Indy Audio: Recent Episodes
The Indypendent
The Indypendent News Hour airs Tuesdays 5–6 p.m. on WBAI-99.5 FM. Check out our archives to listen to past interviews with movement organizers, authors, elected officials and others fighting for justice in New York City and beyond.
In our first segment, we speak to State Senator Kristen Gonzalez who is a former tech worker, a democratic socialist, the youngest member of the New York State Senate and she chairs its Internet and Technology Committee. Since first being elected in 2022, she has championed legislation to rein in the excesses of Big Tech companies. In June, she played a key role in shepherding data center moratorium legislation through the Senate and was present when Gov. Kathy Hochul signed an executive order last week for a one-year data center moratorium, the first of its kind in the United States. In this interview, we discussed the moratorium and the many questions it raises.In our second segment we speak to longtime Indy contributor, Theodore Hamm about NYC's Public Pools. In the summer of 1936, New York City opened 11 large outdoor swimming pools across the city that each could hold upwards of 1,000 bathers. It was the height of the New Deal with ambitious public works projects being carried out across the country. FDR’s administration provided the resources and here in New York Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia got the job done. Ninety years later, these pools still serve NYC’s working class well and are being celebrated by the Mamdani administration.
State Senator Kristen Gonzalez is a former tech worker, a democratic socialist, the youngest member of the New York State Senate and she chairs its Internet and Technology Committee. Since first being elected in 2022, she has championed legislation to rein in the excesses of Big Tech companies. In June, she played a key role in shepherding data center moratorium legislation through the Senate and was present when Gov. Kathy Hochul signed an executive order last week for a one-year data center moratorium, the first of its kind in the United States. In this interview, we discussed the moratorium and the many questions it raises.
In the summer of 1936, New York City opened 11 large outdoor swimming pools across the city that each could hold upwards of 1,000 bathers. It was the height of the New Deal with ambitious public works projects being carried out across the country. FDR’s administration provided the resources and here in New York Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia got the job done. Ninety years later, these pools still serve NYC’s working class well and are being celebrated by the Mamdani administration.
July 14, 2026: Palestine Protesters Celebrate Thwarting Ben-Gvir Appearance at United Nations. by The Indypendent
July 14, 2026: Mamdani, Hochul Roll Out Plan to Speed Up Service on 50 Bus Routes by The Indypendent
July 14, 2026: Jonathan Ezra Goldman Discusses New Book on the “Hidden History” of 1920s New York by The Indypendent
In the first segment, we spoke with Anna Yoney and Ivano TK of Columbia Postdoctoral Workers-UAW Local 4100 about their battle to win a new union contract from Columbia University that improves pay, working conditions, child care and provides more protections for international postdocs. Following a sizzling 4th of July weekend, we talked with Assemblymember Sarahana Shrestha is a democratic socialist from the Mid-Hudson Valley. She has long been a champion of of rapidly expanding New York’s public system to accelerate the buildout of renewable energy sources. We spoke with her following a 4th of July weekend heat wave that roasted much of the East Coast and knocked out service to thousands of Con Ed customers in Queens.
We spoke with Anna Yoney and Ivano TK of Columbia Postdoctoral Workers-UAW Local 4100 about their battle to win a new union contract from Columbia University that improves pay, working conditions, child care and provides more protections for international postdocs.
Following a sizzling 4th of July weekend, we talked with Assemblymember Sarahana Shrestha is a democratic socialist from the Mid-Hudson Valley. She has long been a champion of of rapidly expanding New York’s public system to accelerate the buildout of renewable energy sources. We spoke with her following a 4th of July weekend heat wave that roasted much of the East Coast and knocked out service to thousands of Con Ed customers in Queens.
State about key details in the deal including the expansion of a controversial rental assistance program backed by the Council and opposed by the Mayor.A recent Supreme Court ruling gave the Trump administration the greenlight to strip 350,000 Haitian immigrants of the Temporary Protected Status they received after a 2010 earthquake leveled Haiti and left more than 300,000 people dead. In our second segment we spoke with Phara Souffrant Forrest, the daughter of Haitian immigrant parents and a democratic socialist who represents a heavily Haitian State Assembly in Central Brooklyn about how the Haitian community is responding to this crisis as well as Haiti's history from being the only nation founded through a successful revolt of enslaved persons to the crippling impact of French and U.S. imperialism on Haiti's development.
State about key details in the deal including the expansion of a controversial rental assistance program backed by the Council and opposed by the Mayor.
A recent Supreme Court ruling gave the Trump administration the greenlight to strip 350,000 Haitian immigrants of the Temporary Protected Status they received after a 2010 earthquake leveled Haiti and left more than 300,000 people dead. The Indypendent News Hour spoke with Phara Souffrant Forrest, the daughter of Haitian immigrant parents and a democratic socialist who represents a heavily Haitian State Assembly in Central Brooklyn about how the Haitian community is responding to this crisis as well as Haiti's history from being the only nation founded through a successful revolt of enslaved persons to the crippling impact of French and U.S. imperialism on Haiti's development.
Indypendent Editor-in-Chief John Tarleton was interviewed by Scott Harris of WPKN in Bridgeport, Connecticut about New York City DSA's sweeping election victories in the June 23 Democratic primaries and how democratic socialists are rapidly gaining ground across the country. A shorter version of this 24-minute interview was syndicated on 70 radio stations across the country on Counterpoint's sister show Between The Lines.
New York City DSA won 9 of 10 races, including two congressional seats, in the June 23 Democratic primary, sending shock waves through the national Democratic Party establishment.
The Indypendent News Hour's John Tarleton and WBAI's Jenna Flanagan co-hosted four hours of election night coverage that featured the voices of historians, political analysts and grassroots organizers on a historic night that saw democratic socialists win blow-out victories across the city.
State Magazine and with voters in West Harlem where democratic socialists were challenging an incumbent Congressmember and their incumbent State Assemblymember.
Eon Huntley is a retail worker, union activist, former PTA president and democratic socialist. He is running against a pro-corporate incumbent in Assembly District 56 (Bed-Stuy, Crown Heights) on Zohran Mamdani’s affordability agenda. Huntley’s friend and ally Jabari Brisport is running hard for his fourth term in the New York State Senate in an overlapping Central Brooklyn district. We caught up with both of them on Tuesday for a live interview from their shared campaign headquarters on Tompkins Avenue in the heart of Bed-Stuy. Susan Schnall and Trevor Howard are both members of Veterans For Peace who are calling on present-day U.S. soldiers and national guardsman to be ready to disobey unlawful orders from the Trump regime.
Eon Huntley is a retail worker, union activist, former PTA president and democratic socialist. He is running against a pro-corporate incumbent in Assembly District 56 (Bed-Stuy, Crown Heights) on Zohran Mamdani’s affordability agenda. Huntley’s friend and ally Jabari Brisport is running hard for his fourth term in the New York State Senate in an overlapping Central Brooklyn district. We caught up with both of them on Tuesday for a live interview from their shared campaign headquarters on Tompkins Avenue in the heart of Bed-Stuy.
Susan Schnall and Trevor Howard are both members of Veterans For Peace who are calling on present-day U.S. soldiers and national guardsman to be ready to disobey unlawful orders from the Trump regime.
20 at Reclamation Day: A Reunion of Hope pulled together by BLIS (Black Liberation Indigenous Sovereignty). We spoke with Trevor Smith of BLIS about the Reclamation Day event which will be held at 25 Kent Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
The Indypendent's John Tarleton caught up on Sunday with Assemblymember Claire Valdez while she was campaigning to represent New York’s 7th congressional district which spans North Brooklyn and Western Queens. Valdez has the endorsement of Mayor Zohran Mamdani and is widely considered to be the favorite in a race that also includes Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and Queens City Councilmember Julie Won.Topics discussed in this interview include Valdez's background as a low-wage worker and union organizer, her history with New York City DSA, her thoughts on New York nativism, how much she would like to cut the Pentagon budget by, whether she would oppose making Hakeem Jeffries the next Democratic Speaker and what it means to her to identify as a democratic socialist.
20 at Reclamation Day: A Reunion of Hope pulled together by BLIS (Black Liberation Indigenous Sovereignty). We spoke with Trevor Smith of BLIS about the Reclamation Day event which will be held at 25 Kent Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
In this week's Indypendent News Hour, we speak with Dan Kaminsky of Park Slope Food Coop Members for Palestine about the upcoming vote by PSFC members on whether to boycott goods produced in Israel and the Occupied Territories. We also talk to Conrad Blackburn, a public defender, union organizer and democratic socialist running for Assembly District 70 in Central and West Harlem against the heir to a local political dynasty and get a live report from two New Jersey activists, Paula Rogovan and Terri Seuss, stationed outside Delaney Hall in Newark, the site over the Memorial Day weekend of protests inside the ICE facility by immigrant detainees and outside by their supporters.
The Park Slope Food Coop is the largest food coop in the country and one of the oldest. It has had a social mission since its founding in 1973 and has previously backed over 20 consumer boycotts including ones against products from apartheid South Africa and in support of the national boycott against California table grapes led by the United Farm Workers. For the past 17 years, pro-Palestine members of the coop have tried to get the Coop to boycott produced in Israel and its Occupied Territories. They have encountered many obstacles, including anti-boycott members who insist the Coop is just a grocery store and not a place for political activism. Tonight members will finally have a chance to vote on this measure and make their voice heard. Joining us to discuss this more is Dan Kaminsky of Park Slope Food Coop Members for Palestine.
We get a live report from two New Jersey activists, Paula Rogovan and Terri Seuss, stationed outside Delaney Hall in Newark, the site over the Memorial Day weekend of protests inside the ICE facility by immigrant detainees and outside by their supporters.
We speak with Conrad Blackburn, a public defender, union organizer and democratic socialist running for Assembly District 70 in Harlem. Blackburn says the Harlem political establishment is out of touch with the needs of the community and is more concerned with catering to wealthy special interests which Blackburn says are on track to spend more than $2 million to defeat his campaign against Assembly District 70 incumbent Jordan Wright, son of Keith L.T. Wright who held the same Assembly seat from 1993 to 2016 before becoming Chair of the Manhattan Democratic Party.
Emily Gallagher, a democratic socialist from Brooklyn first elected to the State Assembly in 2020, discusses how Gov. Hochul has used her disproportionate power to break the legislative process for deciding on the states roughly $265 billion annual budget to push regressive legislation that has nothing to do with the budget and how this mess can be fixed if the legislature can find the courage to take on the governor.Reneé Feltz discusses her epic cover story for the May print edition of The Indypendent titled “Trash Revolution: NYC Dumps Throwaway Culture for Sanitation Overhaul. Will It Succeed?”
What is or is not in New York State's roughly $265 billion annual budget affects every facet of life—education, health care, public transit, parks, public safety, the budgets of cities and towns large and small and so much more. By law, the budget was supposed to be completed by April 1. Six weeks later, negotiations between Gov. Kathy Hochul, State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and State Senate President Andrea Stewart-Cousins continues to drag on. We spoke with Assembly member Emily Gallagher, a democratic socialist from Brooklyn first elected to the State Assembly in 2020, about how Gov. Hochul has used her disproportionate power to break the budget process to push regressive legislation that has nothing to do with the budget and how this mess can be fixed if the legislature can find the courage to take on the governor.
In the second half of our show, we spoke with Reneé Feltz about her epic cover story for the May print edition of The Indypendent titled “Trash Revolution: NYC Dumps Throwaway Culture for Sanitation Overhaul. Will It Succeed?” We were also joined by Clarisa Alayeto, a South Bronx activist who has fought to clean up her community for decades and is featured in Renee’s cover story.
In the first half of our May 5 show, we spoke with movement journalist Talia Jane and Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso about the chaos that rocked Bushwick late Saturday night when ICE and NYPD clashed outside Wyckoff Hospital with protesters trying to prevent ICE from taking away an immigrant they had arrested and injured earlier that night. Mayor Zohran Mamdani says that the NYPD did not collaborate with ICE. Some of his supporters believe otherwise.In the second half of the show we spoke with David Orkin. He's an immigrant workers’ rights attorney at Make the Road New York. He’s running for Assembly District 38 in Queens as a democratic socialist who wants to bring the struggle against ICE and oligarchy into the state legislature. His opponent is one of former Mayor Eric Adams’s most notorious allies.
Local journalist Talia Jane covers social movements here in the city and has reported extensively on police brutality against protesters. They covered Saturday night’s confrontation between ICE/NYPD and protesters trying to prevent the abduction of Nigerian immigrant Chidozie Wilson Okeke.
Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso says the fear generated by ICE's violent appearance on Saturday night at the Wyckoff Hospital is spreading throughout the heavily immigrant community of Bushwick.
