I chatted with Dr. Bathsheba Demuth on her ground-breaking work, Floating Coast: An Environmental History fo the Bering Strait, which discusses how both the Capitalism of the US and the State Socialism of the USSR sought to enclose, extract and transform the Arctic.   We discuss the impact of nation-states on the indigenous peoples of the Arctic. How both capitalism and environmentalism devastated the arctic's flora and fauna, and what deeper spiritual meanings we can find in the Arctic and...

I spoke with Japan-based writer Sam Holden on his work saving Sento & Akiya, the "Past and Future Commons" of Japan.  We discuss the community ecosystems that Sento Bathouses and Akiya generate, what cities like Tokyo lose when bathhouses disappear, and what lessons rehabilitating these structures and turning them into 'commons' has for a post-growth Japan and a world exhausted by the relentless and violent push for growth in late-state neoliberal capitalism.  It's a fascinating...

I hosted journalist Haris Zargar for an in-depth conversation on Kashmir, Kashmiri Identity and how India's leader Narendra Modi has unleashed unprecedented violence and authoritarianism on the region.  For more on Kashmir, I highly recommend Haris's work at New Frame Magazine: https://www.newframe.com/writer/haris-zargar/ For more on a Feminist perspective on Kashmir and India's state, carceral and patriarchal violence, I highly recommend the group Zanaan Wanaan, who we hope to host as...

We spoke to Brian Kahn the managing editor of Earther for a frank and (at times) spiritual discussion on what it's like to do climate change reporting on a dying planet.  Brian and I discuss his publication Earther, my own critiques with the data/policy/'nerd' focus of modern climate change reporting, and if there is more room for the spiritual or empathetic in discussing the anthropocene and the daily necropolitics of climate change.  It's a raw and honest discussion that I've left mostly...

To explore art's role in revolutionary times, I spoke to Poet Wendy Trevino. We discuss her work as a poet and organizer, her critiques of ivory tower poets and magazines, and what we all can do as artists to stoke the social movements needed to save the world.  She's also kind enough to share one of her poems.  For more with Wendy, please check her poetry collection 'Cruel Fictions" published by Commune Press: https://communeeditions.com/cruel-fiction-wendy-trevino/  Music by Producer...

I spoke to Artist Shaq Koyok on Orang Asli, the indigenous peoples of Malaysia. It was a great conversation on the history of Malaysia, decolonialism, and global indigenous organizing.  For more of Shaq check out his instagram @shaqkoyok_art or his main website: https://shaqkoyok.blogspot.com/ Music by: Zach Sutton - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXvfO0IADMw Images by Shaq Koyok 

I spoke to Dr. Khatchig Mouradian for a fascinating conversation on how Armenians resisted extermination at the hands of the Ottoman Empire and his new book: The Resistance Network: The Armenian Genocide and Humanitarianism in Ottoman Syria, 1915–1918.  Our conversation discusses the particularities of how Armenians resisted genocide, but also the universal lessons we can take from Armenian survival.  We also discuss extensively the work of legal scholar Raphael Lemkin and Armenian Assassin...

We spoke to Dr. Elaine Hui of Penn State on her incredible work of scholarship: Hegemonic Transformation The State, Laws, and Labour Relations in Post-Socialist China Dr. Hui and I discuss how China transitioned from socialism to capitalism, how hegemony & consent were manufactured by the CCP to convince citizens to go along with this huge shift in ideology, and the workers, laborers and migrants who still resist the hyper-neoliberalism of China under Xi Jinping.  It's a fascinating...

I spoke to artist Sam Lavigne on his subversive artwork and the need to collectively sabotage Big Tech.  We also discuss the philosophy of Luddism & the bleak future that will come to pass if we don't resist Silicon Valley.  For more w. Sam, please read his full essay on Pioneer Works here: https://pioneerworks.org/broadcast/gaslighting-your-boss And you can check out his website here: https://lav.io/ Music by Prod Riddiman - Adrenaline : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdOhb2qB6k0

I spoke to Novelist S.L Lim on what writing & making art has been like in Australia, which has endured some of the most dramatic consequences of life during the Anthropocene. We discuss the death of the Great Barrier Reef, Wildfires and why Australians seems to be doubling down on leaders and political movements that will accelerate and intensify climate and ecosystem catastrophe.  The rest of our discussion (which is a wide-ranging one!) focuses on abolition, settler-colonialism and...

We spoke to Xuandi Wang of Sixth Tone on his work covering Youth in China, their alienation, alternative lifestyles (on real-life communes or in digital spaces) that are emerging, and the general state of mental health on the Chinese internet.  For more with Xuandi, we highly recommend his reporting in Sixth Tone, which you can find here: https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1006834/capturing-the-alienation-of-chinas-young-migrants and here:...

I spoke to Dr. Duncan McCargo, Director at the Nordic Institute of Asia Studies and the author of " Tearing Apart The Land: Islam and Legitimacy in Southern Thailand"  Our discussion is on Patani, located in Southern Thailand it's one of the most misunderstood regions in all of Southeast Asia. Dr. McCargo and I discuss how Patani's fate was decided by the Kingdom of Siam & The British Empire, why the region of Patani has been so resistant to being part of Thailand, what that resistance...

I spoke to Steve Ducey of NØlympics LA on why his group is trying to stop the Olympics from coming to LA and the many problems of the modern Olympics.  It's a fascinating chat on gentrification, capital and nationalism and I think Steve makes a very convincing case against the Modern Olympics, and all this even without the myriad of problems that Covid-19 introduces into trying to host the global event.   For more conversations on the Olympics you can check out NØlympics LA here:...

