The Popaganda Podcast is an official Cast & Crew Sponsor of the 15th Annual Capital City Film Fest.

Join cohosts Shannon Perez-Darby and Tashmica Torok in an episode spotlighting the Midwest premiere and Closing Night Feature Firebreak, a deeply moving documentary screening.

Firebreak follows Brandon and Royal, two formerly incarcerated firefighters who turned exploitation into transformation—and built a nonprofit, the Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program, to help others like them access careers in wildland firefighting. 

💥 What We Talk About in This Episode:

• Prison labor, fire camps, and the myth of redemptive suffering
• Reentry, shame, and the trap of gratitude narratives
• Ancestral land connection and environmental justice
• Daredevil, fiddle-faddle, and why background checks aren’t liberation
• That gorgeous mural scene (bring tissues)
• Nonprofit hustle, funder fatigue, and the fight for sustainability
• Jacket envy. Obviously.

This Week’s Pop Culture Homework

• Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program
• 13th by Ava DuVernay
• Former Lansing Firefighter wins discrimination suit against city
• Daredevil: Born Again (Netflix)
• Book of Mormon (the musical, not the cult - yet)

🎬 Attend the Midwest Firebreak screening + panel moderated by Tashmnica at CCFF 2025:

🗓 April 12 | 7:30 PM

📍 Central United Methodist Church, Lansing, MI

🎟 capitalcityfilmfest.com

Other Fest Highlights:

 Symphonic Cinema → more info

 Distant Planet Project → more info

 Arab Narratives Project → link coming soon!

Subscribe and listen everywhere you get your podcasts. Come for the pop culture. Stay for the abolition.

To learn more, visit: www.popagandapod.com

Leave a 5-star review for The Popaganda Podcast, and we might feature it in an upcoming episode!

You can also send us love or suggest show topics by emailing us at: [email protected].

Sponsored in part by: The Accountable Communities Consortium

Access: Transcript now available on Apple Podcasts

Content Warning:

The Popaganda Podcast explores the intersections of transformative justice, prison abolition, and pop culture. In this episode, we discuss themes of trauma exploitation, survivorship, and systemic harm, including references to sexual violence and political violence. While we do not delve into graphic details, we invite you to make choices about what feels right for you.

This episode unpacks King of the Apocalypse, a new documentary exposing Stuart Rhodes, founder of the Oath Keepers and key figure in the January 6th insurrection. But this isn’t his story—it’s about the people who survived him.

Through the eyes of Dakota Adams, we explore how radicalization and abuse shaped the family Rhodes tormented, the years of planning that went into their escape, and the systemic failures that left them unprotected.

Now, Stuart Rhodes is free. Pardoned. No parole. No restrictions. Back in public life, standing behind Trump at rallies. What does this mean for his family? For the rest of us?

Join hosts Shannon Perez-Darby and Tashmica Torok as they examine the intersections of white supremacy, domestic violence, and rising authoritarianism. Listen in as they break down why militia movements thrive in unchecked power, what Dakota’s escape reveals about survivor resilience, and why we must take the growing far-right threat seriously.

This Week’s Pop Culture Homework

Watch King of the Apocalypse

Support Dakota Adam's campaign

Subscribe and listen everywhere you get your podcasts. Come for the pop culture. Stay for the abolition.

To learn more, visit: www.popagandapod.com

Leave a 5-star review for The Popaganda Podcast, and we might feature it in an upcoming episode!

You can also send us love or suggest show topics by emailing us at: [email protected].

Sponsored in part by: The Accountable Communities Consortium

Access: Transcript now available on Apple Podcasts

Content Warning:

The Popaganda Podcast explores the intersections of transformative justice, prison abolition, and pop culture. In this episode, we discuss themes of trauma exploitation, survivorship, and systemic harm, including references to sexual violence and political violence. While we do not delve into graphic details, we invite you to make choices about what feels right for you.

What do Neil Gaiman, Scientology, and NDAs have in common? More than you'd think—and none of it is good.

Join hosts Shannon Perez-Darby and Tashmica Torok as they break down the accounts of harm, the power imbalances, and the larger cultural problem with how we talk (or don’t talk) about consent. Listen in as they unpack why we need better ways to talk about sexual violence—because the binary of "totally consensual" or "definitely rape" just doesn’t cut it.

They also get into:

• Why we struggle to ask for what we want in relationships.
• The difference between "sexy hitting" and just... hitting.
• Consent practices we can learn from BDSM.
• Neil Gaiman’s deep ties to Scientology (because of course).
• The weirdness of trying to buy your way out of accountability.

If you've ever side-eyed a dude who says he's a feminist but also just happens to have a long history of dating barely legal women, or if you've ever wondered what happens when you mix cult-like obedience structures with unchecked power... well, this one's for you.

This Week’s Pop Culture Homework

This episode of The Popaganda Podcast is inspired by the podcast Master: The Allegations Against Neil Gaiman. 

Subscribe and listen everywhere you get your podcasts. Come for the pop culture. Stay for the abolition.

To learn more, visit: www.popagandapod.com

Leave a 5-star review for The Popaganda Podcast, and we might feature it in an upcoming episode!

You can also send us love or suggest show topics by emailing us at: [email protected].

Sponsored in part by: The Accountable Communities Consortium

Access: Transcript now available on Apple Podcasts

On this episode of The Popaganda Podcast, Tashmica and Shannon talk about the explosive new psychodrama series, Anatomy of Lies, which uncovers the jaw-dropping story of Elisabeth Finch, a Grey’s Anatomy writer who fabricated her life story, exploited the empathy of her colleagues, and used the trauma of others for personal gain. Stories like Finch’s weaponize trust and harm the very communities they pretend to support, creating ripple effects that extend far beyond Hollywood.

But the conversation doesn’t stop there. Using Finch’s story as a starting point, we tackle a deeper, systemic issue: the persistent devaluation of survivor stories in our society. Survivors are the architects of the movements that fight sexual and domestic violence, yet their courage, labor, and wisdom are too often dismissed—whether in the workplace, the media, or at the ballot box. We confront the grief of watching a nation re-elect a known perpetrator of harm and discuss the hard truths about what that says about our collective values.

Listen in as we uncover:

• The harm caused when stories like Finch’s co-opt the experiences of survivors.
• Why survivor stories are foundational to the movement against violence—and why they deserve our respect.
• How society’s dismissal of survivor voices contributes to larger systems of harm, including our political landscape.
• What it means to face hard truths, hold grief, and still fight for a better future.

This episode is a heartfelt call to action: to honor survivors, to trust their stories, and to build a culture that values truth and justice over harm and exploitation.

This Week’s Pop Culture Homework

Watch Anatomy of Lies and reflect on its implications for how survivor stories are treated in media, workplaces, and our larger culture.

Subscribe and listen everywhere you get your podcasts. Come for the pop culture. Stay for the abolition.

To learn more, visit: www.popagandapod.com

Leave a 5-star review for The Popaganda Podcast, and we might feature it in an upcoming episode!

You can also send us love or suggest show topics by emailing us at: [email protected].

Sponsored in part by: The Accountable Communities Consortium

Access: Transcript now available on Apple Podcasts

Content Warning:

The Popaganda Podcast explores the intersections of transformative justice, prison abolition, and pop culture. In this episode, we discuss themes of trauma exploitation, survivorship, and systemic harm, including references to sexual violence and political violence. While we do not delve into graphic details, we invite you to make choices about what feels right for you.

Shannon and Tashmica discuss It Ends With Us, a TikTok famous, bestselling romance novel written by Colleen Hoover now adapted into the recently released blockbuster drama.

Based on the relationship between the author's mother and father, It Ends With Us follows the life and love of the fictional character Lily Bloom starting with her childhood experiences of domestic violence. Calling it "the hardest book I've ever written, Hoover delivers a harrowing and heartbreaking story about a future where the violence doesn't end but is carried forward into Lily's adult romantic relationship with the handsome and rich neurologist, Ryle Kincaid.

