The war in Ukraine is often, like many conflicts, discussed through the lens of foreign policy and the interests of these entities that we call states. This is not the framing that we simply inherit from media, it is one that the Left globally has embraced just as thoroughly as liberals and conservatives. Discussions become echoes of the Cold War, where massive power blocks collide in some geopolitical game involving huge historical projects.

There are myriad issues with this framing, but we will focus on just one in this episode. This framing has a tragic side effect, it has the tendency to disappear people on the ground living through conflict, and often abandoning them as a result. It has led some on the Left to support the worst authoritarians, right-wing religious extremists, and genocidaires, all while abandoning people fighting authoritarianism repeatedly, merely because the states that supports the regime they are fighting are “anti-American”.

We want to have a different discussion about war, and about Ukraine; a discussion about what it means to be an anarchist living in a place actively under invasion, facing existential threats, and the threat of immanent arrest or death if you lose. We are joined by Anton from the Solidarity Collectives to talk about the war, how life continues in a warzone, what the war has meant for the anarchist community in Ukraine and the wider region, and how a movement can not just survive, but also actively engage in the situation around them, against all odds.

You can follow the work of Solidarity Collectives here:

Photo by Jade Koroliuk on Unsplash

On this episode of The Beautiful Idea, we speak with several authors and organizers, marking six months into the second Trump administration coming to power. During our multiple discussions, we look at the recent deployment of the military into Los Angeles, CA, the ramping up of ICE raids and arrests across the US, and the passing of the Republican so-called “Big Beautiful Bill,” which ear-marks billions for war and the deportation machine, while cutting taxes on the ultra-wealthy and corporations, and slashing social services, health-care, and food assistance for the poor. Already, which has lead to rural hospitals being threatened with closure as food banks struggle to keep up with demand.

In this episode you will hear from:

As anger continues to build in the streets, we hope this discussion shines a light on the contours and context of the building social war being waged against poor and working people across the US.

MUSIC: 

Intro music by Breakaway and Seaside Tryst

Filastine & Nova – Requiem 432

Neurosis – The Doorway

Photo by Dan Seddon on Unsplash

For as long as people have been getting pregnant, they’ve also been figuring out how to get un-pregnant. A self-managed abortion (SMA) is when a person ends their pregnancy outside of the formal medical system. Most often, self-managed abortions are done as “medication abortions” — abortions induced by medication. In this episode of The Beautiful Idea, we talk about self-managed medication abortions done with a combination of the drugs misoprostol and mifepristone.

Guests Jane and Hazel are both abortion doulas (also known as abortion companions) with extensive experience supporting people completing self-managed medication abortions. Jane, based in Appalachia, works with the Mountain Area Abortion Doula Collective (MAADCO). Hazel, based in the Rust Belt, is a former abortion clinic worker, and wrote the zine “how to do it anyway: a guide to self-managing an abortion at home” after Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022.

We discuss the history of reproductive justice, how self-managed abortion is often stigmatized and why that can be harmful, and the actual step-by-step details of what a medication abortion entails (how to measure pregnancy, which pills to take when, how it might feel physically in the body, what to look out for to determine if an abortion has been completed, pain management, and some of the ways that people sometimes emotionally or culturally process an abortion), among other topics.

There are many resources on self-managed medication abortion available. Here are just a few, mentioned in today’s show:

cover image: Ash J on Twitter

Welcome back to The Beautiful Idea. So much has happened since we started to put this episode together. We’ve got a lot to cover, so let’s not waste any time and dive right into it!

On today’s episode, first we present a interview with an organizer on the recent “Statelessness” conference that took place in Evansville, IN. For more on the conference, check out this recording from the presentation, the Belki Sibe documentary which was shown at the event, a presentation from keynote speaker Jane Gordon, and a PDF booklet about the conference.

Next, we speak with someone involved in Antifa International, which supports international antifascist prisoners, and then turn towards our discussion on the recent deployment of National Guard troops in Los Angeles, CA.

A reminder to follow the Beautiful Idea on BlueSky, Mastodon, and Instagram and check out our website. The Beautiful Idea is also a proud member of the Channel Zero Anarchist Podcast network.

First up, a dam has broken and the first real eruption in the streets has kicked off against the Trump administration in the fight against ICE and mass deportations. This push back has been building in recent months, as grassroots organizers and groups on the ground have been hard at work pushing back against growing attacks from ICE and the DHS. We’re going to start off our show with a short interview from a reporter at Unicorn Riot, who talks about how ICE is coordinating with local police to create a vast army of law enforcement mobilized to attack migrant workers. Check out the full report on Unicorn Riot here.

