Cocktails & Capitalism

Sixty-one people were just indicted for their alleged involvement in the movement to Stop Cop City. These folks were slapped with RICO charges, which were designed to go after the mob. Some were charged for crimes as small as handing out fliers, serving as a legal observer during a protest, and organizing a bail fund.

Our guest is abolitionist organizer Micah Herskind, who has been involved with and written extensively about the movement to Stop Cop City. You can read his Primer on Cop City in Scalawag here. Follow Micah Herskind on Twitter: @micahinATL

As we discuss, the RICO indictment seeks to criminalize and shut down the decentralized movement against the massive urban warfare training center for police known as Cop City.

The indictment even lists “mutual aid” “solidarity” and “collectivism” as essential to what they are calling an “organized criminal enterprise” against Cop City.

This is an outrageous abuse of power by the state which threatens to strip away our very right to protest.

YOU CAN HELP THE FOLKS FACING THESE INSANE CHARGES by donating to the Atlanta Solidarity Fund. https://atlsolidarity.org/

This episode was hosted by Dr. Erika Okamoto of the Cocktails & Capitalism podcast — a show that pairs crafted beverages with stories distilled from our capitalist hellscape. You can support this anticapitalist independent media project by contributing any amount through Patreon: https://tinyurl.com/mw4a4bur

Support the show

Cocktails & Capitalism is an anticapitalist labor of love, but we could use your help to make this project sustainable. If you can support with even a dollar a month, that would really help us continue to educate, agitate, and amplify the voices of those who are working to dismantle capitalism and create a better world.

https://www.patreon.com/cocktailsandcapitalism

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Some episodes on YouTube. Subscribe & enjoy! Cheers!

The Hot Labor Summer Tour is about to  begin! Human rights lawyer Steven Donziger and ALU President Chris Smalls  have joined forces to share their stories in cities across the country. 

We’re joined by Chris , Steven , and Devon Young, the producer of this Little Secret tour.  Devon explains that Little Secret blends music, comedy, and talks from organizers and activists, creating events that folks really want to go to. (Having visited Little Secret LA, I can attest to that)

Get your tickets! smallsdonzigertour.com

Tune in for a preview of the subjects Chris and Steven will be discussing on the tour, including the labor and climate movements, the criminal justice system, and how they've managed to challenge the power of massive corporations. 

Tour dates:
          Denver July 12
          NYC July 19
          Atlanta July 22
          Los Angeles July 29
          Chicago August 17
          Detroit August 18

If you can't make it to one of these shows, please help us spread the word! You can also support the work of these two by donating here: https://www.smallsdonzigertour.com/

Follow: 

Little Secret on IG @littlesecret_LA for updates about the tour
Steven Donziger on IG @stevendonziger and Twitter @sdonziger
Chris Smalls on IG @chris.smalls_ and Twitter
Devon Young on IG cuteanon__



HOT LABOR SUMMER COCKTAIL

To celebrate Hot Labor Summer — a hashtag popularized by Chris Smalls — our resident anticapitalist bartender Jesse Torres crafted a delicious spicy cocktail by the same name. It’s perfect for on the patio, by the pool, or on the picket line.

60ml Kentucky Bourbon or Cognac (other spirits substitute nicely)

30ml Pineapple juice

15ml Good quality Grenadine

15ml Lime juice

1 dash Aromatic Bitters

Jalapeños (for muddling)

Muddle 2-3 slices of jalapeños in a shaker tin with the bourbon. Add the rest of the ingredients and shake well with ice. Double strain into a rocks glass rimmed with chili lime salt like Tajin, and fill with ice. Garnish with a grilled pineapple spear or jalapeño slice.

Support the show

Cocktails & Capitalism is an anticapitalist labor of love, but we could use your help to make this project sustainable. If you can support with even a dollar a month, that would really help us continue to educate, agitate, and amplify the voices of those who are working to dismantle capitalism and create a better world.

https://www.patreon.com/cocktailsandcapitalism

Follow us on Instagram and Twitter
Some episodes on YouTube. Subscribe & enjoy! Cheers!

