Podcasts about kpfa

I. Viet Thanh Nguyen on the Roots of Trump's Imperial Ambitions Guest: Viet Thanh Nguyen is a professor of English, American studies and ethnicity, and comparative literature at the University of Southern California. He is the author of the novel The Sympathizer which won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. His article Greater America: Exporting Disunion was featured in the July/August 2025 of the Nation Magazine.   II. The US Bombing of Iran Guest: Phyllis Bennis is co-director of the New Internationalism Project at the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS).  She is the author of several books including Understanding the US-Iran Crisis: A Primer and her latest, Understanding Palestine & Israel.  The post Viet Thanh Nguyen on the Roots of Trump's Imperial Ambitions; Then, US Bombing of Iran appeared first on KPFA.

Will artificial intelligence usher in a world of increasing convenience and productivity, as its boosters claim? Or will AI take away our jobs and risk a robot apocalypse? Scholars Alex Hanna and Emily M. Bender say: neither. They warn us against falling for either version of AI hype and discuss the impact of purported artificial intelligence—chiefly large language models and text-to-image generation–on surveillance and work, education and science. Emily M. Bender and Alex Hanna, The AI Con: How to Fight Big Tech's Hype and Create the Future We Want Harper, 2025 Photo by Igor Omilaev on Unsplash The post Hyping AI appeared first on KPFA.

Deranged “edits” segue into a cascade of echoing glossolaliac madness, the voicing of lyric ruminations from the free-falling brains of disintegrating personalities. The post Puzzling Evidence – June 20, 2025 appeared first on KPFA.

Themed mixes are made live and spontaneously on the air, consisting of found sound of many kinds and from many sources, old and new, put together on the run as the continuous audio collage continues. The post Over the Edge – June 20, 2025 appeared first on KPFA.

00:08 Greg Grandin, Peter V and C. Vann Woodward Professor at Yale, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction; just out with America América: a new history of the new world The post Greg Grandin on America, América appeared first on KPFA.

On today's show: Another Iraq? Military Expert Warns U.S. Has No Real Plan If It joins Israel's War on Iran “Harming Young People”: Chase Strangio on SCOTUS Trans Heathcare Ban and End of LGBTQ Suicide Hotline Australian Writer: I Was Detained, Deported from L.A. Airport for My Reporting on Gaza Campus Protests “More Choices and More Power”: How the Ranked-Choice Ballot Is Changing NYC Elections   The post Democracy Now 6am – June 20, 2025 appeared first on KPFA.

Mycelium Youth Network – Community Day of Action On today's show, Mycelium Youth Network's outside educator and storyteller, Marcy Brown is back to spread the word about their latest community event “Community Day of Action” on Saturday, June 28th.  We'll switch gears and speak to Evlondo Cooper of Media Matters for America on his latest study entitled, “How Broadcast TV News Covered Environmental Justice in  2024”, released on June 16th. The post Mycelium Youth Network & Media Matters For America appeared first on KPFA.

Guest: W. Caleb McDaniel is associate professor of history at Rice University in Houston. He won the Pulitzer price in History in 2020 for his book, Sweet Taste of Liberty: A True Story of Slavery and Restitution in America. Photo: Henrietta Wood was enslaved at Brandon Hall in Mississippi on Wikipedia. The post Henrietta Wood: A Legacy of Slavery and Reparations in America appeared first on KPFA.

Yo team, KPFA station holiday For Juneteenth …. I didn't find a Juneteenth themed show for re-play, but this be notable, thematically – and for reminding, for a long time, that Bibi needed a Repub prez and Congress to sell war with Iran… And here we be, Equality for All Beings   ANARCHO *ENTHEO *ASTRO *ANIMISM original air-date: January, 9, 2025 Anarcho *Entheo *Astro *Animism – Facing the Global Conflagration with the Strength of Community  Caroline welcomes the return of Eddy Nix who “plays a bookseller in real life and has many projects operating in the dream world. He is founder and operator of Driftless Books and Music in Viroqua, Wi and was a founding teacher at Youth Initiative High School, and has a radio show on community radio station WDRT every Sunday. He identifies as a rhizome, or a verb, depending on circumstances. He has been many other things also. honoring ancestral mentors: David Graeber, Peter Lamborn Wilson, Kropotkin, And the Book “Occult Features of Anarchism” by living author Erica Lagalies, forward by Barbra Ehrenreich The post The Visionary Activist Show – Equality for All Beings appeared first on KPFA.

Two perspectives on Israel's war on Iran: Mouin Rabbani on the regional/global context and Joel Schalit on Israeli society and politics The post Israel's war on Iran: two perspectives appeared first on KPFA.

An award winning front-line investigative news magazine, that focuses on human, civil and workers right, issues of war and peace, Global Warming, racism and poverty, and other issues. Hosted by Dennis J. Bernstein. The post Flashpoints – June 19, 2025 appeared first on KPFA.

[0:08]  Robin D. G. Kelley. Distinguished Professor and Gary B. Nash Endowed Chair in U.S. History at UCLA. He is the author of seven books, including Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination. [rebroadcast] The post Robin DG Kelley on Freedom Dreams [rebroadcast] appeared first on KPFA.

Comprehensive coverage of the day's news with a focus on war and peace; social, environmental and economic justice. photo William C Teller   “Hella Juneteenth Festival” returns to Oakland Museum of California in community-centered celebration honoring Black history and resilience US, Canadian mayors urge cooperation instead of tariffs as they meet at annual Conference of Mayors Federal Reserve keeps interest rate unchanged to protect employment and stable prices, despite Trump pressure for rate hike LA Dodgers deny ICE entry to Dodger Stadium, say “tonight's game will be played as scheduled” 4,800 troops remain in southern California, including 4,100 CA National Guard and 700 Marines The post Juneteenth marked with celebrations across US; US, Canadian mayors urge cooperation not tariffs – June 19, 2025 appeared first on KPFA.

Democracy Now! is a daily independent award-winning news program hosted by journalists Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez. The post Democracy Now 6am – June 19, 2025 appeared first on KPFA.

The richly diverse and fascinating world of culture and politics of the Middle East and North Africa, co-hosted by Khalil and Malihe. The post Voices of the Middle East and North Africa – June 19, 2025 appeared first on KPFA.

A weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists. Tonight's show is June 19th. We are all connected. We are talking with Asian and Asian American Children's book authors. PowerLeeGirls host Miko Lee talks with Chi Thai and Livia Blackburne about the power of storytelling, maternal heritage, generational trauma, and much more. Title:  We Are All Connected Show Transcripts Opening: [00:00:00] Apex Express Asian Pacific expression. Community and cultural coverage, music and calendar, new visions and voices, coming to you with an Asian Pacific Islander point of view. It's time to get on board the Apex Express.   Ayame Keane-Lee: [00:01:17] Welcome to Apex Express. Tonight's show is June 19th. We are all connected. We are talking with Asian and Asian American Children's book authors. PowerLeeGirls host Miko Lee talks with Chi Thai and Livia Blackburne about the power of storytelling, maternal heritage, generational trauma, and much more. First, we want to start by wishing everyone a happy Juneteenth, Juneteenth commemorates, an end to slavery and the emancipation of Black Americans after the Civil War. In 1865, 2 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, enslaved people in Galveston, Texas finally learned of their freedom. Juneteenth marks the day the last enslaved people learned of their freedom. Though outright slavery became illegal, the systematic oppression of African Americans continues to this day. We see that show up in almost every aspect of American culture, from the high rate of infant mortality to the over punishing of Black children in schools, to police brutality, to incarceration. We must continue to recognize the importance of championing Black lives and lifting up Black voices. We are all connected. June 19th is also an important day in Asian American history. In 1982 in Detroit, Vincent Chin was at a bar celebrating his bachelor party prior to his wedding the next day. Ronald Ebens, a white auto worker, and his stepson Michael Nitz taunted Vincent with racial epithets. They thought he was Japanese and were angry about the Japanese rise in the auto industry. When Vincent left the bar later, the two men attacked and killed Vincent with a baseball bat. He was 27 years old. Ronald Ebens never did time for this murder. Ronald Ebens is 85 years old now. Ebens not only skirted prosecution, he has used bankruptcy and homesteading laws in Nevada to avoid a wrongful death civil suit settlement. Ordered by the court in 1987 to pay $1.5 million to Chin's family, the Chin estate has received nothing. Lily Chin, Vincent's mom could have stayed silent about the racist attack on her son. Instead she spoke out. She took a courageous stance to highlight this most painful moment in her life. In doing so, she helped ignite a new generation of Asian American activists working for civil rights and social justice. We find ourselves in a new wave of activism as our communities band together to work against the injustices of the current regime. And what does this have to do with children's books? It is all connected. We highlight children's books by Asian and Asian American authors because we want our next generation of children to know and appreciate their own heritage. We want them to proudly represent who they are so that they can work in solidarity with other peoples. Our struggle is interwoven. As Grace Lee Boggs said, “History is a story not only of the past, but of the future.” Thank you for joining us on apex express. Enjoy the show.   Miko Lee: [00:04:24] First off. Let's take a listen to one of Byron Au Young's compositions called “Know Your Rights” This is part of the trilogy of the Activist Songbook. This multi-lingual rap, give steps to know what to do when ICE officers come to your door.    MUSIC   That was “Know Your Rights” performed by Jason Chu with lyrics by Aaron Jeffries and composed by Byron Au Yong Welcome, Chi Thai to Apex Express.    Chi Thai: [00:07:13] Hello. I'm really happy to be joining you, Miko.  Miko Lee: [00:07:16] I'm really happy to meet you and learn about you as an artist, as a filmmaker, as a children's book author. And I wanna first start with a personal question, which is, who are your people and what legacy do you carry with you? Chi Thai: [00:07:30] Ooh, what a great question. You know what? I love being asked stuff that hasn't been asked kind of before. I mean, there's a kinda really kinda natural answer to that, which is, you know, family are my people. Of course. 100%. And certainly, you know, the reason why I'm talking to you today, you know, in regard to the, to the book, you know, it's about my family's journey. But I found, and I don't know if this is. Somewhat to do with, you know, being a child of two cultures and you know, being a child of the diaspora that you really have to kind of find your own family too. 'cause I suppose I grew up feeling, I didn't quite relate to maybe my parents in a way that, you know, you normally would if you weren't part of the diaspora. And I felt estranged from my birth country and I didn't really feel like British either a lot of the time. So in terms of like, who are my people? I've gathered those people as I've kind of grown up and it's, it's a kind of strange feeling too. I feel like it's taken me a really long to grow up and to figure out who I am. And I suppose that's why, you know, the people that I have a really, a lot of people that have come, kinda later in my life, I actually have no friends in my childhood as an example of that. I've had to kind of find these people as I've grown up, but it's taken me a long time to grow up because growing up in the UK there wasn't any literature to read about what it was like to be Asian. And British, to be a refugee and things like that. So it just took me longer and I then, as a result, it just took me longer to find my tribe. but I have it now, but it's still work in progress. That was a very convoluted answer. I'm very sorry Miko.    Miko Lee: [00:09:15] No, it wasn't. No worries. It's fine. And what legacy do you carry with you?   Chi Thai: [00:09:19] Kind of an extension to that answer, I think when you're an artist, practicing your voice, figuring out your voice, can take a while. And I think I've only really started maybe the last like five to 10 years at the most really figured out what I want my legacy to be. The things I wanna talk about are really about s tories from the diaspora, certainly, and about community and healing. These are the things I think that are really important to me, especially when we talk about maybe coming from struggle. I don't feel it's enough to be an artist today and just talk about struggle. I want to talk about justice as well. And justice really is about healing, you know?    Miko Lee: [00:10:00] Oh, that's beautiful. Can you talk a little bit more about that healing and what that means to you and how that shows up in your work?    Chi Thai: [00:10:07] A couple years ago, no, not even that long ago, I produced a, a feature film. This is probably the best example for it, but I produced a feature film called Raging Grace, which we called it Horror with a small H and it. Basically took the story of what it was like to be, undocumented Filipina in the uk who was also a mother. And I think if that film had been made 10 years ago, it would just shown how hard her life was, and unrelentingly. So, and I think the reason why Raising Grace is so special is it goes beyond the trauma, it takes us to a place of justice, of being able to speak out for someone who has felt invisible, to be visible for someone who's not. Had a voice, to have a voice and to begin that kind of healing process of sticking up for herself, making a change transforming herself from maybe the good immigrant to the bad immigrant and things like that. I think that's a really great example and I think I read a really wonderful thing. It might have been in a Guardian article where we, so a lot of my work is around, inclusion representation of like diasporic stories. And I think when you have, when you exist in the poverty of like representation, I. the solution to that is plentitude. I think that Viet Thanh Nguyen probably said that, so I don't wanna take credit for it. He comes up with so many wonderful things, and that's a wonderful thing to be able to move from poverty, like to plentitude and that be the solution, is kinda really wonderful. So I enjoy being really prolific. I enjoy supporting artists to be able to do their work. So as a community, we can also be prolific and I wanna support, narratives that. Take us beyond a place of struggle and trauma to a place of like healing and justice and so forth.    Miko Lee: [00:11:57] Your work crosses so many genres. You were just mentioning how that film was kind of a horror film and, and then you've done these kind of dreamy animation pieces and then now this children's book. Do you select the genre and the format and the medium, or does it select you?   Chi Thai: [00:12:16] Oh, I think the story chooses it. I like 100% believe that. I just actually was thinking about this 'cause I was doing an interview on something else, people, often ask about the creative process and I, can only speak for my own. But usually when I get an idea for a story, the general shape of it comes almost like really well formed. There's a sense of a lready kinda what genre it'll be. There's a sense of the character, there's a sense of the journey and all these things. I felt the same about, writing The Endless Sea I knew it would be from the voice of a child. This probably sounds like my creative process is terrible, but it was just. This is how it was going to be. That kind of part was writing itself, or at least I feel that it'd been writing itself like that in my subconscious for many, many years before it kind of surfacing and writing. Like the writing bit is just the tip of the iceberg at the end of the day. there wasn't like a kind of decision about that. the story in that sense was quite intact. So I often feel like the story is demanding something about kind genre and for, for Raging Grace 'cause I've talked about this a lot, not just in listen to me, but other things. But we always said like if you are an an undocumented person, every breath you take is taken in a hostile environment. It's so natural for it to be a horror. So there's not a sense that you kinda decide that it's like that is the very reality of someone who's going, you know, that's their lived experience. And if you're going to represent that truthfully, it will be through the prism of horror. And I suppose that's how I think about genre. the story is kind of telling you what it needs to tell its emotional truth. and I felt that way, with The Endless Sea same thing with the Raging Grace, with Lullaby. And I think you talked about The Promise, I suppose I, with The Promise, which is an adaptation I had less choice about that because that was a book and it was a adapted into an animation. I've heard Nicola, who's the author of the book, talk about that and she talks about like the story coming to her in a dream and tiptoeing down her arm coming onto the page, she like describes it really beautifully. so maybe our processes are the same. It feels that way. there's not long deliberations. I mean, that's not to say the writing process isn't difficult. It is. But that, I've never found the, [genre] the difficulty or the bit that's required a lot of, I don't know soul searching with it.    