212: The Privatization of Everything by Donald Cohen

Circulating Ideas

Steve chats with Donald Cohen, co-author of The Privatization of Everything: How the Plunder of Public Goods Transformed America and How We Can Fight Back, about how he defines privatization, why public goods are vital to a functioning democracy, public-private partnerships that work, and what individuals can do to fight back against privatization.

Read the transcript!

Donald Cohen is the founder and executive director of In the Public Interest (ITPI,) a national research and policy center that studies public goods and services. His opinion pieces and articles have appeared in the New York Times, Reuters, the Los Angeles Times, The San Diego Union-Tribune, The New York Daily News, The New Republic, The American Prospect, The Nation and other online and print outlets. He’s the co-author of The Privatization of Everything: How the Plunder of Public Goods Transformed America and How We Can Fight Back, out November 23, 2021.

SPONSORS:

EveryLibrary
This episode is sponsored today by EveryLibrary, the national political action committee for libraries. EveryLibrary helps support the funding formula for public and school libraries so our public institutions can employ great people. You can see more about their pro-bono support for libraries on the ballot and school librarians in crisis at everylibrary.org and SaveSchoolLibrarians.org.

Syndetics Unbound, from ProQuest and LibraryThing
Syndetics Unbound helps public and academic libraries enrich their catalogs and discovery systems with high-interest elements, including cover images, summaries, author profiles, similar books, reviews, and more. Syndetics Unbound encourages serendipitous discovery and higher collection usage, and was recently awarded Platinum distinction in the LibraryWorks 2021 Modern Library Awards. To learn more about Syndetics Unbound, visit Syndetics.com. While there, be sure to visit their “News” tab to check out the Syndetics Unbound Blog for news and analysis, including a break-down of 2020’s most popular titles in public and academic libraries.

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The Privatization of Everything: How the Plunder of Public Goods Transformed America and How We Can Fight Back