Name: Outmaneuvering MAGA: Christopher Armitage & Sumathy Kumar on Soft Secession @LauraFlandersAndFriends
Uploaded: 2026-09-17T08:17:00-05:00
Duration: 8 min 17 s
Description: Outmaneuvering MAGA: Christopher Armitage & Sumathy Kumar on Soft Secession

Outmaneuvering MAGA: Christopher Armitage & Sumathy Kumar on Soft Secession

Laura Flanders & Friends 2026-09-17 | Outmaneuvering MAGA: Christopher Armitage & Sumathy Kumar on Soft Secession

From Ballots to Bodies: Abortion, Trans Rights & the Battle for Bodily Autonomy

Laura Flanders & Friends 2024-10-18 | Stay informed and engaged! Don't miss out on our captivating weekly episodes that dive deep into the heart of our economy, culture, and politics. SUBSCRIBE HERE youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lg?sub_confirmation=1

The 2022 Supreme Court ruling to overturn Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health dramatically changed the political scene. Still, just two years on, we are witnessing another watershed moment in the struggle for abortion rights. This Election Day, 10 states will vote on whether to enshrine abortion rights in their state constitution. Since 2022, every ballot measure to protect abortion rights has passed while every measure to restrict or weaken those rights has failed. Meanwhile, extremist Republicans are pushing for a total national abortion ban and seem to have Trump on their side. He told Fox News just days ago that a national abortion ban is “off the table,” but “we’ll see what happens.” Joining us to share what’s at stake and what can be done are Nadine Smith, the director of Equality Florida who heads the state's largest organization dedicated to ending discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Heidi L. Sieck is a Political Strategist & Founder of VOTEPROCHOICE that focuses on reproductive freedom at the state and local levels. And Renee Bracey Sherman, a reproductive justice advocate is the co-author of the just-released book, “LIBERATING ABORTION: Claiming Our History, Sharing Our Stories, and Building the Reproductive Future We Deserve.” Together they unpack how abortion, access to trans health, contraception and freedom from sterilization abuse are all part of the far Right’s agenda to control bodies. Could reproductive rights leap forward in 2024, not back? Plus a commentary from Laura.

“. . . Just last month we had the Gender Liberation March in DC . . . We had a tent for banned books because as they're banning sex ed, as they're banning trans youth healthcare, trans healthcare and abortion, they're also banning books . . . It's the same people. They're just fighting about a different thing on a different day. And so when we come together, we'll be able to stand against them.” - Renee Bracey Sherman

“We have to remember that this is an infrastructure investment issue . . . For decades, the money on the anti-choice side has been going to investments in these local infrastructure. We don't operate like that on the progressive and political Democratic side. Most of our investments are going into the federal infrastructure, and that is the problem.” - Heidi L. Sieck

“The governor in Florida has been so extreme. He has sent investigators to people's homes for signing the petition that got the constitutional amendment on the ballot that would restore access to abortion in Florida . . . He's threatening television stations that run ads that are in support of the abortion ballot measure.” - Nadine Smith

GUESTS:
Renee Bracey Sherman: Co-Author Liberating Abortion; Founder & Co-Executive Director, We Testify
Heidi L. Sieck: Political Strategist & Founder, VOTEPROCHOICE
Nadine Smith: Executive Director, Equality Florida

🎧 PODCAST: Listen to this week's episode on major podcast platforms (coming soon): lauraflanders.simplecast.com Subscribe today and receive the full, uncut conversation from this week's show: lauraflanders.simplecast.com/episodes/full-conversation-from-ballots-to-bodies-abortion-trans-rights-the-battle-for-bodily-autonomy

✏️SHOW NOTES: Visit our Patreon for Show Notes and learn more about this week's episode: patreon.com/posts/114265949

📚Check out our Book of the Week on BOOKSHOP*: “LIBERATING ABORTION: Claiming Our History, Sharing Our Stories, and Building the Reproductive Future We Deserve” by Renee Bracey Sherman and Regina Mahone: bookshop.org/a/22992/9780063228153
(*LF&F is an affiliate of bookshop.org and will receive a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.)

Laura Flanders & Friends is non-commercial independent media that relies on the contributions of viewers and listeners.

DONATE TODAY at lauraflanders.org/donate or consider becoming a PATREON partner at patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends
🔔Subscribe to get weekly episodes that prompt you to think critically about the world around you. If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to hit the 'Like' button and share it with your network.
📩Newsletter: For more in-depth analysis, including uncut interviews and commentaries, subscribe to our free newsletter at lauraflanders.org.

CREDITS:
Executive Producer: Laura Flanders
Supervising Producer: Sabrina Artel
Senior Producer: Jeremiah Cothren
Senior Consulting Producer: Rory O’Connor
Senior Video Editor: David Neumann
Video Editor: Veronica Delgado
Audio Director: Jeannie Hopper
Development Director: Sarah Miller
Communications Director: Janet Hernandez
Technical Creative: Nat Needham

The failure to acknowledge colonialism #shorts

Laura Flanders & Friends 2024-10-14 | This Indigenous Peoples' Day, we must take the time to acknowledge past and present-day colonialism. It's a superstructure that impacts just about every facet of our lives, and yet so many of us seem to forget that.

"Canada and the United States are settler colonial entities, and that's directly related to their imperialist policies," says journalist and author Nick Estes, citizen of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe. "And it's like, I don't know why I have to keep saying that."

🎥: Find "Not Party to Party Politics: Movement Leaders Consider Election ‘24" here: youtu.be/UsaTTcPO_-M

Not Party to Party Politics: Movement Leaders Consider Election ‘24 [Socialism 2024 Conference]

Laura Flanders & Friends 2024-10-13 | Stay informed and engaged! Don't miss out on conversations that dive deep into our economy, culture, and politics. SUBSCRIBE HERE youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lg?sub_confirmation=1

Abolition, decolonization, immigration, Palestine — how is the Left thinking about the future in this perilous political moment? Socialists and activists showed up in the thousands to this year’s Socialism Conference, a four-day event packed with discussion of today’s most pressing issues and strategies for organizing. Laura Flanders & Friends was there, in Chicago (just days after the Democratic National Convention) for a live taping with three renowned organizers: Nick Estes, a citizen of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe and author of “Our History is the Future: Standing Rock Versus the Dakota Access Pipeline, and the Long Tradition of Indigenous Resistance” and co-founder of The Red Nation, an organization dedicated to Native liberation; Rachel Herzing, an organizer, activist, and advocate fighting the violence of surveillance, policing and imprisonment and co-author of “How to Abolish Prisons: Lessons from the Movement Against Imprisonment”; and Harsha Walia, co-founder of No One Is Illegal, an anti-colonial migrant justice organization and author of the books “Undoing Border Imperialism” and “Border and Rule”. As you’ll hear, they’re not counting on politicians to step into office and grant their wishes. They’re focusing beyond the election cycle. Join us as we envision a liberated future and explore all that it takes to get there. Plus Laura’s commentary.

“. . . Having Deb Haaland [serve as] the Secretary of Interior, has been good in the sense that we've gotten these really amazing reports on things that we've already known, that there was this massive systematic genocide of Native children . . . But at the same time, her department has overseen more oil and gas leases on federal lands than the Trump administration, and that's not an indictment of her as a person. That's an indictment of that department . . .” - Nick Estes

“. . . We know in an election season that Black women get told we're the saviors of the entire world and everything relies on us, even though the rest of the time it's very happily that we're kind of left to die, quite literally. We are given this message on a regular basis, and I don't know what to say to people about that. The policies of the so-called United States are not life-affirming policies for Black people, for imprisoned people, and for people living as women.” - Rachel Herzing

“I just think that the strongest counterforce to fascism and anti-colonialism is an organized Left. It is not a candidate . . . Sometimes I think we get fixated on what candidates will or won't do, and we don't think about the conditions that the Left can create to actually make those possibilities happen . . .” - Harsha Walia

GUESTS:
Nick Estes (Lower Brule Sioux Tribe): Author, Our History is the Future: Standing Rock Versus the Dakota Access Pipeline, & The Long Tradition of Indigenous Resistance
Rachel Herzing: Co-Author, How to Abolish Prisons: Lessons from the Movement Against Imprisonment; Former Co-Director, Critical Resistance
Harsha Walia: Author, Border and Rule & Undoing Border Imperialism; Co-Founder, No One Is Illegal

🎧 PODCAST: Listen to this week's episode on podcast platforms: lauraflanders.simplecast.com/episodes/not-party-to-party-politics-movement-leaders-consider-election-24

Visit bookshop.org/shop/lauraflandersandfriends for books featured in this episode.
(*LF&F is an affiliate of bookshop.org and will receive a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.)

Laura Flanders & Friends is non-commercial independent media that relies on the contributions of viewers and listeners.

DONATE TODAY at lauraflanders.org/donate or consider becoming a PATREON partner at patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends. Find this week's show notes here: patreon.com/posts/114186745?pr=true
🔔Subscribe to get weekly episodes that prompt you to think critically about the world around you. If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to hit the 'Like' button and share it with your network.
📩Newsletter: For more in-depth analysis, including uncut interviews and commentaries, subscribe to our free newsletter at lauraflanders.org.

🎧LOOKING FOR UNCUT INTERVIEWS? Patreon subscribers help us make our full, uncut conversations and audio extras free and available to everyone! Join our growing family today! patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends

Executive Producer: Laura Flanders
Supervising Producer: Sabrina Artel
Senior Producer: Jeremiah Cothren
Senior Consulting Producer: Rory O’Connor
Senior Video Editor: David Neumann
Video Editor: Veronica Delgado
Audio Director: Jeannie Hopper
Development Director: Sarah Miller
Communications Director: Janet Hernandez
Technical Creative: Nat Needham

Thumbnail image courtesy of Socialism 2024.

Is Trump a puppet for Netanyahu & the Israeli Right? #shorts

Laura Flanders & Friends 2024-10-09 | Back to 2016, Donald Trump was supposedly neutral when it came to the Middle East crisis. This year, he welcomed Benjamin Netanyahu to his Mar-a-Lago estate after the latter's controversial address to Congress. What changed? In this week's episode, Ben Lorber, Senior Research Analyst at Political Research Associates and co-author of "Safety through Solidarity: A Radical Guide to Fighting Antisemitism", outlines Trump's undeniable allegiance to the Israeli Right: bit.ly/3ZPAxyQ

Resistant to Calls for Revenge: Laura Flanders Message on October 7 Anniversary | Commentary

Laura Flanders & Friends 2024-10-06 | Join us on Zoom this Tuesday, October 8 at 7:00 p.m. ET for an exclusive Q&A for LF&F donors. We'll share a recap of the season and our "Meet the BIPOC Press" series, and chat about upcoming projects. This will be a space for us to connect, reflect and look ahead. Check your email inbox for your invite. If you're not a donor and would like to attend, please consider becoming a Patreon partner. Your monthly contribution helps sustain this reporting and keep our thought-provoking conversations on air. Learn more here: patreon.com/posts/donor-q-with-113168996

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This commentary from Laura Flanders is featured in our episode " Trump, Netanyahu & the Weaponizing of Fear One Year After October 7". Watch the full report here: youtu.be/ClDEVsbFvAI SUBSCRIBE HERE for more bonus content: youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lg?sub_confirmation=1

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Israel’s far-right leaders, assisted by their allies in the U.S., have waged a year-long assault on Gaza in the name of “self-defense” after the attacks by Hamas on October 7 2023. Now Israel stands accused of genocide and war is breaking out across the region. Military conflict won’t make Jews — or any of us — more safe, so why do leaders like Benjamin Netanyahu and former U.S. president Donald Trump continue to get away with casting themselves as the “protectors” of Israel and the Jewish people? The Trump campaign is actually deeply allied with anti-semitic Christian Zionists whose investment in Israel is tied up with a belief in Biblical “End Times” when Jews convert or perish. In this report, (which was recorded before the Israeli assassination of Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon,) we turn to Ben Lorber, a Senior Analyst at Political Research Associates and co-author of the book “Safety Through Solidarity: A Radical Guide to Fighting Antisemitism.” Also joining us are Phyllis Bennis, Director of the New Internationalism Project and fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington D.C. and the author of several books on the United Nations and the Middle East; and Yoav Peck, an organizational psychologist, Executive Director of Solidarity of Nations and Israeli peace activist based in Jerusalem. Together we unpack the links between Christian Zionism and Jewish Zionism, look at how trauma has become a political tool, and ask, how might any of us become less vulnerable to the weaponizing of our fears, with a commentary from Laura.

Laura Flanders & Friends is non-commercial independent media that relies on the contributions of viewers and listeners.

DONATE TODAY at lauraflanders.org/donate or consider becoming a PATREON partner at patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends
🔔Subscribe to get weekly episodes that prompt you to think critically about the world around you. If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to hit the 'Like' button and share it with your network.

Trump, Netanyahu & the Weaponizing of Fear One Year After October 7

Laura Flanders & Friends 2024-10-04 | Stay informed and engaged! Don't miss out on our captivating weekly episodes that dive deep into the heart of our economy, culture, and politics. SUBSCRIBE HERE youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lg?sub_confirmation=1

Israel’s far-right leaders, assisted by their allies in the U.S., have waged a year-long assault on Gaza in the name of “self-defense” after the attacks by Hamas on October 7 2023. Now Israel stands accused of genocide and war is breaking out across the region. Military conflict won’t make Jews — or any of us — more safe, so why do leaders like Benjamin Netanyahu and former U.S. president Donald Trump continue to get away with casting themselves as the “protectors” of Israel and the Jewish people? The Trump campaign is actually deeply allied with anti-semitic Christian Zionists whose investment in Israel is tied up with a belief in Biblical “End Times” when Jews convert or perish. In this report, (which was recorded before the Israeli assassination of Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon,) we turn to Ben Lorber, a Senior Analyst at Political Research Associates and co-author of the book “Safety Through Solidarity: A Radical Guide to Fighting Antisemitism.” Also joining us are Phyllis Bennis, Director of the New Internationalism Project and fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington D.C. and the author of several books on the United Nations and the Middle East; and Yoav Peck, an organizational psychologist, Executive Director of Solidarity of Nations and Israeli peace activist based in Jerusalem. Together we unpack the links between Christian Zionism and Jewish Zionism, look at how trauma has become a political tool, and ask, how might any of us become less vulnerable to the weaponizing of our fears, with a commentary from Laura.