In late May, resistance began to heat up at courthouses around the US, as people moved to block ICE agents from snatching people at court hearings regarding their immigration status. as the Trump administration pushed for accelerated deportation numbers. These confrontations then escalated into street clashes in San Diego, Minneapolis, and several other cities, before popping off in early June in Los Angeles, CA. On June 6th and 7th, thousands mobilized following militarized ICE raids on several workplaces, surrounding a federal building in downtown LA, and demanding that ICE release hundreds of people captured by DHS. The next day, people bravely faced off with ICE after federal authorities raided a Home Deport and attacked those in the wider community who came out to protest. Fierce clashes broke out between community members and state forces, with people throwing projectiles at ICE vehicles, eventually driving them from the area after several hours.

The next day, Trump moved to federalize several hundred National Guard troops, already in California to deal with the fires, who were then sent in to guard the detention center, leading to more clashes and rioting, as the Democratic Mayor put a curfew in place, and the LAPD began a campaign of mass terror and brutality against protesters. Solidarity demonstrations and similar revolts began to pop off in more cities, as people began to shut down court houses with mass pickets, mobilize to kick ICE agents out of hotels, and respond to immigration raids with rage and determination. Things popped off in Seattle, Portland, Sacramento, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York City, Atlanta, Chicago, and beyond. CrimethInc. has recently published some amazing report backs that can be viewed here:

There’s also been some amazing zines published recently to check out and distribute in your community, including:

Meanwhile in Newark, NJ, where demonstrators have been demanding the horrific Delaney Hall ICE prison be closed, prisoners there launched a rebellion which led to several people escaping. According to a report on Jersey Counter-Info: 

A few days ago riots broke out at the federal ICE detention center, Delaney Hall, in Newark, NJ. Detainees faced increasing abuse and starvation from their jailers and fought back, reportedly setting fires and knocking down an internal wall used to contain them. At the same time, Delaney Hall was swarmed by waves of protestors who slowed operations and drew the attention of ICE and other federal pigs away from the events occurring inside.

Protestors stood their ground and prevented ICE vans from entering the facility and thinned out the number pigs helping to prevent the riot from being quelled. During this juncture 4 men, who were kidnapped and imprisoned at Delaney Hall by ICE, were able to make their escape from the heavily fortified facility. As of now, they are still free, liberated from detention.

Because of the brave actions of the individuals detained inside Delaney Hall and the protestors outside, 4 people were able to escape and gain freedom. It doesn’t matter how fortified the state’s prisons or detention centers may be, how many federal pigs there are, what weapons they have to brutalize people, solidarity can and will WIN.

Keep fighting, by any means necessary.

There’s also so much happening on the ground that it’s impossible to give a full roundup of everything, so be sure to check It’s Going Down on BlueSky for daily updates. We hope to get a new episode out soon with a better picture of the full extent of the growing wave of anti-ICE action, as well as some thoughts on the massive No Kings demonstrations which took place on June 14th, bringing out millions of people into the streets.

This May Day, tens of thousands took to the streets across the US, celebrating the radical holiday which honors the Chicago anarchist martyrs and the fight for the 8-hour work day. Labor unions, immigrant rights groups, and community organizations held demonstrations across the US, decrying the Trump administration’s growing attacks on labor unions, immigrant workers, and beyond. Anarchist and autonomous groups also held demonstrations and gatherings across the US to honor the holiday, with various events, actions, and interventions happening in numerous cities. For a full roundup, check It’s Going Down.

This May Day was big, with tens of thousands taking part in strikes, rallies + mass protests across the US. In our latest roundup, we spoke with anarchists and autonomous anti-capitalists in various cities about different community mobilizations this past weekend. itsgoingdown.org/may-day-2025…

— It's Going Down (@igd.bsky.social) 2025-05-10T08:29:14.715Z

Notable mentions include anarchist organized May Day gatherings and festivals in Eugene, OR, Boise, ID, Seattle, WA, Nevada, City, CA, Bloomington, IN, New Orleans, LA, and in several cities in North Carolina, an anarchist festival took place over several days. In Reno, NV, a mutual aid fair was organized, in Denton, TX and Binghamton, NY, anarchist bookfairs were organized, while in Richmond, VA anarchists also organized a march which met with up other May Day demonstrations. Meanwhile in New York City, people occupied the former Yippie HQ building before being evicted by police. Finally, autonomous groups held an anti-ICE marches in Tacoma, WA, Eugene and Olympia, OR and San Francisco, CA.

Puget Sound Anarchists posted a report back on the anti-ICE march on May Day, here and the Dissonant Times, a new autonomous publication out of Eugene, OR, also has a report up on an anti-ICE action on May Day, writing:

On May 2nd there was a call for a black bloc under the slogan MAY DAY MELT ICE, in response to the federal government’s unrestrained escalations against migrants, people connected to last year’s Palestine Solidarity movement, and non-white people in general. A short, small march yielded some light property damage and a fairly heavy response from EPD, resulting in four arrests. Despite the modest attendance and intensity of attack, this was an important testing of the waters here in Eugene, where the climate of repression is shifting, with police beginning to take a more hands-on approach. Police tactics are evolving, and so should ours. And at the same time, this action proved that confrontational street action is very much still possible here. Things are bad, but you can definitely still wile out and get away with it.

