Sun, 4 February 2024
This episode offers an audio version of “Don’t Stop: Continuing the Fight Against Cop City”, published on December 12th. It traces the activities of the movement to Stop Cop City and defend the Weelaunee Forest from June through December 2023, including accounts of the campaign for an Atlanta voter’s referendum on Cop City, the Sixth Week of Action, the relationship between clandestine direct action and public organizing, local Black organizing against the project, the Block Cop City march in November, and potential strategic pathways forward. Tune in for an in-depth evaluation of the latest phase in one of the most critical social struggles of our time. {February 4, 2023} -------SHOW NOTES------
Direct download: 105_Dont-Stop_Continuing-the-Fight-Against-Cop-City.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:42pm PDT |
Thu, 28 December 2023
At first, it appeared to be an ordinary forest defense campaign aimed at discouraging Atlanta city government from pouring money into an unpopular police training facility. But over the past two years, the fight against Cop City has escalated into one of the fiercest struggles of the Biden era, pitting a wide range of courageous people against a united front of politicians, prosecutors, and police. In their desperate efforts to deflect popular resistance and force through the project, police and prosecutors have pressed trumped-up domestic terrorism charges against almost every defendant arrested since last December; they have killed one forest defender; they have charged those engaged in legal support for the arrestees. In the following account and analysis, published on June 21st as “Living in an Earthquake: The Fight against Cop City Confronts Unprecedented Repression,” participants in the movement in Atlanta trace its trajectory from the fifth Week of Action that began on March 4, 2023 through the City Council vote of June 5. {December 28, 2023} -------SHOW NOTES------
Direct download: 104_Living-in-an-Earthquake-The-Fight-against-Cop-City-Confronts-Unprecedented-Repression.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:01pm PDT |
Sun, 10 December 2023
A so-called “anarcho-capitalist” has just been elected president in Argentina. What does this mean for anarchists and the prospects for revolutionary change in South America? Spoiler alert: it’s not looking good. In this episode, we share an account from an Argentinian anarchist analyzing the recent rise to power of Javier Milei, an extreme neoliberal economist, in the context of the global turn towards fascist and reactionary populist leaders like Trump and Bolsonaro. You’ll get an in-depth look at the history of center-left rule, military dictatorship, and neoliberal austerity that resulting in the powerful popular uprising of 2001, along with an detailed assessment of the economic challenges, disillusionment with the political class, and failures of the left and radical social movements that facilitated Milei’s rise. This is a disturbing but essential exploration of one of the year’s most important political developments, with critical implications for those of us fighting the culture and politics and fascism around the world. {December 10, 2023} -------SHOW NOTES------
Direct download: 103_The-Return-of-the-Ultraliberal-Right-in-Argentina.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:15pm PDT |
Tue, 28 November 2023
On November 13, 2023, demonstrators in southern California blockaded a facility of Raytheon, a defense contractor, in solidarity with the Palestinians on the receiving end of the bombs that it produces. They managed to block the facility for more than seven hours, supported by waves of hundreds of activists joining the action, and succeeded in shutting down operations for the day. This episode offers an audio version of How They Stopped Work at the Raytheon Facility: Report on a Day of Blockading, published on November 15th. Participants summarize how the action was organized and unfolded, police responses, the background of direct actions against the war machine and mobilization in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, and reflections for future resistance. {November 25, 2023} -------SHOW NOTES------
Direct download: 102__How-They-Stopped-Work-at-Raytheon.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:09am PDT |
Mon, 27 November 2023
On November 6, 2023, several hundred people showed up at the Port of Tacoma in Washington State to block access to a shipping vessel that was scheduled to deliver equipment to the Israeli military. This episode shares an account and analysis of the action published on November 10th as “Shutting Down the Port of Tacoma: Reflections from the Salish Sea.” Participants review the history of port blockades in the Puget Sound, share their experience at the protest, and seek to offer inspiration for continued transoceanic solidarity. {November 23, 2023} -------SHOW NOTES------
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Thu, 23 November 2023
On April 19, 2023, a Russian anarchist named Dmitry Petrov was killed in battle near Bakhmut, Ukraine. In this episode, we offer a eulogy remembering Dmitry as an uncompromising anarchist fighter who participated in an unbelievable amount of radical activity around the region. His extraordinary life spanned anarchist organizing as a teenager in Moscow; environmental defense, radical unionism, and refugee solidarity activism; years of underground direct action against police, military, and profiteers from gentrification; participating in the Maidan protests in Ukraine, uprising against dictatorship in Belarus, and the struggle against the Islamic State in Rojava; co-founding the Anarcho-Communist Combat Organization; and finally taking up arms against Russian imperialism in Ukraine. This episode combines an incomplete biography of his life in combat against all forms of hierarchy and domination, along with a translation of his text “The Mission of Anarchism in the Modern World,” a remembrance published by the Anarcho-Communist Combat Organization titled “Dima Ecolog’s Partisan Path”, and a song inspired by his direct action. Join us in commemorating the life of a powerful anarchist comrade who will be dearly missed. {November 7, 2023} -------SHOW NOTES------
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Tue, 7 November 2023
As the Israeli bombardment of Gaza intensifies, with over 10,000 deaths recorded to date, it is more urgent than ever for people everywhere to take decisive action to stop the war machine. In this episode, we share the strategic reflections of a collective of Jewish anarchists based in the US on Palestinian solidarity. The authors propose a shift from making demands to taking direct action, relying not on appealing to the consciences of politicians but on concretely interrupting the functioning of the businesses and agencies that are enabling the slaughter. After offering historical context to Israeli settler colonialism and Palestinian resistance, this article connects the movement to defend the Weelaunee Forest and Stop Cop City to Palestinian solidarity struggles, and describes approaches used by different collectives involving targeting war profiteers and law enforcement/military exchange programs. A publisher’s afterward reflects on the uses and limits of tertiary targeting through reflections on the SHAC model and the Green Scare. Tune in for vital strategic reflections on what we can do from wherever in the world we’re listening to take action against militarism, displacement, and death in Palestine. {November 7, 2023} -------SHOW NOTES------
Direct download: 99_Strategizing-for-Palestinian-Solidarity.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:25pm PDT |
Wed, 1 November 2023
As the Israeli military escalates its slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza and societies around the world fracture and clash over the conflict, we want to amplify anti-authoritarian voices from within the territory to share their experiences and analysis. In this short but moving account, we present the perspective of a Palestinian living in the north of Palestine, who speaks about different aspects of life under colonization and about the struggle for liberation through grassroots organizing and solidarity. {November 1, 2023} -------SHOW NOTES------
Direct download: 98_From-the-Galilee-to-Gaza_A-Voice-From-Palestine.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:29am PDT |
Fri, 6 October 2023
Prosecutors in Georgia have charged activists protesting against a planned police militarization facility known as "Cop City" with violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr has indicted 61 people on RICO charges. In this episode, we explore the ramifications of this more or less unprecedented stage of repression. {Oct 6, 2023} -------SHOW NOTES------
Direct download: 97_Understanding-the-RICO-Charges-in-Atlanta.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:33pm PDT |
Fri, 26 May 2023
This episode continues the Ex-Worker Podcast’s coverage of the movement to Stop Cop City and defend the Weelaunee Forest in Atlanta, Georgia. In this episode, we present an audio version of The Forest In The City: Two Years Of Forest Defense In Atlanta, Georgia, originally published February 22, 2023, which continues the chronology of the movement whose origins we reported in episodes 85 and 86. In this eloquent and nuanced narrative, you’ll hear a detailed account of the movement’s second year, from the frenzy of activity in spring 2022 through the third and fourth weeks of action, waves of backlash and repression, and the tragic murder of forest defender Tortuguita, up to the eve of the March 2023 week of action. In addition to a chronology of developments and actions, the article shares insights learned by participants in the movement about relations with the media, the significance of music and the arts in social struggles, the importance of optimism and confidence, the risks of specialization, and many more aspects of revolutionary strategy. We encourage all of our listeners to learn what you can from this account, and to take action to support forest defenders and fight back against Cop City and its world. To learn more, be sure to check out the show notes and links, and stay tuned for forthcoming audio versions of more of CrimethInc.’s coverage of the struggle. {May 25, 2023} -------SHOW NOTES------
Direct download: 96_The-Forest-In-The-City_Two-Years-Of-Forest-Defense-In-Atlanta-Georgia.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:09am PDT |
Wed, 24 May 2023
On February 6, 2023, two powerful earthquakes hit southern Turkey and Northern and Western Syria, inflicting tremendous damage and killing tens of thousands of people. But there was nothing “natural” about this disaster: the lethal combination of negligence and repression imposed on the people of the region by the authoritarian regimes of the Turkish and Syrian states is directly responsible for the misery. This episode offers an audio version of the article “Disasters of State: The Earthquakes in Turkey and Syria”, originally published on March 16, 2023. It includes two texts, the first from supporters of the movements for liberation in the regions of Bakur and Rojava and the second from supporters of the revolution in western Syria. These offer different vantage points on how the Turkish and Syrian governments not only failed to protect their subjects but used this catastrophe as an opportunity to consolidate power and target their adversaries via neglect, blockading, and even bombing. Against the opportunism and violence of the state, we are inspired by the international grassroots mobilization with which communities around the world have responded to the earthquake. But in order for these efforts to succeed, we have to understand both the earthquakes and the state as aspects of the same catastrophe and take action against both of them. {May 23, 2023} -------SHOW NOTES------
Direct download: 95_Disasters-of-State-On-the-Earthquakes-in-Turkey-and-Syria.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:27am PDT |
Thu, 20 April 2023
In December 2022, a wave of popular protests led by campesino and Indigenous movements swept across Peru, including a nationwide mobilization in the capital. In response, the government has decreed a state of emergency, and the police have killed more than 60 people and injured thousands. For a direct view of these events, we spoke with Peruvian anarchists, hoping to get perspective on the aspects of this movement that exceed state politics. This episode narrates The Uprising in Peru, an interview conducted by comrades in Latin America with participants in Periodico Libertária, an anarchist publication based in the territory of Peru, originally published on February 19th. The comrades discuss the centrality of campesino and indigenous participation in the uprising, the brutality and racism of the police and their connection to the former dictatorship, the failures and opportunism of the political left, regional tensions across the Peruvian state, and different forms that anarchism takes in the region. (April 20, 2023) -------SHOW NOTES------
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Sat, 15 April 2023
In France, a powerful protest movement has erupted against the government in response to an attempt to raise the retirement age. Millions have gone on strike and poured into the streets in the most substantial unrest in France since the Yellow Vest movement. President Emmanuel Macron and his henchmen have attempted to crush this movement by escalating police violence to lethal extremes. In this episode, we share two recently published texts on the movement against Macron’s pension reform in France. In France: The Movement Against The Pension Reform—On The Threshold Of An Uprising?, published on March 22nd, we present an introduction and a translation of a French text, which explore the roots of the movement, an overview of its first phase, and an analysis of the issues at stake—which, our correspondents argue, goes beyond the democratic process or social benefits to a rejection of work itself. In France in Flames: Macron Attempts to Crush the Movement against the Pension Reform with Lethal Violence, published on March 30th, we offer a chronology of the events of the previous week, including a translation of an account by one participant in the brutally repressed demonstration at Sainte-Soline on March 25th and a statement from the parents of another who remains in a coma. As anti-government struggles with very different characters rage across the globe, from Peru to Iran to Israel, we’re doing our best to transmit reports from anarchists on the ground about what’s happening, about the possibilities and risks they present, and about how we can think critically about the currents of liberation inside of them. (April 15, 2023) -------SHOW NOTES------
