Labor Radio-Podcast Weekly

The Pope, AI and the Future of Work

Artificial intelligence dominates this week's Labor Radio/Podcast Weekly. The Workers Mic examines Pope Leo XIV's call to protect the dignity of work in the age of AI, while WorkWeek Radio, the International Labour Organization's Future of Work podcast, and Working Voices explore automation, inequality, workplace surveillance, and who benefits from the rapid deployment of new technologies.

Then we step away from AI for a look at the human side of work, as Project Labor profiles a funeral director whose profession centers on service and compassion. And the Manufacturing Report visits Rhode Island's historic Slater Mill to trace the origins of American manufacturing and the lessons it offers workers today.

Plus, Shows You Should Know. Hosted by Chris, Harold, Thejis and Steve Matthews.

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Highlights from labor radio and podcast shows around the country, part of the national Labor Radio Podcast Network of shows focusing on working people’s issues and concerns.

Produced by Chris Garlock, Patrick Dixon, Harold Phillips and Thejis Fout.

Workers Speak for Themselves

This week on the Labor Radio Podcast Weekly: Labor Radio on KBOO talks with workers organizing at a gender-affirming care clinic, Riverside Rank and File explores union organizing at Amazon, Solidarity Breakfast marks National Sorry Day with Indigenous activists in Australia, Heartland Labor Forum talks with retiring Texas AFL-CIO leader Rick Levy, El Cafecito del Día examines the history of mass deportations and mixed-status families, and Say Watt explores the core beliefs that shape our lives. Plus, a speed round of Shows You Should Know from across the Labor Radio Podcast Network.

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Highlights from labor radio and podcast shows around the country, part of the national Labor Radio Podcast Network of shows focusing on working people’s issues and concerns.

Produced by Chris Garlock, Patrick Dixon, Harold Phillips and Thejis Fout.

Coal Dust and Coffee Shops

This week on the Labor Radio/Podcast Weekly, we feature stories from across the Labor Radio Podcast Network on coal miners, grassroots democracy movements, labor media, Starbucks organizing, labor music, and more.
Working People: Labor journalist Kim Kelly reports on the Trump administration’s weakening of mine safety protections, exacerbating the black lung crisis and jeopardizing coal miners' health.
Green and Red: Anthropologist Ida Susser discusses France’s Yellow Vest movement, highlighting grassroots workers' challenges to both liberal and far-right politics while fostering new democratic organizing.
The Worker Power Hour: Steve Matthews emphasizes the need for labor unions to adopt podcasts, radio, and digital media to educate and inspire workers in a changing media landscape.
I Am An Actor: In this new SAG-AFTRA series, Kate Hudson explores the craft of acting.
Heat the Ground Up: This episode continues the oral history of Starbucks Workers United, detailing Starbucks’ anti-union campaign and the organizing efforts that transformed labor in the service industry.
Mine Wars Forum: Celebrating the legacy of labor musician and activist Hazel Dickens, stories from her nephew Buddy span from West Virginia coal country to the Pittston strike and beyond.
Plus tips on more Shows You Should Know.

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Highlights from labor radio and podcast shows around the country, part of the national Labor Radio Podcast Network of shows focusing on working people’s issues and concerns.

Produced by Chris Garlock, Patrick Dixon and Harold Phillips.

Boycotts, Burnouts and Breakthroughs

This week on the Labor Radio/Podcast Weekly: REI workers launch a nationwide boycott campaign after stalled bargaining talks, Alabama lawmakers battle over voting rights and representation, Brookfield Zoo workers score a contract breakthrough after a strike threat, Montana nurses discuss burnout and staffing shortages, and Cincinnati labor activists talk about connecting unions to broader community life.

Featuring clips from The Union Bug, The Valley Labor Report, The Workers Mic, Blue Collar News and Boiling Point.

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Highlights from labor radio and podcast shows around the country, part of the national Labor Radio Podcast Network of shows focusing on working people’s issues and concerns.

Produced by Chris Garlock, Patrick Dixon and Harold Phillips.

May Day Recap, New Network Shows

This week’s Labor Radio Podcast Weekly is our May Day recap special, featuring reports from across the country on the biggest crop of actions in decades —and welcoming new shows to the Network.

From Work Stoppage, a reminder that May Day is a day of action, not celebration. New to the Network, Solidarity Report digs into the history and meaning of International Workers’ Day, Maryland Labor History captures a story transformed by a sudden mill closure, and Project Labor explores the realities of representing workers on the shop floor.

Plus, We Work Europe highlights Ukrainian women workers supporting their communities during wartime, and Concrete Gang revisits the fight for the eight-hour day—won through collective action.
On Shows You Should Know: Union Or Bust — organizing at San Diego Musical Theatre; Apple Box Talks — IATSE’s John Lewis on AI and Canadian crews; The Docker Podcast — urgent fight against automation in Tacoma; Working People — Post-Gazette layoffs and the future of journalism; The Powerline Podcast — building stronger union halls and supporting members.

The Labor Radio Podcast Weekly brings you highlights selected from more than 200 labor shows across the Labor Radio Podcast Network.

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Highlights from labor radio and podcast shows around the country, part of the national Labor Radio Podcast Network of shows focusing on working people’s issues and concerns.

Produced by Chris Garlock, Patrick Dixon and Harold Phillips.

