Tag Archives: wnyc

SLU Prof. Kafui Attoh on WNYC’s On the Media

Last week, SLU Urban Studies Professor Kafui Attoh made an appearance on WNYC’s On the Media to talk about the relationship between public transportation and democracy, closing out an hour that explores the injustices that undergird “feel good” stories about workers persevering through horrifying commutes and the perils of self-driving cars. From On the Media:

The lion’s share of our transit-oriented program this week has centered on the personal car and its infrastructure. This is no accident. The car speeds, stalls, thrills and kills us — all because we need a ride. But what if we’d really rather journey by bus? 

Brooke spoke with Kafui Attoh, professor of urban studies at the CUNY Graduate Center, about the deep political connotations of “transit rights.” Such rights, Attoh argues in his forthcoming book Rights in Transit, have roots in Marx, Engels and Lefebvre’s thinking on the radical nature of cities

Listen to the whole hour here or check out Prof. Attoh’s segment here.

Photo by Sergio SC via flickr (CC-BY-SA)

Prof. Joshua Freeman Talks Taylor Law on the Brian Lehrer Show

On Wednesday, Murphy Prof. Joshua Freeman was on WNYC’s The Brian Lehrer Show along with William Herbert, Executive Director of the National Center for the Study of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education and the Professions, to talk about the Taylor Law.

They discussed the history of the law, 50 years in, and its ramifications for public sector unionism. Take a listen here.

Photo by peopleworld via flickr (CC-BY-NC)

Profs. Steve Brier and Michael Fabricant Talk Austerity Blues on WNYC

If you missed our forum last Friday on the history and impact of austerity and neoliberal policies on public higher education, you can still listen to an interview on WNYC with two of our panelists: Murphy Institute consortial faculty member Prof. Steve Brier and co-author Prof. Michael Fabricant of the CUNY Graduate Center and Vice President of CUNY’s Professional Staff Congress. They speak about their recently published work, Austerity Blues: Fighting for the Soul of Public Higher Education.

Listen here.

Photo by chadinbr via flickr (CC-BY)

Prof. Joshua Freeman on WNYC’s United States of Anxiety

In the lead up to the election, WNYC and the Nation are producing The United States of Anxietya series aimed at exploring the lives and stories of “people trying to hold on to their piece of the American Dream and others who are looking to build one.”

The latest episode, “White Like Me,” dives into experiences of race, dreams and perceptions of some Long Island, and it features Murphy Prof. Joshua Freeman. Prof. Freeman describes how party politics in early US history helped produce the existing racial dynamics in the United States — and also set the tone for the spectacle-like politics we experience today.

Listen here.

$15/hr in NYC: A Historic Move

Yesterday, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio made a historic announcement: by 2018, he’ll raise the minimum wage for city workers to $15/hour. From WNYC:

[T]he mayor described the move as part of his larger OneNYC plan to move more New Yorkers out of poverty: “Our goal is, again, 800,000 people over the next 10 years and one of the central ways to do that is to raise wage levels.”

“We’re going to be able to do that now for 50,000 employees, which means thousands and thousands of family members will be affected as well,” said de Blasio.

The news of the wage boost comes just two weeks after the mayor told WNYC he would issue an executive order to guarantee all non-union city employees at least six weeks of fully-paid parental leave and up to 12 weeks when combined with accrued vacation time. Continue reading $15/hr in NYC: A Historic Move