Direct download: 93_France-in-Flames_The-Movement-Against-Macrons-Pension-Reform.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:05pm PDT |
Wed, 12 April 2023
In this episode, the Ex-Worker presents an audio version of A Coup D’Etat In Israel? The Bitter Harvest Of Colonialism, originally published on March 27th. The article assesses the recent attempts by Israeli President Benjamin Netanhayu to strip power away from the judiciary, a power grab that has precipitated the largest protest movement in modern Israeli history. As our correspondent from the region argues, however, the crisis has emerged out of a conflict between competing elites and their respective colonial models. The article provides in-depth context behind the social rifts and political developments that led to the current showdown, and highlights the structural exclusions that make Jewish democracy in Palestine—i.e., ethnocracy—possible. While different sectors within the state of Israel clash over its future and a “reactionary international” supports the most extreme right-wing Zionist currents, determined Palestinian resistance to escalating genocidal violence on the other side of the wall shows that the struggle has many sides. Tune in for an in-depth anarchist analysis of a complex and critical struggle for the future of the Middle East and beyond. (April 12, 2023) -------SHOW NOTES------
Direct download: 92_The-Bitter-Harvest-of-Colonialism-in-Israel.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:40am PDT |
Fri, 3 March 2023
<p>In Brazil, a three-way contest is unfolding between the far right in the streets, the institutional electoral left in the halls of power, and autonomous radical movements caught between them. When authoritarian president Jair Bolsonaro was narrowly defeated at the polls in October, a popular right-wing movement emerged to contest the election results, culminating in a protest in which Bolsonaro supporters stormed government buildings in the capital of Brasilia. In this episode, we share two articles in which Brazilian anarchists analyze these developments: the first, published in October shortly after the election, assesses the limits of electoral strategies as pathways to social transformation or checks to fascist power; the second, published just after the right-wing attack on government buildings in January, analyzes the similarities and differences between the events in the US and in Brazil, and argues for the urgent necessity of autonomous direct action to counter both the limits of the left and the threat of the right. Anarchists in the United States and beyond can learn much from our Brazilian comrades as we strategize to push back against rising fascism in our own contexts. <ul> <ul>
Direct download: 91_Elections-Fascism-and-Popular-Resistance-in-Brazil.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:52am PDT |
Thu, 9 February 2023
Italian anarchist prisoner Alfredo Cospito has been on hunger strike for over 100 days, demanding his release from the brutal regime of solitary confinement and severe restrictions known as “41bis.” Despite the mobilization of anarchist and radical networks across Italy in solidarity, as well as actions in support across the world, the Italian state stubbornly refuses to acknowledge his protest, and Alfredo’s life is in severe danger. In this episode, we share three short pieces that introduce you to Alfredo Cospito, explain the context behind the hunger strike and the repressive prison regime in Italy, and describe anarchist efforts to challenge the state’s attempt to bury our comrade. We open with a short solidarity statement about the case, along with a translation of a statement by Italian philosopher Donatella Di Cesare titled “Release Alfredo Now—It’s a Question of Justice.” The episode concludes with an interview with a friend from Rome who locates the hunger strike and solidarity efforts in a broader context of anarchist activity in Italy and beyond. {February 9, 2023} -------SHOW NOTES------
Direct download: 90_Solidarity-with-Alfredo-Cospito-Italian-Anarchist-Prisoner-on-Hunger-Strike.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:21am PDT |
Mon, 6 February 2023
In this episode, we share an audio version of a recently published account from the history of anarchist struggles against fascism. On January 12, 2002, hundreds of neo-Nazis gathered in York, Pennsylvania to promote white supremacy. Anarchists and other opponents of fascism throughout the region mobilized to oppose them, making common cause with locals and sending the fascists packing in a clash that came to be known as “the Battle of York.” Twenty-one years later, a participant in the day’s events recounts the clashes and reflects on what has changed since then, comparing the events in York with those in Charlottesville, Virginia in August 2017. This account is adapted from a memoir forthcoming on PM Press, entitled The Anarchist International. {February 6, 2023} -------SHOW NOTES------
Direct download: 89_The-Battle-of-York_January-2002_Anti-Fascism-Then-and-Now.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:11am PDT |
Tue, 31 January 2023
We’ve survived 2022—and with it, the ebb tide following the upheavals of 2019 and 2020. Both in the United States and around the world, this has been a year of challenges and reversals. In this episode, we offer an audio version of 2022 in Review: A Year to Endure, in which we revisit how we got here, explore the events of the past twelve months, and review our own efforts to contribute to movements for liberation. The year began with our warehouse in ashes, and ended with the world’s richest man personally banning us from Twitter, yet we managed to continue our coverage of the year’s major developments, ranging from the surge in anti-work sentiment and action to resistance to attacks on reproductive autonomy and gender self-determination to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and anti-war movement, and much more. We go into 2023 ready for the next round—and we hope you’ll be right there beside us. {January 31, 2023} -------SHOW NOTES------
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Mon, 30 January 2023
In November, CrimethInc. was banned from Twitter by Elon Musk, part of a concerted campaign by right wing trolls and the world’s richest man to shift global political discourse to the right. Why is this happening now, and what should we do about it? This episode collects three months of our writings and coverage of developments with social media as it enters a new phase of consolidation and cooptation. We open with an article published in October—before our ban—tracing the evolution of Twitter from a protest tool developed by anarchists for use at mass mobilizations into a corporate platform controlled by a right-wing billionaire. Next, we share the statement we issued when Twitter banned CrimethInc. from the platform, as well as a poster developed to take our response offline and into the streets. The episode concludes with Canary in the Coal Mine: Twitter and the End of Social Media, an in-depth analysis of how communications in movements for social transformation have evolved within the shifting landscape of technology, politics, and resistance in the past decades, concluding with suggestions for ways to take action beyond the nightmare of corporate social media. {January 30, 2023} -------SHOW NOTES------
Direct download: 87_The-Twitter-Ban-and-the-End-of-Social-Media.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:33pm PDT |
Sun, 29 January 2023
In this episode, we continue our coverage of the struggle to Stop Cop City and defend the Weelaunee Forest in Atlanta, Georgia. While Episode 85 offered a history and analysis of the first phases of the movement, today we present a series of anonymous first person narratives from participants who describe their inspiring and transformative experiences in the forest, originally published in August 2022 as “Beneath the Concrete, the Forest.” The episode opens with the text of a solidarity statement we’re encouraging all listeners to sign with groups or as individuals, in response to the police’s murder of forest defender Manuel “Tortuguita” Teran. Around the US and escalating repression of the movement. {January 29, 2023} -------SHOW NOTES------
Direct download: 86_Stop-Cop-City-Defend-Weelaunee-Forest_Part-II-Accounts-and-Solidarity.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:31am PDT |
Fri, 27 January 2023
The Ex-Worker is back! Episode 85 introduces the history behind the struggle to Stop Cop City and defend the Weelaunee Forest in Atlanta, Georgia. For nearly two years, a coalition of anarchists, abolitionists, environmental activists, indigenous communities, local residents, and supporters from all over has faced off against police, entertainment and construction companies, politicians, and media intent on destroying a beloved forest to build a police training compound and a film industry sound stage. Recently, the state has arrested over a dozen activists on absurd charges of “domestic terrorism,” and on January 18th, police murdered forest defender Manuel “Tortuguita” Teran. Around the US and beyond, folks are mobilizing in outrage against the killer police and the corporate and political power structures responsible for their murderous repression. In this episode, we present a long article first published in April 2022, titled The City in the Forest: Reinventing Resistance for an Age of Climate Crisis and Police Militarization, which combines a comprehensive history of the campaign to defend the forest with a strategic analysis that locates it in reference to the broader political context and other similar campaigns. Stay tuned for more coverage in Episode 86, including accounts from the forest and a solidarity statement you can sign to show support. {January 27, 2023} -------SHOW NOTES------
Direct download: 85_Stop-Cop-City-Defend-Weelaunee-Forest-Part-I-History-and-Analysis.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:19am PDT |
Fri, 15 April 2022
April 15th is Steal Something From Work Day! For over a decade, we’ve celebrated the everyday resistance that workers undertake to challenge their exploitation when the boss isn’t watching. Whether in factories or coffee shops, under capitalism or socialism, workers have always pilfered from their workplaces—not just as a way to survive or get revenge for exploitation, but as a way to channel their creativity and humanity. In this episode, we introduce listeners to our favorite holiday, answer common questions about it, and share some fascinating accounts and analyses. A “grocery store guerrilla” shares a story of theft and resistance, while a network of workplace rebels describe how they formed “The Team” to expand their class war efforts. A factory worker in Soviet Hungary relates a fascinating story of how illicitly making personal items in factories provides a window into what free creative activity could look like beyond the world of work, whether enforced by capitalist or socialist bosses. A 2020 analysis from the early days of the pandemic explores what stealing from work at the end of the world can look like, whether you’re an “essential” or remote worker. And we wrap up with a reflection on the revolutionary horizons of struggle against capitalism through and beyond stealing from work. Enjoy, and stay tuned for more audio projects exploring work, capitalism, and resistance! {April 15, 2022} -------SHOW NOTES------
Direct download: 84_Steal-Something-From-Work-Day-2022.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:59pm PDT |
Fri, 11 March 2022
Even as Russian forces continue their brutal assault on Ukraine, a growing domestic uprising is challenging the empire from within. This episode of the Ex-Worker focuses on the anti-war movement in Russia, analyzing it from an anarchist perspective and assessing the regime's power and vulnerability. The episode opens with a call to action from the March 6th day of protest across Russia and a summary of militant direct actions against the war machine. An anarchist in the provinces shares a first-person reflection on the evolution of the anti-authoritarian movement and its prospects in today's crisis, while an analysis from Autonomous Action considers Putin's miscalculations, the information war, international dynamics, and possibilities for resistance. An independent journalist discusses the nature of the protests, police responses, migration and diaspora, censorship, the role of NATO, and lessons to learn from the invasion and the protest movement. We close out with a Syrian refugee collective's reflections on how their experiences in the Syrian revolution and civil war can inform how international observers relate to the conflict. And just for fun, we throw in some hair-raising Russian songs related to protest and war. We'll continue our coverage of the crises in Ukraine and Russia—and much more—in the coming weeks, so stay tuned. {March 11, 2022} -------SHOW NOTES------
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Fri, 4 March 2022
As the Russian invasion of Ukraine proceeds, anarchists on both sides of the border are mobilizing to resist. This episode collects a variety of statements and accounts from anti-authoritarians explaining their opposition to Putin's bloodthirsty imperialism while rejecting nationalism and the state. We share messages from the newly formed anarchist Committee of Resistance in Kyiv, as well as from Russian anarchist groups including Food Not Bombs Moscow, Anarchist Fighter, and St. Petersburg's Anarchist Black Cross. These testimonies refute Russian state and authoritarian leftist propaganda about the invasion and emphasize the possibilities for resistance and solidarity. An anarchist refugee attempting to escape the war zone gives a detailed report on daily life in the midst of war, martial law, the political composition of the armed forces, the grassroots mobilization of society for defense and mutual aid, the situation at the border, and ways to show support. Stay tuned for more coverage of anarchist analysis and resistance from the front lines of imperial war. {March 4, 2022} -------SHOW NOTES------
Direct download: 82_Invasion-and-Resistance-in-Ukraine-Part-2.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:54am PDT |
Wed, 2 March 2022