“Real antisemitism is on the rise, but the problem is with all the attention being put on the false claim that criticizing Israel, demanding a ceasefire, demanding an end to genocide, standing with South Africa, asking the International Court of Justice to hold Israel accountable for genocide [is antisemitic]. Those things are not antisemitic. But if you put all your focus there, you're not out there ending the kind of real antisemitism that comes from the Right.” - Phyllis Bennis

“It doesn't make us any safer to empower the state, to go after protesters in this way, and as a Jew it’s, especially galling to me that it's done in the name of Jewish safety.” - Ben Lorber

“People are traumatized and retraumatized and dwelling on October 7. The media is supporting it every day . . . But October 7 is a year ago, and where we are now is a completely different place." - Yoav Peck

GUESTS:
Phyllis Bennis: Fellow, Institute for Policy Studies & Director, New Internationalism Project; International Advisor, Jewish Voice for Peace
Ben Lorber: Senior Research Analyst, Political Research Associates; Co-Author, Safety through Solidarity: A Radical Guide to Fighting Antisemitism
Yoav Peck: Organizational Psychologist; Executive Director, Achvat Amim/Solidarity of Nations

🎧 PODCAST: Listen to this week's episode on major podcast platforms (Available 10/9): lauraflanders.simplecast.com

✏️SHOW NOTES: Visit our Patreon for Show Notes and learn more about this week's episode (Available 10/7): patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends

📚Check out our Book of the Week on BOOKSHOP*: “Safety Through Solidarity: A Radical Guide to Fighting Antisemitism” by Shane Burley and Ben Lorber: bookshop.org/a/22992/9781685890919
(*Bookshop is an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. LF&F is an affiliate of bookshop.org and will receive a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.)

Laura Flanders & Friends is non-commercial independent media that relies on the contributions of viewers and listeners.

DONATE TODAY at lauraflanders.org/donate or consider becoming a PATREON partner at patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends
🔔Subscribe to get weekly episodes that prompt you to think critically about the world around you. If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to hit the 'Like' button and share it with your network.
📩Newsletter: For more in-depth analysis, including uncut interviews and commentaries, subscribe to our free newsletter at lauraflanders.org.

🎧LOOKING FOR UNCUT INTERVIEWS? Patreon subscribers help us make our full, uncut conversations and audio extras free and available to everyone! Join our growing family today! patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends

CREDITS:
Executive Producer: Laura Flanders
Supervising Producer: Sabrina Artel
Senior Producer: Jeremiah Cothren
Senior Consulting Producer: Rory O’Connor
Senior Video Editor: David Neumann
Video Editor: Veronica Delgado
Audio Director: Jeannie Hopper
Development Director: Sarah Miller
Communications Director: Janet Hernandez
Technical Creative: Nat Needham

Will Native American voters show up to the polls? #shorts

Laura Flanders & Friends 2024-10-01 | A 2020 report from the Native American Rights Fund found that 1.5 million eligible Native American voters were not registered. How are groups on the ground reaching those people, especially young people who may not understand the importance of voting or the history of struggle to gain the right to vote? It was only 100 years ago that Native Americans were granted U.S. citizenship and could vote.

🎥: Co-host Kadia Tubman, Disinformation Correspondent at Scripps News; and Christopher Lomahquahu (Akimel O'odham/Hopi), an Investigative Reporter from the ASU Howard Center for Investigative Journalism, from our episode "Reporting on Policing at the Polls & BIPOC Voter Suppression in 2024": youtu.be/SmdDSMWCCH0

Reporting on Policing at the Polls & BIPOC Voter Suppression in 2024 | Meet the BIPOC Press

Laura Flanders & Friends 2024-09-29 | Stay informed and engaged! Don't miss out on our captivating weekly episodes that dive deep into the heart of our economy, culture, and politics. SUBSCRIBE HERE youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lg?sub_confirmation=1

Just this month, billionaire immigrant and Republican mega donor Elon Musk amplified a post that seemed to suggest that the system would work better if voting was restricted only to “high status men.” Voting should be simple, but we’re seeing more and more barriers — especially for BIPOC voters — this election. From purges of the rolls, to efforts to eliminate same-day voter registration, new voter-ID laws, and vigilante style “election integrity” watchdogs turning up at the polls, voters in many states and tribal nations face serious challenges they’re working hard to overcome. What’s it all mean for the candidates and, more importantly, the millions of eligible voters of color whose ability to cast their vote could ultimately decide the outcome of this election? For this episode of our monthly feature, Meet the BIPOC Press, Laura is joined by co-host Kadia Tubman of the Scripps News broadcast network, along with guests Chenjerai Kumanyika, NYU journalism professor and host of Empire City, a gripping new podcast on the origins of the NY police, and investigative journalist Christopher Lomahquahu of the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism within the Cronkite School at Arizona State University. Together we investigate who gets to vote safely, and who is being excluded from participating in democracy. Will all who want to vote be able to?

“. . . Voter disenfranchisement has been so consistent that we might as well go ahead and call it a principle of American so-called democracy. Even in the constitutional convention, we know that there were efforts to make sure that not everyone can vote.” - Chenjerai Kumanyika

“. . . It wasn't until a hundred years ago that Native Americans were granted citizenship in this country . . . With the [groups] Western Native Voice, Arizona Native Vote, other organizations that you're finding across these different states, they understand that history but it hasn't deterred them from looking ahead as far as what they can do to activate those other voters, especially the youth . . .” - Christopher Lomahquahu (Akimel O'odham/Hopi)

“Whenever I report on or hear about election integrity or election security, the phrase ‘safe and secure’ seems to tag along. It's almost like it's replacing the term free and fair elections . . .” - Kadia Tubman

GUESTS:
Chenjerai Kumanyika: Host, Empire City & NYU Professor
Christopher Lomahquahu (Akimel O'odham/Hopi): Investigative Reporter, ASU Howard Center for Investigative Journalism
Kadia Tubman: Disinformation Correspondent, Scripps News

🎧 PODCAST: Listen to this week's episode on major podcast platforms (Available 10/2): lauraflanders.simplecast.com/episodes/reporting-on-policing-at-the-polls-bipoc-voter-suppression-in-2024

✏️SHOW NOTES: Visit our Patreon for Show Notes and learn more about this week's episode (Available 9/29): patreon.com/posts/113248493

Laura Flanders & Friends is non-commercial independent media that relies on the contributions of viewers and listeners.

DONATE TODAY at lauraflanders.org/donate or consider becoming a PATREON partner at patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends
🔔Subscribe to get weekly episodes that prompt you to think critically about the world around you. If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to hit the 'Like' button and share it with your network.
📩Newsletter: For more in-depth analysis, including uncut interviews and commentaries, subscribe to our free newsletter at lauraflanders.org.

🎧LOOKING FOR UNCUT INTERVIEWS? Patreon subscribers help us make our full, uncut conversations and audio extras free and available to everyone! Join our growing family today! patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends

CREDITS:
Executive Producer: Laura Flanders
Supervising Producer: Sabrina Artel
Senior Producer: Jeremiah Cothren
Senior Consulting Producer: Rory O’Connor
Senior Video Editor: David Neumann
Video Editor: Veronica Delgado
Audio Director: Jeannie Hopper
Development Director: Sarah Miller
Communications Director: Janet Hernandez
Technical Creative: Nat Needham

Thumbnail photo via Dani Ingram/News21

00:00 - Introduction
06:17 - Barriers Against Indigenous Communities
09:34 - Media’s Role in Covering Elections
14:08 - Skepticism about American Democracy
22:04 - Safety and Democracy

Mark Robinson: Anti-Abortion, Anti-LGBTQ & Black Nazi Candidate Runs for North Carolina Governor

Laura Flanders & Friends 2024-09-22 | This segment produced by Lewis Raven Wallace for Laura Flanders & Friends is featured in our episode "What’s on the Ballot in North Carolina? Abortion, Trans Life, A Governorship, & Multiracial Democracy". Watch the full report here: youtu.be/0qI-QDwzOy4 SUBSCRIBE HERE for more bonus content: youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lg?sub_confirmation=1

Some of the most offensive rhetoric being spewed out this election season comes from Mark Robinson, the Lieutenant Governor and Republican gubernatorial candidate from North Carolina. The Trump-endorsed candidate is the headlines this week, after an explosive report from CNN resurfaced alleged comments Robinson made online. He referred to himself as a "black Nazi" and left numerous offensive comments on a pornography website. At this time, Robinson has not withdrawn from the gubernatorial race and remains on the ballot despite growing pressure to drop out.Who exactly is Mark Robinson, and what would be the fate of abortion, trans life, and democracy under his governorship? In this report for Laura Flanders & Friends, Lewis Raven Wallace explores the rise of Mark Robinson and outlines his extremist agenda.

Follow Lewis Raven Wallace on social media at @lewispants. Purchase his book “The View from Somewhere: Undoing the Myth of Journalistic Objectivity” through our Bookshop**: bookshop.org/a/22992/9780226826585
(*Bookshop is an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. LF&F is an affiliate of bookshop.org and will receive a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.)

Laura Flanders & Friends is non-commercial independent media that relies on the contributions of viewers and listeners.

DONATE TODAY at lauraflanders.org/donate or consider becoming a PATREON partner at patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends
🔔Subscribe to get weekly episodes that prompt you to think critically about the world around you. If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to hit the 'Like' button and share it with your network.

What’s on the Ballot in North Carolina? Abortion, Trans Life, A Governorship & Multiracial Democracy

Laura Flanders & Friends 2024-09-20 | Stay informed and engaged! Don't miss out on our captivating weekly episodes that dive deep into the heart of our economy, culture, and politics. SUBSCRIBE HERE youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lg?sub_confirmation=1

North Carolina is a battleground state, and a petri dish for extremist policy and practice. Whether it's the right to vote, the right to read, or the right to decide the fate of one’s body, North Carolinians are on the frontlines. The state has banned gender-affirming care for minors; its MAGA Republican gubernatorial candidate is calling for death for LGBTQ people and a total abortion ban. Will Proud Boys show up at polling sites this November to intimidate voters? In this special report, Laura speaks with Attorney General and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Josh Stein, and correspondent Lewis Raven Wallace examines the agenda of his Trump-endorsed opponent, Lt. Governor Mark Robinson. Laura also checks in with organizers and activists from past episodes. Among those: Serena Sebring, Executive Director of Blueprint NC; Mab Segrest, Writer, Organizer & Consultant with Blueprint NC; Courtney Patterson, Eastern North Carolina Organizer at Blueprint NC; and trans activist, artist and composer Alex Lafferty. As you’ll hear, North Carolina is a microcosm of this country. The question remains: where is the state headed this November and beyond?

UPDATE: A CNN report published on September 19, 2024 alleges that Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson referred to himself as a "black Nazi" online and left numerous offensive comments on a pornography website. At this time, Robinson has not withdrawn from the gubernatorial race and remains on the ballot despite growing pressure to drop out.

“. . .They want to ban gender affirming care for not just minors but of any age, which is genocide. You can’t destroy an entire community and see that as legal.” - Alex Lafferty

“I'm seriously afraid that [Proud Boys] will show up in these polling places . . . They feel empowered right now.” - Courtney Patterson

“The best thing that we can do to protect safety in North Carolina is register and turn out voters at a scale that is historic.” Serena Sebring

“In 2024, state capture is possible at the national level because it's been petri dished in these other places like North Carolina.” - Mab Segrest

“North Carolina really is a bit of a microcosm of this country. We're a 50/50 state, elections swing back and forth. We're on the front lines of a number of critical battles, whether it's people's right to vote or whether it's their right to exercise decisions about their own bodies through reproductive decisions . . . We're really on the front lines about protecting people's freedoms.” - Josh Stein

GUESTS:
Alex Lafferty: Trans Activist, Artist & Composer
Courtney Patterson: Eastern North Carolina Organizer, Blueprint NC
Serena Sebring: Executive Director, Blueprint NC
Mab Segrest: Writer, Organizer & Consultant, Blueprint NC
Josh Stein: Attorney General & Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate

🎧 PODCAST: Listen to this week's episode on major podcast platforms (Available 9/25): lauraflanders.simplecast.com/episodes/whats-on-the-ballot-in-north-carolina-abortion-trans-life-a-governorship-multiracial-democracy

✏️SHOW NOTES: Visit our Patreon for Show Notes and learn more about this week's episode (Available 9/22): patreon.com/posts/episode-notes-s5-112690308

Laura Flanders & Friends is non-commercial independent media that relies on the contributions of viewers and listeners.

DONATE TODAY at lauraflanders.org/donate or consider becoming a PATREON partner at patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends
🔔Subscribe to get weekly episodes that prompt you to think critically about the world around you. If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to hit the 'Like' button and share it with your network.
📩Newsletter: For more in-depth analysis, including uncut interviews and commentaries, subscribe to our free newsletter at lauraflanders.org.

🎧LOOKING FOR UNCUT INTERVIEWS? Patreon subscribers help us make our full, uncut conversations and audio extras free and available to everyone! Join our growing family today! patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends

CREDITS:
Executive Producer: Laura Flanders
Supervising Producer: Sabrina Artel
Senior Producer: Jeremiah Cothren
Senior Consulting Producer: Rory O’Connor
Senior Video Editor: David Neumann
Video Editor: Veronica Delgado
Audio Director: Jeannie Hopper
Development Director: Sarah Miller
Communications Director: Janet Hernandez
Executive Assistant: Nady Piña
Technical Creative: Nat Needham

Economic inequality after Occupy: If anything, things have worsened #shorts

Laura Flanders & Friends 2024-09-19 | It's been 13 years since the Occupy movement, but have we made any progress when it comes to the wealth gap? "If anything, things have worsened in terms of the kind of economic inequality that we see," shares Dēmos President Taifa Smith Butler. Catch the full conversation on Laura Flanders & Friends: youtu.be/lkahLH_4MBA

Why rooftop solar panels are booming in South Australia #shorts

Laura Flanders & Friends 2024-09-16 | Where there's a will to ditch fossil fuels, there's a way — just look at South Australia.

One in two households in the state have rooftop solar panels, and nearly 75% of the state’s energy supply comes from renewables. How did they do it?

Laura Flanders visited the state this past March during the Adelaide and WOMADelaide festivals, and saw how art and policy changed the culture in such an extreme-weather-vulnerable area. This #ClimateWeek, tune into this inspiring Laura Flanders & Friends report on public television and radio, YouTube and podcast platforms.

