Anger management

"The Progressive is not a magazine for its own sake," Ruth Greenspan, publisher of The Progressive, tells Listening In columnist George Vukelich. "It serves a purpose for the political left. It is part of the infrastructure of the left. Without the kind of information that flows to people from The Progressive, I think it would be terribly bleak for the movement, because people cannot really depend on the established press.... Sure, the political climate in America right now has made it even more difficult for a leftist magazine. It has made things difficult for a lot of people, and many people are giving up in despair. The despair in this country is alarming, incredible. But at the same time, the political climate has made other people feistier than ever.... We're beginning to see people getting angry. Angry. They're beginning to understand how their lives are linked to things that only a little while ago they regarded as remote." Ruth Greenspan is now retired and living in Chicago. The Progressive, in its 97th year, continues to soldier on as a Madison-based magazine of the left.