As Russian tanks encircle Kyiv and hundreds of thousands of refugees flee, our hearts go out to our comrades in Ukraine resisting the Russian invasion—and to the Russian anti-war movement bringing the resistance home. In this episode, we explore the history and background context to the current crisis in Ukraine. A variety of firsthand accounts from the weeks leading up to the invasion discuss differing perspectives on the threat of war, the complexities of anti-fascism, the role of NATO, and possibilities for principled resistance in times of severe threat. We share an excerpt from an interview by Elephant in the Room with a Ukrainian anarchist discussing the political history of Ukraine since the fall of the Soviet empire, Putin's vulnerabilities, and the character of the current Ukrainian regime. A long essay written by group of Ukrainian anarchists maps out the political landscape from the Maidan protests through the present crisis, with special attention to the evolution of the anarchist movement in recent years. And a statement from Russian anarchists on the eve of the invasion highlights the shared commitment of anarchists in the region to resisting Russian imperialism while working towards a broader vision of liberation. {March 2, 2022}
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Direct download: 81_Invasion-and-Resistance-in-Ukraine-Part-1.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:55am PDT |
Fri, 18 February 2022
Opponents of vaccine mandates have established protest encampments in Ottawa and elsewhere around Canada, blockading several routes crossing the United States border. Far-right organizers and former police officers have prominent positions in this movement, and police have taken a relatively hands-off approach thus far; it appears likely that the model currently being tested in Canada will appear elsewhere around the world shortly. In this episode, we present an audio version of the article Ill Winds From Ottawa: Thinking Through the Threats and Opportunities as a Far-Right Initiative Gains Momentum, in which our correspondent in Montréal explores the sequence of events that led up to these developments, reviews the agendas of the various forces vying for control, and reflects on what we can do in a situation in which the far right has gained the initiative. {February 17, 2022}
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Mon, 5 October 2020
Anarchists and anti-fascists in general, and CrimethInc. in particular, have been the focus of intense hostile government and right-wing attention and censorship efforts in recent weeks. The latest salvo comes from the New York Times, which on June 30th published “The Truth About Today’s Anarchists,” drawing on conspiracy theorists and right-wing talking points to argue that violent anarchists are somehow controlling the ongoing countrywide protests, but don’t actually care about Black lives. The article actually calls out The Ex-Worker Podcast by name! While we’re flattered for the attention—who knew we were such a threat?—the article is both inaccurate and dangerous; more importantly, it touches on critical issues about today’s movements for liberation that we need to clarify. So in this episode, the Ex-Worker lays out the truth about “The Truth About Today’s Anarchists”, refuting the article’s bogus claims one by one, and offering a more accurate perspective on the relationships between anarchists and the ongoing movement to end white supremacy and police violence. We conclude with an audio version of an article we published with Agency in June called This Is Anarchy: Eight Ways the Black Lives Matter and Justice for George Floyd Protests Reflect Anarchist Ideas in Action. This episode challenges the myths and distortions about anarchism offered across the spectrum from Trump to the New York Times to provide insight into what anarchists today are really fighting for. {October 5, 2020}
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Direct download: 79_The-Real-Truth-About-Todays-Anarchists_The-Ex-Worker-Responds-to-the-New-York-Times.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:36pm PDT |
Thu, 11 June 2020
Today we celebrate June 11th, an international day of solidarity with long-term anarchist prisoners. While this is the sixteenth year this date has been observed, 2020 presents an unprecedented context: both the COVID–19 pandemic and the massive uprising sparked by the police murder of George Floyd have shifted our focus and sense of what’s possible. In solidarity with all prisoners, with particular care for anarchists in long-term confinement, we begin by sharing an excerpt from a history of June 11th as a day of prisoner solidarity along with the June 11th call issued for 2020. To these we add a short interview with a June 11th organizer and supporter of anarchist Green Scare prisoner Marius Mason. As politicians raise the specter of “antifa” to divide and defuse the militant anti-police resistance that has swept the US and beyond, we explore state repression of antifascists through an interview with antifascist prisoner David Campbell and his support crew. Another interview with a participant in the South Florida COVID–19 Hotline for Incarcerated People explores a model for prisoner solidarity in pandemic times. We conclude with updates on several long-term prisoners’ cases and upcoming birthdays. After today’s focus on prisoner struggles, next time we’ll return our focus to the Minneapolis uprising and the international movement to commemorate Black lives lost to police violence. {June 11th, 2020}
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Direct download: 78_June-11th_Prisoner-Solidarity-COVID-19-and-Anti-Police-Rebellion.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:48am PDT |
Wed, 10 June 2020
The killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police has sparked a nationwide rebellion against the police and global solidarity efforts. One of the most striking developments is the announcement on Sunday, June 7 by a majority of Minneapolis City Council members that they intend to dismantle the city’s police department. In Episode 77 of the Ex-Worker—the first in a series covering the Minneapolis uprising and its national and global implications—we return to the question of abolishing the police. The episode kicks off with our reflections from these unprecedented first two weeks of rebellion, then shares an essay exploring the question we’re all asking: What Will it Take to Stop the Police From Killing? Next, we share an anonymous report on the siege of the Third Precinct in Minneapolis, analyzing how a diverse “compositional” crowd was able to defeat the police. An anarchist from Minneapolis who attended the rally where the City Council declared their intention to end the police department shares their take on the background and context leading to the announcement and how abolitionist organizers, rioters, artists, and others joined forces to make abolition imaginable. We conclude with our thoughts about how the struggle against police might unfold beyond Minneapolis in the months to come. Stay tuned for more episodes soon on the Minneapolis uprising, June 11th, and prisoner struggles, international solidarity with the rebellions, and more! {June 10th, 2020}
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Direct download: 77_Minneapolis-Uprising-Part-1_How-to-Abolish-the-Police.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:24pm PDT |
Wed, 8 April 2020
Here at the Ex-Worker, we continue to navigate the COVID–19 crisis by seeking guidance and insight from three anarchist nurses who are working on the frontlines of the pandemic. First, we hear from an anarchist ER nurse from the southwest US who offers reflections on individual and community health, mutual aid projects, and how to stay safe through the epidemic. You’ll hear a brief discussion of the promise and peril of antibody testing and the concept of an immunity passport. After that, we share a long conversation with two anarchist nurses from New Orleans, Louisiana on a wide range of topics, including harm reduction, how to support healthcare workers, the legacy of AIDS activism, delineating between authority and expertise, and lots more. We close out the show with urgent appeals of support for families at Black Mesa as well as incarcerated radicals , Kijana Tashiri Askari, Leonard Peltier, David Campbell, and all prisoners trapped on the inside through the pandemic. {April 8th, 2020}
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Direct download: 76_Anarchist-Nurses-Speak-Out-on-Survival-and-Resistance.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:13pm PDT |
Tue, 31 March 2020
This April 1st, people around the world will go on strike and refuse to pay rent. In the midst of the pandemic, we are confronted not only with a virus, but with the murderous logic of the market. Before COVID–19 hit, millions already struggled to afford rent, mortgage, or loan payments; today, all but the wealthiest face ruin, caught between either sickness or poverty. It’s inevitable that most of us will not be able to pay the bills next month—but what we do about it is up to us. This episode offers tools, examples, and history to support you and your neighbors in withdrawing your support from the regime of rent and debt and to devote what resources you have to nourishing yourself and your community through mutual aid. We’ll share excerpts from CrimethInc. texts promoting the strike, discuss the 5 Demands framework and anarchist critiques of it, work through concrete tactical suggestions from a rent strike tool kit, present an invitation to a strike from the West Coast and an interview with the radical housing collective Station 40, and offer a condensed version of an inspiring history of rent strikes around the world over the past century. {March 31st, 2020}
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Tue, 31 March 2020
The COVID–19 crisis presents both extreme dangers and opportunities. As our lives are threatened by a new virus, our freedom is menaced by authoritarians intent on using this opportunity to set new precedents for state intervention and control. On the other hand, the collapse of the global capitalist economy and unprecedented social crisis are opening possibilities for refusal and resistance that we could not have imagined even a month ago. How can we keep ourselves healthy while resisting the intensification of control and pressing our advantage to undo capitalist relations? To open our discussion of life and resistance in the new pandemic landscape, we present the recent CrimethInc. text Surviving the Virus: An Anarchist Guide, which explores how to apply anarchist tools such as affinity groups and security culture to organizing our lives during the pandemic. We discuss the significance of nationalism and xenophobia in political discourse around pandemics today and in history, including the intriguing story of how the so-called “Spanish Flu” of 1918–19 got its name. Comrades in Italy offer us Against the Coronavirus and the Opportunism of the State, their report on the early days of the pandemic and quarantine in and around Milan. The episode concludes with an appeal to our listeners to let us know how we can best support all of you during the challenging times ahead. Please reach out and let us know! Whatever the future brings, we will be with you in solidarity as we confront the challenges and possibilities of pandemic life. {March 31st, 2020}
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Direct download: 74_Surviving-the-Virus_An-Anarchist-Introduction-to-Pandemic-Life.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:19am PDT |
Fri, 17 January 2020
DESCARGAR AQUÍ LAS ENTREVISTAS EN ESPAÑOL Just days into the new year, masked encapuchados circle-pitted while burning the church of the Carabineros. That’s how fierce the Friday protests continue to be. Action has somewhat (not entirely!) slowed down on the other days of the week, but anarchists have taken advantage of the extra time to pour energy into organizing: neighborhood assemblies, prisoner defense, and anarchist congresses. Students are burning their university entrance exams—a preview of what’s to come when the school year begins anew in February. We have interviews from the streets, from the anarchist congresses, and with an anarcho-syndicalist healthcare workers’ union. With everything going on, we feel like we have to leave the podcast behind and film a documentary. Check out our wishlist and get in touch if you can help us get the gear we need: podcast@crimethinc.com. {January 17th, 2020}
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Direct download: 73_Radio-Evasion_Dispatches-from-Chile-Part-4.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:47am PDT |
Fri, 29 November 2019
DESCARGAR AQUÍ EL EPISODIO EN ESPAÑOL Has normality returned to Chile? NO! Social peace? Neither! The people don’t want peace without dignity. To borrow a phrase from the situationists, the people don’t want the peace of the graveyard. The revolt has been going on for over a month now. In this episode we have two reports about the day-to-day reality of the demonstrations in downtown Santiago, two interview with anarchists in Santiago and Valparaiso, an analysis on the April 2020 constitutional plebiscite, and a couple of strange, surprise interviews too. If you can help us with Spanish translation or transcription, please write us at podcast@crimethinc.com. {November 29th, 2019}
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Direct download: 72_Radio-Evasin_Dispatches-from-Chile-Part-3.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:31am PDT |
Fri, 1 November 2019
Two weeks of revolt in Chile and there are no signs of it slowing down! In this Radio Evasión dispatch, we bring you up to speed on all the developments in the past week: the president’s attempts to quell the protests with reforms, the lifting of Martial Law, and the cancellation of the upcoming APEC trade summit. We have two communiqués translated into English from Chile, and eight interviews! This episode we tried to focus on not just the combative protests at Plaza Italia downtown, but also represent a little bit of how the neighborhoods on the periphery of the city are getting organized with cacerolazos, cultural events, barricades, and people’s assemblies.For feedback, ideas for interview questions, or to contribute material, send us an e-mail at podcast@crimethinc.com. {November 1st, 2019}
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Direct download: 71_Radio-Evasin_Dispatches-from-Chile-Part-2.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:14am PDT |
Fri, 25 October 2019