🎥: Susan Close, Deputy Premier of South Australia from our episode "South Australia's Green Revolution: How Art & Policy Catalyze Climate Action": youtu.be/B3oP67oBUKc

South Australias Green Revolution: How Art & Policy Catalyze Climate Action

Laura Flanders & Friends 2024-09-15 | Stay informed and engaged! Don't miss out on our captivating weekly episodes that dive deep into the heart of our economy, culture, and politics. SUBSCRIBE HERE youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lg?sub_confirmation=1

South Australia has become a global leader in green energy transition, getting off fossil fuels faster, and to a greater extent than almost any other country. How did they do it, and what can we learn from them? In this report for Climate Week, Laura goes Down Under with her partner, Elizabeth Streb, and her extreme dance company, and discovers how the region’s culture and its many world-class festivals have helped pave the way for transformation. Helping to unpack it all is a range of impressive guests, including Susan Close, deputy premier of South Australia; Anoté Tong, the former President of the Micronesian island, the Republic of Kiribati; Ruth Mackenzie, former Artistic Director of the Adelaide Festival, now Program Director of Arts, Culture and Creative Industries Policy within the South Australia state government; Rob Brookman, the co-founder of WOMADelaide, the capital’s premier outdoor festival; MacArthur “Genius” Award winner, Elizabeth Streb and the action heroes of her company STREB — and a WHALE. As you’ll hear, it’s taken politics, policy, science and culture to shift public practice in this extreme-weather-vulnerable area. Over the last decade, South Australia has faced massive storms, brush fires, and extreme heat that have put people, wildlife, and even the festival at risk. Now South Australia is leading the way and using art to help people envision a green future, but they can’t solve the climate crisis alone. In this Climate Week special, we ask, how can the rest of the world follow suit?

“We don't get exempted from climate change because we've got a green electricity grid . . . It is globally caused and has to be globally solved. So part of what we do is not to boast about what we've done, but to hope that our leadership will show others that you too can do this. Come and learn from us.” - Susan Close, Deputy Premier, South Australia

“We've got the arguments, we can tell you the facts, but people don't feel it . . . [Artists] reach into your head, into your heart, they dig in and then they motivate you to action. And of course if you can also motivate the artist in every single child in South Australia, then we really have a force to change the world.” - Ruth Mackenzie, Former Artistic Director, Adelaide Festival

“The science doesn't seem to be making an impact no matter how precise. Maybe the hard facts of science do not ring a bell as much as the emotional language of the arts . . . Maybe the arts can put it in a way that it touches the hearts of your political leadership.” - President Anoté Tong

GUESTS:
Rob Brookman: Co-Founder, WOMADelaide; Director, WOMADelaide Foundation
Susan Close: Deputy Premier, South Australia
Cassandre Joseph: Streb Co-Artistic Director & Action Hero
Ruth Mackenzie: Former Artistic Director, Adelaide Festival; Program Director Arts, Culture & Creative Industries Policy, South Australia Government
Caitlin Moore: Director of Create4Adelaide, Adelaide Festival
Elizabeth Streb: STREB Founder, Co-Artistic Director & Choreographer
Anoté Tong: Former President, Republic of Kiribati
Bart Van Peel: Chief Navigating Officer, Captain Boomer Collective

🎧 PODCAST: Listen to this week's episode on major podcast platforms (Available 9/18): lauraflanders.simplecast.com/episodes/special-report-south-australias-green-revolution-how-art-policy-catalyze-climate-action

✏️SHOW NOTES: Visit our Patreon for Show Notes and learn more about this week's episode (Available 9/15): patreon.com/posts/episode-notes-s5-112262892

Laura Flanders & Friends is non-commercial independent media that relies on the contributions of viewers and listeners.

DONATE TODAY at lauraflanders.org/donate or consider becoming a PATREON partner at patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends
🔔Subscribe to get weekly episodes that prompt you to think critically about the world around you. If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to hit the 'Like' button and share it with your network.
📩Newsletter: For more in-depth analysis, including uncut interviews and commentaries, subscribe to our free newsletter at lauraflanders.org.

🎧LOOKING FOR UNCUT INTERVIEWS? Patreon subscribers help us make our full, uncut conversations and audio extras free and available to everyone! Join our growing family today! patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends

CREDITS:
Executive Producer: Laura Flanders
Supervising Producer: Sabrina Artel
Senior Producer: Jeremiah Cothren
Senior Consulting Producer: Rory O’Connor
Senior Video Editor: David Neumann
Video Editor: Veronica Delgado
Audio Director: Jeannie Hopper
Development Director: Sarah Miller
Communications Director: Janet Hernandez
Executive Assistant: Nady Piña
Technical Creative: Nat Needham

The far Right is plotting to fire all government employees (Schedule F, Explained) #Project2025

Laura Flanders & Friends 2024-09-10 | What if the only requirement to become a government employee was loyalty to the president? Project 2025's Schedule F would make it easy to fire the tens of thousands of experts that make up the U.S.' administrative state, and replace them with just about anyone the president chooses. James Goodwin, Policy Director at the Center For Progressive Reform, explains.

Check out the full conversation with co-host Maximillian Alvarez, with reporting from Marc Steiner for The Real News Network and Amir Khafagy for the School of Labor and Urban Studies at the City University in New York (CUNY): youtu.be/JlsYzIRSjL0

#Project2025 #ScheduleF

Solving Economic Inequality: An Occupy Movement for this Moment?

Laura Flanders & Friends 2024-09-08 | Stay informed and engaged! Don't miss out on our captivating weekly episodes that dive deep into the heart of our economy, culture, and politics. SUBSCRIBE HERE youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lg?sub_confirmation=1

Were you one of the hundreds of thousands of people on the streets during the Occupy movement? For many the movement was a political awakening, as people rallied to end economic inequality and support democracy in response to the 2008 global financial crisis. On this 13th anniversary, how does the spirit of Occupy live on? And what progress — if any — has been made when it comes to the wealth gap? Joining us for that conversation is Marisa Holmes, author of the recently released book “Organizing Occupy Wall Street: This Is Just Practice” and director of “All Day All Week: An Occupy Wall Street Story” which looks at the takeover of Zuccotti Park in New York City in September 2011. Also joining us is Taifa Smith Butler, President of Dēmos, a public policy organization working to build a multiracial democracy and economy. Previously she was a leader at the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute. Award-winning journalist Amir Khafagy returns to co-host this episode. Our guests explore the links between economic inequality and authoritarianism and ask how far we've come as a nation to create structural, policy and practice-based changes on the economic front. How can we create a people-led economy that will lead to collective power? All that, plus a commentary from Laura.

“Dēmos has always talked about the inextricable links of economic power and political power. As I think about where we are historically with the retraction of resources, with the threat of authoritarianism and fascism and this demographic shift that is happening in our nation and the inequality that continues to proliferate, if we do nothing, we'll be looking at apartheid in America.” - Taifa Smith Butler

“During Occupy, we really rejected representative politics because it seemed not responsive to people's needs . . . So we just thought, ‘We're going to do this ourselves’. We have to build alternatives ourselves from the bottom up through mutual aid networks . . . That's what I think is going to transform the economy . . .” - Marisa Holmes

“Occupy was one of the most important things that ever happened to my life. I was maybe 21, 22 years old . . . I was just a kid from Queens, and that was the beginning of my political awakening.” - Amir Khafagy

GUESTS:
Taifa Smith Butler: President, Dēmos
Marisa Holmes: Author, Organizing Occupy Wall Street
Amir Khafagy (Co-host): Journalist, Report for America Member, Documented

🎧 PODCAST: Listen to this week's episode on major podcast platforms (Available 9/11): lauraflanders.simplecast.com/episodes/labor-safety-project-2025-the-far-rights-plot-against-workers-what-you-need-to-know
Subscribe today and receive the full, uncut conversation from this week's show: lauraflanders.simplecast.com/episodes/full-conversation-solving-economic-inequality-an-occupy-movement-for-this-moment

✏️SHOW NOTES: Visit our Patreon for Show Notes and learn more about this week's episode (Available 9/8): patreon.com/posts/episode-notes-s5-111568364

Laura Flanders & Friends is non-commercial independent media that relies on the contributions of viewers and listeners.

DONATE TODAY at lauraflanders.org/donate or consider becoming a PATREON partner at patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends
🔔Subscribe to get weekly episodes that prompt you to think critically about the world around you. If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to hit the 'Like' button and share it with your network.
📩Newsletter: For more in-depth analysis, including uncut interviews and commentaries, subscribe to our free newsletter at lauraflanders.org.

🎧LOOKING FOR UNCUT INTERVIEWS? Patreon subscribers help us make our full, uncut conversations and audio extras free and available to everyone! Join our growing family today! patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends

CREDITS:
Executive Producer: Laura Flanders
Supervising Producer: Sabrina Artel
Senior Consulting Producer: Rory O’Connor
Senior Video Editor: David Neumann
Audio Director: Jeannie Hopper
Development Director: Sarah Miller
Communications Director: Janet Hernandez
Executive Assistant: Nady Piña
Technical Creative: Nat Needham

Thumbnail photo via "All Day All Week: An Occupy Wall Street Story".

00:00 – Intro
04:30 – Remembering the Occupy Wall Street Movement
7:06 – Combating Inequality and Inequity
11:53 – Anarchism and Democracy
14:20 – What We Can Do As the Majority
20:13 – Pessimism & Coming Together for a Peoples’ Economy

Does corporate America really support Project 2025? #shorts

Laura Flanders & Friends 2024-09-05 | Is corporate America really on board with Project 2025? The far Right's playbook includes tax cuts and deregulation, along with authoritarian aspects and a crackdown on immigration, as the Center For Progressive Reform Policy Director James Goodwin points out.

"That's really what Project 2025 is meant to do, give the business community enough tax breaks and regulatory rollbacks to make the bitter pills of authoritarianism and Christian nationalism to go down," he shares in this week's #podcast.

Listen to the full episode co-hosted by Laura Flanders and Maximillian Alvarez, with reporting by Marc Steiner for The Real News Network and Amir Khafagy for the School of Labor and Urban Studies at the City University in New York. 🔗 in bio.

Labor Safety, Project 2025, & the Far Right’s Plot Against Workers: What You Need to Know

Laura Flanders & Friends 2024-09-01 | Stay informed and engaged! Don't miss out on our captivating weekly episodes that dive deep into the heart of our economy, culture, and politics. SUBSCRIBE HERE youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lg?sub_confirmation=1

What risks do working people face this Labor Day? Workers continue to die on the job and struggle to protect worker safety, but the dangers for labor go beyond bad bosses. On the federal level, the far Right’s Project 2025 playbook has plans to gut unions, fire federal workers and limit the power of agencies like the National Labor Relations Board. In this special for Labor Day, Laura Flanders is joined by co-host Maximillian Alvarez, of The Real News Network @therealnews) and James Goodwin, Policy Director at the Center for Progressive Reform. The episode also includes a report from the School of Labor and Urban Studies at the City University in New York (@cunyslu) on the rise of construction worker deaths in New York City; and an excerpt of “'Death Star' State: The GOP's War on Democracy”, a report from The Real News Network’s Marc Steiner on the Texas effort to overturn workers’ rights to mandatory worker water breaks. All that, plus a commentary from Laura on people as policy, and the late union organizer and author Jane McAlevey.

“You do not need to be in a union to act like one, even in the most exploitative industries with the most dangerous working conditions. When workers know their rights and band together to exercise them, they can accomplish incredible things and drastically improve their lives.” - Maximillian Alvarez

“The disparities between me and my bosses are going to be made even bigger. My coworkers who may not look like me, who may be queer or people of color are going to be fearful to speak out because they don't have recognized civil rights anymore . . . That's the dynamic that Project 2025 is trying to set up . . .” - James Goodwin

GUESTS:
James Goodwin: Policy Director, Center for Progressive Reform
Maximillian Alvarez (Co-host): Editor-in-Chief, The Real News Network; Author, The Work of Living

🎧 PODCAST: Listen to this week's episode on major podcast platforms (Available 9/4): lauraflanders.simplecast.com/episodes/labor-safety-project-2025-the-far-rights-plot-against-workers-what-you-need-to-know

✏️SHOW NOTES: Visit our Patreon for Show Notes and learn more about this week's episode (Available 9/1): patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends

Laura Flanders & Friends is non-commercial independent media that relies on the contributions of viewers and listeners.

DONATE TODAY at lauraflanders.org/donate or consider becoming a PATREON partner at patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends
🔔Subscribe to get weekly episodes that prompt you to think critically about the world around you. If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to hit the 'Like' button and share it with your network.
📩Newsletter: For more in-depth analysis, including uncut interviews and commentaries, subscribe to our free newsletter at lauraflanders.org.

🎧LOOKING FOR UNCUT INTERVIEWS? Patreon subscribers help us make our full, uncut conversations and audio extras free and available to everyone! Join our growing family today! patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends

Credits:
Executive Producer: Laura Flanders
Supervising Producer: Sabrina Artel
Senior Consulting Producer: Rory O’Connor
Consulting Producer: Jordan Flaherty
Senior Video Editor: David Neumann
Audio Director: Jeannie Hopper
Development Director: Sarah Miller
Communications Director: Janet Hernandez
Executive Assistant: Nady Piña
Technical Creative: Nat Needham

00:00 – Intro
02:30 – Prioritizing Workplace and Labor Safety
08:12 – Right to Self-Govern and Texas’ “Death Star” Bill
12:56 – Project 2025; Returning Power to The Public
15:24 – Working In Government, Section F
19:18 – Division in Society Through An Authoritarian Blueprint

Corporate Prison Reform Will Not Keep Us Safe: A Report from Los Angeles

Laura Flanders & Friends 2024-08-27 | Stay informed and engaged! Don't miss out on our captivating weekly episodes that dive deep into the heart of our economy, culture, and politics. SUBSCRIBE HERE youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lg?sub_confirmation=1

Under the view of the iconic Hollywood Sign, a struggle is being waged over the future of policing and incarceration. Los Angeles is ground zero for fights over the job of District Attorney, Police Chief, and the size of prisons and jails. It recently became one of the only cities in the US to cancel construction of a jail. Activists have forced out two police chiefs, while conservatives have brought two recall petitions against the DA. Corporations that have profited from prison communications are now profiting on electronic monitoring. And in this election year, with criminal justice reform a major issue, how are activists pushing back against false narratives on crime? Looking at the fight inside and outside the system, Laura Flanders talks to activists and elected officials in Los Angeles. All this from the city where SWAT teams were invented, from the state where Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon launched their careers, and the nationwide boom in prison construction was born. Can today's Los Angeles change the script?

