The genocide unfolding in Gaza is being sustained by corporate interests. In this episode, we unmask the corporations and governments underpinning Israeli occupation by diving into the findings of a landmark report by United Nations Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese.

Since the assaults on Gaza began, the Tel Aviv stock exchange has risen by 179%. Titled "From economy of occupation to economy of genocide," the report identifies corporations across sectors profiting from or contributing to Israel’s crimes in Gaza and the West Bank. These businesses – from weapons manufacturing and tech to finance, construction, and academia – are complicit in structural human rights violations, including apartheid, annexation, and genocide.

Business and human rights scholar Manpreet Kaur Kalra is joined by Lydia de Leeuw, researcher and strategic litigation lead at SOMO, the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations. Together, they delve into the report’s findings on how corporations are enabling, sustaining, and profiting from genocide in Gaza. Their conversation explores the broader implications for international law and emphasizes the urgent need for binding, enforceable mechanisms to hold corporations accountable for their role in human rights violations.

During this episode, we examine:

• The findings of the UN report and what they reveal about profit-driven complicity in genocide
• What legal mechanisms are proposed and available to hold corporations and their executives accountable
• The U.S. government’s unprecedented response and what it signals
• How this moment fits into the broader conversation of corporate accountability for human rights abuses abroad

Resources & References

• UN Report: From Economy of Occupation to Economy of Genocide
• Economic Sanctions Now: the EU is Israel’s largest investor by SOMO
• Business as usual in Palestine? by SOMO

The complicity of corporations in international crimes is not accidental, it's structural. The economies of occupation and genocide are deeply intertwined. This episode exposes an entire economy and profit-making industry built on dispossession, surveillance, and militarized control, enabled by some of the most powerful companies in the world. Without enforceable accountability, corporate actors will continue to profit from the destruction of Palestinian life. The call is urgent—complicity must end and those responsible must be held to account.

📌Support the Podcast: Art of Citizenry is proudly independent. Support us as we critically explore, challenge, and unravel mainstream narratives by empowering listeners with accessible, nuanced perspectives. 

• Support Art of Citizenry’s Independent Journalism and Advocacy Efforts: https://www.artofcitizenry.com/support
• Substack: https://artofcitizenry.substack.com/
• Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/manpreetkalra

Thank you to our producer, Aly Honoré, and editor, Steven Blevins. The music featured in the podcast was created by Katrina Zemrak.

For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

In this episode, we’re pulling back the curtain on social entrepreneurship – not to dismiss its promise, but to grapple with its pitfalls and benefits. Social entrepreneurship has emerged as a popular model for those seeking to tackle social issues by reimagining business for good. But the rise in its popularity requires us to pause for deeper reflection on how the model is used, who is included, and whether it is truly disrupting the systems it aims to transform, or simply replicating them in more marketable ways.

Host and social impact advisor, Manpreet Kaur Kalra, sits down with Concepción Galdón, Vice-Dean of Business with Purpose at IE Business School in Madrid and co-author of: Promise, Pitfalls, and Potential of Social Entrepreneurship. Together, they challenge the very definitions that underpin social entrepreneurship and how to move beyond heropreneurship to build more restorative approaches to social change.

During this conversation, we examine: 

• Who defines what “impact” means in different cultural and economic contexts 
• How heropreneurship narratives harm both entrepreneurs and communities
• Why traditional expectations around scalability and growth pose challenges
• The hurdles with impact measurement and impact investing

This episode is a call to slow down, to listen more deeply, and to rethink the definitions, expectations, and power dynamics that shape the world of social enterprises.

📌Support the Podcast: Art of Citizenry is proudly independent. Support us as we critically explore, challenge, and unravel mainstream narratives by empowering listeners with accessible, nuanced perspectives. 

• Support Art of Citizenry’s Independent Journalism and Advocacy Efforts: https://www.artofcitizenry.com/support
• Substack: https://artofcitizenry.substack.com/
• Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/manpreetkalra

For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

This week, while we take a break, we found it timely and important to recast this episode: Criminalization of Immigration with Anthony Enriquez.