Beginning last Monday, October 14, high school students in Santiago, Chile kicked off a campaign of mass fare-dodging, or evasiones, in response to a 30 peso fare hike. The movement grew quickly and, before anyone knew it, revolt spread all across Chile. On the one hand, the government declared a State of Exception, including a military-imposed curfew. On the other hand, the president and congress have been working hard to offer trablescrap reforms to satisfy the angry and exploited. However, neither the repression nor the reforms have been able to quell the resistance, which today celebrates its anniversary of one week in the streets. To catch you up on what’s been happening, we bring you an overview timeline of the revolt, along with four interviews from the streets. We’re not sure if this will be a one-off episode or the first in a series of updates from Chile, it all depends on how things go—whether they heat up or cool down, but for feedback, ideas for interview questions, or to contribute material, send us an e-mail at podcast@crimethinc.com. {October 25th, 2019}
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Direct download: 70_Radio-Evasin_dispatches-from-Chile-Part-1.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:25am PDT |
Wed, 23 October 2019
As the news breaks of a Russian-Turkish alliance determined to stamp out Kurdish autonomy, what’s at stake in the international fight to defend Rojava? This episode continues our exploration of the embattled revolution in northeastern Syria through interviews with a variety of anarchists who have engaged in international solidarity work there. One recounts the women’s movement and the impact on gender roles of the autonomous social experiments in Rojava, while another provides an inside look at the armed forces and the struggle against ISIS. Participants in the Internationalist Commune describe their educational and ecological projects, and two anarchist combat medics serving with the SDF in the war zone describe their experiences. We hope these will deepen your understanding of this complex effort to remake society from the ground up amidst war and fascism on all sides—and strengthen your solidarity efforts, as we fight to support the resistance in Rojava. As we mentioned last time: even though we’re focusing on the crisis in Kurdistan again for this episode, let’s not forget that even as the Turkish bombs are falling, other important rebellions are taking place across the world—in Chile, in Catalunya, in Ecuador, in Haiti, in Lebanon, in Hong Kong, and beyond. We’ll have more coverage of these and other revolts through the Ex-Worker and on the CrimethInc. blog in the days and weeks to come, so stay tuned! {October 23nd, 2019}
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Direct download: 69_Defend-Rojava_Part-4_More-Interviews-on-Revolution-and-Solidarity.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:54am PDT |
Tue, 22 October 2019
The revolutionary social experiments in the Kurdish territories of northeastern Syria remain under attack. As SDF forces mount fierce resistance in Sêre Kaniyê and waves of outraged protest sweep the world, the news in recent days has been full of the “ceasefire” negotiated by Turkey and US Vice President Pence. But what is really going on? And why is it so important to aspiring revolutionaries around the world? In Episode 68 of The Ex-Worker, we begin by deconstructing this so-called ceasefire, drawing on an account and analysis shared by anarchist volunteer currently in the war zone. But the bulk of this episode consists of an in-depth interview with an anarchist from the US who participated in a solidarity education delegation in Rojava this summer. She offers detailed insights into daily life amidst revolution and war, the council system and other social and political institutions, the role of military veterans and martyrs in public life, processes for absorbing criticisms and revising revolutionary praxis, and the lessons learned for organizing back in the US. We conclude with a message from another internationalist volunteer sent days ago as the bombs began to fall in Sêre Kaniyê, appealing for action. This episode continues tomorrow as we release a second installment featuring more interviews exploring armed struggle, gender roles, and daily life in Rojava. Even though we’re focusing on the crisis in Kurdistan again for this episode, let’s not forget that even as the Turkish bombs are falling, other important rebellions are taking place across the world—in Chile, in Catalunya, in Ecuador, in Haiti, in Lebanon, in Hong Kong, and beyond. We’ll have more coverage of these and other revolts through the Ex-Worker and on the CrimethInc. blog in the days and weeks to come, so stay tuned! {October 22nd, 2019}
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Direct download: 68_Defend-Rojava_Part-3_The-So-Called-Ceasefire-and-Whats-At-Stake.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:31am PDT |
Wed, 16 October 2019
As the crisis in Rojava deepens and political turmoil spreads across the world, it’s critical for us to understand how we got here. Who exactly are the Kurds, and why have so many thousands of them been willing to risk their lives fighting against ISIS and to defend their autonomy? What can we learn from their struggle? In this episode, we examine the historical background to today’s conflict by looking at the decades of militant Kurdish resistance that led up to the formation of the autonomous cantons of Rojava. You’ll hear an audio version of CrimethInc.’s detailed 2015 essay “Understanding the Kurdish Resistance: A Historical Overview and Eyewitness Report,” which tracks the emergence of the Kurdish Worker’s Party (PKK) and its conflicts with Turkish nationalism, waves of insurgency and repression, the evolution of Kurdish radical thought, the Revolutionary Patriotic Youth Movement, the Gezi Park uprising in Istanbul, the siege of Kobane, and lots more. To bring you up to date on developments since then, we also share an interview with one of the authors of the essay, in which we explore the impact of the failed 2016 coup attempt in Turkey, repression of social movements, Erdoğan’s goals with the invasion, and prospects for resistance and solidarity. Stay tuned later this week for more interviews with people who’ve participated in the social revolution in Rojava. {October 16th, 2019}
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Direct download: 67_Defend-Rojava_Part_2_Understanding-the-Kurdish-Resistance.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:17am PDT |
Mon, 14 October 2019
An urgent crisis is unfolding in northern Syria, with implications for global geopolitics and revolutionary possibilities for years to come. In response to US troop withdrawal and a green light from President Trump, the Turkish military has invaded Rojava, an autonomous Kurdish region within the borders of Syria, killing hundreds and displacing over 100,000 so far. Activists around the world have condemned the invasion as a boon to ISIS, a prelude to ethnic cleansing of the Kurdish population, and an effort to destroy an important experiment in self-organization by an increasingly fascist regime. The Kurdish-led Syrian Defense Forces have just struck a deal with the regime of Bashar al-Assad to bring Russian-backed Syrian government troops into Rojava in hopes of halting the Turkish advance. The experiments in autonomy and democratic confederalism enacted in the cantons of Rojava have been inspiring to many anarchists; but the combination of the dire threat of annihilation by the Turkish military and the painful compromises necessary for survival have put this radical legacy in question. How did this happen? And what can we do? This is the first episode in a series The Ex-Worker will release this week exploring the current crisis. We bring you up to date on the circumstances surrounding the invasion with first-hand reports, analysis, responses to criticisms of solidarity efforts, and more. We conclude with a call to action and info on how to plug in to the global wave of resistance against the invasion. Stay tuned later this week for more historical background, interviews, and more! {October 14th, 2019}
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Direct download: 66_Defend-Rojava-Part-1_The-Turkish-Invasion.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:55am PDT |
Wed, 18 September 2019
On August 26th, riot police under orders from the newly elected right-wing government stormed and evicted four squatted social centers in the Exarchia neighborhood of Athens, Greece, in a serious attack on both precarious migrants and the anarchist and anti-authoritarian movements. In response, Greek anarchists have organized assemblies and demonstrations, while solidarity efforts have poured out from across the world. Both shaken and inspired by these events, the Ex-Worker podcast has emerged from hibernation to ask anarchists in Exarchia what’s going on and what needs to be done. This episode explores the situation in Exarchia through three interviews with anarchist residents of the renowned radical neighborhood. The first is an audio version of “The New War on Immigrants and Anarchists in Greece,” published on the CrimethInc. blog on August 28th, which gives an in-depth analysis of the evictions with historical context and insight into the dynamics of the Greek anarchist movement, supplemented by an excerpt from the 2015 piece “Syriza Can’t Save Greece.” The second is a long discussion with a squatter from the Lelas Karagianni 37 squat in Exarchia, the oldest squat in Greece and a central hub for assemblies and anarchist organizing in Athens; it touches on the role of the media and the previous Syriza regime in paving the way to this wave of attacks; the anarchist movement’s strategy for regaining the initiative from the state; and the significance of international solidarity. The third and shortest interview with the Void Network reports back on the September 14th anti-repression demonstration in Athens and reflects on the prospects for ongoing resistance. Tune in to learn more about this critical struggle to defend freedom and autonomy in an inspiring enclave of radical experimentation. {September 18th, 2019}
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Direct download: 65_Greek-Anarchists-Fight-Back-in-Exarchia.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:36am PDT |
Thu, 13 June 2019
Welcome to Episode 11, the final installment of No Wall They Can Build, the Ex-Worker Podcast’s serialized audiobook exploring borders and migration across North America. This episode concludes the book with personal reflections about the author’s own journey in and out of the desert and the unavoidable links that bind all of us across all borders. To become a real force for change, those who would act in solidarity must overcome the limits of privilege politics and guilt, understanding our activities as fighting for our own lives and dismantling the illusion of separation between ourselves and others. What links migrants, solidarity workers, and all people struggling to survive amidst the disorienting nightmare of postmodern civilization is the pursuit of dignity—a sentiment beautifully expressed in a message sent by Rachel Corrie, an American solidarity worker in occupied Palestine, to her mother in 2003 just weeks before she was murdered by an Israeli bulldozer while attempting to stop a home demolition. Two final stories—one chilling and one touching—illustrate the astonishing peril of the desert even for experienced travelers, and the solace that unexpected alliances with creatures of the desert can provide for migrants and solidarity workers alike. Ultimately, the book concludes, to end death in the desert, to rediscover our own humanity, and to have any hope of our survival on this planet, there is one thing in common that we all must do—find our way back home. {June 13th, 2019}
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Direct download: No-Wall-They-Can-Build_Episode-11_From-East-to-West-Part-II_Solidarity-and-Home.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:20am PDT |
Thu, 6 June 2019
Welcome to Episode 10 of No Wall They Can Build, the Ex-Worker Podcast’s serialized audiobook exploring borders and migration across North America. Over the past two months, we’ve explored the ins and outs of irregular migration across the US/Mexico border. Where does it leave us? As the crises produced by climate change and economic exploitations intensify across the world, revolutions turn in to wars, which beget tyranny, which in turn provoke revolutions. In this climate of escalating chaos, what can we do? This episode explores the meaning of revolution in the twenty-first century, looking at the forms it has taken and assessing what it would take to defend it today. The Zapatista struggle offers one of the most durable and promising models of autonomy we’ve seen in recent decades—yet the limits it has encountered point towards unavoidable contradictions facing those who wish to avoid warfare and bloodshed but also cannot defend their achievements against remorseless foes without the force of arms. A harrowing story about the siege of San Juan Copala, an indigenous community whose effort to secure autonomy from the Mexican state was brutally crushed, illustrates the agonizing dilemma that faces would-be revolutionaries today. This episode offers an unflinching look at the perils confronting those who would defy these global systems driving displacement and death, setting the stage for our final installment next week on solidarity and coming home. {June 6th, 2019}
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Direct download: No-Wall-They-Can-Build_Episode-10_From-East-to-West-Part-I_Chaos-and-Order-and-Transformation.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:45pm PDT |
Wed, 29 May 2019
Welcome to Episode 9 of No Wall They Can Build, the Ex-Worker Podcast’s serialized audiobook exploring borders and migration across North America. The border doesn’t end at the border: the violent regime of citizenship constrains and ruins lives throughout the north, as a chilling story of a narrow escape from death makes clear. Yet this ongoing migration constitutes, against all odds, a powerful form of resistance that is changing the United States in unpredictable ways. This installment begins to explore what it might take to actually end death in the desert—which would also mean dismantling the global systems of exploitation, colonialism, white supremacy, and state power that lie at its roots. We can take inspiration and strategic guidance from some of the stories that appear in this episode, ranging from an extraordinary migrant whose ingenuity and determination helped him to survive multiple crossings against unthinkable odds to a team of civil disobedience activists whose simple action managed to briefly grind part of the migrant detention industrial complex to a halt. Listening won’t offer a single path, program, or tactic that’s guaranteed to work, but rather a way of thinking about resistance at multiple points of intervention that can start wherever you are. Whatever action you take, it’s time to take sides.
