The Brief Podcast

The siege on Gaza and the role of the Palestinian Authority are critical context for the Israel's assault on Gaza. On this episode we take a look at the history of the blockade and how Israel has ghettoized the Palestinian population.

We take a look at the Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange proposal that Hamas and the Qassam Brigades responded with after a proposal put forth by Mossad, Shabak, CIA, and Egypt intelligence chiefs in Paris. You can watch this episode on the Anti-Empire Project's Sit Rep series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyG87r_48a4   

On this episode, the October 7th military raid by the Qassam Brigades that collapsed the Israeli military's Gaza Division. We take a look at the events of October 7th on the heels of an Israeli media report that detailed the raid in a minute-by-minute timeline from Israeli military and intelligence sources who participated in the battle.   Episode: 041 October 7th Date: 20 January 2024 | Length: 52:57   This is a podcast version of an episode of the Anti-Empire Project's Gaza War Sit Rep series.

We are joined from the West Bank by Abdaljawad Omar to discuss the formations of Palestinian resistance during the intifadas of the 1980s and 2000s and how that trajectory led us to 7 October and the current war on Gaza.

Nora and Jon are joined by Justin Podur to discuss the war on Gaza, now 72 days on. You can follow Jon and Nora's twice-a-week Gaza livestreams at: https://www.youtube.com/@TheElectronicIntifada/streams

Nora, Jon and Justin are joined by Matteo Capasso to discuss the defence of Gaza and the implications of the battle for Israel and the Empire.   This episode is a joint operations room production with The East is a Podcast, The Anti-Empire Project and The Brief Podcast.

Nora and Jon are joined by friend of the show Justin Podur to discuss the war on Gaza, now three weeks on.

Nora and Jon are joined by longtime Gaza ER doctor Tarek Loubani to discuss the war on Gaza. You can follow Jon and Nora's daily coverage of the war at https://www.youtube.com/@TheElectronicIntifada/streams

Les Bélangers, Montreal's first Haitian street gang, wasn't the criminal enterprise it was painted as by Quebec police and a willing media in Canada in the 1980s. At first, it wasn't even a gang; it was a group of friends who fought back against the racist violence that their community was routinely subjected to in city parks and schools, on the metro and in downtown bars. We are joined by the leader of Les Bélangers, Maxime Aurélien, and by Ted Rutland, professor at Concordia University in Montreal; they are together the authors of Out to Defend Ourselves: A History of Montreal's First Haitian Street Gang. Visit The Brief Podcast online: http://thebriefpodcast.com/

The Mohawk Warrior Society is one of the most successful militant organizations in North America. Their predecessors were key to the defeat of the French in Quebec and the United States in the War of 1812. Today, the Warriors are best known for their role in the 1990 Oka standoff against the Canadian army. In the new book, The Mohawk Warrior Society: A Handbook on Sovereignty and Survival, the movement for the first time tells its own history. We are joined by the editors of this unique anthology of resistance, Philippe Blouin, Matt Peterson, Malek Rasamny and Kahentinetha Rotiskarewake and also by Kwetiio and Karennatha who, along with Kahentinetha, are members of the group Kanien'kehà:ka Kanistansera, the Mohawk Mothers.

Israel attacks the al Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem and rocket-fire from Lebanon, Syria and Gaza points to the potential for a multi-front regional response to future Israeli violence.   Nora Barrows-Friedman and Jon Elmer discuss the latest events in Palestine.

Israel steps up its military attacks targeting a new generation of Palestinian fighters in the West Bank. Nora Barrows-Friedman and Jon Elmer are joined by Justin Podur to discuss the implications of the internal crisis in Israel and the ramping up of violence against Palestinians.

Anti-Racist Action was unified behind a basic principle: "We go where they go. Whenever fascists are organizing or active in public, we're there." What began as street fighting in the punk scene soon developed into a militant direct action network with chapters across the US and Canada. Authors, KRISTIN SCHWARTZ and MICHAEL STAUDENMAIER, join us to talk about the newly released movement history, We Go Where They Go: The Story of Anti-Racist Action.

