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Chris Smalls is the co-founder and former president of the Amazon Labor Union and author of the new book When the Revolution Comes. He joins Current Affairs associate editor Alex Skopic in Havana, Cuba, during the Nuestra América aid mission to discuss the U.S. blockade, labor organizing, his fight against Amazon, and why struggles from Cuba to Gaza to Staten Island are connected.

Recorded March, 2026 

✊ Buy When the Revolution Comes: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/724036/when-the-revolution-comes-by-chris-smalls/

0:00-5:21 Why Chris Smalls Came to Cuba

5:21-8:18 Hip-Hop, “Union Drip,” and Labor Organizing

8:18-11:09 Joe Biden’s Empty Pro-Union Promises

11:09-17:32 What Workers Should Know About Unionizing

17:32-24:02 The State of the Amazon Labor Union

24:02-26:36 Lessons From the Amazon Fight

26:36-28:15 Gaza, the Freedom Flotilla, and Israeli Apartheid

28:15-28:50 Medea Benjamin Cameo

28:50-31:56 What Comes Next for Chris Smalls

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