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Direct download: No-Wall-They-Can-Build_Episode-9_The-North.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:01am PDT |
Wed, 22 May 2019
No Wall They Can Build, Episode 8: Designed to Kill, Part II – The Border Patrol, The Game, and The Desert
Welcome to Episode 8 of No Wall They Can Build, the Ex-Worker Podcast’s serialized audiobook exploring borders and migration across North America. This installment continues to explore the reality of border policy by taking a closer look at the agency that enforces it, describing the atrocities that its agents perpetrate and their mindsets to justify it. The Border Patrol is merely one of the largest and most vicious players in a game that brings lucrative profits to a host of players on both sides of the border, at the expense of the vulnerable migrants who are driven into the desert. The episode concludes with a discussion of the environmental landscape of the desert itself and a poignant reflection on its harsh beauty, envisioning the healing of the land when one day it will no longer be scarred by borders. {May 22, 2019}
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Direct download: No-Wall-They-Can-Build_Episode-8_Designed-to-Kill_Part_II_The-Border-Patrol-The-Game-and-The-Desert.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:29am PDT |
Wed, 15 May 2019
Welcome to Episode 7 of No Wall They Can Build, the Ex-Worker Podcast’s serialized audiobook exploring borders and migration across North America. The Border Patrol, with its swollen budget and lavish technologies, clearly has the technical capacity to stop most, if not all, traffic across the border, yet their behavior seems to be at odds with their stated objective. This installment investigates the actual goal of border policy—which is not to end “illegal immigration,” but to control and manage it. While preventing this migration altogether would have catastrophic effects on the US economy, using selective enforcement to funnel traffic into increasingly remote areas while militarizing and hyper-policing certain areas maintains the labor supply while ratcheting up the profits to be made at every step in the process. A variety of stories—some heartbreaking, some hilarious—illustrate how this approach to enforcement impacts the lives of everyday people as they attempt to travel north into the United States. This episode identifies the various parties—both Republicans and Democrats, private prison and tech corporations, Mexican officials and cartels—who benefit from this counter-intuitive and cruel border policy… while reminding us of its horrific cost in human lives. {May 15, 2019}
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Direct download: No-Wall-They-Can-Build_Episode-7_Designed-to-Kill_Part-I_Who-Benefits.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:03am PDT |
Wed, 8 May 2019
Welcome to Episode 6 of No Wall They Can Build, the Ex-Worker Podcast’s serialized audiobook exploring borders and migration across North America. This installment investigates the three-tiered border and the process of crossing it, focusing on the places where the most deaths occur—southern Arizona and South Texas. The story of Arivaca, a small community of ranchers and hippies, shows how state arrogance and vigilante brutality turned the population towards solidarity with migrants. The complex politics of the Tohono O’odham reservation at Komkch’ed e Wah ‘osithk (Sells) reflect the fraught relationship between migration, colonialism, and the challenges facing indigenous communities today. The barren deserts and army base lands around Ajo mark some of the most grim and hazardous terrain of the entire border, while the recent surge in deaths around Falfurrias indicates the urgent need for further solidarity. Explanation of the actual mechanics of crossing the border, and the terrible perils faced by vulnerable migrants along the way, is supplemented by a poignant story about two flawed heroes of the desert. This episode paints a vivid picture of where and how migration into the United States actually happens, and the dangers stalking every step across the harsh landscape of the borderlands. {May 8, 2019}
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Direct download: No-Wall-They-Can-Build_Episode-6_The-Border.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:59am PDT |
Wed, 1 May 2019
Happy May Day, everyone! Welcome to Episode 5 of No Wall They Can Build, the Ex-Worker Podcast’s serialized audiobook exploring borders and migration across North America. Having discussed the political and economic forces that drive migration north, this week’s installment examines how people get from Central America to the US/Mexico border. The routes vary in risk and cost, and are stratified depending on a traveler’s wealth and nationality, from navigating the expensive and infuriating process of attempting to secure a visa to braving La Bestia, the notoriously dangerous freight trains heading north. Some hazard the northeastern route to Reynosa through Zetas cartel territory, while many traverse the northwestern route to Altar through Sinaloa cartel lands and towards the Sonoran desert. The “unaccompanied minors crisis” of 2013–2014 serves as a case study for how the machinations of powerful states, cartels, and corporations can impact the lives of migrants. Understanding the dynamics of border crossing requires an in-depth look at the economics of the marijuana trade, concluding with a thought-provoking analysis of politics of drug legalization and an unflinching look at the customs and border patrol corruption that makes the trade possible. This episode reframes our understanding of the multi-stage process of migrating north and the power relations and economic imperatives that shape the experiences of migrants as they set off into the desert towards the United States. {May 1, 2019}
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Direct download: No-Wall-They-Can-Build_Episode-5_The-Trip-and-The-Product.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:20am PDT |
Wed, 24 April 2019
Welcome to Episode 4 of No Wall They Can Build, the Ex-Worker Podcast’s serialized audiobook exploring borders and migration across North America. This week’s installment continues the previous episode’s exploration of the conditions south of the border that drive migration north by surveying the situation in the three countries of the “Northern Triangle.” Guatemala’s malnourished, heavily indigenous population languishes in poverty under oligarchic rule, the legacy of centuries of colonialism and a devastating civil war. Our narrator analyzes the numerous problems plaguing the country and examines the unfinished struggle for freedom and dignity that prompted the war, including its impact on global revolutionary imagination through its influence on the Zapatistas. The horrifying levels of violence in El Salvador trace their roots both to economic pressures and to US support for the former reactionary military regime during a bloody civil war. The section concludes with a hair-raising anecdote about the guerrilla movement’s creative revenge against a genocidal army officer. A brief note on the profound dysfunction of Honduras, stemming from the structure of North American economy, is followed by a discussion of the tensions between these four Central American nations and their inhabitants. This episode rounds out our picture of the recent history of the region and the dynamics that push people from their homelands on the perilous trip towards the US/Mexico border. {April 24, 2019}
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Direct download: No-Wall-They-Can-Build_Episode-4_The-South_Part-II_Guatemala_El-Salvador_and_Honduras.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:58am PDT |
Wed, 17 April 2019
Welcome to Episode 3 of No Wall They Can Build, the Ex-Worker Podcast’s serialized audiobook exploring borders and migration across North America. This installment begins exploring the conditions south of the border that drive migration north by exploring the recent history and economy of Mexico. As NAFTA’s “free trade” policies impoverished and displaced millions, border militarization altered previous patterns of seasonal migration and established a permanent undocumented underclass of millions in the United States. The author cuts through myths around the “drug war,” helping to explain the complex web of players from the Sinaloa and Zetas cartels to the Mexican state and the social movements that contest them both—and how the situation might be transformed, if US drug and immigration policies changed. The episode concludes with an inspiring story of the determined and colorful resistance to state violence by the community of San Salvador Atenco. This episode provides a brief introduction to the fierce, many-sided conflicts across Mexico resulting from the actions of the US government and exacerbated by the Mexican state and cartels, but always contested by popular forces. {April 17, 2019}
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Direct download: No-Wall-They-Can-Build_Episode-3_Mexico_Part-I_The-South.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:06am PDT |
Wed, 10 April 2019
Welcome to Episode 2 of No Wall They Can Build, the Ex-Worker Podcast’s serialized audiobook exploring borders and migration across North America. This installment continues last week’s introduction by Defining Terms—just what do we mean by the border, migrants, refugees, solidarity workers, and other key phrases? To begin the long section describing movement From South to North, The Aftermath lays out an unflinching view of the 500-year history of colonization, slavery, and genocide on which today’s capitalist economy and border regimes are based, followed by a harrowing tale of survival by a desert migrant. The Travelers lays out the forces pushing migrants from Mexico and the Northern Triangle (Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras) north towards the United States, illustrating the economics of the situation through a moving story in which migrants and solidarity workers work out the mathematics of international exploitation together. This chapter demystifies the basic dynamics at play in North American migration and evocatively illustrates their human cost. {April 10, 2019}
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Direct download: No-Wall-They-Can-Build_Episode_2_Defining-Terms_The-Aftermath_and_The-Travelers.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:59pm PDT |
Wed, 3 April 2019
The Ex-Worker Podcast Collective is kicking off the serialized release of our first full audiobook, No Wall They Can Build: A Guide to Borders and Migration Across North America. We’ve divided this riveting first person account of life and death in the borderlands into eleven chapters, and over the next three months, we’ll be releasing them in weekly installments each Wednesday. Today, you’ll hear Episode 1: Introduction, which describes how the book was written by a solidarity worker along the US/Mexico border over years of trials and tribulations, and lays out a basic framework for understanding the global apartheid enforced by the border regime. You’ll hear a heartbreaking story about the brutality of migrant detention, and an inspiring one about surviving the journey north against all odds. This episode sets the stage for the in-depth analysis and longer stories of the chapters to come. {April 3, 2019}
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Direct download: No-Wall-They-Can-Build_1_Introduction.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:35am PDT |
Mon, 1 April 2019
The Ex-Worker is back! Over the next three months, we will be releasing an audio version of CrimethInc.’s 2018 book, No Wall They Can Build: A Guide to Borders and Migration in North America, divided into eleven episodes released every week. In this short episode, we reflect on the evolution of the Ex-Worker podcast as a project, and set the scene for the forthcoming audiobook. In the year and a half since the book was released, much attention has focused on the US/Mexico border, and Trump’s anti-immigrant policies and rhetoric have prompted widespread resistance. However, the crisis of raids, family separations, inhumane detention, and death and disappearance in the borderlands was in full swing during the Obama administration, and has roots stretching far back in the history of the United States. To provide context for what’s been going on around the border since the book was published, a volunteer from the solidarity group No More Deaths joins us to talk about changes and continuities between the Obama and Trump eras, the impact of the administration’s efforts to build a wall on communities around the border, updates on state repression against the group’s volunteers, and the wave of resistance and solidarity building towards a world of free movement. Want to learn more? We’ll be releasing the first installment of No Wall They Can Build later this week—stay tuned! {April 1, 2019}
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Direct download: 64_Announcing-Our-First-Audiobook_No-Wall-They-Can-Build.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:33pm PDT |
Wed, 28 November 2018
It’s our last episode of the season! We have a big report on the Yellow Vests movement in France, and how it shows the need to move beyond the loyal opposition of centrism versus fascism. We say fuck Thanksgiving some, fuck the border a lot, fuck border patrol even more, fuck the government, fuck pipelines, fuck Wal-Mart, but thanks so much to all our wonderful listeners. Stay anarchy. {November 28, 2018}
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Direct download: The-Hotwire_47_Destroy-borders_Wallywood_Yellow-Vests_Fuck-Thanksgiving_Seasons-last-episode.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:28am PDT |
Wed, 21 November 2018
In our second to last episode of 2018, we bring you reports from the anti-fascist counter-demonstrations against right-wing rallies in Philadelphia and Portland. We also bring you a humble, frank letter from anti-fascists who have recently been doxxed in North Carolina. Mutual Aid efforts—organized and spontaneous—are popping up in response to the Camp Fire and to defend the migrant caravan in Tijuana from nationalist haters. From coast to coast, climbers get up in trees and ontop of pipeline construction equipment to defend forests. In Chile, a wave of revolt has spread after the police murder of 14-year-old Mapuche villager Camilo Catrillanca. There is already anti-anarchist repression ahead of the G20 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. {November 21, 2018}
