Delete Your Account Podcast

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On this episode, Kumars and Roqayah speak with Eugene Puryear. Eugene is an organizer and founding member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation or PSL, and is on the editorial board of Liberation News, a biweekly publication of the PSL. He ran for Vice President alongside Presidential candidate Gloria La Riva under the PSL banner in both 2008 and 2016. He is the author of Shackled and Chained: Mass Incarceration in Capitalist America, and host of By Any Means Necessary on Radio Sputnik.

We ask Eugene how he got involved with organizing and how he found himself working with the PSL. We find out more about the PSL, their history, mission, and organizational philosophy, as well as the split between PSL and the Workers' World Party. Eugene gives us his critiques of Bernie Sanders, democratic socialism, and working within the Democratic party, while acknowledging the benefits of the Sanders campaign for the American socialist project. We discuss PSL's electoral politics strategy, both its strengths and limitations. We also talk about the concept of "lesser evilism" and Eugene's vision for what socialism means today.

You can follow Eugene on twitter at @EugenePuryear and check out his writings over at Liberation News.

This is only part of our interview with Emily and Larry from DSA. If you want get the whole interview, support the show, and receive access to tons of other bonus content, subscribe on our Patreon page for as little as $5 a month. Also, don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review the show on iTunes. We can't do this show without your support!!!

On this episode, Roqayah and Kumars talk to two organizers from the Democratic Socialists of America, or DSA, the largest socialist organization in the United States. First, Emily Robinson joins us from Edinburgh, Scotland, where she is also a member of the Scottish Labor Young Socialists. You can find her writing in Current Affairs. We were also joined by the pseudonymous "Larry Website". He is a former northwest field organizer for the Bernie Sanders campaign and refers to himself as the Billy Mays of the DSA, which definitely seems to be a fitting description. After Kumars eviscerates Emily and Larry by their own logic, the gang gets down to business, talking about the history of DSA, its mission, and why Emily and Larry each got involved. We have a candid discussion about the strengths and weaknesses of DSA's approach to organizing, comparing and contrasting with groups to their right and to their left along the political spectrum. Larry and Emily discuss their participation in the Left Caucus within DSA which is trying to pull the organization in a more radical direction. We talk about the role that Bernie Sanders played in making socialism palatable to wide swaths of the country, boosting the profile of virtually every socialist organization in the process. We also talk about the limits of Bernie Sanders' approach and the weaknesses of democratic socialism as an end in of itself, rather than a means to achieving a more radical future.

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Follow Emily (@See_Em_Play) and Larry (@LarryWebsite) on twitter. Also follow @DemSocialists to learn more about DSA.

Also, DSA is having a membership drive now through January 22nd trying to get to 15,000 members. If the group appeals to you, consider joining up! If it's not your thing, find a group that fits you better and get to work!

If you want to support the show and receive access to tons of bonus content, subscribe on our Patreon page for as little as $5 a month. Also, don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review the show on iTunes. We can't do this show without your support!!!

On this episode, Kumars and Roqayah speak with Barrett Brown, a journalist and founder of Project PM, a crowd-sourced investigation into the cyber-military-industrial complex. He’s authored two books and countless articles including, most recently, award-winning work in The Intercept. In 2012, Brown was indicted on multiple federal charges stemming from the 2011 hack of private intelligence firm Stratfor. Brown was denied bail and eventually sentenced to 63 months in prison and ordered to pay close to $900,000 in restitution to Stratfor. He was released at the end of November and we have him on the show to discuss his time as a political prisoner, as well as his work before and since.

Barrett describes to us the concept of his crowd-sourced investigation Project PM, and what this effort was able to accomplish, uncovering some of the dirty tricks and shady dealings of private cybersecurity and intelligence firms like HBGary and Stratfor. Barrett describes how he became a target of the FBI, who raided his home on two separate occasions, in addition to raiding his mother's home. Barrett describes how he was arrested and charged with threatening a federal agent, as well as multiple charges relating to simply sharing a link to documents from a hack of Stratfor. He tells us about his time in prison, including the gag order he was placed under to prevent him from discussing the details of his case. He tells us about his life now that he is relatively free. He is continuing his career in journalism, writing all of his stories with pen and paper since he isn't allowed to use a computer according to the terms of his parole. Finally, we talk to Barrett about his recent efforts to build on the success of Project PM by developing a software-based civic participation platform to facilitate horizontal collaboration among activists.