The inspiration we derive from others is unbound by time and space and, as an offering of gratitude, we tend to this cosmic fire, stoking its eternal flames. Our shouts and laughs and screams fan the embers of resistance. Together, each exhale creates ignition. Clearly, there is a taste for more heat in Eugene. The limits of endless “peaceful” marches and rallies were reached a long time ago, and we invite others to take initiative themselves; in person, in the streets, in spirit and/or in the numerous other avenues which sustain our counterattack. Despite setbacks, we will keep growing, offering each other grace as we pivot and learn from mistakes. Momentum excitedly continues to build within us — we know when to resist, and when to release.

Read the full report here.

Solidarity with the workers at Urban Ore in #Berkeley, who have been on strike. They've been joined on the picket lines by other IWW union members and community groups.

— It's Going Down (@igd.bsky.social) 2025-04-18T07:48:35.145Z

In the bay area of California, members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) are celebrating a recent victory, following over a month of pickets and strike activity at Urban Ore, a large retail hub that sells used home-hold items and construction materials. Writing on social media, union members wrote:

After 40 days on the picket line pressuring the owners of Urban Ore to meet with us, engage with us at the bargaining table and bargain seriously to address workers’ needs, we have reached agreement on terms to end our strike! We are feeling incredibly proud of the effectiveness of our strike, grateful for all of the support we’ve received from the community to make that happen, and we are looking forward to reaching a full collective bargaining agreement. We have made some big wins which wouldn’t have been possible without the pressure we were able to exert through our direct action! Solidarity forever!

Minneapolis & St. Paul – Banners were dropped from overpasses this morning in solidarity with the #StopCopCity movement, including the 'SCC 61' facing politicized RICO charges and Jack Mazurek, accused of burning Atlanta Police motorcycles in connection to the movement.

— Unicorn Riot (@unicornriot.bsky.social) 2025-05-14T23:36:20.747Z

Trials for those targeted by the state for resisting the Cop City counter-insurgency training facility have started, with supporters rallying outside of several recent hearings and dropping banners in solidarity across the US. Be sure to check out monthly installments of  In Contempt on It’s Going Down and updates at Weelaunee the Free and Fire Ant Movement Defense.

🧵 Community Defense Breakdown: Here we see a small bloc w/ banners march on a Turning Point USA booth at UC Davis. 2 Fash confront them resulting in a brief altercation, but are unable to stop the materials and canopy from being liberated. What went right? What went wrong? How can we do better?

— Sweet Science, Savage Art (@sweetscisavart.bsky.social) 2025-04-05T02:43:36.290Z

As Pride month kicks off in the face of ongoing threats from the far-Right, gender fascist and Christian nationalist groups are attempting to move in the terrain opened up by Trump, as communities are mobilizing in response. Recently in Davis, CA, a black bloc absolutely wrecked a Turning Point USA tabling event with no arrests.

In Portland, OR, grassroots journalist Alissa Azar covered a recent mobilization against Turning Point USA, featuring an anti-trans speaker. From We Will Free Us: 

When news spread that TPUSA would be bringing Gaines to PSU, students quickly mobilized. One flyer called for people to “stand up to transphobia on PSU’s campus,” and outlined plans to meet in the Park Blocks at 6:15 PM and walk to the 3rd floor of Smith by 6:30, when Gaines’ event was set to begin. Another flyer promoted a “trans/queer pride block party” at 6 PM with games like frisbee and badminton, emphasizing: “sports are for everyone.”

The crowd continued to grow, eventually reaching a few hundred. Most people stayed in the Park Blocks, but a smaller group gathered at the front of the Smith building, waving flags, holding signs, and confronting people waiting in line to see Gaines.

About 30 minutes later, some protesters in the back managed to hold open the doors to the building. A few people rushed inside before cops could intervene. According to a witness, it turned into a quick game of cat and mouse. Protesters got out without being arrested, but shortly after, PPB repositioned their officers directly at Smith’s front entrance. The first arrest followed minutes later just outside the building.

What happened at PSU on May 5 wasn’t just about one speaker or one protest; it was a clear example of how far-right groups like TPUSA are being platformed and given institutional space to grow. It was another example of liberal and institutional complicity. Another example of transphobia being normalized under the guise of “debate.” Another example of police escalating against queer and antifascist resistance. It is yet again another example of media outlets sanitizing repression while demonizing resistance. But people showed up anyway. They danced. They took risks. And they made it clear: queer and trans communities in Portland aren’t interested in playing nice with fascism.