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Direct download: The-Hotwire_46_Camilo-Catrillanca_Comrades-speak-out_-on-being-doxxed_Mutual-aid-after-Camp-Fire.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:23am PDT |
Wed, 14 November 2018
On the 80th anniversary of Kristallnacht, liberals and centrists are once more playing right into fascists’ hands. Our feature this episode is a reading of the recent CrimethInc. op-ed “Take Your Pick: Law or Freedom; How ‘Nobody Is above the Law’ Abets the Rise of Tyranny,” about the outrageously liberal demonstrations over Trump firing Jeff Sessions. We also interview an anarchist who was at the protest outside Tucker Carlson’s home in Washington D.C. about what really happened there, Twitter’s banning of anti-fascists, and why it’s important to take the offensive in the struggle against fascism. Friday, November 9 was the 80th anniversary of Kristallnacht, and we bring you a round up of fascist, anti-fascist, and centrist actions from the weekend. Send us news, events, or ideas on how our show can better serve anarchist activity in your town by emailing us at podcast@crimethinc.com. {November 14, 2018}
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Direct download: The-Hotwire_45_The-empires-centrism-strikes-back_Anti-fascism-80-years-after-Kristallnacht.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:39am PDT |
Wed, 7 November 2018
We kick off the episode with a discussion about anarchism and voting. After a roundup of resistance to capitalism and the state, our feature this episode is about Trump’s deployment of thousands of troops to “defend the border” and how it is in most people’s interest to push back on this latest precedent of using the military against civilian populations. We remember recently deceased anarchists Zhlobitsky Mikhail Vasilyevich and Kevin Garrido. There are calls for mobilizations on the border in the coming weeks, updates from the Vaughn 17 trial, and announcements of anti-fascist actions for the 80th anniversary of Kristallnacht. Send us news, events, or ideas on how our show can better serve anarchist activity in your town by emailing us at podcast@crimethinc.com. {November 7, 2018}
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Direct download: The-Hotwire_44_Troops-at-the-border_Anarchism-vs-voting_Remembering-comrades-who-died-recently.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm PDT |
Wed, 31 October 2018
No news is good news. 60% of wildlife has been wiped off the planet since 1970. Mexican police kill a man in the migrant caravan on the border with Guatemala. Ever since Trump openly declared himself a nationalist last week, there has been an escalation of far-right violence. We interview an anarchist who works at the Tree of Life synagogue where an anti-Semite massacred 11 people on Saturday, as well as two people in the Outlive Them network about the upcoming International Days of Action against Fascism and Anti-Semitism. We also draw connections between the election of Bolsonaro in Brazil and anarchist resistance to Trump and democracy itself in the United States. Send us news, events, or ideas on how our show can better serve anarchist activity in your town by emailing us at podcast@crimethinc.com. {October 31, 2018}
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Direct download: The-Hotwire_43_Interviews-with-Anarchist-Jews-on-Tree-of-Life-massacre_Bolsonaro-wins-in-Brazil.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:32am PDT |
Wed, 24 October 2018
We have a flurry of headlines from around the globe, with the migrant caravan from Honduras breaking through the Mexico-Guatemala border, indigenous comrades and their allies building prayer lodges in the path of the line 3 pipeline, London antifascists successfully blocking an anti-Muslim march, anarchists rioting in Barcelona after being evicted from their squat, and accounts of Chilean police attacking student protestors. Water protectors have been hard at work opposing the Mountain Valley Pipeline, and Panama City landlords have begun evicting devastated residents from their homes. You’ll hear from Carbondale anarchists mobilizing against Trump and right-wing reaction, and a hotline created by New Orleans antifascists to document Proud Boy activity—plus much more! Send us news, events, or ideas on how our show can better serve anarchist activity in your town by emailing us at podcast@crimethinc.com. {October 24, 2018}
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Direct download: The-Hotwire_42_Migrant-Caravan_Antifascist-Assembly-in-Carbondale_NOLA-Proud-Boy-Alert-Hotline.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:50pm PDT |
Wed, 17 October 2018
Our features for this Hotwire are interviews about the Proud Boys attacks in New York City and Portland, Oregon, and we have an interview about autonomous relief after Hurricane Michael, which is also seeing organizing from neo-confederate fascists. We have a whirlwind of headlines from around the world, with breast-baring feminists burning barricades in Argentina, squatters from Ireland to Germany, and indigenous resistance in Canada. Connor Stevens of the Cleveland 4 is getting out soon, Jalil Muntaqim could use letters of support for his parole hearing, and we have calls to action from the L’eau Est La Vie anti-pipeline camp, plus much more! Send us news, events, or ideas on how our show can better serve anarchist activity in your town by emailing us at podcast@crimethinc.com. {October 17, 2018}
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Direct download: The-Hotwire_41_Proud-Boys-assaults_Hurricane-Michael-autonomous-relief_squats-and-rent-strikes.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:53am PDT |
Wed, 10 October 2018
An anarchist from Brazil fills us in on Bolsonaro, where he came from, and the dangers his presidency poses to social movements. We talk about how it’s not just killer cop Van Dyke in Chicago, or sexual assaulter Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court—it’s the system, and we propose full on ungovernability to render law and order irrelevant. We have roundups on anti-Columbus Day actions, anti-pipeline struggles, and the recent temporary victory at the Hambach Forest. Don’t miss our very special interview with one of the demonstrators at the anti-Trump march in Philadelphia, which debuted Gritty as the hot new anti-fascist mascot. Send us news, events, or ideas on how our show can better serve anarchist activity in your town by emailing us at podcast@crimethinc.com. {October 10, 2018}
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Direct download: The-Hotwire_40_Van-Dyke-verdict_Banksy_Gritty_Bolsonaro_anti-Columbus-roundup.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:28am PDT |
Wed, 3 October 2018
Alanis is back! And she reads our feature this episode, an audio version of the recent CrimethInc. text Kavanaugh Shouldn’t Be on the Supreme Court. Neither Should Anyone Else. We also interview an anarchist in Portland, Oregon about the #PatrickKimmons actions at the intersection where police killed him. Winter, one of the anarchists in jail defending Germany’s Hambach Forest in the last couple of weeks, is refusing to surrender their legal identity to the government. However, they did submit a beautiful letter to Rhineland Anarchist Black Cross, which we also read in this episode. Send us news, events, or ideas on how our show can better serve anarchist activity in your town by emailing us at podcast@crimethinc.com. {October 4, 2018}
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Direct download: The-Hotwire_39_Brett-Kavanaugh_Killer-cops-in-PDX_words-from-arrested-Hambach-forest-defenders.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:09am PDT |
Wed, 26 September 2018
Our feature this episode is an interview with an anarchist involved in one of the more spectacular autonomous relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Florence—Operation Airdrop. We follow it up with some discussion about the role of anarchist politics in doing autonomous, mutual aid relief work. We also interview someone involved in the new occupation outside campus security on Portland State University’s campus after a grand jury did not indict two killer cops for the murder of Jason Washington. The International Revolutionary People’s Guerrilla Forces is dissolving their organization, but we share their final communiqué in which they encourage us to keep up the struggle against hierarchy in all its forms. Plus, reports on the recent #MeToo McDonald’s workers strike, anti-fascist action in Tennessee, and announcements for anarchist book fairs and ways to support prisoners. Send us news, events, or ideas on how our show can better serve anarchist activity in your town by emailing us at podcast@crimethinc.com. {September 26, 2018}
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Direct download: The-Hotwire_38_An-anarchist-in-OperationAirDrop_Portland-anti-cop-occupations_IRPGF-dissolves.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:19am PDT |
Wed, 19 September 2018
The world is a dangerous place in 2018-Botham Jean is murdered in his own home by a Dallas cop and police are actively raiding the rebel encampment in the Hambach Forest. There’s inspiring strike resistance in Central and South America where striking dockworkers in Chile caused thousands of dollars in damage and a general strike in taking place in Costa Rica. Hurricane Florence took Wilmington by storm and we interview anarchists on the ground doing disaster relief. There are quite a few prisoners who need support and we read excerpts from a heartfelt statement issued by prisoners at the Burnside Prison in Halifax who are ending their strike. Anarchists in London are trying something new! And there’s lots of events coming up! Send us news, events, or ideas on how our show can better serve anarchist activity in your town by emailing us at podcast@crimethinc.com. {September 19, 2018}
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Direct download: The-Hotwire_37_Evictions-in-Hambach_Aid-Disaster-Relief-after-Florence_Strikes.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:18pm PDT |
Wed, 12 September 2018
It’s 17 years and a day after 9/11 and Iraq is still in shambles, so we rip apart liberals for thinking George W. Bush is somehow “cute”. 2001 pops up again when we compare the current economic crisis in Argentina to the wave of worker-led factory takeovers and anarchist media that resisted the last economic meltdown there. We call for anarchists to incorporate a critique of nationalism itself into our anti-fascist strategy and analysis, we include preliminary information for autonomous relief efforts based in mutual aid for #HurricaneFlorence, and we wrap up the National #PrisonStrike with an action report and a bunch of phone-zaps! Send us news, events, or ideas on how our show can better serve anarchist activity in your town by emailing us at podcast@crimethinc.com. {September 12, 2018}
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Direct download: The-Hotwire_36_PrisonStrike-ends_bring-back-anti-nationalism_economic-crisis-in-Argentina.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:12pm PDT |
Wed, 5 September 2018
In this Hotwire we bring you two interviews: one from an anarchist organizer involved in indigenous-led anti-pipeline struggles in Canada about the recent announcement that construction will be halted on the Trans Mountain Pipeline; and we speak with an anti-fascist who was on the streets of Chemnitz, Germany on Saturday when anti-fascists blocked the latest Nazi mobilization there. We also ruminate on common sense anti-racism, whether political campaigns figure into anarchist strategy, and an anarchist approach to school dress code policies. There are plenty of updates from the [#PrisonStrike](https://itsgoingdown.org/prisonstrike/) and LOTS of announcements for action in September, so listen until the end! Send us news, events, or ideas on how our show can better serve anarchist activity in your town by emailing us at podcast@crimethinc.com. {September 5, 2018}
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Direct download: The-Hotwire_35_Trans-Mountain-pipeline-paused_Chemnitz-antifa-block-Nazis_fuck-a-school-board.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:58am PDT |
Wed, 29 August 2018
This week, you will hear about an anti-Nazi picnic in Avalon, PA, some brief analysis about the Nazi mob in Chemnitz, Germany and about some folks pushing back against the Pope’s visit in Ireland]. We interview Michael Loadenthal, a social movement academic and former J20 defendant, about the riotization of protest and new strategies the state is using to criminalize dissent. We also continue to highlight the ways police and fascists are aligned. We give an extensive update about what we know so far about the 2018 Prison Strike and we interview two supporters who are championing the strike inside the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington. Finally, we wrap up the show with political prisoner birthdays and next week’s news. But, right before that-the Rebel Girl and the Riot Dog sing a duet, so seriously-listen until the end!!! Send us news, events, or ideas on how our show can better serve anarchist activity in your town by emailing us at podcast@crimethinc.com. {August 29, 2018}
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Direct download: The-Hotwire_34_PrisonStrike-update_Nazis-mobilize-in-Germany_Riotization-of-protest-interview.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:02pm PDT |
Wed, 22 August 2018
This week, you will hear updates from the Stony Creek tenant strike in Canada, some creative anti-ICE actions, and about some humorous and some of the alt-right’s recent losses. We interview Maya Little about the recent toppling of a confederate statue in North Carolina on Monday. Maya shares information about the impact of the statue on campus, some history, and some initial feelings after the fall of Silent Sam. We kick off the nationwide prison strike with an interview with an outside supporter of the strike, and a reportback from an attendee of a noise demonstration outside a prison. Finally, we wrap up the show with political prisoner birthdays and next weeks news. We’re glad to be back! Send us news, events, or ideas on how our show can better serve anarchist activity in your town by emailing us at podcast@crimethinc.com. {August 22, 2018}
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Direct download: The-Hotwire_33_PrisonStrike-kicks-off_racist-statue-toppled-in-NC_alt-right-get-self-doxxed.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:11pm PDT |