In this season 3 finale, Steven Donziger describes his epic battle against oil giant Chevron, connecting the dots between his own struggle against a multinational corporation and the fight to stop Cop City. In both stories, the consequences for standing up against corporate power to protect people and the planet have been chilling. 

Steven highlights the outrageous, unprecedented forms of corporate-backed state oppression that have come in retaliation for his legal advocacy work and the civil disobedience of protestors in Atlanta: “I’ve never seen a corporate prosecution; I’ve never seen a corporation allowed to jail somebody anywhere–much less in the United States–but it happened to me; and I’ve never seen peaceful protestors charged with domestic terrorism.”

Liked this discussion? Go see Steven live on the Hot Labor Summer Tour! He’ll be traveling the country alongside Amazon Labor Union president Chris Smalls to spread the word about their battles against corporate power. Catch them in Denver on July 12th, NYC on the 19th, Atlanta on the 22nd, Los Angeles on the 29th, Chicago on August 17th, and Detroit on August 18th. I plan to attend the LA show, so I hope to see some of you there!

Support Steven Donziger’s legal defense fund here. 

Sign this petition to the United Nations seeking a legal ruling that the Biden Administration restore Steven’s full freedom including his right to international travel.

Check out freedonziger.com

I recently launched a new show called The Left Wing with my friends Desmond Price of Independent Thought and Jon Cooper of Counterpoint Politics. The Left Wing is a YouTube channel and audio podcast on Apple, Spotify, etc. In it, we engage in good-faith political discussions about important events in the news from a range of Leftist perspectives

The Donziger Cocktail

This equal parts drink can be served warm or with ice.

Ingredients:

-80 ml (2 oz) red wine

-80 ml (2 oz) horchata lojana sweetened with honey or sugar

-10 ml Lemon juice (a small squeeze)

Garnish: lemon wheel

Brew tea. Add sugar or honey to your liking. Let cool. In a glass or mug, add 80 ml red wine, 80 ml horchata lojana, and a squeeze of lemon juice (~10 ml). Add ice and a lemon wheel as garnish. Enjoy!

How to make horchata lojana if you can’t find a mix:

-1 tea bag lemon tea or lemon balm tea

-1 tea bag camomile tea

-1 tea bag mint tea

-1 tea bag hibiscus tea

-500 ml hot water 

-Honey or sugar, to taste (I use a lot of honey, close to 4 tbsp / 60 ml)

Steep tea bags in hot water. Mix in honey or sugar. Allow to cool.

Support the show

Cocktails & Capitalism is an anticapitalist labor of love, but we could use your help to make this project sustainable. If you can support with even a dollar a month, that would really help us continue to educate, agitate, and amplify the voices of those who are working to dismantle capitalism and create a better world.

https://www.patreon.com/cocktailsandcapitalism

Follow us on Instagram and Twitter
Some episodes on YouTube. Subscribe & enjoy! Cheers!

Fossil fuel profiteers don’t deserve a moment of peace. The youth-led group Climate Defiance is using direct action to expose the politicians most responsible for the climate crisis and compel them to act with the urgency this crisis deserves.

I spoke with Rylee Haught – the group’s student recruitment lead – just a day after Climate Defiance shut down Joe Manchin’s keynote address in protest of the Senator’s role in greenlighting the Mountain Valley Pipeline. We talk about Manchin’s fossil fuel interests, the success of this action, and the other incredible actions the group has organized, including their successful blockade at the White House Correspondents Dinner.

We also discuss: 

        Senator Joe Manchin’s profiteering off of fossil fuels

        Disruption as a strategy

        Disruption vs working within the normal channels

        How to shut down a board meeting or other event

        Sit ins, blockades, and other tactics

Calls to action:

Follow Climate Defiance on Twitter, TikTok, FB, and Instagram!

Get involved through their website / sign their Pledge of Resistance

Support by donating!! As Rylee says in the episode, “We are a Small scrappy group of Gen-Zers, so definitely send us some funds if you can!”

Shoutout to bartender Jesse Torres for crafting the Climate Defiance cocktail! This is such a special drink to honor the work of this group of young, determined climate activists!


