Even as Russian forces continue their brutal assault on Ukraine, a growing domestic uprising is challenging the empire from within. This episode of the Ex-Worker focuses on the anti-war movement in Russia, analyzing it from an anarchist perspective and assessing the regime's power and vulnerability. The episode opens with a call to action from the March 6th day of protest across Russia and a summary of militant direct actions against the war machine. An anarchist in the provinces shares a first-person reflection on the evolution of the anti-authoritarian movement and its prospects in today's crisis, while an analysis from Autonomous Action considers Putin's miscalculations, the information war, international dynamics, and possibilities for resistance. An independent journalist discusses the nature of the protests, police responses, migration and diaspora, censorship, the role of NATO, and lessons to learn from the invasion and the protest movement. We close out with a Syrian refugee collective's reflections on how their experiences in the Syrian revolution and civil war can inform how international observers relate to the conflict. And just for fun, we throw in some hair-raising Russian songs related to protest and war. We'll continue our coverage of the crises in Ukraine and Russia—and much more—in the coming weeks, so stay tuned. {March 11, 2022}  

-------SHOW NOTES------

 

• Table of Contents:
  • Introduction {0:01}
  • [Protester’s Song From a Russian Police Van] {5:29}
  • Spring is Coming: March 6th Call to Action {6:38}
  • Anarchist Fighter on Radical Anti-War Actions {12:57}
  • My Days in Russia {20:31}
  • The Kremlin’s Fatal Miscalculation {32:36}
  • Interview with Dmitrii {47:05}
  • War in Ukraine: Ten Lessons From Syria {1:18:09}
  • Conclusion {1:42:23}

• This episode includes Spring is Coming: March 6th Call to Action, and the piece “My Days in Russia,” originally published as part of the article “The View From Ukraine, The View From Russia”.

• The piece “The Kremlin’s Fatal Miscalculation” is a translation of the transcript of the March 6 episode of Trends in Order and Chaos, the podcast from the anarchist media platform Autonomous Action.

• The roundup of radical actions by Anarchist Fighter included references to an auto attack on a police cordon in Pushkinskaya Square, a molotov cocktail attack on a military registration/enlistment office in Voronezh, an anti-war attack on the Kremlin wall, and the teenage anarchist Mikhail Zhlobitsky, who died in a 2018 attack on the FSB headquarters in Arkhangelsk.

• During our interview, Dmitrii recommended a few English-language news sources on Russian politics, including Open Democracy, Meduza, and The Russian Reader.

• By the way: if you have any trouble with the accent or wording in the live interview, you can always read along with the transcription in our full transcript, which is lightly edited for easier understanding.

• The episode concludes with the piece War in Ukraine: Ten Lessons From Syria, written by participants in La Cantine Syrienne, a transnational collective of Syrian refugees based in the suburbs outside of Paris, France. For further background on the Syrian Revolution, civil war, the refugee crisis it spawned, and “anti-imperialism,” see our coverage on The Syrian Underground Railroad and Understanding the Kurdish Resistance, and other pieces such as “Safe,” by the Edge of Syria, “The Anti-Imperialism of Idiots” by Leila Al Shami, etc.

• The music we included in this episode includes the spine-tingling singing of a group of young Russian protestors detained in a police van on their way to jail and an old Soviet song sung during the USSR’s doomed Afghan war, “Just don’t tell mom I’m in Afghanistan” – also see a follow-up to the same song from the next Russian regime’s bloody imperial folly, “Just don’t tell mom I’m in Chechnya”.

• The Ex-Worker is a proud member of the Channel Zero Network, an English-language anarchist radio and podcast network run by radical media makers. Several other CZN participants, including The Final Straw Radio, Elephant in the Room, and This is America by It’s Going Down, have done their own coverage of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, so definitely check out those projects through the links above if you want to hear more.

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine proceeds, anarchists on both sides of the border are mobilizing to resist. This episode collects a variety of statements and accounts from anti-authoritarians explaining their opposition to Putin's bloodthirsty imperialism while rejecting nationalism and the state. We share messages from the newly formed anarchist Committee of Resistance in Kyiv, as well as from Russian anarchist groups including Food Not Bombs Moscow, Anarchist Fighter, and St. Petersburg's Anarchist Black Cross. These testimonies refute Russian state and authoritarian leftist propaganda about the invasion and emphasize the possibilities for resistance and solidarity. An anarchist refugee attempting to escape the war zone gives a detailed report on daily life in the midst of war, martial law, the political composition of the armed forces, the grassroots mobilization of society for defense and mutual aid, the situation at the border, and ways to show support. Stay tuned for more coverage of anarchist analysis and resistance from the front lines of imperial war. {March 4, 2022}  