“Los Angeles has a history of repression, and I think because it's Los Angeles, they're also masters at narrative, so they'll mask it with pictures of palm trees and Venice Beach and all of these other things. But really, when we look at the history of Los Angeles, it's deeply rooted in racism, deeply rooted in racist repression and oppression, and deeply rooted in a system of policing that absolutely descends from slave catching,” - Melina Abdullah

“When we talk about closing Men's Central Jail, yes, we're trying to close that particular building, but what it requires is every jail in our county to reduce its population . . . We're trying to decarcerate globally across the jail system, that will then allow us to close this monument of essentially torture in our communities.” - Mark-Anthony Clayton-Johnson

“The reason why I've done this work is because I've seen how the system works, and I've seen how it doesn't prevent harm and violence. It only responds to it . . .” - Eunisses Hernandez

Note: In a previous version of this episode, we refer to Eunisses Hernandez as being elected to the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors. She was elected to the Los Angeles City Council, soon after protesting at the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors.

Update: In the course of reporting our episode, Laura Flanders & Friends wrote to Securus, the security company we mention, and asked for confirmation of their prison-related revenue, and their response to the contention that electronic monitoring is turning communities into cages. Visit lauraflanders.org/2024/07/corporate-prison-reform-los-angeles to read their statement.

GUESTS:
Melina Abdullah: Co-Founder, Black Lives Matter, Los Angeles
Mark-Anthony Clayton-Johnson: Co-Executive Director, Dignity & Power Now
Eunisses Hernandez: Los Angeles City Councilmember, District 1
Sheila Natt: Former Teen Ankle Monitor User
Anthony Robles: Statewide Organizer, Care First California

🎧LOOKING FOR UNCUT INTERVIEWS? Patreon subscribers help us make our full, uncut conversations and audio extras free and available to everyone! Join our growing family today! patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends

🎧PODCAST: Prefer to listen? Subscribe to the LF&F podcast for new episodes every week: lauraflanders.simplecast.com

✏️SHOW NOTES: Visit our Patreon for Show Notes and learn more about this week's episode: patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends

Laura Flanders & Friends is non-commercial independent media that relies on the contributions of viewers and listeners.

DONATE TODAY at lauraflanders.org/donate or consider becoming a PATREON partner at patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends

🔔Subscribe to get weekly episodes that prompt you to think critically about the world around you. If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to hit the 'Like' button and share it with your network.

Credits:
Executive Producer: Laura Flanders
Supervising Producer: Sabrina Artel
Senior Consulting Producer: Rory O’Connor
Consulting Producer: Jordan Flaherty
Senior Video Editor: David Neumann
Creative Designer & Video Editor: Nat Needham
Audio Director: Jeannie Hopper
Development Director: Sarah Miller
Communications Director: Janet Hernandez
Executive Assistant: Nady Piña

00:00 – Intro
01:26 – “Justice LA”, Jail Construction Contract, Mass Incarceration in LA
06:05 – Men’s Central Jail, The Fiction of “Smash and Grab”, Gascon’s Policies
11:16 – LA Voters on Prison Reform, Rise in Electronic Monitoring
18:44 – Roots of Mass Incarceration, Realities of LA’s Incarceration Problem
22:44 – Looking Ahead

Ai Weiwei: Why is “Power so afraid of art and poets?”

Laura Flanders & Friends 2024-08-25 | Stay informed and engaged! SUBSCRIBE HERE youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lg?sub_confirmation=1

In his graphic memoir "Zodiac", the renowned artist Ai Weiwei writes that “Artists should ‘ignite stories, fight for freedom and help us hope.’” In this segment from our 2024 episode "Ai Weiwei: How Do We Save Our Humanity?", Ai Weiwei and Laura Flanders examine why those in power often feel threatened by art. How do art and poetry as means of activism speak out against governments and cultural and societal norms that have contributed to inequality and the rise of authoritarianism?

Find out more below and watch the full episode here: youtu.be/-EXbTMZopyk

In his recent graphic memoir “ZODIAC: A Graphic Memoir”, the renowned artist Ai Weiwei writes that artists should “ignite stories”, “fight for freedom” and “help us hope.” Over his long and defiant career, he has used his art in a wide variety of media to do just that. His past works such as "Sunflower Seeds" and "Remembering" confronted issues of censorship and human rights abuses in China; in a recent show in London, he asked questions of an AI Chatbot for his project “Ai vs AI”, including “Is there hope for peace?” Earlier this year, he faced criticism for his expressions of support for Palestinian rights and had a show in London canceled. In this wide-ranging conversation with Laura Flanders, they discuss the role of the artist and ask why is “Power so afraid of art and poets?” As attacks on free speech, surveillance and displacement continue to impact so many of us, how do we keep the doors of our minds open to possibility? And how can art and artists help lead transformation? All that, plus a commentary from Laura on asking questions.

“I'm not this kind of very active activist. I'm just being forced to act . . . But I'm proud of doing that because that is the meaning of life, to give dignity to life itself . . .” - Ai Weiwei

“The real fear for me is [if] we lost [the] ability to ask the question. We lost our memory, we lost our sense of caring compassion . . .” - Ai Weiwei

Guest:
Ai Weiwei: Conceptual Artist, Filmmaker & Human Rights Activist; Author, ZODIAC, A Graphic Memoir

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Laura Flanders & Friends is non-commercial independent media that relies on the contributions of viewers and listeners.

DONATE TODAY at lauraflanders.org/donate or consider becoming a PATREON partner at patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends
🔔Subscribe to get weekly episodes that prompt you to think critically about the world around you. If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to hit the 'Like' button.
📩Newsletter: For more in-depth analysis, including uncut interviews and commentaries, subscribe to our newsletter at lauraflanders.org.

🎧LOOKING FOR UNCUT INTERVIEWS? Patreon subscribers help us make our full, uncut conversations and audio extras free and available to everyone! patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends

Executive Producer: Laura Flanders
Supervising Producer: Sabrina Artel
Senior Consulting Producer: Rory O’Connor
Consulting Producer: Jordan Flaherty
Senior Video Editor: David Neumann
Creative Designer & Video Editor: Nat Needham
Audio Director: Jeannie Hopper
Development Director: Sarah Miller
Communications Director: Janet Hernandez
Executive Assistant: Nady Piña

Thumbnail via "Cockroach" (2020) by Ai Weiwei Films.

How do we save our humanity? #shorts

Laura Flanders & Friends 2024-08-20 | Throughout his long and defiant career, renowned artist Ai Weiwei has interrogated censorship and human rights abuses, migration, AI and more. He's faced extreme backlash from governments and the art world too. In 2011, he was arrested at the Beijing Airport and held for 81 days without charge. This past fall, his show in London was canceled over a tweet.

In this wide-ranging conversation, Ai Weiwei and Laura Flanders face tough questions about freedom of speech, the meaning of home and the dangerous path humanity is heading down.

Catch the conversation on public television and radio this week, or subscribe to Laura Flanders & Friends on YouTube and major podcast platforms: bit.ly/4b8Uhje

#AiWeiwei #Art

Do you get your news from influencers? #shorts

Laura Flanders & Friends 2024-08-19 | Influencers are becoming a trusted source for more and more people, but what happens when they have a political agenda? Scripps News Disinformation Correspondent Kadia Tubman lays out how influencers are changing the media landscape in this week's #podcast. Listen here and subscribe for new episodes every week: bit.ly/3ymGoQT

Facing counter protesters & state violence: How we keep our movements safe

Laura Flanders & Friends 2024-08-19 | Movement groups are often face-to-face with counter protestors or state violence. Without a plan, their safety and security could be at risk . . .

That's where groups like Vision Change Win can help. They provide support for groups to establish or grow community safety practices, and even help create security teams.

"[We're] shifting the paradigm that security and safety is this white, masculine, patriarchal thing," says Sala Cyril, Interim Executive Director of Vision Change Win.

Find "Political Violence & MAGA Militancy: Strategies to Protect Democracy" on YouTube, and get the full, uncut conversation on podcast platforms: youtu.be/zBD9us3biGo

Angela Davis on Solidarity with Palestine & June Jordan

Laura Flanders & Friends 2024-08-18 | Stay informed and engaged! SUBSCRIBE HERE youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lg?sub_confirmation=1

In this segment from our 2024 episode "Angela Davis: A Revolutionary Roadmap for Building a Better Future", professor, activist, scholar and writer Angela Davis and Laura Flanders discuss solidarity. As Davis shares, it was a radical Black feminist group that first invited her to speak about the genocide in Gaza.

Find out more below and watch the full episode here: youtu.be/PjV1mmHB32o

With so many urgent crises tugging at our hearts, from war, to climate, to discontent and violence, people want to know: How do we set priorities and do the right thing, especially as that relates to building a better world, and to an election that seems both problematic and the most important of our time? If anyone can ground us thoughtfully in this moment, with all of its challenges and all its potential, it’s renowned professor, activist, scholar and writer Angela Davis. In her writing, lecturing and many decades of activism, Davis has shown a unique ability to pull competing struggles into a single story — a story of systems and power. In this episode, Laura is joined by Angela Davis, a leading voice in the movement for abolition and feminism who has lots to share about her evolution and how decades of activism are coming together in this moment. From Palestine to elections, to our carceral state and collective liberation, this kickoff conversation is packed with Davis’ insight and the teachings from her latest book “Abolition: Politics, Practices, Promises, Vol. 1”. What has Davis learned in her 80 years as a freedom fighter? All that, plus a commentary from Laura on the words of the late poet and essayist June Jordan, who writes, “I was born a Black woman/and now/I am become a Palestinian.”

“When vast numbers of people come together to defend a vision of the future that they would like to see, this is how change happens. It doesn't happen because we elect a particular person to office.” - Angela Y. Davis

“[In] Birmingham, Jewish people were the very first white people to support the struggle against racism . . . Here in the US and in other parts of the world, it's actually Jewish people, young Jewish people who are in the forefront of the struggle against Zionism.” - Angela Y. Davis

Guest:
Angela Y. Davis: Professor, Activist, Scholar & Writer; Author, Abolition: Politics, Practices, Promises, Vol. 1.

**********************************************

Laura Flanders & Friends is non-commercial independent media that relies on the contributions of viewers and listeners.

DONATE TODAY at lauraflanders.org/donate or consider becoming a PATREON partner at patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends
🔔Subscribe to get weekly episodes that prompt you to think critically about the world around you. If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to hit the 'Like' button.
📩Newsletter: For more in-depth analysis, including uncut interviews and commentaries, subscribe to our newsletter at lauraflanders.org.

🎧LOOKING FOR UNCUT INTERVIEWS? Patreon subscribers help us make our full, uncut conversations and audio extras free and available to everyone! patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends

Executive Producer: Laura Flanders
Supervising Producer: Sabrina Artel
Senior Consulting Producer: Rory O’Connor
Consulting Producer: Jordan Flaherty
Senior Video Editor: David Neumann
Creative Designer & Video Editor: Nat Needham
Audio Director: Jeannie Hopper
Development Director: Sarah Miller
Communications Director: Janet Hernandez
Executive Assistant: Nady Piña

The Spectrum of Political Violence: Inciters, Threat Makers & Enactors

Laura Flanders & Friends 2024-08-11 | Stay informed and engaged! SUBSCRIBE HERE youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lg?sub_confirmation=1

Co-hosts Laura Flanders and Executive Director of the 22nd Century Initiative Scot Nakagawa had a chance to talk with researcher Hardy Merriman. He is president of the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict and has been looking into political violence for a newly released report. He spoke to us in an independent capacity about this reporting. Laura started by asking him what he was seeing in terms of the frequency of political violence.

This conversation was featured in our recent report "Political Violence & MAGA Militancy: Strategies to Protect Democracy". Find out more below and watch the full episode here: youtu.be/zBD9us3biGo

Political violence is on the rise and has reached just about every corner of the country, whether it's confrontations on social media, at school board meetings or the chambers of Congress. Reuters reports that we've seen some 213 cases and 39 fatalities in the U.S. since January 6, 2021 — more than we've seen in decades. Women, people of color, Muslims, Jews, and LGBTQ people are among those most vulnerable, but the group seeing the fastest increase in reported incidents are conservatives who are perceived to be out of sync with the pro-Trump, MAGA line. While most Americans oppose political violence, it remains a growing threat to our democracy. What can be done? In this episode, co-hosts Laura Flanders and 22nd Century Initiative Director Scot Nakagawa convene an expert panel to define political violence and discuss how to protect one another and democracy itself. All that, plus Laura’s commentary on “Reveal, Reframe, Resist” and reporters’ roles.

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Laura Flanders & Friends is non-commercial independent media that relies on the contributions of viewers and listeners.

DONATE TODAY at lauraflanders.org/donate or consider becoming a PATREON partner at patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends
🔔Subscribe to get weekly episodes that prompt you to think critically about the world around you. If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to hit the 'Like' button.
📩Newsletter: For more in-depth analysis, including uncut interviews and commentaries, subscribe to our newsletter at lauraflanders.org.

🎧LOOKING FOR UNCUT INTERVIEWS? Patreon subscribers help us make our full, uncut conversations and audio extras free and available to everyone! patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends

Executive Producer: Laura Flanders
Supervising Producer: Sabrina Artel
Senior Consulting Producer: Rory O’Connor
Consulting Producer: Jordan Flaherty
Senior Video Editor: David Neumann
Creative Designer & Video Editor: Nat Needham
Audio Director: Jeannie Hopper
Development Director: Sarah Miller
Communications Director: Janet Hernandez
Executive Assistant: Nady Piña

“God & Country”: Rob Reiner & Dan Partland on the Rise of Christian Nationalism in U.S. Politics

Laura Flanders & Friends 2024-08-03 | Stay informed and engaged! Don't miss out on our captivating weekly episodes that dive deep into the heart of our economy, culture, and politics. SUBSCRIBE HERE youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lg?sub_confirmation=1

How does a religion that claims to be rooted in love and peace fire people up to commit violence, as at the Capitol on January 6, 2021? In their documentary, “God & Country”, producer Rob Reiner and director Dan Partland explore Christian Nationalism — a toxic brew of patriarchal White Nationalism and messianic faith. Based on the book “The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism” by Katherine Stewart, “God & Country” exposes how Christian Nationalism poses a real and immediate threat, not only to the very idea of secular democracy but also to Christianity itself. The stakes couldn't be higher this election year, and so we’re revisiting the film and this conversation with Partland and Reiner. Reiner is an Emmy-winning actor and acclaimed director, best known for his work on “All In The Family”, “When Harry Met Sally”, “This is Spinal Tap” and “The Princess Bride”. He is also a political activist dedicating his time to numerous social justice causes. Partland, a veteran documentary producer and director for film and television, is a five-time Emmy nominee with two Emmys for Best Nonfiction Series including American High on Fox. Whether you’re a Christian or a concerned citizen, this episode is a must-watch. Plus, a closing commentary from Laura on becoming actively engaged in our democracy.