Climate Defiance Cocktail 

This is a riff of a riff on the Corpse Reviver no. 2. It’s a bright and refreshing cocktail and a delightful drink for any occasion or time of day. Serve it on the rocks with soda for an even lighter option. 

Climate Defiance Cocktail 

22ml  Tequila blanco

22ml  Giffard Blue curaçao 

22ml  **Don Ciccio Cinque Aperitvo bianco 

22ml  Lime juice 

Optional: Mezcal rinse 

Method:  Pour all ingredients except into a shaker and shake well with ice. (Optional: Rinse a coupe or martini glass with mezcal and dump out any excess.) Strain into the rinsed glass and garnish with a maraschino cherry. 

** The Don Ciccio Cinque can be substituted with any other light colored amaro or aperitivo such as Suze, Malört, Salers, Luxardo Bitter Bianco, Cocchi Americano, or Lillet blanc.  

Support the show

Cocktails & Capitalism is an anticapitalist labor of love, but we could use your help to make this project sustainable. If you can support with even a dollar a month, that would really help us continue to educate, agitate, and amplify the voices of those who are working to dismantle capitalism and create a better world.

https://www.patreon.com/cocktailsandcapitalism

Follow us on Instagram and Twitter
Some episodes on YouTube. Subscribe & enjoy! Cheers!

In this episode, author and movement facilitator adrienne maree brown shares her desire to see our movements become welcoming sanctuaries “where we get to taste and feel this world we’re trying to co-create.” Unfortunately, this is far from the reality that many of us experience in Leftist spaces.

As adrienne explains, capitalism and other oppressive systems tend to infiltrate our movements, making us competitive, critical, and eager to punish. “It’s been breaking my heart to be inside of movements and feel how these huge systems that we’re trying to take down infiltrate our practices. We become competitive with each other, we become hypercritical of each other, we become punitive with each other.”

adrienne has 25 years of experience as a movement facilitator supporting social and environmental justice work. Vast praxis and reflection in conversation with other changemakers have grounded her deep insights about cancel & call-out culture. For more on these topics, I highly recommend adrienne’s short book We Will Not Cancel Us.

Adrienne has also written extensively about pleasure activism, emergent strategy, abolition, radical imagination, & transformative justice. She recently published a work of visionary fiction titled Maroons, the second novel in the Black Dawn trilogy set in the abandoned urban landscape of Detroit in the aftermath of a supervirus that targets Black people. You can find this trilogy and her other books on AK Press!

Check out adrienne's wonderful podcasts:
How to Survive the End of the World
Octavia’s Parables
The Emergent Strategy Podcast.

Follow adrienne on Twitter ( @adriennemaree )
and Instagram ( @adriennemareebrown )

Big thanks to Anjali Pinto who took the above photo of adrienne.

THE MAROONS COCKTAIL

A cocktail in honor of adrienne maree brown and her recent novel by the same name.

      60ml Tequila Reposado

     30ml Grapefruit juice 

     15ml  Lemon juice 

     22ml  Cinnamon syrup 

     30ml turmeric tea blend 

     2 quarter-sized slices of raw ginger 

Brew turmeric tea according to package instructions but use two tea bags instead of one to make a strong brew. 

Let tea cool and then add the ginger slices and Tequila to a cocktail shaker and make well. Add the rest of the ingredients and shake with ice. Fine strain into a rocks glass will with cubed ice and garnish with a lemon slice and sprinkle of turmeric powder.

Huge thanks to our resident bartender Jesse Torres for crafting this delicious, sexy drink in honor of adrienne and her work!

Support the show

Cocktails & Capitalism is an anticapitalist labor of love, but we could use your help to make this project sustainable. If you can support with even a dollar a month, that would really help us continue to educate, agitate, and amplify the voices of those who are working to dismantle capitalism and create a better world.

https://www.patreon.com/cocktailsandcapitalism

Follow us on Instagram and Twitter
Some episodes on YouTube. Subscribe & enjoy! Cheers!

Have you heard of TigerSwan? This company profits off of the surveillance and suppression of pipeline protests. Staffed with former military personnel from the War on Terror, TigerSwan has developed a hyper-militarized counterinsurgency approach to dealing with protestors resisting fossil fuel projects. 