Miko Lee: [00:14:28] So with that being said, how did Endless Sea your latest children's book? How did that tiptoe into your imagination?    Chi Thai: [00:14:36] This is a strange one because this is probably the closest thing to like, almost autobiographical work. What I can say is like, it's the true story o f how I and my family, which would've been at the time my mom and dad, my older sister, me, how we fled Vietnam after the fall of an Saigon. we actually left quite late we left in 1979 w hen things were tr were getting truly, truly, truly, quite terrible. And, this was very much a last resort. I think my parents would try to make things work, but realized that they couldn't. This journey that we took on these, boats that were made badly, made poorly, that many of which sank has become almost like the genesis story of our family. It's like it's a big, it has a long shadow, right? Ever since you know I, it is like the first story that I can remember. It's one of the few stories my mom would tell me again and again when we, when they see their old friends, it's something they talk about. So it's something that has happened to it to us, but it's such a big thing that it's just, echoed In my life growing up, as I've you know, got older and older, and the wonderful thing about having a story kinda live with you eventually it's in your blood and in your bones, but also if it's a thing that's kinda shared with you again and again, you actually build up this, there's something about the repetition of it, and then every time you hear it told from an uncle or a family friend or from your mom, a new little detail is embroidered that someone adds. So I've kinda lived with this story for 40 plus years and I've been collecting all these little things about it all this time and all that time it was, I think, kind of just writing itself, you know? You know, it was doing all that work before I actually put like pen to paper. Um, yeah.    Miko Lee: [00:16:31] Was there a catalyst or something that made you actually put the pen to paper?   Chi Thai: [00:16:36] That's really interesting. You know, I probably don't mind it is probably something really banal like. I think I probably wrote it during Covid and I had more time. Um, I think there are probably be some bigger forces in place. And you know what, I can tell you what it is actually if I'm, I'm forcing myself to think and examine a bit closer so when this is totally true. So I remember hearing the news about Viet Thanh Nguyen win winning the Pulitzer for The Sympathizer. And it made such a mark on me and I kind of felt, wow, someone from our community has achieved this incredible thing. And I thought, why? Why now? Like, and I was like, well, you know what? It's probably taken our community certain amount of time to come of age, to develop not just the abilities to write, to create, to make art, but also to have possibly the relationships or networks in place to be able to then make the art and get it out into the world. And I kind of felt when he was able to do that and came of age, I kind of felt there was going to be like other people from the kind of diasporic Vietnamese community that would also start to flourish. And that made me feel really good. About probably being a bit older than the average kind of artist, like making their, kinda like their pieces and everything and saying, you know what? My time can be now. It's okay. And I just find it just really inspiring that, you know our community was kind of growing, growing up, coming of age and being able to do these, these things And I kind of felt like it had given me the permission, I suppose the, the confidence to go, “Oh this story that I've been carrying my whole life, which I don't really see a version of out there I can write that and now I can write it and I'm the right person to write it.” And I had just done The Promise so I had a relationship with Walker. I was like, I have a, you know, a relationship with the publisher. I feel my writing is matured. Like I can do this. And so it was like a culmination and, you know, convergence of those things. And, but I do remember having that thought thinking, “This is a good time to be alive in our community 'cause we're actually able to make our art and get it out there now.” I, I felt it was like a real watershed moment really.   Miko Lee: [00:19:11] What made you decide to do it in this format as a Little Kid's Children's Illustrated book? We were talking earlier about how to, to me, this is the first more realistic version of a boat people experience in a very little kid's voice. What made you decide to do it in this style?    Chi Thai: [00:19:33] So interesting. At the same time, I was writing The Endless Sea. I was writing also the script for a short film, which is called Lullaby, which is takes an incident that happened on my boat but expresses it as a film, as a little kinda horror kinda drama, but a kid cannot watch that. It's like too terrifying. Um, and I wrote, you know, The Endless Sea at the same time. And again, I can't, it's really hard for me to articulate. I just knew it was gonna be a kid's book, like, and I knew it'd be written from the voice of a kid, and I didn't actually, can I say I didn't even ascribe a particular kind of value to that. It wasn't until I had started conversations with the publisher they're like, you know, we see like there's a really high, like this is really great that it's written in the voice of the kid. It somehow gives it something else. Something more is something kind of special. I didn't set out to like, overthink, like what was the most effective way to tell this story? I, I think I just told the story as honestly as I could, you know, with the words that I felt that, you know, I had in me to de, you know, to describe it. In the most authentic way to, to me. And like I say, at the same time, I knew, like I knew that was a kid's book. There was another part of that I wanted to express that was really important to me and that was survivor's guilt. But that I felt was like, that was a horror, so that was really not gonna be suitable for kids. So I was definitely thinking about lots of things to do with the same subject of the same time, but they were definitely being expressed in different ways. And again, Lullaby came to me very kind of quickly, almost fully formed. And I knew, you know, it would be a ghost story. I knew it would be the story of a mother and things like that. And I often maybe, you know, I should, I, I should interrogate more, but I kinda, I take these kinda. These ideas, which are quite well shaped and, and then I just like lean into them more and more and more. But they, the way they arrive it, I've kinda, I, I can see a lot of what is already about to unfold.   Miko Lee: [00:21:43] And do you still dream about that experience of being on the boat as a kid?    Chi Thai: [00:21:52] It's, it's a really difficult thing to explain because you know that that happened now so long ago, and I've probably heard the story thousands of times. I've watched all the terrible Hollywood movies, I've seen all the news clippings, I've watched all the archive. I've listened to, you know, people talk, and I have my own memories and I look at photographs and I have memories of looking at photographs. I feel like, you know, my memory is really unreliable, but what it is instead is it's this, this kind of, kind of tapestry of, you know, of the story of memories, of, you know, images as I grow up of hearing the story, like all coming together. One of the things I did when I wrote, I wrote The Endless Sea, is I then went back to my mom and I did a recorded interview with her 'cause I was really worried about how unreliable my memory might be. And I interviewed her and I asked a lot of questions and I said, and I, it was like, you know, in the way I would've just like listened to the story quite passively before this time I interviewed her and I asked a lot of questions about details and all sorts of things. 'cause I really wanted to be able to represent things, you know, as factually as I could. And that was kinda one of my kinda kind of fact checking kinda exercises I did 'cause I was, I was much quite worried about how unreliable my memory was about it all. And you know, what is, what is a memory of a memory of memory, like, you know, especially when it comes to thinking about that time on the boat and the feelings I had. Yeah. So, you know,    Miko Lee: [00:23:34] and you were so young also to    Chi Thai: [00:23:37] Totally 100%. And sometimes, I don't know, you know, is it a memory of a memory? Is it a dream of a dream?   Miko Lee: [00:23:44] Mm-hmm.    Chi Thai: [00:23:44] Or just some, yeah.   Miko Lee: [00:23:46] Was there anything that your mom said that surprised you?    Chi Thai: [00:23:50] Yeah. Um, she didn't realize how bad it was gonna be and she was like, “God, if it, I'd known how terrifying it was I dunno if I, we could have done it.” I think there's a certain amount of naivety involved and I suppose that surprised me. You know? 'cause we know already now how bad it was. Um, so things like that surprised me.    Miko Lee: [00:24:15] and your mom, the dedication of the book is to your mom. What does she think when she first read it?    Chi Thai: [00:24:22] I've got a funny story. My parents, you know, they, we left, they were in their early twenties and I think it was, you know, the escape was hard for them, but settling in new country was really hard for them. That's. That's been kind of their struggle. They had to work so hard, so many hours to kind of, you know, give us a great life. And, I think a lot of that meant they weren't people that could go out, enjoy, enjoy movies, look at art, read lots of literature and things like that. They're very, very simple, very working class. Simple life or working class kinda life. Very much all about, uh, the work. Um, and I remember when I had a, the publisher had made like a mockup of the book and I gave it to my mum to read 'cause I wanted her to be happy about it too, and she's probably been my toughest critic. I think everything I've done, she hasn't really liked, to be honest. Um, and when I gave her the mockup to read. She went, “Yeah,” but she said it in such a way I knew what she meant was Yeah, that's right. You know, that's the truth. That's the, you know, the book isn't the testimony, but it felt like she was saying yeah. It was like the simple kind of approval. It wasn't like a lot    Miko Lee: [00:25:50] That is the most Asian mom's approval ever.    