Laura's Extended Commentary aka The F-Word: Melissa Hortman’s murder was more than a tragedy—it was a political assassination aimed at a movement. This commentary honors her legacy as a coalition-builder behind Minnesota’s progressive gains and calls for courage, organizing, and solidarity in her wake.

- The related episode featuring Sarah Schulman premieres on our YouTube channel June 20th 5pm ET where you are invited to join us to Watch the episode  live and chat with Laura in real time.  It premieres on PBS World Channel June 22nd, and on over 300 public stations across the country (check your listings, or search here via zipcode), and airing on community radio & available in the podcast feed June 25th.  The full uncut conversation is available June 20th 5pm in the podcast feed... please hit the subscribe button wherever you get your podcasts.

For more articles by Laura subscribe to Substack

Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders, along with Sabrina Artel, Jeremiah Cothren, Veronica Delgado, Janet Hernandez, Jeannie Hopper, Gina Kim, Sarah Miller, Nat Needham, David Neuman, and Rory O’Conner. 

FOLLOW Laura Flanders and Friends

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ACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

Renowned actor, writer and director Liev Schreiber recently released “Meeting Zelenskyy”, a feature documentary in which he sits down with Ukraine’s embattled leader. In an extended conversation, Schreiber speaks actor-to-actor about Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s rise from entertainer to war time leader. In this exclusive interview with Laura Flanders, Schreiber discusses how the documentary came to be, how he personally became involved, and how technology could shape the outcome of the Russia-Ukraine war. The film includes never-before-seen footage from Zelenskyy’s childhood and career. Join us for this historic conversation, plus a commentary from Laura.

“I've always felt optimistic about this because [Ukraine is] on the side of truth. That's the kind of thing you can cover briefly, but it always comes out, it always surfaces. It's also the kind of thing that builds morale. It builds courage. It builds principle. They have that on their side, where the Russian military is struggling.” - Liev Schreiber

“This was never about Ukraine for me. This was always about American values and democracy and what it is, where it comes from and what it means. I don't think those values and those principles are on display anywhere more clearly than in Ukraine.” - Liev Schreiber“I've always felt optimistic about this because [Ukraine is] on the side of truth. That's the kind of thing you can cover briefly, but it always comes out, it always surfaces. It's also the kind of thing that builds morale. It builds courage. It builds principle. They have that on their side, where the Russian military is struggling.” - Liev Schreiber

Guest:  Liev Schreiber: Award-Winning Actor, Director & Writer; Co-Founder, BlueCheck Ukraine

This show is made possible by you! To become a sustaining member go to LauraFlanders.org/donate

Watch the special report released on YouTube June 13th 5pm ET; PBS World Channel June 15th, and on over 300 public stations across the country (check your listings, or search here via zipcode). Listen: Episode airing on community radio (check here to see if your station airs the show) & available as a podcast June 18th.

Full Episode Notes are located HERE.

-RESOURCES-

Related extended commentary from Laura is available to podcast subscribers [June 13, 2025]

Full Uncut Conversation Released to Podcast Subscribers [June 13, 2025]: While our weekly shows are edited to time for broadcast on Public TV and community radio, we offer to our members and podcast subscribers the full uncut conversation. These audio exclusives are made possible thanks to our member supporters.

Related Laura Flanders Show Episodes:

•  Winning War, Building Peace: Activists from Ukraine, Russia & The US Debate: Watch / Listen:  Episode and/or Full Conversation

•  Masha Gessen & Jason Stanley: Is it Doomsday for U.S. Democracy?:  Watch / Listen:  Episode and/or Full Conversation

•  Ai Weiwei: How Do We Save Our Humanity?: Watch / Listen:  Episode and/or Full Conversation

Related Articles and Resources:

•. ‘Kind of a Trojan hors’:  Ex-NATO commander reacts to drone attack deep inside Russia, June 2 2025, CNN report and Zelinskyy speaks in Vilnius

• Ukraine war briefing:  Zelenskyy says troops contesting Russian advance in Sumy, by Warren Murray and agencies, June 12, 2025, The Guardian

•  Pledge Ukraine, Starenki is a charitable organization devoted to issues of elderly people in Ukraine.

Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders, along with Sabrina Artel, Jeremiah Cothren, Veronica Delgado, Janet Hernandez, Jeannie Hopper, Gina Kim, Sarah Miller, Nat Needham, David Neuman, and Rory O’Conner. 

FOLLOW Laura Flanders and Friends

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ACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

“This was never about Ukraine for me. This was always about American values and democracy and what it is, where it comes from and what it means. I don't think those values and those principles are on display anywhere more clearly than in Ukraine.” - Liev Schreiber

Description: Renowned actor, writer and director Liev Schreiber recently released “Meeting Zelenskyy”, a feature documentary in which he sits down with Ukraine’s embattled leader. In an extended conversation, Schreiber speaks actor-to-actor about Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s rise from entertainer to war time leader. In this exclusive interview with Laura Flanders, Schreiber discusses how the documentary came to be, how he personally became involved, and how technology could shape the outcome of the Russia-Ukraine war. The film includes never-before-seen footage from Zelenskyy’s childhood and career. Join us for this historic conversation, plus a commentary from Laura.

“I've always felt optimistic about this because [Ukraine is] on the side of truth. That's the kind of thing you can cover briefly, but it always comes out, it always surfaces. It's also the kind of thing that builds morale. It builds courage. It builds principle. They have that on their side, where the Russian military is struggling.” - Liev Schreiber

Guest:  Liev Schreiber: Award-Winning Actor, Director & Writer; Co-Founder, BlueCheck Ukraine

This show is made possible by you! To become a sustaining member go to LauraFlanders.org/donate

Full Conversation Release: While our weekly shows are edited to time for broadcast on Public TV and community radio, we offer to our members and podcast subscribers the full uncut conversation. These audio exclusives are made possible thanks to our member supporters.

Watch the special report released on YouTube June 13th 5pm ET; PBS World Channel June 15th, and on over 300 public stations across the country (check your listings, or search here via zipcode). Listen: Episode airing on community radio (check here to see if your station airs the show) & available as a podcast June 18th.

Full Episode Notes are located HERE.

RESOURCES-

Related Laura Flanders Show Episodes:

•  Winning War, Building Peace: Activists from Ukraine, Russia & The US Debate: Watch / Listen:  Episode and/or Full Conversation

•  Masha Gessen & Jason Stanley: Is it Doomsday for U.S. Democracy?:  Watch / Listen:  Episode and/or Full Conversation

•  Ai Weiwei: How Do We Save Our Humanity?: Watch / Listen:  Episode and/or Full Conversation

Related Articles and Resources:

•. ‘Kind of a Trojan hors’:  Ex-NATO commander reacts to drone attack deep inside Russia, June 2 2025, CNN report and Zelinskyy speaks in Vilnius

• Ukraine war briefing:  Zelenskyy says troops contesting Russian advance in Sumy, by Warren Murray and agencies, June 12, 2025, The Guardian

•  Pledge Ukraine, Starenki is a charitable organization devoted to issues of elderly people in Ukraine.

Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders, along with Sabrina Artel, Jeremiah Cothren, Veronica Delgado, Janet Hernandez, Jeannie Hopper, Gina Kim, Sarah Miller, Nat Needham, David Neuman, and Rory O’Conner. 

FOLLOW Laura Flanders and Friends

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ACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

Laura's Extended Commentary: With seventeen veterans taking their lives daily in the US, a haunting question arises: can America redefine its values and reclaim its democratic principles before it's too late, or will it continue down a path of militarized politics and shattered ideals?