In episode 19 of Art of Citizenry Podcast, Manpreet is joined by Anthony Enriquez, the VP of U.S. Advocacy and Litigation at RFK Human Rights. Together, they discuss the complexities of immigration detention in the U.S., focusing on the financial motivations behind privatized detention centers, the historical shifts in immigration policy, and the role of race in shaping these policies. Anthony highlights the significant abuses occurring in detention centers and the need for advocacy and reform to address these issues. This conversation delves into the complex issues surrounding immigration detention centers, their economic impact on local communities, the evolving political narratives around immigration, and the structural challenges within immigration policy. It highlights the importance of local advocacy and the need for oversight and accountability in immigration detention practices, emphasizing the role of community-led movements in shaping a more just immigration system.

Meet Our Guest

Anthony Enriquez is the Vice President of U.S. Advocacy and Litigation at Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights. He is an attorney working to reduce mass incarceration in the United States by exposing and stopping human rights abuses in the criminal legal and immigration systems. Anthony leads a team of advocates fighting in U.S. courts and international human rights mechanisms in solidarity with grassroots campaigns for accountability for state-sponsored racial discrimination, torture, and extrajudicial killings.

“Immigration detention is more than an immigrants' rights issue alone. The power we give to the U.S. government to inflict abuses on immigrants is inevitably used against citizens: from racial profiling to mass surveillance to prolonged civil detention and even deportation itself. The public funds we use to transform rural economies into private prison towns could have been used for investments in small businesses, manufacturing, and vocational and educational training instead of multi-million-dollar CEO salaries.”  

Take Action.

At this moment the safety of many is under threat. With much uncertainty, members of our communities are living in fear of what lies ahead. The current administration is attempting to fast-track deportations without due process and have already passed a series of executive orders that further push hardline immigration policies and threaten Constitutional rights. Moments like this demand our action. Now is the time to support the efforts of local grassroots organizations and immigration legal services. Also, take a moment to know your rights – regardless of status, you have rights under the U.S. Constitution.

Thank You for Listening

Please subscribe and leave a five-star review for Art of Citizenry wherever you listen to podcasts. Also, if you want to connect, please feel free to follow along and share your thoughts on Substack - artofcitizenry.substack.com

For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

From slavery to Jim Crow, from colonial conquest to today's global labor exploitation—racism has always been foundational to capitalism. But what exactly is racial capitalism, and how does it continue to shape our economy and daily lives?

In this episode, Manpreet Kaur Kalra sits down with renowned historian Robin D. G. Kelley to unravel how capitalism has always been a racialized and gendered colonial project. Together, they examine how systemic racism is ingrained in economic structures, shaping everything from labor practices and property rights to state power and global migration.

Meet Our Guest: Dr. Robin D. G. Kelley is Distinguished Professor and Gary B. Nash Endowed Chair in U.S. History at UCLA.  His books include Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination and Hammer and Hoe: Alabama Communists During the Great Depression.

In this deeply insightful conversation, we examine:

• how race and gender hierarchies have historically been used to justify exploitation
• the role of slavery in shaping modern labor systems
• Juneteenth and the reality of emancipation in the U.S., reframing the history we’ve been taught
• Jim Crow as a response to interracial labor movements
• ongoing impacts of colonialism on labor practices and immigration policy today
• the importance of solidarity in dismantling systems of oppression

Dr. Kelley makes clear that racial capitalism isn’t just history, it’s the blueprint behind our current economic order. Understanding its roots and mechanisms is critical to any movement seeking genuine liberation and systemic change.

“If the goal is liberation, two things have to go: modern capitalism and systemic racism.” — Robin D.G. Kelley

📌 Robin D.G. Kelley’s work critically examines race, capitalism, labor, and radical social movements, offering powerful insights on the struggle for collective liberation. For more about Juneteenth, listen to his episode on the Majority Report.

Support the Podcast: Art of Citizenry is proudly independent. Support us as we critically explore, challenge, and unravel mainstream narratives by empowering listeners with accessible, nuanced perspectives. 

