On The Ground

The Celebration of Life for Black freedom fighter Assata Shakur, held at Riverside Church in New York City, was also a clarion call for the African diaspora to defend Cuba and the Cuban Revolution, which granted Shakur political asylum in 1979. We hear from her longtime attorney Lennox Hinds.
The celebration was an opportunity to humanize the former political prisoner, who was able to be reunited with family in Cuba. We hear from her daughter, the writer Kakuya Shakur. Plus headlines on Iran, Lebanon, Rubio mum on Israeli nukes, Are U.S. and Israeli Militaries Merging? Protests and Hunger Strike at Newark ICE prison; Gaza Flotilla Participants Tell their Story. DC Hospital Cuts Services for Low-Income Mothers Giving Birth. And More. 

The show is made possible only by our volunteer energy, our resolve to keep the people’s voices on the air, and by support from our listeners. In this new era of fake corporate news, we have to be and support our own media! Please click here or click on the Support-Donate tab on this website to subscribe for as little as $3 a month. We are so grateful for this small but growing amount of monthly crowdsource funding on Patreon. PATREON NOW HAS A ONE-TIME, ANNUAL DONATION FUNCTION! You can also give a one-time or recurring donation on PayPal. Thank you!

On the Ground: Voices of Resistance from the Nation’s Capital gives a voice to the voiceless 99 percent at the heart of American empire. The award-winning, weekly hour, produced and hosted by Esther Iverem, covers social justice activism about local, national and international issues, with a special emphasis on militarization and war, the police state, the corporate state, environmental justice and the left edge of culture and media. The show is heard on three dozen stations across the United States, on podcast, and is archived on the world wide web at https://onthegroundshow.org/ Please support us on Patreon or Paypal. Links for all ways to support are on our website or at Esther Iverem’s Linktree: https://linktr.ee/esther_iverem

A celebration of life for Assata Shakur, happening May 30, 2026 at Riverside Church in New York City, offers a space to consider legacies of struggle and paths for freedom and survival. We speak to longtime human rights activist Rosemari Mealy. And you may not get down with U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren but she does break down how private equity, another term for vulture capitalism, is killing U.S. housing, health care, businesses and even youth sports.

Plus, Gerald Horne joins us for international headlines on Iran, Russia, Ebola and Cuba. Chantal James covers Cuba, Trump’s latest foibles, Gaza Flotilla participants return home, the “summer surge” of federal police in DC, and honoring the legacy of George Floyd and more.

The show is made possible only by our volunteer energy, our resolve to keep the people’s voices on the air, and by support from our listeners. In this new era of fake corporate news, we have to be and support our own media! Please click here or click on the Support-Donate tab on this website to subscribe for as little as $3 a month. We are so grateful for this small but growing amount of monthly crowdsource funding on Patreon. PATREON NOW HAS A ONE-TIME, ANNUAL DONATION FUNCTION! You can also give a one-time or recurring donation on PayPal. Thank you!

On the Ground: Voices of Resistance from the Nation’s Capital gives a voice to the voiceless 99 percent at the heart of American empire. The award-winning, weekly hour, produced and hosted by Esther Iverem, covers social justice activism about local, national and international issues, with a special emphasis on militarization and war, the police state, the corporate state, environmental justice and the left edge of culture and media. The show is heard on three dozen stations across the United States, on podcast, and is archived on the world wide web at https://onthegroundshow.org/ Please support us on Patreon or Paypal. Links for all ways to support are on our website or at Esther Iverem’s Linktree: https://linktr.ee/esther_iverem 

While corporate news organizations are focused, in their limited way, on the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, they are ignoring new dangers in the U.S.-NATO proxy war against Russia in Ukraine. We speak to our media critic Jon Jeter and discuss the excellent program on the subject produced by “Reason 2 Resist.” And a coalition of advocates speak out on Capitol Hill, denouncing the Supreme Court’s attack on voting rights–and on all rights. Plus headlines on the War Powers Act, Iran, Cuba, faith leaders protest taxpayer-funded Christian Nationalist rally on the national mall, “Rededicate 250.” 

The show is made possible only by our volunteer energy, our resolve to keep the people’s voices on the air, and by support from our listeners. In this new era of fake corporate news, we have to be and support our own media! Please click here or click on the Support-Donate tab on this website to subscribe for as little as $3 a month. We are so grateful for this small but growing amount of monthly crowdsource funding on Patreon. PATREON NOW HAS A ONE-TIME, ANNUAL DONATION FUNCTION! You can also give a one-time or recurring donation on PayPal. Thank you!

