The following episode was recorded February 2020.

In an era when companies spend hundreds of millions of dollars on diversity and inclusion programs, the proportion of African Americans in tech, media, and business leadership roles is stagnating. In her new book, Diversity, Inc. The Failed Promise of a Billion-Dollar Business, award-winning journalist and New York University professor Pamela Newkirk describes the gap between the rhetoric and the reality where racial equity and inclusion are concerned. She calls us to go beyond lip service and radically reevaluate how we make organizations more diverse.  “Self-Love” by Joe Armon-Jones Featuring Obongjayar from his album, A Turn to Clear View, courtesy of Brownswood.
 

Guest:  Pamela Newkirk, Professor of journalism at New York University and author of Diversity, Inc.

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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

We can not cling to the cruel lie that economic success is the product of individual merit and sweat.

The F-Word is released bi-weekly featuring timely commentaries by Laura Flanders and guests.  Support by becoming a patron, goto https://Patreon.com/theLFShow  That's also where you'll find our series "Forward Thinking on Covid-19".

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

White Supremacy and the Covid crisis aren’t separate. They’re linked.  Defunding public health services and deregulating gun ownership have been catastrophic for public health and yet, the majority of white voters support exactly those policies. The spectacle of hundreds of mostly white, unmasked Trump supporters crammed into indoor rally venues during a pandemic exemplifies this phenomenon. In this interview, conducted just days before the Memorial Day killing of George Floyd, physician and public health researcher Jonathan Metzl describes how American racism sabotages our public health system and costs millions of lives in a suicidal way. Metzl talks about the deadly role of Donald Trump and the conclusions he’s drawn about how any of this can be turned around.  Music in the Middle:  Scott Hardkiss remix of “Revolution” by The Hardkiss Brothers.

To watch this episode and find more information, goto:  https://Patreon.com/theLFShow  and please support!

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

Although the toll of the coronavirus has been most acute in urban areas, the virus has been spreading in rural America. The reasons behind the uptick are numerous, from lack of medical providers, hospitals and personal protective equipment, to limited broadband and large proportions of uninsured, and poorly protected farm and factory workers. 

“They’re treated as essential workers but not essential human beings,” 

Is being rural a pre-existing vulnerability in this crisis? Equipped with a mask and a selfie stick, Laura Flanders reports (from a responsible distance) on the impact of Covid-19 on one poor, rural county just 100 miles from New York City. She talks to poultry workers, dairy workers, artists, activists and labor organizers about what the pandemic has revealed about their county, from its economic fragility to the strength of local social networks. What fears do people have about a future of more budget cuts? And what sort of investment is most needed now?   Music in the Middle:  Keep It Up by Eljuri courtesy of the artist.

This episode was co-produced by Sabrina Artel, host ofTrailer Talk aired on community radio station, WJFF in Jeffersonville, Sullivan County.

To watch this episode and find more information, goto:  https://Patreon.com/theLFShow  and please support!

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

Prisons, police and punishment through incarceration. Are they with us forever in the land of the free? Sustained campaigns for change are beginning to pay off. At the community level, it turns out that a whole lot of people and places already make peace without cops. Today, we imagine a world without prisons. It may be closer than we think.

Note:  This episode originally aired the summer of 2019.  

Guests:

-Esteban Kelly, Executive Director, US Federation of Worker Cooperatives. He is also a founder and core trainer with AORTA, a worker co-op whose consulting supports organizations fighting for social justice and a solidarity economy

-Kenyon Farrow,  Senior Editor, TheBody.com, and works with  Queers for Economic Justice, Critical Resistance, and FIERCE!

-Kerbie Joseph, Community Organizer, ANSWER (Act Now To Stop War and End Racism) & The Audre Lorde Project

Music in the Middle:  “If Everyone Were Blind”  by Victor Simonelli and Glenn Sweety G Toby, from the “Shelter From the Streets Compilation” courtesy of West Side and Stellar Records.