“If you believe the United States has a God-ordained role to play in human history as a Christian nation and democracy is taking us away from those principles, then you can justify doing anything to make sure that God's will is done. That's what I think you see happening on January 6th.” - Dan Partland

“Christian nationalism . . . as this political movement is not the majority. It is far from the majority. What is scary is that because of the way our system works, a very virulent minority can control our politics and that's what they've done.” - Rob Reiner

Note: In E. Jean Carroll vs Donald. J Trump, a jury found Donald Trump liable for sexually abuse and defamation, awarding Carroll $5 million, a verdict Trump is appealing. Presiding Judge Lewis A Kaplan later clarified: “The finding that Ms. Carroll failed to prove that she was ‘raped’ within the meaning of the New York Penal Law does not mean that she failed to prove that Mr. Trump ‘raped’ her as many people commonly understand the word ‘rape'.

Guests:
Dan Partland: Director, God & Country
Rob Reiner: Producer, God & Country

Laura Flanders & Friends is non-commercial independent media that relies on the contributions of viewers and listeners.

DONATE TODAY at lauraflanders.org/donate or consider becoming a PATREON partner at patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends
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Credits:
Executive Producer: Laura Flanders
Supervising Producer: Sabrina Artel
Senior Consulting Producer: Rory O’Connor
Consulting Producer: Jordan Flaherty
Senior Video Editor: David Neumann
Creative Designer & Video Editor: Nat Needham
Audio Director: Jeannie Hopper
Development Director: Sarah Miller
Communications Director: Janet Hernandez
Executive Assistant: Nady Piña

Lawsuit Against Biden: Palestinian American Ayman Nijim on the U.S. Role in Gaza Genocide

Laura Flanders & Friends 2024-07-29 | Stay informed and engaged! Don't miss out on our captivating weekly episodes that dive deep into the heart of our economy, culture, and politics. SUBSCRIBE HERE youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lg?sub_confirmation=1

Palestinian American Ayman Nijim, who was born in Gaza and has immediate family there, was one of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed in November 2023 calling on the court to enjoin President Biden, Secretary of State Blinken, and Secretary of Defense Austin from providing weapons and other forms of support for Israel’s genocide of Palestinians. After hearing testimony from an array of human rights groups, as well as Palestinians who live in Gaza, and Palestinians in the U.S. with family members there, Judge Jeffrey S. White dismissed the case on jurisdictional grounds. An appeal was later filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights and co-counsel Van Der Hout LLP saying that the Constitution requires that the federal judiciary apply the law, including the Genocide Convention. Ayman Nijim spoke in Washington DC on July 24, 2024, as tens of thousands of people protested Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s appearance before a joint session of Congress.

Laura Flanders & Friends is non-commercial independent media that relies on the contributions of viewers and listeners.

DONATE TODAY at lauraflanders.org/donate or consider becoming a PATREON partner at patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends
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00:00: Ayman Nijim’s Story, Lawsuit against Biden
00:45: U.S.’s role in the Genocide in Gaza
02:06: Ayman Nijim’s Message to Family in Gaza

Democracy Under Siege: Battling Disinformation in the 2024 Election

Laura Flanders & Friends 2024-07-28 | Stay informed and engaged! Don't miss out on our captivating weekly episodes that dive deep into the heart of our economy, culture, and politics. SUBSCRIBE HERE youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lg?sub_confirmation=1

In a world where lies travel at the speed of light, truth struggles to keep up. From AI-generated deep fakes to lightning-fast social media rumors, disinformation is reshaping our reality. In the wake of Donald Trump's shooting, falsehoods flooded our feeds faster than facts. The problem of disinformation, the deliberate spread of false or misleading information, isn’t new, but the stakes are high in this critical election year. In this monthly installment of “Meet the BIPOC Press”, we ask: Who are the targets of disinformation in the run up to the 2024 election and why? Joining Laura are Tamoa Calzadilla, the editor and chief of Factchequeado, a collaborative initiative to combat mis- and disinformation targeting Latino and Spanish-speaking communities. Esosa Osa is the founder of Onyx Impact and the former Deputy Executive Director of Fair Fight Action, the voting rights organization founded by Stacey Abrams. Esosa has just released the first report of its kind looking at disinformation specifically in Black online spaces. Kadia Tubman is a disinformation correspondent for Scripps News, a national broadcast news channel based in Atlanta. What is media and government’s role in halting the spread of disinformation? Our guests share what concerned citizens can do right now to protect fact-based reporting.

“I prepared with my team a toolkit for journalists who cover Latino communities . . . and tools that are not for professional fact-checkers, it is for everyone who wants to detect disinformation . . . It's collaborative work. We have an alliance with more than 90 media outlets because we understand that we alone can't do this.” - Tamoa Calzadilla

“One of the big solutions that Onyx Impact is focused on is investing in Black media in particular and engaging with Black online influencers and gateway platforms as well. We keep saying this word trust, but it is trusted messengers are going to become the key to stemming disinformation as we move forward in this country.” - Esosa Osa

“What is so fascinating right now in media altogether is that we're seeing less trust in mainstream media and more trust in influencers, specific voices, specific personalities, especially with apps and social media platforms like TikTok . . . Because of that trust that's growing with an audience, we're seeing those influencers being tapped or used by bad actors to spread misinformation.” - Kadia Tubman

GUESTS:
Tamoa Calzadilla: Editor in Chief, Factchequeado
Esosa Osa: Founder & CEO, Onyx Impact
Kadia Tubman: Disinformation Correspondent, Scripps News

🎧 PODCAST: Listen to this week's episode on major podcast platforms (Available 7/31): lauraflanders.simplecast.com/episodes/democracy-under-siege-battling-disinformation-in-the-2024-election. Or dive in deeper with the full, uncut conversation from this week's show (Available 7/28): lauraflanders.simplecast.com/episodes/full-conversation-democracy-under-siege-battling-disinformation-in-the-2024-election

✏️SHOW NOTES: Visit our Patreon for Show Notes and learn more about this week's episode (Available 7/28): patreon.com/posts/108863576

Laura Flanders & Friends is non-commercial independent media that relies on the contributions of viewers and listeners.

DONATE TODAY at lauraflanders.org/donate or consider becoming a PATREON partner at patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends
🔔Subscribe to get weekly episodes that prompt you to think critically about the world around you. If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to hit the 'Like' button and share it with your network.
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🎧LOOKING FOR UNCUT INTERVIEWS? Patreon subscribers help us make our full, uncut conversations and audio extras free and available to everyone! Join our growing family today! patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends

Credits:
Executive Producer: Laura Flanders
Supervising Producer: Sabrina Artel
Senior Consulting Producer: Rory O’Connor
Consulting Producer: Jordan Flaherty
Senior Video Editor: David Neumann
Creative Designer & Video Editor: Nat Needham
Audio Director: Jeannie Hopper
Development Director: Sarah Miller
Communications Director: Janet Hernandez
Executive Assistant: Nady Piña

00:00 – Intro
02:43 – Disinformation in Black and Brown Communities
07:41 – Influencers, AI, and Elections
11:24 – Countering Disinformation, Voter Misinformation
15:55 – What We Can Do to Combat Disinformation
19:58 – Policy and Politicians on Misinformation

In 2024, disabled voters still face barriers at the polls #shorts

Laura Flanders & Friends 2024-07-26 | The Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law 34 years ago today. But the #ADA did not go far enough to provide protections for people with disabilities, and to this day, disabled people still face barriers when it comes to voting.

🎥: Disability justice activist and author of "To Be a Problem: A Black Woman's Survival in the Racist Disability Rights Movement", Dara Baldwin, from our web exclusive "Voting as a Disabled Person | Disability Justice Activist Dara Baldwin Talks ADA & “To Be A Problem”: youtu.be/MkPPEssvnjY

Voting as a Disabled Person | Disability Justice Activist Dara Baldwin Talks ADA & “To Be A Problem”

Laura Flanders & Friends 2024-07-26 | Stay informed and engaged! Don't miss out on our captivating weekly episodes that dive deep into the heart of our economy, culture, and politics. SUBSCRIBE HERE youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lg?sub_confirmation=1

Laura Flanders caught up with disability justice activist and debut author Dara Baldwin in DC earlier this week to talk the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the right to vote for disabled people and the barriers to voting they face today. Baldwin's new book is "To Be a Problem: A Black Woman's Survival in the Racist Disability Rights Movement", out now via Beacon Press. It draws on her lifetime of work within the movement — and the many times she has been the only person of color in the room when significant disability policy decisions are made.

Get your copy at Bookshop and support independent bookstores and LF&F: bookshop.org/a/22992/9780807013977.
(*Bookshop is an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. LF&F is an affiliate of bookshop.org and will receive a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.)

Laura Flanders & Friends is non-commercial independent media that relies on the contributions of viewers and listeners.

DONATE TODAY at lauraflanders.org/donate or consider becoming a PATREON partner at patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends
🔔Subscribe to get weekly episodes that prompt you to think critically about the world around you. If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to hit the 'Like' button and share it with your network.
📩Newsletter: For more in-depth analysis, including uncut interviews and commentaries, subscribe to our free newsletter at lauraflanders.org.

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Failing to provide basic human necessities #shorts #newstoday

Laura Flanders & Friends 2024-07-25 | California governor #GavinNewsom just ordered the removal of homeless encampments in the state. The administration that has chosen to go after the unhoused population is the same administration that has failed to provide basic human necessities to those who need it most.

🎥: #BlackLivesMatter Los Angeles Co-Founder Melina Abdullah from our episode "Corporate Prison Reform Will Not Keep Us Safe: A Report from Los Angeles": bit.ly/3zMX985

Under the Hollywood Sign, a struggle over the future of policing and incarceration #shorts

Laura Flanders & Friends 2024-07-22 | Los Angeles is the city where SWAT teams were invented and prison construction boomed. It also recently became one of the only cities in the US to cancel construction of a jail. Are the tides shifting?

In this special report from Los Angeles, Laura looks at the struggle being waged over the future of policing and incarceration. Tune in on public television and radio this week, visit Laura Flanders & Friends on YouTube or subscribe to our podcast: youtu.be/NkzvUqGToBc

#LosAngeles #Policing #Abolition

HBO’s “Insecure” star Amanda Seales is Divesting from Celebrity

Laura Flanders & Friends 2024-07-18 | The artistic intellectual and HBO’s “Insecure” star Amanda Seales says she’s “divesting from celebrity”. Hear how Seales navigates fame and celebrity in Hollywood, and the new wave of backlash she’s facing over her support for Palestine.

Watch the episode on the Laura Flanders & Friends YouTube channel and unlock the full, uncut conversation with Seales by subscribing to our free podcast: youtu.be/4DSWggP-MKA

Will government do more to stop political violence? #newstoday #shorts

Laura Flanders & Friends 2024-07-17 | Government can step in to enact stronger policy against political violence. But as Maria J. Stephan of The Horizons Project points out, many of our state governments are “in the hands of MAGA folks". So what other solutions are out there?

Stephan is co-author with Erica Chenoweth of "Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict". Hear how communities across this country are standing up against far-right groups and scoring wins: bit.ly/3xttQ9Q

#PoliticalViolence #Organizing

Breaking Up with Capitalism: Malaika Jabali on Wisconsins Discouraged Black Voters

Laura Flanders & Friends 2024-07-14 | Stay informed and engaged! Don't miss out on our captivating weekly episodes that dive deep into the heart of our economy, culture, and politics. SUBSCRIBE HERE youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lg?sub_confirmation=1

As the Republican National Convention comes to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Laura talks with award-winning reporter Malaika Jabali, author of "It's Not You, It’s Capitalism: Why It’s Time to Break Up and How to Move On”. Wisconsin is one of the most racially unequal states in the country, with rising housing costs outpacing wages and one of the highest Black male incarceration rates in the nation. It’s also seen a precipitous decline in Black voting — for either party. Are these things connected? Back in 2020 Jabali went to Milwaukee to find out and made a short film “Left Out“ in which she spoke to Black elected officials as well as non-voters. In this episode of Laura Flanders & Friends we’ll revisit that film, hear Jabali’s advice for concerned Dems, and answers, when it comes to the RNC, what’s in it for Black Midwesterners? All that and a commentary from Laura. Jabali is the former Senior News and Politics Editor at Essence Magazine.

“It's almost a cottage industry of trying to figure out what happened with the white working class . . . The other side of that is that you have a lot of Black non-voters. A lot of Black people are saying, ‘We don't have any options between the Republican and Democratic party’ . . . So they tend to stay home. It was me trying to understand what was going on behind the numbers. I barely saw any journalism about it.” - Malaika Jabali

“. . . We have a propaganda machine through the US government, media, law and policy that made it illegal to be socialists . . . Martin Luther King, the Black Power Movement, the Black Panthers, they were surveilled for any hint of thinking about any anti-capitalist thought . . . What kind of system is that where it is so hell bent on freedom, but does not give you the freedom to think about other ideas and types of policies? I don't consider that very democratic.” - Malaika Jabali

GUEST:
Malaika Jabali: Journalist & Author, “It’s Not You, It’s Capitalism”

🎧LOOKING FOR UNCUT INTERVIEWS? Patreon subscribers help us make our full, uncut conversations and audio extras free and available to everyone! Join our growing family today! patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends

🎧PODCAST: Prefer to listen? Subscribe to the LF&F podcast for new episodes and audio exclusives every week.

Full, uncut interview (Available 7/14): lauraflanders.simplecast.com/episodes/full-conversation-breaking-up-with-capitalism-malaika-jabali-on-wisconsins-discouraged-black-voters

Podcast episode (Available 7/17): lauraflanders.simplecast.com/episodes/breaking-up-with-capitalism-malaika-jabali-on-wisconsins-discouraged-black-voters

✏️SHOW NOTES: Visit our Patreon for Show Notes and learn more about this week's episode (Available 7/14): patreon.com/posts/107960037

📚Check out our Book of the Week on BOOKSHOP*: It's Not You, It's Capitalism: Why It's Time to Break Up and How to Move on” by Malaika Jabali: bookshop.org/a/22992/9781643752648
(*Bookshop is an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. LF&F is an affiliate of bookshop.org and will receive a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.)

RELATED EPISODES:
Related Episodes:
The Georgia Way: Strategies that Work for Winning Elections: youtu.be/UNCJFJzecjE?si=1w3teLIwfJOYMpwT
Kola Nut Timebank: Building Community, One Hour at a Time: youtu.be/W38M5q56Y3k?si=kzG6sxMDy0ON3FVj
Heather McGhee: Racism Costs Everyone: youtu.be/sO2Bz7dQilU?si=UrT6r9hDD62Y4m32

Laura Flanders & Friends is non-commercial independent media that relies on the contributions of viewers and listeners.