In the second half of our show, we spoke with David Orkin. He is an immigrant workers’ rights attorney at Make the Road New York. He’s running for Assembly District 38 in Queens as a democratic socialist who wants to bring the struggle against ICE and oligarchy into the state legislature. His opponent, Jennifer Rajkumar, is one of former Mayor Eric Adams’s most notorious allies.
April 28, 2026: Peter Sterne Joins Us for Political Updates and Joseph Mogul Talks About The Demilitarize Brooklyn Navy Yard Movement by The Indypendent
State, joins us for another enriching conversation on upcoming elections, mayoral updates and political happenings.
Joseph Mogul, a local NYC journalist joined us to talk about his Truth Out article on 'Demilitarize Navy Yard's successful campaign against Easy Aerial, a company that manufactures drones.
In the first segment, we talk to Leonie Haimson, executive director of Class Size Matters. She explains why a growing coalition of parents, students and educators are alarmed by the rapid rollout of AI tools in the classroom with the apparent blessing of Mayor Zohran Mamdani and are demanding a two-year moratorium on the expansion of AI in the schools to gain a better understanding of its impact on students. Our second guest, Sarah Howard is an environmental consultant for the Tonawanda Seneca Nation. She describes the growing resistance in upstate New York as the threat of the proposed Streams Data Center in Genesee County, NY would be the largest built in the state to date. Join us for an insightful discussion!
More than 900,000 New York City children attend the largest public school system in the country. In this interview, Leonie Haimson, executive director of Class Size Matters, explains why a growing coalition of parents, students and educators are alarmed by the rapid rollout of AI tools in the classroom with the apparent blessing of Mayor Zohran Mamdani and are demanding a two-year moratorium on the expansion of AI in the schools to gain a better understanding of its impact on students.
The proposed Streams Data Center in Genesee County, NY would be the largest built in the state to date. It is meeting massive local resistance, says Sarah Howard, an environmental consultant for the Tonawanda Seneca Nation.
Judy Loebl of Jewish Voices for Peace. More than two dozen groups from the Break the Bonds coalition participated in a Jewish Voice for Peace led Passover Seder outside the offices of New York City Comptroller Mark Levine. They want Levine to renounce his campaign promise to purchase Israel bonds with the New York City municipal pension funds he oversees. In the final segment we speak to Brooklyn-based writer, cultural worker and anti-carceral activist Priscilla Grim about the long legal ordeal she and dozens of others have been going through since being indiscriminately arrested by police three years ago at a protest against a proposed militarized police training in Atlanta known as Cop City.
More than two dozen groups from the Break the Bonds coalition participated in a Jewish Voice for Peace led Passover Seder outside the offices of New York City Comptroller Mark Levine. They want Levine to renounce his campaign promise to purchase Israel bonds with the New York City municipal pension funds he oversees.
We spoke with Brooklyn-based writer, cultural worker and anti-carceral activist Priscilla Grim about the long legal ordeal she and dozens of others have been going through since being indiscriminately arrested by police three years ago at a protest against a proposed militarized police training in Atlanta known as Cop City.
April 7, 2026: Carl Miller’s Murder Conviction Overturned + Andrew Wang of Every Electric by The Indypendent
April 7, 2026: Carl Miller Reflects on His 46-Year Battle to Overturn His Wrongful Murder Conviction by The Indypendent
April 7, 2026: Andrew Wang of Everyelectric.com Talks About How to Save on Your Power Bill by The Indypendent
March 31, 2026: Parents Protest Gov. Hochul's Anti-Climate Policies + How to Make Democracy Real by The Indypendent
March 31, 2026: Samantha Gore of Climate Parents NYC on Gov. Hochul's Push to Gut Major Climate Law by The Indypendent
Dr. Steven Aurerbach Discuss No More 24 Campaign for Home Care Workers by The Indypendent
String Band Rendezvous that is being held this Friday and Saturday at the Jalopy Theater in Brooklyn. They also played a couple of their favorite jug and string songs. The two-day festival will include eight jug and string bands taking a deep dive into 20th-century North American jug and string band music.
With negotiations on New York State's annual $250 billion budget in the final home stretch, we spoke with Assemblymember Phara Souffrant Forrest, a socialist from Brooklyn. Topics discussed included the fight to get Gov. Kathy Hochul to agree to tax hikes for the rich, how the state will make up for federal cuts to Medicaid funding and the governor's push to roll back historic climate mandates that were passed in 2019.
Former Andrew Cuomo staffer and urban planner Lindsey Boylan set in motion the events that led to her boss's resignation as governor in 2021 when she became the first of 13 women to accuse Cuomo of sexual harassment. In last year's mayoral race, Boylan continued to speak out against Cuomo while many Democrats rallied to his side thinking he was certain to be the next mayor. Now, she is running for an open City Council seat on Manhattan's West Side in a special election that will be held on April 28.
String Band Rendezvous that is being held this Friday and Saturday at the Jalopy Theater in Brooklyn. They also played a couple of their favorite jug and string songs. The two-day festival will include eight jug and string bands taking a deep dive into 20th-century North American jug and string band music.
In our first segment, we speak to Addison Turek, a freshman at Barnard College, and one of the organizers protesting the college’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
In our second segment we speak to Ximena Bustamente, founder of the Undocumented Women’s Fund which held the 10th annual NYC Women’s Strike Fest on Sunday in Bushwick’s Maria Hernandez Park. We listen to some snippets of the music played at the event and learn about why this programming is a powerful place for women and the communities held together by women to celebrate each other in this way.
. We discuss the desire of the elite to use women’s wombs as the vessels to birth a ‘superior’ race, on mothers who were denied their motherhood and what it means to reclaim mothers in our societies and within our own hearts and communities.
neighborhood in Brooklyn. To see her full article, go to indypendent.org/issue/301.In our second segment, we are joined by Danny Pearlstein of the Rider’s Alliance, a member-led organization of New York City bus and subway riders that has been organizing for over a decade for a better and more just mass transit system. Topics discussed include expanding eligibility for the city's Fair Fares program that provides free and discounted bus fares for lower-income New Yorkers and the future of the Fordham Road Bus Corridor and concerns that the mayor was backing off his campaign trail commitment to speed up bus traffic in that area.In our final segment, WBAI listeners share their thoughts on the war on Iran.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani made fast and free buses one of the core promises of his campaign platform. For this week's Indypendent News Hour, we spoke with Danny Pearlstein of the Rider’s Alliance, a member-led organization of New York City bus and subway riders that has been organizing for over a decade for a better and more just mass transit system. Topics discussed include expanding eligibility for the city's Fair Fares program that provides free and discounted bus fares for lower-income New Yorkers and the future of the Fordham Road Bus Corridor and concerns that the mayor was backing off his campaign trail commitment to speed up bus traffic in that area.
We asked WBAI listeners for their thoughts on the War on Iran as it enters its fourth day. They didn't disappoint.
In this episode, we see why it will be benefit the collective to tax the rich. In the first segment, we zoom into Albany where thousands of New Yorkers will lobby their representatives to tax the rich. We speak to Divya Sundaram of Our Time for an Affordable New York on what they hope to achieve. In our second segment, we speak to Indy contributors, Lyna Bentahar and John Morris about their recent articles on the pathologies shared by many members of the super-rich and why they are so prone to freaking out about small increases in their taxes that would do a vast amount of good for the rest of society.In our third segment, we speak to Andy Tobias, an investor, best-selling author and member of Patriotic Millionaires, a network of high-wealth individuals that advocates for higher taxes on people like themselves. Tobias told The Indypendent News Hour that multi-millionaires and billionaires can easily afford to pay higher taxes nationally and in the State of New York to help fund high quality essential public services and reduce the runaway economic inequality that is destabilizing the U.S. political system. Tune into an insightful episode and pick up the latest Indy issue for more on what we discussed here.
Thousands of New Yorkers will converge on the State Capitol in Albany on Wednesday to urge lawmakers to support increasing taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers and the state's largest corporations. We kicked of the Tax the Rich edition of The Indypendent News Hour by speaking with Divya Sundaram of Our Time for an Affordable New York, one of the groups playing a key role in organizing Wednesday's lobbying day in Albany.
For Part 2 of our Tax the Rich edition of The Indypendent News Hour, we spoke with Indy contributing writers Lyna Bentahar and John Morris about their recent articles on the pathologies shared by many members of the super-rich and why they are so prone to freaking out about small increases in their taxes that would do a vast amount of good for the rest of society.
Andy Tobias is an investor, best-selling author and member of Patriotic Millionaires, a network of high-wealth individuals that advocates for higher taxes on people like themselves. Tobias told The Indypendent News Hour that multi-millionaires and billionaires can easily afford to pay higher taxes nationally and in the State of New York to help fund high quality essential public services and reduce the runaway economic inequality that is destabilizing the U.S. political system.
State about what's in the mayor's proposed budget and the political battles that lie ahead. The beloved Reverend Jesse Jackson passed away. He was a democratic socialist who ran for president in 1988, who worked closely with Martin Luther King in his early 20’s. We sit with African American Literature Professor and longtime Indy columnist, Dr. Nicholas Powers to reflect on the legacy of Jesse Jackson, and how we can turn to his wisdom to keep hope alive, as we continue to fight the same battles today.
State about what's in the mayor's proposed budget and the political battles that lie ahead.
The beloved Reverend Jesse Jackson passed away. He was a democratic socialist who ran for president in 1988, who worked closely with Martin Luther King in his early 20’s. We sit with African American Literature Professor and longtime Indy columnist, Dr. Nicholas Powers to reflect on the legacy of Jesse Jackson, and how we can turn to his wisdom to keep hope alive, as we continue to fight the same battles today.
On this week's Indypendent News Hour, we’ve got some updates on big breakthroughs taking place at the Nurse's Strike. On this episode we journey uptown for some updates on art and politics. We've curated some exciting cultural programming for you in the February events calendar of the Indy and if you’re interested in immersing yourself in the rich cultural programming the city has to offer, head over to the Maysles Documentary Centre in Harlem. For Black History Month, they have a series of curated documentaries on Black Self-Fashioning which the highlight the power of fashion to serve as a movement to celebrate Black culture, beauty and joy. We'll take you through some of them during the show. We sit down with Darializa Avila Chevalier a longtime community organizer and democratic socialist who is mounting an energetic challenge against the incumbent uptown congressman Adriano Espaillat. Tune in for an illuminating discussion that sheds light on how this is more than just a local election, and a much larger movement she believes she's fighting for.
The Nurse’s Strike is still going strong and we’ve got some updates on big breakthroughs taking place. In other news, if you’re interested in immersing yourself in the rich cultural programming the city has to offer, head over to the Maysles Documentary Center in Harlem. For Black History Month, they have a series of curated documentaries on Black Self-Fashioning which the highlight the power of fashion to serve as a movement to celebrate Black culture, beauty and joy.
We sit down with Darializa Avila Chevalier, a longtime community organizer and democratic socialist who is mounting an energetic challenge against the incumbent uptown congressman Adriano Espaillat. She talks about the power of organizing in building the future we want: fighting for affordability and humanity and why she believes this is the moment to ride the waves of hope we have fought long and hard for. Tune in for an illuminating discussion that sheds light on how this is more than just a local election, and a much larger movement.
State Magazine gave us his assessment on Zohran Mamdani’s first month in office. We talked about the many democratic socialist candidates running against established incumbents in 2026.
In our first segment, we returned with updates on the Nurse’s Strike. The Nurses marched to Hochul's office this week. Why are the nurses disappointed in Hochul’s stance and why is Hochul not supporting the nurse’s cause, you may ask? Indy contributor Ted Hamm unpacks the answers to these questions in his latest Indy article breaking the news on Hochul’s connection to the New York City Hospitals, and came on to the show to give us a deeper understanding of how these threads connect.
State Magazine gave us his assessment on Zohran Mamdani’s first month in office. We talked about the many democratic socialist candidates running against established incumbents in 2026. Jan 27, 2026
On today's Indypendent News Hour, we spoke with Ximena Bustamante, founder of the Undocumented Women's Fund and an organizer with NYC-DSA's Latinas Socialistas, about organizing efforts that are underway across New York City to thwart ICE and to build the kind of massive civilian resistance movement seen in Minneapolis. We also spoke with Ligia Guallpa of The Worker's Justice Fund about recent workplace victories for NYC's 80,000 deliveristas and took listener phone calls.
We spoke with Ximena Bustamante, founder of the Undocumented Women's Fund and an organizer with NYC-DSA's Latinas Socialistas, about organizing efforts that are underway across New York City to thwart ICE and to build the kind of massive civilian resistance movement seen in Minneapolis.
