Roots Rundown is now on Spotify and podcast platforms!

RR: Roots Rundown 6/23 - Where Do We Go From Here? w/ Kristie Puckett

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🎙️ Radical Roots Podcast – Episode 82Who Gets Counted? Who Gets Erased? Who Gets Detained? Who Gets Represented? Who Gets to Call Themselves American?📅 June 7, 2026 | 🕘 9:00 PM ET📍 Live from Union County, North CarolinaThis week started with two stories dominating the national conversation: the cases of Cyrus and Karmelo Anthony. Beyond the headlines, both stories exposed something deeper about race, media narratives, public perception, and whose lives receive empathy, outrage, or benefit of the doubt in America.Tonight, we zoom out.Because whether we're talking about criminal justice, immigration detention, voting rights, media censorship, redistricting, or presidential power, the same question keeps showing up:Who gets counted? Who gets erased? Who gets detained? Who gets represented? And who gets to call themselves American?We'll break down Trump's combative interview with Kristen Welker, Scott Pelley's warning about corporate pressure inside media organizations, and the growing concern that truth-telling itself is becoming a liability while propaganda becomes a business model.TONIGHT'S TOPICS🔹 Cyrus, Karmelo Anthony, media narratives, race, and public empathy🔹 Trump's Kristen Welker interview and the authoritarian media playbook🔹 Scott Pelley, CBS, Bari Weiss, and corporate pressure on journalism🔹 ICE detention protests, hunger strikes, private prisons, and the cruelty economy🔹 Trump's America 250 monument push and the politics of public memory🔹 June 9 primaries in Maine, Nevada, North Dakota, and South Carolina🔹 Supreme Court opinion watch: citizenship, immigration, voting rights, civil rights, and executive power🔹 Trump's June 14 Flag Day / UFC / America 250 birthday spectacle🔹 Georgia's June 17 redistricting session and the next battle over Black voting power🔹 What all of this means for Union County, North Carolina, and organizers living in red countiesTHE BIGGER QUESTIONThe fight over democracy isn't just happening in Washington.It's happening in school boards.It's happening in courtrooms.It's happening in detention centers.It's happening in newsroom boardrooms.It's happening in state legislatures.And it's happening right here in North Carolina.💬 Join the Conversation LIVE📲 Follow @RadicalRootsPodcast on Instagram, Threads, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, and Bluesky🌐 https://radicalroots.us📩 [email protected]❤️ Support the work: Donate through our websiteBecause progress doesn't happen by accident.It happens through action.📢 Join Us LIVE Tonight 8:30 PM ET📲 @RadicalRootsPodcast | 🌐 radicalroots.us📧 [email protected]🔔 Subscribe & hit the bell#RadicalRoots #ProgressThroughAction #UnionCountyNC #NorthCarolinaPolitics #VotingRights #Immigration #ICE #SupremeCourt #ScottPelley #KristenWelker #Trump #GeorgiaPolitics #Redistricting #Media #Democracy

