Today we’re joined by a very special guest, perhaps the best orator we’ve had on this podcast. But it’s not his oration that is captivating and enlightening, but his story, biography and theoretical and practical reflections. It is a real privilege and honor to be talking to elder Ashanti Alston. In this conversation we look at his new book, 'Anarchist Panther', which was released this year by AK Press. Ashanti talks to us about his life during the civil rights movement, the effects of Black Power on him and his comrades, his time in prison and his praxis and thoughts on topics such as anarchism, nationalism, feminism and racism.

Elder Ashanti was born in 1954, and at a young age witnessed the civil rights movement, the boom of the Nation of Islam, the Black Power movement, and himself was part of the Black Panther Party. From the mid 70s to the mid 80s, Ashanti spent more than a decade in prison for bank expropriation. Much of that time was spent reading and reflecting. In the book we discuss today, we get a glimpse into his reflections. Enjoy.

'Anarchist Panther' Book

Black Radicals

In this interview, we speak to Emmaia Gelmen on her book ‘The Anti-Defamation League and the Racial State’. While the history in the book mostly covers events in the US, the book is expansive in its critique of elite class interest and its relationship with racism, whiteness, the various waves of European Jewish immigration and the role of antisemitism. The book also covers the myth of an elite Jewish-Black alliance, suggesting instead that there is an antiracist alliance between working class Jewish people and Black people, but the ADL’s demand that Black populations to be grateful for the ADL’s role in Black liberation is based on a myth. Find out more about this interesting history, the origins of the ADL and its relationship to German Jews in Emmaia’s book. 

At the hour mark of this interview, I use Jason Arday’s treatment by the media as an example of racist attack on Black life to preserve white supremacy. We deliberated whether to include this part of the interview or not, due to the interview having taken place before, what I consider to be, the murder of beautiful Black life. We decided to include it, and extend our solidarity to Arday’s family, his children especially, his loved one and his friends. This type of solidarity always comes too late, may Arday’s children know of it, and boldly live in beautiful Blackness. Enjoy.

Book link: https://www.ucpress.edu/books/the-anti-defamation-league-and-the-racial-state/hardcover

link to the Institute for the Critical Study of Zionism: https://criticalzionismstudies.org

Link to Emma Gelman's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mishmoshkeleh/?hl=en

Black Radicals Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/black_radicals/?hl=en

We are joined in this episode by Mohamed Abdou to talk about his book 'Islam & Anarchism'. We start the conversation by talking about the meaning of 'Jihad' and its religious, historical and political roots. The conversation then uses the theme of smaller and greater 'Jihad' to analyse the shortcomings of political movements and theories of change. We also look at the historic relationship between Islam and Capitalism. Mohamed talks us through how to understand Islam and Anarchism.

If you enjoyed today's conversation, please consider following Mohamed Abdou on his instagram account, and picking up a copy of his excellent book. Link below.

You can also follow us on Instagram, and don't forget to like, share and subscribe.

Mohamed Abdou's Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/slightlydrifting?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==

Islam & Anarchism: https://www.plutobooks.com/product/islam-and-anarchism/

Black Radicals Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/black_radicals/

In today’s episode, we will be talking to Esra Özyürek about her book ‘Subcontractors of Guilt: Holocaust Memory and Muslim Belonging in Postwar Germany'. Professor Özyürek is the Sultan Qaboos Professor of Abrahamic Religions and Shared Values at the ⁠Faculty of Divinity, University of Cambridge⁠.

In our conversation today, we try to make sense of German guilt, memory culture, the central role of a certain bastardized form of anti-semitism to state ideology, and the who is Ahmad Mansour and what do people like him represent. Importantly, for us today, we see how these concepts are informed by anti-Muslim racism and the image Germany has of itself.

If you like today’s conversation, please follow us for more, subscribe and like. We will be continuing our reading group, if you’d like to be involved you can follow us on instagram at Black_radicals; alternatively, you can email us at [email protected].

There is huge hype around AI, how should we understand this seemingly new technology? In this episode, we're joined by award-winning journalist Kat Tenbarge to discuss what AI is; the harms that come with it; and how should we understand the mythology around AI. We discuss the relationship between AI and Deepfakes , gendered violence, racialisation , criminalisation and fascism.

If you've enjoyed this conversation, please subscribe to Kat Tenbarge's Spitfire News, you can also follow her on Instagram and Bluesky. I cannot recommend her work enough, a vital source for everything Internet related. Check out her latest reporting on the Epstein files.

https://spitfirenews.com

https://www.instagram.com/kattenbarge/

https://bsky.app/profile/kattenbarge.bsky.social

Finally, if you enjoy the work we do here, consider following us on Instagram.

https://www.instagram.com/black_radicals/

'Elections are the most undemocratic part of democracy'. In this episode, we talk to Dr. Aurelien Mondon about his and Dr. Aaron Winter book 'Reactionary Democracy'. The book offers a great insight into the mainstreaming of the far-right and how we should see this 'rise'. In this episode we explore the shortcomings of liberalism in stopping the far-right, what role the elites play in mainstreaming the far right, what strategies the far-right are committed to in order for their politics to become acceptable again. We also try to cover the AfD's electoral success and the rise of the Greens in the UK. Finally, we talk about what strategies we should be using, as the Left, to fend off the threat of the far-right.

In this episode, we speak to Imke and Ines from De.Criminalize about border politics. We talk about how criminalisation is a deeply racialised process that aims at destroying the lives of immigrants, we also talk about the contradiction between the image Europe tries to project versus the violence necessary to keep borders up.

Imke and Ines talk about laws and policies that facilitate racialised violence, about their experience working in these spaces of hidden violence and how to understand the structural and historical nature of racialised violence.

We also speak about how fascism should not be understood as 'on the rise' rather, fascist violence has always existed on the borders.

If you believe the work done by De.Criminalize is an important one, please consider donating to their organisation (link below). Their work would not be possible without your support:

https://decriminalize.eu/en/donate/

De.Criminalize Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/de.criminalize/

Black Radicals Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/black_radicals/

In this street interview with Adrien, from the Global Summed Flotilla, we talk about the journey taken by himself and other activists to Gaza. We speak about Israel's casual dismissal of maritime law; abduction of activists; the unsuccessful journey to Gaza; the violence experienced by activists; and what it all means.

Adrien's instagram handle is: @captainpouettepouette

In this episode, we speak to prof. David McNally about his latest book 'Slavery and Capitalism: A New Marxist History'. Here is a list of all the topics (chapters) we cover:

1 Introduction

2 Maps as a tool of empire

3 Militarisation of labour and life

4 Differences between white and black slavery

5 The “flaw” of racial capitalism and commodities

6 Sex work in slavery

7 Unions and negotiations, resistance

8 Antiracist revolt in the US

9 Britains role in the abolishment of slavery

10 Summary: foundational antiracism, freedom dreams and modern slavery

Enjoy the episode, hopefully many more to come.

This is part 2 of episode 4, where we talk to 2 social workers about their experience and the nature of their work. Social work is increasingly racialised and gendered, therefore we felt it was important to highlight the experience and reality of those workers in the field.

In this episode, we touch on the violence social workers witness day to day. We also try to de-naturalise certain stereotypes about refugees and asylum seekers, and talk about neglect and identity, among other topics.

As always, if you'd like to get involved, please reach us at [email protected]