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How are hip hop and Black Liberation connected? In this special Black August edition of Rattling the Bars, former political prisoner and Black Panther Mansa Musa sits down with artist, producer, and "Panther Cub" Mopreme Shakur on the rooftop of a hotel in the nation's capital. Together, they explore Shakur's memoir, This Thug's Life, tracing the trajectory from the rise and fall of Black Power to the birth of hip hop through the eyes of the son of a Panther and the stepbrother of a legend.Additional links/info:Mopreme Shakur, Penguin Random House, This Thug's Life: An Unapologetically Black StoryCredits:Producer / Videographer / Editor: Cameron GranadinoBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!
Progressive outsider candidate Abdul El-Sayed narrowly prevailed over establishment pick Haley Stevens to win the Democratic nomination for Michigan's open Senate seat, though AIPAC spent tens of millions of dollars to defeat him. The narrative that has emerged before and after the primary is one that stresses El-Sayed's weakness with Black and Jewish voters.As Jewish Currents senior reporter Alex Kane wrote earlier this month, Black and Jewish centrists are teaming up in key races to defeat progressive candidates, whom they portray as fixated on Palestine at the expense of their Black constituents. As Darius Jones—senior adviser to a Black centrist group called the National Black Empowerment Action Fund and longtime AIPAC operative—told Jewish Currents, “Focusing on a “foreign conflict” won't “lower health care or housing costs for a Black senior in Detroit, or ensure that a path to home ownership easier for a Black constituent in St Louis or Ferguson.” These Black politicos have endeavored to link moderate Democratic policies and Black interests; reflecting on El-Sayed's attacks on the Democratic establishment, for example, party strategist Jamal Simmons told The Hill that such “attacks on the Democratic establishment in places like Detroit are attacks on Black leaders.” Meanwhile, moderates and conservatives across the country appear intent on pushing the narrative that democratic socialism is the province of privileged white people, pointing to the demographics of the group's membership and the class backgrounds of Mayor Zohran Mamdani's staffers and advisers. To discuss the ways that the figure of the “Black voter” is being used in the fight over the direction of the Democratic Party, host Arielle Angel and Alex Kane welcome Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor—professor of African American studies at Princeton University, author of From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation, and a co-founder of the digital magazine Hammer & Hope—to On the Nose. They discuss the role of Israel/Palestine in Black politics, the fallacy that Black voters are more moderate on the issues, and what to do with DSA's demographic problem.Thanks to Jules Natt for editing and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song “VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed).”Media Mentioned and Further Reading“The End of Black Politics,” Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, The New York Times“Donald Trump's Victory, the Elitism of Democrats, and the Need to Build a Hospitable Left,” Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor and Daniel Denvir, Hammer & Hope“With Jewish Establishment's Help, a Black Political Group Battles the Left,” Alex Kane, Jewish Currents“An Anti-AIPAC Insurgent Tests Her Message in a Working-Class Stronghold,” Alex Kane, Jewish Currents“The Congressional Black Caucus's Silent Partnership With AIPAC,” Anthony Conwright, The Nation“Can Abdul El-Sayed unite Dems? He has work to do with Black, Jewish voters,” Simon D. Schuster, Bridge Michigan“Who Is Abdul El-Sayed? His Harsh Trump Takedown Is a Clue,” Daily Blast with Greg Sargent, The New Republic“El-Sayed faces ‘risky bet' with Michigan's Black voters,” Amie Parnes and Caroline Vakil, The Hill“NYC-DSA is 60% white, internal survey says,” Peter Sterne, City & State“How ‘Pro-Israel' Orthodoxy Keeps US Foreign Policymaking White,” Peter Beinart, Jewish Currents“Valerie Foushee ‘Will Not Accept' AIPAC Money in 2026 Election,” Chase Pelligrini de Paur, Indy“The Revolutionary Imperative,” Neil Smith, AntipodeSiena University poll of DSA favorability“Most Americans Say Policing Needs 'Major Changes,'” Steve Crabtree, Gallup“AOC and Mamdani wanted to defund the police. Their backtracking puts organizers at risk,” Derecka Purnell, The Guardian“Movement for Black Lives opposes George Floyd Justice in Policing Act,” AP“Eliot Engel, Jamaal Bowman, and the CBC,” Alexander Sammon, The American ProspectCommunists in Harlem During the Depression by Marc NaisonThe New Jim Crow by Michelle AlexanderTranscript forthcoming.
Vince Fakhoury Horn speakswith Rima Vesely-Flad about The Fire Inside: The Dharma of James Baldwin and Audre Lorde—the silence she found in her own Buddhist community when she began writing about Palestine, Baldwin and Lorde's distinction between hatred that corrodes and rage that comes from the examined life, and the question they keep returning to: how to feel it all without causing more harm.Vince Horn: So, Rima, great to see you.I've been really loving getting to know you as a person and also your work. I've been reading your book. Unfortunately, I also spilled water on my copy, so it is a little... If you see me struggling to flip through the pages, that's ‘cause we had a bit of an accident here. But I've really enjoyed reading your work. Can't wait to get into it with you. Thank you so much for your time.Rima Vesely-Flad: Yeah. Thank you, Vince. It's been great to get to know you, too. We're so close. Amazing. Amazing.Vince Horn: Yes, and it's amazing as adults, we can carve out the time to hang out. So that's sometimes the hardest part. I feel like being in middle age is, like, making time to spend with cool people, so appreciate your time.Rima Vesely-Flad: Me too.Vince Horn: So let's talk about your new book. This is The Fire Inside: The Dharma of James Baldwin and Audre Lorde. Of course, before reading this book, I was familiar with you and your work. But it really struck me that you were writing in this book, like from the very beginning, you're writing about Palestine and Israel, which is not something I see many Buddhists really writing about or talking about in America.So it stands out just the fact that you're even talking about this subject. And then on top of that, you're bringing to bear these beautiful Dharma teachings and wisdom teachings from the Black tradition of James Baldwin and Audre Lorde, bringing them to bear on this topic in the first chapter of the book, which I thought was quite courageous.And I really appreciate it, you know, as someone who has Palestinian family members and people in the West Bank I care about. So just on a personal level, really am grateful that you centered this in your writing. And I thought maybe we could start with that first chapter if you're up for it.Rima Vesely-Flad: Absolutely. It was actually the very last chapter I wrote. I wrote this book of course over several years, but as I was concluding in real time, the genocide was taking place, and I just found myself absolutely in a state of grief and rage and was really politically active around it in ways that I hadn't been in quite some time.Like feeling very pushed to speak out and to contact the Biden administration and representatives, people here in North Carolina who might or might not speak in Congress, and just found that I needed ways to speak out, and this is my community. The people who self-identify as Buddhist claim these traditions, these lineages, these practices, these schools of thought, and yet there was so much silence, and I felt really compelled to speak into that silence. And I know that's something that you feel and understand in a deep way. And then also, I'm not by any stretch the first Black activist or academic or thought leader to make the connections between oppression of people of African descent whose ancestors were enslaved and people who are in a state of survival as their land is being taken in real time. So all of those connections were very present, and yet in the Buddhist world, there was so much silence, so much evasion or even erasure of what's taking place. And it felt like it wasn't separate from my practice, and I had to speak.Even though at the time I hadn't even visited the West Bank. I since have, but at the time I was thinking and writing and observing and feeling from afar.Vince Horn: Yeah. Okay. I didn't realize you'd gone to the West Bank. Wow, we'll have to talk about that sometime. Yeah, there's early on in the book, there's a quote here that's really echoing what you just shared.I thought I'd share this ‘cause it really moved me quite a bit. You said, “I, like many Black Americans, like Southwest Asian and North African Buddhists, observe that violent oppression of Palestinians can never bring safety and security to Jewish Israelis. And as a Buddhist practitioner, it's important for me to speak out against the violence sanctioned by my government, my tax dollars.The policies of the US government do not represent my commitments. I'm horrified by the massacres in Gaza day after day, by the constant terrorizing of Palestinians in the West Bank. I think daily of Baldwin's words, ‘You don't know what's happening on the other side of the wall because you don't want to know.'”Rima Vesely-Flad: Wow. Even just hearing Baldwin's words in that context again, it really brings me chills. And so prescient, right? So prescient in terms of just anticipating how much more extensive... At the time actually that Baldwin visited, there wasn't a formal occupation, although there was theft of land. But this— that was 1961, and then the wall— right now the walls, the checkpoints, the just sheer magnitude of aggression and violence. Like Baldwin anticipated that, and then the myopia in Israel and in the United States.Vince Horn: Yeah. I think at the same time though as I read through your writing on this, I was really also struck that you're really trying to hold multiple realities here at once.You know, both holding the suffering of the Palestinians and the apartheid state that you're describing. At the same time, you have a lot of, as I do, Jewish friends and people that you care about who may not be able to hold that reality in the same way or who are struggling to in some cases. Who...and you treat that with real compassion I think in your writing and in your words. As I try to, you know, my best. And it's, of course, important to differentiate between Jewish identity and Israeli identity, which is often, you know, merged intentionally by the State of Israel.And for many people it's the way they're inculturated. It seems like that was kind of an unconscious merger in a lot of folks' identity. At least I've noticed that with close friends and even students in the last few years where we've had conversations around this. There's been real tension.And anyway, I appreciate that you're holding it with compassion, both realities here, not trying to sort of demonize Israelis or Jewish people. And really being aware of the antisemitism that this whole issue is also bringing about. Or it's... I'm not sure if it's bringing about or giving excuse to people to be bigoted.So I think it's cool the way that you're trying to weave those different things. And I guess I'm curious if you could say a bit about how you're taking that approach or why that's important to you.Rima Vesely-Flad: Yes. I start off the book talking about a relationship I had with a, I would say a mama bear, a mother figure who claimed herself, who self-identified as my godmother, and she was born in France to a very well-known filmmaker who had the opportunity for asylum in the United States, and he and his wife were granted this opportunity to flee, but were told they couldn't take their daughter, who was my godmother Via–Vince Horn: Wow.Rima Vesely-Flad: –was sent to a convent in France. So a Jewish girl sent to a Catholic institution, and she was blamed for the war and has suffered horrific antisemitic abuse. And it scarred her indefinitely. When she came to the United States, she took off the first part of her name, just called herself Via.She died of cancer many years later, and the wounds of that period were still quite evident at the time. I just remember, I have such extraordinary memories of her and what she suffered. And so part of my compassion and empathy, which is real, is that this nation state we call Israel was founded as ostensibly a refuge for people like Via and her parents.And this is a nation state founded upon theft of land. And what it meant practically is that 750,000 Palestinians were driven from their ancestral lands, and they and their descendants still to date live in refugee camps, which I was able to visit when I went to the West Bank. These are no longer tents.They're now concrete buildings, but stacked very high, very crowded, very narrow passages for walking, no play space for children. One of the refugee camps I visited in Bethlehem has an entryway that consists of keys welded into an arc, and these are the keys for return. People still possess the keys to their homes they were driven from 75 years ago. So to recognize the terror that took place during the Holocaust in Europe, and then to recognize the consequent suffering that was inflicted upon Palestinians, I think is not simple. Yes, safety, but one thing Baldwin says that stays with me over and over is that Palestinians should not pay for the sins of Europeans.Europeans committed the genocide, the Holocaust, and Palestinians should not have had to pay for that and should not have been driven from their lands to establish what is supposed to be a state of safety. And yet the atrocities being committed by this government and other governments, not