Friday, March 18, 2022

Now Here’s a Voice I’d Like to Hear Regularly on the Sunday Morning Talk Shows

Author, activist, and former Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson has been described by philosopher and social critic Cornel West as “one of the few in the higher echelons of public life and public conversation who understand the intimate relation between the spiritual and the social, the personal and the political, and the existential and the economic.”

Continues West: “It’s very rare that people have this synoptic vision, [one that ensures that] spirituality, morality, and integrity sit at the center and at the beginning of any serious discussion about the relation of a self and a society.”

Recently, Marianne Williamson appeared on SXSW (South by Southwest) as a guest of this media platform’s Live Studio Interviews, “where conversations go beyond the boundaries of sessions, showcases and screenings.”

Given the stated purpose of these interviews, it’s no wonder that Williamson seemed right at home. True to form, she took her conversation with host Wajahat Ali to a deeper level and, in doing so, made a number of critically important and insightful points about the state of the world. (For the transcript of Marianne and Wajahat’s conversation, click here.)

It’s the kind of depth I long to see in, say, the Sunday morning talk shows of corporate mainstream media. But then that’s unlikely, as the points raised by Williamson question and challenge the current political and economic status quo, a status quo that reflects and serves the interests of the political-media complex, headquartered, as Marianne reminds us, in both major political parties in the U.S.

By and large, outlets and shows of the corporate mainstream media, including the “big five” Sunday morning talk shows, serve as megaphones to the political-media complex and the underlying corporatization of society which is corroding democracy, weakening social activism, and destroying the environment. No surprise then that those who are unafraid to call out this corporatism, in whatever form it takes, are rarely, if ever, invited to speak on the Sunday morning talk shows. Along with Marianne Williamson, I’m talking about folks like Cornel West, Noam Chomsky, Robert McChesney, Naomi Klein, Bill McKibben, Barbara Ehrenreich, Norman Solomon, Jeff Cohen, Vandana Shiva, Ralph Nader and Richard Wolff.

Thankfully, there are independent media platforms, shows, and podcasts that do lift up these vitally important voices. . . . And following is an example of the refreshing results of this lifting up.





Following is how to contact the “big five” Sunday morning talk shows to request that Marianne Williamsom be regularly invited to share her perspective.

NBC’s Meet the Press – Politics Editor, Matthew Korade: MatthewKorade@nbcuni.com

CBC’s Face the NationFeedback

ABC’s This WeekProgramming Feedback

Fox News SundaySubmit a Request

CNN’s State of the UnionFeedback

NOTE: Marianne Williamson did appear on one of the above shows, Face the Nation, on July 28, 2019. To view this interview, click here.


Related Off-site Links:
“I Have Hope”: Marianne Williamson on the Democratic Party and the 2024 Election – Brennan Leach (North by Northwestern, February 3, 2022).
Think Big to Overcome Losing Big to Corporatism – Ralph Nader (Common Dreams, January 8, 2022).

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
Marianne Williamson and Cornel West: “Two of the Most Dedicated and Enlightened Heroes of Present Day America”
A Deeper Perspective on What’s Really Attacking American Democracy
Marianne Williamson: Quote of the Day – November 11, 2021
Marianne Williamson on the Tenth Anniversary of Occupy Wall Street
Cultivating Peace
Marianne Williamson on Pollyanna As a “Miracle Worker”
Inauguration Eve Musings
Marianne Williamson on the Movement for a People’s Party
Eight Leading Progressive Voices on Why They’re Voting for Biden
“We Have an Emergency On Our Hands”: Marianne Williamson On the “Freefall” of American Democracy
Marianne Williamson: Quote of the Day – June 2, 2020
Deep Gratitude
“A Beautiful Message, So Full of Greatness”
Marianne Williamson: “Anything That Will Help People Thrive, I’m Interested In”
“A Lefty With Soul”: Why Presidential Candidate Marianne Williamson Deserves Some Serious Attention
In the Garden of Spirituality – Marianne Williamson
Hope Over Fear
A Lose/Lose Situation
Ralph Nader: Quote of the Day – January 20, 2022


No comments: