Upon Request

We welcome back Savannah Romero for her second appearance on our podcast and welcome Trevor Smith, cofounders of BLIS Collective, the Black Liberation and Indigenous Sovereignty Collective. We discuss Land Back, Reparations, Story telling…and TRUTH telling, all as methods for how we get our people free!

When was the last time you thought about politics, the South, and activism in the same breath? Why is progressive politics and the South overlooked? Do you think LGBTQIA+ rights and Arkansas? Do you think Abolition and Nebraska? Do you think Racial Justice and Mississippi? So many of the most important fights for justice have started, been nurtured, and had major milestones in the Southern states so why does movement, media, and platform not seem to include Southern organizers? We sit down with the founders of Ozark Media to talk more about why they launched their new outlet, what's the focus, the inspiration, and the vision. 

What's so funny about Climate Change? We sit down with comedians and organizers for the Climate Apo.Ha-Ha.calypse to discuss why comedy and why now? Through this conversation we find different ways to make our movement for climate action accessible and to make the weight of climate apocalypse more easily understood by our human brains.

Links and resources:

• Past Events

• https://www.brooklyncc.com/show-schedule/apocahahalypse-1-31

• Social Media

• https://www.instagram.com/apo.haha.calypse/

• Upcoming Events

• https://www.eventbrite.com/e/apoha-hacalypse-make-polluters-pay-on-earth-day-with-yellow-dot-studios-tickets-1259538606879?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl

For years we've watched cruel corporate-backed decisions that further sow power for corporations while isolating people from different walks of life from protections. Think Hobby Lobby, threats against undocumented migrants, or even the increasingly unstable economic outlook for workers. These are all examples of the divide and conquer strategy of the elite against people, but why? We talk more about what these tactics look like and maybe figure out the why behind them. 

In a world of increased surveillance, the issues of state security, human rights, and individual freedoms are coming to a head. How do we learn from the surveillance state to date, how do we protect communities, our rights, and ourselves and what can we anticipate with a new era of AI and techno fixes to the human limits of international policing.

Every few years there’s milestone moments where movements for justice and a better world emerge. It’s then we find that people awaken, turn their attention to being involved, and also struggle with how to fit in. Madeleine shares her thoughts on what it means to find your superpowers and we delve into what that means for how folks show up within movements from climate, to racial justice, and beyond.

Joined by our good friend Marven Hyppolite we honor the legacy of Haiti to the international community, the ongoing situation in the country, personal reflections on being part of the diaspora, and what the 11th Department is. If you’re looking to understand more about what it’s like on-the-ground from Marven’s recent trip home and the opportunities for the diaspora of Haitian migrants across the globe listen in! 

Sports have always been political, from the financial backing by famous Black athletes in the civil rights era, to the groundbreaking pursuits of athletes pushing the boundaries for gender, race, and sexual orientation inclusivity, to the revolutionary acts opposing dictatorships through protest, to modern issues of politics and sport like Colin Kapernick, the list goes on. We sit down to chat with 2018 NCAA Division III 400m hurdles champion Lilah Drafts-Johnson to learn more about her work on making sports safer and better for athletes, the people they are in relationship with, and society at large. Join us as we unpack and try to define what a more conscious participation in sports could look like. 

Outside of the norms for this podcast, Michél decided to share some immediate reactions about the Tik Tok ban. It felt important to note this relatively inconsequential response to stopping the global movement in solidarity with people in Palestine from the globe and currently rising on campuses. We wanted to share this out as a relevant topic -- hope this feels like a resonant reaction.

Struggling to understand what’s going on in Sudan? So were we, we decided to chat with Mohammed Elnaiem to learn more and better understand the details of preceding and current conditions for the ongoing conflict. Mohammed was part of the Sudanese Revolution in 2018-2019 and has written extensively on the topic of decolonization. He heads the newly founded organization Decolonial Centre and continues to be a thought leader and activist in support of liberation for the Sudanese people.

https://decolonialcentre.org/