We also spoke with Ligia Guallpa of The Worker's Justice Fund about recent workplace victories for NYC's 80,000 deliveristas. With Mayor Zohran Mamdani on their side, companies are being held accountable for the poor policies they uphold for delivery workers.
We took listener call-ins, talking about everything from ICE to Mayor Mamdani’s progress so far.
On this week's Indypendent News Hour, we got a live update on resistance to the ICE surge in Minneapolis from freelance Minnesota journalist Clint Combs. In our second segment we spoke with Hudson Valley activists who are opposing a proposed new ICE detention facility in Chester, New York. In our final segment, we spoke with Conrad Blackburn, a public defender, union organizer and Black socialist who is running for a Harlem State Assembly seat. Throughout the show, we'll have live updates from a mass anti-ICE protest being held at Bryant Park while we are on the air.
On this week's Indypendent News Hour, we got a live update on resistance to the ICE surge in Minneapolis from freelance Minnesota journalist Clint Combs. We spoke about how the community has been responding and resisting, in the face of unprecedented challenges.
In our second segment we spoke with Hudson Valley activists who are opposing a proposed new ICE detention facility in Chester, New York.
In our final segment, we spoke with Conrad Blackburn, a public defender, union organizer and Black socialist who is running for a Harlem State Assembly seat. We talk about socialism, revival and bringing the power back to the people.
In our first segment we spoke with Maggie Latona of the New York State Nurses Association about the nurse’s strike and the union’s latest struggle: protecting key parts of their jobs from being taken over by artificial intelligence. Lots to unpack here. In our second segment we spoke with State Senator Jabari Brisport on his reaction to Governor Hochul's state address today. We also discussed the governor's recent support for universal childcare which Brisport has long championed and his support for lieutenant governor Antonio Delgado who is running against Hochul in the democratic primary.
In our first segment we spoke with Maggie Latona of the New York State Nurses Association about the nurse’s strike and the union’s latest struggle: protecting key parts of their jobs from being taken over by artificial intelligence. Lots to unpack here.
In our second segment we spoke with State Senator Jabari Brisport on his reaction to Governor Hochul's state address today. We also discussed the governor's recent support for universal childcare which Brisport has long championed and his support for lieutenant governor Antonio Delgado who is running against Hochul in the democratic primary.
In our first segment, we spoke with two two tenant-organizers from the Union of Pinnacle Tenants about the Day 1 executive order Mamdani signed that commits the city to intervening on behalf of thousands of rent-stabilized tenants who live in 93 buildings controlled by bankrupt slumlord Pinnacle that are at risk of being auctioned off to another predatory landlord.
public hearings across the five boroughs.In the final part of the show, we took listener call-ins.
We speak to Union of Pinnacle Tenants members, Josie and Zara on organizing and Mayor Mamdani’s Day 1 pledge to intervene on behalf of thousands of rent-stabilized tenants who live in 93 buildings controlled by bankrupt slumlord Pinnacle that are at risk of being auctioned off to another predatory landlord.
Veteran housing journalist Steven Wishnia, educates us on what he believes it will take to build truly affordable housing, why he believes social housing is the way to go; his take on Mamdani’s executive orders and rental rip-off hearing.
We take listener call ins and hear about their experiences as tenants and their opinions on Mamdani’s moves and what they hope for more support with.
In our first segment we talk to author Ted Hamm on his new Indypendent article titled,‘Five Things Zohran Mamdani Can Do at Very Little Cost To Help Deliver a Successful Administration’. We discuss the recommendations Ted makes on how they could make Mamdani even more successful as mayor. We talk about how Zohran Mamdani’s inauguration and what we can hope for in this new era. In our second segment, we dig into the Indypendent News Hour archives to show you clips from 2022 and 2020 interviews the Indypendent did with Zohran Mamdani when he was still an eager assembly member. We discuss the free bus pilot program Zohran spearheaded and what this shows us about the campaign promise of fast and free buses. We also listen to Mamdani’s experience of working in Albany as a democratic socialist. An end of year reflection on the journey Mamdani has taken from assembly member to mayor and the consistent commitment to stay true to his principles and community along the way.
Indypendent Author Ted Hamm, has a new article out titled,‘Five Things Zohran Mamdani Can Do at Very Little Cost To Help Deliver a Successful Administration’. We discuss the recommendations Ted makes on how they could make Mamdani even more successful as mayor. We talk about how Zohran Mamdani’s inauguration and what we can hope for in this new era.
We dig into the Indypendent News Hour archives to show you clips from 2022 and 2020 interviews the Indypendent did with Zohran Mamdani when he was still an eager assembly member. We discuss the free bus pilot program Zohran spearheaded and what this shows us about the campaign promise of fast and free buses. We also listen to Mamdani’s experience of working in Albany as a democratic socialist. Before the Inauguration feels like a good place to reflect on the journey Mamdani has taken from assembly member to mayor and the consistent commitment to stay true to his principles and community along the way.
We spent the hour talking with radical playwright, author and activist Karen Malpede whose new memoir provides a fearless, unsparing account of her life: her many erotic adventures, her long running political activism from the 1960s to the present, the historic figures she befriended (and sometimes slept with), the agony of watching many of those closest to her wither away from cancer and the hard-earned wisdom she has gained across her life’s journey. The title of her memoir is Last Radiance: Radical Lives, Bright Deaths available everywhere books are sold. You can check out a review on indypendent.org.
In the first segment of the interview, Karen Malpede chronicles her early life for us, tells us what compelled her to write the memoir and why she chose theatre as as a medium for her life’s work, and activism. You can purchase her memoir Last Radiance, everywhere books are sold and check out the review on indypendent.org.
In the second segment of the interview, Karen Malpede talks about her radical plays, the underground fringes of the theatre world, and why the truths she told led to her productions being shut down. She talks about the wonderful people she worked with and the influence of her late-husband George on her life and work. You can purchase her memoir Last Radiance, everywhere books are sold and check out the review on indypendent.org.
In the final segment of the interview, Karen Malpede gives us little anecdotes from her erotic life and the joy that has permeated through her life. We talk about how deep grief is a reflection of how deep the love is and end on a high note! You can purchase her memoir Last Radiance, everywhere books are sold and check out the review on indypendent.org.
In our first segment, we speak with socialist assembly member Emily Gallagher about fighting white collar crime, along with her input on the SOLAR UP NOW NEW YORK ACT to give New Yorkers access to renewable power and thereby, lower utility costs. In our second segment we reflect on Rob Rheiner’s death, the legacy of the radical television show, It’s All in The Family and the importance of independent media as we continue to raise funds for WBAI. In our third segment we speak to political writer and activist Cole Sandick about why he believes a growing number of Social Media policies, seem to positively protect the youth on the surface, lead to more surveillance in practice.
Emily Gallaghar, Assembly member representative for Greenpoint was elected in 2020. She educates us about the SOLAR UP NOW NEW YORK ACT, legislation if passed will help New Yorkers lower utility costs by having access to plug-in solar designed for apartments. We also chat about new legislation that protects New Yorkers from bad corporate actors and landlords, ensuring more transparency. When we call our representatives in favor of bills that protect our rights, they have a higher chance of getting passed, so tune in, learn with us and make those calls!
We reflect on the popular 80’s show, It’s All in The Family in the wake of Rob Rheiner, beloved lead actor’s tragic murder, how the show was radical for its time and still remains relevant today and why its controversial themes wouldn’t necessarily make it on programming today. Just another reason to support independent radio.
Activist and writer, Cole Sandick talks about how there’s increasingly popular legislation to limit teenagers’ access to social media platforms and why he believes that while this sounds promising on the surface, in practice, it's leading to more government surveillance, privacy infringement and fails to keep young people off the internet.
In our first segment, we talk to organizers of March for Mumia on marching for better conditions for the incarcerated elderly and freedom for Mumia, a former Black Panther. In our second segment, we talk about media monopolies forming with Warner Brothers being bought out and predictive markets. In our third segment, we talk to Reverend Billy and Savitri D. from the Church of Stop Shopping Choir on their new show, AI and returning to our humanity.
Steve Bernhaut, Johanna Ramen and Joe Piette, talk to us about why they're marching for Mumia, a radio journalist and former Black Panther who was incarcerated for shooting a police officer in the 80s. We discuss the lack of healthcare for the incarcerated elderly, and the response they've received.
In our first segment, we speak to Brandon West, a former member of the City Council’s central staff on Julie Menin’s power as speaker and how her stance will affect Zohran Mamdani when he is mayor. In our second segment, we bring you an interview between John Tarleton and Zohran Mamdani, long before he became a world-famous politician. They reflect on policing in the United States. In our final segment, John Tarleton talks about a trip to Downeast Maine to a blueberry farm where he was reminded by how we all long for community, a desire for a meaningful life and how common people are exploited and pitted against each other by the same system.
Following right-wing Democrat Julie Menin’s victory in the race for City Council Speaker, we spoke with Brandon West, a former member of the City Council’s central staff, about how Menin and her supporters outmaneuvered progressives, the powers she will wield as speaker and how she might try to obstruct Zohran Mamdani when he is mayor.
Before he became a world-famous politician and a leading symbol of the democratic socialist movement in the United States, Zohran Mamdani was a little-known candidate for a state Assembly seat in Astoria, Queens. In this interview with The Indypendent News Hour’s John Tarleton, Mamdani introduces himself, talks about why he is running and reflects on the George Floyd Uprising and how policing should be transformed in the New York City and across the country.
In our final segment, John Tarleton talks about Downeast Maine, the wild blueberry harvest and how a small town of fewer than 500 people came together to mourn the sudden death of his former blueberry harvest crew leader. Amid the deep cultural and political divides between big city and rural areas, Tarleton says, his trip reminded him of some of the things we share in common: a longing for community, a desire to live a meaningful life and how common people in both places are exploited and pitted against each other by the same system.
State Editor Peter Sterne about who Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani selected for his transition team. He explains what role these committees might play in helping him staff his administration, along with setting policy goals. In our second segment we talk to Sarah Ahn and echo - two Flushing Workers Center organizers. We discuss why they oppose billionaire Mets owner Steve Cohen’s push to open a casino in their working class Queens community. In our final segment we tune into gratitude and the spirit of giving with Palestinian restaurant owner, Abdul Elenani. We talk about a Friendsgiving meal event at Ayat in Astoria, Queens and why he believes in embracing his culture and identity through food.
State Editor Peter Sterne about who Mamdani selected and what role these committees might play in helping him staff his administration and with setting policy goals
Sarah Ahn and Echo – two organizers with the Flushing Workers Center – discuss why they oppose billionaire Mets owner Steve Cohen’s push to open a casino in their working class Queens community.
The head of the popular Palestinian restaurant talks about the Thanksgiving meal they are holding in Astoria, Queens and why the restaurant chooses to publicly embrace its Palestinian identity.
Nov 11, 2025: John Tarleton Breaks Down Why Democrats Stopped the Shutdown by The Indypendent
Cuomo whistleblower Lindsey Boylan talks about her former boss's divisive general election campaign and what's likely going through his mind as he stumbles toward a humiliating end to his long career in politics.
NYC-DSA organizer Cole Sandick about his Election Day canvassing experiences on the Upper West Side and how working on the Mamdani campaign has affected changed his life.
Beginning on November 12 at BAM, Third World Newsreel will screen some of the group’s most iconic work from the late 1960s and early 1970s – another era where young people’s dreams of forging a more just world crashed against a system that didn’t want to change.
State about the state of the race and whether Mamdani's supporters have cause to be alarmed
State about the state of the race and whether Mamdani's supporters have cause to be alarmed. In the second half of the show, we’ll heard from JT Takagi, director of Third World Newsreel, about an upcoming retrospective of some of the group’s most iconic work from the late 1960s and early 1970s – another era where young people’s dreams of forging a more just world crashed against a system that didn’t want to change.
The Bronx Times' Emily Swanson Explains the Drama over Morris Park's Just Home Project by The Indypendent
On Monday, the Brooklyn Marine Terminal task force approved a $3.5 billion redevelopment plan backed by luxury real estate interests. One of the task force's dissenters was City Councilmember Alexa Aviles who says the plan was rushed and unrealistic. Carolina Salguero, founder and executive director of PortSide NewYork, says the fight will continue and argues for why South Brooklyn needs a working waterfront that will make it easier to ship goods into New York and create new recreational activities as well.
We interview with Nicholas Powers about the Cult of Charlie Kirk and MAGA’s fervent play to be the victim in order to justify their own authoritarian power grab.
We take a slew of listener call-ins from people who have a wide range of opinions on the Charlie Kirk assassination and the repression of the Left that has been promised.
