This week, an episode we’re very excited about- an interview with renowned public intellectual Noam Chomsky!

From his activism during the Vietnam War and overcoming self-deceit, to the Keystone Pipeline and the looming threat of climate change.

The Public interviewing Political Activist and MIT Professor Noam Chomsky

Noam Chomsky is widely considered the most important intellectual alive today. In the academic world he is heralded as “father of modern linguistics” thanks to ground breaking theory of syntactic structure which revolutionized the field, as well as for his significant contributions to disciplines from psychology to computer science.

But to ordinary people around the world he better known and admired for his willingness to speak truth to power. For decades he has served as a constant thorn in the side of the U.S. elite and political establishment, delivering lectures, publishing books and writing articles that take on everything from U.S. foreign policy, and state capitalism to distortion in the news media.

Young Noam Chomsky

In the 1960’s he was one of the most prominent figures opposing the Vietnam War and became heavily involved in resistance efforts, leading a tax revolt against the state, and helping students avoid the draft. But his activism didn’t stop with the end of the war, And throughout the 70’s 80s and 90s Chomsky continued devoting his time and speaking out on political issues ranging from the U.S. overthrowing democratic governments Latin America, to corporate attacks on the working class.

And it continues right up to today. He has rallied against the Obama administration for their extrajudicial use of drones strikes and policy of targeted assassinations, and he continues to warn of the environmental and climate crisis currently facing humanity.

He has published upwards of 100 books, and despite his age, he doesn’t seem to show any signs of slowing dow. At 84 he maintains a gruelling schedule,   regularly traveling around the world to for political talks and lectures, writing a constant stream of articles, and sitting down for hundreds of interviews a year. 

For our interview, I sat down with Noam Chomsky at his office at MIT in Boston.

If you’re interested in checking out more of Noam Chomsky’s articles and interviews a great resource is www.chomsky.info