Meanwhile in Seattle, WA, over 500 people mobilized against a far-Right, Christian Nationalist rally featuring Matt Shea, a former Republican politician who called for using violence to establish a Christian theocracy. For several hours, people bravely faced off with Seattle police, who made several violent arrests.

In Montreal, Clash MTL reported:

Anti-abortion activists’ day thoroughly ruined today: their charter bus was blocked before it could leave Montreal and delayed for close to an hour. Then in Quebec City, counter-demonstrators encircled them and drowned them out with boat horns, before continuing to block and surround them repeatedly when they tried to march. Riot cops were outflanked and pushed back, and a message was left on some activists’ Cybertruck.

For a longer report-back (in French), check out Montreal Counter-Info.

Patriot Front crashed Springfield, MO Pride festival. Driving a Penske truck. U-Haul banned Patriot Front from renting their vehicles. It’s time for people to tell Penske to do the same.

— LorennaCleary.bsky.social (@lorennacleary.bsky.social) 2025-06-16T01:16:02.203Z

On June 14th, neo-Nazi groups and crews of Proud Boys attempted to harass and disrupt No Kings demonstrations across the US, but were largely unsuccessful in having any meaningful impact other than getting laughed at and dragged online. In Springfield, MO, a group of Patriot Front white supremacists were also driven from a local Pride celebration, after they attempted to harass locals.

As the genocide, forced starvation, and the ongoing ethnic cleansing of Gaza continues, a new wave of student led occupations, protests, and hunger strikes have kicked off in the US.

LAST NIGHT AT UCLA – On the one year anniversary of the violent encampment raid, UCLA admin called in riot police to break up students watching The Encampments documentary on campus.These schools are at war with their students. Movies are illegal.

— People’s City Council – Los Angeles (@pplscitycouncil.bsky.social) 2025-05-01T17:50:14.437Z

At UCLA, students marked the one year since student occupiers bravely fought off far-Right Zionists attempting to tear apart their protest encampment with a film showing of the documentary, The Encampments, and were attacked by riot police. Also in California, students at Stanford and across the California State University system launched a hunger strike in solidarity with Palestinians.

In Philadelphia, students at Swathmore university set up a protest encampment to continue to demand divestment from Israel and for the university to fight attacks on international students targeted by Trump. After several days and officials citing threats to “safety,” police attacked and disbanded the encampment, arresting several students. In Baltimore, a violent police cracked down on a student encampment in solidarity with Palestine, leading to two students at John Hopkins University being injured. At Columbia University in New York, students occupied a library on campus, leading to clashes with police and arrests of 80 people and at Brooklyn College, the NYPD moved to attack student demonstrators who also set up an encampment, arresting several students.

While many around the country have been stymied, waiting for someone else to show how to resist autocracy, last week young people occupied the engineering building at the University of Washington to protest the genocide in Gaza, demonstrating what resistance can look like.crimethinc.com/UW2025

— CrimethInc. Ex-Workers' Collective (@crimethinc.com) 2025-05-12T07:09:50.045Z

Finally at the University of Washington (UW), students launched an occupation and defended it with barricades, demanding that the university divest from weapons maker Boeing. As a report on CrimethInc. wrote:

The University of Washington has been collaborating with Boeing for over a century….The University of Washington plans to use this building to deepen their relationship with Boeing, establishing a closer partnership to further the development of war technologies. Both the university and Boeing aim to benefit from this by sharing access to research facilities, establishing an AI educational institute for developing military technology, and securing Boeing’s influence of the engineering curriculum, which functions as a pipeline channeling UW engineering students into Boeing internships and contracts. These contracts promise financial compensation, yet often result in labor abuses and unsafe products…As students and community members of the University of Washington, we condemn this relationship and the intended use of the building. This is why we sought to reclaim the building and repurpose it as a much-needed community space.

A report on Puget Sound Anarchists wrote:

At approximately 5pm students and their accomplices descended on the newly constructed “Interdisciplinary Engineering Building” (IEB). This building was funded by Boeing with the agreement that UW [University of Washington] would create a pipeline of students to assist with Boeing’s warmongering endeavors. Barricades were constructed outside the building as doors were sealed from the inside. Preparations were also made for the event that the occupation of Sha’ban Al-Dalou Hall became a longterm project. More and more supporters began to arrive as the day went on and a public call to join the action was released.

A feeling of unity spread throughout the crowd as a diversity of tactics was upheld and respected. Barricade builders were offered support and supplies and community members cooked meals. A rebellious joy filled our hearts as speeches and chants filled the air. Posters praising the Palestinian resistance were plastered on every wall and window available. Almost immediately the area was swarming with cameras as reporters and fascist grifters heard about the action, these were quickly blocked with umbrellas to protect the identities of the crowd.