We interview with Nicholas Powers about the Cult of Charlie Kirk and MAGA’s fervent to play the victim in order to justify their own authoritarian power grab. In the second half of the show, we take a slew of listener call-ins from people who have a wide range of opinions on the Charlie Kirk assassination and the repression of the left that has been promised.
We speak with Minneapolis-based freelance journalist Clint Combs about Minneapolis' hotly contested mayoral race where Muslim democratic socialist state legislator Omar Fateh is mounting a strong challenge against the city’s business-friendly Democratic incumbent Jacob Frey which has gained momentum since Zohran Momdani’s upset victory over in New York City’s June Democratic primary.
The Indy’s Lane Dibbler discusses her piece "My View from the Back of an Ambulance: An EMT Describes How Medicaid Cuts Will Impact Low-Income New Yorkers.”https://indypendent.org/2025/08/my-view-from-the-back-of-the-ambulance/
A fired Amazon delivery driver, Latrice Johnson, discusses the recent rally by Amazon workers and their supporters in Maspeth, Queens protesting the company’s recent layoffs of 105 workers who had supported union activities at the warehouse.
In our first segment, Latrice Johnson joins us to discuss the recent rally by Amazon workers and their supporters in Maspeth, Queens, protesting the company’s recent firing of 105 workers who had supported union activities at the warehouse. Then, we hear from The Indy’s Lane Dibbler about her piece "My View from the Back of the Ambulance: An EMT Describes How Medicaid Cuts Will Impact Low-Income New Yorkers.” Finally, we speak with Minneapolis-based freelance journalist Clint Combs about Minneapolis' hotly contested mayoral race where Muslim democratic socialist state legislator Omar Fateh is mounting a strong challenge against the city’s business-friendly Democratic incumbent Jacob Frey which has gained momentum since Zohran Momdani’s upset victory over in New York City’s June Democratic primary.
Host John Tarleton speaks with Dr. Nicholas Powers about his experience at Burning Man throughout the years and the radical, and not-so-radical, vibe at the Nevada cultural festival
Co-hosts John Tarleton and Ariana Orozco speak with Dr. Tami Gold and Indy Contributor Alex Vitale about their new documentary “Sex Work, It’s Just a Job” debuting this month at Quad Cinemas.
Co-hosts John Tarleton and Ariana Orozco interview Dr. Tami Gold and Indy Contributor Alex Vitale about their new documentary “Sex Work, It’s Just a Job” and then hear from Dr. Nicholas Powers about his experience at Burning Man 2025
Dozens of doctors and others rallied outside 26 Federal Plaza on Monday to demand access to detainees that have been held for weeks on the 10th floor of that building. We speak with Dr. Steve Auerbach of the NY Doctors Coalition about the abuses immigrant detainees are enduring and why doctors are speaking out. We also discuss Zohran Mamdani's canvassing relaunch with Peter Sterne of City & State/
Zohran Mamdani relaunched his massive volunteer canvassion operation on Sunday while Andrew Cuomo continues to warn that New York's streets will be overrun with hookers if his opponent wins City Hall. We discussed this and more with Peter Sterne of City & State.
Dozens of doctors and others rallied outside 26 Federal Plaza on Monday to demand access to detainees that have been held for weeks on the 10th floor of that building. We spoke with Dr. Steve Auerbach of the NY Doctors Coalition about the abuses immigrant detainees are enduring and why doctors are speaking out.
We speak with Eric Thor, the former co-chair of NYC-DSA, about the Zohran Save Calculator, an app which tells you how much you would save under Mamdani’s policies.
We speak with Indy editor Nicholas Powers about his cover story detailing how Zohran Mamdani was able to break through idealistic leftist circles to genuinely hear and respond to the needs of working class people of color.
First, we speak with Indy editor Nicholas Powers about his cover story detailing how Zohran Mamdani was able to break through idealistic leftist circles to genuinely hear and respond to the needs of working class people of color. Then speak with Eric Thor, the former co-chair of NYC-DSA, about the Zohran Save Calculator, an app which tells you how much you would save under Mamdani’s policies.
We speak with Alex Vitale, the author of The End of Policing, about one of the greatest challenges Zohran Mamdani will face if he goes on to win the November general election: How to deal with the NYPD. Among the hot-button topics Mamdani will have to deal with is whether to keep billionaire heiress Jessica Tisch as his police commissioner, the future of the Cop City training complex being built in Queens and how to dismantle the Strategic Response Group, the special 800-strong battalion of cops notorious for abusing the constitutional rights of protesters. We get Alex's thoughts on Mamdani's proposed new Department of Community Safety that would transfer responsibility for homeless and mentally distressed individuals from the NYPD to trained social workers and mental health professionals.
In our first segment, we speak with Columbia Professor Joe Howley. He has been an outspoken critic of the repression of pro-Palestine protesters at Columbia since the fall of 2023. He has also been watching with dismay as the university’s top leaders recently negotiated what he says is a one-sided legal settlement with the Trump administration.
CUNY-Brooklyn College Professor Jeanne Theoharis on CUNY Firing Pro-Palestine Faculty and MLK by The Indypendent
July 29: Professor Joe Howley on Columbia's Settlement and Professor Jeanne Theoharis on the Firing of 4 CUNY Faculty by The Indypendent
In our first segment, we speak with Liaga Guallpa, co-executive director of the Workers Justice Project, which celebrated some big legislative wins for New York City’s tens of thousands of bicycle deliveristas on July 14 on the steps of City Halls. In our second segment, Felix Matos Rodriguez, Chancellor of the City University of New York, was hauled before Congress today and grilled about alleged incidents of anti-semitism at CUNY since October 2023. We hear from Jennifer Gabourey, the first vice president of the CUNY faculty union, to get their response to today’s show trial and the broader attack on American universities being carried out by the Trump administration.And in the final part of the show, we catch up on the latest news from the mayor’s race.
How Zohran Mamdani and New York City DSA pulled off one of the greatest victories in the history of the American Left and the many challenges ahead. Scott Harris hosts Counterpoint Mondays 8-9:30pm on WPKN (Bridgeport, CT.). Interviews from that show are edited and rebroadcast on Between the Lines, a nationally syndicated show that airs on more than 70 radio stations.
In our first segment, we speak with WBAI General Manager Bob Hennelly about the impact of Congress’s sweeping cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and how it could impact public radio and television stations across the country.In our second segment, Danny Pearlstein of the Riders Alliance talks about 6 months after it was implemented, congestion traffic pricing has been a smashing success. We also get his thoughts to Zohran Mamdani’s campaign promise of fast and free buses. In our third and final segment, Minnesota-based freelance journalist Clint Combs updates us on the surging mayoral campaign of State Senator Omar Fateh, a democratic socialist challenging a two-term incumbent Democratic mayor.
We discuss the new post-election special edition of The Indypendent, take calls from listeners about the mayoral race and Zohran Mamdani and in the second half of the show we speak with two labor activists who are fighting in court to preserve the paid sick day rights of 3.6 million New Yorkers.
Law & Disorder is a nationally syndicated radio show aired weekly on more than 150 radio stations across the country.
We speak with Peter Sterne, an editor at City & State, about Zohran Mamdani’s shocking primary victory and how the New York City’s Democratic Party establishment was reacting to it. We also hear from Sam Mellins of New York Focus about how the state legislature he currently serves in might respond to his ambitious agenda. And in our final segment we spoke with two members of Veterans for Peace who just completed a 40-day fast to call attention to Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza.
On primary day, The Indy's John Tarleton and Ariana Orozco discuss the latest developments in the race between Zohran Mamdani and Andrew Cuomo. We also hear from voters going to the polls, take listener call-ins and speak with Indy Contributing Editor Nicholas Powers about the affordability crisis.
The Indypendent's John Tarleton and Amba Guerguerian speak in the first half of the show with mayoral candidate and former Bronx Assemblymember Michael Blake who cross-endorsed Zohran Mamdani the previous day. In the second half of the show, we talk with Jay Walker, co-founder of the Queer Liberation March who previews this year's march and how the second Trump administration was shaping its message. Founded in 2019 on the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, the QLM has become the radical alternative to the corporate-sponsored NYC Pride March.
Felix Matos Rodriguez, Chancellor of the City University of New York, was hauled before Congress and grilled about alleged incidents of antisemitism at CUNY since October 2023. We hear from Jennifer Gabourey, the first vice president of the CUNY faculty union, to get their response to the House Education and the Workforce Committee's show trial and the broader attack on American universities being carried out by the Trump administration.
We speak with Liaga Guallpa, co-executive director of the Workers Justice Project, which celebrated some big legislative wins yesterday on the steps of City Hall for New York City’s tens of thousands of bicycle deliveristas.
In our first segment, we speak with Liaga Guallpa, co-executive director of the Workers Justice Project, which celebrated some big legislative wins yesterday on the steps of City Hall for New York City’s tens of thousands of bicycle deliveristas. In our second segment, Felix Matos Rodriguez, Chancellor of the City University of New York, was hauled before Congress today and grilled about alleged incidents of anti-semitism at CUNY since October 2023. We hear from Jennifer Gabourey, the first vice president of the CUNY faculty union, to get their response to today’s show trial and the broader attack on American universities being carried out by the Trump administration.And in the final part of the show, we catch up on the latest news from the mayor’s race.
We catch up on the mayoral race with Indy Contributing Editor Nicholas Powers. A new poll out shows former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s lead over his top challenger, Zohran Mamdani, shrinking to a mere two points.
We speak with a participant in the rolling hunger strike by students and faculty at the City University of New York. The hunger strikers want CUNY to cut all ties with Israel and companies that do business with Israel.
Co-host Amba Guerguerian joins us live from Foley Square, where immigrant rights groups and their allies are rallying today to protest the Trump administration’s mass deportation program and the increasingly brazen tactics used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, to detain and deport immigrants.
In our first segment, co-host Amba Guerguerian joins us live from Foley Square, where immigrant rights groups and their allies are rallying today to protest the Trump administration’s mass deportation program and the increasingly brazen tactics used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, to detain and deport immigrants. Then we speak with a participant in the rolling hunger strike by students and faculty at the City University of New York. The hunger strikers want CUNY to cut all ties with Israel and companies that do business with Israel. And in the final part of the show, we catch up on the mayor’s race with Indy Contributing Editor Nicholas Powers. A new poll out shows former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s lead over his top challenger, Zohran Mamdani, shrinking to a mere two points.
We speak with City Councilmember Shahana Hanif. She’s facing a tough re-election challenge in her Brooklyn district with money from Uber pouring into her district after she backed legislation that would protect the labor rights of immigrant gig workers.
We hear from an organizer with NYC ICE Watch, a rapid response network founded in 2020 that responds to incidents of ICE sightings and other emergencies.
In our first segment, we hear from an organizer with NYC ICE Watch, a rapid response network founded in 2020 that responds to incidents of ICE sightings and other emergencies. In our second segment, we speak with City Councilmember Shahana Hanif. She’s facing a tough re-election challenge in her Brooklyn district with money from Uber pouring into her district after she backed legislation that would protect the labor rights of immigrant gig workers. And in our final segment, we get the latest on the New York City mayoral race.
We look at the latest news from New York City’s mayoral race. A new poll shows socialist state legislator Zohran Mamdani rapidly gaining ground on former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. We also take listener call-ins.
As famine and starvation spreads across Gaza, CUNY students and veterans here in New York have launched separate hunger strikes in opposition to the U.S.-backed genocide. We speak with a hunger-striking veteran and a hunger-striking grad student.
As famine and starvation spreads across Gaza, CUNY students and veterans here in New York have launched separate hunger strikes in opposition to the U.S.-backed genocide. We speak with a hunger-striking veteran and a hunger-striking grad student. Then we take a look at the latest news from New York City’s mayoral race. A new poll shows socialist state legislator Zohran Mamdani rapidly gaining ground on former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
We speak with Nicholas Powers, longtime Indy contributor and African-American Literature Professor at SUNY-Old Westbury, about how Black America is generally responding to Trump's second presidency. His latest article is titled "Under Trump 2.0, Most Black Americans Have Nowhere to Turn."
We look at the pro-Palestine activism that continues roiling New York City college campuses from CUNY to Columbia. We speak with Naomi Schiller of CUNY Faculty & Staff for Justice in Palestine and Josh Dubnau and Lillian Udell, two Columbia alumni who will burn their diplomas outside the campus gates on the morning of May 21 before the university holds its graduation ceremony.