On the Ground: Voices of Resistance from the Nation’s Capital gives a voice to the voiceless 99 percent at the heart of American empire. The award-winning, weekly hour, produced and hosted by Esther Iverem, covers social justice activism about local, national and international issues, with a special emphasis on militarization and war, the police state, the corporate state, environmental justice and the left edge of culture and media. The show is heard on three dozen stations across the United States, on podcast, and is archived on the world wide web at https://onthegroundshow.org/ Please support us on Patreon or Paypal. Links for all ways to support are on our website or at Esther Iverem’s Linktree: https://linktr.ee/esther_iverem 

This in the “On the Ground” special for Nakba Day: “The Ongoing Nakba: Greater Israel and the Open Secret of its Nuclear Weapons.” We speak to independent journalists Sam Husseini and John Steinbach. Steinbach is also co-founder of the Hiroshima Nagasaki Peace Committee of the National Capital Area.

The show is made possible only by our volunteer energy, our resolve to keep the people’s voices on the air, and by support from our listeners. In this new era of fake corporate news, we have to be and support our own media! Please click here or click on the Support-Donate tab on this website to subscribe for as little as $3 a month. We are so grateful for this small but growing amount of monthly crowdsource funding on Patreon. PATREON NOW HAS A ONE-TIME, ANNUAL DONATION FUNCTION! You can also give a one-time or recurring donation on PayPal.

On the Ground: Voices of Resistance from the Nation’s Capital gives a voice to the voiceless 99 percent at the heart of American empire. The award-winning, weekly hour, produced and hosted by Esther Iverem, covers social justice activism about local, national and international issues, with a special emphasis on militarization and war, the police state, the corporate state, environmental justice and the left edge of culture and media. The show is heard on three dozen stations across the United States, on podcast, and is archived on the world wide web at https://onthegroundshow.org/ Please support us on Patreon or Paypal. Links for all ways to support are on our website or at Esther Iverem’s Linktree: https://linktr.ee/esther_iverem 

you!

As the United States continues to shift its plan of attack on Iran, shots are fired and all-out war could begin again. And a coalition of Christians rally on Capitol Hill for Palestine and Palestinians, determined to seize back the narrative about their faith from those condoning genocide. Plus headlines on May Day, the DC budget, the Voting Rights Act and more

The show is made possible only by our volunteer energy, our resolve to keep the people’s voices on the air, and by support from our listeners. In this new era of fake corporate news, we have to be and support our own media! Please click here or click on the Support-Donate tab on this website to subscribe for as little as $3 a month. We are so grateful for this small but growing amount of monthly crowdsource funding on Patreon. PATREON NOW HAS A ONE-TIME, ANNUAL DONATION FUNCTION! You can also give a one-time or recurring donation on PayPal. Thank you!

On the Ground: Voices of Resistance from the Nation’s Capital gives a voice to the voiceless 99 percent at the heart of American empire. The award-winning, weekly hour, produced and hosted by Esther Iverem, covers social justice activism about local, national and international issues, with a special emphasis on militarization and war, the police state, the corporate state, environmental justice and the left edge of culture and media. The show is heard on three dozen stations across the United States, on podcast, and is archived on the world wide web at https://onthegroundshow.org/ Please support us on Patreon or Paypal. Links for all ways to support are on our website or at Esther Iverem’s Linktree: https://linktr.ee/esther_iverem 

As the United States continues to shift its plan of attack on Iran, shots are fired and all-out war could begin again. And a coalition of Christians rally on Capitol Hill for Palestine and Palestinians, determined to seize back the narrative about their faith from those condoning genocide. Plus headlines on May Day, the DC budget, the Voting Rights Act and more.

The show is made possible only by our volunteer energy, our resolve to keep the people’s voices on the air, and by support from our listeners. In this new era of fake corporate news, we have to be and support our own media! Please click here or click on the Support-Donate tab on this website to subscribe for as little as $3 a month. We are so grateful for this small but growing amount of monthly crowdsource funding on Patreon. PATREON NOW HAS A ONE-TIME, ANNUAL DONATION FUNCTION! You can also give a one-time or recurring donation on PayPal. Thank you!

On the Ground: Voices of Resistance from the Nation’s Capital gives a voice to the voiceless 99 percent at the heart of American empire. The award-winning, weekly hour, produced and hosted by Esther Iverem, covers social justice activism about local, national and international issues, with a special emphasis on militarization and war, the police state, the corporate state, environmental justice and the left edge of culture and media. The show is heard on three dozen stations across the United States, on podcast, and is archived on the world wide web at https://onthegroundshow.org/ Please support us on Patreon or Paypal. Links for all ways to support are on our website or at Esther Iverem’s Linktree: https://linktr.ee/esther_iverem 

Hundreds protest in front of the Supreme Court for the right to be warned about cancer risks from the controversial herbicide Roundup. And if U.S. imperialism appears to be in a state total disarray and lawlessness, thats because it is. We speak to historian Gerald Horne. Plus headlines on May Day, DC budget, data centers, and more.

