After a fraudulent election in August 2020, Belarusian riot police cracked down on massive protests. Then demonstrators started vanishing. Many of them would be tortured in custody. But a determined group of activists struck back, outing the names and faces of bad cops. We speak with one of those activists for a new segment called “The Power of Many.” Plus, Emily explains how Russia’s mercenary Wagner Group, alive and well with Belarusian support, continues to destabilize democracies in far-flung places.

Democracy in Danger

Power Plays

Banjo legend Alan Munde stopped by WTJU to go track by track through his new album, Excelsior, out now on Patuxent. In addition to background on the album, Alan also chatted with WTJU Folk Director Peter Jones about what first got him into banjo when he was growing up in Norman, Oklahoma as a child.

Alan Munde Goes Track by Track through Excelsior

One of the leading Spanish composers of the "Beautiful Age".

All Those Notes 088 - Granados

Before the Chinese Communist Party came to power in 1949, Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalists played a key role in fighting the Japanese during World War II. In the decades after, China’s role as an ally to the West was largely erased from its domestic politics — and all but forgotten everywhere else. Lately, Chinese leaders are revisiting “the Good War” and reframing that past to serve new interests. On this Season 8 debut, Harvard scholar Rana Mitter reminds us that history is always about the present.

Living Memory

Missy Raines stopped by WTJU to go track by track through her latest album, Highlander, out now on Compass Records. Missy Raines is a trailblazer in bluegrass. She is the most awarded bass player in the history of the International Bluegrass Music Association.

Missy Raines goes track by track through Highlander

This season we’ve adopted walls as our loose theme, and architectural historian Louis Nelson joins Will and Siva to help frame the idea. At the University of Virginia, wavy brick walls enclose beautiful gardens. But as Nelson explains those walls once served a more sinister purpose. Drawing on this lesson from the past, our guest and hosts grapple with the meaning and function of walls in a democracy — along borders, in cities and in people’s hearts and minds.

Against the Wall

All Those Notes 089 - Theremin

Rock Marathon Promo -  We Rock, You Decide

Rock Marathon Promo -  This Is a Test

Rock Marathon Promo -  This Just In

Rock Marathon Promo -  The Tune Up

Rock Marathon Promo -  The Master Is Back

Rock Marathon Promo -  The Hard Rock Kid

Rock Marathon Promo -  The Big Sap

Rock Marathon Promo -  Sister Pirate Kenny

Rock Marathon Promo -  Sammy The Seal

Rock Marathon Promo -  Krautrock V Glam Rock

Rock Marathon Promo -  Hey Babies!

Rock Marathon Promo -  Hear Ye, Here Ye

Rock Marathon Promo -  Harmony Roundup 1

Rock Marathon Promo -  Get Up And Dance

Rock Marathon Promo -  Dr Farts - Patrick

Rock Marathon Promo -  Donate Roundup 3

Rock Marathon Promo -  Diversity Roundup 2

Rock Marathon Promo -  Debbie Doubletrack

Rock Marathon Promo -  Catch The Rising Fever

Rock Marathon Promo -  Bonafide

Rock Marathon Promo -   WTJU General - Dry For Classical

Rock Marathon Promo - The Board Of Rock

60 Second Saga 091 - A groundbreaking work.

Argentina’s new president is a libertarian populist and, by his own account, an anarcho-capitalist. To tackle his county’s deep economic troubles, Javier Milei wants to dismantle state institutions, implement severe austerity measures and strip protections for workers. He also wants to outlaw abortion. But in a country with a strong tradition of organized labor and women’s movements, so far he has sown mainly chaos. We speak with a journalist and a sociologist who say Milei’s methods are madness.

El Loco

Government by the people can't work without getting reliable information in the people's hands. So when disinformation artists hijack the media, democracy itself is put at risk. On this debut episode of Democracy in Danger, political historian Nicole Hemmer joins hosts Will Hitchcock and Siva Vaidhyanathan to explore the roots of the powerful right-wing media in America, and their influence on Republican politics. How did the party of Abe Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt become the house of Trump and Breitbart?

Illiberal Media

WTJU is the University of Virginia's community radio station, bringing people together through excellent music and conversation. Our podcast network, Virginia Audio Collective, nurtures a creative community through audio storytelling.

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