Mechanical Freak

Join us and our BFF of the show @MareshkaEvanova to talk about the recent election in the Philippines that has brought back both the son of Ferdinand Marcos and the daughter of Rodrigo Duterte to power, all on the the eve of the 50th anniversary of marshal law.

Check out the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines

Recorded on Thursday morning, Brian and Greg go over what we know about the mass shooting in Uvalde, the role of the police, and the fantasies politicians are concocting in response.

For an explanation of why our schools are already flooded with police, see Brian’s article: “A History of Police in School”

Here is a Twitter thread of teachers discussing active shooter drills

Listen to the episode in its entirety on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/posts/66756427

In the first half of our dive into private equity firms and the exciting world of leveraged buyouts, we take a deep dive into Elon Musk’s efforts to buy Twitter. For part two, make sure to join our Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/mechanicalfreak).

Listen to our 2021 episode on the meteoric rise of Tesla here

We take a moment to remember PNW native Randy Weaver in connection with the recent shooting in Buffalo and discuss what the Democrats response to white supremacist violence was in the 1990s. Then we take a dive into the politics of gentrification and discuss the “Minneapolis miracle.”

For more on how the Democrats turned popular fear of white supremacist violence into more state executions of mainly poor black men, see Brian’s article “Militia Madness”

Check out this collection of population charts for a selection of Midwest cities here

Read the UM report on gentrification in South Minneapolis here

Also, read a collection of articles on gentrification and the murder of George Floyd here

For more on the construction of the Minneapolis greenway, see Melody Hoffman’s Bike Lanes are White Lanes

Listen to the episode in its entirety on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/posts/66464830

This one is a downer. We’re still rambling on about abortion rights because we can’t help it. For flavor there is also both a Boeing update and a Star trek update. Both involve the inevitability of WWIII.

With the recent leak of a draft decision indicating that the Supreme Court plans to reverse Roe v. Wade later this summer, the guys take a trip down memory lane and trace how the anti-abortion movement evolved from an extreme minority position to an extreme minority position with billions of dollars in funding and the support of both parties. We finish by suggesting things that you can do that are more useful than voting.

You should definitely read Jenny Brown’s argument linking the anti-abortion movement to capitalism’s desire to control population growth from her book Without Apology: The Abortion Struggle Now

Greg and Wes give us a review of DJ Khaled’s new ghost restaurant and then we welcome Sidney, Billie, and Liz on the show to talk about how they helped to unionize local Starbucks stores and what it takes to roast management’s anti-union campaigns. Finally, we discuss some late breaking news courtesy of the octogenarian freaks in the wizard’s chamber in the nation’s capital.

Follow Starbucks Workers United - Seattle on Twitter & visit their website to find out how you can help!

Listen to our previous interviews with Starbuck’s workers on union organizing & slinging drinks, here & here

Read about the Supreme Court’s draft decision to overturn Roe v Wade, here

We ask, “Can a police officer be fined for not-wearing a mask in a casino, if the casino is there to pay off judgements and fines against the police in the first place?” Then we explore the gritty, dark-night of housing in America.

Read the Fortune article on the struggles of the “cash poor”

Read about the future of renting in the NY Times