Watch the episode released on YouTube June 13th 5pm ET; PBS World Channel June 15th, and on over 300 public stations across the country (check your listings, or search here via zipcode). Listen: Episode airing on community radio (check here to see if your station airs the show) & available as a podcast June 18th. And listen to the bonus full uncut conversation available June 13th in this podcast feed... hit subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

For more articles by Laura subscribe to Substack: substack.com/home/post/p-165868460

Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders, along with Sabrina Artel, Jeremiah Cothren, Veronica Delgado, Janet Hernandez, Jeannie Hopper, Gina Kim, Sarah Miller, Nat Needham, David Neuman, and Rory O’Conner. 

FOLLOW Laura Flanders and Friends

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/

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ACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

“We have advertised to the rest of the world that we've discovered the best thing since sliced bread. That we should be the envy of the entire world because we have this democracy, and our constitution defends that . . . To renege on that promise makes us a different place than what we taught our kids.” - Ras Baraka, Mayor of Newark, NJ and  NJ Gubernatorial Candidate

Description:  “They targeted me because I'm the mayor of the city,” says Newark, New Jersey mayor and gubernatorial candidate Ras Baraka. In this tell-all interview with Laura Flanders, the mayor of the state’s largest city discusses his arrest at Delaney Hall, a new private immigration detention facility in Newark, and why he is a staunch opponent of the Republican immigration agenda and Trump’s assertion of federal power. In his tenure as mayor, Baraka has championed progressive programs like guaranteed income, reduced crime and boosted affordable housing. But new challenges lie ahead, as politicians like himself and cities like Newark face retaliation from the Trump administration. Baraka’s charges have been dropped, but the legal battles are far from over. He recently announced a lawsuit against the acting New Jersey District Attorney Alina Habba and DHS Agent Ricky Patel, alleging false arrest, malicious prosecution and defamation. If elected, he would be the first Black governor in New Jersey and only the fourth Black governor elected in the States. If he's not elected, he is still a politician to watch as he insists on advancing forward thinking policy, especially in these tough times. Join us for that conversation, plus a commentary from Laura.

Guest: Ras Baraka, Mayor of Newark, NJ; NJ Gubernatorial Candidate

Watch the special report released on YouTube June 6th 5pm ET; PBS World Channel June 8th, and on over 300 public stations across the country (check your listings, or search here via zipcode). Listen: Episode airing on community radio (check here to see if your station airs the show) & available as a podcast June 11th.

This show is made possible by you! To become a sustaining member go to LauraFlanders.org/donate

RESOURCES:

Watch the broadcast episode cut for time at our YouTube channel and airing on PBS stations across the country 

Full Episode Notes are located HERE.

Related Laura Flanders Show Episodes:

• Full Conversation Release From This Episode: While our weekly shows are edited to time for broadcast on Public TV and community radio, we offer to our members and podcast subscribers the full uncut conversation in this podcast feed. These audio exclusives are made possible thanks to our member supporters.

•  Stimulus Checks Every Month?: Watch / Listen:  Episode

•  Public Safety in Public Hands: Watch / Listen:  Episode

•  D.A. Larry Krasner Facing Impeachment: Criminal Justice Reform in the Crosshairs:  Watch / Listen:  Episode

Related Articles and Resources:

•  Ras Baraka performing a poem celebrating Sonia Sanchez’s 90th Birthday at the Schomburg Center, September 9, 2024:  Watch

•  $12K For Free:  Newark’s Guaranteed Income Experiment Wrapping Up, by Eric Kiefer, October 17, 2023, Patch.com

•. Newark mayor signs sweeping sanctuary city executive order, June 19, 2017, by Avalon Zoppo, NJ.com

•  “Completely Unwarranted”:  Newark Mayor Ras Baraka Sues Trump Officials over His Arrest at ICE Jail, June 6, 2025 Democracy Now

•  Newark Names One of Nation’s Digital Inclusion Trailblazers, January 28, 2025, City of Newark

This show is made possible by you! To become a sustaining member go to LauraFlanders.org/donate

Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders, along with Sabrina Artel, Jeremiah Cothren, Veronica Delgado, Janet Hernandez, Jeannie Hopper, Gina Kim, Sarah Miller, Nat Needham, David Neuman, and Rory O’Conner. 

