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TTT1729 July 17 Populism

In today’s political commentary, the label “populist” is mostly applied to immigrant-bashers, climate-deniers and anti-globalists who wouldn’t be caught dead listening to MPR, reading the New York Times or saying something nice about “left coast” elites in California or New York. But not all populists are right-wing reactionaries. Just ask Bernie Sanders supporters. In fact, populist movements in name or spirit, mobilized rural farmers and urban workers in powerful movements for political and economic democracy. To help us understand how, TTT is joined by historians Michael Lansing from Augsburg College, author of Insurgent Democracy: The NonPartisan League in North American Politics and Jeff Kolnick from Southwest Minnesota State University, serving a region of the state with a rich progressive populist heritage.

Guests:

Michael Lansing is an associate professor of history at Augsburg College and author of Insurgent Democracy: The NonPartisan League in North American Politics.

Jeff Kolnick is a history professor at  Southwest Minnesota State University.