DONATE TODAY at lauraflanders.org/donate or consider becoming a PATREON partner at patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends
🔔Subscribe to get weekly episodes that prompt you to think critically about the world around you. If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to hit the 'Like' button and share it with your network.
📩Newsletter: For more in-depth analysis, including uncut interviews and commentaries, subscribe to our free newsletter at lauraflanders.org.

Credits:
Executive Producer: Laura Flanders
Supervising Producer: Sabrina Artel
Senior Consulting Producer: Rory O’Connor
Consulting Producer: Jordan Flaherty
Senior Video Editor: David Neumann
Creative Designer & Video Editor: Nat Needham
Audio Director: Jeannie Hopper
Development Director: Sarah Miller
Communications Director: Janet Hernandez
Executive Assistant: Nady Piña
Reporting Fellow: Miracle Gatling

Thumbnail photo courtesy of "Left Out".

Is worker-owned media the future of journalism?

Laura Flanders & Friends 2024-07-08 | It's no secret that the business of media is in crisis. Meet some of the journalists who have lived through the struggles and are a part of the solutions.

On this month's installment of "Meet the BIPOC Press", journalists from The New Yorker and worker-owned outlets Hell Gate and Defector discuss how unions and co-ops are changing the media landscape. How do they think about the future of journalism?

Catch "Meet the BIPOC Press: Is Worker-Owned Media the Future of Journalism?" on public television and radio, YouTube and podcast platforms.

North Carolina: Pushing Back Against Neo-Fascism, Queerbaiting, Paramilitary Training Camps & More

Laura Flanders & Friends 2024-07-08 | Neo-fascism is on the rise in North Carolina, using queerbaiting as part of their base building strategy. But LGBTQ leaders are pushing back.

I'm Laura Flanders and I've been across the state and in Raleigh-Durham covering the hometown heroes standing up against paramilitary-backed racism, hate and the suspicious forces behind a deadly power grid attack.

Stay informed. Get involved. Hit that subscribe button and catch up on our award-winning series today.

WATCH THE SERIES: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOWumRv2zO8YCHuaVqDD-FPcY5pU4cim7

SUBSCRIBE HERE: youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lg?sub_confirmation=1

Amanda Seales Takes the Heat: Speaking Out About Gaza & Hollywood

Laura Flanders & Friends 2024-07-07 | Stay informed and engaged! Don't miss out on our captivating weekly episodes that dive deep into the heart of our economy, culture, and politics. SUBSCRIBE HERE youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lg?sub_confirmation=1

What does it take to be politically outspoken in Hollywood? You may know Amanda Seales from her role on HBO’s “Insecure”, her stand-up comedy, her podcast and radio show or her viral videos on social media. She’s lost agents, her publicist, and had speaking gigs retracted for her commitment to social justice. From Black women to Palestinians in Gaza, Seales uses her platform to speak honestly about harm done to others. She talks powerfully about her experiences with the dangers of fame and celebrity in Hollywood, neurodivergence, white supremacy and a whole lot more. In this conversation, Laura Flanders asks Amanda Seales about our progress as a country, what it means to be an “artistic intellectual” and about the educators who’ve helped her along the way. Hear why Seales is “divesting from celebrity” and taking backlash from her support for Palestinians as “a badge of honor”. Plus, go behind the scenes with Seales with the full, uncut conversation from this week’s show. Laura will tell you more.

“. . . You are definitely expected to just take whatever gossip is said about you. You have to take it all on the chin because you've made this somehow unspoken exchange that having monetary gain and visibility means that you have to allow harm. And what I've decided is I am divesting from celebrity.” - Amanda Seales

“I lost my agents, I lost my publicist, and I have definitely had speaking engagements and different gigs retracted because of my support of Palestine and my outward support of the ending of apartheid in Palestine. I got to tell you, I take it as a badge of honor. I do. It's good trouble, rest in peace to John Lewis. I am so honored for all those people.” - Amanda Seales

Guest:
Amanda Seales: Artistic Intellectual

🎧LOOKING FOR UNCUT INTERVIEWS? Patreon subscribers help us make our full, uncut conversations and audio extras free and available to everyone! Join our growing family today! patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends

Subscribe to the LF&F podcast for the full, uncut conversation with Amanda Seales: lauraflanders.simplecast.com/episodes/full-conversation-amanda-seales-takes-the-heat-speaking-out-about-gaza-hollywood

🎧 PODCAST: Listen to this week's episode on major podcast platforms (Available 7/10): lauraflanders.simplecast.com/episodes/full-conversation-amanda-seales-takes-the-heat-speaking-out-about-gaza-hollywood

✏️SHOW NOTES: Visit our Patreon for Show Notes and learn more about this week's episode (Available 7/10): patreon.com/posts/107338397

Laura Flanders & Friends is non-commercial independent media that relies on the contributions of viewers and listeners.

DONATE TODAY at lauraflanders.org/donate or consider becoming a PATREON partner at patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends
🔔Subscribe to get weekly episodes that prompt you to think critically about the world around you. If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to hit the 'Like' button and share it with your network.
📩Newsletter: For more in-depth analysis, including uncut interviews and commentaries, subscribe to our free newsletter at lauraflanders.org.

Credits:
Executive Producer: Laura Flanders
Supervising Producer: Sabrina Artel
Senior Consulting Producer: Rory O’Connor
Consulting Producer: Jordan Flaherty
Senior Video Editor: David Neumann
Creative Designer & Video Editor: Nat Needham
Audio Director: Jeannie Hopper
Development Director: Sarah Miller
Communications Director: Janet Hernandez
Executive Assistant: Nady Piña
Reporting Fellow: Miracle Gatling

00:00: Why Amanda Seales is “divesting from celebrity”.
05:18 Amanda Seales talks Palestine, student encampments & the “People’s Graduation” at Columbia University
10:05 Therapy, outward validation and and dealing with “Amanda Seales is unlikable” press
16:01 Amanda Seales on acting, mindfulness and learning to listen
19:57 “I lost my agents, I lost my publicist”: Amanda Seales talks backlash over her support for Palestine
24:14 Full, uncut interview with Amanda Seales

Meet the BIPOC Press: Is Worker-Owned Media the Future of Journalism?

Laura Flanders & Friends 2024-06-30 | Stay informed and engaged! Don't miss out on our captivating weekly episodes that dive deep into the heart of our economy, culture, and politics. SUBSCRIBE HERE youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lg?sub_confirmation=1

The business of media is in danger — but it sure isn’t dead. Many of the rising stars that were poised to “save journalism” like Vice and Buzzfeed have either entered bankruptcy or stopped reporting on news. There have been layoffs across the industry and many newsrooms have cut back on the resources available to journalists. But workers have also organized unions, including high-profile campaigns at Condé Nast and The New Yorker, and started worker-owned media like Hell Gate and Defector. This month on “Meet the BIPOC Press”, Laura Flanders is joined by three journalists who have lived through the struggles and are a part of the solutions. Alex Sujong Laughlin is a supervising producer and co-owner at Defector; Esther Wang is a worker-owner at Hell Gate; and Tammy Kim helped organize unions at Al Jazeera America and The New Yorker, where she is a contributing writer. How do they think about the future of journalism, and what difference does it make when journalists have the freedom to speak truth to power — especially when it comes to reporting on policing and Palestine?

“. . . One of the biggest reasons people mentioned wanting to work for Defector was actually citing the Palestine coverage because it was so refreshing for them to see journalists speaking frankly about their opinions about what's happening and not being beholden to really archaic rules of journalistic objectivity.” - Alex Sujong Laughlin

“. . . In New York, Hellgate and other local news outlets were part of an initiative to get a new bill to support local news included as part of this year's budget . . . Much to our surprise, it actually was included. [It’s] a tax credit for smaller outlets and a way to support local news in an environment where Google and Facebook have killed off all of the revenue streams. Those kinds of initiatives give me hope.” - Esther Wang

“. . . I think I'm still intoxicated by the dream of journalism, of being able to call anybody, of becoming an instant expert on something and then learning something else. I also think the three of us all believe that there is still a social justice component in this work . . . The existence of Hell Gate [and] Defector . . . are evidence that we're going to figure it out, that some form of journalism is going to exist and that we'll keep doing it.” - Tammy Kim

Guests:
Tammy Kim: Contributing Writer, The New Yorker
Alex Sujong Laughlin: Supervising Producer & Co-Owner, Defector Media
Esther Wang: Co-Founder, Hell Gate; Former Senior Political Reporter, Jezebel

🎧 PODCAST: Listen to this week's episode on major podcast platforms (Available 7/1): lauraflanders.simplecast.com/episodes/meet-the-bipoc-press-is-worker-owned-media-the-future-of-journalism

✏️SHOW NOTES: Visit our Patreon for Show Notes and learn more about this week's episode (Available 7/3): patreon.com/posts/107081919

Laura Flanders & Friends is non-commercial independent media that relies on the contributions of viewers and listeners.

DONATE TODAY at lauraflanders.org/donate or consider becoming a PATREON partner at patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends
🔔Subscribe to get weekly episodes that prompt you to think critically about the world around you. If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to hit the 'Like' button and share it with your network.
📩Newsletter: For more in-depth analysis, including uncut interviews and commentaries, subscribe to our free newsletter at lauraflanders.org.

🎧LOOKING FOR UNCUT INTERVIEWS? Patreon subscribers help us make our full, uncut conversations and audio extras free and available to everyone! Join our growing family today! patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends

Credits:
Executive Producer: Laura Flanders
Supervising Producer: Sabrina Artel
Senior Consulting Producer: Rory O’Connor
Consulting Producer: Jordan Flaherty
Senior Video Editor: David Neumann
Creative Designer & Video Editor: Nat Needham
Audio Director: Jeannie Hopper
Development Director: Sarah Miller
Communications Director: Janet Hernandez
Executive Assistant: Nady Piña

Photo of Tammy Kim by Sarah Shatz.

CONTENT
00:00 – Intro
2:16 – Worker-Owned Co-Ops and Defecting for Worker Control
7:50 – Journalism Driven by Social Justice and the State of Podcasting
11:46 – Navigating Funding, Legalities, and Editorial Freedom in Worker-Owned Media
17:50 – The Role of Worker-Owned Media in Election Coverage
20:34 – Journalism’s Future and Redefining Journalists’ Roles as Workers

“My heart soared”: Cornel West running mate Melina Abdullah on joining the campaign

Laura Flanders & Friends 2024-06-27 | Black Lives Matter organizer Melina Abdullah was never interested in running for office. A call from Cornel West and his wife Annahita changed everything . . .

Now a vice presidential candidate, Melina Abdullah and Laura Flanders discuss how she became Cornel West's running mate, and what she believes their campaign can do for America. With policies like a $27/hr federal minimum wage and healthcare for all, could American politics finally be for the people?

"My heart soared. My spirit wanted to say yes immediately, because I believe in this . . . I believe that what this campaign will do is disrupt the corporate-controlled, corporate-owned duopoly." - Melina Abdullah

This conversation was taped in the course of a shoot regarding the future of policing in California. Subscribe today and stay tuned for this upcoming report.

-------------------------------------------

Laura Flanders & Friends is non-commercial independent media that relies on the contributions of viewers and listeners.

DONATE TODAY at lauraflanders.org/donate or consider becoming a PATREON partner at patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends
🔔Subscribe to get weekly episodes that prompt you to think critically about the world around you. If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to hit the 'Like' button and share it with your network.
📩Newsletter: For more in-depth analysis, including uncut interviews and commentaries, subscribe to our free newsletter at lauraflanders.org.

🎧LOOKING FOR UNCUT INTERVIEWS? Patreon subscribers help us make our full, uncut conversations and audio extras free and available to everyone! Join our growing family today! patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends

How to stop the bloodshed in Gaza | Insider Briefing w/ former State Department Official Josh Paul

Laura Flanders & Friends 2024-06-25 | This June, we hosted an exclusive insider briefing on US-Israel arms sales with former State Department official Josh Paul, who resigned last fall in protest of US arms sales to Israel. He continues to advocate for policy change and accountability, and in this briefing, he shares concrete requests we can make of our elected officials to help end the bloodshed.

In October, we aired an award-winning interview with Paul. You can watch our original broadcast interview here: youtu.be/MTdW2o6TRgI?si=p7NQ5_Q9jDa3v-sI

We've also created a playlist of all of our Palestine-related coverage: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOWumRv2zO8YUsVVRbclyorE75r_EjTGQ

Laura Flanders & Friends donors received their exclusive invite to this event. Subscribe to our newsletter at lauraflanders.org for updates and your invitation to events like this in the future.

What is Political Violence? Uncovering MAGA Militancy & Strategies to Protect Democracy

Laura Flanders & Friends 2024-06-23 | Stay informed and engaged! SUBSCRIBE HERE youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lg?sub_confirmation=1

Political violence is on the rise and has reached just about every corner of the country, whether it's confrontations on social media, at school board meetings or the chambers of Congress. Reuters reports that we've seen some 213 cases and 39 fatalities in the U.S. since January 6, 2021 — more than we've seen in decades. Women, people of color, Muslims, Jews, and LGBTQ people are among those most vulnerable, but the group seeing the fastest increase in reported incidents are conservatives who are perceived to be out of sync with the pro-Trump, MAGA line. While most Americans oppose political violence, it remains a growing threat to our democracy. What can be done? In this episode, co-hosts Laura Flanders and 22nd Century Initiative Director Scot Nakagawa convene an expert panel to define political violence and discuss how to protect one another and democracy itself. All that, plus Laura’s commentary on “Reveal, Reframe, Resist” and reporters’ roles.