What happened to Barrett under Obama's watch is an example of the type of treatment journalists can expect a lot more of under Trump, as well as a reminder that attacks on journalists aren't a new phenomenon or one that is exclusive to GOP presidents.

You can learn more about Barrett's situation by following @FreeBarrett_ on twitter or by going to freebarrettbrown.org.

If you want to support the show and receive access to tons of bonus content, subscribe on our Patreon page for as little as $5 a month. Also, don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review the show on iTunes. We can't do this show without your support!!!

On this episode, Kumars and Roqayah speak with Ali Abunimah, co-founder and editor of the Palestine-related news website the Electronic Intifada. Ali is also the author of such books as The Battle for Justice in Palestine and One Country: A Bold Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Impasse. We ask Ali for his thoughts on the Obama administration's Israel-Palestine legacy, including John Kerry's recent speech trying to salvage the long-dead two-state solution. Ali gives his predictions regarding the movement for Palestinian human rights in the Trump era, including some that might surprise you. We also discuss the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement and how it can remain resilient in the face of right-wing rule. Finally, we get Ali's thoughts on how we defend against repression of Palestine solidarity organizing, and discuss ways we can keep moving forward even as we are forced to expend energy playing defense.

You can find Ali on twitter at @AliAbunimah.

If you want to support the show and receive access to tons of bonus content, subscribe on our Patreon page for as little as $5 a month. Also, don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review the show on iTunes. We can't do this show without your support!!!

On this episode, Roqayah and Kumars are all alone! No guest this week, but plenty of discussion about what we've learned during this first year of Delete Your Account. It's been a difficult year for everyone left-of-center, and, if we are going to be honest with ourselves, a lot of our assumptions have been seriously challenged. We talk about some of the most important lessons we learned from our guests over the past 29 episodes, and how we can utilize those lessons to work toward a better world in 2017 and beyond. Kumars and Roqayah also talk about what the Holiday season means to each of them, and there's even some singing at the end. We promise the singing is short and relatively painless.

Merry Christmars!!!

If you want to support the show and receive access to tons of bonus content, subscribe on our Patreon page for as little as $5 a month. Also, don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review the show on iTunes. We can't do this show without your support!!!

On this episode, Kumars and Roqayah speak with Melissa Mays, a resident of Flint, Michigan and mother of three who founded Water You Fighting For, a grassroots organization dedicated to spreading awareness of the Flint water crisis and fighting for justice for the residents of Flint. For nearly three years, the residents of Flint, Michigan, have had contaminated water running through their faucets, tainted by lead and other dangerous pollutants since the city started drawing its water from the polluted Flint River in April of 2014. Since then, the people of Flint have been forced to rely on bottled water for everything from drinking to cooking. To date, as many as 12,000 children in Flint have been exposed to high levels of lead.

Melissa tells us about the serious health consequences she and her family have dealt with as a result of using their own tap water. She describes how Michigan's emergency manager law allowed an un-elected bureaucrat to switch Flint's water source, and how a $150-a-day corrosion control method was eliminated, causing $1.5 billion in damage to infrastructure alongside immeasurable damage to the health of Flint residents. She also talks about the role of the state and federal governments in covering up the true extent of the crisis.

We also ask Melissa how she went from being a music promoter with no activism experience to being the leader of a social justice organization. We talk about how race and class have impacted both the government's response to the crisis, as well as her organizing work. She gives tips for people who are considering organizing around water quality and access in their own communities, as well as advice for how to connect with organizers in other cities doing this work.

You can find Melissa on twitter at @FlintGate.

If you want to support the show and receive access to tons of bonus content, subscribe on our Patreon page for as little as $5 a month. Also, don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review the show on iTunes. We can't do this show without your support!!!

On this episode, Kumars and Roqayah speak with Alexis Goldstein, a writer, activist, and Senior Policy Analyst at Americans for Financial Reform, a non-profit coalition of more than 200 groups fighting for a financial system that serves the interests of all people, rather than just the interests of rich oligarchs. Alexis used to work for Wall Street before she started working against Wall Street, participating in the Occupy Wall Street movement and co-authoring Occupy the SEC’s 325-page comment letter to financial regulators urging for stronger regulation of big banks.