saying that this very right-wing government is the only government that has committed atrocities against Palestinians. To say that this is a state of safety for people whose ancestors were exposed to the horrors of the Holocaust is, I think, to be very myopic, very limited. And part of what I'm trying to wrestle with is such deep confusion, like a deep state of confusion of how, if your ancestors have experienced the Holocaust, could you inflict this upon another peoples?So that's some of what I wrestle with in this first chapter is just like—Vince Horn: Yes.Rima Vesely-Flad: —what? And I'm not the only one. Like Ta-Nehisi Coates starts off his book talking about the— the book is called The Message. And he starts off his book saying like, “I just don't get it.” And I feel that too. I just don't get it. But then also, I don't understand this claim to sacred land, and that's part of what's happening with the atrocities in the West Bank in real time. And you know, all of us know it has escalated dramatically in the past few weeks.Vince Horn: Yes.Rima Vesely-Flad: Like even worse than when I was there. And when I was there, that's when the farmers during harvest, the Palestinian farmers during the olive harvest were being terrorized.Vince Horn: Yes.Rima Vesely-Flad: Including many Jewish activists, similarly from the United States and from Israel were being terrorized, all of them. Everyone who was in the fields trying to harvest the olives.Vince Horn: Right.Rima Vesely-Flad: That was happening in October, but now it has escalated dramatically in a city called Nablus and its surrounds.Vince Horn: Yes.Rima Vesely-Flad: I actually went to Nablus. That was one of the places we spent some time.Vince Horn: Yeah. That's where my cousin is based. So yes. Oh, yeah. And I've heard that as well from her. So that's, in recent, like week or two, her house was broken into by the IDF and they destroyed one of the walls and were calling out for someone who they have no idea who it is.Yeah. And just, you know, like that's becoming more just kind of more standard. Like that's just happening all over the place. Yeah.Rima Vesely-Flad: It's becoming normalized.Vince Horn: Normalized, yeah, exactly.Rima Vesely-Flad: That aggression. Yes, so much. And one of the things I just sat with when I went, you know, I was in Jerusalem initially.There is coexistence. It's, you know, people are not separate. They are coexisting in real time. And yet, when I went to the West Bank and, you know, it's like I just don't understand. Jewish refugees were given 51% of the land by initially Britain and the United Nations then in 1948, 1947, 1948.Drove out Palestinians from their ancestral villages into refugee camps. Why do they want more? And one of the things I realized is that the West Bank consists or has many holy sites, both for Palestinians who practice Islam and for Jewish peoples who see these sites also as their holy sites. So I was based in a city called Al-Halil, and there's a mosque there that's called the Tomb of the Patriarchs, and that is one of the holy sites also for Jewish practitioners, people who are adherents.They have built settlements on top of Palestinian buildings, especially in the old village. So I saw all of this actually arrive just as there was an incursion of young people from these settlements into the city of Al-Khalil, which is also called Hebron. In any case, that claim to holy space in the sense, the idea, the narrative that God gave it to a certain peoples who are chosen and therefore all of the land is theirs, something I don't understand. And I have some real hatred— with regards to the atrocities taking place. And I feel that part of my practice is to really own that and feel that in my body, and then to work with it in such a way that it doesn't come out and get directed towards people.But I can feel that. And so part of what it means for me to claim these practices, like you, I'm in the Insight Diaspora, so we likely know many of the same practices. But part of it is working effectively with the body so much so that it's not targeted, it doesn't come out in random ways and cause further harm.But it's a hard practice, and some of what you see in that chapter or read is that muscle being flexed of like, how do I feel without it coming out in a way that causes harm? That is part of the wrestling. That is part of the practice.Vince Horn: Yes. And it's one that I noticed, like in my own training, I didn't get a lot of tools for that in the insight tradition because hatred was sort of like something we're trying to transcend or, you know, like notice and then counteract.That was usually the frame around hatred. It wasn't something like you can actually feel this anger and really feel rage. Like although sometimes people would, I think, give lip service to that, it never felt to me like a culture where people were actually doing that.And so I was just sort of repressing all this rage and sort of like carrying on. And now I realize that the wisdom of what you're saying is like, if you repressed all that rage it goes inward, it goes outward. It is not constructive. It's not generative. It's not healing. It's just kind of like a time bomb ticking.Rima Vesely-Flad: Yeah I think that's so wise. It causes anxiety and depression. It needs a place to land, and part of what I think we're meant to do with this work is cultivate that place to land, but do it in a way that's skillful so that we're not creating more harm. And I don't think that... is harmful, but I think it, when it's not effectively worked with, it does come out sideways, and then it can inadvertently or maybe—Vince Horn: Intentionally even.Rima Vesely-Flad: —intentionally create that. But I think part of it also is recognizing it, giving it space to be named—Vince Horn: Yes.Rima Vesely-Flad: —and legitimizing it. Like, it is a just rage. And hatred— actually Baldwin and Lorde both talk about hatred as corrosive. They talk about how it does actually impact us in ways that are not useful, and it does need to be worked with skillfully.But rage, they both say, comes from the examined life. It comes from legitimate and clear observation of patterns of oppression taking place and experienced in real time. And so that's energy that can be used, that can be directed in fruitful ways. And I think that distinction is really important, and it did inform my own experience of hatred.Of like, “Oh, it's here. How do I work with it in a way that doesn't corrode my spirit or it doesn't corrode relationships that matter to me?”Vince Horn: Yeah. I love what you're saying there. It seems like conflating hatred and rage would be one mistake there, to think like, “Oh, I shouldn't be experiencing this anger or this rage because somehow it's a sign that I'm, like, in this corrosive state of hatred.”But like, oh, it's real, and it's arising in response to something real. Like, I had never seen this quote from James Baldwin about how being a Black American means living with rage all the time everywhere, and that hit me so hard. I'm like, yeah, that's what it feels like as a Palestinian right now. I feel that and have always felt that.I didn't know that's what I was feeling for so many decades. But now that it's out in the open and it's like, oh yeah, like it's just this constant sense of rage at being constantly policed. You know, having your tone of voice policed, your words. Not being able to be a certain kind of emotive or, you know, loud.Like, all these things that are culturally, like what I grew up with. This was like the way that our family was. Like, it's not okay in this larger kind of white culture to display these kinds of things. And so you just like, you gotta tamp it down.Rima Vesely-Flad: And, you know, Foucault would say we learn to police ourselves to discipline ourselves. And I think part of our work then, in terms of recovery, is to name the ways that we self-oppress.Vince Horn: Yes.Rima Vesely-Flad: I would say that's a huge, huge part of my practice, ongoing.Vince Horn: Yes. That makes so much sense because it is, like you're saying, it's internalized.Like, I— yeah, it's like I only need to get a few social signals before I start to realize, ‘cause I'm a socially intelligent being, like we all are. Like, oh, like, this is not okay. And if I continue to do this, there's gonna be kind of repercussions. And I think the bravery and the courage to do it anyway, and to deal with those repercussions, like, that seems to be where your work lives here, and it's a hard place to live.Rima Vesely-Flad: It is hard, yes. I mean, one of the things I also talk about in this book more broadly is that I grew up in a family where I wasn't wanted. My birth was not welcome, and that was something I knew from a very early age. So I learned to adapt. I learned all of these ways of trying to be wanted, trying to be claimed, being exceptional.Vince Horn: Yes.Rima Vesely-Flad: So the idea that I would self-exile is, like, anathema. And that's where I start talking. And part of the way I use Audre Lorde's work in this first chapter in particular is to say, she calls us out, saying, “We must speak remembering we were never meant to survive.” But for me to speak in ways that might be confrontational or perceived as offensive is a very hard edge.But to self-silence is also to betray myself and my people. And that's the edge, right? To speak and to risk exile for someone like me, who has been exiled just because of the way I appeared in the world with dark skin, dark eyes, dark hair, curly hair. And then also to adapt in so many ways that I recognize a level of self-betrayal or a betrayal of the people to whom I'm accountable.And I do consider my people are people of African descent who have been oppressed because of their embodiment in this particular context, which has shunned people of African descent as unworthy, as less intelligent. Has seen a kind of embodiment as inferior. We come up against that. I came up against that in my own family.Vince Horn: Yes.Rima Vesely-Flad: It's a hard edge, and I think part of the work is to actually not be so alone, to find our people, to find people with whom we feel mirrored. That's also hard work, but it has come over time. I have found community, and that matters. And I think part of this work of sangha, which I think in our lineage is not so prioritized—Vince Horn: Right.Rima Vesely-Flad: —but if we take it on intentionally, we can truly honor it as one of the three jewels. Part of our work is really investing in sangha, even when it feels scary or even when it feels like, wow, I have to be held accountable for things that I say that might actually really harm somebody else. But to keep doing that work and to ask for that feedback and that accountability.Vince Horn: Yeah, that strikes me as so true, and I understand why sangha isn't prioritized when you have such an individualistic kind of culture of, you know, meditative achievement and self-work. It's like, oh yeah, well, of course if we're all just focusing on ourselves together, we're not gonna be focused on the bonds that connect us.And yeah, I found that to be a limitation really for many years now in that community. And sort of what drove me to like explore relational practices and other things that felt like they kind of help soften those boundaries and begin to kind of get a felt sense for like what interbeing feels like in real time.It's like this is what it actually is like to be connected to someone or to disconnect or to lose myself in someone else's perspective. I guess I wanted to honor too that like you're talking about all the reasons that one could not speak out even if there's injustice and one wants to speak out on behalf of people they care about and are identified with.That on top of the racial dimension of this, there's also imagine the gendered dimension of this for you as well. Like I see with my wife and other women I know who are raised in a more kind of gendered female way. Like it's just speaking up in general is hard to do. Or it's not something that's encouraged or, you know, people don't have...they're not offered that same level of training often when they're in a female body. So I guess I'm curious like is that also part of what you've had to work with in addition to the racial dimension of this?Rima Vesely-Flad: That's a really good question. I think initially, yes.Like, I was raised to watch and serve and people please. And that's how I got my goods, as my therapist would say. Like, I felt wanted when I—Vince Horn: Right.Rima Vesely-Flad: —gave people what they wanted, and I think that is a very, very gendered experience. I cleaned the house at an early age. I took care of my younger brother.I was with a single mother who worked a lot, so I held things together in the family home. And yes, I think that is a highly gendered experience that I've carried into adulthood. I think I have patterns that I'm still trying to work with around serving and adapting, people pleasing and what have you.I do also feel like there's some corrective, if you will, by becoming an academic. I think in my line of work, having jumped through a thousand hoops, I did three master's degrees, I did a PhD, I learned how to cite research and ask questions and back up and demonstrate. You see it in this book, right?Actually, the book initially was an academic book where I just took on Baldwin and Lorde and tried to show how they illuminate these incredibly important and timeless teachings that we now associate with Buddhism or call Buddhist. And I had a friend and a mentor, Ruth King, say, “Actually, we need your practice in this book.We need this to not just be through the third person, but we actually need your voice in this book,” which was really important and also incredibly hard. But part of why I felt I could take it on is that I was in a world in which I was expected to speak and facilitate, and I think there was a training not necessarily in the broader environment to which you're