The show is made possible only by our volunteer energy, our resolve to keep the people’s voices on the air, and by support from our listeners. In this new era of fake corporate news, we have to be and support our own media! Please click here or click on the Support-Donate tab on this website to subscribe for as little as $3 a month. We are so grateful for this small but growing amount of monthly crowdsource funding on Patreon. PATREON NOW HAS A ONE-TIME, ANNUAL DONATION FUNCTION! You can also give a one-time or recurring donation on PayPal. Thank you!

On the Ground: Voices of Resistance from the Nation’s Capital gives a voice to the voiceless 99 percent at the heart of American empire. The award-winning, weekly hour, produced and hosted by Esther Iverem, covers social justice activism about local, national and international issues, with a special emphasis on militarization and war, the police state, the corporate state, environmental justice and the left edge of culture and media. The show is heard on three dozen stations across the United States, on podcast, and is archived on the world wide web at https://onthegroundshow.org/ Please support us on Patreon or Paypal. Links for all ways to support are on our website or at Esther Iverem’s Linktree: https://linktr.ee/esther_iverem

As community opposition grows to AI data centers across the country, activists in DC protest outside the World Data Center Conference, and march to the offices or locations of Apple, Meta, Open AI and Microsoft, demanding a moratorium on the building of these resource-sucking centers. And there’s a new documentary about world renowned educator Paulo Freire, author of the seminal text, ‘Pedagogy of the Oppressed.’ We speak to the filmmakers. Plus, headlines on the U.S.-Israel war on Iran, DC curfew for teens and more. BONUS CONTENT ON PATREON.

The show is made possible only by our volunteer energy, our resolve to keep the people’s voices on the air, and by support from our listeners. In this new era of fake corporate news, we have to be and support our own media! Please click here or click on the Support-Donate tab on this website to subscribe for as little as $3 a month. We are so grateful for this small but growing amount of monthly crowdsource funding on Patreon. PATREON NOW HAS A ONE-TIME, ANNUAL DONATION FUNCTION! You can also give a one-time or recurring donation on PayPal. Thank you!

On the Ground: Voices of Resistance from the Nation’s Capital gives a voice to the voiceless 99 percent at the heart of American empire. The award-winning, weekly hour, produced and hosted by Esther Iverem, covers social justice activism about local, national and international issues, with a special emphasis on militarization and war, the police state, the corporate state, environmental justice and the left edge of culture and media. The show is heard on three dozen stations across the United States, on podcast, and is archived on the world wide web at https://onthegroundshow.org/ Please support us on Patreon or Paypal. Links for all ways to support are on our website or at Esther Iverem’s Linktree: https://linktr.ee/esther_iverem 

Historians may mark April 15, 2026 as the day when Americans were fed up with tax dollars used to bomb children abroad, while so many children in the US can’t get food, shelter or healthcare. On this show, we hear from activists, elected officials and members of Doctors Against Genocide. And with the shock of official prayer meetings at the Pentagon, Defense brass evoking Bible prophecy to soldiers, and attacks on Catholics and the Pope, this month’s F-word on fascism features a rebroadcast of our 2020 interview with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges, author of American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America.

The show is made possible only by our volunteer energy, our resolve to keep the people’s voices on the air, and by support from our listeners. In this new era of fake corporate news, we have to be and support our own media! Please click here or click on the Support-Donate tab on this website to subscribe for as little as $3 a month. We are so grateful for this small but growing amount of monthly crowdsource funding on Patreon. PATREON NOW HAS A ONE-TIME, ANNUAL DONATION FUNCTION! You can also give a one-time or recurring donation on PayPal. Thank you!

Clergy speak outside the White House, denouncing the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, and the diverting of billions of tax dollars from human needs, to bombs and killing. After a so-called ceasefire, Israel carpet bombs Lebanon, an oil refinery in Iran is also hit, and Hezbollah fights back. Protesters outside the White House react to news of ceasefire. Plus headlines on the Pentagon ‘threatening’ Pope Leo, Radio legend Bob Law joins the ancestors, and more. 

The show is made possible only by our volunteer energy, our resolve to keep the people’s voices on the air, and by support from our listeners. In this new era of fake corporate news, we have to be and support our own media! Please click here or click on the Support-Donate tab on this website to subscribe for as little as $3 a month. We are so grateful for this small but growing amount of monthly crowdsource funding on Patreon. PATREON NOW HAS A ONE-TIME, ANNUAL DONATION FUNCTION! You can also give a one-time or recurring donation on PayPal. Thank you!

On the Ground: Voices of Resistance from the Nation’s Capital gives a voice to the voiceless 99 percent at the heart of American empire. The award-winning, weekly hour, produced and hosted by Esther Iverem, covers social justice activism about local, national and international issues, with a special emphasis on militarization and war, the police state, the corporate state, environmental justice and the left edge of culture and media. The show is heard on three dozen stations across the United States, on podcast, and is archived on the world wide web at https://onthegroundshow.org/ Please support us on Patreon or Paypal. Links for all ways to support are on our website or at Esther Iverem’s Linktree: https://linktr.ee/esther_iverem