With the federal government shutdown in its 36th day, we take a close look at the effects of the shutdown now and into the future. First, we speak to Paul Street about the politics of the shutdown and his recent article connecting activism in the U.S. to the Yellow Vests movement in France. For the second half of the hour, Morten Wendelbo talks about some potential long-lasting consequences of the shutdown as it relates to emergency preparedness and disaster response, including wildfires, public health crises, and cyber attacks.
Paul Street is an independent progressive policy researcher, award-winning journalist, historian, author, and speaker based in Iowa City and Chicago. He is the author of seven books, including his most recent work, They Rule: The 1% v. Democracy (Paradigm, 2014). Paul writes regularly for Truthdig and Counterpunch.
Morten Wendelbo is a research fellow in the School of Public Affairs at American University. His research focuses on complex emergency preparedness and response, particularly on how social vulnerabilities affect outcomes for people and households during and after disaster.
Note: Shortly after this broadcast aired, President Trump announced that the government will temporarily re-open for three weeks. He declared that the shutdown will continue on February 15 if an agreement has not been reached regarding funding for the Homeland Security Department.
