This weekend, tune in to Interfaith Alliance’s weekly radio show and podcast State of Belief to find out what one bestselling author and investigative journalist thinks we should be focusing on now that the voting is over; and to learn about the significance of the historic election of the first Hindu-American to the U.S. Congress and the first Buddhist to the U.S. Senate.
Billionaires and Ballot Bandits
With the elections behind us, the media has mostly turned its attention away from the endless lines at some polling places, and from other obstacles facing many voters in an election already complicated in the northeast by the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. But according to Greg Palast, who joins Welton this week, the voting problems experienced this year deserve our attention because he believes that it’s going to take every day of the next four years to untangle the obstacle courses that have made it increasingly difficult for some Americans to vote. Tune-in to find out what this investigative journalist and author of the New York Times bestseller Billionaires and Ballot Bandits: How to Steal an Election in 9 Easy Steps learned on the ground the final week of the election in Dayton and Toledo, Ohio, ground zero of swing-state mania.
Milestones at the Intersection of Religion and Politics
On November 6, voters in Hawai’i elected Iraq War veteran Tulsi Gabbard, making her the first Hindu-American to serve in Congress. They also chose to send Congresswoman Mazie Hirono to the U.S. Senate, making her the first Buddhist to join that body. To examine the significance of these historic elections, Welton speaks with Suhag Shukla, co-founder, executive director and legal counsel for the Hindu-American Foundation, and William Aiken, the national public affairs director for Soka Gakkai International – USA, a socially-engaged, lay Buddhist community, and executive director for the Washington D.C. Buddhist Cultural Center.