The novel has sold over one million copies worldwide, has been translated into over twenty languages, and now the film is a box-office success grossing $350 million. It also made us both cry (big surprise). This kind of attention could give book lovers and film buffs alike clues about what community-based responses could be used to intervene on and end intimate partner violence for themselves and maybe even our loved ones.

It ends with us? We sure hope so.

Subscribe and listen everywhere you get your podcasts. Come for the pop culture. Stay for the abolition.

This week's Pop Culture Homework is It Ends With Us and BEAM's Healing and Accountability Wheel.

To learn more visit www.popagandapod.com.

Leave a 5-star review for The Popaganda Podcast and we might feature it in an upcoming episode! You can also send us love or suggest show topics by emailing us at [email protected].

Sponsored in part by: The Accountable Communities Consortium and The Firecracker Foundation.

Access: Transcript now available on Apple Podcasts

Content Warning: The Popaganda Podcast explores the intersections of transformative justice, prison abolition, and pop culture. We will be talking in general about the existence of domestic violence, sexual violence, and state violence and our experiences with these forms of violence throughout the season. In this episode in particular, we will be talking about these themes and our own survivorship. We will not be talking in high levels of detail about specific experiences of violence. We invite everyone to use this information to make choices about what is right for you.

On the sweetest episode of The Popaganda Podcast, Tashmica tells Shannon a heartwarming story about Big Bird, Snuffleupagus, and the political aspirations of America's longest-running children's TV show, Sesame Street.

Big Bird loves his best friend, Aloysius Snuffleupagus and all he wants to do is introduce him to his grownup friends on Sesame Street. There's only one problem. No one believes him. This story is about what happens when adults don't trust children and how they can practice accountability and repair to create healthier, safe(r) relationships in the future.

Listen in as we learn more about how and why the show's creative team taught adults to say, "I believe you, Big Bird."

Subscribe and listen everywhere you get your podcasts. Come for the pop culture. Stay for the abolition.

This week's Pop Culture Homework is the documentary Street Gang: How We Got To Sesame Street.

To learn more visit www.popagandapod.com.

Leave a 5-star review for The Popaganda Podcast and we might feature it in an upcoming episode! You can also send us love or suggest show topics by emailing us at [email protected].

Sponsored in part by: The Accountable Communities Consortium and The Firecracker Foundation.

Access: Transcript now available on Apple Podcasts

Content Warning: The Popaganda Podcast explores the intersections of transformative justice, prison abolition, and pop culture. We will be talking in general about the existence of domestic violence, sexual violence, and state violence and our experiences with these forms of violence throughout the season. In this episode in particular, we will be talking about these themes and our own survivorship. We will not be talking in high levels of detail about specific experiences of violence. We invite everyone to use this information to make choices about what is right for you.

On this episode of The Popaganda Podcast, Tashmica and Shannon talk with guest Mia Mingus about the post-apocalyptic TV series, The Walking Dead.

Viewers watched in horror as Negan brutally murdered Glen in front of his wife Maggie. None of us knew that we'd be on a Transformative Justice journey with two of the show's most compelling characters up until the final seasons. We watched the drama as characters tried to secure community safety by first recreating policing, jails, and prisons, and then turning towards reformation, and a complex process of accountability and repair.

Tune in now for a conversation about how some fictional apocalypse tales can inspire us to treat everyone - even villains - more humanely.

Come for the pop culture. Stay for the abolition.

To learn more visit www.popagandapod.com.

Leave a 5-star review for The Popaganda Podcast and we might feature it in an upcoming episode! You can also send us love or suggest show topics by emailing us at [email protected].

Sponsored in part by: The Accountable Communities Consortium and The Firecracker Foundation.