May Day Amplified

This week on the Labor Radio Podcast Weekly, May Day takes center stage as workers organize nationwide actions and build power on the ground:
Working People features organizers behind May Day Strong and calls for a national economic blackout; Work Stoppage urges a full shutdown to hit the boss class where it hurts; Labor History Today explores how strikes and disruption can rebuild worker power with Jeremy Brecher, Joe McCartin, and Stephen Lerner;
Blue Collar News looks at unions shaping jobs and standards in the growing data center industry; the ILO’s Future of Work podcast examines the global toll of workplace stress and insecurity.
Plus, in our “Shows You Should Know” speed round: Reinventing Solidarity with Chris Brooks on organizing to win, The Worker Power Hour with Lorena Gonzalez on innovation in California labor, The Valley Labor Report on union busting and workplace safety, Say Watt on IBEW RENEW building new leaders, and The Union Bug on organizing inside Amazon.

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Highlights from labor radio and podcast shows around the country, part of the national Labor Radio Podcast Network of shows focusing on working people’s issues and concerns.

Produced by Chris Garlock, Patrick Dixon and Harold Phillips.

When Protest Becomes “Terrorism”

This week’s Labor Radio Podcast Weekly features organizing campaigns across the movement:
Green and Red — Will Potter on the growing criminalization of protest and expanding surveillance powers targeting activists.
On Union Strong, Albany News Guild journalists discuss their 17-year fight for a first contract—and what it means for workers, wages, and the future of local news.
Heartland Labor Forum — Transit riders organizing for equitable public transportation and building Bus Riders Unions.
The Union Bug — How workers can build their own unions with a new framework for organizing from the ground up.
LaborStart — Extreme heat is a growing global threat to workers—and unions are key to protecting lives.
Organising for Change — Why organizing isn’t a checklist but a creative, worker-led process.

Plus, Shows You Should Know, including: Youth pay fights in Australia (Stick Together); NYC building workers and LA educators (Work Stoppage); Appalachian storytelling (Mine Wars Forum); OSHA failures at a deadly workplace (The Wealthy Ironworker); Intimacy coordinators win a union contract (SAG-AFTRA Podcast).

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Highlights from labor radio and podcast shows around the country, part of the national Labor Radio Podcast Network of shows focusing on working people’s issues and concerns.

Produced by Chris Garlock, Patrick Dixon and Harold Phillips.

Data centers, May Day and the fight for power

On this week’s Labor Radio Podcast Weekly, we explore the real-world impacts of major economic and industrial shifts—and how working people are organizing in response.

The Rick Smith Show examines the rapid expansion of AI data centers, raising questions about massive public subsidies, environmental impacts, and who really benefits from this booming industry.

From My Labor Radio, tradeswomen are building power in the construction industry—mentoring, organizing, and breaking down barriers to ensure access and opportunity for the next generation.

On Labor Express Radio, we look ahead to May Day 2026 in Chicago, which organizers say could be the largest mobilization in decades—and a critical test of workers’ collective power.

Working People brings powerful firsthand accounts from Louisiana residents dealing with the aftermath of a chemical plant explosion, highlighting the human cost of environmental disaster and the role of working-class solidarity.

From Australia’s Stick Together, we hear why protecting endangered grasslands is also a labor issue, tied to sustainability, land use, and community survival.

And on Radio Labor, Canadian unions push back against legislation that critics say undermines public education and democratic oversight.

Plus: Shows You Should Know featuring Green and Red Podcast, Riverside Rank and File, Work Stoppage, Labor Notes Podcast, and On The Line: Stories of BC Workers.

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Highlights from labor radio and podcast shows around the country, part of the national Labor Radio Podcast Network of shows focusing on working people’s issues and concerns.

Produced by Chris Garlock, Patrick Dixon and Harold Phillips.

From ICE raids to layoffs, workers push back

On this week’s Labor Radio Podcast Weekly: Work Week Radio reports on a shocking ICE raid at San Francisco International Airport and the fight for sanctuary…El Cafecito Del Dia and Solidarity Works examine how unions are mobilizing to support immigrant workers and families. America’s Workforce looks at mass layoffs at a Whirlpool plant in Iowa, while Boiling Point explores the threat of AI replacing teachers. Plus, the new Mine Wars Forum highlights the importance of preserving labor history, and our Speed Round features The Worker Power Hour, Talking SMART, The Labor Show, My Labor Radio, and Hot House with Richie Ray.

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Highlights from labor radio and podcast shows around the country, part of the national Labor Radio Podcast Network of shows focusing on working people’s issues and concerns.

Produced by Chris Garlock, Patrick Dixon and Harold Phillips.

Breaking Chains from Memphis to Baseball

On this week’s Labor History Today: In April 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. stood with striking sanitation workers in Memphis—members of AFSCME Local 1733—delivering his powerful “Mountaintop” speech just one day before his assassination. We reflect on King’s labor legacy and what it means for organizing today.

With the 2026 baseball season underway, we also take a look at the business of the game, featuring a segment from the Heartland Labor Forum on how players organized to break free from a system that bound them to their teams—and built one of the most powerful unions in the country.

Along the way, Conor Casey, Labor Archivist and Head of the Labor Archives at the University of Washington, brings us the story of the Seattle Union Record, a pioneering labor newspaper that showed the power of workers telling their own stories.

Questions, comments, or suggestions are welcome, and to find out how you can be a part of Labor History Today, email us at LaborHistoryToday@gmail.com

Labor History Today is produced by the Labor Heritage Foundation and the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor.

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