Chi Thai: [00:25:54] It's so funny, like people say to me, oh Chi, it's such a beautiful book. Oh, the writing so lit, like lyrical. It's stripped back, it's elegant. Like, you know, Viet Thanh Nguyen , like God bless his like consults, gave me a comment to put in the book, said these wonderful things, and my mom goes, “yeah.”. You know, it made me laugh at the time, but I knew what it meant. And I also was old enough, I was mature enough, you know, God, if she'd given me that, if I'd been 20 written that I might have cried and my heart might have broken. Right. But I, I knew I had, I've so much compassion, you know, for my parents. Mm-hmm. And people like my parents, what they've been through and, you know, but    Miko Lee: [00:26:38] That was incredibly high praise for her.    Chi Thai: [00:26:40] It was, I couldn't have asked more.   Miko Lee: [00:26:47] Oh, I totally get that. I think that's such an Asian thing. That is so funny.    Chi Thai: [00:26:53] It is, it is. I didn't feel bad. I, I remember showing her Lullaby, um, and she didn't like it at all.    Miko Lee: [00:27:02] What did she say? What is her not like voice? What did she say to that?    Chi Thai: [00:27:05] Oh, she. Well, firstly, she, well, the, the film is almost silent because basically it tells a story. It's inspired by a mother that was on our boat who lost her baby on the border crossing, and I was very much ever, for as long as I knew about this woman's story, I was like, I was very much haunted by it, and I was haunted by, you know, the fact that that's how she felt and her guilt. Over losing her baby on this journey. And I knew, I knew I wanted to tell her story. 'cause one of the things I feel very strongly about is when you are on the losing side. So I'm from South Vietnam, like that's not the, you know, that's not the story that's told, the story is told of who triumphs at the end of the day. And I was just like all those people that we lost at sea, this mother, her baby. The stories kind of aren't told. So I kind of felt really strongly that this was somehow a very creative way to put down like a, an historical record like this happened. And actually I found out after making the film that five babies were lost in our boat, not just one.   Miko Lee: [00:28:24] Wow. So what did she say, your mom say?   Chi Thai: [00:28:28] Yes. So I made this film, which was for the most part, a silent film. This is a woman that's shut down. She barely speaks anymore. She is living with the guilt ever. You know, when she was on the boat before her baby died, she sang a lullaby, and ever since then, she hasn't been able to speak again. And then we find out that she has been haunted by the ghost of her child that she lost. And then a bit too, you know, to kind of free herself from that. She, she actually sings, you know, the, the film culminates in her singing the Luby one last time. S saying Goodbye finally being able to move beyond her Gild and I Griffin, saying goodbye and hoping she's able to, you know, progress. So I made a film about that was largely silence except for this lullaby, and my mum watched it. She went, next time you make a film, you know you need more words. I was just like, oh, I think my heart probably did crumple off a bit a bit at that point.    Miko Lee: [00:29:30] Aw.    Chi Thai: [00:29:31] You know? Um, but yeah. But yeah, it's okay. It's okay because you know what? My mom doesn't get to see stuff like that very often. So sometimes she doesn't have the wider, and this is why, I mean, like, the life that she's had, you know, hasn't been one where she's been able to surround herself with, oh, I'm so lucky. You know, my life has been so different, but it's been different. Different because of, you know what she's, what she's done for us, so it's okay. I can take it on the chin when she says my film doesn't have enough dialogue in it.    Miko Lee: [00:30:04] I love that. For you, have you had conversations with your mom about your life as an artist, and what are her thoughts on that?   Chi Thai: [00:30:16] Well say. So I, so my mom, I don't really like, you know, she's probably not that into it. I'll be honest about being an artist. I can understand why she wants you to have a good life. And I would say for the most part, being an artist is, is a, is a tough life because it's hard to make, you know, the, the pennies work, right?   Miko Lee: [00:30:44] She wants stability for you, right?    Chi Thai: [00:30:45] Yeah, exactly. But she's made a peace with it. And basically what happened, I think all the best story is gonna be about my mom, right? Is that she basically, I, I, um, I have a partner, we've been together for 15 years. Um, he's a really nice guy and he has a reliable job and we have two kids together and i,    Miko Lee: [00:31:08] So that makes it okay.   Chi Thai: [00:31:10] So yeah, this is what I was saying. So she said to me like. It doesn't really matter what you do now. 'cause she, you are already peaked. You're somebody's wife. We're not married. But she told everyone in Vietnam we were married 'cause she couldn't cope with this not being like having kids out of wedlock. In her head. She's rewritten that we are married. Right. She's like, you are married, you're somebody's wife and you mother, it doesn't get better than that. So if you are an artist or if you're a filmmaker, whatever, it doesn't matter. 'cause nothing can be better than that. Right. So she's accepted on the basis that I've already fulfilled, kind of my promise.   Miko Lee: [00:31:46] Wow. Interesting.    Chi Thai: [00:31:50] And she means that in the nicest possible way.    Miko Lee: [00:31:52] Yeah.    Chi Thai: [00:31:52] That she feels like you have a home, you have stability, you have someone who loves you, you know, you have a, a purpose in life, but really her value, you know, the way, I think, the way she measures my value is like, that's how she looks at it. The, the art is something else.    Miko Lee: [00:32:10] Well, I really appreciate you sharing your art with us in the world and your various, um, genres and styles. And I'm wondering how our audience can find out more about your work. Clearly we'll put links to where people can buy the book and let's see, but how do they find out more about your films?   Chi Thai: [00:32:28] Um, so that like, because it is the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War in 2025. Actually the very anniversary of that is the tomorrow, the 30th, April, right? Um, you can watch Lullaby on Altar, which is a YouTube channel. Um, and I can give you the link for it. Rating Grace is on Paramount Plus if you want to, if you've got Paramount Plus, but you can also buy it from all the usual kind of places too. Um, and you know, and we'll see us from all great book stockists, I imagine in, in the us.   Miko Lee: [00:33:07] Thank you so much. Um, I'd love to get, I'd love for you to send me the link so I could put 'em in the show notes. I really appreciate chatting with you today. Um, is there anything else you'd like to share?    Chi Thai: [00:33:19] Um, no, I think, I think that's good. Your, your questions are so good. Mika, I'm already like, kinda like processing them all. Uh, yes.    Miko Lee: [00:33:30] Well, it was a delight to chat with you and to learn more about your artistic vision, and my wishes are that you continue to grow and feel blessed no matter what your mama says, because deep down, she's still proud of you. Even if she doesn't say it out loud.    Chi Thai: [00:33:47] I believe it. I totally believe it.    Miko Lee: [00:33:50] Yay. Thank you so much for spending time with us on Apex Express.Next up, listen to stay, go from dark heart, a concert narrative by singer and songwriter Golda Sargento.   MUSIC   That was the voice of Golda Sargento from the new Filipino futurism punk rock sci-fi dark heart. Welcome, Livia Blackburne Children's book, author of Nainai's Mountain. Welcome to Apex Express.    Livia Blackburne: [00:38:56] Thank you so much for having me.    Miko Lee: [00:38:58] I wanna start with a personal question, which is, who are your people and what legacy do you carry with you?    Livia Blackburne: [00:39:05] I am Chinese American, and so I carry the stories of my grandparents who fled China to Taiwan, fled that war. And I also carry the stories of my parents and myself who immigrated. To America, and I am, I grew up in New Mexico, so I have fond memories of green chili and new Mexican food. I went to college, Harvard and MIT on the east coast. So I've got a bit of that kind of ivory tower. And now I'm in LA and, you know, my people are, my family and my community, the writing community here. So I, I'm a big mix. Yes.    Miko Lee: [00:39:44] What legacy do you carry with you?    Livia Blackburne: [00:39:47] I mentioned a bit of my grandparents and my parents. What they went through in the war in China, and then my parents and me coming here. the experience of being here in two worlds, coming from Taiwan having that cultural background and also, growing up in the United States. The culture I've been surrounded with here as well.    Miko Lee: [00:40:06] Thank you so much for sharing. Can you tell us about your new illustrated children's book? Nainai's Mountain. What inspired this work?    Livia Blackburne: [00:40:14] The story of this book actually started with another book that is coming out in a couple years that actually I can't share too much about. My grandparents fled the war in China and then my. Parents grew up in Taiwan and I wanted to preserve that family story. My parents are getting older. So I started doing oral interviews with my parents about their childhood, what it was like, growing up. I wouldn't say they weren't refugees in Taiwan. It's a very complicated political situation, but they were transplants to Taiwan, and what it was like growing up there, their daily life. What kind of things they did when they were a child, their pastimes, I wanted to preserve their stories and I got a lot of great material., A lot of that is going into a novel that I'm currently working on. But also as I worked on it, there were so many great details that I thought would be really good in a picture book as well. Also, I'm a mother now. I have an 8-year-old daughter, and she is half Caucasian, half Asian. She has never gone to Taiwan before and I. As I'm writing this, I'm thinking, it would be really great to, I do want to share Taiwan and, my own childhood, home with her at some point. And so I start imagining what would it be like to bring her back to Taiwan and show her everything. And that became the seed for Nainai's Mountain, which is a. Story of a girl visiting Taiwan for the first time with her grandmother. And her grandmother shows her around and tells her stories about her childhood, and the girl through her grandmother's eyes, sees Taiwan, you know, for the beautiful place that it is.    