pointing, but in an academic environment where standing up and giving a talk or a lecture or doing Q&A on the spot was something I learned how to do.So in that way, I think there's more of a sense of, oh, I have this. I can do this. And that feels more, I would say, naturalized, for lack of a better word, just because it's been two decades of doing this so explicitly. And I've loved the academy, you know, being with people who read thick books.And I'm the kind of person, I'll walk into a store and I'll look at the endnotes before I look at the introduction, just ‘cause I wanna know who's cited and, you know, what research are they relying on? And like, who has informed this work? That matters to me even more so than the title or even the introduction.I wanna just know who, what school of thought is this author drawing upon. And I love being with people who also operate in that way. And I have this funny story of being a consultant for a book project for a friend of mine, and we were all taken out to Portland. It was my first time in Portland, and you know, beautiful city.And we hung out and talked and conversed and worked through these chapters, and then we sat in the hot tub and discussed Foucault. And, you know, it's just so, for me, natural to be in an environment where something like that is really fun. And that is, I think, a part of learning how to speak. I think the harder part, and this goes back to the gender question, is having been a Black girl in a white family and trying to figure out how to survive in such hostility.So yes, I do think that's both racialized and gendered kind of experience.Vince Horn: Yeah. Okay. Yeah, makes sense. I hadn't considered the training in academia would be such a sharp training. But it makes sense, yeah, that you'd sort of be expected to be able to receive critique and offer it and speak and debate.Yeah, that... I could see that both being kind of traumatizing and a very good training at the same time.Yeah. I appreciate it so much that you did bring your story into this book as well, because I feel like at least for me as a reader, it gives me something personally to connect with where I can sort of see, like, how the universal becomes personal, you know, in a way. Where it's like all these things that you're describing, and Baldwin and Lorde are describing, like, they make sense to me and I understand it.But then when you describe, you know, your experience of coming up with your grandparents and the specific ways, like not having your picture hanging up with the rest of your cousins, for instance. Like, that specific experience and the way that you shared it just made... It made all of the abstract universal stuff real for me in a way, you know, that I think it sticks with me, and it's like it lands in my heart, you know, in a way that is transformative.So I suspect that's probably true for others as well. So thank you for sharing that.Rima Vesely-Flad: Yeah, I would say that was hard in a way that academic citations and reading for ideas, making arguments is not so hard. Like, it actually comes very naturally. But the harder work of communicating the harm that was done and how I received it, and certainly because I was raised knowing them, my grandparents' rejection of me based on my skin color in particular was, it was deeply traumatizing, and I still work with some of my patterns of adapting, ways that still do not serve me.And then too, and this is something I'm more present with, is my experience of being abandoned by my father. Actually, yesterday was his birthday, August 2nd, also James Baldwin's birthday, and I found myself honoring James Baldwin, and having a really hard time honoring my father, who I had not seen at the time that he passed away for more than 40 years. And I also feel that, and the disconnection not just from him, but also my lineage. And a big part of this book is actually not attempting to reconcile with my grandparents or the members of my family that are still very overtly racist, and there are many, but actually to find my father's people and to cultivate a sense of lineage and belonging through my father's people who came from the Mississippi Delta.My grandmother moved north during the Great Migration, and I am in touch with those family members who descended from her. She's now deceased, but, and my father is also deceased. But to have some sense of connection and being claimed, to have visited the graves of my great-grandparents, in a certain way it's not full circle, but it is a sense of return, and by that I mean return to ancestors, biological ancestors who I now know the names of and have a place to go and now developing relationships with in terms of a broader family system. And those are folks who have claimed me.I, about a month ago, maybe just about three weeks ago, got to talk to the matriarch of my father's family, one of, uh, his youngest... Uh, not my father, I'm sorry. My great-grandparents, their lineage. I was able to speak to one of their youngest daughters, my great-aunt who turned 100 last December.Vince Horn: Wow.Rima Vesely-Flad: Who's now about 100 and a half, and I just think, wow, how amazing to have met her. That she knows my name, that I had some time with her, that she still wants to speak to me on the phone. That she sees me as a way to connect to her sister, my grandmother, who's, as mentioned, deceased. Sometimes I think that healing process is not attempting to reconcile with the people who have denied or rejected your existence, but to find people who claim you and who want to be part of you.I think that also speaks to this broader political environment. It's not about getting accepted by the people who have ideas of your inferiority. It's not about proving that you are, in fact, worthy of X, Y, and Z, but it's actually about claiming and developing and cultivating your own spaces. And I'll say this in a personal way, not so much about being accepted by a dominant white culture community, as much as cultivating the spaces that do feel supportive, in which I am mirrored.And I feel like both Audre Lorde and James Baldwin were oriented that way as well. Like Audre Lorde was part of the second generation women's movement, and they weren't, like, trying to fit into some stereotype of women. They created their own communities, and they had relationships with one another. She was a self-defined lesbian, and was with a community of women who honored their own sexuality and their gender, and who sought a kind of alternative to the broader dominant culture. I think that is so important. And Baldwin, as a gay man too, was oriented towards honoring his own sexuality and creating communities that essentially I don't want to use the word affirmed in, like, a tidy way, but just said, like, all of you, every part of you is welcome here.Vince Horn: Yes.Rima Vesely-Flad: And so I do think that is incumbent upon us as well, not to look for acceptance, not to be claimed, but rather to invest in communities that we want to be part of.Vince Horn: Yeah. So it's like you're getting your belonging needs met by creating or finding the kind of community that you can be yourself there and not have to be constantly seeking external validation from a culture that's not going to validate you, or probably not for the next few decades at least. Rima Vesely-Flad: We could even say that within our insight lineages.Vince Horn: Yeah, absolutely. I guess that's the need for diasporas is rooted there. You know, finding... I remember the early community of people I hung out with were mostly people that were unabashedly interested in, like, mastering the states and stages of the path, which is a weird thing to say now ‘cause that's not where I am at all.But yeah, it was like a subculture of people who were like, “Yeah, we're really interested in hardcore meditation.” And that wasn't the scene in the insight tradition. It was more like healing and kind of long-term retreat. So yeah, I can absolutely relate to what you're saying. I'm curious to go back a little to the part of the book where you talk about karma.Because this is, I think this is an area where I've always struggled with early Buddhist teachings. And I remember the first class I took at Naropa on the first turning with Judith Simmer-Brown. We really explored karma in depth there, and it became clear to me, like the early Buddhist vision of karma was very individualistic.It was like you are the cause of— it was primarily putting everything back onto the individual. So I thought it was interesting when you're trying to bridge that with collective understanding of karma as well, and seemed like you're trying to hold both the individual and collective perspectives together, like not kind of falling into one or the other.But I always found early Buddhism was like collapsed straight into the individual perspective. So I'm curious, like how do you work with... Is that true from your point of view and from, you know, your scholarship? And like how do you then work with a tradition that seems to be, I don't know, hyper individualistic when there are also deep teachings on interdependence and interbeing you can find in the tradition as well, though I haven't found them as prominently in the early Buddhist tradition.Rima Vesely-Flad: I think that's true. I mean, the sutta that I rely on at the beginning of the chapter, which I can put into the chat if that's helpful, is one of the few that explicitly says, oh, and there are other causes and conditions for suffering, and I actually, I'll read that.Vince Horn: That's cool. So it is there.Rima Vesely-Flad: Yeah. It's, so it's an early Buddhist teaching or sutta, the Moliyasivaka Sutta, and it says, “Bile, phlegm, and also wind.” So our bodies, what's around us, “imbalance and climate too—”Vince Horn: Wow.Rima Vesely-Flad: —”carelessness and assault, with karma result as the eighth.”And it's saying these are all reasons for suffering. But it's true. It's one of the few suttas that explicitly acknowledges causes and conditions as sources of suffering. Where I delve into collective karma is, it's true, I found it less in early Buddhism, more in Mahayana Buddhism, the focus on language actually.The fact that we come of age as very small beings and learn language, and our language is collective. We are learning certain meanings along with certain phrases, and that is collectively formed, and that is a part of our thoughts. That is something that a number of scholars within the Mahayana Buddhist lineage talk about in many very complex texts over actually several centuries.So it is to say that we find that less in early Buddhism, but we do find that, and it's with that analysis in mind that I talk about the fact that we are shaped by the collective, and also that we have agency.Some of the gleanings I have towards how we might employ karma in a very constructive way come from postmodern thinkers who claim Buddhism, but who are also broadly read with thinkers such as Marx, thinkers such as Foucault, and, you know, people who are making connections in ways that, of course, are very far removed from early Buddhism.But one of the things that is drawn out by now a wide range of postmodern Buddhist scholars, so people who both practice Buddhism and are scholars of Buddhist teachings, is that we have agency. We're not simply beholden to actions of the past or even the collective, that we actually can practice and cultivate our thoughts, cultivate our words, cultivate our actions in a way that allows us to break free of patterns that are harmful or do not serve us. So that's where I go with that chapter on karma.Vince Horn: Yeah.Rima Vesely-Flad: Wanting to say we inherit so much, and we do. We inherit language. We also inherit culture. We inherit ways of thinking, and it's hard to see that because we swim in the waters even as we are inheriting them, yet there is some capacity for agency.Vince Horn: Yes.Rima Vesely-Flad: And that is what we can do. And maybe that's the emphasis in early Buddhism, is that we can work on our minds. We can free our minds from these oppressive patterns.Vince Horn: Yes. Yeah, and that makes so much sense in the context of, like, Indian caste system and the emergence of this, like, other way of living that's kind of outside of that caste system.I mean, it seems like such a powerful move to claim agency when you're in a culture that's, like, so determined by birth and status.Rima Vesely-Flad: Yes.Vince Horn: And then now, but in 21st century America, it feels like in some ways that view prevents moving forward to me with some of the deep learnings that the postmodern theorists have offered us over the last decades, you know, around the way that power gets calcified and ossified in systems, you know, that we're embedded in, in cultures that we are raised in.You know, having grown up here in the rural South, you know, this is a lot of what I've reflected on when it's come to reading works like yours and looking at racialization. Is like how I can't separate myself out from the place that I came up in. And I can see even with a Palestinian mixed racial household, like I was in a sea of white Southern Baptist Christians mostly.And, like, it had a huge effect on the way I talked and the things I thought were acceptable to say or to think. And, you know, I can even see the ways that I was always... I was trying to bridge the gaps with folks who are different because my grandfather moved into the part of town where the only Black folks in the entire county lived.There were two students in my high school who were Black. They were both... We rode on the bus together. I was quite close friends with one person. And it's like growing up in the small little mini minority space I remember trying to make connections with folks and sometimes just like really messing up and not because of that inculturation.I remember one time I wanted to share this story, which I've never shared before. Which I think it... I want to meet you in your vulnerability