This extraordinary event, recorded in Santa Fe right after Roy's "Globalization & Terrorism" lecture, brings together for the first time, America's great radical historian with one of India's and the world's most brilliant writers and social critics. Zinn interviews Roy on a variety of topics ranging from her battle with the Supreme Court of India which accused her of "corrupting public morality," to the rise of Hindu-based fascism. Roy turns her penetrating gaze on the US and warns that, "Thanks to the 'free press', Americans don't know what is happening around the world." She says, "People are going to have to blow holes through the corporate media." Roy extols the virtue of literature as "the opposite of the nuclear bomb." Her unvarnished honesty, sense of humor and political acuity combined with poetic gifts of expression make Roy a special voice we all need to hear.
Arundhati Roy
Arundhati Roy is the celebrated author of "The God of Small Things" and winner of the prestigious Booker Prize. "The New York Times" calls her, "India's most impassioned critic of globalization and American influence." She is the recipient of the Lannan Award for Cultural Freedom. She's the author of many books including "The Checkbook & the Cruise Missile," a collection of interviews with David Barsamian, and "Field Notes on Democracy: Listening to Grasshoppers."
Howard Zinn
Howard Zinn, professor emeritus at Boston University, was perhaps this country's premier radical historian. He was born in Brooklyn in 1922. His parents, poor immigrants, were constantly moving to stay, as he once told me," one step ahead of the landlord." After high school, he went to work in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. During World War II, he saw combat duty as an air force bombardier. After the war, he went to Columbia University on the GI Bill. He taught at Spelman, the all black women's college in Atlanta. He was an active figure in the civil rights movement and served on the board of SNCC, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. He was fired by Spelman for his activism. He was among the first to oppose U.S. aggression in Indochina. His book "Vietnam: The Logic of Withdrawal" was an instant classic. A principled opponent of imperialism and militarism, he was an advocate of non-violent civil disobedience. He spoke and marched against the U.S. wars on Afghanistan and Iraq. His masterpiece, "A People's History of the United States," continues to sell in huge numbers. Among his many books are "A Power Governments Cannot Suppress" and "Original Zinn." Just before his death he completed his last great project, the documentary "The People Speak." Always ready to lend a hand, he believed in and practiced solidarity. Witty, erudite, generous and loved by many the world over, Howard Zinn, friend and teacher, passed away on January 27, 2010. He would say, Don't mourn. Get active. The struggle for peace and justice continues.
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