-------SHOW NOTES------

 

• Table of Contents:
  • Introduction {0:01}
  • Russia and Ukraine: Grassroots Resistance to Putin’s Invasion {4:05}
  • Moscow Food Not Bombs Statement {4:35}
  • Interview: The Committee of Resistance, Kyiv {6:23}
  • Additional Statement From the Committee of Resistance {12:04}
  • Russian Anarchists on the Invasion of Ukraine: Updates and Analysis {19:30}
  • Anarchist Militant’s Position on Russia’s Attack on Ukraine {20:39}
  • The Dusk before Dawn {26:06}
  • The Anarchist Black Cross of St. Petersburg Statement against the War {34:40}
  • Interview with Anarchist Refugee In Ukraine {36:31}
  • Conclusion {1:06:09}

• This episode draws on the materials collected in Russia and Ukraine: Grassroots Resistance to Putin’s Invasion and Russian Anarchists on the Invasion of Ukraine: Updates and Analysis.

As Russian tanks encircle Kyiv and hundreds of thousands of refugees flee, our hearts go out to our comrades in Ukraine resisting the Russian invasion—and to the Russian anti-war movement bringing the resistance home. In this episode, we explore the history and background context to the current crisis in Ukraine. A variety of firsthand accounts from the weeks leading up to the invasion discuss differing perspectives on the threat of war, the complexities of anti-fascism, the role of NATO, and possibilities for principled resistance in times of severe threat. We share an excerpt from an interview by Elephant in the Room with a Ukrainian anarchist discussing the political history of Ukraine since the fall of the Soviet empire, Putin's vulnerabilities, and the character of the current Ukrainian regime. A long essay written by group of Ukrainian anarchists maps out the political landscape from the Maidan protests through the present crisis, with special attention to the evolution of the anarchist movement in recent years. And a statement from Russian anarchists on the eve of the invasion highlights the shared commitment of anarchists in the region to resisting Russian imperialism while working towards a broader vision of liberation. {March 2, 2022}

 

-------SHOW NOTES------

 

• Table of Contents:
  • Introduction {0:01}
  • Between Two Fires: Ukrainian Anarchists on the Looming Threat of War {5:18}
  • Interview Excerpt: “Anarchists and War in Ukraine” {18:11}
  • A View From Kyiv {32:18}
  • War and Anarchists: Anti-Authoritarian Perspectives in Ukraine {41:58}
  • The Maidan Protests in Kyiv {43:32}
  • The Role of Anarchists in the Protests of 2014 {47:21}
  • The Beginning of the War: The Annexation of Crimea {50:34}
  • Disinformation {52:12}
  • Armed Conflict in the East of Ukraine {53:38}
  • Supporters of the Unrecognized Republics {57:23}
  • The Rise of the Far Right in Ukraine {59:02}
  • Anarchists’ and Anti-Fascists’ Activity during the War {1:02:39}
  • Pro-Ukrainians {1:03:05}
  • Pro-Russians {1:05:55}
  • Is There a Threat of Full-Scale War with Russia? An Anarchist Position {1:11:28}
  • The Current Situation of Anarchists in Ukraine and New Challenges {1:19:00}
  • Against Annexations and Imperial Aggression: A Statement from Russian Anarchists {1:24:43}
  • Conclusion {1:31:04}

• We begin the episode with Between Two Fires: Ukrainian Anarchists on the Looming Threat of War. The article includes excerpts from “Why should we support Ukraine?,” by Finnish anarchist Antti Rautiainen, “If Only There Was No War” by anarchists from Belarus, and this communique from Swedish anarchists about their solidarity action with rebels in Kazakhstan.

• We played some short excerpts from an interview with a Ukrainian anarchist originally released by Elephant in the Room, a Dresden-based anarchist audio project. Highly recommended to listen to the whole interview! You can also read an edited transcription later on in the Between Two Fires article.

• For more background on the 2013–14 Maidan protests, see “The Ukrainian Revolution and the Future of Social Movements”, “Ukraine: How Nationalists Took the Lead”, or this account from Lviv, February 19–21, 2014.

• The long essay we share is titled “War and Anarchists: Anti-Authoritarian Perspectives From Ukraine. It references the text by murdered anarchist Sergei Kemsky titled “Do You Hear It, Maidan?”

• We close the episode with the statement Against Annexations and Imperial Aggression: A Statement from Russian Anarchists from Autonomous Action.