here because you shared so much in the book. But I remember a friend of mine had a friend over, young Black girl, and she was, I forget her name, but she came over.We were hanging out and getting to know each other. And I remember this thing that I said to her as a... Really, my intention was to try to connect. And I said, sometimes me and my family, we're also called “sand,” and then I used the N word. And this was my— and I said it totally smiling, you know, like really assuming this would bridge some gap between us, and that she would see, like, I'm like her.But the impact that it had was totally the opposite. You know, it's like, it really bothered her. She was crying later. My friends were like, “What the heck is wrong with you? Why did you say that?” And I was like, oh my gosh. And it was just such a rude awakening to the reality of race, and I could see that even as an older adult, you know, asking people where they're from to try to connect, when I appear as white, has this impact of really causing people to feel paranoid or feel like I'm coming at them in a way that's racially biased.You know, where I'm trying to, like, figure out where they're from ‘cause they're not from around here, you know, and stuff like that. And I could see how even being well-intentioned when you're trying to connect across difference, it's very easy to, because of ignorance, to really harm people. And I can see that in the community of white Buddhist practitioners, you know, where a lot of very smart and well-intentioned people, as they engage with this work, like, we struggle to figure out how to do that in a way that's not perpetuating harm on a racial basis.It seems safer to just not talk about it sometimes. And I can see that this is a real problem. Like, it prevents learning and it prevents people from being able to kind of see their own conditioning and kind of acknowledge like, oh, this is really ugly. You know, it's really ugly that I thought it was okay to just, like, use that language and that it wouldn't have that kind of impact.Like, I thought for some reason it was neutral.Rima Vesely-Flad: Yeah. Yeah, that, I think that does speak to what we were just talking about with regards to karma and language and how we are socialized, how we inherit so much, and how even a word that has been weaponized with such vitriol and hatred over centuries in real time is still like a brick at the body.Like, it can land and it's almost... Yeah, I could even feel, like your reference to it, just how it landed, ‘cause it's still such a powerful word, and it does point to the fact that we do exist in conditions of such hatred and violence, that we are landed upon all the time, and we have to figure out, like, how to acknowledge that in ways that don't take us under or, frankly, if this is wanted on all sides, create rupture so that there can't be a way forward to acknowledge the weight of what's taken place.And I think for people who have had that hatred— and again, I'm thinking of both Baldwin and Lorde speaking to this with such clarity and self-empathy. For that hatred to be received over and over, especially in early years, but not exclusively in early years, and to have ways to acknowledge it and to come out of it, I think is something that we are all called to do.And to maybe to, and I say this with real tenderness, ‘cause I am still learning and asking for feedback all the time. With some tenderness to, if you notice that something has been, that some harm has taken place, that something has caused rupture, or if you're told that by other people to go in, not with some sense of defensiveness or a sense of needing to explain yourself, or even needing to clarify your intention, but to come in and to say with real humility, “I'm sorry, and I want to know what this is for you, and it matters to me that your inner being, that your wellbeing is cared for.”That's what matters. And actually, I had a moment a couple of weeks ago, not even quite that long, where I said something quite offensive to a friend of mine, and I noticed. I just— you know, noticed by reading facial expressions, and this is part of our work too, right? To observe. And so I asked, and was able to receive some feedback and to really hear it.And I think something that I struggle with, and I imagine for you, Vince, this is real as well, is we both are parenting young kiddos. You have an 11-year-old, I have a 10-year-old, about to be 11. We are really busy. We're running households, and I think some of what I come up against in my own work is, where is the time to do that inner work of reflecting, processing, synthesizing how we might have created harm, returning to the relationship?Like, where is the time to really do that? And that is something I'm sitting with, is if I have said something or not said something and it has created harm, where is the space to process that? And so this practice of sitting every day, of taking refuge, creating a kind of consistent place to land every day, I think that is some of the work as well, is to have a place where we can receive ourselves and how we are working with that harm that we have imputed upon someone else.And that's a big part of the practice as well for me, is just to create that level of consistency. And to feel into that remorse, to feel into that regret, to feel how it lands with us, and to hope that we might be able to convey that and to be received. And we don't always know. We can put ourselves out there.We may not be received, but just to have that sincerity of approach and to not make it about us, but to really focus on how it has landed for the other person, and then in our own practice to do our work. I think that, for me anyway, has been a way forward. Not that I could write a rule book or some set of instructions. I would not say that. But, you know, I take real guidance from Audre Lorde who said, like, “It's on me to see my heel print on another woman's face.” I have to do my own work even if I do self-identify as someone who has had that level of systemic and interpersonal harm coming at me.I'm also in a place where I can oppress other people. I'm doing real harm for other people. And it's not one or the other. It's not simplistic, but it involves a level, I think, of spiritual and emotional maturity to really see that for ourselves and to be open to whatever has arisen and whatever harm has been done, and then to be accountable, to put ourselves in a position of being accountable to a group or to another person it is really hard work. Really very hard work.Vince Horn: Yeah. Yeah. At the same time, I mean, I can see that's the only way to gain in wisdom is to be able to do that work and then be like, “Oh, yeah, now I know better. You know, I know a little better how to engage or be with folks in a way that's not gonna cause as much harm.It's going to, you know, support others.” So yeah, thank you for talking to me today and for exploring this with us here in the Insight Diaspora. I wanted to mention, too, that you're very generously offering up sort of in-depth content around this for sanghas and other communities and leaders that are kind of interested in bringing this work into their communities.I don't know if you wanted to mention that for those that are listening and might want to reach out to you and explore that.Rima Vesely-Flad: Oh, yes. And I can put... I have a couple of things I want to put in the chat, but I can put my website in, and the bottom of the page are these offerings. Yeah, so—Vince Horn: Please.Rima Vesely-Flad: I have recorded a number of Dharma talks, eight Dharma talks with two practices based on the book. And the hope is that this is a self-guided course, but the hope is that people can both listen and then practice. And the hope is in community that actually that can happen. And still trying to figure out exactly how to essentially package all of that.But at the moment, people can register for a self-guided course and listen to Dharma talks, some of which come from the book and are somewhat expanded, and some of which come from other work I've done. So there's one called The Dharma of James Baldwin and Audre Lorde, and then there are three that will be offered live with a good friend of mine, Rashid Hughes, who has put together a practice he refers to as rest.He is a lovely human. He's done restorative justice work for a long time. He also has a Master of Divinity degree and leads a sangha in DC. And so Rashid will offer practice spaces live, and I will record Dharma talks. The next one is called Buddhism and Black Liberation. That comes from a book I published in 2022.And then there will be one offered in January called The Discipline of Liberation, and I think that's my next project. I'm just starting to get my head around it, but it's informed and guided by the writings of bell hooks.And then there will be one that actually points to exactly what we were just talking about with regards to harm and conflict and how to work with it internally and how to be in community, and I think a lot of us don't have that training, and I'm still someone, even now, who if I receive something in a hard way, I will go to my cushion before I'll go to another person.And maybe that's okay, except if I don't ever get off the cushion and go to that person, that's not okay. So really trying to, this is in real time, also trying to learn, like, how to have these harder conversations and do repair. That's really what I'm pointing to, how to do repair effectively so that there isn't only rupture, but there's a relationship that's sustained. So there will be one self-guided course. It will open in about a month on Tuesday, September 1st, and then three live classes with my friend Rashid, and starting in October, and then in 2027, two classes. And my hope is that we start to create some spaces that are trainings and also collective spaces where we can be guided, especially by, in my case, I'm thinking of Black thinkers, although always in conversation with other lineages, but really wanting to bring the wisdom of Black thinkers to the center of Dharma practice.Vince Horn: Yeah.Rima Vesely-Flad: Palestinian voices as well. I am really invested in that, too. And a friend, Kareem Gandoor, refers to Palestinian dharma, and I think, yes, that really resonates with me.Vince Horn: So yeah, Kareem. I know Kareem. Good stuff. Yeah, I've recently just connected with Mohsen Mawdawi, who is the president of Buddhist Association at Columbia.I think— didn't you do your grad work at Columbia?Rima Vesely-Flad: I did one of those degrees there. Uh-huh. In the same program he was in, yeah.Vince Horn: Uh-huh. Yeah. And it's been so nice to connect with fellow Palestinian Buddhists. All five of us are now connected. So I feel a lot of solidarity with the work that you're doing, and the way that you're centering the wisdom of Black teachers in the Buddhist lineage, bringing that to bear.So thank you so much for that work. I hope you continue doing it for a long time.Rima Vesely-Flad: Well, thank you. It does feel like the right work, and I feel so grateful to be able to do it long term. I mean, that's I think where I'm going here. Actually, being able to work... I'm gonna put my website into the chat.Being able to organize some of these classes is an attempt to make this work more sustainable, in addition to being like it both informs the next project and is an outgrowth of the current project. Get full access to Buddhist Geeks at www.buddhistgeeks.org/subscribe
Welcome back to another episode of the Talk My Credo Podcast!This week, the crew moves from hilarious internet stories into a much deeper conversation about money, family, ownership, and Black liberation.We react to Jay-Z's major New York performance, discuss his evolution from rapper to businessman, and examine what his success represents for the Black community. Does creating individual wealth translate into collective power—or have we confused Black capitalism with Black liberation?The conversation becomes even more personal as the crew breaks down a family conflict involving infidelity and money. Donte shares his own experience with financial disputes within a family, opening an honest discussion about loyalty, entitlement, boundaries, and how money can expose unresolved problems.We also address Memphis Bleek's controversial perspective, the difference between supporting successful Black individuals and building sustainable Black institutions, and what real economic progress should look like for our communities.Before the deeper discussions, we react to a husband ending his relationship after his wife joined Chris Brown onstage, a Jersey Mike's employee standing up to an entitled customer, World Cup celebrations, and plenty of classic TMC shenanigans.In this episode:
What's happening? How did we get here? Where are we on the clock of the world? And where do we go from here? Today—and everyday—we need to ask ourselves deep and fundamental questions in order to continue to develop a dynamic and concrete analysis of concrete conditions—a guide to resistance and action. Surrender is not an option, and living in a perpetual defensive crouch is never the way forward. No. In the words of the legendary organizer Ella Baker, “We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes.” In June, 2026 Bill met up with Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor at Haymarket House for a wide-ranging conversation about this political moment and what the known demands of us now. Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor is a MacArthur Fellow and the Hughes-Rogers Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University. She is the co-founder of Hammer & Hope, a magazine of Black politics and culture, and author of several books: Race for Profit: How Banks and the Real Estate Industry Undermined Black Homeownership, From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation, and How We Get Free: Black Feminism and the Combahee River Collective.