FOLLOW Laura Flanders and Friends

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ACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

 REWIND EPISODE FROM THE LF&F ARCHIVES (Synopsis)-  Under the view of the iconic Hollywood Sign, a struggle is being waged over the future of policing and incarceration. Los Angeles is ground zero for fights over the job of District Attorney, Police Chief, and the size of prisons and jails. Corporations that have profited from prison communications are now profiting on electronic monitoring. Can today's Los Angeles change the script?

Stay informed and engaged! Don't miss out on our captivating weekly episodes that dive deep into the heart of our economy, culture, and politics from the past to the present. Please hit the podcast subscribe button if you've yet to subscribe.

[The following Special Report from Los Angeles was originally released July 2024]

Description: Over the past weekend, Los Angeles was rocked by reports of intensified ICE raids across Southern California, heightening fear and anxiety in immigrant communities. Families were detained in early morning operations, and community advocates quickly mobilized to provide legal support and rapid response. These raids are a stark reminder that, in California—a so-called sanctuary state—immigration enforcement continues to be deeply entangled with local policing and incarceration systems.

This episode of Laura Flanders & Friends takes on renewed relevance as it explores LA’s central role in shaping and challenging carceral policy. Under the shadow of the Hollywood Sign, Laura speaks with activists and officials confronting the legacy and present reality of policing in a state where SWAT teams were born, Reagan and Nixon launched punitive platforms, and the prison construction boom took root.

At a moment when ICE raids reveal the persistent overlap between federal enforcement and local law, and corporate interests profit from alternatives like electronic monitoring, the episode asks: Can Los Angeles write a new story—one rooted in decarceration and community power? With criminal justice reform at the heart of election-year debates (2024), this conversation spotlights the people resisting criminalization from inside and outside the system. 

“When we talk about closing Men's Central Jail, yes, we're trying to close that particular building, but what it requires is every jail in our county to reduce its population . . . We're trying to decarcerate globally across the jail system, that will then allow us to close this monument of essentially torture in our communities.” - Mark-Anthony Clayton-Johnson

“What if something went off and said that I wasn't where I was supposed to be, and all these cops showed up? . . . At [the age of] 15 thinking the cops are going to show up . . . that is one thing that I will always say that shamed me in my life. I felt unworthy. I felt like I was a bad person.” - Sheila Natt

“. . . 94% of the people that are terminated from the electronic monitoring program pre-trial are terminated on technical violations . . . If the point is to use this electronic monitoring to help people stay out of jail and come to court, why are the technical violations leading you right back into jail?” - Anthony Robles

Guests:

•. Melina Abdullah: Co-Founder, Black Lives Matter, Los Angeles

•  Mark-Anthony Clayton-Johnson: Co-Executive Director, Dignity & Power Now

•. Eunisses Hernandez: Los Angeles City Councilmember, District 1

•. Sheila Natt: Former Teen Ankle Monitor User

•. Anthony Robles: Youth & Community Organizer, Dignity & Power Now

This show is made possible by you!  To become a sustaining member go to LauraFlanders.org/donate

Music Credits: Music spotlight, “Ain’t Nothing” by Brooklyn Funk Essentials from their album Stay Good.  "Alone" by Emmet Fenn, "San Takao" by Isaac Joel, Soundstripe Production, and original sound design by Jeannie Hopper.

RESOURCES:

*Recommended book:

“We Do This 'Til We Free Us: Abolitionist Organizing and Transforming Justice” by Mariame Kaba: *Learn More

(*Bookshop is an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. The LF Show is an affiliate of bookshop.org and will receive a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.)