Wed, 15 August 2018
Our first episode of the new season! This week, we look back at the long, hot summer and give an update on antifascist clashes, pipeline resistance, and ICE occupations. Hundreds gathered in Charlottesville on the anniversary of the defeat of Unite the Right, drawing attention to the increasing cozy relationship between white supremacists and the police. We interview someone from Washington, DC about opposition to the Unite the Right 2 Rally held there this past weekend. Accused ELF and ALF member, Josephy Dibee was extradited to the US from Cuba and is being held in jail in Oregon. There are updates on the nationwide prison strike set to start on August 21 and list a whole slew of solidarity events you could attend. Finally, we wrap up the show with political prisoner birthdays and next weeks news. We’re glad to be back! Send us news, events, or ideas on how our show can better serve anarchist activity in your town by emailing us at podcast@crimethinc.com. {August 15, 2018}
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Direct download: The-Hotwire-32_Summer-in-Review_Antifascists-in-Charlottesville-DC_2018-Prison-Strike.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:41am PDT |
Wed, 9 May 2018
Our last episode of the season! This episode is chocked full of May Day repression updates—from FBI visits in Washington state to the dozens of anarchists rounded up in Indonesia. The New School in New York City is occupied once again, and we have an audio report! The next J20 trial begins in less than a week. Teachers, tenants, and fast food workers are getting organized and striking back against their bosses and landlords. We close the episode with a long list of summertime anarchist fun that you can get into before we’re back in the fall with more Hotwires. Make sure to check out our listeners survey and e-mail it to us! {May 9, 2018}
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CORRECTIONS & CLARIFICATIONS:
Direct download: The-Hotwire_31_Repression-in-Indonesia_Hamilton-rent-strike_J20-on-May-14_events-all-summer.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:08pm PDT |
Thu, 3 May 2018
Our annual roundup of worldwide May Day actions. We have interviews with participants in May Day actions in Puerto Rico, where there was a general strike, and Paris, whose black bloc didn’t only take the cake, they took the whole damn bakery! Indonesia saw black blocs erupt all over the country, and now a wave of politically-motivated arrests there are targeting anarchists. In the USA, opposition to ICE and deportations was one clear theme, and the calls for decentralized actions did yield some spikey vandalism in the Pacific Northwest. We also have a short update about what’s happening at La ZAD. {May 3, 2018}
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Tue, 1 May 2018
Happy May Day! Find an action near you HERE. To celebrate the anniversary of the strike that led to Haymarket, and the 8 anarchists executed for it (two of whom were anarchist media producers themselves!) we bring you our favorite anarchist news reporting from throughout history. As an anarchist news show ourselves, we wanted to pay homage to all the anarchist newspapers, zines, and other media projects that have inspired us. You’ll hear reports from as far back as the Paris Commune, the punny and irreverent 1980s British organization Class War, a 1977 article in Fifth Estate about this newfangled thing called punk rock, coverage of the very first nationwide-called-for black bloc in the US, a firsthand report from the streets of Seattle in 1999, and much more. We’ll even have guest appearances by other anarchist podcasters, like MC Sole, the Stimulator, The Final Straw’s William Goodenuff, and our friends from Resonance Audio Distro. We’ll air our regular weekly episode on Thursday, May 3—a day late—so that we can include as much May Day 2018 coverage as possible. Please e-mail us your May Day action reports by May 2 at podcast@crimethinc.com. {May 1, 2018}
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Direct download: The-Hotwire_29_MAY-DAY-Special_The-best-of-anarchist-news-reporting-from-the-vaults-uncensored.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:10am PDT |
Wed, 25 April 2018
This Hotwire we bring you an interview with an anarchist in Managua about the past few weeks of anti-government revolt in Nicaragua. We also report on the arrests of anti-fascists in Georgia, a school bus drivers’ strike also in Georgia, a hunger strike in San Diego’s jails, and community resistance to ICE raids in North Carolina. Next week we’ll bring you our regular episode a day late, but look out for a May Day special we’re releasing to tide you over—and don’t forget to e-mail us your May Day action reports at podcast@crimethinc.com! {April 25, 2018}
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Direct download: The-Hotwire_28_Anti-government-revolt-in-Nicaragua_more-treesits-in-WV_Bakunin-beats-Satanism.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:29am PDT |
Wed, 18 April 2018
It’s been a week of battle at La ZAD, and we share a day-to-day play-by-play of the resistance to the government’s eviction operation. Elsewhere in France, the Tarnac Nine’s legal victory shows that with a little luck and courage, we can beat the state. Direct action gets the goods for a university occupation against a racist student body president at Texas State University in San Marcos, we finally have an address where you can write Cedar, who is in jail on charges of conspiracy over the anti-gentrification prole stroll in Hamilton, Ontario, and we close the episode by sharing calls for May Day actions in Los Angeles, Eugene, Portland, Olympia, and Seattle. {April 18, 2018}
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Direct download: The-Hotwire_27_Legal-victory-for-the-Tarnac-9_calls-for-May-Day-actions_Vive-la-ZAD.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:32am PDT |
Wed, 11 April 2018
As we go to press, hundreds of squatters and eco-rebels are battling against cops at La ZAD in France. We interview someone there, as well as a participant in The Syrian Revolution about the no-state-solution to the Syrian government’s ongoing attacks on rebel areas. The treesits in West Virginia against the Mountain Valley Pipeline are expanding. Anarchist prisoner Sean Swain needs support. {April 11, 2018}
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Direct download: The-Hotwire_26_La-ZAD-resists-eviction_direct-action-against-pipelines-police-academy_Douma.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:21am PDT |
Wed, 4 April 2018
As we go to press, anti-police protests are ongoing over the police killing of Stephon Clark, students at Howard University in DC are still occupying the recently re-named Kwame Ture Student Center, and teachers in Kentucky and Oklahoma are on strike. This week we interview Uri Gordon, an anarchist from Israel, about the deadly repression in Gaza. We also reflect on the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Plus announcements for upcoming bookfairs, gatherings, and protest mobilizations. {April 4, 2018}
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Direct download: The-Hotwire_25_April-4_2018-Kentucky-Oklahoma-teachers-strike_anniversary-of-MLKs-death_report-on-Gaza.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:13am PDT |
Wed, 28 March 2018
As we go to press, protests in Sacramento and beyond are ongoing over the police murder of Stephon Clark. We interview an anarchist sex worker about the new FOSTA-SESTA bill and its impact on sex workers’ safety and organizing. We also feature an interview with a comrade from Quebec about the anti-capitalist mobilization against the G7 summit in Quebec in June. Don’t miss our roundup of #DefendAfrin actions that took place on March 24, or our reflections on the political moment we’re in after the March For Our Lives. {March 28, 2018}
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Direct download: The-Hotwire_24_Sacramento-against-killer-cops_DefendAfrin-actions_Anti-G7-mobilizing-in-Quebec.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:31am PDT |
Wed, 21 March 2018
Hundreds of thousands of high school students defy adult authority and walkout against mass shootings; anti-pipeline camps hold strong from Virginia to West Virginia to so-called British Columbia; we interview an anarchist in Brazil as protests erupt there after an anti-police brutality politician was assassinated; the annual march against police brutality in Montreal beats cops back; Russian anarchists explain in an interview why it’s not just Putin that’s the problem, or Trump for that matter, but the systems of power they inhabit; plus a repression round up, announcements for Saturday’s international day of action to #DefendAfrin, and calls for exciting upcoming anarchist bookfairs and speaking tours. {March 21, 2018}
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Direct download: The-Hotwire_23_Historic-school-walkouts_Alt-right-unravels_Solidarity-with-anarchists-in-Russia.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:54am PDT |
Wed, 14 March 2018
This episode we bring you two roundups: one for women’s strike actions on International Women’s Day, and another for #DefendAfrin actions across Europe. We also share a call for and international day of solidarity to #DefendAfrin on March 24. The West Virginia teachers’ strike has ended, and we share our complicated takeaways from the longest strike in West Virginia history. The alt-right is unraveling, but anti-fascists arrested in Michigan last week still need your help. Things are heating up in Hamilton, Ontario as anarchists demonstrate against gentrification and face right-wing backlash for it. Listen until the end for announcements of speaking tours, J20 updates, political prisoner birthdays, and upcoming anarchist bookfairs. {March 14, 2018}
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Direct download: The-Hotwire_22_Intl-Womens-Day-actions_DefendAfrin-solidarity_WV-teachers-strike-ends.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:31am PDT |
Wed, 7 March 2018
This episode we bring you two interviews. The first is an on-the-ground report from the days of anti-fascist action against Richard Spencer’s visit to Detroit and Lansing, with a plea for bail funds to help arrested anti-fascists. Next, we interview a West Virginian anarchist about what makes the teachers’ strike there so unique and important. We plug a call from the West Virginia IWW for how to support and spread the strike. Throughout the episode we make the case for an international, revolutionary movement that can do away with all forms of hierarchy and kyriarchy! {February 28, 2018}
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Direct download: The-Hotwire_21_Lansing-protests-fascists_teachers-strike-grows-spreads_3-cheers-for-anarchy.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:02am PDT |
Wed, 28 February 2018
While students walk out of classes all over the country (and occasionally fight cops) we make the pitch for an anarchist youth liberation movement. In wild, wonderful, and apparently rebellious West Virginia, striking school employees have shut down every public school in the state, while treesitters are putting up resistance to the Mountain Valley Pipeline. We also share calls to support political prisoner Joy Powell, as well as a fundraising drive for a radical café in Istanbul. Listen until the end for announcements of three different speaking tours in March: one about anarchist responses to natural disasters, one about the anarchist critique of democracy, and one all about the J20 case and why the remaining 59 defendants deserve your utmost support. {February 28, 2018}
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Direct download: The-Hotwire_20_West-Virginia-teachers-strike_Studen-walkouts-everywhere_Youth-liberation-NOW.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:51am PDT |
Wed, 21 February 2018
This episode is packed to the gills with news! There is antifa activity in Tennessee and folks in the Northwest continue to hold it down against the fascist creep. Solidarity for Afrin spreads and an inspiring model to fight ICE raids emerges out of Koreatown, Los Angeles. We offer some analysis about the school shooting in Parkland, FL and interview both an anarchist attending the student led rallies there and an anarchist author who’s written about gun control. There is a short update on the repression Florida prisoners are enduring due to Operation Push. Walter Bond is in need of support and we have some good news about accused confederate statue topplers in Durham, NC. To wrap things up, there are loads of upcoming events, so stay tuned until the end! {February 21, 2018}
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Direct download: The-Hotwire_19_Florida-School-Shooting-Gun_Control_Koreatown-Against-ICE-Raids_TN-Antifascism.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:18pm PDT |
Wed, 14 February 2018
The second episode of our second season! There is antifa activity in Olympia, Athens, and Seattle. Vaneesa Hopson died while in the custody of Olympia police and we report on the death and the subsequent protests.. There are strikes by delivery drivers across Hong Kong and Europe, by prisoners detained at an immigrant detention center in Washington, and walkouts across the country as part of the Fight for 15 campaign. We interview an anarchist active in the resistance to the Westlake Landfill. In honor of Valentine’s Day there’s a rant against conventional love. Stay tuned until the Repression Roundup to hear about the Black Pride 4. {February 14, 2018}
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Direct download: The-Hotwire_18_Toxic-Waste-in-STL_Labor-Struggles-in-the-Techno-Age_A-Rant-on-Love.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:58am PDT |
Wed, 7 February 2018
The first episode of our new season! This week we run down the list of antifascist confrontations from San Diego to Olympia, Washington. We also share a call for opposing Richard Spencer in Lansing, Michigan on March 5. Fast food workers in Portland, sex workers in New Orleans, and Uber drivers in Indonesia are all getting organized. Camille, Camille, and Camille from the ZAD explain their complicated victory over the planned airport at Notre-Dame-des-Landes, and Flint Arthur from Stand With Afrin phones in with an update on the Turkish assault on Rojava. Stay tuned until the Repression Roundup to hear about a new wave of repression against humanitarian aid workers on the US-Mexico border. {February 7, 2018}
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Direct download: The-Hotwire_17_ZAD-interview_anarcho-syndicalism-isnt-for-losers_anti-pope-actions-in-Chile.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:17am PDT |
Wed, 7 February 2018
In Episode 63 of the Ex-Worker, we conclude our series of reflections on 2017 with an audio version of the recently published essay “Anarchists in the Trump Era: Scorecard, Year One.” It analyzes five key turning points in 2017, assessing how anarchists took part and what lessons we can learn for the battles ahead. While recognizing all we’ve accomplished under incredible stress, it argues for the importance of broadening our efforts to challenge authority and dismantle hierarchy in every area of our lives and our societies in 2018. Afterwards, Clara and Alanis debate themes from the essay and our year in review episodes, around relating to non-anarchists on the left, organizational formats, resiliency and care, and more. {Feb 7, 2017}
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Direct download: 63_Anarchists-in-the-Trump-Era_Year-One-2017-in-Review_Part-III.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:08am PDT |
Sat, 20 January 2018
As we reconnect to plan a new year of resistance this January 20th, what lessons can we take from the inspiring but traumatic year that was 2017? In Episode 61 of the Ex-Worker, we interview three anarchists who reflect on their role on the front lines of struggles against the state and fascism over the past year. Hex, who survived a shooting attack by a fascist at a Seattle anti-fascist demonstration last January 20th, offers perspective on questions of justice, violence, patriarchy, and compassion, the critical importance of healing, and redefining resistance. An anarchist of color from Charlottesville discusses how the events there have impacted anti-fascist resistance and updates us on court cases, grand jury proceedings, and opportunities to show solidarity. And Miel, who was recently acquitted on all charges in the first trial of J20 defendants from the DC counter-inaugural protests, traces the significance of the J20 case, state strategies of repression, and lessons we can take with us as we move forward into a new year of struggle. The episode wraps up with updates from several other anarchist media projects about their plans for the new year, prisoner birthdays, and more. {January 20, 2018}
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Direct download: 62_Support-Healing-and-Redefining-Resistance-2017-in-Review-Part-II.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:02am PDT |
Fri, 19 January 2018
In this episode, we take an in-depth look at the blockade in Olympia, WA that stopped a train carrying fracking supplies for twelve days. {January 19, 2018}
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Wed, 10 January 2018
In the first of two episodes looking back over 2017, we present an audio version of the recently published CrimethInc. feature “How Anti-Fascists Won the Battles of Berkeley: 2017 in the Bay and Beyond: A Play-by-play Analysis.” The article charts the rise and fall of the alt-right through the lens of the conflicts that erupted in the San Francisco Bay Area, and how anarchists and anti-fascists successfully built coalitions to stop them. We also review the last year’s worth of articles, books, posters, and podcasts from the CrimethInc. Ex-Worker’s Collective. {January 8, 2018}
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Direct download: 60_2017-in-Review-Part-I-Anti-Fascism-in-the-Bay-Area-and-Beyond.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:24am PDT |
Wed, 6 December 2017
Our final episode for the season! But we’ll be back in February. This week, antifascist students were active with a #StopSpencer week of action at the University of Michigan and shutting down Lucian Wintrich at the University of Connecticut. Racist remarks keep coming up during police testimony at the [#J20 trials](https://itsgoingdown.org/drop-j20-podcast-update–3-police-take-stand/). We have updates on the massive, sweeping raids against anti-capitalists in Germany over the successful protests against the G20 in Germany in July. New York City Anarchist Black Cross call for international New Year’s Eve noise demonstrations outside prisons, jails, and detention centers. Finally, we get mushy and grateful for the past year of resistance. Let us know how our show can better serve anarchist activity in your town by emailing us at podcast@crimethinc.com. {December 6th, 2017}
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Direct download: The-Hotwire_16_Repression-from-J20-to-G20-New-Years-noise-demos-antifascist-student-actions.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:28am PDT |
Wed, 29 November 2017
The Rebel Girl goes over the last week of anti-colonial, anti-#ThingsTaken actions across Turtle Island. The anti-fracking blockade in Olympia is going strong, opening up space for struggle and churning out innumerable demands. Anarchists in Chile demonstrate what anti-electoral action looks like, and decentralized mutual aid is spreading across Puerto Rico. Stay tuned until the end for updates on the first J20 trial and a new guide to supporting the defendants. We also have announcements for anarchist book fairs, marches, and other calls to action. {November 29th, 2017}
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Direct download: The-Hotwire_15_No-thanks-given-for-ThingsTaken-Olympia-blockade-reveals-their-demands-DropJ20.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:51am PDT |
Wed, 22 November 2017
This week’s episode is packed with resistance news from across Turtle Island and beyond. Struggles led by water protectors against gas and oil infrastructure are happening, seemingly, everywhere. This past week, students have been busy, while prisoners have not. We have a brief update on the work stoppage and Holman Prison. We also have interviews with a comrade at the anti-fracking blockade in Olympia, WA, and with a J20 supporter about the trials that have just begun. Stay tuned until the end for CrimethInc.’s call for January 20, 2018: “Build the Base, Take the Initiative. A Call to Expand Our Capacity.” {November 22nd, 2017}
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Direct download: The-Hotwire_14_Olympia_blockade-J20-opening-statements-Build-the-Base-call-to-action.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:26am PDT |
Wed, 15 November 2017
Today is the beginning of the J20 inauguration protester trials in DC. There are some important developments in the case, so we interview Sam from DC Legal Posse about what’s going on and how to support the defendants. We also interview a Polish anti-fascist from Warsaw about this weekend’s 60,000 person far-right march that was littered with Nazi slogans. The folks at the IRL squat in Chicago called us to talk about resisting their eviction and squatting as a window to a world outside of capitalism. Stay tuned until the end for exciting calls for upcoming action camps and decentralized days of action. {November 15th, 2017}
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Direct download: The-Hotwire_13_J20-trials-begin-worldwide-anti-fascism-squatting-for-the-win-in-Chicago.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:37am PDT |
Mon, 13 November 2017
In this episode, we share the first-person stories of three comrades on the frontlines of grand jury resistance. As the state escalates repression through a new grand jury investigation in North Carolina against longtime anarchist Katie Yow, this episode offers perspectives from those who have successfully fought a grand jury summons. Tune in to demystify the process of how and why to resist testifying at a grand jury. For more information on her case and to support Katie, check out https://ncresiststhegrandjury.com/ and to learn more about resources available for those resisting and their supporters, check out https://saynothing.noblogs.org/grand-jury-resources/. For more information on how to stay strong during state repression, see our article How to Survive a Felony Trial. To hear more about North Carolina Grand Jury Resistance and other cases of ongoing state repression, listen to this episode of The Hotwire. {November 13th, 2017}
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Wed, 8 November 2017
This week we have a greater amount of animal liberation actions to report on than usual. We interview Sam from DC Legal Posse about the first J20 trials beginning next week, and what people can do to support the defendants. After the mass shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas on Sunday, we explore whether it makes sense to designate white men as the “real terrorists.” We also interview an anarchist in Brazil about the Operation Érebo repression campaign against anarchists there. Anarchists from throughout history travel forward in time to warn us about the horrors of state socialism and about the dangers of standardized time itself!. {November 8th, 2017}
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Direct download: The-Hotwire_12_White-masculine-mass-shooting-in-Texas-down-with-daylight-saving-J20-updates.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:22am PDT |
Wed, 1 November 2017
This week we bring you two interviews: one with a southern anarchist who went to Tennessee to oppose the failed “white lives matter” rally on Saturday, and another with an anarchist in Catalonia about developments and reflections on the independence process there. Our headlines and repression roundup take us around the world, from anti-capitalist queer and trans action in DC to general revolt in Haiti to sweeping anti-anarchist repression in Brazil and even back in time to the Russian Revolution! Listen until the end for announcements of upcoming anarchist book fairs and calls to action. {November 1st, 2017}
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Direct download: The-Hotwire_11_Fascists-fail-in-Tennessee-Catalan-independence-interview-No-Justice-No-Pride.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:48am PDT |
Wed, 25 October 2017
In this Hotwire we have three different interviews about the alt-right’s defeat in Gainesville. As democratic confederalist Kurdish forces in Rojava are beating back ISIS, the nationalist, capitalist Kurdish Regional Government in Iraq is threatening civil war with the Iraqi military. In response, Kurdish anarchists speak out against war and the state. The discovery of Santiago Maldonado’s body in Argentina has sparked the fiercest clashes with police that the South American country has seen in years. Some good news: the first J20 political prisoner is about to be released; but hundreds more are awaiting trial and facing years in prison. Listen until the end for announcements of anarchist bookfairs, anti-fascist action, and east coast CrimethInc. speaking events this week. {October 25, 2017}
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Direct download: The-Hotwire_10_Anti-fascism-in-Gainesville-J20-trials-anarchist-Kurds-against-capitalist-wars.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:31am PDT |
Wed, 18 October 2017
In this Hotwire we share the anti-fascist call from Florida to oppose Richard Spencer in Gainesville on October 19. We discuss the upcoming J20 trials in which nearly 200 protesters are charged with conspiracy for protesting the inauguration, as well as the outcome of the burning cop car case that just concluded in Paris. Considering the bullshit repression and liberal lawsuits in the wake of #Charlottesville, we make the case about why anti-fascism must mean anti-statism. We also borrow part of a great interview with Puerto Rican anarchist Frank Lopez on mutual relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Maria. Stay tuned until the end because we have some important calls to support political prisoners, calls to support forest defenders in Oregon, political prisoner birthdays, announcements for upcoming anarchist book fairs, and the repression roundup. {October 18, 2017}
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Direct download: The-Hotwire_9_Puerto-Rico-breaking-with-the-state-J20-trials-approach-ducks-of-the-east.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:20am PDT |
Wed, 11 October 2017
This week we bring you a slew of reports from anti-Columbus Day actions across so-called North America. We also fill you in on an inspiring prison uprising that took over McCormick prison in South Carolina. Prisoners even got on the roof! The political crisis in Catalonia continues, this week with violent fascist and pro-Spanish reaction. White supremacists descended on Charlottesville again this weekend, and there are some upcoming calls to anti-fascist action in the south, so listen until the end. Plus, we got all of our regular features like political prisoner birthdays, announcements for upcoming anarchist book fairs, and the repression roundup. {October 11, 2017}
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Direct download: The-Hotwire_8_FuckColumbusDay-fascists-return-to-Charlottesville-McCormick-prison-uprising.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:12am PDT |
Wed, 4 October 2017
This week we go on a bunch of rants. We rant about why no state is better than a new state in Catalonia. We rant about why anti-fascists should not allow the state to position itself as the principal force protecting people from Nazi violence. We rant about how mutual aid and community relief must mean opposition to capitalism and a redistribution of wealth. Rant rant rant! Rah rah rah! {October 4, 2017}
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Direct download: The-Hotwire_7__Community-relief-means-abolishing-capitalism-Catalonia-new-state-or-no-state.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:52am PDT |
Wed, 27 September 2017
This week we have a ton of headlines about rebellion and cooperation, resistance and mutual aid, from all over the world. Protests in St. Louis continue into their second week after the not guilty verdict for a white cop who viciously murdered Anthony Lamar Smith, a young black father. We weigh in on the chatter about whether the NFL #TakeAKnee protests are about white supremacy or the first amendment. Meanwhile, the so-called “free speech week” hosted by far-right students in Berkeley has utterly failed. The mutual aid relief efforts we’ve covered in Texas and Florida still need support, as well as in Mexico and Puerto Rico after the earthquakes and hurricanes there. {September 27, 2017}
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Direct download: The-Hotwire_6_St-Louis-stays-rebel-mutual-aid-relief-continues-free_speech-has-no-meaning.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:22am PDT |