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🎙️ Radical Roots Podcast – Episode 80: Orban Falls, Ceasefire Fails, and a Democrat in Handcuffs📅 Sunday, April 12, 2026 | 🕗 8:30 PM ET | 📍 Live from North CarolinaViktor Orban just lost after 16 years — and Trump/Vance backed him all the way down. The Iran ceasefire talks in Pakistan collapsed this morning. Israel killed 350+ people in Lebanon the day after the ceasefire. And Eric Swalwell is being investigated for sexual assault while refusing to drop out of the governor's race. Tonight we break it all down.🔥 What We're Covering:🏳️ BREAKING: Viktor Orban Concedes — A Blow to MAGA Globally- Orban concedes after 16 years. Péter Magyar's party wins 68% of seats.- Record 77.8% turnout — highest since the fall of communism.- JD Vance was in Budapest April 7 rallying for Orban. Trump promised economic backing.- Orban's fall unblocks €90B in Ukraine aid and strips Putin of his main EU ally.☮️ Failed Pakistan Ceasefire Talks — War Back on the Table- 21 hours of US-Iran talks in Islamabad ended this morning with no deal.- First face-to-face US-Iran meeting since the 1979 Revolution — and it failed.- Vance says Iran refused to commit to ending its nuclear program.- Ceasefire expires April 22. Trump's response: full naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.🚩Lebanon — The Ceasefire That Never Was- Israel killed 350+ people in Lebanon on April 8 — the day after the ceasefire announcement.- One-third of victims were women and children.- 2,000+ total killed in US-Israel attacks since February 28.- Netanyahu: "Israel will continue to fight Iran's terror regime and its proxies."🌍 What's Next — For This Country and This World?- Ceasefire expires in 10 days. Does the war resume?- A naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz means 20% of global oil in limbo.- Orban's defeat: is this the beginning of the end for the right-wing strongman model globally?🚨 Eric Swalwell Scandal — Another Democrat Implodes- Four women accuse Swalwell of sexual misconduct including assault.- Manhattan DA launched a criminal investigation April 11.- Lost all 21 congressional endorsements within 24 hours.- Still refusing to drop out of the California governor's race.- House expulsion vote incoming — Democrats plan to counter with their own.📢 Join Us LIVE Tonight 8:30 PM ET📲 @RadicalRootsPodcast | 🌐 radicalroots.us📧 [email protected]🔔 Subscribe & hit the bell#RadicalRootsPodcast #Orban #IranCeasefire #Lebanon #EricSwalwell #UnionCountyNC #ProgressThroughAction #DigDeepToReachHigher

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🎙️ Radical Roots Podcast – Episode 80: Orban Falls, Ceasefire Fails, and a Democrat in Handcuffs📅 Sunday, April 12, 2026 | 🕗 8:30 PM ET | 📍 Live from North CarolinaViktor Orban just lost after 16 years — and Trump/Vance backed him all the way down. The Iran ceasefire talks in Pakistan collapsed this morning. Israel killed 350+ people in Lebanon the day after the ceasefire. And Eric Swalwell is being investigated for sexual assault while refusing to drop out of the governor's race. Tonight we break it all down.🔥 What We're Covering:🏳️ BREAKING: Viktor Orban Concedes — A Blow to MAGA Globally- Orban concedes after 16 years. Péter Magyar's party wins 68% of seats.- Record 77.8% turnout — highest since the fall of communism.- JD Vance was in Budapest April 7 rallying for Orban. Trump promised economic backing.- Orban's fall unblocks €90B in Ukraine aid and strips Putin of his main EU ally.☮️ Failed Pakistan Ceasefire Talks — War Back on the Table- 21 hours of US-Iran talks in Islamabad ended this morning with no deal.- First face-to-face US-Iran meeting since the 1979 Revolution — and it failed.- Vance says Iran refused to commit to ending its nuclear program.- Ceasefire expires April 22. Trump's response: full naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.🚩Lebanon — The Ceasefire That Never Was- Israel killed 350+ people in Lebanon on April 8 — the day after the ceasefire announcement.- One-third of victims were women and children.- 2,000+ total killed in US-Israel attacks since February 28.- Netanyahu: "Israel will continue to fight Iran's terror regime and its proxies."🌍 What's Next — For This Country and This World?- Ceasefire expires in 10 days. Does the war resume?- A naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz means 20% of global oil in limbo.- Orban's defeat: is this the beginning of the end for the right-wing strongman model globally?🚨 Eric Swalwell Scandal — Another Democrat Implodes- Four women accuse Swalwell of sexual misconduct including assault.- Manhattan DA launched a criminal investigation April 11.- Lost all 21 congressional endorsements within 24 hours.- Still refusing to drop out of the California governor's race.- House expulsion vote incoming — Democrats plan to counter with their own.📢 Join Us LIVE Tonight 8:30 PM ET📲 @RadicalRootsPodcast | 🌐 radicalroots.us📧 [email protected]🔔 Subscribe & hit the bell#RadicalRootsPodcast #Orban #IranCeasefire #Lebanon #EricSwalwell #UnionCountyNC #ProgressThroughAction #DigDeepToReachHigher

🎙️ Radical Roots Podcast – Episode 79: A Whole Civilization Will Die Tonight: Trump's Genocide Threat and the Fake Iran Ceasefire

📅 Thursday, April 9, 2026 | 🕗 9:00 PM ET | 📍 Live from Union County, NC

Trump threatened to eradicate an entire civilization. Hours after a ceasefire was announced, Israel massacred 254 people in Lebanon in 10 minutes. ICE deported two North Carolina children — US citizens — to Honduras. And some young Black people are out here defending this empire. Tonight we connect every dot.