Co-hosts John Tarleton and Amba Guerguerian look at the pro-Palestine activism that continues roiling New York City college campuses from CUNY to Columbia. We speak with Naomi Schiller of CUNY Faculty & Staff for Justice in Palestine and Josh Dubnau and Lillian Udell, two Columbia alumni who plan to burn their diplomas outside the campus gates Wednesday morning before the university holds its graduation ceremony. In the second half of the show, we speak with Nicholas Powers, longtime Indy contributor and African-American Literature Professor at SUNY-Old Westbury, about how Black America is generally responding to Trump's second presidency. His latest article is titled "Under Trump 2.0, Most Black Americans Have Nowhere to Turn."
We talk about former governor Andrew Cuomo, who is now the frontrunner in the New York City mayoral race. Our guest, Lindsey Boylan, was an economic development advisor to then-Gov. Cuomo. Boylan became the first of 11 women to go public with claims of sexual harassment against Cuomo that led to his resignation in August of 2021. In addition to her personal experiences with Cuomo, she got an up-close look at his vindictive governing style and is urging New Yorkers to reconsider putting him back in a position of power.
We speak with democratic socialist State Senator Jabari Brisport of Brooklyn about the recently approved $254 billion-dollar New York State budget which was passed 38 days after its April 1 deadline. We talk with Brisport about the good and the bad of the new budget and why he ultimately voted against it. We will also talk about the convoluted process that led to the final agreement and the Governor’s outsized role in causing the delay. power.
In our first segment, we speak with democratic socialist State Senator Jabari Brisport of Brooklyn about the recently approved $254 billion-dollar New York State budget which was passed 38 days after its April 1 deadline. We talk with Brisport about the good and the bad of the new budget and why he ultimately voted against it. We will also talk about the convoluted process that led to the final agreement and the Governor’s outsized role in causing the delay. In the second half of the show, we talk about former governor Andrew Cuomo, who is now the frontrunner in the New York City mayoral race. Our guest, Lindsey Boylan, was an economic development advisor to then-Gov. Cuomo. Boylan became the first of 11 women to go public with claims of sexual harassment against Cuomo that led to his resignation in August of 2021. In addition to her personal experiences with Cuomo, she got an up-close look at his vindictive governing style and is urging New Yorkers to reconsider putting him back in a position of power.
Ariana Orozco will be speaking with an actor and director for a new play chronicling the history of Black midwifery in the U.S., she will also will be talking to a death doula about our relationship to death and how we might better accept the inevitable, and finally with Popular Democracy about the relationship between poetry and political education
We speak with two organizers from NYC-DSA’s Independent Working Class Organizing Initiative, which is organizing tenants to directly resist the landlord class. IWCO will be holding a citywide tenant assembly this Sunday, May 4, from 1–6 p.m. at the Sixth Street Community Center in the East Village.
We speak with journalist Steven Wishnia and Alina Shen, organizing director of CAAAV Voice, a group that fights against gentrification in working-class Asian communities, about the history of rent control and why a rent freeze is needed now.
We were talking tenants rights on this week’s Indypendent News Hour. In our first segment, co-hosts John Tarleton and Amba Guerguerian speak with journalist Steven Wishnia and Alina Shen, organizing director of CAAAV Voice, a group that fights against gentrification in working class Asian communities, about the history of rent control and why a rent freeze is needed now. In our second segment, we speak with two organizers from NYC-DSA’s Independent Working Class Organizing Initiative, which is organizing tenants to directly resist the landlord class. IWCO will be holding a citywide tenant assembly this Sunday 1-6 pm at the Sixth Street Community Center.
We speak with James Davis, President of the Professional Staff Congress—the union that represents over 30,000 faculty and staff at the City University of New York—about the struggle to defend the City University of New York and other American colleges and universities from President Trump’s authoritarian takeover.
Outraged Americans have been showing up at congressional town halls over the past couple of months to demand that their representatives do more to stand up to Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s dismantling of the federal government. On Aprill 22, New York Congressmember Dan Goldman held a town hall at City Tech College in downtown Brooklyn. The Indy’s John Tarleton reports live from the event.
Outraged Americans have been showing up at congressional town halls over the past couple of months to demand that their representatives do more to stand up to Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s dismantling of the federal government. On Aprill 22, New York Congressmember Dan Goldman held a town hall at City Tech College in downtown Brooklyn. The Indy’s John Tarleton reports live from the event. We also speak with James Davis, President of the Professional Staff Congress—the union that represents over 30,000 faculty and staff at the City University of New York—about the struggle to defend the City University of New York and other American colleges and universities from President Trump’s authoritarian takeover.
We have the latest on the repression of pro-Palestine speech right here in New York and the growing impunity of groups like Betar and other militant Zionists. We cover recent protests by doctors, nurses and professors from Columbia University's medical campus and by Within Our Lifetime Palestine.
Brooklyn for Peace and the War Resisters League held a protest on tax day outside the IRS office in Lower Manhattan. We hear from one of the organizers about the staggering amount of your tax dollars that go to pay for the war machine and what they’re doing here at the local level to address this.
Brooklyn for Peace and the War Resisters League held a protest on tax day outside the IRS office in Lower Manhattan. We hear from one of the organizers about the staggering amount of your tax dollars that go to pay for the war machine and what they’re doing here at the local level to address this. One of the things your tax money goes to is sending billions of dollars in weapons to Israel to help the Zionist state kill more Palestinians. But it’s getting harder to talk about. We have the latest on the repression of pro-Palestine speech right here in New York and the growing impunity of groups like Betar and other militant Zionists.
In our second segment, the struggle against billionaire oligarchy is unfolding at a hyperlocal level in Flushing, Queens. Mets owner Steve Cohen wants to build a new casino on parkland adjacent to Citi Field. We hear from two local community organizers who are helping lead the opposition to Cohen and the Citi Field Casino.
City budget season is underway as the mayor and City Council debate how to divvy up the city’s roughly $110 billion annual budget. In our first segment, we hear from students and educators who rallied today outside the Department of Education headquarters demanding that Mayor Adams cease his cuts to their schools.
City budget season is underway as the mayor and City Council debate how to divvy up the city’s roughly $110 billion annual budget. In our first segment, we hear from students and educators who rallied today outside the Department of Education headquarters demanding that Mayor Adams cease his cuts to their schools. In our second segment, the struggle against billionaire oligarchy is unfolding at a hyperlocal level in Flushing, Queens. Mets owner Steve Cohen wants to build a new casino on parkland adjacent to Citi Field. We hear from two local community organizers who are helping lead the opposition to Cohen and the Citi Field Casino.
The Democrats lost to Donald Trump for a second time in November. And now the party's leaders are rapidly losing the trust of some of their most loyal rank-and-file supporters. Our co-hosts John Tarleton and Amba Guerguerian speak with Brioney Romer and Liat Olinick of Indivisible Brooklyn about their recent protests outside Senator Chuck Schumer's home in Brooklyn and the growing demands for Schumer to step down as the Senate's top Democrat. We also speak with The Indypendent's Janavi Kumar about exciting news for a world-famous basketball court in Harlem and catch up on the latest news in the mayor's race.
The Democrats lost to Donald Trump for a second time in November. And now the party's leaders are rapidly losing the trust of some of their most loyal rank-and-file supporters. Our co-hosts John Tarleton and Amba Guerguerian speak with Brioney Romer and Liat Olinick of Indivisible Brooklyn about their recent protest outside Senator Chuck Schumer's home in Brooklyn and the growing demands for Schumer to step down as the Senate's top Democrat.
We also speak with The Indypendent's Janavi Kumar about exciting news for a world-famous basketball court in Harlem.
In the first half of the show, we look at the continually exploding crisis at Columbia University which is on the cutting edge of the Trump administration’s plans for higher education in this country to no longer be a bastion of free speech and political protest. Then we speak with historian Robert W. Snyder about his new book on the essential workers who kept New York running when the Covid-19 pandemic exploded five years ago this month.
We speak with Professor Joseph Howley and student journalist Eric Santomauro-Stenzel about the continually exploding crisis at Columbia University which is on the cutting edge of the Trump administration’s plans for higher education in this country to no longer be a bastion of free speech and political protest.
We speak with historian Robert W. Snyder about his new book on the essential workers who kept New York running when the pandemic exploded five years ago this month.
We then speak with Indypendent Contributing Editor Nicholas Powers about his latest book, 'Black Psychedelic Revolution: From Trauma to Liberation.'
We speak with Queens State Senator and NYC mayoral candidate Jessica Ramos, who is running as a pro-labor progressive.
Our co-hosts John Tarleton and Amba Guerguerian speak with Queens State Senator and NYC mayoral candidate Jessica Ramos, who is running as a pro-labor progressive. We then speak with Indypendent Contributing Editor Nicholas Powers about his latest book: Black Psychedelic Revolution: From Trauma to Liberation.
On Feb. 26, more than 100 home care workers were attacked by the NYPD and seven were arrested at a protest outside a fancy Wall Street fundraiser for the Chinatown non-profit that controls their working conditions. The workers from the Ain’t I A Woman campaign say that the Chinese-American Planning Council, or CPC, owes them $90 million in back pay. The focus of the protesters’ ire is a law that allows their employer to assign them 24-hour home care shifts for which they only receive 13 hours of pay. We speak with Vicki Niu, a volunteer with the Ain’t I a Woman Campaign and Alberto Neri with the Youth Against Sweatshops. They were both present at the gala protest and have been organizing the home care workers and other workers to end the 24 hour shift.
Indypendent co-hosts John Tarleton and Amba Guerguerian discuss Andrew Cuomo entering the NYC mayoral race and why we think he shouldn't be elected again. We also take listener call-ins.
In our first segment, we get the latest on the bi-partisan repression of pro-Palestine voices on college campuses. We then learn about a campaign by home health care workers who are fighting for fair labor standards. Finally, co-hosts John Tarleton and Amba Guerguerian discuss Andrew Cuomo entering the NYC mayoral race and take listener call-ins.
On Feb. 26, about 50 students in keffiyehs occupied the hallway outside the offices of Barnard College’s top administrators. Barnard is an undergraduate women’s college located across the street from Columbia University. Over more than six hours of tense negotiations, protesters demanded that the school’s leaders rescind the expulsions of two Barnard student protesters — the first such student expulsions for political activity at Columbia or Barnard since 1968. We speak with The Indypendent’s Eric Santomauro-Stenzel, who was on hand during the sit-in. His story, “Inside the Student Sit-in That Rocked Barnard College” is up on indypendent.org.
We focus on City Hall, where Mayor Adams continues on the job but is not out of trouble yet. Adams recently cut a deal with the U.S. Justice Department to have his federal corruption charges dropped in return for assisting the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign here in New York City. The judge in the case, Dale Ho, so far has refused to dismiss the charges. NY Gov. Kathy Hochul has weighed whether she should use her authority to remove a mayor from office but so far refused to pull the trigger. And there’s a mayoral primary in four months where the leading candidate to replace Adams — Andrew Cuomo — is not even in the race. To help make sense of all the latest with our embattled mayor, we speak with Peter Sterne, an editor at City & State, a news organization dedicated to covering local and state politics and policy here in New York.
In our first segment, we get the latest on the Eric Adams saga from a reporter who has City Hall covered like a blanket. Then we’ll take stock of the Trump-Musk administration’s widening attacks on public services. We then speak with Chuck Zlatkin of the American Postal Workers Union which represents more than 200,000 postal workers nationwide. And in our final segment, we talk with journalist Liza Featherstone about why Trump and Musk are targeting many of the most popular services provided by the federal government. It’s not a political miscalculation, she argued in a recent essay for The New Republic, but a key part of their plan.
We speak with Chuck Zlatkin, a longtime postal worker who is currently the Legislative and Political Director for New York Metro Area Postal Union, the local affiliate of the American Postal Workers Union.The U.S. postal service is older than country itself and provides universal service to every address in the country. While people may not write as many letters as they used to, the Postal Service remains essential to small and large businesses, to elderly who receive their prescriptions by mail, to voters who vote by mail and many others. However, with President Trump and Elon Musk indiscriminately wielding their wrecking ball across the federal government, recent comments by Trump have many concerned that he may try to privatize the post office and dismantled the services we’ve become accustomed to.
We speak with journalist Liza Featherstone about her recent article in The New Republic, "Musk and Trump Are Cutting Popular Programs. That’s Deliberate: This is how you sever the positive relationship between people and government — ensuring there’s nothing left to defend."
Co-hosts John Tarleton and Amba Guerguerin speak with Leo and Maria about the Sunset Park-based Plaza Proletaria is organizing against ICE raids and deportations. In the second half of the show, we hear from Socialist State Senator Jabari Brisport of Brooklyn about how the Trump/Musk assault on federal agencies and spending could impact New York State and its 20 million residents. We also have updates from the streets as New Yorkers hit the streets to protest Trump, Musk and Adams.
