Abolition, Liberation, Solidarity: A Here4TheKids Production

Today, Saira welcomes writer and publisher Sarah Durham Wilson to the podcast. Her recently launched revolutionary feminist zine MIELE aims to flip celebrity on its head by centering activists and the Polycrisis instead.

Sarah's first job was at Rolling Stone magazine. She went on to work at GQ, VH1, Vanity Fair, and Interview magazines.

In 2022, she wrote "Maiden to Mother" a book on the rite of passage to the Mature Feminine.

She's a witch in the woods of Maine with her child Avalon and their familiars, Ridley and Odin, named after the God of the Runes, in a nod to her Celtic heritage.

You can connect to her on Instagram.

Today, Saira welcomes author and academic Dr. Mohamed Abdou to the podcast. Abdou describes himself as an interdisciplinary scholar of Indigenous, Black, critical race, and Islamic studies, as well as anti-racism, feminism, gender, sexuality, women, decolonial and post-colonial studies with extensive fieldwork experience in the Middle East-North Africa and Turtle Island.

He most recently was a professor at Columbia University and was an outspoken advocate for the students participating in the Gaza Solidarity Encampment this past spring. He was called out in front of Congress during testimony by then-university president Minouche Shafik, becoming the target of harassment. He was fired from Columbia and lost his American work visa, causing him to flee the U.S.

Abdou recently filed a wrongful termination suit against Columbia University. From the press release dated August 26th: “Author and scholar Dr. Mohamed Abdou filed a wrongful termination suit against Columbia University yesterday evening, citing prejudice surrounding his anti-colonial academic discourse and vocal support of Palestine. The public awareness campaign, WeAreMohamed, launched today to share Abdou’s story and spotlight the institutional repression and slander faced by those who publicly challenge the United States government’s unconditional support of Israel, and settler-colonialism in Israel and the U.S.”

Dr. Abdou is the author of the book Islam and Anarchism: Relationships and Resonances.

You can connect to his work and social handles through his website.

Today, Saira welcomes Michael Schirtzer to the podcast. Michael Schirtzer is a white Jewish American comedian who’s been loudly anti-Zionist for a long time. 

Since 2021, he has co-hosted The Palestine Pod podcast and he also performs as a standup comedian.

Michael joins Saira to discuss his own anti-Zionist awakening, his thoughts on American Imperialism, and his advice for getting involved at the community level.

For more, please follow Michael on Instagram.

Amanda Seales is an actor, comedian, author, podcast host, and so much more. You may know her from the HBO comedy series Insecure, her comedy specials, her radio show The Amanda Seales Show or her podcast Small Doses.

While most of Hollywood has been either openly pro-Israel or silent on Israel and America’s genocide of Palestinians, Amanda has been the exact opposite- speaking the truth to her millions of followers on a daily basis. She’s a fierce advocate for social justice, for collective liberation – for those in Palestine, Sudan, Congo, and for Black and brown folks here in the USA.

In this conversation, Amanda discusses the challenges of building true community in the era of social media and her decision to step away from Instagram.

For more, please subscribe to Amanda’s newsletter and her Patreon.

Author and novelist Sunny Singh is widely recognized as a champion for decolonization and inclusion across all aspects of society. 

Sunny was born in Varanasi, India and has studied in the U.S., India, and Spain. She is now based in London.

Her books include the highly acclaimed novel Hotel Arcadia, a study of Amitabh Bachchan for the BFI’s film star series, and her newest book A Bollywood State of Mind.

In this conversation, Sunny describes her experience as a teenager in the United States, her view that the Civil War has been ongoing since the 1860s, and her belief that America is on the brink of collapse.

This episode also features a quick check in with Frederick Joseph about the presumed candidacy of Kamala Harris.

Frederick Joseph is the award-winning author of The Black Friend, Patriarchy Blues, Better Than We Found It (which he co-wrote with his wife Porsche), and The Courage to Dream, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. 

His new poetry collection We Alive, Beloved is out next week.

Fred and Saira discuss the current state of the world, U.S. politics, shadow banning and censorship on social media, and poetry.

Nour Alqaddumi and Layan Alnajjar are recent graduates from the University of Connecticut.

They are the co-founders of We Will Return, a nonprofit that provides essential humanitarian relief, fosters social activism, and promotes education for Palestinian families.

In conversation with Communications Director of Here 4 The Kids, they discuss the student protests, global oppression, and what solidarity with the Palestinian community looks like.

Naley is a filmmaker, writer, and the founder of NaleybyNature, an independent venture to document extraordinary stories from the most overlooked corners of the world. 

Born and raised in New York City, Naley studied media and journalism at Iona College, where she completed her bachelor’s degree. After years of questioning how the media reports on or ignores international conflicts, Naley dedicated her life to looking deeper into each story. She found that the truth always emerges when you connect to the people behind these headlines, and so she began to travel the world. 

Naley joins Saira to discuss the connection between oppression in Palestine, Congo, Kashmir, and elsewhere around the world and how radical community is the antidote to white supremacy and patriarchy.

Alana Hadid is a Palestinian-American fashion designer and film producer.

She serves as Creative Director of the new production company Watermelon Pictures, which is aiming to produce, distribute, and finance films and other creative projects from Palestinian filmmakers and artists.

Alana joins Saira to chat about Watermelon Picture's new film Walled Off, which tells the story of the Walled Off hotel, an art installation in Bethlehem created by Banksy, which draws attention the story of the Palestinian people living under Israeli occupation.

She also discusses her family’s relationship to Palestine and what she has witnessed on her visits there.

Regina Jackson is the co-founder of Race2Dinner, co-author of the book White Women: Everything You Already Know About Your Own Racism and How to Do Better, and the star of the documentary Deconstructing Karen.

She joins Saira and Here4TheKids's Communication Director Jo Lorenz to discuss the intersection of American antiracism work and Palestinian liberation.