🔥 What We're Covering:

🤯 Trump's Dementia Threats & Policy Whiplash

- One day: ceasefire. Next day: genocide threats. What is actually happening?

- Democratic response, health concerns, and midterm implications.

💣 Operation Eternal Darkness — The Lebanon Massacre

- 254 civilians killed in 10 minutes after a ceasefire was announced

- International condemnation growing. Strikes continuing.

- What does "ceasefire" mean when the bombs don't stop?

🚨 ICE Deports Two NC Children to Honduras — US Citizens

- Two North Carolina children — American citizens — deported to Honduras

- Parents given minutes to decide under duress, denied attorneys

- ProPublica: ICE has detained parents of at least 11,000 US citizen children

📉 Right-Wing Spin Is Cracking

- Young MAGA voters breaking on endless war

- Republican support fracturing. Public opinion shifting.

- War Powers Resolution vote coming next week.

✊🏾 Black People & U.S. Propaganda — When Colonization Wins

- Why are young Black people defending American exceptionalism while ICE deports Black and Brown families?

- From Buffalo Soldiers to Black ICE agents — this pattern isn't new

- Muhammad Ali said "No Viet Cong ever called me n****r." How did we get from that to defending genocide in Gaza?

- Colonization didn't just steal land. It stole consciousness.

📢 Join Us LIVE Tonight 8:30 PM ET

📲 @RadicalRootsPodcast | 🌐 radicalroots.us

📧 [email protected]

🔔 Subscribe & hit the bell

#RadicalRootsPodcast #IranWar #ICE #BlackLiberation #GazaGenocide #UnionCountyNC #ProgressThroughAction #DigDeepToReachHigher

🎙️ Radical Roots Podcast – Episode 77: Black Women and the Fight for Healing📅 Thursday, March 19, 2026 | 🕗 8:30 PM ET | 📍 Live from North Carolina🎙️ Tonight's Guest: Dr. Jennifer Montgomery, PharmD, MBA, LCMHCABridging the gap between physical and mental wellness for underserved communities.Black women are holding the movement, the family, the community — and their own bodies are screaming for rest. Tonight we slow down and go deep. 🔥 What We're Covering:💊 The Body Keeps the Score — A Pharmacist & Therapist's View- Dr. Jennifer Montgomery bridges physical and mental health in ways the system refuses to- What prescriptions and therapy sessions reveal about collective Black trauma- Can medication heal what systemic oppression creates — or is that just managing symptoms?⚰️ Black Maternal Mortality — Engineered Death- Black women are 3–4x more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women- The disparity holds regardless of income or education — Serena Williams almost died- Is this medical negligence, or is this what the system was designed to do?🧠 Protecting Your Peace in a Nonstop Crisis- Vicarious trauma, news exhaustion, and the weight of carrying everyone else- Is it okay to opt out of news consumption to protect your mental health?- What does self-preservation look like without abandoning the fight?✊🏾 Celebration vs. Survival — Women's History Month Honestly- How do you honor Black women's brilliance while telling the truth about the exhaustion?- What does healing look like inside systems that were built to harm you?- Community care vs. clinical care — and the limits of individual healing under collective oppression📢 Join Us LIVE Tonight 8:30 PM ET📲 @RadicalRootsPodcast | 🌐 radicalroots.us📧 [email protected]🔔 Subscribe & hit the bell#RadicalRootsPodcast #BlackWomensHealth #WomensHistoryMonth #BlackMentalHealth #HealingIsResistance #UnionCountyNC #MonroeNC #ProgressThroughAction

🎙️ Radical Roots Podcast – Episode 76: Operation Epstein Fury📅 Sunday, March 1, 2026 | 🕗 8:30 PM ET | 📍 Live from North Carolina

While American voters went to the polls for last day of early voting, Trump started a war. 153 children died in a school bombing. Have attacks on American soil followed?