Opponents of vaccine mandates have established protest encampments in Ottawa and elsewhere around Canada, blockading several routes crossing the United States border. Far-right organizers and former police officers have prominent positions in this movement, and police have taken a relatively hands-off approach thus far; it appears likely that the model currently being tested in Canada will appear elsewhere around the world shortly. In this episode, we present an audio version of the article Ill Winds From Ottawa: Thinking Through the Threats and Opportunities as a Far-Right Initiative Gains Momentum, in which our correspondent in Montréal explores the sequence of events that led up to these developments, reviews the agendas of the various forces vying for control, and reflects on what we can do in a situation in which the far right has gained the initiative.

{February 17, 2022}

 

-------SHOW NOTES------

 

• Table of Contents:
  • Introduction {0:01}
  • Preface: A Movement for “Freedom”? {1:56}
  • Ottawa is Just the Tip of the Iceberg {4:36}
  • Timeline {8:47}
  • Update: Trudeau Invokes the Emergencies Act {16:45}
  • Why Has the Situation in Ottawa Gone on So Long?{18:23}
  • By the Way, We Probably Shouldn’t Call These People “Truckers” {24:02}
  • Beyond Ottawa: The Movement in the Streets {27:23}
  • Obstacles and Hazards {31:57}
  • Conclusion {52:30}

• This episode offers an audio version of the CrimethInc. text Ill Winds From Ottawa: Thinking Through the Threats and Opportunities as a Far-Right Initiative Gains Momentum. In lieu of a full transcript, please check out the print article for the text, links, and more information.

• Since the above article was written, an important development has taken place, which we describe in the episode as such:

  As we prepare to release this podcast, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has invoked the Emergencies Act, temporarily granting the federal government sweeping powers. Among other things, this enables banks to freeze personal and business accounts suspected of being used to further the blockades—and they can freeze them without obtaining a court order. It is easy to imagine how this precedent could pave the way for the US government to freeze bail funds and other accounts serving protesters in the US, as well—including anti-fascists and anarchists. This drives home that we are in a three-way contest with both far-right nationalists and centrist state authorities, in which the enemy of our enemy is not our friend. Any power that we permit either of these adversaries to gain will ultimately be used against us, as well. If we legitimize any repressive measures that the Canadian state takes against these protesters, it will only be easier for the authorities to take the same measures against us when we try to change society for the better. (We made this same point about liberals who celebrated the repressive measures, ranging from facial recognition software to crowdsourced social media snitching, used against right-wing participants in the January 6th disorder at the US Capitol.) This is why grassroots resistance to fascism is so important: it is the only way to defend ourselves and our neighbors without contributing to the development of an invasive and unaccountable centralized power.

Anarchists and anti-fascists in general, and CrimethInc. in particular, have been the focus of intense hostile government and right-wing attention and censorship efforts in recent weeks. The latest salvo comes from the New York Times, which on June 30th published “The Truth About Today’s Anarchists,” drawing on conspiracy theorists and right-wing talking points to argue that violent anarchists are somehow controlling the ongoing countrywide protests, but don’t actually care about Black lives. The article actually calls out The Ex-Worker Podcast by name! While we’re flattered for the attention—who knew we were such a threat?—the article is both inaccurate and dangerous; more importantly, it touches on critical issues about today’s movements for liberation that we need to clarify. So in this episode, the Ex-Worker lays out the truth about “The Truth About Today’s Anarchists”, refuting the article’s bogus claims one by one, and offering a more accurate perspective on the relationships between anarchists and the ongoing movement to end white supremacy and police violence. We conclude with an audio version of an article we published with Agency in June called This Is Anarchy: Eight Ways the Black Lives Matter and Justice for George Floyd Protests Reflect Anarchist Ideas in Action. This episode challenges the myths and distortions about anarchism offered across the spectrum from Trump to the New York Times to provide insight into what anarchists today are really fighting for.