Related Laura Flanders Show Episodes:

• The Defund Movement in 2024: Frontline Reporters Separate Myth from Reality, Watch /  Listen-Download Podcast

• Police Reform After 2020: Andrea J. Ritchie's Deep Dive into Emergent Strategies, Watch /  Listen-Download Podcast

• Rikers Island: The Bad, The Inhumane, & Why Is It So Hard to Close a Jail? Watch / Listen-Download Podcast

Related Articles and Resources:

• 5 People Describe the Emotional and Financial Tolls of House Arrest by Reina Sultan, VICE, Read Here

• New York Dedicates $75 Million to Police, Expanding Surveillance of University Protesters, by Tatiana Cozzarelli and Olivia Wood, Left Voice, Read Here

•  New Report Says Electronic Monitoring For Youth Sets Kids Up For Failure, by Celeste Fremon, Witness L.A., Read Here

Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders, along with Sabrina Artel, Jeremiah Cothren, Veronica Delgado, Janet Hernandez, Jeannie Hopper, Gina Kim, Sarah Miller, Nat Needham, David Neuman, and Rory O’Conner. 

FOLLOW Laura Flanders and Friends

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/

Blueky:  https://bsky.app/profile/lfandfriends.bsky.social

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ACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

“The Department of Justice is suing Newark, Jersey City, Hoboken and Patterson because of their sanctuary city status, erroneously suggesting that we are standing in a way of the ability to do their job, which is completely false . . . We understand the importance of immigrants in our communities, and we want to uphold that.” - Ras Baraka

Description: “They targeted me because I'm the mayor of the city,” says Newark, New Jersey mayor and gubernatorial candidate Ras Baraka. In this tell-all interview with Laura Flanders, the mayor of the state’s largest city discusses his arrest at Delaney Hall, a new private immigration detention facility in Newark, and why he is a staunch opponent of the Republican immigration agenda and Trump’s assertion of federal power. In his tenure as mayor, Baraka has championed progressive programs like guaranteed income, reduced crime and boosted affordable housing. But new challenges lie ahead, as politicians like himself and cities like Newark face retaliation from the Trump administration. Baraka’s charges have been dropped, but the legal battles are far from over. He recently announced a lawsuit against the acting New Jersey District Attorney Alina Habba and DHS Agent Ricky Patel, alleging false arrest, malicious prosecution and defamation.  If elected, he would be the first Black governor in New Jersey and only the fourth Black governor elected in the States. If he's not elected, he is still a politician to watch as he insists on advancing forward thinking policy, especially in these tough times. Join us for that conversation, plus a commentary from Laura.

“We have advertised to the rest of the world that we've discovered the best thing since sliced bread. That we should be the envy of the entire world because we have this democracy, and our constitution defends that . . . To renege on that promise makes us a different place than what we taught our kids.” - Ras Baraka

Guest: Ras Baraka, Mayor of Newark, NJ; NJ Gubernatorial Candidate

This show is made possible by you! To become a sustaining member go to LauraFlanders.org/donate

Full Conversation Release: While our weekly shows are edited to time for broadcast on Public TV and community radio, we offer to our members and podcast subscribers the full uncut conversation. These audio exclusives are made possible thanks to our member supporters.

Watch the special report released on YouTube June 6th 5pm ET; PBS World Channel June 8th, and on over 300 public stations across the country (check your listings, or search here via zipcode). Listen: Episode airing on community radio (check here to see if your station airs the show) & available as a podcast June 11th.

RESOURCES:

Watch the broadcast episode cut for time at our YouTube channel and airing on PBS stations across the country 

Full Episode Notes are located HERE.

Related Laura Flanders Show Episodes:

•  Stimulus Checks Every Month?: Watch / Listen:  Episode

•  Public Safety in Public Hands: Watch / Listen:  Episode

•  D.A. Larry Krasner Facing Impeachment: Criminal Justice Reform in the Crosshairs:  Watch / Listen:  Episode 

Related Articles and Resources:

•  Ras Baraka performing a poem celebrating Sonia Sanchez’s 90th Birthday at the Schomburg Center, September 9, 2024:  Watch

•  $12K For Free:  Newark’s Guaranteed Income Experiment Wrapping Up, by Eric Kiefer, October 17, 2023, Patch.com

•. Newark mayor signs sweeping sanctuary city executive order, June 19, 2017, by Avalon Zoppo, NJ.com

•  “Completely Unwarranted”:  Newark Mayor Ras Baraka Sues Trump Officials over His Arrest at ICE Jail, June 6, 2025 Democracy Now

•  Newark Names One of Nation’s Digital Inclusion Trailblazers, January 28, 2025, City of Newark

Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders, along with Sabrina Artel, Jeremiah Cothren, Veronica Delgado, Janet Hernandez, Jeannie Hopper, Gina Kim, Sarah Miller, Nat Needham, David Neuman, and Rory O’Conner. 