We hear from Socialist State Senator Jabari Brisport of Brooklyn about how the Trump/Musk assault on federal agencies and spending could impact New York State and its 20 million residents.
We speak with Leo and Maria, organizers with Plaza Proletaria, a working-class, immigrant-led group that is organizing to thwart the ICE raids, which are a part of the Trump administration’s campaign to deport millions of undocumented people in this country.
We start out by looking at how the campaign to unionize Starbucks is faring. More than 500 Starbucks stores have unionized since December 2021, but now the movement faces new threats as the Trump administration seeks to dismantle the Department of Labor.We then speak with veteran labor organizer Eric Dirnbach. He’s lived the ups and downs of the labor movement since the late 90s. In recent years, he’s been active with the Emergency Worker Organizing Committee which formed in the early days of the Covid pandemic and has helped thousands of workers organize unions.At the end of the show, we talk about Mayor Eric Adams, who had his federal corruption charges dismissed yesterday by the Department Justice, and take listener call ins.
In our first segment, we go to Queens College, where yesterday more than 100 faculty and students protested for the right to protest on their campus in the face of an increasingly authoritarian campus administration. And then we check in with The Indy’s Amba Guerguerian. She published a major new piece today looking at how dissent has been systematically crushed at Columbia since last spring’s Gaza solidarity encampment ignited a nationwide anti-genocide campus protest movement. Amba has also been following protests that have been popping off around the city just over the past 24 hours. In our final segment, we speak with Linda Martin Alcoff, a professor of philosophy at CUNY’s Hunter College who has written multiple books that explore the intersection of race, gender and class. We get her thoughts on the early days of the Trump administration and its relentless focus on purging anything it deems to be “DEI” or “woke.”
We talk about Mayor Eric Adams, who had his federal corruption charges dismissed yesterday by the Department Justice, and take listener call ins.
We speak with veteran labor organizer Eric Dirnbach. He’s lived the ups and downs of the labor movement since the late 90s about low union membership numbers and how to keep fighting in this Trump (or any) era.
We look at how the campaign to unionize Starbucks is faring. More than 500 Starbucks stores have unionized since December 2021, but now the movement faces new threats as the Trump administration seeks to dismantle the Department of Labor.
We go to Queens College, where yesterday more than 100 faculty and students protested for the right to protest on their campus in the face of an increasingly authoritarian campus administration.
We check in with The Indy’s Amba Guerguerian. She published a major new piece today looking at how dissent has been systematically crushed at Columbia since last spring’s Gaza solidarity encampment ignited a nationwide anti-genocide campus protest movement. Amba has also been following protests that have been popping off around the city just over the past 24 hours.
We speak with Linda Martin Alcoff, a professor of philosophy at CUNY’s Hunter College who has written multiple books that explore the intersection of race, gender and class. We get her thoughts on the early days of the Trump administration and its relentless focus on purging anything it deems to be “DEI” or “woke.”
We discuss the Trump administration’s stunning Jan. 28 announcement that it will “temporarily pause” trillions of dollars of already approved government spending. We also look at the overall arc of the first eight days of the Trump administration so we can help you make sense of what’s going on.
We speak with Indy contributing writer John Teufel about his latest piece about growing up in West Islip, New York. Teufel has watched West Islip, also known as “White Islip," become a MAGA bastion in recent years that is now proud to claim Daniel Penny as a favorite son. Penny is the former marine who choked homeless subway passenger Jordan Neely to death in 2023 and was acquitted on all charges in December.
There’s been a sea of humanity returning to their pulverized communities in northern Gaza since Jan. 27. We talk about that and what comes next in the ceasefire process that could determine whether this genocidal war really ends or not.
We bring on Indypendent Contributing Editor Nicholas Powers and take call-ins from listeners who share how they feel about the Trump's second presidential term.
Ravi Ragbir, a leading advocate for immigrants facing deportation and the co-founder of the New Sanctuary Coalition, won a full presidential pardon from Joe Biden, ending Ragbir’s 16-year quest to avoid being deported to his native Trinidad and Tobago. We speak with him about the pardon and the need for community power.
In the context of Trump's harsh deportation plans, we speak with Murad Awawdeh, the executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition, a broad coalition of many immigrant-rights community groups in New York.
First Segment: Ravi Ragbir, a leading advocate for immigrants facing deportation and the co-founder of the New Sanctuary Coalition, won a full presidential pardon from Joe Biden, ending Ragbir’s 16-year quest to avoid being deported to his native Trinidad and Tobago. We speak with him about the pardon and the need for community power.Second Segment: In the context of Trump's harsh deportation plans, we speak with Murad Awawdeh, the executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition, a broad coalition of many immigrant-rights community groups in New York. Final Segment: We bring on Indypendent Contributing Editor Nicholas Powers and take call-ins from listeners who share how they feel about the Trump's second presidential term.
Donald Trump has vowed to begin mass deportations on Day 1 of his new administration. As the nation's preeminent home to immigrants, how will New York City respond? On today's show, we'll speak with City Councilmember Alexa Aviles, Chair of the Council's Committee on Immigration about the laws and resources the city has in place to protect immigrants as well as her concerns that Mayor Eric Adams may assist Trump's mass deportation project. In the second half of the show, we'll speak with mutual aid activists from the South Bronx Mutual Aid Network and Foodfight Brooklyn about how they are assisting immigrants who are being evicted from their shelters in the middle of the winter as well as preparing for whatever happens after Trump's inauguration.
Donald Trump has vowed to begin mass deportations on Day 1 of his new administration. As the nation's preeminent home to immigrants, how will New York City respond? On today's show, we'll speak with City Councilmember Alexa Aviles, Chair of the Council's Committee on Immigration about the laws and resources the city has in place to protect immigrants as well as her concerns that Mayor Eric Adams may assist Trump's mass deportation project.
We'll speak with mutual aid activists from the South Bronx Mutual Aid Network and Foodfight Brooklyn about how they are assisting immigrants who are being evicted from their shelters in the middle of the winter as well as preparing for whatever happens after Trump's inauguration.
We hear from Alex Kane, senior reporter at Jewish Currents, about the Trump Administration's plans to dismantle the Palestine solidarity movement.
We speak with Nicole Noble from NY-10 Neighbors for Peace, a Palestine solidarity group that has been pressuring their ardently Zionist House rep Dan Goldman since the genocide in Gaza began.
We spoke with with Danny Pearlstein and Emilia Decaudin of the Riders Alliance about the launch of congestion pricing in New York City, which began on Sunday after many years of struggle.
To start of the show, we spoke with Danny Pearlstein and Emilia Decaudin of the Riders Alliance about the launch of congestion pricing in New York City, which began on Sunday after many years of struggle.We then heard from Alex Kane, staff writer at Jewish Currents, about the Trump Administration's plans to dismantle the Palestine solidarity movement.Lastly, we bring on Nicole Noble from NY-10 Neighbors for Peace, a Palestine solidarity group that has been pressuring their ardently Zionist House rep Dan Goldman since the genocide in Gaza began.
Listen to some of our favorite stories and interviews over this past year including one of the first interviews with mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani and a story about birds attacking NYPD drones!
LaMont Hopewell joins John Tarleton to discuss striking Amazon workers in Maspeth, Staten Island and across the country
LaMont Hopewell joins John Tarleton to discuss striking Amazon workers in Maspeth, Staten Island and across the country and Indy contributor Nicholas Powers fields listener call-ins about Kamala Harris' crushing defeat
Malika Conner of the Right to Counsel NYC Coalition and a tenant leader from a Community Action for Safe Housing (CASA), an advocacy group in the South Bronx, about the lack of adequate legal counsel for tenants who are being taken to housing court by their landlords.
On today's Indypendent News Hour, our hosts John Tarleton and Ariana Orozco will discuss yesterday's Daniel Penny not guilty verdict with Chris Neely, uncle of Jordan Neely, and radical lawyer Eileen Weitzman, both of whom attended the trial and have been closely monitoring its progress. We will also speak with Malika Conner of the Right to Counsel NYC Coalition and a tenant leader from a Community Action for Safe Housing (CASA), an advocacy group in the South Bronx, about the lack of adequate legal counsel for tenants who are being taken to housing court by their landlords.We will be taking listener calls during both segments.
John Tarleton and Ariana Orozco will discuss yesterday's Daniel Penny not guilty verdict with Chris Neely, uncle of Jordan Neely, and radical lawyer Eileen Weitzman, both of whom attended the trial and have been closely monitoring its progress.
Host Ariana Orozco speaks with Danny Pearlstein from the Rider's Alliance about the recent win for congestion pricing as well as a representative from Public Power NY and finally a leftist lawyer closely following the Daniel Penny trial in the murder of subway performer Jordan Neely.
On today's Indypendent News Hour, we'll have an update from the Daniel Penny trial, the latest on a Gaza solidarity encampment at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NY and we'll speak with Elizabeth Gonzalez of @comradeswkids about being a socialist parent in a time of Trump.
Donald Trump had the highest New York City vote of any Republican presidential candidate since 1988. Indypendent Contributing Editor Ted Hamm talks about where Trump made his gains and what Trump's election might mean for Eric Adams who has embraced Trump's apocalyptic anti-immigrant rhetoric.
We talk about Trump's growing support in Asian and Latino immigrant communities, heard from the leader of a socialist organization that is seeing a post-election surge in membership and we took calls from WBAI listeners who reacted to the election results.
It's Election Day! The Indypendent hits the streets to speak with real NYC voters about who they cast their vote for and calls in some friends of the paper who are involved in grassroots organizing this cycle.
Nov 11 2024: Bob Hennelly and Nick Powers on Independent Media During the Presidential Election by The Indypendent
Nancy Romer tells us what she feels about the election having been on the ground in several key swing states.
Last week, Hurricane Oscar devastated the Cuban island destroying over 1000 homes and directly killing at least six people. As a result of the natural disaster, millions of people are still without power and bread rations have been reduced to the size of a bar of soap. Cuba has repeatedly appealed to the international community, and especially the United States to lift the embargo which has strangled the government’s capacity to trade in the international arena and by extension provide stability for its citizens. Yesterday, October 27th, activists gathered at Grand Central to demand that the U.S. Let’s Cuba Live! In road to the UN General Assembly vote to end the blockade against Cuba. With us now we have Danny Valdes, Co-Chair DSA's Cuba Solidarity Working Group to discuss how U.S. policy is contributing to the disaster in Cuba.
For our next segment, we turn to New York’s 10th congressional district in Lower Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn. Anti-war activists in that district are running an unorthodox write-in campaign against their incumbent congressman, Dan Goldman, who has been an all-in supporter of Israel’s war on Gaza. Joining us now to talk about this is Nicole Noble of New York-10 Neighbors for Peace, an antiwar groups which has been holding protests against Goldman for the past year.
While the nation’s eyes are on the White House, New Yorkers have another major election coming up. Early voting has already begun, and on November 5th, New Yorkers will vote on six ballot measures. The first will enshrine abortion rights into the state’s constitution while the five others would change the City’s charter. While city officials have condemned the measures as attempts to weaken checks and balances on the mayor, Adams has promoted the measures on the grounds of growing New York City’s business sector and strengthening law enforcement. Here to breakdown the ballot measures and what they might mean for New Yorkers in Councilmember Shahana Hanif.
Queens assembly member and mayoral candidate, Zohran Mamdani announced his campaign last weekend and for once his first media appearance he tells The Indypendent how he'll address New Yorkers' biggest problems including the affordability crisis.
This special two-hour episode includes guests Mayoral Candidate and Queens Assembly Representative Zohran Mamdani! The show will end with a special live performance from Eli Smith.
We speak with the New York Taxi Workers Alliance about the largest current campaign Uber and Lyft drivers launched against the rideshare companies, which are locking drivers out of the apps for extended periods by taking advantage of a legal loophole.
The Nation interns Samaa Khullar and Thomas Birmingham talk about why they published their recent article, "Kamala Harris Does Not Deserve The Nation’s Endorsement."
We speak with the New York Taxi Workers Alliance about the largest current campaign Uber and Lyft drivers launched against the rideshare companies, which are locking drivers out of the apps for extended periods. We also hear from two of the Nation interns that published “Kamala Harris Does Not Deserve The Nation’s Endorsement."
Ligia Guallpa is the Executive Director of the Workers Justice Project. WJP aims to empower low-wage immigrant workers and build sustainable solutions for them as they contribute to our city. Earlier this year, the organization launched a movement to combat wage theft against undocumented workers. Six local construction companies in the city are being accused of stealing over $114,000 from their employees, many of whom rely on these incomes to support families here or in their home countries. If you would like to find out more or donate to Workers Justice Project text "Give" to 347-305-8541.