{October 5, 2020}

 

-------SHOW NOTES------

 

• Table of Contents:
  • Introduction {0:01}
  • The Truth About ‘The Truth About Today’s Anarchists’: The Ex-Worker Responds to the New York Times {6:21}
  • This Is Anarchy: Eight Ways the Black Lives Matter and Justice for George Floyd Protests Reflect Anarchist Ideas in Action {40:52}
  • Conclusion {1:02:15}
• This episode focuses on our response to the wretched New York Times opinion piece “The Truth About Today’s Anarchists” by Farah Stockman. We published our rebuttal the following day as “The Truth About ‘The Truth About Today’s Anarchists’: The Ex-Worker Responds to the New York Times.” Our colleagues at It’s Going Down have published a lengthy thread going into many of the specific problems with amateur conspiracy theorist Jeremy Lee Quinn’s reporting (which is Stockman’s main source) in detail, if you want to dig deeper. For a laugh, you can also check out the appallingly bad Network Contagion Research Institute report “NETWORK-ENABLED ANARCHY: How Militant Anarcho-Socialist Networks Use Social Media to Instigate Widespread Violence Against Political Opponents and Law Enforcement”—which Stockman also uncritically promotes.
• To offer a different perspective on anarchist participation in the Black Lives Matter rebellions of the past months, we’ve also included an audio version of a piece co-published with Agency back in June, “This Is Anarchy: Eight Ways the Black Lives Matter and Justice for George Floyd Protests Reflect Anarchist Ideas in Action.”
• To read our own account of how the uprising spread and why the authorities themselves were chiefly responsible for the widespread adoption of confrontational tactics, check out the CrimethInc. article “Snapshots from the Uprising.” If you want to know more about what anarchists believe and desire, start with To Change Everything: An Anarchist Appeal.
• On Facebook’s decision to ban and censor anarchist pages, including CrimethInc.’s, check out our response, “On Facebook Banning Pages Associated with Anarchism, and the Digital Censorshop to Come.” Also check out the open letter of support signed by hundreds of publuishers, journalists, educators, and activists to show solidarity.
• Also check out media projects like It’s Going Down, who’ve also been under heavy fire from the right wing, as well as The Final Straw, Rebel Steps, and all the other excellent podcasts from the Channel Zero Network.
• You can find a reference to CrimethInc. around {2:50:46} during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on “Protecting Speech by Stopping Anarchist Violence”, during testimony by one Kyle Shideler, a staffer for the Center for Security Policy—an anti-Muslim hate group, according to watchdog organizations, moonlighting as experts on violent left-wing extremism.
• For more information on Black anarchism, check out Lorenzo Kom’boa Ervin’s Anarchism and the Black Revolution, the recent Anarkata Statement, Vanessa Taylor’s excellent Mic.com article “How Black Anarchists Are Keeping the Protest Movement Alive,” and the recent AK Press books As Black As Resistance: Finding the Conditions for Liberation by Zoe Samudzi and William Anderson and *Anarcho-Blackness: Notes Toward a Black Anarchism by Marquis Bey.
• For an articulate portrayal of exactly why government elites and right-wing authoritarians feel so threatened by us these days, check out the recent essay “Why Anarchism Is Dangerous.”

Today we celebrate June 11th, an international day of solidarity with long-term anarchist prisoners. While this is the sixteenth year this date has been observed, 2020 presents an unprecedented context: both the COVID–19 pandemic and the massive uprising sparked by the police murder of George Floyd have shifted our focus and sense of what’s possible. In solidarity with all prisoners, with particular care for anarchists in long-term confinement, we begin by sharing an excerpt from a history of June 11th as a day of prisoner solidarity along with the June 11th call issued for 2020. To these we add a short interview with a June 11th organizer and supporter of anarchist Green Scare prisoner Marius Mason. As politicians raise the specter of “antifa” to divide and defuse the militant anti-police resistance that has swept the US and beyond, we explore state repression of antifascists through an interview with antifascist prisoner David Campbell and his support crew. Another interview with a participant in the South Florida COVID–19 Hotline for Incarcerated People explores a model for prisoner solidarity in pandemic times. We conclude with updates on several long-term prisoners’ cases and upcoming birthdays. After today’s focus on prisoner struggles, next time we’ll return our focus to the Minneapolis uprising and the international movement to commemorate Black lives lost to police violence.

{June 11th, 2020}

 

-------SHOW NOTES------

 

