Converting the War Economy

About this episode

This episode explores the historical and contemporary challenges of the war economy and the movement for economic conversion.

A quick note: Independent journalism like Things That Go Boom only exists because of listener support. And right now, Newsmatch is doubling all donations — making it a powerful moment to give. If you love our show (and we hope you do!) consider making a tax-deductible contribution today. 👉 https://inkstickmedia.com/donate/ Enjoy the show! For decades, the US economy has been deeply intertwined with war-making — from Cold War-era aerospace and nuclear weapons to today’s AI-driven military technologies. But this wasn’t always seen as inevitable. In the 1970s and ’80s, organizers built unlikely coalitions across the peace, labor, civil rights, and faith movements to challenge military spending and push for an economy that served people instead of perpetual war. Their work helped popularize the idea of economic conversion: redirecting public resources away from weapons production and toward jobs that meet human needs. In this episode, we revisit that history — and ask what it can teach us now. As communities organize against new defense-tech projects and local governments continue to subsidize weapons manufacturers, activists are once again grappling with how to confront the war…

People in this episode

Guest: Dr. David Cortright

Topics covered

• war economy
• economic conversion
• military-industrial complex
• activism
• community organizing
• defense technology

Keywords

• war-making
• military spending
• peace movements
• labor
• civil rights
• defense projects
• local economies

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Things That Go Boom, Newsmatch, SANE, inkstickmedia.com

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