Amygdala gives us a glimpse into the world of drag, from how she manages to make it work on a budget and what the night industry COULD do to make it easier.
We look at two cases of hidden labor: our construction workers behind the buildings we sit in, and our cultural workers who create the shows we remember.We’ll be speaking with Ligia Guallpa of the Workers Justice Project about some of their recent initiatives surrounding wage theft against undocumented workers. Later, we will also be speaking with a cultural worker, Drag Queen Amygdala about how drag works in the city that never sleeps.
New Yorkers took to the streets on October 7th to protest the continued genocidal actions of the Israeli government aided by U.S. Zionists.
October 7th 2024 marks the one-year anniversary of Hamas' attack on Israel and the subsequent genocidal war that has unfolded. The Indypendent reflects on NYC protests of the event and takes listener call-ins.
We’ll be joined by Andrew Tilson, executive director of the Workers Unite Film Festival. This global celebration of labor solidarity kicks off October 18th at Cinema Village and will continue until October 30th with in-person and virtual events. Films range from student and professional projects telling the stories of struggle and activism for a better world.
We’ll get an update from a pair of New York City activists with long-time ties to the labor movement who are canvassing door-to-door for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in swing states like Pennsylvania and Michigan that will determine the outcome of this year’s presidential race.
Two volunteers join us to tell us about their experience canvasing for Kamala in key swing states while in New York City, workers celebrate Starbucks 500th unionized store and the upcoming Workers Film Festival!
The Starbucks Workers Union recently unionized its 500th store nationwide. And then it announced that a dozen more stores had filed to hold union elections including one in Manhattan and another in Brooklyn. We’ll get an update on how this historic union drive is going when we speak with worker-organizer Evan Sunshine.
This week, co-hosts John Tarleton and Ariana Orozco are busy working on the final edits for this month's issue of The Indypendent. Instead of a live show, enjoy some of our favorite interviews from the past few months including a conversation with contributing writer Nicholas Powers about the power of revolutionary cinema, a journalist who specializes in unconvering AI's impact in governmental elections, and finally two activists who say all the revolution needs is a little attention!
Katy Lasell and Bryan Fotino of the Bronstein Tenant Union encourage people to come out September 21st to support tenants in their near decade-long fight with Bronstein Properties LLC
Co-host John Tarleton and Ariana Orozco are joined by Michael Lange who explains the recent scandals embroiling the Eric Adams administration. Later, union leaders from the Bronstein Tenant Union demand justice from their landlords in Queens.
Meet two traveling activists – Osama Oliwat and Rotem Levin – who have lived on the frontlines of the conflict for decades and who believe peaceful co-existence with equal rights for all is still possible in Palestine/Israel. Also listen to original NYC Indymedia member Rivka Einy’s latest song “Open Eyes.”
On this week’s edition of The Indypendent News Hour on WBAI-99.5 FM, John Tarleton and Ariana Orozco spoke with two traveling peace activists – one Palestinian and one Israeli – who have lived on the frontlines of the conflict for decades and who believe peaceful co-existence with equal rights for all is still possible in Palestine/Israel. We also had a fascinating conversation with two instructors from the Strother School of Radical Attention which is helping people step back from their electronic devices and relearn how to become fully present in the world around them.
Eco-Socialists Call on CUNY, Gov. Hochul to Embrace Potential of NY's Build Public Renewables Act by The Indypendent
Kim Fraczek of Sane Energy discusses the fight against National Grid's price hikes for consumers.
Co-hosts John Tarleton and Ariana Orozco sit down with Kim Fraczek of Sane Energy to discuss the fight against National Grid's price hikes for consumers. Then, Nancy Romer urges CUNY to make sure of NY Power Authority to lower electric costs and save energy. She is joined by Zach Jonas of Public Power NY about how to build coalition for renewable energy, despite Governor Hochul's efforts to undermine clean energy advocates.
Arti Thikdor explains why dancers need more protections and how creative fields (amongst others) can unionize now!
Revarend Billy and the Choir of Stop Shopping have dropped their latest album "The Sun is a Star That Keeps Me Warm" and opened their door to new migrants
Jesse McLaughlin of the NYC Bird Alliance explains why birds are battling NYPD drones over Rockaway Beach
Co-hosts John Tarlelton and Ariana Orozco of The Indypendent speak with Jesse McLaughlin of the NYC Bird Alliance about protecting wildlife from NYPD encroaching on their habitat at Rockaway Beach, an organizer from the Live Arts Workers Union about establishing better working conditons for NYC dancer, and Reverand Billy about exciting happenings at the Earth Church on Avenue C in the Lower East Side.
Russell Brandom (Rest of World) on AI-generated misinformation and regulation by The Indypendent
This episode of The Indypendent News Hour features guests Russell Brandom discussing emerging AI technology and its impact on politics and culture, Heidi Schlumph on why the Catholic vote is split, and Nicholas Powers on Kamala's path to the White House.
Anarchist-activist Marisa Holmes discusses the lessons she wishes people remembered from Occupy Wall Street.
Advocates for Local Parks Hayley Gorenburg discusses efforts to save Mount Prospect Park from being cemented over for a skate park
Peter Sterne, editor and reporter at City and State, discusses developments in the NYC mayor race and newly nominated Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz
NYU student-activist and Bangladeshi-American, Adrita Talukder, discusses the protests in Dhaka and why Bangladeshis are celebrating the ousting of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasini
Adrita Talukder discusses Bangladeshi protests, Peter Stern gives his thoughts on the mayoral and presidential elections, and Hayley Gorenberg discusses efforts to save Mount Prospect Park.
Chair of the NYC-DSA Membership Committee details how to nurture a Socialist movement that can be sustainable for the long haul through softball games, family picnics, book reading clubs and other community building activities
Danny Pearlstein of the Riders Alliance talks about a new lawsuit filed last week to reverse Gov. Hochul cancelling of the congestion pricing in Lower Manhattan and the cascading effects we are already seeing
NYU student activist discusses a new round of repressive measures against pro-Palestine speech that NYU administration recently announced and how the logic of the Occupation is being replicated from the West Bank to Washington Square Park
The Indypendent’s John Tarleton speaks with NYU student activist Anita Talukder about her university’ recent capitulation to lawsuits brought by Zionist students alleging pro-Palestinian protests were anti-semitic and how the logic of the Israeli occupation is spreading to Americna universities like hers. We also speak with Danny Pearlstein of the Riders Alliance about the struggle to revive congestion pricing and with Josh Kraushauer of NYC DSA about how organizing softball leagues, family picnics, reading clubs & more is essential to nurturing a socialist movement that is sustainable for the long haul.
The Indypendent's Nicholas Powers talks about why he thinks Kamala Harris can win big in November and what she will need to do to navigate the stereotypes of Black women July 24.
The Indypendent News Hour Nicholas Powers Discusses DSA Candidates and Their Progressive Platforms by The Indypendent
Newly elected United Federation of Teachers Retiree Vice Chair Arthur Goldstein explains the efforts to the stop the city from stripping healthcare benefits from 250,000 retired NYC workers
Claire Valdez explains how she got involved with union organizing and her plans for Queens District 37 including addressing housing costs and low wages.
Danny Pearlstein of Riders Alliance Warns Hochul's Plan Hurts New Yorkers by The Indypendent
State Senator Julia Salazar Continues to Fight for Congestion Prices by The Indypendent
Kayta Schwenk of The Lever Uncovers Hochul's Connections to Auto Companies by The Indypendent
Can Gov. Hochul be compelled to restore congestion pricing?After years of debate and planning, New York City was scheduled on June 30 to implement congestion pricing for cars that enter Manhattan below 60th Street. However, last week Gov. Kathy Hochul announced she was "indefinitely pausing" the plan which would have reduced traffic, improved air quality and pedestrian safety while providing a billion dollars per year in revenue to the MTA for capital spending. On today's show, we speak with socialist State Senator Julia Salazar and Riders Alliance spokesperson Danny Pearlstein about the fallout from Gov. Hochul's decision and whether she can be compelled to change her mind again. We'll also speak with investigative journalist Katya Schwenk of The Lever who broke the story about Hochul's close ties with the Greater New York Automotive Dealers Association.
Nicholas Powers Reflects on Decolonial Protests from Algeria to College Campuses by The Indypendent
Eon Huntley is mounting a strong challenge to an incumbent Assemblymember in Central Brooklyn
Kim Frazcek of Sane Energy discusses the fight to keep a corporate polluter out of Greenpoint, Brooklyn as well as the final push in Albany to pass an important piece of environmental legislation before the state legislature adjourns for the year.
We interview Jonathan Soto, an educator and community activist who is taking on a 10-term incumbent in a northeast Bronx Assembly district that encompasses Coop City. If elected, Soto would be the first Socialist from the Bronx to serve in the state legislature in more than a century.
We hear from Leo with Workers Movement for Liberation (previously Mexicanos Unidos) a radical Sunset-Park group that formed during the George Floyd protests four years ago this summer and continues growing and evolving. He updates us on how things have been going at Plaza Proletaria (previously Plaza Tonatiuh) now that it's been pushed out of Sunset Park by NYPD.
Updates about the terrorizing scenes unfolding in Rafah, Gaza's southernmost and last standing city where about half the Strip's population currently is sheltering on day 234 of the genocide in Gaza. Israel is targeting areas it designated as "safe zones," makeshift tent camps where fire spreads fast.
We provide an update on the latest from Rafah, the besieged town in southern Gaza that is the current focal point of the genocide. And we’ll hear from protesters who took to the streets yesterday in response to a massacre there by Israel.We also hear from Leo with Workers Movement for Liberation, previously Mexicanos Unidos, a radical Sunset-Park group that formed during the George Floyd protests four years ago this summer and continues growing and evolving. And lastly we interview Jonathan Soto, an educator and community activist who is taking on a 10-term incumbent in a northeast Bronx Assembly district that encompasses Coop City. If elected, Soto would be the first Socialist from the Bronx to serve in the state legislature in more than a century.
We speak with Kazembe Balagun, the new executive director at Maysles Documentary Center in Harlem, about his vision for creating a people’s democratic film culture.
An exciting conversation with Lara-Nour Walton who was on the ground during nearly the entirety of the duration of the Gaza Solidarity Encampment there.
We speak with our very own Amba Guerguerian about the NYPD's bloody protest-repression tactics at annual Nakba Day demonstrations this year. Many protesters were left injured, illegal arrests were made, and the police department should expect to be sued for its policing on May 15 and 18.
We speak with our very own Amba Guerguerian about the NYPD's bloody protest-repression tactics at annual Nakba Day demonstrations this year. Then we hear from Indy reporter and Columbia University student Lara-Nour Walton who was on the ground during nearly the entirety of the duration of the Gaza Solidarity Encampment there. Lastly, we speak with Kazembe Balagun about the Maysles Documentary Center up in Harlem where he just became executive director.
Then we speak with Alex Holmstrom-Smith of Red Cosmos Society, which is dedicated to creating and spreading new holiday celebrations and rituals that embody leftist values of solidarity and struggle to create a better world.
We will heard from Suneil, a part-time faculty member at The New School and an organizer at the Refaat Alareer Gaza Solidarity encampment. Then we speak with Jana and Rose, student organizers with The New School chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine and the student Gaza Solidarity Encampment, which lasted over a weeks and was shut down when the university called in the police on May 3.
We will heard from Suneil, a part-time faculty member at The New School and an organizer at the Refaat Alareer Gaza Solidarity encampment. Then we speak with Jana and Rose, student organizers with The New School chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine and the student Gaza Solidarity Encampment, which lasted over a weeks and was shut down when the university called in the police on May 3. Then we speak with Alex Holmstrom-Smith of Red Cosmos Society, which is dedicated to creating and spreading new holiday celebrations and rituals that embody leftist values of solidarity and struggle to create a better world.
Several lefty Jewish groups held an emergency Passover seder Tuesday evening one block from Sen. Chuck Schumer's Brooklyn home that drew several thousand protesters. During the event, Sophie Ellman-Golan of Jews for Racial and Economic Justice called in and talked about the revolutionary meaning of Passover, the encampment movement and more.
We spoke with Indy Contributing Editor Nicholas Powers about what makes The Battle of Algiers such a unique movie, the burgeoning encampment movement on college campuses and more.
We spoke with Ana Nogueira, co-owner of Starr Bar, about the role the Brooklyn performance venue plays in hosting live events for a wide array of NYC social justice organizations. We also talked about Roadmap to Apartheid, the documentary movie she co-directed and her role in founding The Indypendent 24 years ago.