Miko Lee: [00:41:56] You also wrote the book I Dream of Popo. How are these companions to each other and also for audiences that might not speak Chinese. One is a grandmother on the mother's side, and the other is the grandmother on the father's side. Can you talk about how I dream of Popo is linked to Nainai's Mountain?   Livia Blackburne: [00:42:15] Thank you for pointing that out. Yes. So Popo is maternal grandmother, and Nainai is a paternal grandmother. And that is a fantastic question. So I dream of popo is kind of my story. So it's about a little girl who moves from Taiwan , to the United States and it's about her relationship with her grandmother who stays in Taiwan. And it talks about, how a close relationship, navigating long geographical distances about the language barrier that comes up. And that was very much me, Nainai's Mountain. It's kind of like Popo in reverse, you know, it's now it's someone going back to Taiwan and kind of getting in touch with those roots. That, as I mentioned, that's inspired by my daughter. And you'll see in Nainai's Mountain, I specified that the child should be, half Asian, half Caucasian. Because, I wanted more of that representation in the children's literature.    Miko Lee: [00:43:07] Thank you. I, I wonder if you could talk a little bit about the artistic style. So you are the author, but you had different illustrators for both of the books and the style is really different. The in, when I look at Nainai's Mountain, which I'm holding here, it's sort of collage and really vibrant colors. Where I Dream of Popo has a different, more. I'm almost realistic, kind of look to it. And I'm wondering what your process was like in collaborating with illustrators.    Livia Blackburne: [00:43:37] That's one of the best things about being a picture book author, is that you get to collaborate with so many illustrators and they all have such different styles, such different visions. Most of the time it's the publisher who chooses the illustrator, although they. Consult me usually. My editor for I Dream of Popo picked Julia Kuo. And she sent me samples and I loved it. And, it was great. I'm friends with Julia now and that book did really well. It was very well known, especially in kind of Taiwanese American, Asian American circles. And so when I did, Nainai's mountain, that was with a different publishing house and my editor. He very consciously said, you know, because it's also a book about Taiwan and a grandmother. We don't want to get it confused with I dream of Popo. So, we made a conscious decision to pick an artist with a very different style and Joey Chou is fantastic. He's very well known for his Disney art. You can see his art in a lot of the hotels and cruise ships. And, he, very bright, vibrant, and I, he's also from Taiwan. I think he did a fantastic job.   Miko Lee: [00:44:41] And have the artistic work ever surprised you as being really different from your imagination while you were writing?    Livia Blackburne: [00:44:48] That's a great question. I don't think they've ever surprised me. By being different. They surprised me in the specifics that they've chosen. For example, I dream of Popo. Julia, spent a lot of time in Taiwan and she put in these great, Taiwan details that, you know, if you're from Taiwan, you would know for sure. There's like a specific brand of rice cooker called the rice cooker, and she has one there and like the giant bag of rice in the corner, and the calendar on the wall.   Miko Lee: [00:45:16] Even the specificities of the food and the trays and everything is quite lovely.    Livia Blackburne: [00:45:20] Yeah, yeah. You know, every time I read that, I look at that spread, I get hungry. So surprise there. And, with Joey, I, I love how he does the different, there's kind of flashback pictures and there's, pictures now and. The thing about him, his color, I just love the color that he put in from the greens, of Taiwan to kind of the bright fluorescent lights, neon lights of Taipei, and then there's kind of the slight sepia tones of the past and he just, you know, brings it so to life so well.   Miko Lee: [00:45:49] I didn't know he was a Disney animator, but it totally makes sense because it feels very layered. It does feel animated in a way and kind of alive. So I appreciate that.   Livia Blackburne: [00:45:59] I'm not sure. If he's an animator. He does a lot of art for the theme parks and like products and the cruise ships and stuff. I'm not sure.    Miko Lee: [00:46:07] Oh, interesting.   Livia Blackburne: [00:46:07] He does like movies and  stuff.    Miko Lee: [00:46:08] Interesting. It looks like animation though. Your book.    Livia Blackburne: [00:46:13] It does look very, yeah. Lively. Mm-hmm.    Miko Lee: [00:46:16] That I'm looking forward to that series. That would be so cute. The grandmother series as a whole little mini series traveling to different places. can you tell us about your new book, Dreams to Ashes? Has that been released yet?   Livia Blackburne: [00:46:29] Dreams to Ashes? That has been released that, released about a month before Nainai's Mountain. Yeah, that one's quite a bit different. So that one is a nonfiction book and it's a picture book, and it's about the Los Angeles massacre of 1871. Whenever people, I tell people about that, they're like, wait, you wrote a picture book about a massacre? Which is slightly counterintuitive. So I never knew about the Los Angeles massacre growing up. And, and, given that I am a Chinese person in Los Angeles, that is kind of weird. Basically, it was a race massacre that occurred. One of the biggest mass lynchings in history, uh, where there was a between two rival Chinese organizations and a white bystander was killed. And because of that, , a mob formed and they rounded the Chinese population up basically. And. Blame them for that death. In the end, 18 Chinese men were killed and only one of them were involved in the original gunfight. It was a horrible tragedy. And unfortunately, as often happened with these kind of historical tragedies in our country, nobody was really punished for it. A few men were indicted and convicted, but their convictions were overturned and it just kind of disappeared into history. And it really struck me that, you know, nobody knew about this. I wanted to kind of bring this to light and unfortunately when I was writing it, it was also, during the Covid pandemic and, I was seeing a lot of anti-Asian rhetoric, anti-Asian hate crimes were going up. And I saw so many parallels between what happened. Back then, because, you know, Chinese people specifically were being vilified , they were being called immoral, stealing people's jobs. And you can see in the years before the massacre the newspapers were saying horrible things and, you know, the hate was just becoming very strong and all that exploded one night into an unspeakable tragedy. Unfortunately as an author, you want your work to be relevant, but sometimes you don't want your work to be relevant in this way. Right. Nowadays I'm seeing so much rhetoric again against immigrants and not of many ethnicities. And in some ways I'm sad. That, this is happening now. And I also hope that this book will contribute to the conversation and show how the danger of racism and xenophobia and hate and what, what can happen because of that.   Miko Lee: [00:48:55] So this occurred in the late 1800s, right? Was it before the Chinese Exclusion Act?    Livia Blackburne: [00:49:03] Yes, it was before the Chinese Exclusion Act. So you'd hope that people kinda learn from these things. And it was just kind of one of the, one of the horrible things that happened on the way to the Chinese Exclusion Act and Chinese immigrants being excluded basically Chinese laborers at least.   Miko Lee: [00:49:23] Oh wow. Okay. I'm looking this up now. And 1882 we know was the Chinese Exclusion Act and this incident actually happened in 1871. Yes. A decade beforehand, Helen Zia always talks about these moments that are missing. MIH missing in history and this is clearly another one of, another time of just wiping out a population.I'm wondering if you could speak a little bit more about how Children's Books can make a difference in the world that we're currently living in, where our government is banning books and you know that there's a narratives that they want to align with a certain kind of conservative ideology. Can you talk about the power of being a Children's Book author in this time that we're living in right now? . I'm really thinking about dreams to Ashes and even I dream of Popo and even Nainai's Mountain, which you would think, oh, they're, you, they're visiting their grandparent, their grandmothers, that would not be controversial. But now when even words like inclusion and diversity are threatened and books are being banned, I'm just wondering if you could. Share a little bit more about your superpower as a children's book author?    Livia Blackburne: [00:50:31] Yeah, that's a fantastic question. We live in a time right now, there's, a lot of hate, a lot of intolerance, a lot of fear of different people groups. And a lot of that I think is because people are unfamiliar with people unlike themselves. They see. People who are different, look differently, act differently, speak differently, and it scares them. And I think the best way to get around that is to actually get to know people of other backgrounds, to see them as human. And I think that's where children's books come in. ‘Cause we don't, children are not born. With this hate of the other. They learn it. But, if they grow up being familiar with people of different backgrounds seeing their stories seeing them as, normal human beings, which, should be obvious, but sometimes it's hard, for adults to realize. Then, I'm hoping, as a children's book author that it will lead to a more empathetic world. And perhaps that's why the government sometimes in certain groups are wanting to, censor this and control the flow of children's books because, children are the most their minds are still open. They're still able to learn.    Miko Lee: [00:51:48] And Livia, tell us what you're working on next.   Livia Blackburne: [00:51:53] So right now I am. Working on a historical middle grade. We haven't quite announced it yet, so I can't say the title or too many details, but it is based on my family history of my parents and grandparents who moved from China to Taiwan after the civil War.   Miko Lee: [00:52:12] Please check out our website, kpfa.org. To find out more about our show tonight. We thank all of you listeners out there. Keep resisting, keep organizing, keep creating and sharing your visions with the world because your voices are important. Apex Express is created by Miko Lee, Jalena Keane-Lee, Preti Mangala-Shekar, Swati Rayasam, Aisa Villarosa, Estella Owoimaha-Church, Gabriel Tanglao, Cheryl Truong and Ayame Keane-Lee.   The post APEX Express – 6.19.25 We Are All Connected appeared first on KPFA.

