Barry Gordon | From Left Field - Economic Justice For All

"We're talking about taking back the country."

— Barry Gordon

"You're ... setting an example to others in

the media: that you don't have to be timid."

— Rep. John Conyers Jr.

"Barry, you keep speaking your words,

speaking your mind, speaking your heart."

— Burt Bacharach

BARRY GORDON — lifelong entertainer, longest-serving president of the Screen Actors Guild, and former candidate for Congress — is talking politics, entertainment, and other hot topics. Down-to-earth, with a voice known to millions, Barry's takes on the political ballgame are smart and lively, filled with passion and humor. Throughout this last year, Barry has fielded calls from listeners and interviewed some of the top guests on the air today:

Political Leaders, including ...

Senator Barbara Boxer

Senator Byron Dorgan

Former Senator and Presidential Candidate Gary Hart

Rep. John Conyers Jr.

Rep. Brad Sherman

Rep. Henry Waxman

FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein

Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich

Former Ambassador Peter Galbraith

Former Ambassador Swanee Hunt

Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson

Jerry Brown, California Icon

Bev Harris, Founder of BlackBoxVoting.org

Dolores Huerta, Legendary Labor Leader

Paul Rieckhoff, Veterans Activist

Scott Ritter, Former U.N. Weapons Inspector

Cindy Sheehan, "Peace Mom"

Andy Stern, President of the SEIU

John Sweeney, President of the AFL-CIO

Bestselling Authors, Renowned Commentators, and Respected Scholars, including ...

Dr. Helen Caldicott, The World's Leading Anti-Nuclear Activist

Noam Chomsky, Professor of Linguistics and Advocate for Peace

David Corn, Washington Editor of "The Nation" and Bestselling Author

Craig Crawford, Washington, DC Columnist and TV Commentator

Catherine Crier, Court TV Host and Bestselling Author

John Dean, Watergate Principal and Bestselling Author

Lou Dobbs, CNN Business and Financial Anchor

Michael J. Gerhardt, Professor of Constitutional Law

Robert Greenwald, Documentary Filmmaker

Thom Hartmann, Progressive Talk Show Host

Arianna Huffington, Author & Multi-Media Commentator

Paul Krugman, New York Times Op-Ed Columnist

Robert Kuttner, Co-Founder of "The American Prospect"

Michael Lerner, Progressive Rabbi

Mark Crispin Miller, Author/Activist/Scholar

Markos "Kos" Moulitsas, Top Blogger

Greg Palast, Investigative Journalist

William Rivers Pitt, Bestselling Author

Ron Suskind, Bestselling Author

Helen Thomas, Dean of the White House Press Corps

Gore Vidal, Iconic American Writer and Intellectual

Jim Wallis, Progressive Christian Leader

Lawrence Wright, Bestselling Author

Howard Zinn, Legendary Historian and Activist

Representatives of Influential Organizations and Publications, including ...

ACLU

Amnesty International USA

Campaign for America's Future

Center for American Progress

Center for Public Integrity

Common Cause

Demos

Economic Policy Institute

Free Press

"The Hotline" from the National Journal Group

IAVA (Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America)

Media Matters for America

"Ms." Magazine

Planned Parenthood

Sierra Club

WakeUpWalMart.com

Celebrated Entertainment Figures, including ...

Ed Asner, Barry's Fellow Former President of the Screen Actors Guild

Burt Bacharach, Legendary Composer

Ed Begley Jr., Actor and Environmental Activist

Terence Blanchard, Grammy-Winner

Chris Bliss, Comedian / Activist / Juggler Extraordinaire

Andy Borowitz, Humorist

Scott Dikkers, Satirist, Editor-in-Chief of "The Onion"

Nora Dunn, "Saturday Night Live" Alum

Argus Hamilton, Comedian and Nationally Syndicated Columnist

Chris Lemmon, Actor/Author Son of Barry's Old Friend Jack Lemmon

Lisa Loeb, "Billboard"-Topping Singer/Songwriter

Robert Loggia, Actor

Jim Meskimen, Impersonator (Jibjab), Improvisationist, & Funnyman

Chef Harry Schwartz, Popular TV Personality

Kenneth Turan, Film Critic of the Los Angeles Times

Billy West, Voice Artist ("Ren & Stimpy" and many others)

Michael Wilmington, Film Critic of the Chicago Tribune

And Many More!

Please see the Podcast Archives for a complete rundown of our great guests and diverse topics.

No issue is more important to Barry — or to our nation — than equal economic opportunity for all: not guaranteed economic outcome — everyone getting the same reward, regardless of the work one does or the risks one takes (Barry's no Marxist) — but equal economic opportunity — from the earliest age, for every single person, regardless of race, sex, or other personal factors.

This is a matter of both fairness, for the individual, and practicality, for our society: A nation's greatest natural resource is its people; a nation that wastes its human resources will never achieve its fullest potential. Fairness and pragmatism go hand-in-hand when we realize the progressive ideal, that we're all on the same team.

To help you learn more about what others are saying or doing about this issue — and what you can do to advance equal opportunity — we have assembled these links to books, organizations, and other resources. We hope that by working together we can someday soon achieve economic justice for all!

Books About Economic Justice for All

Note: Click on links to titles to learn more about these books or to purchase them; click on links to authors to see a list of their titles (Almost all links lead to Amazon.com listings).

"All Together Now: Creating Middle Class Schools Through Public School Choice," by Richard D. Kahlenberg

"American Theocracy: The Peril and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil, and Borrowed Money in the 21st Century," by Kevin Phillips

"Class Matters: Cross-Class Alliance Building for Middle-Class Activists," by Betsy Leondar-Wright

"The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power," by Joel Bakan

"Everything For Sale: The Virtues and Limits of Markets," by Robert Kuttner

"Failed States: Abuse of Power and the Assault on Democracy," by Noam Chomsky

"God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It," by Jim Wallis

"Great Risk Shift [,The]: The Assault on American Jobs, Families, Health Care, and Retirement — And How You Can Fight Back" by Jacob S. Hacker

"Inequality and American Democracy: What We Know and What We Need to Learn," Edited by Lawrence R. Jacobs and Theda Skocpol

"Inequality Matters: The Growing Economic Divide in America and Its Poisonous Consequences," Edited by James Lardner and David A. Smith, with a Foreword by Bill Moyers

"Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America," by Barbara Ehrenreich

"People's History of the United States," by Howard Zinn