Thom Hartmann has an interesting piece on the potential and prospects for talk radio on the left, and the role that organized labor can play in such projects: KKBJ-AM Talk Radio 1360 discovered the union-owned network's liberal programming on a stormy night back in June when one of the Minnesota talk station's satellite receivers died. To avoid dead air, the station flipped to the program stream coming down on a second satellite receiver, tuned in to i.e. America Radio Network's 9 pm-midnight host, Mike Malloy. Malloy was in fine form, ranting about the "Bush crime family." The next day, KKBJ's Chuck Sebastian got some feedback from listeners who had just heard their first bit of liberal programming on a station that otherwise carries mostly right-wingers. "One guy said that it was a breath of fresh air to finally get somebody who knows what he's talking about," Sebastian said. He added, "Another said it was 'nice to hear somebody with an opinion the opposite of Michael Savage's ranting and raving.'" We have two union radio shows broadcasting weekly in Philadelphia: Talking Unions on WHAT 1340 AM from 10 to 12 AM Saturdays, and Labor to Neighbor on WURD 900 AM from 1 to 4 PM Mondays. Both shows are focusing this month on immigration, building momentum for the Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride this fall. I was lucky to be in the booth when the National Chairperson for the rides, Maria Elena Durazo was on last month; the Reverend James Lawson will be on Talking Unions in a few weeks. The Labor Heritage Center has a useful, though slightly out of date, table of union shows nationally.