Guest: Jason De León is an anthropologist who spent nearly seven years following and interviewing human smugglers in Mexico. He is a professor of Anthropology and Chicana/o Studies and director of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is also executive director of the Undocumented Migration Project and the author of the book Soldiers and Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling. The post The Lives of Smugglers (Coyotes) appeared first on KPFA.

The journalist and essayist Rafael Barrett (1876-1910) inveighed against the array of injustices suffered by Paraguayans, including those working in the yerba mate forests. He also espoused political views that resonate today. William Costa talks about Barrett's keen observations, blistering critiques, and anarchist politics. William Costa, ed., Paraguayan Sorrow: Writings of Rafael Barrett, A Radical Voice in a Dispossessed Land Monthly Review Press, 2024 The post Rafael Barrett appeared first on KPFA.

Today on show: We feature a special extended report with long-time radical immigrants rights activist, Juan Jose Gutiairez about the racist ICE raids.  Also we'll be joined by CodePink Founder, Medea Benjamin, for an update on the Gaza Boat attacks and the ongoing resistance to US supported Genocide in Palestine The post Flashpoints – June 18, 2025 appeared first on KPFA.

00:08 — Jamal Abdi is President of the National Iranian American Council in Washington D.C. 00:33 — Kian Sharifi is a feature writer about Iranian affairs at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Central Newsroom in Prague. He was previously an editor at the Financial Tribune newspaper in Tehran. 00:45 — Tony Ghiotto, Teaching Professor/Director of Anderson Center for Advocacy and Professionalism/Director of Trial Advocacy at the University of Illinois College of Law Urbana-Champaign The post Israel's War in Iran; Plus, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals hearing on Trump use of National Guard appeared first on KPFA.

Comprehensive coverage of the day's news with a focus on war and peace; social, environmental and economic justice. Photo by Steve Morgan June 18th is “International Day for Countering Hate Speech” Defense Secretary Hegseth grilled by democratic senators over military in US cities SFMTA to cut 5 Muni bus lines Saturday, critics see risks for riders and SF climate goals Pentagon authorizes mobilization of 700 troops to aid ICE in Florida, Louisiana and Texas Democratic senators propose “Insurrection Act of 2025” to limit presidents' use of troops domestically Supreme Court upholds Tennesee ban on gender-affirming care for children, 26 states have similar laws The post Defense Secretary Hegseth grilled over military in US cities; Muni to cut 5 bus lines Saturday – June 18, 2025 appeared first on KPFA.

