Labor Heritage Power Hour

Christopher Garlock

A weekly radio show celebrating the cultural heritage of the American worker. Hosted by Chris Garlock and Elise Bryant and produced by the Labor Heritage Foundation; broadcast on WPFW 89.3FM

  1. JAN 22

    Murderous billionaires, labor’s racial divide, and DC Labor Chorus concert highlights

    This week on the Labor Heritage Power Hour, culture, history, and struggle collide. We begin with cultural critic Kathleen Newman, who reflects on labor themes surfacing in contemporary film and television—from Netflix’s The Beast in Me to Apple TV’s Pluribus—and how stories of power, class, and exploitation continue to shape popular culture. Next, historian Rudi Batzell takes a deep dive into the roots of division within the U.S. labor movement. Drawing from his work on race, class, and strikebreaking in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Batzell explores how racial divisions—and the legacy of slavery—shaped the limits of early union organizing. This segment comes from a labor history series produced by Patrick Dixon for America’s Work Force Radio, hosted by Ed “Flash” Ferenc. We close with highlights from the powerful DC Labor Chorus 2025 holiday concert—songs of resistance, solidarity, and immigrant justice that remind us why music remains central to movement-building. Plus: the latest labor arts news, including registration now open for the 2026 Labor Notes Conference and Great Labor Arts Exchange, organizing wins across the museum sector, and more. Broadcast on January 22, 2026; hosted by Chris Garlock and Harold Phillips; produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Mike Nasella & Kahlia Chapman. The Labor Heritage Power Hour is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network and syndicated on Pacifica’s Audioport. @LaborHeritage1 @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod

    55 min
  2. JAN 8

    When Workers Tell Their Own Stories

    This week on The Labor Heritage Power Hour, we explore what happens when workers recognize their power—and use it to imagine something better. We begin with a conversation about the post-pandemic union upsurge. Labor organizer and researcher Eric Dirnbach talks with Dave Kamper, author of Who’s Got the Power: Hope for Troubled Times, about graduate student organizing, teachers’ strikes, the UAW’s stand-up strike, and the return of solidarity as a force for change. Drawing on history and recent victories, Kamper reflects on why moments of crisis can also be moments of possibility. Then we head to Italy with a report from the Working Class History podcast, taking us to the 2025 Working Class Literature Festival at the occupied former GKN factory outside Florence. There, workers are fighting not only to save their jobs, but to transform their workplace into a cooperative—while creating space for writers, artists, and organizers to tell their own stories. PLUS: The 1916 Youngstown Massacre and Carsie Blanton’s “Little Flame”. From union halls to occupied factories, from organizing drives to poetry and song, this episode reminds us that labor history isn’t just something we remember—it’s something we’re still making. Broadcast on January 8, 2026; hosted by Chris Garlock and Elise Bryant; produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Mike Nasella & Kahlia Chapman. The Labor Heritage Power Hour is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network and syndicated on Pacifica’s Audioport. @LaborHeritage1 @wpfwdc @aflcio #1u #unions #laborradiopod

    55 min

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
5 Ratings

About

A weekly radio show celebrating the cultural heritage of the American worker. Hosted by Chris Garlock and Elise Bryant and produced by the Labor Heritage Foundation; broadcast on WPFW 89.3FM