The US Constitution (1787) was written in the face of three significant insurrections: Indigenous resistance to colonization; revolts of the enslaved; and an armed uprising of farmers. It was drafted to protect property against the threat of political and economic justice. In part three of our trilogy on rebellions of the enslaved and the origins of the United States we are joined by ROBERT OVETZ to discuss his new book, We the Elites: How the US Constitution Serves the Few (Pluto 2022).

Resistance by enslaved Africans before and after the Declaration of Independence  played a critical role in the origins of the US. Historian Gerald Horne joins us to discuss the fierce and persistent fight for abolition in the mainland slave colonies of the US.  We will look at three of Professor Horne's books on the topic. The Apocalypse of Settler-Colonialism: The roots of slavery, white supremacy, and capitalism in 17th-century North America and the Caribbean; The Counter-Revolution of 1776:  Slave resistance and the origins of the United States of America; and Negro Comrades of the Crown: African Americans and the British Empire fight the US before emancipation. This episode builds on our previous show 028 with Marcus Rediker on the slave ship and the story of resistance across the Middle Passage.

The trans-Atlantic slave ship was part factory, part prison, part war machine and it was a critical component in the establishment of race, class and capitalism in the Americas. MARCUS REDIKER is back on the show to discuss his book, The Slave Ship: A Human History, the first dedicated account of the vessel and the remarkable story of resistance that marked every aspect of its journey.

Colombia has voted Leftist ex-rebel Gustavo Petro to the presidency in an historic election. We are joined by Colombian doctor and political activist, MANUEL ROZENTAL. Justin Podur is with us for the hour as well, for this roundtable on the impact of the elections in Colombia. This is a joint operation with The Anti-Empire Project and The Brief Podcast. There is a video recording of the show and bonus content about FARC and Plan Colombia on our Patreon.com/Colombia page.

On this episode we discuss the war in Yemen and the role of the West in arming and supporting the US-Saudi-Gulf coalition, with Isa Blumi, author of Destroying Yemen: What chaos in Arabia tells us about the world.

Veteran al Jazeera journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh, was shot and killed by the Israeli army during an IDF raid in Jenin earlier this month. Asa Winstanley and Nora Barrows-Friedman are joined by Jon Elmer to discuss Shireen's murder and the armed struggle in Jenin. This episode is a joint effort with the Electronic Intifada podcast.

Thomas Sankara's assassination in October 1987 abruptly ended the life of a revolutionary Pan-Africanist who transformed Burkina Faso in four years of remarkable revolution.  We are joined by AMBER MURREY and AZIZ FALL to discuss Thomas Sankara, his political project in Burkina Faso and his anti-imperialism abroad.

Gord Hill joins us to discuss colonization and resistance in the Americas on the occasion of the release of his revised and expanded The 500 Years of Indigenous Resistance Comic Book.

Kabul's US-backed government collapses as its soldiers surrender en masse to the Taliban. We are joined by Max Blumenthal, author of The Management of Savagery, to discuss the end of the US occupation of Afghanistan.

Historic prison escape by Palestinian militants from Jenin. Fighters from Islamic Jihad and al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades tunneled out of Israel's maximum security Gilboa prison and spirited into the night. Tarek Loubani joins Jon Elmer and Nora Barrows-Friedman to discuss the great escape and their experiences of life in Jenin during the intifada.

Geo Maher joins us to reflect on the summer of rebellion that followed the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis and how we build toward 'A World Without Police.' On the Bookend, it's Peter Collins' posthumous collection of artwork 'Free Inside:  The Life and Work of Peter Collins'. We hear an archival interview of ours with Peter from prison in 2004.

A Canada Day reckoning as Indian Residential School properties become crime scenes with the (re)-discovery of unmarked graves of Indigenous children. We are joined by Tyler Shipley to discuss Canada's first foreign policy – its genocide of the Indigenous nations in the path of capitalist settlement. This broadcast is a co-production of The Brief Podcast and The Anti-Empire Project.

We discuss early US labour militancy and the birth of modern policing with Robert Ovetz, author of When Workers Shot Back.

Palestine roundtable reconvenes to reflect on the Gaza attack and take stock of the ceasefire. Nora Barrows-Friedman is an editor at the Electronic Intifada, Jon Elmer is a journalist who lived for years in Gaza, Justin Podur is the author of Siegebreakers, and Tarek Loubani is an emergency room doctor, often at Shifa, Gaza's main hospital. This broadcast is a co-production of The Brief Podcast and The Anti-Empire Project. Production by Pierre Loiselle and music by Greg Wilson.