ON TODAY'S SHOW: Tehran Professor Reports from Iran State TV Building Bombed by Israel as Trump Threatens Khamenei “A Moment of Immense Danger”: U.S. Inches Toward Direct Involvement in Israel's War with Iran Mosab Abu Toha: As Attention Shifts to Iran, Israel Ramps Up Killings, Starvation & Annexation in Gaza “What Authoritarians Do”: NYC Comptroller Brad Lander Speaks Out After ICE Arrests Him in Courthouse Democracy Now! is a daily independent award-winning news program hosted by journalists Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez. The post Democracy Now 6am – June 18, 2025 appeared first on KPFA.

Jenn Johns  is an Oakland-raised, Los Angeles-based powerhouse, vocalist, songwriter, producer, activist, and entrepreneur who creates sounds, experiences, and products that are sure to stir your soul, inspire your mind and move your body. Jenn will be performing this Saturday at the upcoming East Bay Freedom Revival Weekend to Celebrate Self-Love, Justice & Collective Freedom, a four-day gathering in honor of  Juneteenth, Summer Solstice & Pride in Oakland. Jenn's latest album is called Azania.   Check out her work at https://jennjohns.com/ — 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 East Bay Freedom Revival w/ Jenn Johns appeared first on KPFA.

We speak with Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson, a long-time activist who has worked in movements fighting for workers, reproductive justice, LGBTQUIA+ justice, environmental justice and more. She is the first Black woman to serve as Co-Executive Director of Highlander Research & Education Center and is a member of several leadership teams in the Movement for Black Lives. — 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 Fascism in America Today and Black Radical Organizing w/ Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson appeared first on KPFA.

We talk about the “reading wars” – the long-running conflict over how reading should be taught to young children in the U.S. We talk with Martha Hernandez about the position of her organization which advocates for second language learners on a piece of legislation which may pass the California legislature. Advocates of what is erroneously called the “science of reading” has been opposed by teachers unions and other educators. Leaders in the legislature have now proposed a compromise bill which funds this approach but does not require it. Education Today is a radio show hosted by Kitty Kelly Epstein and Jaron Epstein that airs every week at 2:30. The post Education Today – June 18, 2025 appeared first on KPFA.

The Bay Native Circle weekly program presents special guests and explores today's Native issues, peoples, cultures, music & events with rotating hosts Morning Star Gali, Tony Gonzales, Eddie Madril and Janeen Antoine. The post Bay Native Circle – June 18, 2025 appeared first on KPFA.

Guest: Stephen Zunes is Professor of Politics and International Studies at the University of San Francisco where he chairs the program in Middle Eastern Studies.  He is the author of “Tinderbox: U.S. Middle East Policy and the Roots of Terrorism”, and the co-author of  “Western Sahara: War, Nationalism, and Conflict Irresolution.” The post The Israel-Iran Conflict and Trump's Mega-Bomb appeared first on KPFA.

Was the populist far right a reaction to neoliberal free market fundamentalism? Or, as historian Quinn Slobodian argues, did such rightwing currents come out of the ideas of neoliberalism itself? Slobodian reflects on neoliberal thinkers' preoccupation with racist and misogynistic ideas of human nature and intelligence, borders and gold — all in service to their war on the left. Quinn Slobodian, Hayek's Bastards: Race, Gold, IQ, and the Capitalism of the Far Right Zone Books, 2025 The post The Neoliberal Roots of Rightwing Populism appeared first on KPFA.

Today on the Show: Israel expands and extends its war against Iran: we'll be joined for the hour by Mouin Rabbani, senior fellow at the Middle East Council on Global Affairs, and a longtime scholar and commentator on the region The post Mouin Rabbani on Israel's War With Iran appeared first on KPFA.

00:08 — Joel Beinin is Professor of Middle East History, Emeritus at Stanford University.  00:33 — John Nichols is National Affairs Correspondent for the Nation. The post How Israelis View a War with Iran; Plus, the Role of Off-Year Elections in Resisting Trumpism appeared first on KPFA.

Comprehensive coverage of the day's news with a focus on war and peace; social, environmental and economic justice. AP photo Eric Thayer Appeals court hears Trump vs Newsom challenge to National Guard in Los Angeles Union workers arrested while protesting SF budget cuts at Board of Supervisors meeting CA Senate committee takes up bill to ban toxic PFAS chemicals in firefighters' equipment NYC democratic mayoral candidate arrested by at immigration court Prominent Spanish-language journalist turned over to ICE after arrest covering No Kings protests in Atlanta area 60 killed, 280 injured while seeking food aid at aid distribution sites in Gaza The post Appeals court hears Trump vs Newsom challenge to National Guard in LA; CA lawmakers consider bill banning toxic chemicals in firefighters' equipment – June 17, 2025 appeared first on KPFA.

On today's show: Preemptive Strike or Act of War? Israel Attacked Iran Amid Sinking Global Support for Assault on Gaza “We Loved Her”: Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison Mourns His Friend Melissa Hortman, Slams Republican Rhetoric Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister on U.S. Embargo, Trump's Deportations, Israel's War on Iran, and Gaza   The post Democracy Now 6am – June 17, 2025 appeared first on KPFA.

We speak with Ronica Mukerjee and Carlos Martinez, editors of All This Safety Is Killing Us:  Health and Justice Beyond Prisons, Police and Borders — Abolitionist Frameworks and Practices from Clinicians, Organizers and Incarcerated Activists– A multi-discipline, multimedia guide to abolition through the lens of healthcare and medicine – featuring writings and artwork from 10+ incarcerated and post-detention activists.  The book exposes how marginalized communities are vilified by “carceral safety” systems, educators and health justice advocates. Check out their book https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/771429/all-this-safety-is-killing-us-by-carlos-martinez-and-ronica-mukerjee/ — 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 All This Safety Is Killing Us: w/ editors Ronica Mukerjee and Carlos Martinez appeared first on KPFA.

Guest: Andrew Hartman is professor of history at Illinois State University. He is the author of A War for the Soul of America: A History of the Culture Wars, Education and the Cold War: The Battle for the American School, and his latest, Karl Marx in America.   The post Karl Marx's Influence in the US appeared first on KPFA.

Critiques of conspiracy thinking abound—but what if our world needs a conspiracy, of people willing to confront their own participation in institutional injustices? Joseph Dumit explains why large corporations knowingly engage in antihuman activities; he also draws from Adrian Piper's insights into bullying institutions, the impact of bystanding, and the importance of blowing the whistle when we notice harm being inflicted. (Encore presentation.) Joseph Masco and Lisa Wedeen, eds., Conspiracy/Theory Duke University Press, 2024 Joseph Dumit, Drugs for Life: How Pharmaceutical Companies Define Our Health Duke University Press, 2012 (Image on main page by Elvert Barnes.) The post Conspiracies and Complicity appeared first on KPFA.

oday on the Show:  Israel's Defense Minister Katz warns If Iran continues to fire missiles at the Israeli home front, “Tehran will burn.” Critics of Israel call this a threat by Israel to utilize its substantial nuclear stockpile during its current assault on Iran. We'll by Joined  by Flashpoints Washington Contributor Sam Husseini who spent the last week at the UN covering all issues Palestinian, re the genocide. and we'll be joined by  John Steinbach, for deep background on the extremely tight relationship between the US and Israel that puts the lie to the current denials of US participation in Israel's frontal assault on Iran The post Update on Israel/ Iran Escalation appeared first on KPFA.