FOLLOW Laura Flanders and Friends

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/

Blueky:  https://bsky.app/profile/lfandfriends.bsky.social

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraFlandersAndFriends/

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ACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

Authoritarianism on the rise: Educators and unionists share strategies for resistance and victory, citing historical examples of successful labor movements, at a conference hosted by CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies and Cornell Worker Institute in New York City this past May.

This show is made possible by you!  To become a sustaining member go to LauraFlanders.org/donate

Description: Labor organizing is critical to any anti-fascist movement, but labor unions and worker education are feeling the impact of brutal Republican attacks and cuts. How are workers and educators responding? In this special report, from a conference held at the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies (SLU) in New York City, Laura spoke with Rebecca “Becky” Pringle, president of the National Education Association, the largest union in the country, about labor solidarity in the deep-red state of Utah; history professor Robert Cassannello, a plaintiff in a successful suit against Florida Gov. DeSantis’s Stop Woke Act; and Rev. Ryan Brown, an Amazon worker/organizer from North Carolina, about how workers and educators are fighting back, and even winning in these times, although the obstacles are immense. The conference, “Labor and the Crisis of Democracy; Working Class Politics in a Time of Authoritarianism” was convened by the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies with the Cornell Worker Institute. 

“It's not the first time that our species have lived in perilous times, with pharaohs who are giving people work without any brick, without any straw. They have always figured out a way to organize, to mobilize and to agitate . . . Harriet Tubman, Fannie Lou Hamer, they were just regular, everyday human beings. No education. But they knew that fundamentally something was wrong about the world.” - Rev. Ryan Brown

“You can study any authoritarian reign, any oligarch throughout history. The people who have the most success in fighting against them are educators and they are unionists . . . We understand these are multi-pronged attacks on every front. So we have to actually have a multi-pronged approach for educators.” - Becky Pringle

GUESTS:

• Reverend Ryan Brown: President, Carolina Amazonians United for Solidarity & Empowerment (CAUSE)

• Robert Cassannello: History Professor, University of Central Florida; Incoming President, United Faculty of Florida (UFF)

• Bhairavi Desai: Executive Director, NY Taxi Worker Alliance

• Annabelle Heckler: Artist; Social Practice Fellow, CUNY

• Sherman Henry: Director, Labor Institute for Advancing Black Strategies, Clark Atlanta University

• Dr. Mudiwa Pettus: Assistant Professor, English Department, Medgar Evers College; Social Practice Fellow, CUNY 

• Rebecca “Becky” Pringle: President, National Education Association

Check out the Bonus Interview in this podcast feed:  In a candid discussion with Laura, veteran union organizer Alex Han and U.S. Right Wing expert Tarso Ramos explore how workers are uniting against rising authoritarianism.

Music Credit: “Jagged” by Blue Dot Sessions. And original sound production and design by Jeannie Hopper.

Watch the special report released on YouTube May 30th 5pm ET; PBS World Channel June 1st, and on over 300 public stations across the country (check your listings, or search here via zipcode). Listen: Episode airing on community radio (check here to see if your station airs the show) & available as a podcast June 4th.