And a Trump megadonor is poised to acquire CNN, HBO, and Warner Bros. This is Operation Epstein Fury: start a war, bury the crimes, call the backlash terrorism.

🔥 What We're Covering:

💣 Operation Epic Fury — War as Distraction- 153 children killed. Supreme Leader assassinated. 3 US soldiers dead.- Sen. Mark Warner: "I saw NO intelligence Iran was planning an attack. None."- What is the real motive?

🚨 Violence On US Soil- Austin: 2 dead, 14 injured. DC Beltway: 4 stabbed.- Both possible attacks within 30 hours of the Iran war starting.- Austin suspect wore an Iranian flag shirt. Suspect.

🗳️ NC Primaries — Democracy While Bombs Drop- March 3 Primary is 2 days away. Early voting closed the day the war started.- North Carolina U.S. Senator & House, Monroe Mayor, City Council, County Commission, Board of Ed all on the ballot.

📺 The Ellison Empire — They're Buying the Narrative- Trump megadonors is buying CNN, HBO, CBS, and Warner Bros for $111B.- Same people starting the war now own the networks covering it.- Can the deal be stopped?

🤖 Trump banned Anthropic from the entire federal government for refusing to allow AI-powered mass surveillance — then OpenAI took the deal.

🏅 NAACP Image Awards

🔗 The Pattern- ICE camps. Executions. Voter suppression. All buried under war headlines.- 153 children didn't die for democracy. They died for distraction.

📢 Join the Movement:

💬 Drop your thoughts below

📲 Follow: @RadicalRootsPodcast on IG, Threads, Bluesky

🔔 Subscribe & hit the bell

📩 [email protected]

🌐 https://radicalroots.us and DONATE

#RadicalRootsPodcast #OperationEpsteinFury #OperationEpicFury #IranWar #NCPrimary2026 #UnionCountyNC #ProgressThroughAction #StayWoke

🔥The State of the Country with guest Mir Yarfitz (NC 10th District Candidate) 🚨

We're joined by guest Mir Yarfitz (@miryarfitz) tonight—running for Congress North Carolina 10th District. When the country looks like this, we need fighters everywhere.Mir Yarfitz, is a queer and trans man, tenured Associate Professor of History at Wake Forest University, published author, and Democratic candidate running in the NC-10 Congressional District primary against incumbent Republican Pat Harrigan. A scholar of Latin American history, social movements, and gender and sexuality — and a lifelong organizer with unions, farmworkers, tenants, and LGBTQ movements — Mir brings both academic depth and boots-on-the-ground credibility to his campaign. He's earned the endorsement of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), and his run represents exactly the kind of bold, people-powered representation we need in Congress.🚩Mexico currently on fire, what happened?👮🏻 Secret Service Kill Man at Mar-a-Lago📂 Country shrugs off Epstein files🗳️ SAVE Act: voter suppression👮 DaQuain Johnson: executed on bike🌳 Kyle Bassinga: found hanging, called “suicide”🏢 ICE: $38B for concentration camps🧑🏼‍⚖️ Judges Kill Tariffs, Trump retaliates in a tantrum🏀 LeBron: praises Israel during genocideThis is a snapshot of where we are.🎙️ 8:30 PM ET: radicalroots.us, YouTube, Facebook📢 Join the Movement:💬 Drop your thoughts below 📲 Follow: @RadicalRootsPodcast on IG, Threads, Bluesky 🔔 Subscribe & hit the bell 📩 [email protected] 🌐 https://radicalroots.us and DONATE#RadicalRootsPodcast #DaQuainJohnson #KyleBassinga #Mexico #Lebron