TigerSwan first made a name for itself by monitoring, infiltrating, and disrupting Indigenous-led protests against the development of the Dakota Access Pipeline. A recent article in The Intercept states “To TigerSwan, the emergence of Indigenous-led social movements to keep oil and gas in the ground represented a business opportunity” (Intercept).

Much of what we now know about TigerSwan was recently revealed after the company failed to obtain a security license and was later forced to release over 50,000 pages of documents. The company fought to keep these documents private, which is no wonder since they detail the company’s ruthless targeting of pipeline protestors. 

MAIN SOURCE: 

“After Spying on Standing Rock, TigerSwan Shopped Anti-Protest ‘Counterinsurgency’ to Other Oil Companies” The Intercept

COCKTAIL PAIRING:

THE FOREST DEFENDER

2 oz    White Rum

½ oz    Lime Juice

¼ ozSt. Germain Elderflower

¼ oz    Celery Juice

¼ ozSimple Syrup

⅛ tsp   Matcha powder

         Cucumber wheel

Add all ingredients into a shaker, muddle a cucumber, and shake hard with ice. Double strain into a chilled coupe. Garnish with a thinly-sliced cucumber wheel.

Glassware:  Coupe

Garnish:  Cucumber wheel

BIG THANKS to Jesse Torres ( @jessejamz ) for crafting this delicious custom cocktail!

Support the show

Cocktails & Capitalism is an anticapitalist labor of love, but we could use your help to make this project sustainable. If you can support with even a dollar a month, that would really help us continue to educate, agitate, and amplify the voices of those who are working to dismantle capitalism and create a better world.

https://www.patreon.com/cocktailsandcapitalism

Follow us on Instagram and Twitter
Some episodes on YouTube. Subscribe & enjoy! Cheers!

It shouldn’t be illegal to feed hungry, unhoused folks, and yet this is now the case in Houston and cities across America. 

Shere Dore is a homeless advocate in Houston who has been working to feed her unhoused neighbors since 2011. She is a devoted member of Food Not Bombs – a movement composed of volunteers who come together in cities around the world to provide food for hungry and unhoused folks. 

Shere has been rewarded for her important work with 8 TICKETS from the city of Houston since March 1st. Collectively, the volunteers in Houston FNB have received 22 tickets for feeding homeless folks outside of the public library. (As of August 16th, the total count is 51! 🤯)

The end of this episode contains a tribute to forest defender Tortuguita, who was killed for protesting the development of Cop City. Tort was a volunteer with  Tallahassee  Food Not Bombs.   I connected with the folks at the Tallahassee Food Not Bombs group Tort volunteered with, and people had such wonderful things to say about Tort. At the end of this episode, you’ll hear from a member of this group.

RESOURCES:

Help FNBHTX and/or homeless advocates who are the "boots on the ground":
DONATE : paypal: homelessadvocacyhou
DONATE: https://www.hpjc.org/fnb/

Houston FNB site 

Follow Houston FNB! Facebook & Instagram

Follow Tallahassee FNB Instagram

Support Tallahassee FNB 

SUPPORT HOUSTON FNB!

How to VOLUNTEER with a FNB chapter or start one!

Mutual Lemon-Aid Mocktail
Crafted by the our wonderful resident anticapitalist bartender, Jesse Torres

Makes 2 liters

6Large lemons with shiny and healthy looking skins

350mlJuice from the six lemons

250mlGranulated sugar (by volume)

1.5LWater

large pinch of salt

Peel the lemons with a peeler, getting as much of the peel off as possible while leaving  the white pith. Put peels in a container, cover with granulated sugar and massage the peels with your hands or a muddler to release the oils into the sugar. Cover and let stand for 3 to 24 hours if possible. Periodically stir the mixture to help incorporate the oil into the sugar. 

Juice the six lemons and filter out any seeds. After letting the peels and sugar sit, add the lemon juice, water, and salt and stir well until all the sugar is incorporated. Strain out the lemon peels and chill well before serving. To serve, simply pour over ice in your favorite glasses and garnish with a lemon peel. You can also add your favorite spirit for a boozy option. Enjoy!  

