Essential Dissent

This episode is Abolish NATO Now!, a webinar presented on June 16th, 2025 by UNAC, the United National AntiWar Coalition.

https://www.unacpeace.org

From their publicity blurb:

NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty organization, today has little to do with the North Atlantic.

It is an aggressive alliance of Western imperial powers that has bombed, instigated, and supported wars from Afghanistan, Ukraine, Palestine, Africa, and Yugoslavia to other areas of the world.

NATO is preparing for a meeting in The Hague this month at a time when they are losing their war in Ukraine, are showing their true morals as their various member nations support the genocide in Palestine, are being challenged as never before in Africa, and are having conflicts even within their own organization.

Forces opposed to NATO will also be at the upcoming meeting, with alternative meetings. summits, and protests.

In this webinar you willh hear from activists opposed to NATO, who are speaking out and organizing to abolish this aggressive, imperialist bloc, and bring about a more peaceful world.

Gabriel Rockhill is an American philosopher, writer, and cultural critic, and is Professor of Philosophy at Villanova University.

The talk was sponsored by the Young Democratic Socialists of America, and took place on April 18, 2025 at Kansas State University.

The episode ends with a short piece written by Caitlin Johnstone and read by Tim Foley, titled "A Truth-Based Relationship with Realty Requires Courage".

This episode is a talk by Matthew Lyons, co-editor of Three Way Fight - Revolutionary Politics and Antifascism.

From the book's publicity blurb:

"Whats the relationship between combating the far right and working for systemic change?

What does it mean when fascists intensify racial oppression and patriarchy but also call for the downfall of economic elites or even take up arms against the state?

Three way fight politics confront these urgent questions squarely, arguing that the far right grows out of an oppressive capitalist order but is also in conflict with it in real ways, and that radicals need to combat both.

The three way fight approach says we need sharper analysis of far-right movements so we can fight them more effectively, and we also need to track ongoing developments within the ruling class, including liberal or centrist efforts to co-opt antifascism as a tool of state."

Matthew Lyons spoke at the 2025 Upstate Anarchist Book Fair, which was held on May 3rd and 4th in Binghamton, NY.

The event was sponsored and hosted by PM Press, an independent publisher specializing in radical literature.

https://pmpress.org

VETERANS AND ALLIES FAST FOR GAZA

Organized by Veterans for Peace

New York – On May 22, 2025, a coalition of military veterans, religious and humanitarian organizations began a 40-day “Veterans & Allies Fast for Gaza,” with a news conference at 10:00 am ET, at the “Isaiah Wall” near the United Nations headquarters in New York City, moving to the U.S. Mission to the UN, where the fast will be conducted.

The demands of the fast are 1) Full humanitarian aid to Gaza under UN authority and 2) No more U.S. weapons to Israel.

A representative number of people will fast from May 22 to June 30 in New York, with many others participating around the U.S. and beyond for as many days as they can. To date, 249 people have registered. The fast is organized by Veterans For Peace along with 28 co-sponsoring organizations. Friends of Sabeel, NA is maintaining the list of fasters.

The UN fasters are limited to 250 calories per day, recently reported as the average intake for people in Gaza. Yesterday, UN Humanitarian Chief, Tom Fletcher, said 14,000 babies could die in Gaza within the next 48 hours.

A statement from the fasters condemned the genocide, saying, “We are horrified and outraged that Israel is using starvation as a war tactic in clear violation of international law, and we condemn our government’s complicity in the genocide of the Palestinian people.”

https://www.warresisters.org

In this episode, peace activist Jack Gilroy interviews fellow activist Ruth Benn on the subject of War Tax Resistance.

Co-author of the book War Tax Resistance: A Guide to Withholding Your Support from the Military, Ruth Benn was on the staff of the War Resisters League from 1987-2000, and was the Coordinator of the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee from 2003-2018.

She has been refusing to pay federal income taxes for war since 1979.

According to Ruth Benn, tax refusal can be summed up in the phrase “don’t pay,” and the actual steps to get there can be simple or a bit more complicated depending on one’s life situation, sources of income, motivations, and willingness to take risks.

In the interview, she outlines how to get started, methods, potential consequences, resources, etc.

Jack Gilroy is an activist with Veterans for Peace, and has served multiple prison terms for various acts of non-violent civil resistance.

The interview took place on May 4th, 2025 at the Upstate Anarchist Book Fair in Binghamton, NY, which was sponsored and hosted by PM Press.

https://pmpress.org

Heretical Thoughts on Identity Politics, Cancel Culture, and Academic Freedom

An Evening with Author Norman Finkelstein and Briahna Joy Gray

America’s most canceled intellectual presents a scorching defense of free thought and a devastating indictment of a left that has lost its way.

Norman Finkelstein and Briahna Joy Gray spoke on May 8, 2025 at the Francis Kite Club, which is also the home of OR Books, in New York City.

https://orbooks.com

https://www.franciskiteclub.com

Andrew Lee - The Gentrification Economy

Andrew Lee has been involved with grassroots anti-displacement campaigns in San Jose, California, and currently lives in Philadelphia, where he continues to work on similar issues.

He has written for The Progressive, serves as Managing Editor for The Anti-Racism Daily, and is the author of Defying Displacement.

Andrew Lee spoke at the 2025 Upstate Anarchist Book Fair, which was held on May 3rd and 4th in Binghamton, NY.

The event was sponsored and hosted by PM Press, an independent publisher specializing in radical literature.

https://pmpress.org

The episode ends with two songs written and performed by peace and justice activist Ben Grosscup at the No to NATO, Yes to Peace event held in Washington, DC on July 6, 2024.

The first half of this episiode is Chris Hedges' speech at the Workers Strike Back Organizing Conference in Seattle, WA on February 22, 2025.

The theme of the conference was “Fight the Rich and Their Two Parties”.

Chris Hedges can be found on Substack and on the Chris Hedges YouTube Channel:

https://chrishedges.substack.com/

The second half is Brad Wolf's speech at the 26th Annual Kateri Peace Conference, held in Fonda, NY on September 13th and 14th, 2024.

Brad Wolf is executive director and co-founder of Peace Action Network of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

A former lawyer, prosecutor, professor and community college dean, he recently edited a new book on the writings of Philip Berrigan, entitled "A Ministry of Risk".

This episode is “The Middle East in the Trump Era: How Much Has Really Changed?”, which is audio from a webinar sponsored by the International Manifesto Group on April 13th, 2025, in which Mohammad Marandi and Ramzy Baroud provide detailed analysis of the evolving situation in West Asia, and Palestine in particular.

https://internationalmanifesto.org

Approximate Timeline:

00:00:00 Ramzy Baroud (Main talk, 19:10)

00:19:10 Mohammad Marandi (Main talk, 13:02)

00:32:12 Ramzy Baroud (Start of Q&A minus the Q, 8:44)

00:40:56 Mohammad Marandi (12:13)

01:03:09 Ramzy Baroud (12:05)

01:15:14 End

This episode is a speech by Kshama Sawant, given at the Workers Strike Back Organizing Conference in Seattle, WA on February 22nd, 2025.

The theme was “Fight the Rich and Their Two Parties.”

Kshama Sawant is an Indian-American politician and economist who served on the Seattle City Council from 2014 to 2024.