In case you missed last week's related episode:  Special-Putting Public Safety in Public Hands: The Newark Model

In February, Laura went to Newark to report on how the Street Team leverages community relationships to prevent violence, address abuse and transform trauma into power. The episode offers a timely glimpse of what it looks like when more responsibility for public safety is put in public hands.  

Support the show and our new series Forward Thinking on Covid-19, and do support!  This shows in made possible by you.  Please support by becoming a Patreon partner today.

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

"Every Juneteenth has me thinking about life and the unknown, and the experience of those who lived two and half years enslaved, denied the news that the Civil War was over and the North had won.  We don’t always know what moment we are living in. Or what lies on the other side of now. ... In this 400th year of colonial American slave capitalism  we don’t know, for example, what it is to live equal and free."

Watch/Listen to this week's LFShow "Putting Public Safety in Public Hands: The Newark Model" 

 The F-Word is released bi-weekly featuring timely commentaries by Laura Flanders and guests. Support by becoming a patron at Patreon.com  That's also where you'll find our series "Forward Thinking on Covid-19".

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

Move money and power from police to communities and invest in local control. In the face of ongoing police brutality against African Americans and the disproportionate impact of the Covid-19 epidemic on people of color, the nation has reached a tipping point in relation to racism, policing and public health. The Newark Community Street team in Newark, New Jersey serves as a viable model for realizing many of the demands of advocacy groups such as the Movement for Black Lives, Reclaim the Block, and Black Lives Matter. In February, Laura went to Newark to report on how the Street Team leverages community relationships to prevent violence, address abuse and transform trauma into power. This episode offers a timely glimpse of what it looks like when more responsibility for public safety is put in public hands.  Music in the Middle:  “Come On, Come On” by Scott Hardkiss featuring Lisa Shaw from his album Technicolor Dreaming courtesy of God Within Records.

Support the show and our new series Forward Thinking on Covid-19, and do support!  This shows in made possible by you, become a Patreon partner today.

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

"Defund Police. Invest in Black Lives. What just weeks ago was a slogan is fast becoming law."

Watch/Listen to this week's LFShow "Putting Public Safety in Public Hands: The Newark Model"

The F-Word is released bi-weekly featuring timely commentaries by Laura Flanders and guests. Support by becoming a patron, goto https://Patreon.com/theLFShow That's also where you'll find our series "Forward Thinking on Covid-19".

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

Grammy-nominated musician Raul Midón has never fit neatly into any category. A skillful singer-songwriter and guitarist, he melds African and Latin influences, combining jazz with soul and bossa nova with salsa. As an independent musician, he also writes, performs, records and produces all of his own work. His most recent album, The Mirror, was released just days before the US went into lockdown for the Covid-19 crisis, but Midón has used his time at home as an opportunity to perform live for his fans from his studio. This week, he explains his unique production and engineering process to Laura and shares how he collaborates with musicians all over the world. At a time when many of us are scrambling to adjust to the challenges of life during a pandemic, Raul Midón is serving up positive energy, a model of creative adaptation and, best of all, great music!  Music in the Middle:  Various selections from Raul's new album and the title track from his 2014 album "Do Not Hesitate".

Support the show and our new series Forward Thinking on Covid-19, and do support!  This shows in made possible by you, become a Patreon partner today.

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

The skies over Los Angeles may be bluer thanks to the Covid 19 slow-down, but the impact of environmental racism on low income people of color persists. According to a recent Harvard study, where people have been exposed to even slightly higher levels of air pollution the Covid-19 death rate is significantly higher. Nevertheless, the EPA has rolled back its enforcement of pollution regulations. In this episode, Laura speaks with grassroots environmental organizers Cindy Donis and Laura Cortez from East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice. They're on the front line of the struggle to organize their communities in the face of polluting industries and now Covid-19.  Music in the Middle:  “Conviction” by David Florio, from his album Italy Is a Strange Place, courtesy of Irma Records.

Support the show and our new series Forward Thinking on Covid-19, by joining as a Patreon partner during our May Day to Memorial Day Fund Drive, extended until June 1st! We're just 6 new patrons away from our goal of 25 new Patreon partners. https://Patreon.com/theLFShow

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