• Table of Contents:
  • Introduction {0:01}
  • June 11th: The History of a Day of Solidarity {6:59}
  • June 11th, 2020: Organizer’s Call {23:42}
  • Interview with a June 11th Organizer {30:52}
  • Interview with Antifascist Prisoner David Campbell {41:02}
  • Interview: Update From David Campbell’s Support Crew {1:19:42}
  • Prisoner Solidarity During the Pandemic: The South Florida COVID–19 Hotline for Incarcerated People {1:34:59}
  • Prisoner Updates and Birthdays {1:57:05}
  • Conclusion {2:01:16}
• This episode focuses on June 11th, the international day of solidarity with long-term anarchist prisoners. It includes the 2017 article June 11th: The History of a Day of Solidarity and the 2020 call from June 11th organizers. The history refers to two influential solidarity texts, “To Libertarians” and “Revolutionary Solidarity.”
• Some of long-term anarchist and anti-authoritarian prisoners in the US that you can support today include Marius Mason, Jeremy Hammond, Eric King, Bill Dunne, Alvaro Luna Hernandez, Michael Kimble, and Sean Swain. For a listing of international anarchist prisoners, see the Brighton Anarchist Black Cross page.
• We shared an interview with antifascist prisoner David Campbell. Here are some tips on writing to him, and this is his address: David Campbell #3101900657 Robert N. Davoren Complex 11–11 Hazen St East Elmhurst, NY 11370
  • If you want to virtually visit him, here are instructions:
  • Check the Visit Schedule, then click on the month (e.g. “May 2020”): Rikers folks can have up to three visitations as long as they fall under:1 weekday (Wed or Thurs), a Friday, and 1 weekend day (Sat or Sun).
  • Fill out Televisit Request form: You’ll need a photo ID, address, and e-mail to complete the form. You will need to upload a photo of your ID. Up to three people can visit at a time. You will also need to know the incarcerated person’s booking and case number; for David Campbell, his booking and case number is: 3101900657. You will be able to choose up to three potential visit times, unfortunately there is no guarantee that you will get your first choice.
  • Wait for an e-mail or call from Rikers telling you the date and time of your virtual visit. This will happen the day before your scheduled visit. (Note that the slot they give you might be different from any of the dates or times you requested).
  • Also check out “Stickup on Rikers,” an article David wrote on the hunger strike he helped to organize in March.
• Be sure to also check out the June 11th episode from The Final Straw, featuring interviews with a Marius Mason supporter and with anarchist prisoner Jeremy Hammond.
• If you’re interested in the South Florida COVID–19 Hotline for Incarcerated People (CHIP), please consider donating to them through GoFundMe, Venmo (@CHIP-Hotline), or PayPal ([email protected]). If you want to volunteer or offer other support, or you’re interested in starting a similar project, you can contact the organizers at C19inmatehotline[at]riseup[dot]net.
• To understand the history that led to the arrest of Marius Mason and the emergence of June 11th as a day of anarchist solidarity, it’s helpful to learn about the Green Scare, the wave of arrests and state repression against earth and animal liberation movements in the early 2000s. Check out Ex-Worker episodes [#34, “Staying Safe so we can be Dangerous Together”](https://crimethinc.com/podcasts/the-ex-worker/episodes/34), and [#17, “Conspiracy! State Repression Strategies and Anarchist Resistance”](https://crimethinc.com/podcasts/the-ex-worker/episodes/17) for more background and analysis.
• Check out The Uprise Daily, an exciting new audio project offering a daily rundown of protests and ongoing rebellion in response to police killings.
• Here is a comprehensive list of bail funds for protestors across the country compiled by the Community Justice Exchange’s National Bail Fund Network.
• Upcoming Prisoner Birthdays:

  Jared Chase M44710 Dixon Correctional Center 2600 North Brinton Avenue Dixon, Illinois 61021 {June 12}

  Stephen Kelly #015634 Glynn County Detention Center 100 Sulphur Springs Road Brunswick, Georgia 31520 {June 12}

  Smart Communications / PA DOC Jarreau Ayers – NS9994 SCI Huntington PO Box 33028 St. Petersburg, FL, 33733 {June 15}

  Jason Renard Walker #1532092 Clements Unit 9601 Spur 591 Amarillo, TX 79107 {June 17} Also see this Final Straw interview with Jason

• Tips for writing to prisoners from It’s Going Down

 

The killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police has sparked a nationwide rebellion against the police and global solidarity efforts. One of the most striking developments is the announcement on Sunday, June 7 by a majority of Minneapolis City Council members that they intend to dismantle the city’s police department. In Episode 77 of the Ex-Worker—the first in a series covering the Minneapolis uprising and its national and global implications—we return to the question of abolishing the police. The episode kicks off with our reflections from these unprecedented first two weeks of rebellion, then shares an essay exploring the question we’re all asking: What Will it Take to Stop the Police From Killing? Next, we share an anonymous report on the siege of the Third Precinct in Minneapolis, analyzing how a diverse “compositional” crowd was able to defeat the police. An anarchist from Minneapolis who attended the rally where the City Council declared their intention to end the police department shares their take on the background and context leading to the announcement and how abolitionist organizers, rioters, artists, and others joined forces to make abolition imaginable. We conclude with our thoughts about how the struggle against police might unfold beyond Minneapolis in the months to come. Stay tuned for more episodes soon on the Minneapolis uprising, June 11th, and prisoner struggles, international solidarity with the rebellions, and more!