I spoke with legendary scholar Dr. Joy James on Ella Baker, John Brown, Samaria Rice, Maroonage and rebuilding Abolitionism in the United States & Globally.  For more on the topics we discuss today, please see the following resources:  WEB DuBois on John Brown: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/62799 Joy James on Ella Baker in Transcending the Talented Tenth:...

We conclude our conversation with Vice's Edward Ongweso Jr.  by looking at Peter Thiel's role in bankrolling Uber as the 'Tip of the Spear' for rolling back labor laws, workers' rights and Unions. All in the name of creating a 'Post-capitalist' future of monopoly, dominance and control.  We also discuss the shocking (and shockingly underreported) collaboration between Jackson, Mississippi's Mayor Chokwe Lumumba and Amazon's Ring program. Why is the leader of 'Cooperation Jackson', working...

This is a conversation with Hathairat "Wist" Phaholtap, Thai Editor at the Isaan Record, on Isaan & Northeast Thailand. We discuss The Isaan Record's outstanding reporting on Northeast Thailand, as well as the unique history, culture and politics of this region.  Other topics include Mo Lam Music, Feminism and the health of Thailand's ecosystems. For more of the Isaan record, I highly recommend the following series:  On Feminism in...

I spoke to Dr. Rodrigo Nunes  on Neoliberalism, Denialism and the question of what political forms and economies may exist in the near future.  We also discuss the paradoxical popularity of leaders like Trump, Bolsanaro and Neoliberalism itself.  For more w. Dr. Nunes, I highly recommend his essay for Public Books 'Are we in Denial about Denial?" , and look out for his new book ' Neither Vertical Nor Horizontal: A Theory of Political Organization' out May 2021 on Verso.  Public Books Essay...

To discuss Amazon and the failed union effort in Bessemer, Alabama, I spoke to Lauren Kaori Gurley of Vice's Motherboard. We discuss working conditions in Bessemer, how Amazon defeated the unionization effort, and the bleak future of work for all of us if Amazon is not brought under control.  For more with Lauren, you can check out her reporting here: https://www.vice.com/en/contributor/lauren-kaori-gurley Or follow her on twitter: @LaurenKGurley Music by One:...

This is a conversation with my dear friend, Palestinian- Lebanese Writer & Academic Joey Ayoub  We discuss the situation on the ground in Palestine, how all of us can (and need) to stand in solidarity with Palestine, and  why Israel - a nation founded on 'never again' -  is engaging in  ethnic-cleansing and the systemic extermination of the Palestinian people.  For more resources on Palestine, Joey recommended the following:  Palestine +100  The book of Gaza  Larissa Sansour (her...

We spoke to Zafar Aafaq on his coverage of India's Covid-19 pandemic,  how India's Muslim communities have responded with a huge outpouring of mutual aid to all Indians, and if the BJP's disastrous handling of the Covid-19 crisis will damper the potency of its ethnonationalist politics of Hindutva.  We also discuss the situation of Covid-19 in Kashmir and how the BJP's carceral violence in the region is completely antithetical to public health.  For more of Zafar's work please follow him on...

I was so fortunate to be able to speak with Vice's Viola Zhou, whose labor reporting on the Gig Economy of China I've found to be an invaluable resource for better understanding global capitalism, China's rising billionaire class, the culture of China's Silicon Valley(s)  The current economic strategies of China's Communist Party, and most importantly the fate of China's working class.  We discuss all these topics with Viola, who paints an easy to understand picture of China's Gig Economy,...

To discuss Central Asia and go beyond the idiotic stereotypes of Borat, I spoke to Joanna Lillis, author of: Dark Shadows: Inside the Secret World of Kazakhstan. We have a far-reaching discussion on Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan and the real lives of people living in these diverse and dynamic nations. A journalist with over 20 years of experience living in Central Asia, Joanna has an unparalleled knowledge on the region and is able to host a fascinating...

I spoke to Eli Friedman of Cornell University on arrested delivery driver / labor organizer Mengzhu (盟主), and China's Gig Economy.  We discuss Mengzhu, his amazing life story, and his even more incredible organizing of China's delivery workers. We then discuss why such an amazing worker would be violently suppressed and imprisoned by the 'Communist' party of China.  This dovetails with a conversation on why the Gig Economy has taken such a large role in China's economy, how this Gig economy...

I had the honor of speaking to Let Let Sein (a pseudonym) a brave Shan/Karen ethnic women on the ground in Myanmar.  We discuss how protesters are using strikes/mutual aid/digital activism and street protests to fight for democracy, the inhuman violence that Myanmar's Military (Tatmadaw) dictatorship is using to brutally claim power, and how the world can help Myanmar's protesters and freedom struggle.  For more resources on Myanmar I would recommend the following:   Justice for Myanmar:...

To discuss the violence of Borders & Global North Immigration, I was honored to speak w. Shahram Khosravi of Stockholm University. Dr. Khosravi is the author of several books (on Art, Iran, Sweden), but it is his work  '"Illegal'" Traveler: An Auto-Ethnography of Borders' that we discuss most extensively today.  Dr. Khosravi discusses the violence he faced as an 'illegal' migrant fleeing Iran for Sweden, how migrants today face even worse violence and exclusion from Global North...