From Tolpuddle to Texas & Frisco: Labor’s Long Ride

On this week’s Labor Heritage Power Hour: We kick off with Billy Bragg singing Power in a Union at the Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival and end with his moving anthem Help Save the Youth of America. In between, we explore labor solidarity from the streets of San Francisco’s LaborFest to the windswept plains of Texas, where cowboys once went on strike. Plus: labor poetry, cooperative alternatives, and Rick Smith on Reagan vs. PATCO. Music, memory, and the power of collective action—all in one hour.

Broadcast on August 7, 2025 on WPFW 89.3FM in Washington, DC and stations on the Pacifica network across the country. Support independent media during WPFW’s Summer Fund Drive—donate today at wpfwfm.org. Your gift keeps shows like this on the air.

Hosted by Chris Garlock and Elise Bryant; produced by Chris Garlock; engineered by Mike Nasella & Kahlia Chapman.
The Labor Heritage Power Hour is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network.

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