• Support Art of Citizenry’s Independent Journalism and Advocacy Efforts: https://www.artofcitizenry.com/support
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For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

In this episode, host Manpreet Kaur Kalra invites listeners into a reflective and urgent conversation about the enduring legacy of "divide and rule," one of colonialism’s most insidious and effective strategies of domination. Often treated as a historical tactic, divide-and-rule remains deeply embedded in today’s global systems, from political polarization to economic dependency. Manpreet reflects on how this strategy was not merely about creating divisions, but about surgically engineering hierarchies that pit communities against one another in service of control.

Through a historical lens, the episode examines how colonial regimes fractured societies along religious, ethnic, and social lines to undermine solidarity and resistance. The legacy of these interventions lives on — in borders, in conflict, and in the structural inequalities that underpin the Global North-Global South divide.

🔍 In this episode, we explore:

• Historical examples of divide and rule, including:
  • The 1947 Partition of India and Pakistan
  • The creation of Bantustans under apartheid South Africa
  • Colonialisms use of tribal divisions in Rwanda to weaken collective governance and how that underpinned the Rwandan Genocide
• The evolution of these tactics into modern-day “soft power” mechanisms used by:
  • Global institutions like the UN, IMF, and WTO
  • Multinational corporations that exploit weak regulatory environments and divided societies for profit

The episode draws a direct line from historical divide-and-rule policies to the scapegoating and “othering” seen in today’s politics—from anti-immigrant legislation to the assault on trans rights. These are not disconnected events, but rather the continuation of a well-worn strategy designed to distract and divide, making it harder for communities to organize and challenge dominant power structures.

💭 Reflection Prompt: How do the tactics of divide-and-rule show up in your daily life, your community, or your field of work—and what does it look like to build across those divides?

Whether you’re a student of history, a social justice advocate, or simply curious about the ways power operates in our world, this episode offers a thoughtful, grounded look at how the past continues to shape our present—and how we might start to imagine something different.

Support the Podcast: Art of Citizenry is proudly independent. Support us as we critically explore, challenge, and unravel mainstream narratives by empowering listeners with accessible, nuanced perspectives. 

• Support Art of Citizenry’s Independent Journalism and Advocacy Efforts: https://www.artofcitizenry.com/support
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For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

If you caught Episode 25, you know the story: approximately 250 Guatemalan garment workers are still owed $500,000 in severance from Lucky Brand after the closure of the Industrial Hana factory. But what started as a case study in wage theft quickly revealed something bigger—how private equity is transforming fashion supply chains behind the scenes.

In this follow-up episode, Manpreet Kaur Kalra reconnects with Anna Canning of Partners for Dignity & Rights to peel back the layers of fashion’s financial structure. Together, they trace how corporate ownership is intentionally opaque, and how firms like Authentic Brands Group are profiting by fragmenting responsibility. From bankruptcies and brand buyouts to complex licensing deals, together, we unpack how private equity is redefining who owns what—and why that matters for the future of corporate accountability. 

We talk about the companies you don’t see on tags—the ones pulling the strings behind brand names by diving into: 

• How private equity uses debt, licensing, and outsourcing to extract value
• The growing trend of intellectual property empires
• Why bankruptcy is now a business tactic, not a failure
• What Forever 21, Shaquille O’Neal, and mall landlords have to do with all of it

Private equity isn’t just reshaping fashion—it’s financializing daily life. From healthcare to the roads we drive on to legacy fashion brands, this episode is a deep dive into the real cost of profit-maximizing business models—and the urgent need for structural accountability.

“If the goal is to maximize returns on investment at any costs, then the working people at the bottom are always the ones who pay.” — Anna Canning

Meet Our Guest

Anna Canning leads the Worker Rights team at Partners for Dignity and Rights. Prior to that, she was with the Worker-driven Social Responsibility Network. Throughout her career, Anna has led creative campaigns taking on corporate power and the fairwashing used to cover corporate abuses. Anna has over 20 years of experience working in supply chains and in movements for food justice and human rights.

