19, Education, Community Building
Streams: 
KBOO Stream 1
Program status: 
Current

The Radical Martin Luther King

Airs at: Mon, 01/17/2011 at 12:00am
Produced for:  Old Mole Variety Hour
 Today it seems that mainstream and right-wing pundits prefer their heroes dead, the better to bowlderize their words and twist their messages.  Well-read Red Frann Michel draws on many sources to remind  us of the radical dimensions of Martin Luther King's legacy. You c... Read more

Working for the Prize

Airs at: Mon, 01/17/2011 at 12:00am
Produced for:  Old Mole Variety Hour
 Capitalism exploits our labor, but at least wage workers usually get paid for time on the job.  But what happens when governments and other institutions offer prizes for a job done?  Then many people labor, but only the winner wins.  Joe Clement reads from Jodi Dean's b... Read more

"Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self"

Airs at: Mon, 01/17/2011 at 12:00am
Produced for:  Old Mole Variety Hour
 Our Book Mole Larry Bowlden comments on Danielle Evans's short stories Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self.  They are funny and often heartbreaking stories of young women, black, white and in between.  More of Larry's reviews, including this one,  are available here... Read more

January 17 Old Mole Variety Hour

Airs at: Mon, 01/17/2011 at 12:00am
Produced for:  Old Mole Variety Hour
 Denise Morris hosts this edition of the Old Mole celebrating Martin Luther King day in music and commentary.    For information about our theme music and our graphics, go to our main page. You can also follow us on Facebook. To hear the whole show (including music), use t... Read more

Harold Pinter in Portland

Airs at: Mon, 01/10/2011 at 12:00am
Produced for:  Old Mole Variety Hour
 Harold Pinter's play One For the Road is being performed at Blackfish Gallery (NW 9th & Flanders) by the Readers' Repertory Theater this weekend, January 14 and 15.  Director David Berkson talks about the play with the Old Mole's Jan Haaken.  The story of a master inter... Read more

Movie Moles: "True Grit"

Airs at: Mon, 01/10/2011 at 12:00am
Produced for:  Old Mole Variety Hour
 Movie Moles Jan Haaken and Joe Clement  discuss the Coen brothers version of True Grit.  What is this film saying about the role of women in the American West?  About commerce?  About justice? Read more

Is there really an Islamist menace?

Airs at: Mon, 01/10/2011 at 12:00am
Produced for:  Old Mole Variety Hour
 The threat of terrorist attacks  in Europe from Islamists  is not what we think.  Dan Gardner argues that "in most of Europe, there was no terrorism. And where there was terrorism, the trend line pointed down."  Tom Becker reads Gardner's piece "The Not-So-Great Islamis... Read more

January 10 Old Mole Variety Hour

Airs at: Mon, 01/10/2011 at 12:00am
Produced for:  Old Mole Variety Hour
 Tom Becker hosts this episode of the Old Mole where the topics include the Teamsters and democracy, a local production of Harold Pinter's play about torture, a review of the Coen Brothers film True Grit, and an op-ed debunking the "menace" of Islamist terrorism in Europ... Read more

Democratic Teamsters

Airs at: Mon, 01/10/2011 at 12:00am
Produced for:  Old Mole Variety Hour
 Peter Landon has had a long career as a truck driver and Teamster union activist with TDU (Teamsters for a Democratic Union).  Here he talks with the Old Mole's Bill Resnick about union democracy and the campaign to replace James P. Hoffa with Sandy Pope as president of... Read more

Old Mole Variety Hour on 01/03/11

Airs at: Mon, 01/03/2011 at 9:00am - 10:00am
Produced for:  Old Mole Variety Hour
  On the next Old Mole, hosted by Joe Clement, hear: Bill Resnick interviews Joseph Torres about Net Neutrality and the attempt to monetize the internet. Movie Moles Denise Morris and Wendy Webb review "Black Swan." Albert Einstein asks and answers "Why Socia... Read more