This week your BFF's are joined for a tipsy trip through Black pop culture and history with Brandon Collins, host and creator of "Drunk Black History". We quiz Brandon on the wild, joyful, and downright unbelievable stories he’s uncovered with Drunk Black History and discuss the "that can’t be real moments". We also ask the most important question to date: why is Mary J. Blige so made about them damn chicken wraps? Send us an email with your thoughts/comments about the show: BlackFatFemmePod@gmail.com. Also, don’t forget to watch and subscribe on YouTube! Buy DoctorJonPaul's book here! Follow the show on social: Threads | Instagram | BlueSky | Tik-Tok Follow DoctorJonPaul: Treads | BlueSky | Instagram | Website | Tik-Tok Follow Brandon : See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In this episode, we welcome Lorri Nandrea and Tony Pecinovsky to discuss the book they edited, “Square Up: Building Labor's Power in the Second Gilded Age”— a vital call to arms for the working class from International Publishers. Square Up is a collection of 16 essays bringing together activists, organizers, and rank-and-file trade union leaders to assess the state of labor in the Trump era and chart a path forward for the working class. Also joining the discussion is returning guest Chris Townsend — veteran organizer, former political director of United Electrical Workers (UE), and a driving force behind the Starbucks Workers United campaign — whose on-the-ground experience adds sharp tactical and historical depth to the conversation. The genesis of Square Up, as Pecinovsky explains, grew directly from International Publishers' deliberate effort to expand its left-labor catalog and to spark a discussion within the progressive trade union movement about fighting back against the attacks of the second Trump administration. The conversation addresses the alarming fact that 40% of union members voted for Trump, with Pecinovsky arguing persuasively that these workers are not ideologically committed to MAGA but are seeking community — something the labor movement has largely failed to provide, as union households, factory towns, and civic institutions have collapsed. Townsend points to the failure of union leadership to politically educate members, contrasting the courage of ATU president Larry Hanley, who endorsed Bernie Sanders against the grain, with today's leaders who simply funnel money to the Democratic Party. The episode also explores private equity's predatory role in mobile home parks and rural communities, the lessons of the 1987 International Paper strike in Jay, Maine, the history of the Communist Party's indispensable role in labor organizing from the 1930s through Trade Unionists for Action and Democracy (TUAD), and the urgent need to frame immigration as a class struggle issue rather than a culture war one. Lorri Nandrea is a writer, organizer, and author. She has a background in wide-ranging working-class experience — having worked as a waitress, barista, pizza cook, punch-press operator, and gas-station attendant before earning a PhD in English from Northwestern University — and has spent her career connecting academic analysis to grassroots activism. She writes regularly for People's World and the Communist Party USA, covering labor, climate, and racial justice issues. Tony Pecinovsky is the President of International Publishers, the storied left-labor publishing house with a century-long history of bringing Marxist and labor literature to American readers. He is the author of "Let Them Tremble: Biographical Interventions Marking 100 Years of the Communist Party, USA," co-editor of "Faith in the Masses," and author of "The Cancer of Colonialism: W. Alphaeus Hunton, Black Liberation, and the Daily Worker, 1944–1946." A community activist and prolific writer, he contributes regularly to People's World, Black Perspectives, American Communist History, and the St. Louis Labor Tribune, and speaks frequently on college campuses across the country. Chris Townsend is a veteran labor organizer with nearly five decades of experience across four unions — UE (United Electrical Workers), the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU), the Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). He served as Political Action Director for UE for 25 years before retiring in 2013 and later helped found the Inside Organizer School at ATU, which became the launchpad for the Starbucks Workers United movement — sending the first wave of union salts into Buffalo stores and igniting a campaign that has now organized nearly 700 locations nationwide. Resources: Order the book: https://www.intpubnyc.com/browse/square-up-building-labors-power-in-the-second-gilded-age/ International Publishers webpage: https://www.intpubnyc.com/ Greg's Blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/ Pat's Substack: https://patcummings.substack.com/ #SquareUp #LaborPower #SecondGildedAge #UnionStrong #LaborMovement #WorkersRights #OrganizeNow #StarbucksWorkersUnited #AmazonWorkers #TonyPecinovsky #InternationalPublishers #CPUSA #LorriNandrea #ChrisTownsend #GrassrootsOrganizing #TradeUnions #AFLCIO #LaborLeft #SaltingUnions #LaborPodcast #ProgressivePolitics #UnionOrganizing#WageInequality #LivingWage #MobileHomePark #PatCummings #PatrickCummings #GregGodels #ZZBlog #ComingFromLeftField #ComingFromLeftFieldPodcast #zzblog #mltoday
In the decades after becoming the first Black US citizen to receive his PhD from Harvard, W.E.B. Du Bois helped transform sociology from theory and speculation to a social science rooted in rigorous methodology and hard data. But despite conducting groundbreaking research, particularly on the lives of Black people, Du Bois chose to leave the academy and become an activist, co-founding the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. What inspired him to make the change? And what can we learn today from Du Bois's research, his writing, and his life during our own time of white backlash? The Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer David Levering Lewis joins us for part two of our look at the life of the early 20th century's leading intellectual and spokesperson for Black liberation. (A word of caution: Several minutes into the show, Professor Levering Lewis describes an episode of racist violence. We have preserved that portion of the conversation, rather than editing it out, because it describes a turning point in Du Bois's life and career.)
On this episode, the Cold War Cinema crew is joined by director, writer, and producer Adam McKay to discuss John Frankenheimer's paranoid, psychological thriller Seconds (1966). McKay has written and directed many celebrated feature films such as Anchorman (2004), Talladega Nights (2006), Step Brothers (2008), The Big Short (2015), Vice (2018), Don't Look Up (2021), and numerous others. Prior to this, McKay was a founding member of the Upright Citizens Brigade in the early 1990s, and head writer for Saturday Night Live from 1995 to 2001. In 2019, McKay founded Hyperobject Industries, and has served as the executive producer of HBO's Succession (2019–2023), Game Theory with Bomani Jones (2022–2023), and, most recently, The Chair Company (2025) starring Tim Robinson. Synopsis of the film: Middle-aged banker Arthur Hamilton (John Randolph) feels trapped in a life that has calcified into routine and regret. When he receives a phone call from an old friend who he thought was long dead, and a shadowy organization known simply as "the Company" offers him the ultimate second chance, he fakes his death, and undergoes radical surgery to assume a new identity. Reborn as artist Tony Wilson (Rock Hudson), he's given youth, wealth, and access to a new bohemian lifestyle on a seaside in Malibu. While his transformation at first feels intoxicating, the promise of freedom begins to fray and ultimately fracture. As Tony struggles to inhabit his new self, paranoia creeps in and the illusion of choice gives way to something far more unsettling. Shot in stark black-and-white with disorienting lenses and claustrophobic compositions, Seconds is less a sci-fi fantasy than an existential nightmare—an unsettling meditation on identity, conformity, and the seductive lie that starting over can save us from who we are. On this episode we discuss: McKay's work as a comedian, comedy writer, and filmmaker, his political and cinematic influences, the paranoid style of filmmaking in the 1960s, satire, the looming specter of climate apocalypse, why the world needs a Ho Chi Minh biopic, and much more. _____________________ We love to give book or film recommendations on the podcast, so here are ours for this episode: Adam: Jafar Panahi's It Was Just an Accident (2025) and Andrey Zvyagintsev's Leviathan (2014) Paul: A Little Solitaire: John Frankenheimer and American Film by Murray Pomerance and R. Barton Palmer Anthony Ballas: The Black Race by Ho Chi Minh by Dai Trang Nguyen and "Ho Chi Minh and Black Liberation" by Gerald Horne and Anthony Ballas. Jason: John Frankenheimer's Seven Days in May (1964). _____________________ Like and subscribe to Cold War Cinema, and don't forget to leave us a review! Want to continue the conversation? Drop us a line at any time at coldwarcinemapod@gmail.com. To stay up to date on Cold War Cinema, follow along at coldwarcinema.com, or find us online on Bluesky @coldwarcinema.com or on X at @Cold_War_Cinema. For more from your hosts and guest: Follow Adam on Instagram @mr.ghostpanther, or on Bluesky @ghostpanther.bsky.social, Follow Jason on Bluesky @JasonAChristian.bsky.social, or on Letterboxed at @exilemagic. Follow Anthony on Bluesky @tonyjballas.bsky.social, on X @tonyjballas, or on Letterboxed @tonyjballas. Follow Paul on Bluesky @ptklein.com, or on Letterboxed @ptklein. Paul also writes about movies at www.howotreadmovies.com Logo by Jason Christian Theme music by DYAD (Charles Ballas and Jeremy Averitt). Happy listening!
Join us in reclaiming our narratives, celebrating our pioneers, and transforming public health through cultural pride. Your power begins with knowing who you are and whose stories you carry.Most Black pioneers in psychology remain invisible or misrepresented—and that erases a vital part of our history and future. This episode reveals how Dr. Robert Lee Williams II defied biased systems, reclaimed his intellectual legacy, and pioneered concepts that challenge dominant narratives—like coining Ebonics and creating the Black Intelligence Test of Cultural Homogeneity.You'll discover how Williams's groundbreaking work disrupted racist testing practices, the real story behind the word Ebonics, and why understanding cultural context is essential for true public health equity. We break down how academic rebranding—like replacing Ebonics with aave *they don't get all caps from me* —acts as cultural erasure, and what it takes for us to reclaim our stories with pride and precision.This isn't just history—it's a blueprint for cultural sovereignty and mental wellness. If you're committed to anti-racism, community empowerment, or understanding the roots of Black intellectual brilliance, this episode offers a masterclass in resilience, radical authenticity, and the power of reframing.Peace, power, and perseverance — this episode is essential listening for those who refuse to be silent or sidelined. Keep your mind sharp and your mindset rooted in sovereignty. Public health is dope. So are you.#BlackHistoryMonth #BlackCulture #PublicHealth #BlackPsychology #Legacy
"What does it matter how present and future races will judge me? I have done my duty. I know my worth. That is enough for me." Jean-Jacques Dessalines's defiant words open this Black History Month episode of Entrepreneurial Appetite—a conversation about the revolutionary leader history tried to erase. Dr. Julia Gaffield, whose discovery of Haiti's Declaration of Independence made international headlines, joins us with special guest host Lloyd Kuykendoll to discuss why Dessalines deserves to be remembered as more than a warrior who secured Haiti's independence. This is the first English-language biography of the man who led the only successful slave revolution in history, and Dr. Gaffield reveals a figure of surprising complexity—loyal, witty, strategic, and deeply human. We explore why historians have overlooked him, what his story teaches us about the full arc of the Haitian Revolution, and why Haiti's Declaration of Independence—which imagined white skin as paper and blood as ink—needs to be read alongside America's founding document. Lloyd brings the passion of a veteran and self-taught historian who knows this work matters, creating moments of genuine emotion and insight. This conversation honors the rigorous work of Black scholars and their allies who are reclaiming our history, one archive at a time. During Black History Month and beyond, this is the scholarship that builds community, promotes intellectualism, and ensures our stories are told right.Support the showhttps://www.patreon.com/c/EA_BookClub
Spirit Rock Meditation Center: dharma talks and meditation instruction
(Spirit Rock Meditation Center)
Every year, Long Beach claims to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.But last year, community leaders said the celebration missed the mark — failing to reflect the core of King's life's work: the liberation of Black people.In response to that criticism, Sixth District Councilmember Suley Saro helped restructure the event, bringing community members into planning committees. A new promotional video was released featuring African American Cultural Center board president Darick Simpson and Dr. Autrilla “Sheba” Gillis of The Sixth.The video emphasizes fairness and inclusion for all residents — but omits any direct reference to Black liberation, Black excellence, Black history, or Black pride, despite these themes being central to Dr. King's legacy and the reason this celebration exists in the first place.Requests for comment sent to Saro's office have gone unanswered. Committee members have voiced concerns — but mostly behind closed doors.So the question remains:Why is it so difficult to explicitly name Black liberation in a celebration honoring Dr. King? And who will fight to change it?This isn't about optics.It's about truth, accountability, and whether Long Beach is willing to honor Dr. King's legacy all year round, without watering it down.
International solidarity is at the heart of our hopes for fundamental, humane change in the US. There can be no revolution in values or in fact if progressive Americans wrap themselves in the myth of “exceptionalism” and stand aside from the global struggles leading the fight against imperialism and for peace and justice. We need to become comrades, standing together—shoulder-to-shoulder against a common enemy and toward a common goal. We join, then, a voluntary association characterized by enthusiasm and joy at being part of something larger than ourselves. We're not allies, functioning in service to, but rather comrades, acting in solidarity with. The biggest obstacle to authentic comradeship in US history—the third rail of American radical politics—is and always has been white supremacy, and tepid work toward International Solidarity and Black freedom. Comradeship in America emerges only from an unconditional embrace of Internationalism and Black Liberation. We are joined in conversation with Martha Biondi, the Lorraine H. Morton Professor of African American Studies and Professor of History at Northwestern University, author of The Black Revolution on Campus; To Stand and Fight: the Struggle for Civil Rights in Postwar New York City, and most recently, We Are Internationalists: Prexy Nesbitt and the Fight for African Liberationand Prexy Nesbitt, a Chicago organizer, engaged scholar, and activist who built (over several decades) international solidarity with African liberation movements fighting against colonialism and apartheid in Mozambique, Angola, and South Africa.
On today's show, guest host Kalonji Changa speaks with Mawuli Davis, renowned civil rights attorney, human rights organizer and author with over 30 years of experience in the Movement for Black Liberation and Whitley Carpenter, Senior Criminal Justice Counsel and Policy Manager for Forward Justice. She focuses on researching, developing and advocating for effective policy changes related to reducing racial disparities in the criminal justice system. Later in the show, we'll chat with Dhoruba bin Wahad, an American political activist and author, former leader of the New York Black Panther Party, and co-founder of the Black Liberation Army. He was one of the Panther 21 defendants charged in 1969 with conspiracy to attack New York City police stations. And finally, we'll speak with Jian White, filmmaker, memory worker, writer & organizer with the Mobilization 4 Mumia and several other affinity groups around Philadelphia, PA. — Subscribe to this podcast: https://plinkhq.com/i/1637968343?to=page Get in touch: lawanddisorder@kpfa.org Follow us on socials @LawAndDis: https://twitter.com/LawAndDis; https://www.instagram.com/lawanddis/ The post National Conference of Black Lawyers, Free Mumia and More w/ Guest Host Kalonji Changa appeared first on KPFA.