Glassware:  Collins glass

Garnish: Lemon wheel

ABV: 0%

Pro tip: take about five cardamom pods & smash to break open. Gently toast the pods in a pan on the stove until fragrant—a few minutes. Add  pods to the lemon peel and sugar mixture and let steep while the sugar is drawing out the oils from the peels. Remove the pods when you filter out the peels. 

Support the show

Cocktails & Capitalism is an anticapitalist labor of love, but we could use your help to make this project sustainable. If you can support with even a dollar a month, that would really help us continue to educate, agitate, and amplify the voices of those who are working to dismantle capitalism and create a better world.

https://www.patreon.com/cocktailsandcapitalism

Follow us on Instagram and Twitter
Some episodes on YouTube. Subscribe & enjoy! Cheers!

This week, I dive into the massive wave of strikes and protests that have surged in France over the past 3 months. At it’s peak, the protests swelled to over a million people, bringing young and old together on the streets.This is now the 12th week of action that has been underpinned by strikes and acts of civil disobedience organized by unions and workers across the country. 

We recorded this episode a couple weeks ago, and since then there have been some major developments to report. On Friday April 14th, France’s constitutional council approved President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reforms. This paved the way for Macron to sign these reforms into law, which he did the very next day, Saturday the 15th. The new law will go into affect in September. 

These hugely unpopular developments sparked a new round of protests during which many were arrested and fires were ignited across the country.  In the western city of Rennes (“REN”), the entrance to a police station was set ablaze. Trade union members also engaged in creative acts of civil disobedience by dumping gas and power meters outside a government building.

Protestors continue to call for raising taxes on the wealthy and employers rather than raising the retirement age, but these calls have been completely ignored.This morning Macron addressed the country about the new pension laws, stating that these changes “were needed to guarantee everyone’s pension” and that “gradually working more means also producing more wealth for our whole country.” During his address, people across the country banged saucepans together to drown out his words, their rallying cry being “Macron won’t listen to us? We won’t listen to him!”  France’s main labor unions have called for another mass protest on May 1st, International Workers’ Day. 

I’ve joined forces with my dear friend and fellow podcaster Desmond Price of the Independent Thought podcast to create a bi-weekly news segment called Under the Radar. In it, we discuss important news articles that deserve much more attention and amplification. As always, I’ll be highlighting stories that shine light on our capitalist hellscape, which are often the same stories that major corporate media outlets ignore or suppress.  We’ll be sharing the full discussion, including the video, with our Patreon supporters every other week.

And I want to add that this is where I’ll be sharing my own views and reactions much more readily than I tend to do during my interviews. If you want to hear me get fired up about the evils in our capitalist world, this Under the Radar segment is for you!

Patreon for Cocktails & Capitalism: https://www.patreon.com/cocktailsandcapitalism?utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator
Patreon for Independent Thought: https://www.patreon.com/Independentthought?utm_campaign=creatorshare_fan

Support the show

Cocktails & Capitalism is an anticapitalist labor of love, but we could use your help to make this project sustainable. If you can support with even a dollar a month, that would really help us continue to educate, agitate, and amplify the voices of those who are working to dismantle capitalism and create a better world.

https://www.patreon.com/cocktailsandcapitalism

Follow us on Instagram and Twitter
Some episodes on YouTube. Subscribe & enjoy! Cheers!

In this episode, I speak with The Lever’s Rebecca Burns about the explosive Norfolk Southern train derailment that produced a toxic mushroom cloud over East Palestine, Ohio. We talk through the events that unfolded on February 3rd when train cars carrying over a million pounds of hazardous chemicals went off the tracks, explaining how this nightmare was a product of corporate greed. 

Rebecca outlines the regulatory failures that led to this disaster. We discuss the role that the chemical and rail lobbies have played in creating the unsafe conditions for this catastrophic derailment. Rather than investing in maintenance, their workforce, or upgrades to Civil War-era breaking systems, railroad companies like Norfolk Southern have been sinking their growing profits into executive pay and stock buybacks.