“As a child of a [Black] Panther, I saw inspiration in every action. Even when I saw my mother's friends being jailed for long periods of time or even killed by police terror . . . A lot of those folks went on to continue fighting against terror of the state and building community. I wanted to be a part of that . . .” - Sala Cyril

“I undertook the study because political violence is a persistent problem in the United States that I think is a fundamental threat to our democracy. My view is that one of the greatest sources of power countering that threat is actually people in communities around the country.” - Hardy Merriman

“Violence has greatly limited our ability to function as an inclusive, robust, multiracial democracy that in fact, we must deal with it . . . We need to believe we can win, and we need to think about who it is that we need on our side . . .” - Scot Nakagawa

“I can report anecdotally through different interactions with conservatives that they are experiencing political violence. I've been in attendance with secretaries of state, former Lieutenant governors. They all have stories of themselves or their families being on the receiving end of political violence . . .” - Maria J. Stephan

Guests:
Sala Cyril: Interim Executive Director, Vision Change Win; Organizer, Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, NYC
Hardy Merriman: Author, Harnessing Our Power to End (HOPE) Political Violence; Expert, Democracy Movements
Scot Nakagawa (Co-host): Executive Director, 22nd Century Initiative & 22nd Century Conference
Maria J. Stephan: Co-Lead & Chief Organizer, The Horizons Project; Co-author with Erica Chenoweth, Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict

🎧 PODCAST: Listen to this week's episode on major podcast platforms: lauraflanders.simplecast.com/episodes/political-violence-maga-militancy-strategies-to-protect-democracy

✏️SHOW NOTES: Visit our Patreon for Show Notes: patreon.com/posts/106637173

📚Check out our Book of the Week on BOOKSHOP*: Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict” by Erica Chenoweth & Maria J. Stephan: bookshop.org/a/22992/9780231156837
(*Bookshop is an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. LF&F is an affiliate of bookshop.org and will receive a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.)

Laura Flanders & Friends is non-commercial independent media that relies on the contributions of viewers and listeners.

DONATE TODAY at lauraflanders.org/donate or consider becoming a PATREON partner at patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends
🔔Subscribe to get weekly episodes that prompt you to think critically about the world around you. If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to hit the 'Like' button.
📩Newsletter: For more in-depth analysis, including uncut interviews and commentaries, subscribe to our newsletter at lauraflanders.org.

🎧LOOKING FOR UNCUT INTERVIEWS? Patreon subscribers help us make our full, uncut conversations and audio extras free and available to everyone! patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends

Executive Producer: Laura Flanders
Supervising Producer: Sabrina Artel
Senior Consulting Producer: Rory O’Connor
Consulting Producer: Jordan Flaherty
Senior Video Editor: David Neumann
Creative Designer & Video Editor: Nat Needham
Audio Director: Jeannie Hopper
Development Director: Sarah Miller
Communications Director: Janet Hernandez
Executive Assistant: Nady Piña

Photo of Maria J. Stephan by Katy Tartakoff; Sala Cyril by Naomi Ishisaka.

2:58 – Targets of Political Violence and Organizing Communal Support for Victims
7:31 – The Dynamics of Threats and Intimidation
12:36 – Expert Guidance and Government Action Against Political Violence
16:54 – Inspiring Stories of Civil Disobedience
20:44 – Why is mass mobilization effective?

Maurice Mitchell & the Working Families Party: Voting is a Chess Move

Laura Flanders & Friends 2024-06-16 | Stay informed and engaged! Don't miss out on our captivating weekly episodes that dive deep into the heart of our economy, culture, and politics. SUBSCRIBE HERE youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lg?sub_confirmation=1

Are you planning to vote in the presidential election? It’s quite possibly the most important election in our lifetimes — and yet some Americans are deciding to forgo voting this November. Both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have serious problems. How do we square the contradictions when casting our vote, and how should we think about elections altogether? As National Director of the Working Families Party (WFP), Maurice “Moe” Mitchell is interacting with voters on the ground and supporting candidates who’ve come out for a ceasefire in Gaza. The WFP’s bottom-up, third party approach is winning. What is he seeing and what is his advice in this critical election year? For starters, he says “supporting a candidate is a chess move. It's not a valentine”. He joins Laura Flanders and returning co-host Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis, Senior Minister at Middle Church in New York City, to break it all down. All that, plus a commentary from Laura.

“The Working Families Party is a political party that is building power for working class people of all races. We believe in a country for the many, not the few. We believe that in a democracy the people should govern, not corporations and the wealthy. And the way that we do it is we're building a bottom-up, third-party approach.” - Maurice “Moe” Mitchell

“Some of us are not listening . . . [Trump] intends to join a fascist campaign . . . If we're thinking of the long game, we have to ask ourselves which of these candidates has the most propensity to help us build a movement for the 20 years that we need to, or for seven generations.” - Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis

Guests:
Maurice Mitchell: National Director, Working Families Party
Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis (Co-host): Senior Minister of Public Theology & Transformation, Middle Church, NYC

🎧 PODCAST: Listen to this week's episode on major podcast platforms (Available 6/17): lauraflanders.simplecast.com/episodes/maurice-mitchell-the-working-families-party-voting-is-a-chess-move

✏️SHOW NOTES: Visit our Patreon for Show Notes and learn more about this week's episode (Available 6/19): patreon.com/posts/106214797

📚Check out our Book of the Week on BOOKSHOP*:
“What it Takes to Heal” by Prentis Hemphill: bookshop.org/a/22992/9780593596838
(*Bookshop is an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. LF&F is an affiliate of bookshop.org and will receive a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.)

Laura Flanders & Friends is non-commercial independent media that relies on the contributions of viewers and listeners.

DONATE TODAY at lauraflanders.org/donate or consider becoming a PATREON partner at patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends
🔔Subscribe to get weekly episodes that prompt you to think critically about the world around you. If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to hit the 'Like' button and share it with your network.
📩Newsletter: For more in-depth analysis, including uncut interviews and commentaries, subscribe to our free newsletter at lauraflanders.org.

🎧LOOKING FOR UNCUT INTERVIEWS? Patreon subscribers help us make our full, uncut conversations and audio extras free and available to everyone! Join our growing family today! patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends

Credits:
Executive Producer: Laura Flanders
Supervising Producer: Sabrina Artel
Senior Consulting Producer: Rory O’Connor
Consulting Producer: Jordan Flaherty
Senior Video Editor: David Neumann
Creative Designer & Video Editor: Nat Needham
Audio Director: Jeannie Hopper
Development Director: Sarah Miller
Communications Director: Janet Hernandez
Executive Assistant: Nady Piña

00:00 The ceasefire movement & stories of hope across the U.S.
04:44 The no-vote strategy and voting as a “chess move”
09:21 What is the Working Families Party?
15:25 Winning Working Families Party candidates
20:00 Maurice Mitchell’s message to the Biden-Harris administration
24:00 Laura’s closing commentary

Photo of Maurice Mitchell by Shanté Carlan Photography.
Photo of Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis by David Pexton.
Thumbnail photo via New York Working Families Party.

Defund the Police in 2024: Why corporate media is wrong about the winning defund movement

Laura Flanders & Friends 2024-06-09 | Stay informed and engaged! Don't miss out on our captivating weekly episodes that dive deep into the heart of our economy, culture, and politics. SUBSCRIBE HERE youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lg?sub_confirmation=1

Four years after the murder of George Floyd and the mass protests against policing that followed, corporate media claim that voters have turned on “defunding the police" — the movement to shift public resources away from policing and into other approaches to improving public health and safety. But what is fact and what is fiction when it comes to this issue, and where does the 'defund' movement stand? In this episode, three journalists reporting from the frontlines on matters of policing and prisons share what they see on the ground, within police departments, and in the media. Cerise Castle is a Los Angeles-based reporter who created “A Tradition of Violence”, a podcast about gangs inside the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, based on an extensive investigation into more than five decades of terror, murder and abuse; Lewis Raven Wallace, of Durham, NC, is the author and creator of “The View from Somewhere”, a book and podcast about the problematic political history of journalistic objectivity, and the Abolition Journalism Fellow at Interrupting Criminalization, a multi movement resource hub for advocates, and Kelly Hayes is a Menominee author, organizer, educator and photographer from Chicago. She also hosts the Truthout podcast “Movement Memos" and is co-author (with Mariame Kaba) of the book “Let This Radicalize You”. What is the corporate media getting wrong about the defund movement? All that, plus a commentary from Laura.

“I thought about my own vulnerability when doing this reporting. While I was still reporting my initial series on deputy gangs, I received several messages from people inside the department that they were in fear for my life . . . The repercussions have been very real for me, but it is not anything that would ever stop me from doing this work.” - Cerise Castle

“When I look at what's happening in Palestine and I see the AI targeting that's being used to select targets for assassination at an inhuman pace, . . . I see threats to all of us, things that we should all expect to be pervasive.” - Kelly Hayes

“We have to some extent defunded the police here in the city of Durham and . . . moved money out of the police budget and into a whole new city department that is geared toward community safety through non-police responses . . . People can call an alternative number and have trained crisis responders show up . . . and come without police.” - Lewis Raven Wallace

Guests:
Cerise Castle: Journalist, 2024 Poynter Fellow, Yale University
Kelly Hayes: Host, Movement Memos; Co-Author, Let This Radicalize You
Lewis Raven Wallace: Author, The View from Somewhere; Abolition Media Fellow, Interrupting Criminalization

🎧 PODCAST: Listen to this week's episode on major podcast platforms (Available 6/10): lauraflanders.simplecast.com/episodes/the-defund-movement-in-2024-frontline-reporters-separate-myth-from-reality

✏️SHOW NOTES: Visit our Patreon for Show Notes and learn more about this week's episode (Available 6/12): patreon.com/posts/105783053

📚Check out our Book of the Week on BOOKSHOP*:
“The View from Somewhere: Undoing the Myth of Journalistic Objectivity” by Lewis Raven Wallace: bookshop.org/a/22992/9780226826585
(*Bookshop is an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. LF&F is an affiliate of bookshop.org and will receive a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.)

Laura Flanders & Friends is non-commercial independent media that relies on the contributions of viewers and listeners.

DONATE TODAY at lauraflanders.org/donate or consider becoming a PATREON partner at patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends
🔔Subscribe to get weekly episodes that prompt you to think critically about the world around you. If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to hit the 'Like' button and share it with your network.
📩Newsletter: For more in-depth analysis, including uncut interviews and commentaries, subscribe to our free newsletter at lauraflanders.org.

🎧LOOKING FOR UNCUT INTERVIEWS? Patreon subscribers help us make our full, uncut conversations and audio extras free and available to everyone! Join our growing family today! patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends

Credits:
Executive Producer: Laura Flanders
Supervising Producer: Sabrina Artel
Senior Consulting Producer: Rory O’Connor
Consulting Producer: Jordan Flaherty
Senior Video Editor: David Neumann
Creative Designer & Video Editor: Nat Needham
Audio Director: Jeannie Hopper
Development Director: Sarah Miller
Communications Director: Janet Hernandez
Executive Assistant: Nady Piña

Photo of Lewis Raven Wallace by Bill Healy.

Lessons in liberation: Genesis Be & Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis on what it will take to be free

Laura Flanders & Friends 2024-06-02 | Stay informed and engaged! Don't miss out on our captivating weekly episodes that dive deep into the heart of our economy, culture, and politics. SUBSCRIBE HERE youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lg?sub_confirmation=1

In a time of division, how do we create a sense of collective freedom? It’s a question that peace activist, artist and poet Genesis Be grapples with in all her work. Genesis Be has a new book out, People Not Things: Love Poems & Paintings for Humanity, and recently curated the Freedom Rising art show in Brooklyn, New York featuring work by incarcerated artists currently held by the Georgia Department of Corrections. She is the subject of the upcoming film “Mississippi Turning” about the successful years-long effort to remove the Confederate symbol from the state’s flag. In this episode taped at the CUNY studios in NYC, we turn to a poet and a preacher. Genesis Be joins Laura Flanders and co-host Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis, the Senior Minister for Public Theology and Transformation at Middle Church, to discuss how to reject stigmas and advance liberation. Genesis Be painted in the studio — for her and us it was a first.

“I hung a noose around my neck and draped myself in a Confederate flag . . . It was a very scary time for me because I got thrown into the fight to change the Mississippi State flag. There were a lot of death threats, but a lot of support during that time.” - Genesis Be

“The word freedom is hijacked often by folks: freedom from having to change, freedom from having to admit the humanity of others, freedom from having to widen the tent, freedom from having to let go of their sense of exceptionalism . . . This [conference] was a gathering of like-minded folks sharing a dream of all of us belonging and all of us saving this democracy, interfaith, intergenerational.” - Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis

Guests:
Genesis Be: Poet, Peace Activist, Artist; Author, People Not Things: Love Poems & Paintings for Humanity
Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis (Co-host): Senior Minister of Public Theology & Transformation, Middle Church, NYC

🎧 PODCAST: Listen to this week's episode on major podcast platforms (Available 6/3): lauraflanders.simplecast.com/episodes/genesis-be-rev-dr-jacqui-lewis-building-collective-freedom-with-a-poet-preacher

✏️SHOW NOTES: Visit our Patreon for Show Notes and learn more about this week's episode (Available 6/5): patreon.com/posts/105321662

📚Check out our Book of the Week on BOOKSHOP*:
“People Not Things: Love Poems and Paintings for Humanity” by Genesis Be: bookshop.org/a/22992/9781524884819
(*Bookshop is an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. LF&F is an affiliate of bookshop.org and will receive a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.)

Laura Flanders & Friends is non-commercial independent media that relies on the contributions of viewers and listeners.

DONATE TODAY at lauraflanders.org/donate or consider becoming a PATREON partner at patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends
🔔Subscribe to get weekly episodes that prompt you to think critically about the world around you. If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to hit the 'Like' button and share it with your network.
📩Newsletter: For more in-depth analysis, including uncut interviews and commentaries, subscribe to our free newsletter at lauraflanders.org.

🎧LOOKING FOR UNCUT INTERVIEWS? Patreon subscribers help us make our full, uncut conversations and audio extras free and available to everyone! Join our growing family today! patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends

Credits:
Executive Producer: Laura Flanders
Supervising Producer: Sabrina Artel
Senior Consulting Producer: Rory O’Connor
Consulting Producer: Jordan Flaherty
Senior Video Editor: David Neumann
Creative Designer & Video Editor: Nat Needham
Audio Director: Jeannie Hopper
Development Director: Sarah Miller
Communications Director: Janet Hernandez
Executive Assistant: Nady Piña

Special Thanks:
City University Television
CUNY TV STUDIO
Freedom Rising and Middle Church, Brooklyn Art Haus
Mississippi Turning:
Moral Courage in association with Breakout
Directed by Adam Grannick
Executive Producers: Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Irshad Manji, Michael Farber, Chris Wilson

Photo of Genesis Be by Ryann Jet.
Photo of Jacqui Lewis by David Pexton.