{June 10th, 2020}

 

-------SHOW NOTES------

 

• Table of Contents:
  • Introduction {0:01}
  • Essay: What Will it Take to Stop the Police From Killing? {10:49}
  • Analysis: The Siege of the Third Precinct in Minneapolis {30:57}
  • PSA: Staying Safe at Street Actions {53:50}
  • Interview: A Minneapolis Anarchist on the City’s Plan to Dismantle the Police {55:55}
  • The Path Forward to Abolish the Police {1:08:45}
  • Conclusion {1:17:44}
• This episode draws on the essay “What Will It Take to Stop the Police From Killing?” and the account and analysis “The Siege of the Third Precinct in Minneapolis.” We also played a PSA on Staying Safe at Street Actions from the Channel Zero Network.
• If you want to actually watch the Third Precinct as it succumbs to the wrath of the people, there’s no better source than the Unicorn Riot livestream (Day 3, Thursday evening, from about 1:14:30 onwards).
• The Ex-Worker Podcast first tackled the question of abolishing the police in Episode Five, “Still Not Lovin’ the Police” and Episode , “Making Police Obsolete”, during our very first year as a show. Check them out and see what you think; is the analysis still relevant? What has changed since 2013 in our perception of the police and our movements challenging their power? We also covered previous anti-police uprisings in Ferguson, Baltimore, and beyond in Episode 27, “Anti-Police Riots in Ferguson”; Episode 32, “White Supremacy and Capitalism, From 1492 to Ferguson”; and Episode 40, “Struggles Against White Supremacy and Police Since Ferguson”.
• Check out The Uprise Daily, an exciting new audio project offering a daily rundown of protests and ongoing rebellion in response to police killings.
• Also check out the excellent coverage of the rebellions from other anarchist podcasts, including The Final Straw, featuring interviews with medics, abolitionists, mutual aid workers, and other participants; It’s Going Down’s podcast on Rebellion, Counter-Insurgency and Cracks within the Ruling Class as well as their This Is America podcast episode From Pandemic to Uprising; and also SoleCast, with reports from Denver, Minneapolis, Eugene, New York City, and Portland. Lots more to come!
• Check out this comprehensive list of bail funds for protestors across the country compiled by the Community Justice Exchange’s National Bail Fund Network.
• Prisoner birthdays and updates on prison struggles coming in our next episode about June 11th, the international day of solidarity for long-term anarchist prisoners!

 

Here at the Ex-Worker, we continue to navigate the COVID–19 crisis by seeking guidance and insight from three anarchist nurses who are working on the frontlines of the pandemic. First, we hear from an anarchist ER nurse from the southwest US who offers reflections on individual and community health, mutual aid projects, and how to stay safe through the epidemic. You’ll hear a brief discussion of the promise and peril of antibody testing and the concept of an immunity passport. After that, we share a long conversation with two anarchist nurses from New Orleans, Louisiana on a wide range of topics, including harm reduction, how to support healthcare workers, the legacy of AIDS activism, delineating between authority and expertise, and lots more. We close out the show with urgent appeals of support for families at Black Mesa as well as incarcerated radicals , Kijana Tashiri Askari, Leonard Peltier, David Campbell, and all prisoners trapped on the inside through the pandemic.

{April 8th, 2020}

 

-------SHOW NOTES------

 

• Table of Contents:
  • Introduction {0:01}
  • Survival is Resistance {4:44}
  • Antibody Tests and Immunity Passports {17:28}
  • Interview with Two Anarchist Nurses in New Orleans {20:08}
  • Urgent Appeals for Solidarity {1:47:32}
  • Prisoner Birthdays {1:54:04}
  • Conclusion {1:54:58}
• Mutual aid projects as a general concept are mentioned in both interviews. To learn more about mutual projects in your area, check out this list put together by our friends at itsgoingdown.org and this guide to Radical Solidarity Through Covid–19 from Mutual Aid Disaster Relief.
• Antibody tests may be a new tool to fight the spread of the virus, but proposals for an Immunity Passport could lead us farther down totalitarian and dystopian paths.
• Learn about the long term efforts to defend Black Mesa and the homes, ancestral lands, and future generations of the Dine’(Navajo) and Hopi peoples. And donate to the Navajo and Hopi Families COVID–19 Relief Fund here.
• Please support efforts to get Leonard Peltier released from federal prison into home confinement by writing to his captors using the info below. (We know, we know-home confinement, ugh! But JUST DO IT, seriously!!)

