The F Word with Laura Flanders

In “ZODIAC: A Graphic Memoir”, the renowned artist Ai Weiwei writes that artists should “ignite stories”, “fight for freedom” and “help us hope.” Over his long and defiant career, he has used his art in a wide variety of media to do just that. In this wide-ranging conversation with Laura Flanders, they discuss the role of the artist and ask why is “Power so afraid of art and poets?”

“I'm not this kind of very active activist. I'm just being forced to act . . . But I'm proud of doing that because that is the meaning of life, to give dignity to life itself . . .” - Ai Weiwei

“The real fear for me is [if] we lost [the] ability to ask the question. We lost our memory, we lost our sense of caring compassion . . .” - Ai Weiwei

“We [do] not encourage people to have free thinking and judgment and that is the ground to produce Nazis or hypocrites. And that can come to political disaster . . . We have this kind of censorship because people cannot freely express their feelings.” - Ai Weiwei

Guest:

Ai Weiwei: Conceptual Artist, Filmmaker & Human Rights Activist; Author, ZODIAC, A Graphic Memoir

LAURA FLANDERS - COMMENTARY EXCERPT: "I went into New York City to attend Donald Trump's rally at Madison Square Garden, but I couldn't get in. It was so oversubscribed, I was surprised. And as I stood there in the penned-in area with other would-be attendees, we watched on the jumbotron and I wondered about the other things I'd seen that had surprised me. Some of them right there at The Garden....." Listen to hear the entire commentary.

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This is the full conversation from the inaugural episode of Laura Flanders & Friends (formerly The Laura Flanders Show), Laura is joined by Angela Davis, a leading voice in the movement for abolition and feminism who has lots to share about her evolution and how decades of activism are coming together. From Palestine to elections, to our carceral state and collective liberation, this kickoff conversation is packed with her insight.

“When vast numbers of people come together to defend a vision of the future that they would like to see, this is how change happens. It doesn't happen because we elect a particular person to office.” - Angela Y. Davis

“[In] Birmingham, Jewish people were the very first white people to support the struggle against racism . . . Here in the US and in other parts of the world, it's actually Jewish people, young Jewish people who are inthe forefront of the struggle against Zionism.” -  Angela Y. Davis

Guest: Angela Y. Davis: Professor, Activist, Scholar & Writer; Author, Abolition: Politics, Practices, Promises, Vol. 1.

To commemorate the 15th anniversary of the 2008 financial crisis, we explore the consequences of “capital bias”, or prioritizing wealth and the wealthy. Featuring guests Marjorie Kelly, author of “Wealth Supremacy: How the Extractive Economy and the Biased Rules of Capitalism Drive Today’s Crises” and Edgar Villanueva, a member of the Lumbee people and Founder of the Decolonizing Wealth Project.

Guests:

•Marjorie Kelly: Distinguished Senior Fellow, The Democracy Collaborative; Author, Wealth Supremacy: How the Extractive Economy and the Biased Rules of Capitalism Drive Today’s Crises

•Edgar Villanueva (Lumbee): Founder & Principal, Decolonizing Wealth Project

You can watch The Laura Flanders Show report on The Jubilee Justice Black Farmers Rice Project on PBS stations across the nation, or on YouTube. In addition, we offer an audio version by subscribing to this free podcast and/or catch the special report airing on community radio stations. Details are at https://LauraFlanders.org

The F-Word is released bi-weekly featuring timely commentaries by Laura Flanders and guests.

The Laura Flanders Show is made possible by our listeners and viewers. Please become a sustaining member or make a one time donation at https://LauraFlanders.org/donate

"It’s being called the Minnesota miracle, but Minnesota’s historic legislative session was no act of god."

The F-Word is released bi-weekly featuring timely commentaries by Laura Flanders and guests.

The Laura Flanders Show is made possible by our listeners and viewers. Please become a sustaining member or make a one time donation at https://LauraFlanders.org/donate

-excerpt from the latest commentary by Laura Flanders...

"It has often been said that the US South is the testing ground for American democracy, which makes it frustrating how little attention national Democrats and their media pals give to Southern politics.

A case in point is the decision by the North Carolina Supreme Court on April 28th, to reverse a series of election-related rulings that were handed down just months ago by the same court when it was dominated by Democrats."

The F-Word is released bi-weekly featuring timely commentaries by Laura Flanders and guests.

You can hear that special report in our series on The War on Democracy HERE=> https://lauraflanders.simplecast.com/episodes/deciding-the-fate-of-democracy-in-north-carolina

And take a listen/watch our prior special reports in the series via the YouTube Playlist => https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOWumRv2zO8YCHuaVqDD-FPcY5pU4cim7

• The Forgotten Coup, January 6th & the Small Town Americans on the Frontlines of Democracy

• Community Safety in a Time of Insurrection

• North Carolina: Courageous Conversations in a Climate of Fear

"Saket Soni is a brilliant labor organizer. He's also a talented storyteller. His first book, The Great Escape, A True Story of Forced Labor and Immigrant Dreams in America, tells the gripping, can't-put-it down tale of one of the largest human trafficking schemes in modern US history and how 500 Indian-born workers brought their corporate exploiters to account...."

The F-Word is released bi-weekly featuring timely commentaries by Laura Flanders and guests.

You can hear this week's show, via this podcast feed, with Saket Soni or catch Laura's full uncut conversation, through a patreon subscription at https://patreon.com/theLFShow

"Can we spare a few minutes to focus on Luddites?... and you’ll find that Luddites weren’t backward thinking thugs, but rather, skilled craftspeople whose lives were about to be wrecked."

The F-Word is released bi-weekly featuring timely commentaries by Laura Flanders and guests. This podcast is made possible by you, our listeners. Please take a moment to become a member and support the show at https://Patreon.com/theLFShow

"What makes the obsession with polling so problematic is that it ignores the way that polls, even when they're right, are bad for our politics. Polls shrink our options, over-determine policy, and distract us from real life."

The F-Word is released bi-weekly featuring timely commentaries by Laura Flanders and guests. Flex your media muscles, become a monthly sustaining member for $3, $5, $12 at https://Patreon.com/theLFShow Independent Media! Advertising free!