This week we talked with Dean Spade, author of Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity in this Crisis (and the Next).

Dean Spade has been working to build queer and trans liberation based in racial and economic justice for the past 25 years. He’s the author of Normal Life: Administrative Violence, Critical Trans Politics, and the Limits of Law, and Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next) the director of the documentary “Pinkwashing Exposed: Seattle Fights Back!.” His next book, Love in a Fucked Up World: How to Build Relationships, Hook Up and Raise Hell Together, is forthcoming from Algonquin Press in January, 2025.

In this expansive conversation, we start with Dean’s definition of mutual aid and how mutual aid differs from charity before we jump into the problem of criteria. Dean shares why he wrote Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next), how it was received, and what he has learned since writing the book. Throughout the conversation, we explore the many ways mutual aid is manifested. Whether through food, housing, babysitting, or post-death care, we land on how mutual aid projects contain the things that sustain and care for life. We also discuss how mutual aid is inherently political and reflects one’s political beliefs. And how engaging with mutual aid can help us deepen our political education and understanding of the world around us. We end the conversation by exploring the role of relationship building and the interpersonal and intrapersonal dynamics that make or break our groups.

Books By Dean:

⁠Love in a Fucked Up World: How to Build Relationships, Hook Up and Raise Hell Together

Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next)⁠

⁠Normal Life: Administrative Violence, Critical Trans Politics, and the Limits of Law

References:

Dean’s website: https://www.deanspade.net/

Big Door Brigade: https://bigdoorbrigade.com/

Credits:

The Mutual Aid Podcast is a proud member of ⁠⁠⁠⁠From The Periphery (FTP) Media Collective⁠⁠⁠⁠.

How to Support:

Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠: You’ll get early access to all podcasts, exclusive audio and video episodes, an invitation to join ⁠⁠⁠⁠our monthly hangouts⁠⁠⁠⁠, and more.

In this episode, israa & Ayman share what they know about the history of mutual aid, as a term and practice. While neither of us is a historian, we attempt to track the use of the term throughout history and the way it shows up in different societies. From Kropotkin to Omar Aziz to the Black Panthers, Sudanese Resistance Committee, and Syrian Local Councils, we share our understanding of the development of the term and how mutual aid helps us prefigure a new world in the shell of the old.

References Made:

Peter Kropotkin - Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution

The Peoples Want Manifesto

Nina Simone: I wish I knew How it would Feel to be Free

Credits:

Hosts - israa and Ayman

Artwork - Hisham Rifai

Music - Beit Youssef and Ramsey Khudairi

The Mutual Aid Podcast is a proud member of ⁠⁠⁠From The Periphery (FTP) Media Collective⁠⁠⁠.

How to Support: on ⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠: You’ll get early access to all podcasts, exclusive audio and video episodes, an invitation to join ⁠⁠⁠our monthly hangouts⁠⁠⁠, and more.

In this episode, israa and Ayman provide an overview of what we mean we talk about mutual aid. We provide a theoretical framework with many practical and tangible examples. This expansive conversation attempts to weave our understanding and experience with mutual aid with a wider exploration that stretches time, geographies, and societies.

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Patreon.com/fromtheperiphery

Welcome to The Mutual Aid Podcast. Join Ayman and israa every week as they discuss, share, and explore all things mutual aid. In this intro episode they talk about the reasons they started this project, what the project even is, and their experience, history, and positionally with mutual aid in general. They also discuss what you can expect from this project in the future and the necessity to take discussions of mutual aid more seriously, especially as the systems around us face collapse and crisis.

Gaza Relief Mutual Aid

https://www.instagram.com/ibrahimforgazamutualaid/

https://www.liberationthrumutualaid.com

Queer Mutual Aid Lebanon

https://www.patreon.com/qmalebanon

References:

https://www.thepublicsource.org/charity-mutual-aid

Peter Kropotkin - Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution

Dean Spade - Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During this Crisis (and the Next)

David Graeber - Debt: The First 5000 Years

Support this podcast:

https://www.patreon.com/fromtheperiphery

Credits:

Artwork - Hisham Rifai

Music - Beit Youssef and Ramsey Khudairi

Hosts - israa and Ayman