📌 Partners for Dignity and Rights is a non-profit that advocates for human rights, especially the rights to dignified work, housing, and public education.

Read the full show notes: https://www.artofcitizenry.com/podcast/private-equity-in-fashion

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Art of Citizenry is 100% listener-supported. Every contribution helps us continue producing research-intensive episodes and paying our small but mighty team. If this episode resonates with you, consider supporting our work:

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Around the world, far-right and ultra-conservative movements are gaining power—mainstreaming ideologies once confined to the political fringes. From the recent elections in Germany to the United States, we’re witnessing a rise in extremist rhetoric, the rollback of human rights protections, and a troubling erosion of democratic norms. As these forces grow bolder, many leaders – from businesses to major media companies to higher education – are choosing silence over resistance. But neutrality in moments like these is not apolitical; it’s complicity. When leaders remain quiet, they protect the very systems that threaten the fabric of a just and equitable society.

In this episode, Manpreet Kaur Kalra is joined by longtime collaborator and CEO of El Puente, Jette Ladiges, whose voice as a business leader serves as a source of inspiration in the face of political silence. Together, they unpack why “neutrality” is not neutral, and what it means to lead fearlessly in an era defined by rising authoritarianism.

“Choosing to stay silent is just as much a political decision as taking a stand.” – Jette Ladiges, CEO of El Puente

This episode examines how rising far-right ideologies and authoritarian movements threaten not just governments, but the global economy. Manpreet and Jette discuss the recent elections in Germany and how extremist political movements in Germany, the United States, and globally pose a critical need for continuous and collective rebellion against the spread of dangerous ideologies and oppression. Against this backdrop, they argue that silence—especially from institutions with power and influence—is not a neutral position, but a tacit endorsement of harm. 

Together, they discuss how we can rethink current economic structures, the importance of small-medium size businesses, and the role of businesses in advocating for democracy and human rights. The conversation explores the urgent need for leaders across all sectors to drive structural change and lead with values, particularly in the face of today’s mounting global challenges.

They also examine how stakeholder-led governance models can disrupt extractive economic systems and serve as blueprints for systemic transformation. The discussion challenges entrenched Global North–Global South dichotomies, highlights the precarious future of Germany’s Supply Chain Due Diligence Act, and reflects on the fragility of democracy across borders. This is a conversation about rejecting complacency and recognizing that building ethical, resilient systems requires collaboration, community, and confronting extremism head-on.

Meet Our Guest

Jette Ladiges is the CEO of El Puente, a Germany-based social enterprise and member of the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO). Her work has always been rooted in the social enterprise movement. She also serves on the board of the World Fair Trade Organization and Forum Fairer Handel, the German Fair Trade association and advocacy office, where she advocates for business models that put people and the planet first.

Read the full show notes: https://www.artofcitizenry.com/podcast/a-call-for-humanity-standing-against-extremism

Support the Podcast: Art of Citizenry is proudly independent. Support us as we critically explore, challenge, and unravel mainstream narratives by empowering listeners with accessible, nuanced perspectives. 

• Support Art of Citizenry’s Independent Journalism and Advocacy Efforts: https://www.artofcitizenry.com/support
• Substack: https://artofcitizenry.substack.com/
• Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/manpreetkalra

For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

April 24th marks the anniversary of the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh—a tragedy that killed over 1,100 garment workers and injured thousands more. It exposed the human cost of unsustainable fashion cycles and sparked global conversations about corporate accountability, worker safety, and supply chain transparency. Over a decade later, workers across global supply chains still continue to fight for basic rights.

In this episode, Manpreet Kaur Kalra speaks with Anna Canning, Worker Rights Senior Program Director at Partners for Dignity and Rights. Anna recently published an article exposing Lucky Brand’s role in severance theft at Industrial Hana, a now-shuttered Guatemalan garment factory. The factory supplied apparel to companies including Lucky Brand, Puma, and American Eagle, yet only two of those brands have contributed to the $1.5 million in severance owed to workers. Lucky Brand continues to stall.

