Hello and welcome to Background Briefing, available 24-7 at Background Briefing.org. I'm Ian Masters,

and today we'll look into a number of stories and issues in the news.

We will begin on this Thanksgiving with an exploration of what we can be thankful for

in this otherwise bleak time of creeping fascism, looming war abroad and civil war at home,

political polarization, and societal division.

Joining us is Richard Parker, who teaches economics and

public policy at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and is a senior fellow at the

Shorenstein Center. He's the former managing editor of Ramparts, was a co-founder of Mother

Jones magazine, and serves on the editorial board of the nation. His books include

The Myth of the Middle Class and John Kenneth Galbraith, his life, his politics, his economics.

Then as Trump pardoned turkeys following the annual White House tradition, he was unable to resist

insults against Schumer and Pelosi and J.B. Priske instead of celebrating a holiday

of goodwill, family, friends and feasting. Joining us to talk Turkey is Jackie Mitchell, a political

data analyst at Open Secrets, with experience covering ballot measures, campaign finance, and direct

democracy law at Ballotopedia.

She has also worked with local nonprofit organizations as well as National Political Action Committee,

and she has a new report at Open Secrets.

We will discuss, gobbling up influence what's on the Turkey industry's political plate.

Then finally, Sasha Lyndon Cohen speaks with Brian Holmes, a cultural critic, ecologist and activist, who has worked with activists and artists in Europe and the Americas.

He is the co-founder of watershed art and ecology in Chicago, a gallery and community space that explores the intersections

of artistic and political practice. Sacha explores how art and activism can uplift political

dissent and inspire community organizing at a time when all hands on deck are needed to stop

...