As the sun began to set, the energy of the crowd shifted as it became clear that the police would attempt to remove the students in the coming hours. Many tactics for defending the building were considered with the bulk of the students electing to move into the street to block the police advance. Large barricades were built in every adjacent street to stop or delay the police regardless of their approach. As the multi-agency police force began to materialize, an officer from each agency approached the crowd in a failed attempt to facilitate our surrender. This exchange was captured in a now-viral video of black-clad and shield-wielding militants forcing them down the hill and back to their lines while chanting “Move Back”, mocking a common police dispersal tactic. From this point on, every hostile actor was forced out of the area including private security and individual agitators, including one man who repeatedly threatened to murder the students. However, the occupation received much support from passersby and motorists. At around 10pm, a completely unintelligible dispersal order was given over a malfunctioning LRAD. In response, a massive fire was started at one of the barricades. This fire forced the police to entirely reroute their advance, delaying them severely. This delay gave more than enough time for many within the group to disperse as staying at the barricades would only result in arrest and injury. The fire was slow to extinguish and effectively crippled the police advance.

Over the next 1-2 hours a highly militarized group of SPD, WSP and UWPD broke into the building and cut students from their lockdowns, causing even further damage as doors were broken down and windows had to be broken to access the students. At the time of writing, 32 students were violently arrested inside the building causing concussions, damage to limbs and joints, with at least 1 arrest of the group outside. Sha’ban Al-Dalou Hall and the surrounding area was occupied for a total of almost 7 hours, and police response time was incredibly sluggish, allowing for a significant amount of direct action to take place resulting in at least $1 million in damage according to the university. A frankly embarrassing show of force by SPD, WSP, and UWPD.

Again from the report on CrimethInc.: 

Predictably, the corporate media slandered the protesters, decrying them as violent—though three protesters were hospitalized as a consequence of police violence during the arrests and many more were severely bruised, whereas the protesters did not injure anyone. It appears that out of the over $1 million in damages that the university claims to have assessed, much of it was inflicted by police officers as they removed protesters.

Dispelling any illusions of a progressive university, the University of Washington leadership spread a similar message, condemning the burning of dumpsters as violent. Those who control our institutions clearly care more about the burning of trash than the burning of the bodies of their own Palestinian students.

Yes, we are in a moment of extreme repression. The consequences of action can be significant. Nonetheless, we believe that the consequences of inaction will be greater. Liberal petitions to political leaders will not save us, nor will an apolitical retreat from struggle. That will leave us weaker for next time—and leave most of us increasingly less safe right now.

Revolt and uprising were possible and effective during the first Trump regime. They are tools worth applying today.

Resist however you can and must. Mutual aid is a form of resistance; it can entail defense, protecting our communities from ICE or alleviating the consequences of the financial crisis wrought by the fascist and neoliberal coalition. Direct action is a form of resistance; it can undermine the violent apparatus of the state. “Occupation,” understood as a decolonial practice, is resistance. Palestine demands resistance—and so does your community.

Read the full report here.

That’s gonna do it for us, enjoy the interviews and we’ll see you soon! Be sure to follow us on BlueSky, Mastodon, and Instagram.

Intro:

Transition clips:

In this conversation, we speak with two recent International Solidarity Movement (ISM) volunteers about their experiences accompanying Palestinians in the West Bank. International Solidarity Movement is an initiative based in Palestine that enables international volunteers to physically accompany Palestinians facing harassment and attacks from the Israeli occupation.

We discuss what everyday resistance — both large and small — looks like for Palestinians in the West Bank. Among many other topics, we explore the ways that ISM volunteers move between what they call “protective presence” and “solidarity” in their accompaniment work, how their experience has shifted or impacted the way they understand anti-colonial resistance more broadly, and what they see on the horizon for Palestine.

This interview was originally conducted immediately following the agreement to a ceasefire between the IDF and Hamas, on January 16th, 2025. Israel violated the ceasefire numerous times from January 19th to March 17th, killing at least 170 people in Gaza, averaging nearly three deaths a day. On March 18th, Israel officially broke the ceasefire agreement, and continues to bombard Gaza with air strikes and ground offensives. Gaza is on the verge of famine and a total collapse of healthcare infrastructure, as Israel continues to bar the entry of much-needed medical supplies, fuel, and other humanitarian aid including food and clean water to the region. As of May 19th, 2025, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, at least 53,339 people — including at least 17,400 children — have been confirmed killed in Gaza.

Last month, we published an interview with a friend and comrade of Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi, a 26-year-old who was killed by the Israeli Defense Forces on September 6th, 2024, while accompanying Palestinians in the West Bank as an ISM volunteer. That interview, called The Murder of Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi and the Future of International Solidarity is available here.