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Underground Feed Back Stereo - Brothers Perspective Magazine - Personal Opinion Database - Black Liberation Only Inclusion Sold Separately Black August Resistance Uprising against white aggression in Montgomery Alabama in 2023. Black People suffer in a place many are void of Self Awareness and Dignified Liberation. These project 2025 europeons stole the land by killing the natives of lands but not to share with the original inhabitant or those they enslaved. These tyrants are negative to the core and cant do good. The fight is to know what an oppressor is and how a system operates from this oppression. The euro colonizers designs all the laws to neglect BLACK People from benefiting from the Land. The Black people are enslaved property on stolen land not able to benefit from the life they live! The payback for such atrocities can never be forgiven. Its the mind you must maintain against colonial genocide. This also happens with the endless rejection letters from art galleries etc. No respect to you! Sound Art? Black People Dont Benefit from Slavery! Tune in to these educated brothers as they deliver Personal Opinions for Brothers Perspective Audio Feedback #Reparations #diabetes #75dab #WilliamFroggieJames #lyching #basketball #nyc #fakereligion #war #neverapologize #brooklyn #guncontrol #birthcontrol #gentrification #trump #affirmitiveaction #nokings #criticalracetheory #tennessee #stopviolence #blackmusic #marshallact #music #europeanrecoveryprogram #chicago #sense #zantac #rayygunn #blackjobs #southsidechicago #blackart #redlining #maumau #biko70 #chicago #soldout #dei #equality #podcast #PersonalOpinionDataBase #protest #blackart #africanart #gasprices #colonialoppressors #undergroundfeedbackstereo #blackpeople #race #womansbasketball #blackjesus #colonialoppression #blackpeopledontbenefitfromslavery #Montgomery #alabama #foldingchairs #blackrussianjesus #gaza #brothersperspectivemagazine #art #slavery #MUSK #doge #spacex #watergate #thomasjefferson #tariff #project2025 #assatabrothersperspective.com undergroundfeedbackstereo.com feat. art 75dab
Dr. Rachel Ferguson, co-author, “”Black Liberation through the Marketplace” online pharmacy antabuse no prescription pharmacy Work Brings Real Dignity Black Liberation through the Marketplace The post Work and Dignity – Dr. Rachel Ferguson, 9/22/25 (2652) first appeared on Issues, Etc..
In this episode of the International Enneagram Association podcast, we listen to the Endnote presentation by Chichi Agorom from the IEA Global Conference in 2023. Chichi is a certified Enneagram teacher and practitioner, Associate Faculty with the Narrative Enneagram, and holds a Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and a Post-Master's Certificate in Marriage and Family Therapy. Drawing from the theme of the conference–Unite and Ignite–she discusses how the Enneagram can be used as a tool for our collective liberation, drawing from her book, “The Enneagram for Black Liberation.” She explores how motivation behind our behavior and context–social, race, gender, social economics, religion, etc, that impact how we see ourselves and other people–are important for our inner work.Connect with us:Web: internationalenneagram.orgIEA Enneagram Experience 2025: ieaexperience.comJoin the email list: administration@internationalenneagram.orgIEA Conference Proposal Submission Information & Guidelines: internationalenneagram.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/2025-Proposal-Submission-Information-Guidelines.pdfIEA Global Podcast Proposal Submission Form: forms.gle/Q48QXSwQ3zDfDJaJAChichi Agorom:Web: chichiagorom.comBook: The Enneagram for Black LiberationIG: @theenneagramforblackliberationAephoria Partners:Web: aephoriapartners.comFB: Aephoria Partners Consulting
In a week when Harvard University marked the first full-throated act of resistance in U.S. higher education against the rising tide of institutionalized Trumpism, we are also reminded—through annual rituals of remembrance—of our enduring struggle for liberation. From the commemoration of Jackie Robinson's debut in Major League Baseball to the District of Columbia's observance of Compensated Emancipation Day, these moments highlight a deeper truth: the fight against limitation and oppression is a fundamental part of life.JOIN KNARRATIVE: https://www.knarrative.com it's the only way to get into #Knubia, where these classes areheld live with a live chat.To shop Go to:TheGlobalMajorityMore from us:Knarrative Twitter: https://twitter.com/knarrative_Knarrative Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/knarrative/In Class with Carr Twitter: https://twitter.com/inclasswithcarrSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Send us comments, suggestions and ideas here! This week's episode began as an investigation into a silly meme and quickly evolved into a crash course into the crossroads where the civil rights movement, Black Liberation Ideology and turn of the century occultism converged to produce the Nation of Islam whos mythic theology details a 6,000 year old big-headed black demiurgic creator being who invented the white race which, in said ideology, is sometimes referred to as “the devil.” In the free side of the show we will discuss the rise of Yakub as described by the Nation of Islam's longtime leader Elijah Mohamed, how aspects of this mythology are active and even pressing in today's cultural landscape and how big pockets of the civil rights movement root structure intersected with popular turn of the century occultism to produce Black Liberation Theology in America. In the extended show we start by indulging our inner history nerd and discover the factual basis upon which Yakub may have been based before settling in with our reading glasses and browse Elijah Mohamed's words in Message to the Blackman of America where the interesting details about Yakub's creations are described in vivid and hilarious detail. Ok, I think you've been thoroughly warned. Thank you and enjoy the show! In this week's episode we discuss:Who is Yakub?Kendrick Lamar's Cousin CarlDeuteronomy 28Origins of the Moorish TempleWallace Fard MohamedThe Nation of IslamIn the extended episode available at www.patreon.com/TheWholeRabbit we quite a bit further and discuss:The MoorsMuslim leader Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-MansurThe FezElijah Mohamed's "Message To the Black Man of America"Birth Control and the White RaceThe KKK, Nazi Party and the Nation of IslamWhere to find The Whole Rabbit:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0AnJZhmPzaby04afmEWOAVInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_whole_rabbitTwitter: https://twitter.com/1WholeRabbitOrder Stickers: https://www.stickermule.com/thewholerabbitOther Merchandise: https://thewholerabbit.myspreadshop.com/Music By Spirit Travel Plaza:https://open.spotify.com/artist/30dW3WB1sYofnow7y3V0YoSources:Elijah Mohamed's Message To the Black Man:https://archive.org/details/message-to-the-blackman-elijah-muhammadThe Nation of Islam:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nation_of_IslamKendrick LamarDamn.Support the show
Welcome to the cypher. Audio Nuggets is where you will find a symbiotic force; both the heaviness of the air to breathe, and the light of freedom of liberation. Where human consciousness is alive. Each voice has a moment to spotlight their IT; their shine; their journey; their truth; their gold. Tanesha Grant, Executive Director of Parents Supporting Parents in New York, joins Mining For Gold to co-host this revelatory episode- Black Liberation Community Vigil: What is Freedom and Healing for Stolen Children?The Black Liberation Community are beloved comrades who have come together in a brave, sacred space over the past two years — to laugh, cry, talk shit, hold each other through the pain of losing loved one, to imagine and practice new worlds while abolishing our internalized beliefs, and loving on each other in ALL Black. This practice supports our collective healing. The Black Liberation Community is live in the cypher to publicize a vigil as a part of our duty and commitment to Stolen Children's Month. We are joined by Edwin from Iowa, Samara from Arizona, Latoya from Arkansas and Courtney from Washington DC. In the background, America celebrates freedom and independence while carcerality reigns, and imperialism continues to inflict horrific family separation. As you listen, you will feel the beautiful rhythm and the vibrations of the Black Liberation Community coming together to reclaim our liberated rights. To heal…to love…to commune...to challenge…and to grow.This show is part of the SafeCamp Audio podcast network. Learn more at SafeCampAudio.org.
Send us a textThis discussion addresses the intersection between radical politics and advancing an agenda of economic justice from a lens of Black Liberation.Support the showIn Search of Black Power is a Black-owned internet show and podcast. This podcast is sponsored and produced by Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle (LBS). The internet show is published in collaboration with Black Liberation Media (BLM)
Intro: Feedback: Quote of the Week: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Strategies for Black Power: Black Liberation Through Strategic Economic Empowerment Unmasking the News: Update on Democracy: Trump's Assault on Democracy: A Critical Analysis of Systemic Erosion: GOP Grift Exposed: The Christian Assassin: Good News Story: We Own Our Future: Bible Study with an Atheist: Contradictions and Immorality in the Bible: Reflections and Call to Action:Outro: Sources:https://www.independent.co.uk/tv/news/barack-obama-democracy-warning-us-trump-video-b2773879.htmlhttps://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/trump-laughing-all-the-way-to-the-bank-as-he-takes-grift-to-a-new-level/ar-AA1H9waPhttps://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/19/opinion/minnesota-killings-boelter.htmlhttps://thegrio.com/2025/06/19/as-dei-disappears-from-major-retailers-shop-red-bag-gives-black-owned-brands-a-new-home/Power Concedes Nothing without a Demand...
On this new episode of THE POLITICRAT daily podcast Omar Moore celebrates, honors and chronicles Juneteenth and its history--exactly 160 years ago today. Plus: A luta continua (the struggle continues.) And: A look back at "No Kings" with some very important audio you simply cannot afford to miss. A very important and edifying edition of The Politicrat. Next. STOP THE BIG B.S. BILL: Call your U.S. senators -- especially Republican senators (Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, Bill Cassady, Rand Paul) at 202-224-3121. And call your member of Congress. Do it today!BOOK RECOMMENDATION:"The Counter-Revolution Of 1836: Texas Slavery & Jim Crow And The Roots Of American Fascism", by Prof. Gerald HorneRecorded June 19, 2025.If you would like to contribute financially to The Politicrat: please send money via Zelle to omooresf@gmail.comSocial media:SUBSCRIBE: https://politicrat.substack.comSUBSCRIBE: https://mooreo.substack.comhttps://fanbase.app/popcornreel(Invest in Fanbase now! https://startengine.com/fanbase)https://spoutible.com/popcornreelhttps://popcornreel.bsky.socialAnd spill.com (@popcornreel)Black-owned media matters: (Watch Roland Martin Unfiltered daily M-F 6-8pm Eastern)https://youtube.com/rolandsmartin Download the Black Star Network app
We welcome back Savannah Romero for her second appearance on our podcast and welcome Trevor Smith, cofounders of BLIS Collective, the Black Liberation and Indigenous Sovereignty Collective. We discuss Land Back, Reparations, Story telling…and TRUTH telling, all as methods for how we get our people free!
Today's topic and subject matter is a tough one. I'm talking with my friend David Gate. David is a writer and poet. He has a new book releasing in 2025 called A Rebellion of Care. But David also has a long history as a worship leader, songwriter, and artist. David wrote an article recently in […] The post #358: Two White Guys Talking About The Black Church, Black Music, & Black Liberation (An Interview with David Gate) appeared first on Beyond Sunday Worship.
