July 11, 2024: Nancy MacLean, 2017: How the Right-Wing Took Over the Courts

KPFA - Bookwaves/Artwaves

​Bookwaves/Artwaves is produced and hosted by Richard Wolinsky.

Links to assorted local theater & book venues

Nancy MacLean, author of “Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right’s Stealth Plan for America” in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, recorded in the KPFA studios, October 20, 2017..

Nancy MacLean’s 2017 book, “Democracy in Chains,” deals with the long game of the Koch brothers and their ilk, which may now have finally come to fruition with the Supreme Court legalizing bribery as “gratuities,” the overthrow of administrative protections in the areas of safety and the environment, and legalizing crimes by the President. The idea was to create a constitutional convention, which would codify laws in such a way that progressive regimes would be unable to move their programs forward, thanks to the courts, and based on how the Pinochet regime was able to control Chile after giving up power. That convention idea didn’t work in this country, but thanks to Mitch McConnell and his refusal to bring Obama nominees to a vote, followed by the Trump Administration’s packing of all the courts, the Koch plan wound up working anyway. In this interview, Nancy MacLean goes back to the origins of the plan, and brings us forward.

Duke University Professor Nancy MacLean, in researching the life of libertarian professor James Buchanan, discovered the philosophical underpinnings of what Hillary Clinton (almost unknowingly) called the “vast right-wing conspiracy.” Funded by Charles Koch and other donors, they’ve taken over the GOP and have an agenda, she says, that ultimately will allow minority rule in the United States for the forseeable future.

In this interview, she discusses the role of Buchanan and the Mont Pelerin Society in the underpinnings of this gradual take-over of the state and federal government, and what the goals are, according to her research.

Complete Interview.

Book Interview/Events and Theatre Links

Note: Shows may unexpectedly close early or be postponed due to actors’ positive COVID tests. Check the venue for closures, ticket refunds, and vaccination and mask requirements before arrival. Dates are in-theater performances unless otherwise noted. Some venues operate Tuesday – Sunday; others Wednesday or Thursday through Sunday. All times Pacific Time. Closing dates are sometimes extended.

Book Stores
Bay Area Book Festival See website for highlights from the 10th Annual Bay Area Book Festival, June 1-2, 2024.
Book Passage. Monthly Calendar. Mix of on-line and in-store events.
Books Inc. Mix of on-line and in-store events.
The Booksmith. Monthly Event Calendar.
BookShop West Portal. Monthly Event Calendar.
Center for Literary Arts, San Jose. See website for Book Club guests in upcoming months.
Green Apple Books. Events calendar.
Kepler’s Books On-line Refresh the Page program listings.

Live Theater Companies
Actor’s Reading Collective (ARC). Calendar of upcoming readings.
African American Art & Culture Complex. See website for calendar.
Alter Theatre. See website for upcoming productions.
American Conservatory Theatre Carrie, The Musical, The Reuff at The Strand, August 1-11. Noel Coward’s Private Lives, September 12 – October 6, Toni Rembe Theatre.
Aurora Theatre The Lifespan of a Fact by Jeremy Kareken & David Murrell and Gordon Farrell, June 21-July 21. Streaming: July 16-21.
Awesome Theatre Company. Por La Noche (By Night), October 11 – 26, 2024. See website for information.
Berkeley Rep. Mother Road by Octavio Solis, June 14-July 21, Peets Theatre. The Best of the Second City, July 16-29, Roda Theatre.
Berkeley Shakespeare Company. See website for upcoming shows.
Boxcar Theatre. New Years Eve at the Speakeasy, Jan. 1, 2025. Magic Man, Jan 3 – June 2, Palace Theatre.
Brava Theatre Center: See calendar for current and upcoming productions.
BroadwaySF: Mrs. Doubtfire, July 2-28. Girl from the North Country, July 30-Aug 18, Golden Gate. See website for events at the Orpheum, Curran and Golden Gate.
Broadway San Jose: Disney’s Frozen, August 21 – September 1.
California Shakespeare Theatre (Cal Shakes). As You Like it, September 12 – 29.
Center Rep: Arsenic and Old Lace by Joseph Kesselring September 8 -29. Lesher Center for the Arts.
Central Works Accused by Patricia Milton, July 13 – August 11.
Cinnabar Theatre. La Boheme June 21 – July 5.
Club Fugazi. Dear San Francisco ongoing. Check website for Music Mondays listings.
Contra Costa Civic Theatre In Repertory: Hamlet and Rosencranz and Gildenstern Are Dead, September 7 – 22.
Curran Theater: See website for special events..
Custom Made Theatre. In hibernation.
Cutting Ball Theatre. See website for upcoming shows.
42^nd Street Moon. Bright Star postponed.
Golden Thread 11 Reflections: San Francisco, October 4-5 Brava Theatre Center. See website for other events.
Hillbarn Theatre: Always…Patsy Cline, August 22 – September 15.
Lorraine Hansberry Theatre. See website for upcoming productions.
Lower Bottom Playaz See website for upcoming productions.
Magic Theatre. Magic Gala, August 8, 2024. Richard II by William Shakespeare, August 21 – September 8. See website for other events.
Marin Theatre Company Yaga by by Kurt Sondler, October 10 – November 3, 2024.
Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts Upcoming Events Page.
New Conservatory Theatre Center (NCTC) Ride the Cyclone by Jacob Richmond & Brooke Maxwell, September 20 – October 20.
Oakland Theater Project. Angels in America, Parts I & II, September 27 – October 26,
Odd Salon: Upcoming events in San Francisco & New York, and streaming.
Pear Theater. Chaplin and Keaton on the Set of Limelight by Greg Lam, June 28 – July 21, 2024.
Presidio Theatre. See website for complete schedule of events and performances.
Ray of Light: Legally Blonde, September 7-29, 2024, Victoria Theatre. See website for Spotlight Cabaret Series at Feinstein’s at the Nikko (It’s Britney, Bitch, July 24).
San Francisco Playhouse. Evita, June 27-September 7. 2024.
SFBATCO. See website for upcoming streaming and in- theater shows.
San Jose Stage Company: See website for upcoming schedule.
Shotgun Players. Collective Rage by Jen Silverman. July 20 – August 18.
South Bay Musical Theatre: No, No Nanette, Sept 28 – Oct. 19. Saratoga Civic Theater.
Stagebridge: See website for events and productions. Storytime every 4th Saturday.
The Breath Project. Streaming archive.
The Marsh: Calendar listings for Berkeley, San Francisco and Marshstream.
Theatre Lunatico See website for upcoming productions.
Theatre Rhino Streaming: Essential Services Project, conceived and performed by John Fisher, all weekly performances now available on demand.
TheatreWorks Silicon Valley. King James by Rajiv Joseph, October 9 – November 3, 2024.
Word for Word. See website for upcoming productions.

Misc. Listings:
BAM/PFA: On View calendar for BAM/PFA.
Berkeley Symphony: See website for listings.
Chamber Music San Francisco: Calendar, 2023 Season.
Dance Mission Theatre. On stage events calendar.
Oregon Shakespeare Festival: Calendar listings and upcoming shows.
San Francisco Opera. Calendar listings.
San Francisco Symphony. Calendar listings.

Filmed Live Musicals: Searchable database of all filmed live musicals, podcast, blog.

If you’d like to add your bookstore or theater venue to this list, please write [e-mail]

The post July 11, 2024: Nancy MacLean, 2017: How the Right-Wing Took Over the Courts appeared first on KPFA.