For more information about the work of ISM, visit their website at: https://palsolidarity.org/

Photo via International Solidarity Movement on Instagram

Join us as we sit down with members of the subMedia collective to discuss their upcoming series InterRebellium. In this conversation we run down the history of subMedia, beginning in the 90s rave scene, the development of anarchist media in the first 25 years of this century, and what the future holds.

Finally we discuss their upcoming series, InterRebellium, which traces a trajectory of insurgent and autonomous action through struggles around the world.

subMedia’s work can be found on their site here. You can also follow them on Kolektiva platforms at https://kolektiva.social/@subMedia and https://kolektiva.media/a/submedia/video-channels

subMedia has also released a series with recent podcast guest Peter Gelderloos, It’s Revolution or Death, which can be found here.

Dean Spade is the author of Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During this Crisis and the Next, and Normal Life: Administrative Violence, Critical Trans Politics, and the Limits of Law. Well known for highlighting the ways that mutual aid can be a direct response to societal needs as well as a transformative practice that shifts our reliance away from the state and toward each other, Spade has just published a new book called, Love in a Fucked Up World: How to Build Relationships, Hook up, and Raise Hell Together.

Informed by over two decades of experience pushing for trans liberation and racial and economic justice, Spade’s new book discusses the urgency of building sustainable, accountable, and truly abolitionist interpersonal relationships that empower us to resist state violence over the long haul. In a time of increasing despair, he urges us to move beyond symbolic actions and embrace riskier, more meaningful forms of action that require trust, deep solidarity, and real vulnerability. We touch on Spade’s personal journey of radicalization, think about some of the potential of this moment, and unpack some concrete tools for self-reflection and expression.

In addition to Spade’s books, check out the Five Questions for Cultivating Solidarity When Responding to Political Repression, downloadable in English and Spanish here.

Follow Dean Spade:

photo: Radical Graffiti

Welcome back to The Beautiful Idea! We’re excited to bring you a jam-packed show today and we have some amazing content planned, so be sure to subscribe to the show and follow us on Mastodon and BlueSky.

In today’s episode, we feature:

But first, let’s get to the news.

We are now over two months into the second Trump administration, and already the regime has created a constitutional crisis and has begun to defy some court orders, openly calling for judges to be impeached, and issuing executive orders against law firms, while Trump moves to enrich himself and his cohorts, even performing a grotesque infomercial on the White House lawn for Tesla. This has been coupled with a sweeping ramping up mass deportations, slashing safety-net programs, re-organizing cultural and educational institutions across the country, firing swaths of federal workers, and attacking labor unions and collective bargaining.

Vicky Osterweil made some important observations recently, writing:

If we look at the current state of the fascist coup in the US, it is clear that they are making significant material progress while simultaneously losing more and more political and popular ground. The tariffs are a particularly extreme example of this contradiction: Trump has successfully claimed economic power over the entire globe exclusively to his person – let congress, the people, his allies, even his cabinet be damned – but stock markets are in freefall, he’s hemorrhaging support from the capitalist class and even his own people have started briefing against him. But this contradiction has been visible in almost all of his moves, as he successfully wields powers constitutionally and legally “unavailable” to the executive, but all the while popular discontent, protest and fury build at a rapid pace.

This contradiction will only lead to accelerating confrontations until it is resolved.

They really only had this two-pronged strategy – control the media and purge the government while robbing the till as fast as possible – but they attacked everywhere at once, as though they had much broader control of the situation. This blitz maximized popular resistance while actively demoralizing their base and their street forces.

In Congress, Republicans push forward on their proposed budget package, which would mean drastic tax-cuts for billionaires and corporations, $1 trillion for the Pentagon, $45 billion to expand ICE detention centers, while also cutting much needed medical and food programs and throwing basic social safety net programs like Social Security into chaos.

Meanwhile, the economy stands on the verge of a possible recession, as uncertainty in the market grows, and Trump continues to push through with tariffs, escalating a growing trade war – especially with China. How this will play out for poor and working people in the US remains to be seen, so be sure to listen later in this episode for more discussion on where this is all heading and the dystopian project underlying this push.

And as a recession lies on the horizon, the Trump administration continues to push for increased repression and authoritarian attacks on growing segments of society. Multiple international students living inside the US legally have been abducted from their homes and disappeared, as the state has moved to revoke the visas of international students across the US.