They were the perfect weapon against racism, but it was dangerous. If they got caught, they would lose their jobs – or perhaps their lives. This secret group fought for our rights, and we never even knew they existed! Who were they? _____________ 2-Minute Black History is produced by PushBlack, the nation's largest non-profit Black media company. PushBlack exists to amplify the stories of Black history you didn't learn in school. You make PushBlack happen with your contributions at BlackHistoryYear.com — most people donate $10 a month, but every dollar makes a difference. If this episode moved you, share it with your people! Thanks for supporting the work. The production team for this podcast includes Cydney Smith, Len Webb, and Lilly Workneh. Our editors are Lance John and Avery Phillips from Gifted Sounds Network. Julian Walker serves as executive producer." To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Join us in this workshop from the 2025 Bay Area Retreat. We had conversation on how music enriches our program of recovery and had a chance to participate in a live music jam! Media referenced in this episode: This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession by Daniel J. Levitin PBS Documentary: We Want The Funk! A History of Funk and Black Liberation of the 1970s: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrgV35cBHVs Sinners Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7joulECTx_U YouTube Links to music in this episode (used for educational purposes): Music Jam songs: first song (?), Blue Bossa, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, The Ocean, Wild Horses, Girl From Ipanema The J.B.'s - Doing It To Death (Funky Good Time): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zu6s9t0iFSg The J.B.'s - The Grunt pt.1 & 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmwcYRZUPYE Public Enemy - Rebel Without A Pause: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fN5RX15Zhw Public Enemy - Night Of The Living Baseheads: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-J4llCWp7Q Black Eyed Peas - Labor Day (It's A Holiday): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vSvr2q5B0k Funk Factory - Rien Ne Va Plus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aW6yTSvrdo Beasite Boys - Car Thief: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaUZpqSylkg Miles Caton - I Lied To You: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGJlfjRUb1s Ludwig Göransson - Magic What We Do (Surreal Montage): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgUXt1bq6Fk Be sure to reach us via email: feedback@sexaddictsrecoverypod.com If you are comfortable and interested in being a guest or panelist, please feel free to contact me. jason@sexaddictsrecoverypod.com SARPodcast YouTube Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLn0dcZg-Ou7giI4YkXGXsBWDHJgtymw9q To find meetings in the San Francisco Bay Area, be sure to visit: https://www.bayareasaa.org/meetings To find meetings in the your local area or online, be sure to visit the main SAA website: https://saa-recovery.org/meetings/ The content of this podcast has not been approved by and may not reflect the opinions or policies of the ISO of SAA, Inc.
ORIGINALLY RELEASED Feb 24, 2019 Chuka Ejeckam joins Breht to discuss and pay homage to the Black Panther Party leader and Marxist Revolutionary, Fred Hampton. Fred Hampton was more than a charismatic leader—he was a revolutionary force of nature. In this episode, we explore the life, work, and assassination of the legendary Black Panther Party leader who united poor and working-class people across racial lines, organized tirelessly for liberation, and paid the ultimate price for daring to challenge the power structure. From the Free Breakfast Program to the Rainbow Coalition, we reflect on the enduring relevance of Hampton's organizing, his dialectical brilliance, and the fire he lit that continues to burn in struggles for liberation today. Find and support Chuka and his work here: http://www.chukaejeckam.com/ ---------------------------------------------------- Support Rev Left and get access to bonus episodes: www.patreon.com/revleftradio Make a one-time donation to Rev Left at BuyMeACoffee.com/revleftradio Follow, Subscribe, & Learn more about Rev Left Radio HERE Outro Beat Prod. by flip da hood
In this powerful episode of the Sumud Podcast, we sit down with Dr. Butch Ware, public intellectual, artist, activist, and former U.S. Vice Presidential candidate. From his upbringing in DC and Minneapolis to his deep immersion in West African Islamic traditions, Dr. Ware weaves personal stories with global liberation movements to deliver a compelling call to resist imperialism and build collective healing. He shares how Zionism functions as the last breath of white supremacist settler colonialism, the importance of faith, and the urgent need to reclaim spiritual resistance as a tool of decolonization. We also explore his deeply personal journey into Islam through Malcolm X, his academic work including The Walking Qur'an, and his bold political vision for restorative justice and unity across humanity. This episode is for educational purposes only. It provides historical and political analysis to inform and educate viewers.
ORIGINALLY RELEASED Aug 1, 2019 Chuka Ejeckam joins Breht to discuss the one and only Malcolm X. In this episode, we honor the life, legacy, and radical clarity of Malcolm X, one of the most fearless and honorable figures in the struggle for Black liberation. From his early years shaped by systemic racism and incarceration, to his rise as a powerful voice within the Nation of Islam, and finally to his global awakening and revolutionary vision in the last years of his life—we trace the evolution of a profoundly courageous man who refused to be silenced. We dive into his speeches, his politics, his personal life, and the enduring impact of his message: one of dignity, self-determination, and uncompromising truth. Find Chuka and his work here: http://www.chukaejeckam.com/ If you liked this episode, check out our other episode on Fred Hampton featuring Chuka here: http://revolutionaryleftradio.libsyn.com/fred-hampton ---------------------------------------------------- Support Rev Left and get access to bonus episodes: www.patreon.com/revleftradio Make a one-time donation to Rev Left at BuyMeACoffee.com/revleftradio Follow, Subscribe, & Learn more about Rev Left Radio HERE Outro Beat Prod. by flip da hood
ORIGINALLY RELEASED Jan 8, 2024 Dr. Joy James joins Breht and PM for the third installment of Rev Left's ongoing Du Bois series, but this conversation goes well beyond the life and work of Du Bois to cover James' newest book, her long history of organizing, the history of black liberation struggles in the US, and much more. Together, they discuss George Jackson, James' concept of the Captive Maternal, Erica Garner, "New Bones Abolition", Marxism, black history, Ida B. Wells, and much more. Overall its a wide-ranging conversation with an incredibly wise and experienced revolutionary intellectual. Dr. James is Ebenezer Fitch Professor of Humanities at Williams College. Her book is New Bones Abolition: Captive Maternal Agency and the (After)life of Erica Garner. Proceeds from New Bones Abolition: Captive Maternal Agency and the (After)Life of Erica Garner go to Prison Radio. Follow PM on IG ---------------------------------------------------- Support Rev Left and get access to bonus episodes: www.patreon.com/revleftradio Make a one-time donation to Rev Left at BuyMeACoffee.com/revleftradio Follow, Subscribe, & Learn more about Rev Left Radio HERE Outro Beat Prod. by flip da hood
Get ready for an engaging session with clinical psychologist Dr. Jerome E. Fox this Thursday morning. He’s the author of the acclaimed workbook, “Addicted to White: The Oppressed in League with the Oppressor – A Shame-Based Alliance.” Dr. Fox boldly asserts that there are five core values associated with whiteness that many Black individuals inadvertently cling to, which reinforces the system of white supremacy. Before Dr. Fox takes the stage, civil rights activist and attorney Barbra Arnwine will share her powerful insights. Prior to her presentation, holistic doctor and restaurateur Dr. Baruch will offer some alternative meal options for the upcoming Holy Week.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
With this episode of Guerrilla History, we launch into Pan-Africanism as a great additional starting point to our series on African Revolutions and Decolonization. We bring on two marvelous guests, Prof. Layla Brown and Jacquie Luqman, to discuss the history, theoretical currents, and modern expressions of Pan-Africanism. This is a 2+ hour masterclass, you certainly won't want to miss a moment of it! Also subscribe to our Substack (free!) to keep up to date with what we are doing: guerrillahistory.substack.com Layla Brown is an Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology & Africana Studies and affiliate faculty in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Brown's research focuses on Pan-African, Socialist, and Feminist social movements in Venezuela, the US, and the broader African Diaspora. She is a member of the All-African People's Revolutionary Party (GC), and can be found on twitter @PanAfrikFem_PhD. She also cohosts the Life. Study. Revolution podcast alongside Charisse Burden-Stelly. Jacquie Luqman is a radical activist, journalist, and is a coordinator with Black Alliance for Peace. You can follow some (but not all!) of her writings at Black Agenda Report, and watch her show Luqman Nation on Black Liberation Media. She is on twitter @luqmannation1. Help support the show by signing up to our patreon, where you also will get bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/guerrillahistory
Here's the first half of our recording of Monday's Gaslit Nation Salon with Dr. Lisa Corrigan, author of Prison Power: How Prison Politics Influenced the Movement for Black Liberation, and Black Feelings: Race and Affect in the Long Sixties. Dr. Corrigan is the Director of the Gender Studies Program at the University of Arkansas, and Affiliate Faculty in both African & African American Studies and Latin American and Latino Studies. The full discussion was over two hours, with Dr. Corrigan staying on to answer listeners' questions. Patreon supporters can find the full two-hour video recording of our discussion at Patreon.com/Gaslit. See you at Monday's salon at 4pm ET with Rise and Resist! If you need to channel your rage and grief, especially after this recording, be sure to read Gaslit Nation's book of the month, From Dictatorship to Democracy by Gene Sharp, which has inspired revolts around the world. Consider contributing in any way you can to crucial state races like Josh Weil's campaign in Florida and Judge Susan Crawford for the Wisconsin Supreme Court race. Every act of love and solidarity for our families and communities—whether it's showing up to protests, making calls, or donating what you can—makes a real difference. Gaslit Nation's salon on Monday at 4pm will be co-hosted by Rise and Resist, the protest group haunting Elon Musk's nightmares. Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, ad-free episodes, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit! EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: March 31 4pm ET – Gaslit Nation Book Club: From Dictatorship to Democracy: A Conceptual Framework for Liberation, which informed revolts in Ukraine, the Arab Spring, Hong Kong, and beyond NEW! April 7 4pm ET – Security Committee Presents at the Gaslit Nation Salon. Don't miss it! Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, available on Patreon. Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, available on Patreon. Have you taken Gaslit Nation's HyperNormalization Survey Yet? Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and the first ~40 minutes are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community Show Notes: Meet Dr. Lisa Corrigan https://gender-studies.uark.edu/directory.php?uid=lcorriga Prison Power How Prison Influenced the Movement for Black Liberation https://www.upress.state.ms.us/Books/B/Black-Feelings Black Feelings Race and Affect in the Long Sixties https://www.upress.state.ms.us/Books/B/Black-Feelings Trump and Musk pluck $80M in funding authorized by Congress from NYC's bank account: The federal government took funds from the city's bank account and called it a “clawback” of taxpayer money. A lot of other people would call it stealing. https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/trump-elon-musk-new-york-city-fema-funds-rcna192255 From Dictatorship to Democracy: https://archive.org/details/from_dictatorship_to_democracy_1306_librivox Josh Weil for Congress https://joshweil.us/ Judge Crawford for Wisconsin Supreme Court https://www.crawfordforwi.com/
