what's this button do?

These buildings have been abandoned for 5 years, and then someone decided to spraypaint their name on it. Then a bunch of people followed. Now, there's a price tag … but why?

It's been all over the news recently, but we've mostly heard from city officials, police, and commentators.

Matthew Stromberg actually interviewed some of the artists behind the pieces. You can read his piece on Hyperallergic here: https://hyperallergic.com/870121/artists-make-los-angeles-graffiti-history-by-painting-on-abandoned-high-rises/

i do these live: twitch.tv/dexdigi

where is culture heading? what about black culture? who's going to make money off of all this?

plus, a postgame about my interview with TikTok's CEO.

Steven Roberts has done work for MTV News, VICE (that's where I know him from), ESPN, NBC, and I'm probably forgetting some here.

Here's his site: https://www.itsteven.com

i do these live: twitch.tv/dexdigi

Hey, there's a war happening. Are you gonna stop buying breakfast cereal? I brought on Michael Learmonth, former Editor in Chief of VICE News, to talk about how the 'brand safe' industry is killing journalism, making us dumber and more annoyed ...and also hurting brands in the process.

There's no definitive answers in here (but maybe some ideas), especially if you care about where your information comes from.

Michael Learmonth can be found on social at @mikelearmonth

The 404 Media article we mention; https://www.404media.co/advertisers-dont-want-sites-like-jezebel-to-exist/

Camilo Hannibal Smith is a TK

Camilo Hannibal Smith is a culture writer who has been covering Lucha Libre all over the US for years. He came through to talk about why there's a surging popularity of this (not just Mexican!) art form and sport in the South, and his recommendations for what to do if you go (you should!).

follow him at http://instagram.com/@camilohannibal

Camilo's most recent article on Lucha Libre: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/entertainment/families/article/lucha-libre-houston-coliseo-18374624.php

The video we were watching that I freaked out about:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=mIdRC41hhfY (the throw into the audience is at 25 min)

An older article of Camilo's from 2017 that really kicked things off for his written coverage in Texas: https://web.archive.org/web/20170610134750/http://www.houstonpress.com/news/lucha-libre-is-american-dream-for-texas-family-9499764

A short doc Camilo made in the Bronx years ago: https://vimeo.com/297008870

Try googling anything about Sudan right now, and you'll see a bunch of headlines talking about a 'forgotten war'. (If you just want to hear the part about the soda, it's at minute 42.)

That word, 'forgotten', pops up a lot, and it's not an overstatement. How did we get to the point where a war that has dragged on for 250+ days, has 5 million people at risk of extreme hunger, and was referred to by the UN as the largest humanitarian crisis, is being 'forgotten'?

And what can be done to bring it back into the conversation?

Find Sara's social media, along with all the podcasts and videos she recommends here:

http://instagram.com/bsonblast

These interviews are recorded live during the weekly twitch stream (that's why you hear us talking to the chat at a few points!). If you want to catch the next one, and even ask some questions live, you can do it here: http://twitch.tv/dexdigi

Cindy Trinh runs @activistnyc, an account that has been documenting protests in NY and beyond for years now. We get into the ethics of photographing strangers, why her pictures are 'boring', and more.

Check her work out at http://instagram.com/activistnyc

This was livestreamed on Dec 6th - if you'd like to catch the next one live, check out http://twitch.tv/dexdigi

Tanya Habjouqa joins to talk about her experiences in Palestine and Israel since the war, and why creating a letter calling for a stop to the killing of journalists was so important, but so difficult to write.

You can read the letter we're talking about here: https://forourcolleagues.medium.com/statement-81135f253770

The For Our Colleagues Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/forourcolleagues/

Tanya's work:

http://tanyahabjouqa.com

Big 'allegedly' all over this one, naturally. With guest Angad Singh (@angadgsingh) here to break things down.

Originally streamed on Nov 30th.

Here's some links of things referenced in the show (compiled by Angad – thanks again!)

An analysis of the potential consequences of this: https://thewire.in/diplomacy/nijjar-pannun-modi-foreign-policy-national-interest

Justice Department Release: Justice Department Announces Charges in Connection with Foiled Plot to Assassinate U.S. Citizen in New York City

Indictment: https://www.justice.gov/media/1326501/dl?inline

The Wire made a “Timeline” https://thewire.in/world/us-timeline-indian-official-plot-kill-khalistan-activists

India's official response: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/videos/toi-original/india-us-pannun-row-this-is-contrary-to-government-policy-mea-spokesperson-arindam-bagchi/videoshow/105619767.cms

Pannun’s response: https://twitter.com/SFJGenCounsel/status/1729910225996501377/photo/2

Telling Hindus to leave Canada: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOuzhdRTtyA

Threat on Air India on Nov: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CzQmbiSRUk5/

Interpol Sent Back India's Request For Notice Against Khalistan Separatist

US Extradition Treaty with India: https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/12873-India-Law-Enforcement-Extradition-6.25.1997.pdf

Why was Stuart Seldowitz, a former US government official, harassing a NYC halal cart worker? Why was he making veiled threats to his family in Egypt? We don't have the answers for that yet, but Manisha Krishnan of VICE News spoke to the worker to had to deal with this abuse, and people in the neighborhood.

Seldowitz has, among other things, served as the ‘deputy director/senior political officer in the U.S. State Department’s Office of Israel and Palestinian Affairs from 1999 to 2003’

After the video went viral, he was charged with ‘aggravated harassment and three counts of stalking, one of which is a hate crime’. He has pled not guilty.

Links:

Find Manisha Krushnan on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/ManishaKrishnan

or Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/baesic.unicorn/

Ex Obama Adviser Says Killing 4,000 Palestinian Children ‘Wasn’t Enough’

https://www.vice.com/en/article/7kxmwe/stuart-seldowitz-halal-cart-harassment

Ex-White House Adviser's Viral Islamophobic Rants Under Investigation by Hate Crimes Unit

https://www.vice.com/en/article/4a35qb/stuart-seldowitz-former-white-house-adviser-investigated-hate-crime

Ex-White House Adviser Charged With Hate Crime After Islamophobic Rants

https://www.vice.com/en/article/g5yk8b/stuart-seldowitz-charged

Jeff Weiss is an infamous music writer who got assigned to meet Andre 3000 and explore why the hell this flute album happened.

We theorize about why people are mad, explore why Andre's hair being grey is so revolutionary, why everyone needs a squad, identify a new disease called 'Clout Dementia', and discuss why you should probably never meet your heroes. But sometimes it's okay, as a treat.

Read Jeff's interview with Andre 3000 here:

https://www.theguardian.com/music/202...

Check out Jeff's other work at https://www.passionweiss.com

This is an edited recap of our original conversation on Twitch on 21 November 2023.

Find the original on twitch.tv/dexdigi , and follow me there to catch more of these conversations live!