RESOURCES:

Watch the broadcast episode cut for time at our YouTube channel and airing on PBS stations across the country 

Related Laura Flanders Show Episodes:

• Africana & Puerto Rican Studies: A Student-Led Victory for Multicultural Education: Watch / Listen-Podcast

• Journalists Maria Hinojosa & Chenjerai Kumanyika: Forced Removals, Foreign Detention, the War on Education & Free Speech: Watch / Listen-Podcast:  Episode and/or Full Conversation

•  Labor Safety, Project 2025, & the Far Right’s Plot Against Workers: What You Need to Know: Watch / Listen-Podcast

Related Articles and Resources:

•  AFGE president says downsizing after Trump’s order threatens the union’s survival, by Ryan Foley, May 5, 2025, Associated Press

•  Judge blocks Trump push to cut public school funding over diversity programs, by Holly Ramer, AP and Collin Binkley, AP, April 24, 2025, PBS

• PFFU, Utah labor unions return 320K signatures for referendum challenging anti-collective bargaining law, April 17, 2025, International Association of Fire Fighters

• UCF professor may proceed in lawsuit against Stop ‘WOKE’ Act (FL), September 25, 2022, The Charge, Nicholson Student Media

Full Episode Notes are located HERE.

Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders, along with Sabrina Artel, Jeremiah Cothren, Veronica Delgado, Janet Hernandez, Jeannie Hopper, Gina Kim, Sarah Miller, Nat Needham, David Neuman, and Rory O’Conner. 

FOLLOW Laura Flanders and Friends

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/

Blueky:  https://bsky.app/profile/lfandfriends.bsky.social

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraFlandersAndFriends/

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Patreon:   https://www.patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends

ACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

In a candid discussion with Laura, veteran union organizer Alex Han and U.S. Right Wing expert Tarso Ramos explore how workers are uniting against rising authoritarianism.

Description:  America is moving towards authoritarianism faster than ever before, signaling a “turning point” in our history. But what will it actually take to reverse course? What could improve the chances of a winning multiracial democracy? The answer is worker organizers, and joining Laura to discuss grassroots resistance are Tarso Ramos and Alex Han. Han is a legacy union organizer and the Executive Director of In These Times, the long-running Chicago-based magazine dedicated to social movements and economic justice. Ramos is a leading expert on the U.S. Right Wing and former Executive Director of Political Research Associates. He now serves as Senior Advisor to Future Currents, a strategic planning group of social and economic justice leaders. In this exclusive interview, recorded at a conference held at the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies (SLU) in New York City, the trio discuss the challenges before us, and the potential opportunities to mobilize working people. In the wake of Trump’s mass layoffs and the abduction of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a union member who was wrongfully exported to El Savador, can enough workers and their allies band together for bold, coordinated action? 

Watch our full report on the conference, convened by the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies with the Cornell Worker Institute.  Check this podcast feed for the special report to be released June 4th, 2025.

GUESTS:

•  Alex Han is the Executive Director of In These Times, the long-running Chicago-based magazine dedicated to social movements and economic justice. A legacy union organizer and former union officer, Alex has spent decades at the forefront of the labor movement, advocating for workers' rights and building power from the ground up.

•  Tarso Ramos is a leading expert on the U.S. Right Wing, with nearly 30 years of experience researching and confronting its impact on democracy. As the former Executive Director of Political Research Associates (PRA), he spearheaded major initiatives addressing antisemitism, misogyny, authoritarianism, white nationalism, and other anti-democratic forces. Tarso now serves as Senior Advisor to Future Currents, a strategic planning group of social and economic justice leaders.

This show is made possible by you!  To become a sustaining member go to LauraFlanders.org/donate

RELATED LINKS:

In These Times magazine

Political Research Associates

Future Currents

RELATED EPISODES:

• Masha Gessen and Jason Stanley:  Is It Doomsday for U.S. Democracy? - Watch / LISTEN: episode &/or full conversation

•  Naomi Klein & Astra Taylor:  Are Ee Entering "End Times Fascism?"  - Watch / LISTEN:  episode &/or full conversation

• Bernie Sanders & AOC:  "Fighting Oligarchy" with People Power [Special Report] - Watch / LISTEN: episode

• Bernie Sanders "Fighting Oligarchy" LISTEN:  Full Uncut Conversation

• 'God & Country': Rob Reiner & Dan Partland on the Rise of Christian Nationalism in U.S. Politics - Watch / LISTEN:  episode &/or full conversation

Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders, along with Sabrina Artel, Jeremiah Cothren, Veronica Delgado, Janet Hernandez, Jeannie Hopper, Gina Kim, Sarah Miller, Nat Needham, David Neuman, and Rory O’Conner. 

