The Arts of Travel

We spoke to Writer & Organizer Zikri Rahman on Malaysia's Lawan Protests and the political conditions that spawned them. We discuss the growing dissent towards Malaysia's Ruling Elite, how the next generations of Malaysia's want to define (and decolonize) the narrative around their country, and how the Lawan movement connects to other regional and global struggles for democracy, equality and freedom. 

For more w. Zikri, you can check out his Twitter here: https://twitter.com/zkrhmn/

Music by Zach Sutton: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7FiBZvr8Cs&t=3s

I spoke to writer and organizer Dean Spade on their Book - Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (And The Next). We discuss a fascinating array of topics: Covid, Anarchism, #NoDAPL, Ella baker, #FreeJessicaReznick, Angela Davis, Joy James. Throughout our conversation we try to center this central question - how can Mutual Aid help us heal ourselves, so we can heal the world. 

For more of Dean's work please check out: http://www.deanspade.net/ 

Music by: Gold Streak Beats : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w21AouURoe0

I was thrilled to speak with Jesse Appell, who was one of China's most well-known foreign stand-up comics and now is one of the US's best known tea importers. 

We discuss Jesse's journey through China's stand-up comedy scene, the challenges he faced as a foreign performer, and how he turned himself into a tea importer when borders closed, as a way to continue his connection with China. 

For more on Jesse you can check out his Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessesteahouse/?hl=enAnd his new website: Jesse's Tea House: https://jessesteahouse.com/

Beat by Zack Sutton: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj7PcNoFMEEf

We spoke to organizer Minsun Ji on Squid Game and how the labor movements of South Korea inspired the series. We discuss the Ssangyong Motor strikes, the legendary Jeon Tae-il's rallying cry to workers "We are Not Machines!" & contemporary Neoliberalism in South Korea. 

For more with Minsun you can check out her work with Labor Co-ops at : https://www.laborcoopconnections.com/

The three pieces of Minsun's writing we discuss we can find here: 

On Squid Game: https://labornotes.org/blogs/2021/10/real-life-auto-strike-behind-runaway-netflix-hit-squid-game 

On Joen Tae Il and Worker Suicides in South Korea: academia.edu/45265187/Korean_Suicide_Protest_as_Anomic_Response_to_Labour_Disempowerment

On Marx's study of Worker Co-ops: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0309816819852757

Music by Huston: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hS62_DxC3VM

I chatted with Dr. Bathsheba Demuth on her ground-breaking work, Floating Coast: An Environmental History fo the Bering Strait, which discusses how both the Capitalism of the US and the State Socialism of the USSR sought to enclose, extract and transform the Arctic.  

We discuss the impact of nation-states on the indigenous peoples of the Arctic. How both capitalism and environmentalism devastated the arctic's flora and fauna, and what deeper spiritual meanings we can find in the Arctic and its lifeforms. 

Music by Prod Riddiman: https://www.youtube.com/c/ProdRiddiman/videos

I spoke with Japan-based writer Sam Holden on his work saving Sento & Akiya, the "Past and Future Commons" of Japan. 

We discuss the community ecosystems that Sento Bathouses and Akiya generate, what cities like Tokyo lose when bathhouses disappear, and what lessons rehabilitating these structures and turning them into 'commons' has for a post-growth Japan and a world exhausted by the relentless and violent push for growth in late-state neoliberal capitalism. 

It's a fascinating chat with one of the brightest minds I've ever interviewed. You can find more of Sam's Writing on his substack. The two essays we discuss can be found here: 

Music by Prod. Riddiman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gFpYEJgpvg

I hosted journalist Haris Zargar for an in-depth conversation on Kashmir, Kashmiri Identity and how India's leader Narendra Modi has unleashed unprecedented violence and authoritarianism on the region. 

For more on Kashmir, I highly recommend Haris's work at New Frame Magazine: https://www.newframe.com/writer/haris-zargar/

For more on a Feminist perspective on Kashmir and India's state, carceral and patriarchal violence, I highly recommend the group Zanaan Wanaan, who we hope to host as interview guests in the near future: https://zanaanwanaan.com/about/

Photo Attributed to Kashmir Global (CC 2.0) https://www.flickr.com/photos/kashmirglobal

First beat is by 'ONE': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybtkdZ-vNQQ&t=68s 

Second Song is by Zanaan Wanaan: "Kashmiri Bella Ciao" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABe4V1DR0jM 

We spoke to Brian Kahn the managing editor of Earther for a frank and (at times) spiritual discussion on what it's like to do climate change reporting on a dying planet. 

Brian and I discuss his publication Earther, my own critiques with the data/policy/'nerd' focus of modern climate change reporting, and if there is more room for the spiritual or empathetic in discussing the anthropocene and the daily necropolitics of climate change. 

It's a raw and honest discussion that I've left mostly unedited. I hope you enjoy our chat. 

 For more of Brian's work you can find his writing at: http://www.blkahn.com/about and you can read more of his reporting/editing at : https://gizmodo.com/earther

Music by: Zach Sutton: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_7et8F2h4U

To explore art's role in revolutionary times, I spoke to Poet Wendy Trevino. We discuss her work as a poet and organizer, her critiques of ivory tower poets and magazines, and what we all can do as artists to stoke the social movements needed to save the world.  She's also kind enough to share one of her poems. 

For more with Wendy, please check her poetry collection 'Cruel Fictions" published by Commune Press: https://communeeditions.com/cruel-fiction-wendy-trevino/ 

Music by Producer Chibi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44a6XSQ7oG4

I spoke to Artist Shaq Koyok on Orang Asli, the indigenous peoples of Malaysia. It was a great conversation on the history of Malaysia, decolonialism, and global indigenous organizing. 

For more of Shaq check out his instagram @shaqkoyok_art or his main website: https://shaqkoyok.blogspot.com/

Music by: Zach Sutton - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXvfO0IADMw

Images by Shaq Koyok