Alexis tells us about Trump's choice for Treasury Secretary, former Goldman Sachs banker Steven Mnuchin, and his history of racist lending practices and profiting off of the backs of mistreated homeowners. We also discuss Trump's pick for Director of the National Economic Council, Goldman Sachs President and COO Gary Cohn, and what his choice means for the future of financial policy. We ask Alexis about ways to fight back, including rolling jubilees, debt strikes, and creative projects like the Angry Alumni Association. We also talk about ways we can pressure local and state governments, as well as powerful establishment groups like the Human Rights Campaign, to resist the erosion of our financial regulatory system.

Read Alexis' letter to Human Rights Campaign calling on them to exert more pressure on financial institutions.

You can find Alexis on twitter at @alexisgoldstein. Also check out her podcast Humorless Queers.

Resources discussed on the show:

Bad Paper by Jake Halpern

Strike Debt

The Debt Collective

Angry Alumni Association

Fun links from the show:

Actual trailer for Westworld that we spoofed

Write-up about the podcast in Merry Jane

Show transcript coming soon!

If you want to support the show and receive access to tons of bonus content, subscribe on our Patreon page for as little as $5 a month. Also, don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review the show on iTunes. We can't do this show without your support!!!

On this episode, Kumars and Roqayah speak with returning guest Mariame Kaba, though most of you know her as @prisonculture on Twitter. If you're not familiar with Mariame, she's a brilliant organizer whose work focuses primarily on dismantling the prison industrial complex. She's the founder of Project NIA, which is an advocacy group focused on ending youth incarceration. She's also co-founded a number of other organizations including the Chicago Taskforce on Violence against Girls and Young Women.

Mariame had such a positive impact on us when she was on our show last and we wanted to make sure to have her back on the show post-Trump. We ask Mariame her thoughts on what kinds of organizing groups people should be getting involved with, and whether she feels engaging with the Democratic party on the local level is a viable strategy or a waste of time. We discuss the recent controversy surrounding identity politics and why Mariame thinks the mythical concept of unity is a distraction. We also discuss various strategies for organizing and the roles that direct action and confronting fascists head-on will play in the next several years. Mariame tells us the next big fight will be on Medicare privatization, and that it presents a perfect opportunity to put our best organizing theories to the test. Mariame throws down the gauntlet: Get. Your. People.

Also, don't forget to check out Mariame's writing on her blog!

Finally, check out the interview transcript.

If you want to support the show and receive access to tons of bonus content, subscribe on our Patreon page for as little as $5 a month. Also, don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review the show on iTunes. We can't do this show without your support!!!

On this episode, Roqayah is out sick but Kumars spoke with Eric Holthaus, a meteorologist who writes about weather and science for a variety of outlets. He’s also the host of the podcast Warm Regards, where scientists, activists, and journalists join Eric to discuss climate change and what to do about it.  Eric and Kumars begin by reviewing the relevant science, including the effect of climate change on extreme weather events; resources like land, air and water; and living organisms and ecosystems.  We examine proposed political and technological fixes to the crisis, and their inadequacy in dealing with the magnitude of what we face.  Finally, we discuss strategies for developing the mass movement that will be required for not only eliminating the use of fossil fuels, but also replacing them with an energy economy that provides for all people, not just the wealthy and powerful.

Follow Eric on twitter at @EricHolthaus, and follow his podcast at @ourwarmregards.

Resource on LGBT life in Cuba discussed at the end of the episode:

Rainbow Solidarity in Defense of Cuba by Leslie Feinberg

If you want to support the show and receive access to tons of bonus content, subscribe on our Patreon page for as little as $5 a month. Also, don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review the show on iTunes. We can't do this show without your support!!!

On this episode, Roqayah and Kumars speak with Freddy Martinez, a computer security researcher and activist specializing in communications security and police accountability.  He is also the director of Lucy Parsons Labs.  Freddy shares some tips for avoiding state surveillance while doing organizing work.  He shares tips on securing your phone, gives alternatives to using email lists, discusses best practices for meeting security, and talks about how to avoid surveillance at protests.  Freddy also discusses his work exposing Chicago Police Department's use of Stingray technology to track and spy on the public.  Freddy shares his thoughts on FOIA as a tool for activists, including his belief that hacktivism, rather than FOIA, will be the most important driver of government accountability and transparency.

Follow Freddy on twitter at @B_Meson.

Resources discussed on the show:

Signal - encrypted text messaging

Riseup Etherpad - alternative to email lists

Stay safe everyone!