00:08 — John Feffer, Director of Foreign Policy in Focus. 00:33 — Paul Offit, Director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, where he's an attending physician in the Division of Infectious Diseases. The post Russia's War in Ukraine; Plus, Corona Calls appeared first on KPFA.

A weekly news program providing information and analysis about Africa and the African Diaspora, hosted by Walter Turner. The post Africa Today – June 16, 2025 appeared first on KPFA.

Comprehensive coverage of the day's news with a focus on war and peace; social, environmental and economic justice. No Kings LA rally, photo Larissa Puro “No Kings” protests across nation draw millions in protest of Trump agenda Suspect in shootings of 2 democratic lawmakers and spouses arrested, as political violence escalates to assassinations Advocates blast state budget proposal to limit Medicaid for undocumented immigrants “No Secret Police” bill would make CA first state to ban police from wearing face coverings Israel, Iran continue missile warfare as UN, diplomats call for de-escalation UN launches appeal for humanitarian aid amid cuts, saying forced into a “triage of human survival” The post “No Kings” protests across nation draw millions; “No Secret Police” bill would make CA first state to ban police from wearing face coverings – June 16, 2025 appeared first on KPFA.

On today's show: Israel and Iran at War: Trump Is “Only World Leader Who Can Stop the Cycle of Escalation” No Kings: Millions Across U.S. Protest Trump's Power Grab, Overshadowing His Military Parade “An Outstanding Leader”: Minnesota Mourns Assassinated Lawmaker Melissa Hortman, as Suspect Is Arrested   The post Democracy Now 6am – June 16, 2025 appeared first on KPFA.

On today's Palestine Post, we speak with Khury Petersen-Smith, Michael Ratner Middle East Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, where he researches U.S. empire, borders, and migration. — 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 Palestine Post w/ Khury Petersen-Smith appeared first on KPFA.

Laila is a Syrian-Palestinian law student and organizer with the Bay Area chapter of the Palestinian Youth Movement: a transnational, grassroots organization of Palestinian and Arab youth in the diaspora fighting for justice and liberation.  — 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 Palestine Post: Palestinian Youth Movement Action appeared first on KPFA.

This hour long radio program presents and discusses women's lives and issues globally and locally from a radical, multiracial, feminist, mujerist, womanist perspective. The post Womens Magazine – June 16, 2025 appeared first on KPFA.

This week on CounterSpin: Media are focused on public protests in LA but seem less interested in what's making people angry. That's in part about the federal government's stated bid to capture and eject anyone who they determine “opposes U.S. foreign policy.” Protesters and witnesses and journalists in LA aren't being shot at and thrown around and sent to the hospital because they disagree with U.S. policy, we're told, but because they're interfering with the federal agents carrying out that policy. See how that works? If you don't, and it worries you, you're far from alone. We hear from Chip Gibbons, policy director at Defending Rights and Dissent, about the critical case of Columbia University student activist Mahmoud Khalil, held without warrant in a detention facility in Louisiana since March, for voicing support for Palestinian lives. There's an important legal development, but just like with ICE sweeps around the country, how meaningfully Khalil's case ultimately translates will have to do with us. If the goal were to “get rid of” unhoused people, the answer would be to house them. It's cheaper than jailing people for being homeless, so if it's those “taxpayer dollars” you care about, this would be plan A. Why isn't it? We hear from Farrah Hassen, policy analyst, writer and adjunct professor in the Department of Political Science at Cal Poly Pomona.   The post Chip Gibbons on Freeing Mahmoud Khalil / Farrah Hassen on Criminalizing Homelessness appeared first on KPFA.

The mission of law & disorder is to expose, agitate and build a new world where all of us can thrive. But how do we get there? How do we build a world many of us have only seen in our dreams? That's where we believe the artists come in. So, each week we feature an artist, holding down a weekly residency with us, helping us to imagine a different, more liberated world. Our Resistance in Residence Artist this week is author Maggie Tokuda-Hall. Check out Maggie Tokuda Halls's website: https://www.prettyokmaggie.com/ — 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 Resistance in Residence: Maggie Tokuda-Hall appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA goes live from the streets of San Jose for Broadcasting Resistance – Summer of Rage, a special broadcast confronting authoritarianism and uplifting voices of defiance. Hosted by Dennis Bernstein and Miguel Gavilan Molina, this three-hour program brings you frontline interviews with community organizers, healthcare advocates, immigrant rights leaders, and youth activists pushing back against fear and repression. Because resistance isn't pre-recorded—it's happening now. The post Broadcasting Resistance – Summer of Rage (Live from San Jose) appeared first on KPFA.

Deranged “edits” segue into a cascade of echoing glossolaliac madness, the voicing of lyric ruminations from the free-falling brains of disintegrating personalities. The post Puzzling Evidence – June 13, 2025 appeared first on KPFA.

Themed mixes are made live and spontaneously on the air, consisting of found sound of many kinds and from many sources, old and new, put together on the run as the continuous audio collage continues. The post Over the Edge – June 13, 2025 appeared first on KPFA.

To begin this week's show, Mickey welcomes back media scholar Nolan Higdon. They discuss his new podcast Disinfo Detox and recurring special feature “The Gaslight Gazette,” which analyzes current events and media coverage of them through a critical media literacy lens aiming to deconstruct deceptive media messaging. They also discuss legacy media's failure to adequately cover Joe Biden's physical and cognitive decline in the last election, which a new book co-authored by CNN's Jake Tapper addresses. The authors shift blame from corporate media to the Democratic Party, without noting their own lack of in-depth coverage, even though there were stories published at the time in the independent press. Later in the show Eleanor Goldfield and Mickey present another installment in their “Is This the Best We Can Do?” segment that analyzes the competency of current government appointees for the positions they fulfill. They examine recent cases of astonishing ignorance by two of Trump's department heads, as well as the way Biden's former State Department spokesman changed his story once out of office. Nolan Higdon teaches in the Education Department at the University of California Santa Cruz campus. He's also written extensively on media issues and is a frequent guest on the Project Censored Show.   The post Disinfo, Decline, and Dysfunction / Ignorance and deception in high places appeared first on KPFA.

Host Mitch Jeserich recounts the story of a protest known as the “Bath Riots.” The riots are known to have been started by Carmelita Torres and lasted from January 28 to January 30 and were sparked by new immigration policies at the El Paso–Juárez Immigration and Naturalization Service office, requiring Mexicans crossing the border to take de-lousing baths.  Carmelita Torres who crossed the border daily from Juarez to clean houses in El Paso.  She refused to take a toxic disinfectant bath. Press accounts estimated that, by noon, she was joined by several thousand demonstrators at the border bridge. When others saw their resistance they joined in by protesting as well. Within an hour, there were more than 200 women blocking the entrance to El Paso. By the end of the demonstration, there were several thousand protesters. Once the officers tried to break up the crowd, the demonstrators threw rocks at them. They laid in front of trains and vehicles. When police aimed their guns into the crowd, they responded by yelling louder. The police were unable to break them up and she was arrested. After her arrest, she went missing. Until this day, it is not known what happened to her (Wikipedia).   Photo: El Paso disinfection station and Mexicans waiting to be de-loused at the international bridge at the US immigration station on Wikipedia The post The Bath Riots of 1917 & the People's Response to Racist Immigration Policies appeared first on KPFA.