Even more horrifically, the Trump administration has invoked the Alien Enemies Act from the late 1700s, as justification for sending several hundred Venezuelan migrants to a super-max “anti-terrorist” prison in El Salvador, in an exchange for several million with the far-Right dictator of that country. Those sent to the prison, which is known for human rights abuses, will be used as slave labor. Recent investigations have found that the vast majority of those sent there have no criminal records, including a man who the only “evidence” of his membership in a gang turned out to be a tattoo that celebrated Autism Awareness. Another person sent to El Salvador, Kilmar Garcia, a union member living in Maryland that even the Trump administration admits was deported due a administrative error, has sparked widespread anger, protests, and calls for his release.

As It’s Going Down reported in its column In Contempt:

Protests and demonstrations in solidarity with Mahmoud Khalil, Rumeysa Ozturk, and others targeted by the Trump administration are spreading. Labor unions which several targeted students belong to have launched campaigns and organized rallies in solidarity. Trump Tower in New York was flooded by demonstrators with Jewish Voice for Peace, who shut down the lobby of the building, demanding freedom for Khalil and denouncing fascist attacks on Palestinian solidarity activists.

Demonstrations in solidarity with targeted students have been organized across the country, mobilizing thousands in rallies and marches on campuses and in city centers. Students have organized walkouts on campus and at Columbia university in New York, Jewish students carried out a lockdown and rally to demand freedom for Khalil.

Demonstrations and protests continue across the US against ICE. Students continue to organize walkouts against attacks on migrants, communities are banding together to denounce ICE raids, and rallies call for the closure of ICE prisons and to denounce collaboration with law enforcement.

In Tacoma, WA, hundreds turned out to demonstrate against ICE and to call for the release of union organizer picked up by DHS and held in detention. The Tacoma branch of the Industrial Workers of the World reported:

Today, we attended the rally at the Northwest Detention Center right here in Tacoma to support all immigrants detained in immigration detention. The labor movement showed up in force, multiple labor unions, community members and organizations demanding the release of immigrant union members and leaders, Lewelyn Dixon member of SEIU Local 925 and union leader Alfredo “Lelo” Juarez of Familias Unidas por la Justicia.

We know that these attacks against immigrant and undocumented communities as well as labor unions by the capitalist class have been happening for decades, even centuries at this point. They are systemic and structural, and are part of the root causes; capitalism, imperialism and colonialism. We continue the fight!

Most recently, in New York:

A mother and her three children who were taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agents as part of a sweep in the tiny home town of the Trump administration’s “border czar”, Tom Homan, have been released following days of outcry from community figures, advocates and protesters calling for their freedom.

Over the weekend, about a thousand protesters marched outside Homan’s home in a small New York village, calling for the release of the family after they were detained last month.

Resistance is bubbling across the social terrain, with literally millions of people across the US taking part in mass demonstrations over the past month against both Elon Musk and the Trump regime. One of the largest popular expressions of popular outrage at Elon Musk and the Trump administration, has been the explosion of the Tesla Takedown movement, which has held demonstrations and rallies outside of Tesla showrooms across the country since Trump came to power. On March 29th, thousands of people rallied outside of Telsa showrooms across the US in a day of action.

As It’s Going Down reported:

Over the past two months, Tesla stock has tanked, costing Musk billions of dollars, trade-ins of Tesla vehicles have skyrocketed, and boycotts in places like Germany, where Musk came out in support of the neo-fascist AfD party, has led to a mass decline in sales. Despite politicians and influencers rushing to encourage the MAGA faithful to buy Tesla vehicles, as Business Insider reported, “Tesla has lost so much value in such a short period of time that JPMorgan analysts said they couldn’t think of another comparable moment in automotive history.”

Trump officials have also pushed to demonize a growing chorus of sabotage, graffiti, and property destruction against Tesla vehicles, labeling it “domestic terrorism,” while predictably echoing far-Right conspiracies that such acts are being “funded,” as Trump has even floated the idea that anti-Tesla protesters would be sent to prisons in El Salvador, and Musk has claimed that the Trump administration would “go after” vocal critics of his company.

Increased authoritarian rhetoric from Trump, Musk, and pundits on Fox News, has galvanized a small segment of far-Right, neo-Nazi, and Republican groups to mobilize in public support of Musk and his increasingly unpopular attacks on working-class Americans, in an attempt to intimidate anti-Musk protesters. Already in Florida, a Trump supporter was arrested last week, after driving his car onto the sidewalk in an apparent attempt to injure anti-Tesla protesters, and in Berkeley, CA, a far-Right influencer clashed with demonstrators after he pulled a weapon on the crowd.

Despite the far-Right coming out in support of Musk, the number of anti-Tesla demonstrations only continues to increase, with protests taking place at hundreds of locations on March 29th. Calls for counter-protests by Trump supporters, neo-Nazis, and Proud Boys also failed to stop or intimidate anti-Tesla demonstrators, and generally, far-Right rally goers were vastly outnumbered when counter-protests did take place.