  In light of the provisions of the CARES Act meant to decrease the risk to prisoner heath, in response to the COVID–19 pandemic, the U.S. Attorney General has delegated to the Director of the Bureau of Prisons the authority to release certain vulnerable prisoners to home confinement. Currently, the process for identifying appropriate candidates for home confinement have not been solidified but we believe it may help to write to the BOP Director and Southeast Regional Director and ask that Leonard be immediately considered and transitioned to his home on the Turtle Mountain Reservation.

  Your letters should be addressed to:

  Michael Carvajal Director, Fed. Bureau of Prisons 320 First Street NW Washington, DC 20534

  J.A. Keller Southeast Regional Director Federal Bureau of Prisons 3800 Camp Crk Prk SW, Building 2000 Atlanta, GA 30331

  We have not drafted a form letter or correspondence. Your pleas should come from your heart as an individual who has supported Leonard for so many years. Say what you would like but we have put together some talking points that will assist you in your letter writing. Below are some helpful guidelines so your letter touches on the requirements of the Attorney General’s criteria for releasing inmates like Leonard to home confinement.

  OPENING: Point out that Leonard is an elder and is at risk; for example, “Mr. Peltier is 75 years old and in very poor health; his only desire is to go home to the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation and live out the remainder of his years surrounded by his family.”

  MEDICAL: The AG and CDC guidelines for releasing inmates requires the health concerns cause greater risk of getting the virus. Leonard has the following conditions you can list in your letter: Diabetes, Spots on lung, Heart Condition (has had triple by-pass surgery), Kidney Disease.

  RISK TO COMMUNITY: To qualify for release to home confinement we must show that Leonard poses no risk to the community.

  COMMUNITY SUPPORT/RENTRY PLAN: To qualify for release to home confinement we must show that Leonard has a reentry plan. Leonard has support from the Turtle Mountain Chippewa Band and has family land on the reservation where he can live.

  RISK OF COVID–19: To qualify for the release to home confinement must show that Leonard is at reduced risk to exposure of COVID 19 by release than he is at Coleman 1. As of recently Rolette County, ND has no cases of COVID 19, Sumter County has at least 33 cases.

• Antifascist David Campbell is serving time in Riker’s Island where a COVID–19 outbreak is raging, and supporters are trying to get him released during the pandemic! Write to advocate for his release! Contact politicians via the info at this link, and call Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance with the info here. Script and other info are here.
• Check out The Final Straw’s stellar and important interview with New Afrikan Black Revolutionary prisoner Kijana Tashiri Askari, who is in urgent need of medical assistance due to a heart condition. UPDATE from supporters: After the first day of calls they changed his medicines to something more appropriate for his heart condition—not just Tylenol, which they had him on (only). That’s the only thing so far. Please help keep up the pressure!
• Check out these other anarchist media projects that have produced episodes covering organizing efforts both by and for prisoners: The Final Straw, Rustbelt Radio, and This is America by It’s Going Down.
• You can help bail out vulnerable detainees from immigration detention and jail by donating to the LGBTQ Freedom Fund; with pandemic-related bail reductions, they’ve expanded their focus past LGBTQ detainees to bail out as many people as they possibly can.
• Upcoming prisoner birthdays:
  • Romaine ‘Chip’ Fitzgerald #B–27527 California State Prison LAC Post Office Box 4490 B–4–150 Lancaster, California 93539 Address envelope to Romaine Fitzgerald, address card to Chip

 

This April 1st, people around the world will go on strike and refuse to pay rent. In the midst of the pandemic, we are confronted not only with a virus, but with the murderous logic of the market. Before COVID–19 hit, millions already struggled to afford rent, mortgage, or loan payments; today, all but the wealthiest face ruin, caught between either sickness or poverty. It’s inevitable that most of us will not be able to pay the bills next month—but what we do about it is up to us. This episode offers tools, examples, and history to support you and your neighbors in withdrawing your support from the regime of rent and debt and to devote what resources you have to nourishing yourself and your community through mutual aid. We’ll share excerpts from CrimethInc. texts promoting the strike, discuss the 5 Demands framework and anarchist critiques of it, work through concrete tactical suggestions from a rent strike tool kit, present an invitation to a strike from the West Coast and an interview with the radical housing collective Station 40, and offer a condensed version of an inspiring history of rent strikes around the world over the past century.

