Kiko's Freethinker's Forum

Kiko's Freethinker's Forum

By Kiko's Freethinker's ForumNewsPolitics
Download on the App Store

Kiko's Freethinker's Forum episodes

  • Episode 48: Norman Finkelstein talks Wokeness, Bernie Sanders, Barack Obama and Identity Politics

    Norman G. Finkelstein, author of several books (Beyond Chutzpah, The Holocaust Industry, The Rise and Fall of Palestine), to name a few, joins the Forum to comment on his latest book I'll Burn That Bridge When I Get To It: Heretical Thoughts on Identity Politics, Cancel Culture and Academic Freedom. Most of the commentary deals with the juxtaposition of Bernie Sanders class-based politics and the prioritization of identity politics of the Democratic party.

    Norman Finkelstein's official website (all books are available for purchase here):
    http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/

    1 hr 12 min
  • Episode 47: Medea Benjamin talks CODEPINK, Ukraine, Putin, Zelensky, Anti-Imperialism and Peace

    Medea Benjamin, author of ten books, the co-founder of peace group CODEPINK and co-author of her latest book War in Ukraine: Making Sense of a Senseless Conflict, joins the Forum to discuss the current Russo-Ukrainian war. Benjamin details key occurrences that led up to Russian invasion of February 2022 such as the Orange Revolution and EuroMaidan protests; this recent historical context of the war facilitates the overall understanding of Ukraine and Russia's relationship with each other. This interview is Part 4 of a series dedicated to Ukraine and Russia.
    Medea Benjamin's book purchase link with OR Books:
    https://www.orbooks.com/catalog/war-in-ukraine/
    Benjamin's book purchase with Amazon:
    https://www.amazon.com/War-Ukraine-Making-Senseless-Conflict/dp/1682193713
    CODEPINK official website:
    https://www.codepink.org/
    Peace in Ukraine Coalition official website:
    https://www.peaceinukraine.org/

    #ukrainewar #politics #russia #putin #zelensky #warinukraine

    52 min
  • Episode 46: Heather Berg talks Porn Work, Marxism, Racial Capitalism, Sex Work and SWERFs

    Dr. Heather Berg, a Feminist Studies scholar at Washington University in St. Louis writing on topics of gender, labor, sexuality, queer thought, Marxism, and an abundance of topics, joins the Forum to discuss her new book Porn Work: Sex, Labor, and Late Capitalism.


    #porn #work #marxism #capitalism #sex #labor #dialectics


    Heather Berg's book can be published here directly from the publisher:

    https://uncpress.org/book/9781469661926/porn-work/

    Berg's official website:

    https://www.drheatherberg.com/

    Heather Berg's book on Amazon:

    https://www.amazon.com/Porn-Work-Labor-Late-Capitalism-ebook/dp/B08HGTGG4X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3R9ZYLSI8P7NV&keywords=heather+berg&qid=1682628135&sprefix=heather+berg%2Caps%2C93&sr=8-1

    57 min
  • Episode 45: Jasmine Sherman talks Ending Houselessness, 2024 Presidency, UBI, Police Abolition and Health Care

    Jasmine Sherman, 2024 Presidential Candidate of the United States, is running under the newly founded Unicorn Party, an independent political party that stresses unity and human rights. Sherman discusses their plan for all Americans in the interview. Amongst some key issues raised were universal basic income, decriminalization of all drugs and sex work, full-scale legalization of cannabis, ending houselessness in the U.S., and police abolition. Their campaign is transparent about expenditures and how programs are funded are located on Sherman's official campaign site.


    Jasmine Sherman's official campaign website:

    Home | Jasmine Sherman (jasminesherman2024.com)


    Sherman's 501c 3 non-profit organization Greater Charlotte Rise official website:

    Mutual Aid | Greater Charlotte Rise


    1 hr 36 min
  • Episode 44: Ben Sedaghatfar talks A.I., Universal Basic Income, Popana, China-U.S., De-Dollarization, R.F.K. Jr. and Inflation

    As per usual when Benny and Kiko come together, who knows what topics will come up. This episode did not disappoint despite several technological "mini-interruptions". Sedaghatfar expands on several topics from Episode 3 of Kiko's Freethinker' Forum such as the inevitable spread of artificial intelligence and struggles of managing a business in a rough economy. We learn more about Benny's company Popana, a women's apparel company. Additionally, we consider the implications of a weakening U.S. dollar, China's rise and a broad range of different topics (see title).