🎙️ Radical Roots Podcast – Episode 74: 🌊The Flood—When Too Much News Becomes The Strategy📅 February 1, 2026 | 🕗 8:30 PM ET | 📍 Live from SNOWY North CarolinaHAPPY BLACK HISTORY MONTH!This week was a flood 🌊. So much news it's hard to even keep up.Government shutdown. 3 million Epstein pages dropped. Prominent journalists arrested. Liam finally came home. Greg Bovino demoted. February 13 deadline.Is the chaos the point? When you can't defend the indefensible, flood the zone with distractions.🔥 What We're Covering:🏛️ Democrats Made Them Blink... kinda?Senate Dems blocked funding, forced DHS split. Trump agreed. Senate passed 71-29. February 13 deadline for DHS negotiations. They're still demanding reforms—not abolition.👮 Trump's Secret PoliceDon Lemon & Georgia Fort arrested Friday covering January 18 church protest. FACE Act charges. Judge rejected warrant—arrested anyway. Meanwhile Valentina Gomez disrupts churches, burns Qurans, mock executions—no charges. Pattern clear: FACE Act only enforced against the left. Does it even apply?📁 The Distraction Drop3 million+ Epstein pages dropped Friday (same day as arrests and shutdown). Trump mentioned 4,500+ times. Cabinet members implicated. FBI tip list removed from database. Why now? Bury ICE murders.💔 The Body Count + Liam Comes Home30+ shootings, 8 deaths since January 20. Trump calls Alex Pretti "insurrectionist." Liam Ramos & father released Saturday, flew home Sunday. Two more kids from his school now detained.🔴 The Right-Wing LostDefending detaining 5-year-olds and murdering nurses. Chris Madel drops Minnesota governor race (can't support party). Lindsey Graham defends ICE as "demonized cops." Even some Republicans breaking. BIG LOSS IN TEXAS special election.⏰ February 13 - The TestWill Dems hold the line or fold (history: ACA failure)? ICE already has $75 billion. Reforms won't work. 69% of Dems support abolition. Leadership won't say it. Only solution: ABOLISH ICE.✊ The Thesis:When you can't defend the indefensible, flood the zone with so much chaos people can't keep up. This week proves it. We're trying anyway.📢 Join the Movement:💬 Drop your thoughts below 📲 Follow: @RadicalRootsPodcast on IG, Threads, Bluesky 🔔 Subscribe & hit the bell 📩 [email protected] 🌐 https://radicalroots.us and DONATE#RadicalRootsPodcast #blackandbrown #solidarity #coalition #RadicalRoots #KiethPorter #SilverioVillegasGarcia #AlexPretti #ReneeGood #DonDavis #ChaseRanklin #NCDemocrats #Obama

🎙️ Radical Roots Podcast – Episode 73: The Murder of Alex Pretti and the Cowardice of our Democratic Partywith Guest: Chase Franklin (North Carolina Activist)📅 January 25, 2026 | 🕗 8:30 PM ET | 📍 Live from North Carolina👨‍⚕️His Name: Alex Jeffrey Pretti 💔-Saturday, Jan 24. Minneapolis. 37-year-old ICU nurse at VA hospital. U.S. citizen. Legal gun owner. NO criminal record.-Shot and killed by Border Patrol.-Border Patrol Commander: agents are "the victims."-SECOND fatal shooting in Minneapolis in 3 weeks.🗳️ Will Democrats find their spine?- What are NC Dems saying about ICE/CBP and Alex Pretti?- Don Davis voted YES for ICE funding—any backlash?- Are NC Dems organizing anything?- Could Minnesota's shutdown happen in NC?📢 Join the Movement:💬 Drop your thoughts below 📲 Follow: @RadicalRootsPodcast on IG, Threads, Bluesky 🔔 Subscribe & hit the bell 📩 [email protected] 🌐 https://radicalroots.us and DONATE#RadicalRootsPodcast #blackandbrown #solidarity #coalition #RadicalRoots #KiethPorter #SilverioVillegasGarcia #AlexPretti #ReneeGood #DonDavis #ChaseRanklin #NCDemocrats #Obama