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ACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

 In The Age of Insecurity, Astra Taylor traces the historical roots of capitalism’s reliance on fear and debt, arguing that insecurity is not a flaw but a feature of the system. Drawing on history, myth, and activism, she reveals how confronting our vulnerabilities can become a collective source of power.

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[Original Release Date:  December 18, 2023] 

Description:  Can we turn our insecurity into power? Consumer debt stands at $17.29 trillion and many Americans are drowning in debt, with the average household owning over $100 thousand. The climate crisis, threats to democracy, and global wars add more worry to our already stressful lives. In her new book out from House of Anansi Press, “The Age of Insecurity: Coming Together as Things Fall Apart”, writer, filmmaker, organizer, and the 2023 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Massey Lecturer, Astra Taylor uses mythology. psychology and the history of capitalism to break down the different kinds of insecurities we face, and explore how our insecurities help capitalism flourish. Without it, the system would cease to function, she says. In her years of work as Co-Founder of the Debt Collective, which emerged from Occupy Wall Street, Taylor has used debt as a tool for bringing people together and organizing. She is the author of The Age of Insecurity: Coming Together as Things Fall Apart, Democracy May Not Exist But We'll Miss It When It is Gone, and The People's Platform (winner of the American Book Award), and the director of What Is Democracy?, among other books and films. In this wide-ranging discussion, Astra Taylor and Laura Flanders discuss the history of capitalism, the rights of debtors, and what we can do to lessen insecurity and expand security both as individuals and as a society. All that, plus a commentary from Laura about language and disruption..

“There is a debate here about motivation and what motivates us, and we are constantly being told that if people are too secure, that society's going to collapse and that we can't afford to invest in other folks. And I really want to challenge that idea.” - Astra Taylor

“. . . When you start talking about [debt] with others, you realize you're actually in the same boat and you start coming together to demand change, to demand debt cancellation, to demand the provision of these public goods. Debt actually can become a source of power.” - Astra Taylor

Guest:  Astra Taylor, Co-Founder of the Debt Collective & Author, The Age of Insecurity*

(*Bookshop is an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. The LF Show is an affiliate of bookshop.org and will receive a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.)

This show is made possible by you!  To become a sustaining member go to LauraFlanders.org/donate

RESOURCES: 

Related Laura Flanders Show Episodes:  

•  Watch this episode

•. Listen to the full uncut conversation or search in this podcast feed 'Astra Taylor, Age of Insecurity'

•  Naomi Klein & Astra Taylor: Are We Entering “End Times Fascism”?  Episode and/or Full Uncut

•  Peter Linebaugh on International Workers' "May Day" Origins. Plus, Commentary: 19th Century Anarchist Lucy Parsons,  REWIND

•. Catastrophic Capitalism: Marjorie Kelly & Edgar Villanueva on “Wealth Supremacy”  Watch / Download Podcast  Download Full Conversation

•  Stimulus Checks Every Month?  Watch / Download Podcast

Research Articles:

•  “Your Debt is Someone Else’s Asset” with Astra Taylor illustrated by Molly Crabapple, The Intercept, Watch Here
•  “Freedom Dreams:  black Women and the Student Debt Crisis by The Intercept with support by the, Economic Hardship Reporting Project,   Watch Here

Full Episode Notes are available HERE.

Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders, along with Sabrina Artel, Jeremiah Cothren, Veronica Delgado, Janet Hernandez, Jeannie Hopper, Gina Kim, Sarah Miller, Nat Needham, David Neuman, and Rory O’Conner. 

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ACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel