Protest and Survive

A new podcast from Reed Dunlea, formerly of "Protest & Survive." "Scene Report" explores counterculture artists and the communities that sustain their work. Dropping real soon. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/scene-report/support

Winona LaDuke is probably the most dedicated, smart and hilarious activist you will ever come across. She lives on the White Earth Indian Reservation in Northwestern Minnesota, with about 130,000 other Anishinaabe and Ojibwe people. Since founding the White Earth Land Recovery Project in 1989, and Honor the Earth in 1983, she's been fighting to preserve the indigenous sovereignty and environmental integrity of her land and people there. She also notably ran for Vice President with Ralph Nader for the Green Party in 1996 and 2000. LaDuke and her collaborators in Minnesota just waged a years-long battle against the Line 3 pipeline, which Canadian energy company Enbridge ultimately pushed through in 2021. That fight was building on her work against the Dakota Access Pipeline at Standing Rock, a watershed moment in anti-pipeline protest, and in building a new type of movement linking environmental, indigenous, and racial justice activists. In this wide-ranging interview for Protest & Survive, LaDuke discusses being present in her community, anti-colonialism land back, building local sustainable economies, and trying every tactic to win. Produced and hosted by Reed Dunlea, edited by Jason Halal, music by Jesse Crawford, and photography by Keri Picket. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/protest-and-survive/support

The 83rd, whose name is reclaimed from a Bushwick police precinct, is a record producer who runs a record label and media company called Sermon 3. "My biggest driving factor is pushing boundaries in art, music and possibilities; and also giving priority to people who deserve it, who a lot of times are the foundations of art, music, culture, that don't get the proper privy. When I look at my family, the Black community and all the things that we've done and all the things that go unwritten and uncovered, with Sermon 3 I wanted to cover deep roots in Mississippi and ghetto house and things that were happening in hoods and rural areas that impacted the rest of the world, but they never got an interview." I met The 83rd at Occupy City Hall in New York City in June 2020. The 83rd was projecting a message on a building across the street from the protest, which was a 5-point plan he’d developed about how to address police violence: end qualified immunity, pass a Civilian Defense Act, divest the police, invest in black communities, and end petty-crime arrests. The 83rd amplifies these and other messages through Sermon 3, a platform for art, music, culture, protest and news. He’s connecting people to organize and participate in direct action, and to treat cultural expression as a shared language of resistance. If you're only going to listen to one thing from The 83rd, skip this interview, and check out his incredible Solitary Souls project, an archival EP exploring the history of slavery in Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana. This episode was edited by Jason Halal. Music is by Jesse Crawford and The 83rd. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/protest-and-survive/support

Lorelei Ramirez is a comedian, artist, writer, and activist. Since the pandemic they have been working to build an organization called Helper's International, which distributes money, resources, and supplies to those who need it most. Their art and performance has been shown in venues across New York City and they've worked on television shows such as High Maintenance and Los Espookys. Their comedic work is absurd and sometimes grotesque, and they are currently hosting a weekly Twitch stream called "Art is Easy." This week, guest host and producer Sophia Steinert-Evoy spoke with Lorelei over Zoom about mutual aid, forming community networks in times of crisis, Bernie Sanders, and Ric Wilson's banger "Fight Like Ida B and Marsha P," which led to a tangent on the union anthem, "Which Side Are You On?" Lorelei recommends the podcast, "We The Unhoused." Music by Ric Wilson, Florence Reece, Pete Seeger, Billy Bragg, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, and Black Lives Matter Berkeley. Photo by Daniel Rampulla. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/protest-and-survive/support

Colin is a punk, zine maker, writer, podcaster, and restorative justice and trans support advocate based In Pittsburgh, PA. They are also my friend. I first met Colin via their incredible fanzine about eating every slice of pizza in Manhattan, Slice Harvester, when I was a young punk living in New York City. In this episode we have different recollections of our first interaction, but either way, we've spent years collaborating and chilling since. Colin was a member of the now-defunct Support New York, an anarchist collective that developed methods for facilitating community-based accountability processes around sexual violence. Colin is now active with Trans Buddy Pittsburgh, a community peer-support organization that helps trans and non-binary people navigate healthcare. They continue their great work documenting the freakier side of the American punk scene, via their Life Harvester Radio podcast and Life Harvester newsletter. We discuss all of these projects and causes, as well as what it's like to transition genders during the COVID-19 pandemic. Note: this episode was recorded before the current Black Lives Matter protests erupted around the country following the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and so many others. We thus do not discuss the movement, or specifically a world without police, but I think some of Colin's work and insights could be useful for imagining one. Music by Jesse Crawford, editing by Chris Pickering, photo by Colin Hagendorf. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/protest-and-survive/support

This special episode of Protest & Survive is coming live from the streets of New York, in their own words. Recorded on Saturday June 6, 2020 at The March for Stolen Lives and Looted Dreams, hosted by Tamika Mallory and Linda Sarsour, including a performance by the Resistance Revival Chorus. The rally is followed by ambient field recordings from a march over the Brooklyn Bridge. Black Lives Matter. Justice for George, Breonna, Ahmaud, and all others who have died too soon. Change is coming. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/protest-and-survive/support

It’s been over a year and ten episodes of Protest & Survive. In season one, we recounted fighting Proud Boys, learned what it takes to repeal a century-old racist law, saw the response to the Muslim Ban at JFK Airport, heard about the awful people effects of the drug war in the Philippines, reminisced on an Arabic-language punk band’s tour of Southeast Asia, and I got a tattoo. In Season 2, we’re going to keep talking to a lot of dedicated people that you’re probably not going to hear interviewed in too many other places. To all our listeners new and old, thanks for joining us so far, and stay tuned. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/protest-and-survive/support

“This was the first time, and probably the last time this will ever happen. In Jakarta, the mic got taken from me, many fucking times throughout the set," says Nader. "It gives me some hope to continue doing this. They took the mic and sang the songs in Arabic, and my heart was just melted. I couldn’t believe it.” New York City Arabic-language punk band Haram went on tour in Southeast Asia and Japan last summer. It was the first time Nader, who grew up Muslim in Yonkers with Lebanese refugee parents, got the chance to play in Muslim-majority countries. The band, on Toxic State Records, was previously investigated by the NYPD/FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force. We spoke with Nader the night before he left on tour about his hopes and anxieties, and follow up to break down the journey when he returned home. Photo by Jerry Permana, music by Jesse Crawford. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/protest-and-survive/support

Tamara Santibañez is a multidisciplinary artist, working in tattoos, visual arts, and publishing. We spoke to her on the last episode of P&S about her work with people in jail and prison. In this follow-up episode, we wanted to more explore an idea Tamara has been developing that we touched on in the last episode, her Trauma-Aware Philosophy of Tattooing. We figured the best way to do that was to record getting a tattoo from Tamara, and talk about how she applies this philosophy. You can find more about Tamara's work here, and view her tattoos here. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/protest-and-survive/support

Tamara Santibañez is a multidisciplinary artist, working in tattoos, visual arts, and publishing. She also works with people in jail/prison and recently out, having taught drawing at Rikers Island and Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women, working with a reentry program in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and giving free tattoo cover ups to women who were tattooed during their criminal justice involvement. Tamara's tattoo work draws on West Coast Chicanx black and gray technique, while also incorporating the punk aesthetics of her life, resulting in a historic but deeply personal style. You can find more about her work here, and view her tattoos here. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/protest-and-survive/support

Jessie Jeffrey Dunn Rovinelli is a filmmaker. She recently wrote, directed and starred in a feature titled "So Pretty," which is, according to Jessie, "a narrative-ish film following four to six young gender deviants in New York City as they nap and fuck and try to get by as best they can." The film is an adaptation, and translation, of a novel by gay German writer Ronald M. Schernikau, which originally was set in 1980s West Berlin. The worlds of queer housing and rave scenes overlap with mass protest in "So Pretty," as staged and real settings blend. In this interview, which took place in Jessie's bedroom in Brooklyn, we discuss becoming an optimist through art, Donald Trump's effect on mobilization, transitioning while making a film, the community built when making a film, and the importance of Black Lives Matter, J20, and Occupy Wall Street. More information on upcoming screenings of "So Pretty" can be found here. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/protest-and-survive/support

AJ Santos is a punk. He grew up in the Philippines, playing in punk bands, running in gangs, and using drugs. People referred to him and his friends as “scums of society.” In 2013, AJ immigrated to the United States, where he built a new life for himself. He started some punk bands in New York, called Namatay Sa Ingay and Material Support. He also started organizing with Migrante International, a migrant rights organization that is part of the National Democratic Movement of the Philippines. With Migrante, AJ and other Filipino immigrants lobby the U.S. government and raise awareness about the issues facing their friends and family back home. Since Rodrigo Duterte began his War on Drugs after becoming president of the Philippines in 2016, many of AJ’s friends have been killed, jailed, or forced into hiding. AJ was never planning on becoming an activist, but those circumstances changed that. “I need to do this because I have to. It’s not even a choice for me. I’m not trying to be edgy. I didn’t choose this life. I don’t even consider myself an activist. I’m just a punk rocker. I’m just a punk rocker who happened to be politicized.” We spoke with AJ at host Reed Dunlea’s home studio in Brooklyn, about growing up surrounded by poverty in the Philippines, punk as a sanctuary, his mom’s fight against the Marcos dictatorship, moving to the U.S. to find better opportunities, being a father, lyrics about “bourgie white girls,” mourning from afar, and how to fuck the police and the government. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/protest-and-survive/support

Una Osato grew up in New York City in the 1980s, where art and protest were part of the fabric of daily life. Una found early success as a child performer, but her art later brought her outside of the mainstream, and into the world of radical burlesque. She’s a co-founder of brASS Burlesque (brown radical ass burlesque), a multi-disciplinary performance troupe from NYC. Una is active in the New York City chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace, where she draws inspiration from the lineage of internationalist anti-Zionist Jews to fight for Palestinian human rights. Una uses her art to bring joy to political actions. This episode of Protest & Survive was produced by Sophia Steinert-Evoy. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/protest-and-survive/support

Rafael Shimunov is "just someone from Queens" who was born in Uzbekistan, and incorporates creative tactics into grassroots campaigns. Rafael is a board member of Jews for Racial & Economic Justice, and formerly with the Working Families Party and the Center for Constitutional Rights. In December 2018, Rafael guerilla-style installed his own painting on a wall in the Whitney Museum of American Art. The piece depicted a family running from teargas that was fired at the U.S./Mexico border. The action was in protest of The Whitney's Board of Trustees Vice Chairman and owner of Safariland, Warren Kanders. Art magazine Hyperalergic reported that canisters of teargas bearing Safariland’s name were found where U.S. Customs and Border Protection had fired teargas at Central American migrants near Tijuana in November 2018. The migrants, who included children, were seeking asylum in the U.S. If you generally pay attention to lefty news, you may already have seen some of Rafael's other work. He livestreamed the JFK Muslim ban protests for the Working Families Party, which received 16 million views on Facebook alone. He also made the video that used a red overlay to compare videos, the original and the doctored Inforwars version that was shared by the White House, of the altercation over a microphone between Jim Acosta and a White House intern when Trump cut off Acosta's question in November 2018. We spoke with Rafael at the Anchor Podcast Lab in Manhattan, about how to and why to sneak a piece of protest art into a museum, the ownership of cultural institutions, cars honking in support of demonstrations, coming to America from Uzbekistan, growing up in an immigrant family in Queens, and how using art in protest taps into different parts of people’s brains. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/protest-and-survive/support

Frankie Decaiza Hutchinson is a New York by way of UK electronic music promoter and grassroots organizer. She is one third of Discwoman, a collective, booking agency, and event platform representing and showcasing female talent in the electronic music community, who have pushed the needle on gender representation in techno. Frankie was also an active member of the Dance Liberation Network, a group of New York nightlife advocates who helped push the city of New York to repeal the Cabaret Law. The Cabaret Law was a century-old law, enacted with a racist intent, which was weaponized against nightclubs that catered to minority communities. We talked with Frankie at host Reed Dunlea's home in Brooklyn, and spoke about growing up in England, learning about race in America, the origins of Discwoman, the New York club scene, and what it feels like to effect change. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/protest-and-survive/support

Alli Logout is a Texas-raised, NOLA-based punk musician (Special Interest, Lassie) and radical filmmaker (Lucid Noon, Sunset Blush). Alli works to increase the representation of their community in media, in addition to making the tools to create that media more accessible. Simply, Alli is creating their own world with the people they love. But we all know it isn't that simple. In episode one, we interviewed the promoter of the punk festival This Is Austin Not That Great. We conducted this interview for episode two during that fest, on the roof of a parking garage in downtown Austin, right after Alli's band Lassie played. We spoke about creating community/family and the happiness (and lack thereof) that can come with that, DIY filmmaking, privilege at a punk festival, marketing and tokenizing of black and queer bodies, presenting your message on your own terms, and the pressures of being visible and loud with your art. **CW brief discussion of suicide in the episode**  --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/protest-and-survive/support

Juan-Carlos Silva is an Austin Texas born and raised punk musician, concert promoter, and anti-racist agitator. He works hard to create radical spaces of music and resistance, and isn't afraid to bounce the Proud Boys from his side of the city. We talked with Juan Carlos after he wrapped up the third installment of his international DIY punk festival This Is Austin Not That Great, which he also performed at with his band Strutter. We spoke about the fest, the legacy of Texas punk, politics in Austin and Texas, electronic scooters, benefit concerts, confronting white nationalists, the police, and Ted Cruz. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/protest-and-survive/support