Vaya Con Muñoz 7.30.22

Vaya Con Muñoz 7.9.22

A conversation with filmmaker Larry Hott on his favorite soundtracks, the Niagara Movement project he is directing and producing for PBS, the “democratization” of filmmaking but only so far given the enormous costs and time it takes to produce a film, and a final joke.

Vaya con Muñoz – 6.11.22

This week on the show, Nathaniel is joined by Dan Torres and Matt Szafranski to discuss Marcus William’s recent announcement that he was resigning, and how it brought to light a resolution passed by the state legislation allowing for a special election in Springfield; the situation with the police department in Greenfield, and how the Mayor is handling it; how the conversation about defunding the police is going, and why it needs to shift to a conversation about how the police are spending tax dollars; what happened with the LA district attorney, and whether it’s an indicator of things to come; a bill that was passed, and then re-passed, by the MA legislation that will allow undocumented immigrants to get drivers license; and what our panel thinks should happen with immigration in general;

Vaya con Muñoz – 5.27.22

This week on the show Nathaniel hosts again, and is joined by Matt Szafranski and Dan Torres in discussing the recent school shooting in texas, and our feelings on gun control; how mental health factors into both the epidemic of gun violence, but also in the prevention of it; how universal health care would help prevent a lot of ills, and how different countries than us have been able to make it work; how World War II’s destruction in Europe paved the way for a modern electrical grid, and how that makes our grids older than most of those in Europe; how modern Americans are cynical about infrastructure, and unwilling to spend money to improve or repair it; how the financial institutions in this country are designed to benefit the wealthy, at the expense of the middle class and the poor; the problem with speculative economics, and how that’s hitting us at the pump.

Vaya Con Muñoz May 20th 2022

This week Nathaniel hosts and is joined by Kate Albright-Hanna, Dan Torres, and Matt Szafranski in discussing Monkey Pox, and how it might intersect with Covid; the shooting in Buffalo, and how it’s part of a larger Nazi movement; the role of so called replacement theory in the recent rash of right wing violence, and who is responcible for spreading it; the way our society venerates the lone warrior trope, and how our media plays into it; Holy City councelor Wilmer Puello-Mota and his arrest for possesion of child pornagraphy and falsifying records; and the disinformation governance board, and how misinformation about it’s purpose may have caused it to shut down.

Vaya Con Muñoz 5.14.22

Vaya Con Muñoz 5.7.22

This week Nathaniel Waring hosts a special Roe V Wade retrospective show, in which we re-visit past episodes of the show where we discussed abortion, Roe V Wade, and the supreme court. We listen to segments from our September 4th 2021, September 11th 2021, and October 16th 2021 shows. And our last segment is a Ted talk by Kathryn Kolbert – one of the women who litigated planned parenthood VS casey in 1992 – a decision largely credited with saving Roe v Wade at the time.

Vaya Con Muñoz 4.30.22

This week Nathaniel Waring hosts and is joined by Kate Albright-Hanna in a outlandish discussion of reverse colonialism, and how it could get us back to a more nature based way of living; whether the human race is redeemable, and if we are if we’ll get our act together in time to save so many species that are in danger of extinction; how capitalism and colonialism – as well as globalization – has pushed the worst of us into positions of power; the possibility of taking over the Massachusetts republican party, and how it might be easier than trying to reform the Democratic party here in the commonwealth; why we both became disillusioned with our local Democratic Socialist of America chapter, and what about leftist organizations make it hard to do electoral work; and why the Right seems to have more “man”power when it comes to organizing, and why that might be more like “woman”power.

Vaya con Muñoz – 4.23.22

This week on the show we are joined by Kate Albright-Hanna, Dan Torres, Matt Szafranski, Larry Hott, and Nathaniel Waring in discussing the state of Covid, both domestically and in China; The upcoming LGBTQ pride parade in Springfield, and why Northampton has traditionally outshone Springfield; The Springfield school committee’s decision to add a financial literacy class as an elective, and how that will help recent grads adjust to adult life; the situation in France, how how the French people are having to choose between bad and worse; and Larry talks about Billie Eilish winning, Woody Allen, and separating art from the artist.

Vaya Con Muñoz 4.16.22

This week we are joined by Tanisha Arena, Kate Albright-Hanna, Dan Torres, Matt Szafranski, and Nathaniel Waring in discussing the recent shooting in a new york city subway, and how policing by the NYPD played into it; a shooting in Cedar Rapids Michigan, and how it’s just the most recent in a long history of police killing people; Big Y’s announcement that they’ll be opening a Big Y Express in Springfield’s Tower Square, and how it’s part of the gentrification of the city; How gentrification goes hand in hand with rising housing prices, and how being homeless in 2022 looks different than it did previously; the race to replace Eric Lesser’s senate seat; and how it’s shaping up; who might replace Richie Neil, and what he’s doing to name his successor; how the 2022 midterm elections will turn out, and what it’ll look like for progressives after the november election; the Statewide races, and why the Lt. Gov election is more interesting than the Governor’s race; what’s going to happen in terms of a slowdown or a recession, and how cheap lending by the Fed plays into it.