    Visit Sedaghatfar's company site here (the clothes are beautiful):

    https://popana.com/

    You can also visit Popana through Amazon. Just type Popana in the Amazon store search engine!

    1 hr 51 min
  • Episode 43: Dawn Duke talks Mayaya Rising, Afro-Latin Female Icons, Nicaragua, Colombia, Palenqueras and Cuba

    Dawn Duke, professor of Spanish and Portuguese in the Department of World Languages and Cultures at the University of Tennessee, joins the Forum to comment and discuss her latest book Mayaya Rising: Black Female Icons in Latin American and Caribbean Literature and Culture.
    Mayaya Rising is a study about Black female heroines in Latin America. It seeks to propose a methodology of description that would serve as a base if we were to imagine such icons. Three case studies and select literary works illustrate this line of argument. First, Dawn Duke presents former slaves and talented musicians, the Cuban-Dominican sisters Teodora and Micaela Gines whose presence and talent were a source of inspiration in Aida Cartagena Portalatín’s epic poem, Yania tierra. The second case study features the iconic Miss Lizzie, matriarch of palo de mayo [May Pole] in Bluefields, Nicaragua. Her memoir Memorias de Miss Lizzie: danzas, música y tradiciones de Bluefields sits alongside four anthologies associated with the Bluefields community: Poesía Atlántica; Antología Poética de la Costa Caribe de Nicaragua; Bluefields en la sangre; and Afrocarinica. The third case study references the iconographic Palenqueras of Cartagena, Colombia whose imaging is magnified in María Teresa Ramírez Nieva’s three Palenquera anthologies, Flor de Palenque, Abalenga, and Mabungú triunfo, in Mirian Díaz Pérez’s anthology Tejiendo palabras con libertad. Binda ndunblua ku bindanga, in Solmery Cásseres Estrada’s Diccionario de la lengua afropalenquera-español and in Lengua Ri Palenge: Jende Suto Ta Chitiá: Léxico de la Lengua Palenquera compiled by Rutsely Simarra Obeso, Regina Miranda Reyes, and Juana Pabla Pérez Tejedor.
    Dr. Duke's books are available to purchase at the following links:
    1) Literary Passion, Ideological Commitment: Toward a Legacy of Afro-Cuban and Afro-Brazilian Women Writers (Bucknell University Press 2008, single-authored)
    https://www.amazon.com/Literary-Passion-Ideological-Commitment-Dawn/dp/1611483034
    2) Artefatos da Cultura Negra no Ceará. Formação de Professores [Artefacts of Black
    Culture in Ceará. Educating Teachers] (Universidade Federal do Ceará, 2013, Co-
    Editor)
    https://www.amazon.com/Artefatos-Cultura-Negra-No-Ceara/dp/8544404758/ref=sr_1_1?crid=19OOI7LHCUKF8&keywords=artefatos+da+cultura+negra+no+ceara&qid=1681837451&sprefix=artefatos+da+cultura+negra+no+ceara+%2Caps%2C90&sr=8-1
    3) A Escritora Afro-Brasileira: Ativismo e Arte Literária (Nandyala 2016, Editor)
    https://livralivro.com.br/livro/a-escritora-afro-brasileira/589820.html
    4) Celluloid Chains: Slavery in the Americas Through Film (University of Tennessee
    Press 2018, Co-Editor)
    https://www.amazon.com/Celluloid-Chains-Slavery-Americas-through/dp/1621903273
    5) Mayaya Rising: Black Female Icons in Latin American and Caribbean Literature
    and Culture (Bucknell University Press 2023, single-authored)
    https://www.amazon.com/Mayaya-Rising-American-Caribbean-Literature/dp/1684484391/ref=sr_1_1?crid=AMEL3UKS47D2&keywords=mayaya+rising&qid=1681837770&s=books&sprefix=mayaya+rising%2Cstripbooks%2C79&sr=1-1&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.f5122f16-c3e8-4386-bf32-63e904010ad0