Recorded on Day 7 of the war in Palestine, this roundtable brings together decades of experience working in Palestine. Nora Barrows-Friedman is an editor at the Electronic Intifada, Jon Elmer is a journalist who lived for years in Gaza, Justin Podur is the author of Siegebreakers, and Tarek Loubani is an emergency room doctor, often at Shifa, Gaza's main hospital. This broadcast is a co-production of The Brief Podcast and The Anti-Empire Project. Production by Pierre Loiselle and music by Greg Wilson.

Heather Ann Thompson joins us to discuss her Pulitzer Prize winning book about the uprising and massacre at New York's Attica Prison in September 1971. And we feature an archival interview with a central-figure in the uprising, the late Splitting the Sky.

Max Haiven, the author of Revenge Capitalism, talks the opioid crisis and its roots in neoliberal empire and Garth Mullins, host of Crackdown podcast, describes drug user-led resistance to the drug war.

Marcus Rediker on The Golden Age of Piracy the revolutionary Atlantic, and the disruption of early capitalism on the seas.

DAVE ZIRIN talks about the wildcat strikes in pro sports; and MAC SMIFF on 100 days on the streets in Portland. On The Bookend, it's VICKY OSTERWEIL on her new book, In Defense of Looting: A Riotous History of Uncivil Action.

Demonstrations continue across the United States against police violence and increasingly against the institution itself.  We speak with Vicky Osterweil and Zoé Samudzi about riots, looting and abolishing the police.

Israel moves with White House-backing to declare sovereignty over their illegal West Bank settlements and annex the Jordan Valley border. We speak with Ali Abunimah about deepening Israeli apartheid in Palestine.

The United States is rocked by protests against police violence as hundreds of thousands march from coast to coast. We are joined from New York by Margaret Kimberley and from Boston by Benjamin Dixon.

Brazil's new far-right government plunges the country into fascism. We speak with Brazilian scholar and activist, Diana Aguiar, about the downfall of the Worker's Party and the rise of Jair Bolsonaro.

Saudi's $14B weapons contract puts Canadian armoured vehicles on the frontlines of the war in Yemen. We are joined by Anthony Fenton to discuss the machinations of Canada's junior-partner imperialism.

India jails students, writers, and rights activists as the media works in effective coordination with the government inflaming sectarian divides, suppressing dissent and lionizing Modi. We speak to Shalini Gera and Freny Manecksha  about India's Hindutva crackdown.

Kashmir's autonomous status is revoked by India's far-right government and the military occupation is tightened with a total communications blackout. We speak with Ather Zia and Mohamad Junaid about the resistance in Jammu and Kashmir.

India's sectarian citizenship law set off months of protests that were met by government-incited mobs sacking markets, neighbourhoods and mosques as police looked on. We are joined by Kavita Krishnan to discuss the Delhi pogrom and right-wing nationalism in India.

Bernie Sanders' presidential bid has run into a wall, as the COVID-19 pandemic puts the Democratic Party primary campaign into suspended animation. We are joined by George Ciccariello-Maher to discuss grassroots mobilization and electoral politics. 

The Taliban and the White House have signed an agreement that would ultimately see US troops withdraw from Afghanistan. After two decades of war, tens of thousands killed, and trillions spent - the US stands to leave a ruined Afghanistan in defeat.

Police move in on the Mohawks at Tyendinaga, setting off a further wave of blockades, disruptions and direct action from coast to coast. Anna Zalik joins us to discuss the oil and gas industry, and Gord Hill talks indigenous resistance.

After the RCMP raided and dismantled the Wet'suwet'en roadblocks, rail, port and transportation blockades have spread across Canada in solidarity. And they are growing.

The Wet'suwet'en evict Coastal GasLink, who are trying to build a gas pipeline through their territory. We discuss the context of their struggle against the Canadian state and corporations, and talk with Jeffrey Monaghan about the policing of Indigenous movements.   Thanks to Michael Toledano for the audio of Freda Huson delivering the Wet'suwet'en eviction notice and Praxis Media for the excerpt of Dr. Roland Chrisjohn from Hoping against Hope.