What's the easiest way for Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin to invade Canada? Simple: Have voters sit out the upcoming election and let Pierre Poilievre become Prime Minister. If you're Canadian—especially if you live abroad—now's the time to get organized. Make sure you and at least five of your family and friends have a plan to vote. Not sure if you're registered? Check here! Voting from abroad? Double-check your registration and make sure you've got everything you need by visiting this link. In this week's Gaslit Nation Canada Super Special, we're joined by the amazing Leigh McGowan from Politics Girl, plus Marcus Kolga, a Canadian writer, filmmaker, and human rights advocate. Marcus is an expert on Russian and Central/Eastern European issues and Kremlin disinformation. He regularly shares his insights in top publications like The Globe and Mail, The Toronto Star, Maclean's, and The Atlantic Council. Marcus also played a crucial role in the Canadian campaign for the Magnitsky human rights sanctions and has helped drive similar efforts in Estonia, Latvia, Sweden, and Australia. His expertise has taken him to testify before parliaments in the UK, Australia, and Canada, covering everything from Russian disinformation to Interpol reform. Currently, he's a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute's Centre for Advancing Canada's Interests Abroad. This week's bonus show will be our live discussion with Dr. Lisa Corrigan, author of Prison Power: How Prison Politics Influenced the Movement for Black Liberation and Black Feelings: Race and Affect in the Long Sixties. Dr. Corrigan is the Director of the Gender Studies Program at the University of Arkansas and also teaches in both African & African American Studies and Latin American and Latino Studies. Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, ad-free episodes, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit! EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: March 17 4pm ET – Dr. Lisa Corrigan joins our Gaslit Nation Salon to discuss America's private prison crisis in an age of fascist scapegoating March 31 4pm ET – Gaslit Nation Book Club: From Dictatorship to Democracy: A Conceptual Framework for Liberation, which informed revolts in Ukraine, the Arab Spring, Hong Kong, and beyond NEW! April 7 4pm ET – Security Committee Presents at the Gaslit Nation Salon. Don't miss it! Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, available on Patreon. Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, available on Patreon. Have you taken Gaslit Nation's HyperNormalization Survey Yet? Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and the first ~40 minutes are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community Show Notes: Ways to Vote in Canada https://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=vot&dir=vote&document=index&lang=e How Canadians Can Vote Abroad https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/living-abroad/elections-faq Meet Politics Girl https://www.politicsgirl.com/ Meet Marcus Kolga https://macdonaldlaurier.ca/cm-expert/marcus-kolga/ Nadia Guerrera for Parkdale–High Park https://nadiaguerrera.ca/ Clip: Dropkick Murphys call out a Nazi at their Boston show https://bsky.app/profile/meidastouch.com/post/3lkhxscnvws2x Clip: Stephen Marche on why the US can't occupy Canada https://bsky.app/profile/jimmyalto.bsky.social/post/3lkgixldo6s2t Want to topple a dictator? Gaslit Nation Book Club: From Dictatorship to Democracy by Gene Sharp https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/480x270/p08qz3w0.jpg.webp
Join us for an insightful morning as Griot Baba Lumumba from Umoja House in Washington, D.C., returns to our classroom on Tuesday to delve into the question: Is understanding our Black history the key to our liberation? Before Baba Lumumba shares his wisdom, economist Dr. Julianne Malveaux will take the mic to evaluate the impact of the Trump administration's economic policies. Before her, Math Guru Akil Parker will provide a valuable check-in, and author Simeon Booker Muhammad will explore the intriguing intersection of UFOs and the Black community.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Send us a textIn his book The Squad, journalist Ryan Grim provides an account of the experiences of “The Squad,” a group of progressive legislators elected to the House of Representatives, as they attempted to govern. Their journey—from election victories to struggles with Republicans and Democratic leadership—is widely praised for its detailed investigation of the electoral and political “inside baseball” of the left. Grim's role as a critical figure in independent left media, through appearances on shows like Breaking Points and his publication Drop Site, further enhances the book's value as a vantage point for those interested in evaluating the rising establishment “Left” as a tool for advancing the interests of Black people and the Black community. It helps readers take stock of where the Left stands, where it might be going, and whether it can serve as a vehicle for achieving the Black community's goals.In conversation with Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle Director of Research Lawrence Grandpre, LBS Director of Public Policy Dayvon Love examines The Squad to uncover critical insights about both the Left and media analysis. Love highlights how the book reveals that, despite high-profile victories over Democratic Party establishment figures, the political Left suffers from a stunning lack of infrastructure. He links this to the Left's general failure to prioritize building political machinery and institutions. Grim's analysis of the Left's frustration with concepts like Tema Okun's “white supremacy culture” reflects the frustrations of grassroots advocates, who have seen anti-racism abstracts used by some to center conversations on personal feelings rather than delivering political outcomes for the communities they claim to serve.However, Love also critiques Grim's analysis, particularly his dismissal of cultural frameworks. In addressing Okun's “white supremacy culture,” Grim, like many on the Left, overcorrects by rejecting tools like African-centered analysis for political work. This is evident in his dismissal of Leonard Jeffries, the uncle of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, whom Grim labels an “antisemite.” This overlooks valid concerns Black community advocates have raised about white advocates monopolizing resources intended for the Black community under the guise of representing their interests. By dismissing such critiques as “antisemitism,” Grim ironically mirrors the tactics he criticizes liberals for using—employing blanket accusations to sideline political conversations that challenge entrenched interests.Support the showIn Search of Black Power is a Black-owned internet show and podcast. This podcast is sponsored and produced by Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle (LBS). The internet show is published in collaboration with Black Liberation Media (BLM)
In this episode, we speak with Darryl Li about some of his essays. We begin by discussing his work and experiences in Palestine. His transformation from an NGO worker in the early 2000s to a scholar and political activist. Li explores the interpolation of Jewishness into a racial category globally. He also explores the Law of Return, which allows any Jew in the world to not only settle in Israel but also to enjoy superior rights to the land than Palestinians. The conversation covers the evolution of Palestinian armed resistance, particularly in Gaza, and the shift in Israeli strategies from direct occupation to economic strangulation and remote control bombardment. Li explains how Israel's reliance on Palestinian labor has fluctuated, leading to the importation of migrant workers from other countries, which weakened Palestinian leverage in resistance negotiations. He also addresses the impact of the Oslo Accords, which created the Palestinian Authority, and how it has undermined anti-Zionist critique by implicitly accepting Zionism. Additionally, Li touches on the intersection of the black freedom struggle and Jewish assimilation in the U.S., noting how Holocaust memory culture—in service of zionist imperialism—has helped elevate anti-Semitism above other forms of racial, ethnic, and religious antagonisms. Darryl Li is active in Palestine solidarity work in the United States as an organizer, lawyer, and writer. He lived in the Gaza Strip from 2001 to 2002 and made regular visits until 2011 working for various NGOs, especially the Gaza-based Palestinian Center for Human Rights. Darryl's day job is teaching anthropology at the University of Chicago. He is the author of The Universal Enemy: Jihad, Empire, and the Challenge of Solidarity (Stanford University Press 2020). To support our work please become a patron of the show for as little as $1 per month at patreon.com/millennialsarekillingcapitalism Links: On Law and Racial Capitalism in Palestine Disengagement and the Frontiers of Zionism The Rise and Fall of Baby Boomer Zionism
On this final episode of season 2, Nick Tilsen talks with Jason Sole to discuss what being an abolitionist means, the origins of FTP, how the LANDBACK movement and Black Liberation are required for our collective liberation, and that Black and Indigenous solidarity is a practice that we need to build within our movements. ABOUT JASON SOLE: Jason, formerly incarcerated, is an abolitionist. He has been a criminal justice educator for over 12 years and has been a national restorative justice trainer since 2008, In 2019, he received the John Legend “Can't Just Preach” award for his work to abolish prisons. In addition, Jason is the co-founder of the Humanize My Hoodie Movement in which he challenges threat perceptions about Black people through clothing, art exhibitions, documentary screenings, and workshops. ✊
Join us for an engaging session with Griot Baba Lumumba, who will challenge us with insightful discussions. This time he will delve into the crucial topic of how ego often hinders Black Liberation. Before Baba Lumumba, DC activist Dr. Kokayi Patterson will provide updates on the ongoing efforts to free Imam Jamil Abdullah al-Amin, also known as H. Rap Brown. Additionally, Brother Obie will bring you the latest news straight from Cuba. How Do You Know When You’re in a Relationship With a Narcissist? Each Nation In The Caribbean Top Places To Travel Each Month Of 2025! The Big Show starts at 6 am ET, 5 am CT, 3 am PT, and 11 am BST Listen Live on WOL 95.9 FM & 1450 AM, woldcnews.com, the WOL DC NEWS app, WOLB 1010 AM or wolbbaltimore.com. Call 800 450 7876 to participate on The Carl Nelson Show! Tune in every morning to join the conversation and learn more about issues impacting our community. All programs are available for free on your favorite podcast platform. Follow the programs on Twitter & Instagram and watch your Black Ideas come to life!✊
Historian Gerald Horne returns to the show to discuss his new book, Armed Struggle?: Panthers & Communists; Black Nationalists and Liberals in Southern California through the Sixties and Seventies. "Rotten History" follows the interview. Help keep This Is Hell! completely listener supported and access weekly bonus episodes by subscribing to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thisishell
Clearing the FOG with co-hosts Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese
The Uhuru 3 - Chairman Omali Yeshitela, Penny Hess and Jesse Nevel - will have a sentencing hearing on December 16 in Florida. Failing to find evidence to convict them of violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), the US Government manufactured a charge of conspiring to violate the law by thinking about it. There is no evidence to support this. This conviction creates a new level of state repression. Clearing the FOG speaks with Chairman Yeshitela about the case, the current political environment in the United States, including his opinions on the recent presidential election, and the recent events in the Sahel Region of Africa to decolonize the area. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.
Mainstream society demonizes Black gangs like the Crips, claiming they're violent criminals. But history shows them in a completely different light, and it's time to shed some on the true story behind the infamous organization. _____________ 2-Minute Black History is produced by PushBlack, the nation's largest non-profit Black media company. PushBlack exists to amplify the stories of Black history you didn't learn in school. You make PushBlack happen with your contributions at BlackHistoryYear.com — most people donate $10 a month, but every dollar makes a difference. If this episode moved you, share it with your people! Thanks for supporting the work. The production team for this podcast includes Cydney Smith, Len Webb, and Lilly Workneh. Our editors are Lance John and Avery Phillips from Gifted Sounds Network. Julian Walker serves as executive producer." To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Before the digital age, activists like Ida B. Wells and Frederick Douglass used their writing to expose injustice. Today, in the era of social media, smartphones now serve as powerful tools for counter-investigation—capturing evidence, connecting stories, and reaching diverse communities. How are artists, activists, and everyday people using these methods to fight for truth and justice, and what connection do Wells and Douglass have to this movement? Today's guest has got you covered. Michael Ralph is an anthropologist, filmmaker, and interdisciplinary scholar whose most recent work, a graphic novel called Before 13th, explores the little-known feud between Ida B. Wells and Frederick Douglass, particularly how their collaboration impacted the 13th Amendment and its effect on enslavement and modern-day incarceration. To learn more about our guest, visit www.michaelralph.org Black History Year (BHY) is produced by PushBlack, the nation's largest non-profit Black media company. PushBlack exists to amplify the stories of Black history you didn't learn in school and explore pathways to liberation with people who are leading the way. You make PushBlack happen with your contributions at BlackHistoryYear.com — most people donate $10 a month, but every dollar makes a difference. If this episode moved you, share it with your people! Thanks for supporting the work. Hosting BHY is Darren Wallace. The BHY production team includes Brooke Brown, Amber Davis, Mina Davis, Kevin McFall, Gabby Roberts, and Leslie Taylor-Grover. Our producers are Cydney Smith and Len Webb, who also edits the show. BHY's executive producers are Julian Walker and Lilly Workneh. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Historian Gerald Horne returns to the show to discuss his new book, "Armed Struggle?: Panthers & Communists; Black Nationalists and Liberals in Southern California through the sixties and seventies." "Rotten History" follows the interview. Check out Gerald's book here: https://www.intpubnyc.com/browse/armed-struggle/ Help keep This Is Hell! completely listener supported and access weekly bonus episodes by subscribing to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thisishell
Author Ayana Mathis' new novel, The Unsettled, is an intergenerational story centered around one Black family's struggle to find freedom in the 1980s. Like her previous work, migration and movement are major themes in the book. But this time, her characters are at a crossroads, unsure of their next step in search of self-determination. Mathis joins host Kai Wright to reveal the questions that torment the characters in her gripping novel, and discuss her own journey grappling with those themes.During this episode, Kai refers to a previous episode about our Future of Black History series featuring Saidiya Hartman, which can be found here.This episode was originally published September 25, 2023. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at notes@wnyc.org. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.
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