    1 hr 37 min
  • Episode 42: Amira Napier talks Independent Media, Empathic Times, Workers and Political Divisions

    Amira Napier joins the Forum to discuss her YouTube channel Empathic Times and two articles "Business is Business- The Capitalist Lie..." and "Journalistic Integrity, Political Pundit Hostility, and The Fractured Left" published from her Endemic Times blog. The majority of our conversation involves the future of independent media and its content creators and the post-Bernie Sanders trajectory of the so-called Left.
    Napier's official blog website:
    https://www.endemictimes.com/
    Napier's Empathic Times YouTube channel:
    https://www.youtube.com/@empathictimes
    Napier's Twitter page:
    https://twitter.com/AmiraBNapier

    1 hr 19 min
  • Episode 41: Kiko talks Workers, General Strike, Unions, Guns and Political Ploys

    In this emergency episode, I decided not to bring on a guest; instead, I highlight the worker-led non-profit organization Worker's Dignity/Dignidad Obrera based in Nashville, TN and give an update on recent events involving WDDO. I also provide spontaneous commentary about the so-called Tennessee Three, the "gun control" narrative, the prospects of a general strike in the United States and much more.
    Please subscribe to Kiko's Freethinker's Forum for free on our official YouTube channel and your podcasting platform of choice such as Spotify.

    Here is the Worker's Dignity Staff Strike Fund:

    https://www.gofundme.com/f/workers-dignity-staff-strike-fund

    40 min
  • Episode 40: Constance Every talks Knoxville Mayoral Race, Poor People Campaign, Police Brutality, Environmentalism, Reparations and Guns

    In this in-depth interview Constance Every, City of Knoxville, TN mayoral candidate, local activist and non-profit founder, is challenging incumbent Indya Kincannon in the November 7, 2023, election and shares her vision of improving Knoxville's homelessness crisis, disparate ownership of Black residents, waste reduction and environmental consciousness and gun violence. Every attacks the root cause of most societal ills: poverty. Moreover, she explains her approach to the reparations discussion and concludes with insight into the circumstances surrounding the murder of 17-year old senior Anthony Thompson Jr., of Austin-East High School in Knoxville, TN.

    TRIGGER WARNING: Viewer/listener discretion is advised regarding the details of Thompson Jr's death.


    Constance Every's Official Campaign Website:

    https://www.tn4every1.com/


    Statistics with mass shootings and data:

    https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/

    2 hr 12 min
  • Episode 39: Margaret Kimberley talks Anti-Imperialism, China, Trump, Russia-Ukraine, COVID-19 and COINTELPRO


    Margaret Kimberley, a co-founder of Black Agenda Report and the author of Prejudential: Black America and The Presidents returns to Kiko's Freethinker's Forum to discuss three of her recently published articles in March 2023. They are accessible at Black Agenda Report's website (listed below in the links). She comments on recent anti-war and anti-imperialist rallies in DC, Putin, Trump, U.S. hegemony, COVID-19, China, Russia-Ukraine and much more!

    Click link below to buy Margaret Kimberley’s book directly from the publisher: 

    Author of Prejudential: Black America and the Presidents - https://steerforth.com/product/prejudential-9781586422486/

    Executive Editor, Black Agenda Report Website - https://bit.ly/3DPws2w

    Black Alliance for Peace Official Home Page: https://blackallianceforpeace.com/

    Margaret's Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/margaretkimberley
    Margaret's Twitter - https://twitter.com/freedomrideblog



    1 hr 12 min

About Kiko's Freethinker's Forum

From the publisher's feed

A true freethinker is constantly learning and exploring. This platform welcomes guests that exude a certain degree of skepticism towards organized religion, politicians, hierarchies in general,…