The 7 largest freight railroad companies in the US (including Norfolk Southern) spent $191 billion on stock buybacks and shareholder dividends from 2011-2021. At the very same time, these companies were firing workers like crazy, slashing their workforces by 30%. In so many ways, this preventable corporate disaster was directly connected to the labor movement and the crushing of the rail worker strike by the Biden administration. While these workers had been asking for paid time off, the railroad industry has refused to offer reasonable schedules, forcing workers to abide by their draconian model of “precision scheduled railroading.”

We also discuss the human side of this corporate catastrophe, including the health impacts on the people of East Palestine and the noble efforts of locals like the folks at River Valley Organizing to stand up for the wellbeing of those in the affected area. 

The Lever Cocktail 

45 ml Gin

15 ml Suze bitter aperitif 

15 ml honey 

22 ml lemon juice 

30 ml turmeric tea blend 

Brew turmeric tea using 2 tea bags to make a strong brew. Let tea cool and then add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker. Shake with ice. Strain into a rocks glass with cubed ice and garnish with a lemon slice and a sprinkle of Cayenne pepper.


RESOURCES:

The Lever levernews.com

Rebecca Burns in The Lever & on Twitter

“Rail Companies Blocked Safety Rules Before Ohio Derailment”

River Valley Organizing (also on Twitter & IG)

Railroad Workers United (Twitter & IG)

Support the show

Cocktails & Capitalism is an anticapitalist labor of love, but we could use your help to make this project sustainable. If you can support with even a dollar a month, that would really help us continue to educate, agitate, and amplify the voices of those who are working to dismantle capitalism and create a better world.

https://www.patreon.com/cocktailsandcapitalism

Follow us on Instagram and Twitter
Some episodes on YouTube. Subscribe & enjoy! Cheers!

This conversation with Amy Westervelt and Paul Paz y Miño examines and condemns the extreme charges that have been used against Cop City protestors, Steven Donziger, and others for defending people and the planet.

In the first half of the discussion, we talk about Chevron’s brutal legal assault against those who have tried to hold the company accountable for its deliberate pollution of Ecuador, focusing on the use of the RICO Act against Steven Donziger.


We then shift our discussion to the insane domestic terrorism charges for 42 protestors involved in the Stop Cop City movement and potential RICO indictments in the coming days, explaining how these charges are part of a dangerous trend of escalating legal tactics that the state and corporations use to suppress dissent. 

Paul Paz y Miño is the associate director of Amazon Watch, an environmental org that  works with Indigenous communities in the rainforest. They were listed as a non-party co-conspirator in the RICO case against Donziger.

Amy Westervelt is an investigative climate journalist who hosts a number of amazing podcasts including Drilled, Damages, Rigged, and Hot Take. These shows shine light on the crimes of the fossil fuel industry.

Also discussed:

-The Green Scare

-Standing Rock

-Charges for Standing Rock protestors

-Criminal infrastructure laws

-The Patriot Act

-The legality of these insane charges

-Chilling effects on the climate movement 

COCKTAIL PAIRING:

The Forest Defender           

2 oz    White Rum

½ oz    Lime Juice

¼ ozSt. Germain Elderflower

¼ oz    Celery Juice

¼ ozSimple Syrup

⅛ tsp   Matcha powder

         Cucumber wheel

Add all ingredients into a shaker, muddle a cucumber, and shake hard with ice. Double strain into a chilled coupe. Garnish with a thinly-sliced cucumber wheel.

RESOURCES:

Atlanta Community Press Collective, article on upcoming indictments

Unicorn Riot article on RICO charges

Al Jazeera article

Atlanta Solidarity Fund statement on possible RICO charges. Support them here

Guardian article

Support the show

Cocktails & Capitalism is an anticapitalist labor of love, but we could use your help to make this project sustainable. If you can support with even a dollar a month, that would really help us continue to educate, agitate, and amplify the voices of those who are working to dismantle capitalism and create a better world.

https://www.patreon.com/cocktailsandcapitalism

Follow us on Instagram and Twitter
Some episodes on YouTube. Subscribe & enjoy! Cheers!