On the Ground at UCLA Encampment: Faculty & Staff Denounce Police Violence Against Students

BIPOC Press for the People: Bursting the Corporate Media Bubble | Meet the BIPOC Press

Laura Flanders & Friends 2024-05-26 | Stay informed and engaged! Don't miss out on our captivating weekly episodes that dive deep into the heart of our economy, culture, and politics. SUBSCRIBE HERE youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lg?sub_confirmation=1

It is a cliché to say that the richest corporate media operate inside a bubble of their own making, but it's largely true. Today’s guests are breathing new life into the world of journalism by covering people, places and perspectives beyond the conventional enclaves of power. On this month’s Meet the BIPOC Press, Laura Flanders is joined by Chenjerai Kumanyika, a professor at NYU and prolific audio journalist, host of podcasts including “Empire City” and “Uncivil”. Neesha Powell-Ingabire is Director of Popular Education at Press On, a Southern media collective dedicated to movement journalism, and the author of a new memoir, “Come By Here”. And Mary Annaïse Heglar is an essayist covering climate, podcaster, and author of the novel “Troubled Waters” and a book for children, “The World Is Ours To Cherish”. Together they discuss the campus encampments in solidarity with Palestine, intergenerational work to stop the climate crisis, the question of objectivity and context, and how movement journalism is — or isn’t — traditional journalism. How do we break media bubbles? Join us for that conversation.

“Movement journalism is journalism that is in service of liberation . . . We are very intentional about historically oppressed communities. Folks from those communities should be doing reporting on those communities and building relationships with community members and organizers on the ground.” - Neesha Powell-Ingabire

“. . . Look at the history of the Black press. We didn't have the luxury to report and somehow separate that from advocacy. When you have people reporting while slavery is still legal, all kinds of Black people are being targeted in various kinds of violence. We have a long tradition of advocacy journalism.” - Chenjerai Kumanyika

“Nothing has made me feel less optimistic about climate change and our ability to stop it, to mitigate it, to deal with it than the genocide and Gaza. If we cannot come together to say that is wrong and that should stop, then I have so little faith in our ability to stop ecocide.” - Mary Annaïse Heglar

Guests:
Mary Annaïse Heglar: Author, Troubled Waters; Podcaster, Spill
Chenjerai Kumanyika: Audio Journalist, Empire City, Uncivil & Seeing White; Assistant Professor Journalism, NYU
Neesha Powell-Ingabire: Author, COME BY HERE: A Memoir in Essays from Georgia’s Geechee Coast; Director Popular Education, Press On

🎧 PODCAST: Listen to this week's episode on major podcast platforms (Available 5/27): lauraflanders.simplecast.com/episodes/bipoc-press-for-the-people-bursting-the-corporate-media-bubble

✏️SHOW NOTES: Visit our Patreon for Show Notes and learn more about this week's episode (Available 5/29): patreon.com/posts/104874206

📚Check out our Book of the Week on BOOKSHOP*:
“Troubled Waters” by Mary Annaïse Heglar: bookshop.org/a/22992/9781400248117
“Come by Here: A Memoir in Essays from Georgia's Geechee Coast: bookshop.org/a/22992/9798885740388
(*Bookshop is an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. LF&F is an affiliate of bookshop.org and will receive a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.)

Laura Flanders & Friends is non-commercial independent media that relies on the contributions of viewers and listeners.

DONATE TODAY at lauraflanders.org/donate or consider becoming a PATREON partner at patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends
🔔Subscribe to get weekly episodes that prompt you to think critically about the world around you. If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to hit the 'Like' button and share it with your network.
📩Newsletter: For more in-depth analysis, including uncut interviews and commentaries, subscribe to our free newsletter at lauraflanders.org.

🎧LOOKING FOR UNCUT INTERVIEWS? Patreon subscribers help us make our full, uncut conversations and audio extras free and available to everyone! Join our growing family today! patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends

Credits:
Executive Producer: Laura Flanders
Supervising Producer: Sabrina Artel
Senior Consulting Producer: Rory O’Connor
Consulting Producer: Jordan Flaherty
Senior Video Editor: David Neumann
Creative Designer & Video Editor: Nat Needham
Audio Director: Jeannie Hopper
Development Director: Sarah Miller
Communications Director: Janet Hernandez
Executive Assistant: Nady Piña

Domestic Violence Survivor & Homeless Too? A CA Cohort Shows What Can Be Done

Laura Flanders & Friends 2024-05-19 | Stay informed and engaged! Don't miss out on our captivating weekly episodes that dive deep into the heart of our economy, culture, and politics. SUBSCRIBE HERE youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lg?sub_confirmation=1

The war on women takes many forms — take homelessness for example. Experiencing
intimate partner violence places a person at particular risk of homelessness. For those who do manage to escape, it’s confusing and often impossible to get help. What might make a difference? Some are calling for more gender-conscious policy. Organizations across California are coming together to address this issue, break down silos and bring survivors into decision-making. But their work is in danger. This July, VOCA (the federal Victims of Crimes Act), which funds everything from crisis hotlines to transitional housing, is slated to lose 45% of its funding. What can be done? Laura Flanders is joined by Teniecka Drake, a US Air Force veteran, and Yenni Rivera Martinez, two survivors of domestic violence-related homelessness who now work as advocates, and Krista Colón, the Senior Director of Public Policy for the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence. How does housing policy need to change? And what difference does applying a gender lens make? And later in the show Laura shares some closing thoughts on the cruel punishment case involving a homeless woman that is currently before the Supreme Court.

“The lack of housing for survivors and the struggles of survivors navigating the homelessness system is a commonality shared all across the state. [The HOME Cohort is] bringing folks together to work on shared solutions . . . They've produced tools for survivors . . .” - Krista Colón

“See the person, not just the data. The data is attached to a person. In order to make the proper policies, you need to know who you're affecting, your constituents. You need to know who they are.” - Teniecka Drake

“You don't end up with zero, you end up with negative because now you're borrowing money, especially once you have a baby. How do you get formula? How do you get diapers? How do you get clothing?” - Yenni Rivera Martinez

Guests:
Krista Colón: Senior Director of Public Policy & Communications Strategies, California Partnership to End Domestic Violence
Teniecka Drake: Survivor Advocates Team, Rainbow Services
Yenni Rivera Martinez: Family System CES Coordinator, LAHSA (Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority); Survivor Advocate, California Partnership to End Domestic Violence

🎧 PODCAST: Listen to this week's episode on major podcast platforms: lauraflanders.simplecast.com/episodes/domestic-violence-survivor-homeless-too-a-ca-cohort-shows-what-can-be-done

✏️SHOW NOTES: Visit our Patreon for Show Notes and learn more about this week's episode (Available 5/22): patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends

Related Episodes:
Cash Relief for Black Moms: The Success of Guaranteed Income: youtu.be/YhLyOSJWO0s?si=43TgEEdbxG4HaOfp
Post Dobbs Crisis: Visions for Abortion Access & Radical Care: youtu.be/hDQDzpsBMAo?si=2UfZ2DYO_fdUwWF-
Raising Vibrations Against Gender-Based Violence: youtu.be/3dHr_oE_SF4?si=sivfry5KFNIdU2Ht

Laura Flanders & Friends is non-commercial independent media that relies on the contributions of viewers and listeners.

DONATE TODAY at lauraflanders.org/donate or consider becoming a PATREON partner at patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends
🔔Subscribe to get weekly episodes that prompt you to think critically about the world around you. If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to hit the 'Like' button and share it with your network.
📩Newsletter: For more in-depth analysis, including uncut interviews and commentaries, subscribe to our free newsletter at lauraflanders.org.

🎧LOOKING FOR UNCUT INTERVIEWS? Patreon subscribers help us make our full, uncut conversations and audio extras free and available to everyone! Join our growing family today! patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends

Credits:
Executive Producer: Laura Flanders
Supervising Producer: Sabrina Artel
Senior Consulting Producer: Rory O’Connor
Consulting Producer: Jordan Flaherty
Senior Video Editor: David Neumann
Creative Designer & Video Editor: Nat Needham
Audio Director: Jeannie Hopper
Development Director: Sarah Miller
Communications Director: Janet Hernandez
Executive Assistant: Nady Piña

Trumpanomics vs. Bidenomics: Will Inflation and Debt Get Worse? Ft. Bloombergs Stephanie Flanders

Laura Flanders & Friends 2024-05-12 | Stay informed and engaged! Don't miss out on our captivating weekly episodes that dive deep into the heart of our economy, culture, and politics. SUBSCRIBE HERE youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lg?sub_confirmation=1

Just in time for election season, Laura invites her sister Stephanie back to the program. Stephanie is the head of Economics and Government at Bloomberg News and head of Bloomberg Economics. 64 countries (plus the European Union) — nearly half of the world’s population — are facing an election this year. Some are calling 2024 “The Ultimate Election Year”, but what should we look out for? Stephanie Flanders says now is the time journalists and voters are called upon to think about the long-term issues facing their country and the world, and consider what each candidate might propose. With Donald Trump, a lot is guesswork, but Bloomberg's been running the numbers on inflation and debt — both of which are predicted to go up under the former president. Meanwhile, what exactly is Bidenomics? “Voternomics”, the newly-rebooted “Stephanomics” podcast has just launched. It will be looking at the intersection of geopolitics and the economy. In this insightful one-on-one discussion taped at the CUNY TV studios in New York City, Stephanie and Laura Flanders talk economics, elections, and a little bit about tug-of-war. All that, plus a commentary from Laura. Laura Flanders & Friends becomes Laura Flanders & Family this time.

“. . . This is an opportunity to be thinking about not just what a politician is saying, but what are the long-term issues facing this country, any country? Are those policy recommendations fit for purpose? . . . Elections are opportunities for voters and journalists to raise their eyes to the horizon a little bit.” - Stephanie Flanders

“[With tariffs] the goal is to make domestically produced goods look more attractive and cheaper . . . We saw with the tariffs under the previous Trump administration — many of which have been continued under President Biden, we should remember — that the overall effect was to lose cost jobs and to add to inflation.” - Stephanie Flanders

Guest:
Stephanie Flanders: Head of Economics and Government at Bloomberg

🎧PODCAST: Prefer to listen? Subscribe to the LF&F podcast for new episodes every week (Available 5/13): lauraflanders.simplecast.com/episodes/stephanie-flanders-on-a-trump-economy-what-to-watch-in-the-ultimate-election-year

✏️SHOW NOTES: Visit our Patreon for Show Notes and learn more about this week's episode (Available 5/15): patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends

Laura Flanders & Friends is non-commercial independent media that relies on the contributions of viewers and listeners.

DONATE TODAY at lauraflanders.org/donate or consider becoming a PATREON partner at patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends
🔔Subscribe to get weekly episodes that prompt you to think critically about the world around you. If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to hit the 'Like' button and share it with your network.
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Credits:
Executive Producer: Laura Flanders
Supervising Producer: Sabrina Artel
Senior Consulting Producer: Rory O’Connor
Consulting Producer: Jordan Flaherty
Senior Video Editor: David Neumann
Creative Designer & Video Editor: Nat Needham
Audio Director: Jeannie Hopper
Development Director: Sarah Miller
Communications Director: Janet Hernandez
Executive Assistant: Nady Piña

Crime & Migration: An Abolitionist Plan for Immigration Justice

Laura Flanders & Friends 2024-05-05 | Stay informed and engaged! Don't miss out on our captivating weekly episodes that dive deep into the heart of our economy, culture, and politics. SUBSCRIBE HERE youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lg?sub_confirmation=1

When it comes to crime and migration, all sorts of politicians have justified mass detention and incarceration in the name of confronting a dangerous crisis. But what's real and what's fear mongering, and how can reformers counter the rhetoric to advance alternatives? In this episode, Laura Flanders and co-host Amir Khafagy speak with Silky Shah, Executive Director of Detention Watch Network, about her new book is “UNBUILD WALLS: Why Immigrant Justice Needs Abolition”, and Aron Thorn, Senior Attorney with the Texas Civil Rights Project’s Beyond Borders Program about the road ahead. Texas Governor Greg Abbott's Operation Lone Star program and the state-based deportation process proposed in his state's Senate Bill SB4 could set the tone for the country. Activists can do their best to call out abuses, but what is really needed is an entirely new approach. What difference would an abolitionist lens make?

“I find it very troubling that we have economies that are solely dependent on the exploitation of immigrant labor. This country depends on the exploitation of immigrant labor, yet you're seeing all these draconian measures, especially in places like Texas and now New York . . .” - Amir Khafagy

“There's been some minor reforms here and there . . . I don't want to dismiss that, but none of it's been at the scale that it needs to be. There needs to be a real investment that doesn't just let the Republicans dictate the debate . . .” - Silky Shah

“It's fascinating to see my colleagues in New York grappling with some of the same really difficult questions that border Texans have grappled with for a really long time. What does it look like to give meaningful support to folks who are coming here and seeking a better life?” - Aron Thorn

Guests:
Amir Khafagy (Co-host): Journalist, Report for America Member, Documented
Silky Shah: Director, Detention Watch Network; Author, Unbuild Walls
Aron Thorn: Senior Attorney, Texas Civil Rights Project (TCRP), Beyond Borders Program

🎧PODCAST: Prefer to listen? Subscribe to the LF&F podcast for new episodes every week (Available 5/6): lauraflanders.simplecast.com/episodes/crime-migration-an-abolitionist-plan-for-immigration-justice

✏️SHOW NOTES: Visit our Patreon for Show Notes and learn more about this week's episode (Available 5/8): patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends

📚Check out our Book of the Week on BOOKSHOP*: “Unbuild Walls: Why Immigrant Justice Needs Abolition” by Silky Shah: bookshop.org/a/22992/9798888900840
(*Bookshop is an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. LF&F is an affiliate of bookshop.org and will receive a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.)

Laura Flanders & Friends is non-commercial independent media that relies on the contributions of viewers and listeners.

DONATE TODAY at lauraflanders.org/donate or consider becoming a PATREON partner at patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends
🔔Subscribe to get weekly episodes that prompt you to think critically about the world around you. If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to hit the 'Like' button and share it with your network.
📩Newsletter: For more in-depth analysis, including uncut interviews and commentaries, subscribe to our free newsletter at lauraflanders.org.

🎧LOOKING FOR UNCUT INTERVIEWS? Patreon subscribers help us make our full, uncut conversations and audio extras free and available to everyone! Join our growing family today! patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends

Credits:
Executive Producer: Laura Flanders
Supervising Producer: Sabrina Artel
Senior Consulting Producer: Rory O’Connor
Consulting Producer: Jordan Flaherty
Senior Video Editor: David Neumann
Creative Designer & Video Editor: Nat Needham
Audio Director: Jeannie Hopper
Development Director: Sarah Miller
Communications Director: Janet Hernandez
Executive Assistant: Nady Piña

Stand with us in solidarity

Laura Flanders & Friends 2024-05-03 | This May, we invite you to join us in celebrating the spirit of solidarity. Your support allows us to continue our vital work, empowering individuals and communities, and making strides towards a more just and equitable society.

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