Access: Transcript now available on Apple Podcasts

Content Warning: The Popaganda Podcast explores the intersections of transformative justice, prison abolition, and pop culture. We will be talking in general about the existence of domestic violence, sexual violence, and state violence and our experiences with these forms of violence throughout the season. In this episode in particular, we will be talking about these themes and our own survivorship. We will not be talking in high levels of detail about specific experiences of violence. We invite everyone to use this information to make choices about what is right for you.

The Popaganda Podcast is an award-winning social justice podcast that explores the pop culture we love and how it inspires us to build a safer, more just world for everyone. Hosts Shannon Perez-Darby and Tashmica Torok are lifelong survivor activists and pop culture besties who use elevated unscripted commentary to normalize transformative justice practices and prison abolition strategies by amplifying one culture-shifting truth – we keep us safe.

Episodes drop monthly. Listen everywhere you get your podcasts. Come for the pop culture. Stay for the abolition.

You can learn more by visiting www.popagandapod.com.

Sponsored in part by: The Accountable Communities Consortium and The Firecracker Foundation.

Access: Transcript now available on Apple Podcasts

Content Warning: The Popaganda Podcast explores the intersections of transformative justice, prison abolition, and pop culture. We will be talking in general about the existence of domestic violence, sexual violence, and state violence and our experiences with these forms of violence throughout the season. In this episode in particular, we will be talking about these themes and our own survivorship. We will not be talking in high levels of detail about specific experiences of violence. We invite everyone to use this information to make choices about what is right for you.

On this episode of The Popaganda Podcast, Tashmica guides Shannon through the American religious thriller film series, Left Behind. In what feels like an accelerated Vacation Bible School experience, they discuss how and why traditional Evangelical Christian teachings have been used to implement harmful legislation, institutional policies, and social practices that dishonor our relationship with ourselves, our children, and our loved ones.

Tune in for a conversation about the rapture, bad theology, and what it means when Tashmica tells someone to "Get raptured, bitch!"

Come for the pop culture. Stay for the abolition.

For this week’s pop culture homework visit www.popagandapod.com.

Leave a 5-star review for The Popaganda Podcast and we might feature it in an upcoming episode! You can also send us love or suggest show topics by emailing us at [email protected].

Sponsored in part by: The Accountable Communities Consortium and The Firecracker Foundation.

Access: Transcript now available on Apple Podcasts

Content Warning: The Popaganda Podcast explores the intersections of transformative justice, prison abolition, and pop culture. We will be talking in general about the existence of domestic violence, sexual violence, and state violence and our experiences with these forms of violence throughout the season. In this episode in particular, we will be talking about these themes and our own survivorship. We will not be talking in high levels of detail about specific experiences of violence. We invite everyone to use this information to make choices about what is right for you.

On this episode of The Popaganda Podcast, Shannon and Tashmica talk with Mathilda Zeller, author of "Kushtuka”, one of the 29 spine-tingling horror stories included in Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology. She also got in trouble with Tashmica at a tamalada for talking about transformative justice when they were supposed to be making tamales. Happens to the best of us!

Mathilda shares why she chooses to write horror and spills the tea on white women authors acting badly on the internet. Tune in for a conversation about how the monsters under our beds exist in more than just our spooky stories and how we can get brave enough to face them.

Come for the pop culture. Stay for the abolition.

For this week’s pop culture homework visit www.popagandapod.com.

Leave a 5-star review for The Popaganda Podcast and we might feature it in an upcoming episode! You can also send us love or suggest show topics by emailing us at [email protected].

Sponsored in part by: The Accountable Communities Consortium and The Firecracker Foundation.

Access: Transcript now available on Apple Podcasts

Content Warning: The Popaganda Podcast explores the intersections of transformative justice, prison abolition, and pop culture. We will be talking in general about the existence of domestic violence, sexual violence, and state violence and our experiences with these forms of violence throughout the season. In this episode in particular, we will be talking about these themes and our own survivorship. We will not be talking in high levels of detail about specific experiences of violence. We invite everyone to use this information to make choices about what is right for you.