More anti-Tesla demonstrations are planned in the coming weeks, as Tesla stock continues to tank. Meanwhile, acts of targeted vandalism against Tesla show no signs of slowing down, as Tesla cars in various cities have been set on fire and damaged in a growing number of incidents. The state is also ramping up calls to charge those arrested for vandalism with “domestic terrorism.”

On April 5th, various progressive organizations, largely aligned with the Democratic Party, held massive “Hands Off!” demonstrations in over a thousand cities and towns across the US, mobilizing upwards of millions of people. While the protests are certainly a temperature check that Trump’s policies are largely unpopular, as many have pointed out, the attempt to herd us back into the Democratic Party is a dead end. As anarchist author Peter Gelderloos wrote:

It is insanely delusional to believe that the Democrat[ic Party is] capable of changing in a meaningful way, and it is insanely delusional to trust them. They are guilty of genocide, mass murder, mass incarceration, impoverishment, bloody wars, and oppressive politics. The system they uphold, the system they promise can be reformed if we just trust them one more time, has condemned this generation and the next one and the next one to a future of unimaginable suffering, danger, and poverty.

Occupations of campus buildings to demand divestment from Israel took place in Maine and at Columbia university, students occupied a building to protest the expulsion of pro-Palestinian students. At UCLA, hundreds of students rallied and took over a building and dropped banners during a demonstration against the UC board of regents.

In antifascist news, Proud Boys were confronted in the Pacific Northwest and neo-Nazis with Patriot Front were chased away by anti-Trump protesters in Rhode Island when they tried to hold a counter-rally. Demonstrations against MAGA fascists with Turning Point USA continue across the country, with communities holding counter-demonstrations in Memphis, TN against Kyle Rittenhouse and anti-trans grifter Riley Gaines in various cities. In Davis, CA, over 30 masked demonstrators confronted and tore down a Turning Point USA booth at UC Davis. In the bay area, residents organized a protest following a far-Right rally on a freeway overpass. In Colorado Springs, demonstrators rallied against a speaking event featuring MAGA fascist Steve Bannon. Also in Colorado, hundreds rallied and protested against white supremacist Jared Taylor, who was invited to speak on a local campus by a Turning Point USA activist. Finally in Green Bay, WI, hundreds rallied against an appearance by Elon Musk.

In repression news, in California, several protesters who occupied a building at Stanford in solidarity with Palestine last year, have now been charged with felonies. There’s also an update on political prisoner Casey Goonan, which you can read here.

Write to Casey here:

Casey Goonan #UMF227

Sam Beard, an activist in the movement to Stop Cop City, a host of the Party Girls Podcast, and also spokesperson for the defense fund for Luigi Mangione, issued a statement that they were visited by two FBI agents that were part of the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), hours before Beard appeared on NewsNation, speaking about the ongoing case of Luigi Mangione, who is accused of assassinating the CEO of United Healthcare. In a statement posted to social media, Beard stated: “This task force targeted me, not because of anything I’ve done, but for what I’ve said.”

A few shout-out and updates:

Upcoming Events:

That’s gonna do it for us, enjoy the interviews and we’ll see you soon!

Music Notes:

On September 6th of last year, 26 year old University of Washington graduate Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi was shot and killed by IDF soldiers while doing accompaniment in the West Bank of Palestine with International Solidarity Movement (ISM). In this episode, we speak with a friend of Ayşenur’s who had travelled to the West Bank to do accompaniment with ISM alongside her, and was present during the days leading up to and immediately after her murder.

We discuss what happened to Ayşenur, settler violence against Palestinians and IDF complicity, grief, remembrance, and ways in which anarchist movements internationally can effectively support people facing violence from the state and occupying forces.

During the discussion a number of pieces are referenced:

For more information about Ayşenur and her murder at the hands of the IDF, please go here and here. The speaker interviewed on this episode does not represent the views of International Solidarity Movement. For more about the work of ISM, visit their website here. This interview was originally conducted immediately following the agreement to a ceasefire between the IDF and Hamas, on January 16th, 2025. We apologize for the delayed release.

In this episode of The Beautiful Idea, we present an interview with author Jamie Merchant, author of Engame: Economic Nationalism and Global Decline and numerous articles at The Brooklyn Rail. Merchant argues that we have entered a post-neoliberal age, with both Trump and Biden abandoning many of the touch-stones of corporate globalization that defined the past several decades.

But what comes next? During our discussion we talk about how and why Bidenism failed following the upheavals of 2020 and the rise of the Tech-Right as a bloc within the Trump administration. We map out what this formation wants and how it connects to the State’s push to expand the American tech industry and in particular, Artificial Intelligence (AI).

We also unpack what it would mean to create new forms of autonomous class based street politics, as demonstrations against ICE and Tesla continue to grow.

cover photo via Marc Fischer