From unauthorized subcontracting to complex corporate structures, we take listeners behind the seams of global apparel production while unpacking the importance of legally binding agreements to protect garment workers in supply chains. We examine how systemic wage theft and labor abuses become “no one’s responsibility,” and what real accountability—rooted in worker-led models—could look like.

“The goal is to build a world where corporate impunity is out and worker-driven corporate accountability is the norm.” - Anna Canning, Partners for Dignity and Rights

Read the full show notes: https://www.artofcitizenry.com/podcast/not-so-lucky-jeans

Read Anna’s article: https://dignityandrights.org/2025/02/not-so-lucky-how-lucky-brand-shein-and-private-equity-fleeced-guatemalan-garment-workers/

Support the Podcast: Art of Citizenry is proudly independent. Support us as we critically explore, challenge, and unravel mainstream narratives by empowering listeners with accessible, nuanced perspectives. 

• Support Art of Citizenry’s Independent Journalism and Advocacy Efforts: https://www.artofcitizenry.com/support
• Substack: https://artofcitizenry.substack.com/
• Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/manpreetkalra

For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

Globalization has set the stage for complex supply chains that allow multinational corporations to geographically and legally distance themselves from the exploitative labor conditions they often incentivize and perpetuate, shielding themselves from accountability while profiting from systemic human rights abuses. Companies such as REI have long cultivated an image of sustainability and progressive values, but how do those commitments hold up when you follow the supply chain?

In this episode, Manpreet Kalra is joined by Clare Hammonds of the UMass Amherst Labor Center and Katie Nguyen of Students for International Labor Solidarity, co-authors of Beneath REI’s Green Sheen, a report that investigates human rights violations in REI’s global production network. From union-busting and debt bondage to sourcing partnerships with corporations known for environmental destruction, their research reveals a pattern of practices that put supply chain workers at high risk of exposure to egregious labor rights abuses with no reliable avenue for recourse or remedy.

We unpack the systemic issues that enable these violations, the limits of corporate impact reports, and the role of worker-driven social responsibility initiatives and student movements in supply chain accountability.

What happens when a brand’s values become a marketing tool rather than a moral compass? And how can we collectively hold companies accountable when harm is buried deep in the supply chain? Tune in for a conversation that unpacks the realities of complex supply chains—and uplifts the people building power to confront it.

Read the full show notes: https://www.artofcitizenry.com/podcast/beneath-the-green-sheen-rei

Support Art of Citizenry’s Independent Journalism and Advocacy Efforts: https://www.artofcitizenry.com/support

Substack: https://artofcitizenry.substack.com/
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/manpreetkalra

For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

The fate of America’s public lands is at a crossroads. With sweeping federal budget cuts, mass job losses at key agencies like the Department of the Interior and the US Department of Agriculture, and a growing push for resource extraction under the banner of economic security, the future of national parks and trails has never felt more uncertain. At the heart of this shift sits a potential deepening of extractive policies that prioritize industry over conservation.

In this episode, Manpreet Kaur Kalra sits down with Courtney Lyons-Garcia, Executive Director of Partnership for the National Trails System, to unpack what these changes mean for the protection and stewardship of America’s most treasured landscapes. We’ll explore how federal funding freezes are impacting nonprofit partners working on the ground, and what this means for how we experience the outdoors. But beyond these threats, we also discuss paths forward—how Indigenous stewardship efforts are reshaping conservation, what policies we should be keeping a close watch on, and how everyday people can take action to safeguard public lands.

Are we witnessing the systematic dismantling of public lands as we know them? And if so, what will it take to fight back? Tune in for a critical conversation about the intersection of policy, economics, conservation, and the power struggles defining America’s national trails.

Read the full show notes: https://www.artofcitizenry.com/podcast/the-fight-for-national-trails

Support Art of Citizenry’s Independent Journalism and Advocacy Efforts: https://www.artofcitizenry.com/support

Patreon: 

https://www.patreon.com/manpreetkalra

For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes