Your Call

On this edition of Your Call, we're discussing Town Destroyer, a new documentary that focuses on murals at San Francisco's George Washington High School, which praise Washington and critically depict him overseeing his slaves and directing the bloody seizure of Native lands.

They were painted in 1936 by leftwing artist Victor Arnautoff. Parents and students who say the murals cause harm wanted them painted over. Mural defenders warned of the dangers of censoring historic works of art. The documentary will make its world premiere at this year's Mill Valley Film Festival.

Guests:

Deborah Kaufman, co-director and co-producer of Town Destroyer, and co-founder of Snitow-Kaufman Productions

Alan Snitow, co-director and co-producer of Town Destroyer, and co-founder of Snitow-Kaufman Productions

Peggy Berryhill, member of the Muscogee Nation, executive producer of Town Destroyer, and owner and manager of KGUA

On this edition of Your Call, we mark Indigenous People's Day by rebroadcasting our conversation with Dr. LaNada War Jack, author of Native Resistance: An Intergenerational Fight for Survival and Life.

On this edition of Your Call’s Media Roundtable, we discuss last week’s tragic suicide bomb attack on an education center in Kabul’s Hazara-populated neighborhood, which killed 53 students. The majority of victims were girls and women, including 31 students between the ages of 17 and 20. The youngest victim was Nasrin, a 14-year-old girl who was visiting the center with her 19-year-old cousin Layeqa, who also died in the blast, according to the Associated Press.

Since last week's deadly attack, women and girls have been protesting and calling for an end to Hazara genocide. One Hazara woman told the Guardian, "We were marching together and chanting for justice for our Hazara sisters who were murdered yesterday. This is a genocide of the Hazaras and all we want is education and freedom." Women and girls in Afghanistan have also been taking to the streets to express solidarity with Iranian women.

Guest:

Mohammad J. Alizada, co-founder and managing editor of Alive in Afghanistan

On this edition of Your Call, we're discussing the ongoing wave of anti-government protests in Iran. It's been more than two weeks after 22-year-old Iranian- Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini tragically died while in custody of the so-called morality police.

The protests, which have spread to colleges and high schools, have shown no signs of easing in spite of the regime’s systemic and violent crackdown. Thousands have been arrested and more than 80 people have been killed.

Guests:

Fatemeh Shams, assistant professor of Persian Literature at University of Pennsylvania, and author of A Revolution in Rhyme: Poetic Co-option Under the Islamic Republic

Elham Hoominfar, assistant professor in the Global Health Studies Program at Northwestern University

Shaghayegh Cyrous, Iranian-American multidisciplinary artist

On this edition of Your Call, we're discussing Home is Somewhere Else, an animated documentary that provides a window into the hearts and minds of immigrant youth and their undocumented families.

Voiced by the actual children and their families, the film tells the stories of Jasmine, an 11-year-old US citizen whose parents are undocumented; sisters Elisa and Evelyn whose dreams are shattered by the colors of their passports; and Jose, a young man who grew up in a predominantly white, small Mormon Utah town.

The filmmakers say Home Is Somewhere Else invites discussion about the need for a new US migratory model based on respect for human rights for all. They plan to bring the film to communities and decision makers on both sides of the border to prompt dialogue about how the current immigration system harms families and must be replaced.

Guests:

Carlos Hagerman, co-director and co-writer of Home is Somewhere Else

Jorge Villalobos, co-director and co-writer of Home is Somewhere Else

On this edition of Your Call, we’ll speak with violence interrupters in Oakland and Philadelphia in the aftermath of last week's school shootings. In Oakland, at least two gunmen injured 6 people after firing 30 shots on the King Estate campus, which houses four different schools. Four people were injured and a 14-year old was killed last week at Roxborough High School in Philadelphia when 5 shooters ambushed a group of students leaving a football scrimmage.

How are young people living in communities with gun violence dealing with their trauma? What outlets do they have? The Oakland based organization Youth Alive! says society needs to listen to young people and demand more services from the government like counseling, after school programs, and job opportunities. They say healed people heal people.

On this edition of Your Call’s One Planet Series, science journalist Madeline Ostrander joins us to talk about her new book, At Home on an Unruly Planet: Finding Refuge on a Changed Earth.

On this edition of Your Call's Media Roundtable, we're discussing the aftermath of this summer’s devastating floods in Pakistan, which killed 1,500 people and injured over 12,000.

More than 33 million people in 81 districts have been affected by the deadly floods, from the northern areas of the country down to the coastal belt of Sindh. According to the National Disaster Management Authority, 636,940 people have been forced to find shelter in temporary camps, over 456 miles of roads have been damaged, 246 bridges have collapsed, 1.6 million homes have been damaged or destroyed, and 750,481 cattle heads perished.

Guest:

Noreen Haider, independent journalist and climate change activist in Lahore, Pakistan

On this edition of Your Call, we're discussing the historic passage of AB 2183, a bill that will give California farmworkers the right to vote for a union by mail, free from intimidation or retaliation.

Yesterday, California Governor Gavin Newsom visited a 24-hour farmworker vigil camp outside of the Sacramento State Capitol to sign the bill.

Farmworkers and their advocates have been organizing for this bill for years. Last month, farmworkers took part in a 335-mile, 24-day march to Sacramento, then began 24-hour vigils in many cities. The California Labor Federation says this is the most consequential private sector organizing bill in California’s history. Less than one percent of California’s 800,000 farmworkers are unionized. How will this bill improve wages, working conditions, and safety for women working in the fields?

Guests:

Marc Grossman, longtime spokesman with the United Farm Workers and the Cesar Chavez Foundation, and author of Change from the Inside: My Life, the Chicano Movement, and the Story of an Era

Dr. Ann Lopez, executive director of the Center for Farmworker Families

On this edition of Your Call, we'll discuss Hurricane Ian, which made landfall yesterday in Florida near Cayo Costa as a category 4 storm.

The extremely dangerous conditions with winds of over 150 mph are turning rivers into streets, knocking out power to 1.8 million people, and threatening to cause further damage as the storm moves inland, according to the Associated Press.

We'll speak with an expert to learn more about just how much damage this storm could cause, and how the climate crisis is increasing the frequency and magnitude of these extreme weather events.