{March 31st, 2020}

 

-------SHOW NOTES------

 

• Table of Contents:
  • Introduction {0:01}
  • Refuse to Pay! {2:50}
  • The Five Demands, or Actions, or Not {6:20}
  • Toolkit for Rent Strike Organizing {13:20}
  • Invitation to a Strike {21:55}
  • Interview with Station 40: On Rent Strike against Gentrification and the Pandemic {28:10}
  • Rent Strike? A Strategic Appraisal of Rent Strikes throughout History—and Today {37:35}
  • Historic Strikes {42:32}
  • Common Characteristics {1:06:30}
  • Organizations Specializing in Housing {1:11:20}
  • Some Conclusions {1:20:40}
  • Conclusion {1:22:35}
• This episode draws on recent CrimethInc. texts including Immunity for All —Invitation to Strike and 5 Emergence Actions for COVID–19 Survival, as well as an On Rent Strike against Gentrification and the Pandemic, an interview with Station 40. We also shared a condensed version of Rent Strike? A Strategic Appraisal of Rent Strikes throughout History—and Today, translated from a Spanish-language text published by Editorial Segadores in Catalunya.
• To learn more about the global rent strike that has been called for April 1 and beyond, start with the 5 Demands Global site and particularly their very useful toolkit. In the US, find a local rent strike organizing effort here—or check out examples from New York City (see their useful FAQ), Olympia, Durham, Chicago, and elsewhere.
• Our critique of the 5 Demands model emerges from our classic text Why We Don’t Make Demands.
• To promote the strike, check out Keep Your Rent, a promo video collaboratively produced by CrimethInc., SubMedia, and It’s Going Down.
• Also check out It’s Going Down’s article Between Eviction, Infection, and Refusal: What You Need to Know About the April 1st Rent Strike & How to Plug In.
• Our friends at the Rebel Steps podcast have released an emergency episode on COVID–19 rent strikes —check it out!

 

The COVID–19 crisis presents both extreme dangers and opportunities. As our lives are threatened by a new virus, our freedom is menaced by authoritarians intent on using this opportunity to set new precedents for state intervention and control. On the other hand, the collapse of the global capitalist economy and unprecedented social crisis are opening possibilities for refusal and resistance that we could not have imagined even a month ago. How can we keep ourselves healthy while resisting the intensification of control and pressing our advantage to undo capitalist relations? To open our discussion of life and resistance in the new pandemic landscape, we present the recent CrimethInc. text Surviving the Virus: An Anarchist Guide, which explores how to apply anarchist tools such as affinity groups and security culture to organizing our lives during the pandemic. We discuss the significance of nationalism and xenophobia in political discourse around pandemics today and in history, including the intriguing story of how the so-called “Spanish Flu” of 1918–19 got its name. Comrades in Italy offer us Against the Coronavirus and the Opportunism of the State, their report on the early days of the pandemic and quarantine in and around Milan. The episode concludes with an appeal to our listeners to let us know how we can best support all of you during the challenging times ahead. Please reach out and let us know! Whatever the future brings, we will be with you in solidarity as we confront the challenges and possibilities of pandemic life.

{March 31st, 2020}

 

-------SHOW NOTES------

 

• Table of Contents:
  • Introduction {0:01}
  • Against the Virus, Against the State {6:43}
  • Surviving the Virus: An Anarchist Guide {12:35}
  • On Nationalism, Xenophobia, and COVID–19 {30:20}
  • Against the Coronavirus and the Opportunism of the State {34:23}
  • About the Ex-Worker, and An Appeal {49:45}
  • Conclusion {53:30}
• This episode draws on the CrimethInc. text Survivng the Virus: An Anarchist Guide, which discusses how we can use anarchist tools including affinity groups and security culture.
• We also shared excerpts from a report from anarchists in northern Italy on the early days of the quarantine, Against the Coronavirus and the Opportunism of the State.
• On resistance during the pandemic, check out this Black Rose Federation article on labor strikes and walkouts.
• Please let us know what you’d like to see from the Ex-Worker in the weeks and months to come! You can email us at podcast at crimethinc dot com, or hit us up on CrimethInc.’s social media.
• And be sure to check out our fellow anarchist media projects that are covering the politics of the coronavirus and the pandemic life, including The Final Straw, It’s Going Down, Rustbelt Abolition Radio, Kite Line, Rebel Steps, and SubMedia. All of these and more projects are part of the Channel Zero Network, where you can find all sorts of excellent anarchist podcasts and radical media efforts.