We speak to Cynthia Carter, President of UAW Local 2320 here in New York which represents legal aid workers at Mobilization for Justice who have been on strike for the past eight weeks.
We speak with Indypendent photographer Neil Constanine. Constantine was arrested yesterday while covering a massive pro-Palestine Tax Day protest as it crossed the Brooklyn Bridge. We also get updates on the growing worldwide movement to end the genocide in Gaza and the occupation in Palestine.
We speak with Johnny Rivera, longtime East Harlem tenant and socialist housing organizer. Housing activists who are lambasting the pro-landlord/anti-tenant provisions in the state budget deal that New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Friday following weeks of closed-door negotiations with State
We hear first from housing activists who are lambasting the pro-landlord/anti-tenant provisions in the state budget deal that New York Gov, Kathy Hochul announced on Friday following weeks of closed-door negotiations with State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie. Then, we speak with Indypendent photographer Neil Constantine. Constantine was arrested yesterday while covering a massive pro-Palestine Tax Day protest as it crossed the Brooklyn Bridge. We also get updates on the growing worldwide movement to end the genocide in Gaza and the occupation in Palestine.In our final segment, we speak to Cynthia Carter, President of UAW Local 2330 here in New York which represents legal aid workers who have been on strike for the past 8 weeks.
In the first segment of this week's episode, we spoke with Linda Martín Alcoff, who penned an article in the April issue of The Indypendent titled “White Fright and a Changing World: Here’s What Keeps MAGA up at Night.” In her article, Alcoff writes “We need to understand today’s political crisis as epochal rather than merely current and caused most fundamentally by the slow demise of the modern colonial world system.” Alcoff is a professor of philosophy at Hunter College and the CUNY Graduate Center and the author of numerous books including “The Future of Whiteness” and “Race and Racism: A Decolonial Approach,” which will be released later this year by Oxford University Press.In the second segment, we hear from New York State Senator Jabari Brisport, a democratic socialist from central Brooklyn. Negotiations on the roughly $230 billion annual state budget have sailed by the March 31 deadline mandated by state law and remain deadlocked. Gov. Kathy Hochul, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and their staffs are negotiating behind closed doors while other legislators weigh in on the talks. We talk about efforts to weave affordable housing policies into the budget and the competing claims of landlords and tenants about how to address New York’s housing crisis and more.
In the second segment of this week's episode of The Indypendent News Hour on WBAI-99.5 FM, we hear from New York State Senator Jabari Brisport, a democratic socialist from central Brooklyn. Negotiations on the roughly $230 billion annual state budget have sailed by the March 31 deadline mandated by state law and remain deadlocked. Gov. Kathy Hochul, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and their staffs are negotiating behind closed doors while other legislators weigh in on the talks. We talk about efforts to weave affordable housing policies into the budget and the competing claims of landlords and tenants about how to address New York’s housing crisis and more.
In the first segment of this week's episode of The Indypendent News Hour on WBAI-99.5 FM, we spoke with Linda Martín Alcoff, who penned an article in the April issue of The Indypendent titled “White Fright and a Changing World: Here’s What Keeps MAGA up at Night.” In her article, Alcoff writes “We need to understand today’s political crisis as epochal rather than merely current and caused most fundamentally by the slow demise of the modern colonial world system.” Alcoff is a professor of philosophy at Hunter College and the CUNY Graduate Center and the author of numerous books including “The Future of Whiteness” and “Race and Racism: A Decolonial Approach,” which will be released later this year by Oxford University Press.
We speak with Naim Mian of Writers Against the War on Gaza about the recent groundswell of direct action targeting The New York Times as well as a new unsubscribe campaign and the website newyorkwarcrimes.com, which was recently launched by a group of anonymous researchers, reporters and creatives.
In the first half of the show we speak with two Indy reporters, Amba Guerguerian and Ariana Orozco about their stories in the newly-released April issue of The Indypendent. Guerguerian’s cover story looks at how younger workers are leading the charge in a resurgent labor movement as they strive to turn low-wage retail and service sector jobs into stable, good-paying union jobs. Orozco has been covering the State of New York’s attempt to close SUNY Downstate Hospital in central Brooklyn. Ariana also spoke with med school students at Albert Einstein College of Medicine about the recent announcement that a $1 billion donation to the school would ensure students at the school would have to pay tuition again. Then we speak with Naim Mian of Writers Against the War on Gaza about the recent groundswell of direct action targeting The New York Times as well as a new unsubscribe campaign and the website newyorkwarcrimes.com, which was recently launched by a group of anonymous researchers, reporters and creatives.
We speak indy reporter Ariana Orozco about her stories in the newly-released April issue of The Indypendent. Orozco has been covering the State of New York’s attempt to close SUNY Downstate Hospital in central Brooklyn. She also spoke with med school students at Albert Einstein College of Medicine about the recent announcement that a $1 billion donation to the school would ensure students at the school would have to pay tuition again.
We speak with Amba Guerguerian about her article in the newly-released April issue of The Indypendent. Guerguerian’s cover story looks at how younger workers are leading the charge in a resurgent labor movement as they strive to turn low-wage retail and service sector jobs into stable, good-paying union jobs. And how they're winning.
We speak with a barista at a unionized store in Williiamsburg about the positive impacts that are already being felt by workers at her/their store. And we speak with a labor historian who says the breakthrough at Starbucks could turn out to be the biggest victory for the labor movement in the United States since the great industrial strikes of the 1930s led to the creation of the modern labor movement.
—Over 100+ cities around the world took to the streets to denounce Israel’s threats to intensify the genocide in Gaza by ground invading Rafah, the tightly-packed “safe” zone on March 10, the first day of Ramadan.—We know of protests that occurred in many US cities, including but not limited to DC, Philly, Baltimore, Cambridge, Providence, Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Denver, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, LA, Tampa, Raleigh, Asheville, NC, and in cities in counties such as Cuba, Argentina, Venezuela, Jamaica, South Africa, El Salvador, Lebanon, Hawaii, Morocco, Spain, Puerto Rico, Malaysia, South Korea, Indonesia, Canada, Sweden and Japan.—Meanwhile, Gazans are mourning loved ones killed in massacres and starving to death due to Israel’s siege.—A growing number of children in Gaza have been dying of starvation and dehydration, over recent days according to the World Health Organization and Palestinian officials, amid desperate conditions due to Israel’s throttling of aid and destruction of the besieged land. Additionally, an adult man, Abdulrahman al-Dahdouh, from Zeitoun in west Gaza, died on Monday at Al-Shifa Hospital after suffering from starvation. The photos of their emaciated bodies are spreading across Arab news and social media—At least nine countries, including Jordan, Bahrain, Turkey, Colombia, Honduras, Chile, Belize, South Africa and Chad, have recalled their ambassadors to Israel or severed ties altogether.—Plus a few more updates
In our first segment, we speak with workers at Trader Joe’s Essex Crossing in Lower Manhattan about the recent firing of a union worker and the ongoing struggle there to unionize the workforce. We are also be joined by Seth Goldstein, a union lawyer who represents the workers, about threats that labor law is facing: Amazon, SpaceX and Trader Joe's are alleging in a legal filing published Friday morning that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is unconstitutional.Then, we hear an interview by Indypendent Editor-in-Chief John Tarleton with Bennett Fischer of the United Federation of Teachers. At the United Federation of Teachers, one of the city’s largest municipal unions, UFT Retiree Advocate, a group of retiree activists, announced on Friday that they will contest an internal union election this spring for leadership of the retiree chapter which has more than 60,000 members. And in our final segment, we speak with Tami Gold, Professor of Film and Media Studies at CUNY’s Hunter College about an ongoing film series showing movies about Palestine. She’ll also update us about an upcoming Jewish Voice for Peace protest for Palestine.
We hear an interview by Indypendent Editor-in-Chief John Tarleton with Bennett Fischer of the United Federation of Teachers. At the United Federation of Teachers, one of the city’s largest municipal unions, UFT Retiree Advocate, a group of retiree activists, announced on Friday that they will contest an internal union election this spring for leadership of the retiree chapter which has more than 60,000 members.
We speak with Tami Gold, Professor of Film and Media Studies at CUNY’s Hunter College about an ongoing film series showing movies about Palestine. She’ll also update us about an upcoming Jewish Voice for Peace protest for Palestine.
We speak with Don Mark Roxas and Diego Ramirez, workers at Trader Joe’s Essex Crossing in Lower Manhattan, about the recent firing of a union worker and the ongoing struggle there to unionize the workforce. We are also joined by Seth Goldstein, a union lawyer who represents the workers, about threats that labor law is facing: Amazon, SpaceX and Trader Joe's are alleging in a legal filing published Friday morning that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is unconstitutional.
We speak with Within Our Lifetime Palestine organizer Abdullah Akl. WOL has led over 100 protests across the city since Oct. 7. The pro-Palestinian group has been dealing this month with an intensifying crackdown by the NYPD and recently had its Instagram account suspended by Meta, the parent company of Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp.
We look back at an earlier era in New York City history — a very different world in many ways, but not so different in others. In 1741, New York City had a population of 11,000 people, about one-sixth of whom were enslaved. We learn about a terrible court case that was prosecuted by Judges Chambers and Murray. We are joined by longtime defense attorney, death-penalty abolitionist Russel Neufeld and amateur historian, who is working to overturn it now.
We speak with Columbia student and Indy reporter Claudia Villalona about the larger context and outcomes of a Jan. 19 chemical weapon attack on pro-Palestine student protesters on Columbia's campus.
We spoke with Columbia student and Indy reporter Claudia Villalona about the larger context and outcomes of a Jan. 19 chemical weapon attack on pro-Palestine student protesters on Columbia's campus.Then, we hear from Abdullah el-Akl from Within Our Lifetime Palestine talking about the repression that the organization and its leaders are facing including their widely-followed Instagram account being deleted by META.Lastly, we learn about a terrible court case from 1741, when New York City had a mere population of 11,000 and one-sixth of that was slaves. The prosecutors in the case were Chambers and Murray.
The Earth Church is a radical theater space housed in a former bank building in the East Village. It is home to Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping Choir. But now it’s also a welcoming center for hundreds of migrants who have been denied essential city services and part of a broader community mobilization in the East Village to aid desperate migrants. We speak with Savitri D., one of the leaders of the Earth Church.
CUNY has been under increasing financial strain in recent years. The surprise firings and the course rollbacks at Queens College have stoked fears across CUNY that more such measures could take place across the CUNY system. We speak with Ash Marinaccio, one of the 26 fired professors, and Karen Weingarten, Professor of English at Queens College. Karen is also the chapter chair at her campus for the Professional Staff Congress-CUNY, the union that represents 30,000 faculty and staff at CUNY.
A round of Gaza updates from The Indy's Amba Guerguerian: ICJ decision, UNRWA defunding, updates from on the ground in southern Gaza, perspectives on various attacks in the Middle East & the arresting of Nerdeen Kiswani and other pro-Palestine protest leaders on Friday, Jan. 26.
First segment: A recent spate of budget cuts and faculty firings at Queens College have stoked concerns that a devastating new wave of austerity could sweep across CUNY, the largest urban higher education system in the country. Second Segment: The Earth Church is a radical theater space housed in a former bank building in the East Village. It is home to Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping Choir. But now it’s also a welcoming center for hundreds of migrants who have been denied essential city services and part of a broader community mobilization in the East Village to aid desperate migrants. Plus, we also get a Gaza Update from co-host Amba Guerguerian.
Indy editor Amba Guerguerian spent the entirety of the hour with Desiree Joy Frias of South Bronx Mutual Aid about how the financial aspects of the migrant "crisis" in New York City have been manufactured and how it is a crisis not for the inhabitants of the city, but for the migrants themselves. We speak about updates in conditions and rules for the recently arrived migrants, the vast majority of whom are asylum seekers. South Bronx Mutual Aid is part of a large network of mutual aid groups that have been working to support large groups of migrants arriving since June 2022.
John Tarleton and Nicholas Powers of The Indypendent talk about the New Hampshire primary and what it means that Joe Biden and Donald Trump are both on the verge of locking up their party’s nominations and pivoting to a general election contest that most Americans say they do not want to see.
Much of NYC's fate is decided in Albany where a new session of the state legislation has begun. We speak with State Sen. Jabari Brisport and Assemblymember Marcela Mitaynes, both Democratic Socialists, about their top priorities and how to make state government work for working people. In the second half of the show, we speak with Jonathan Soto, a public-education advocate and NYC DSA-endorsed candidate for the NY State Assembly. If he wins, Soto will be the first Socialist legislator elected from the Bronx in more than a century.
We speak with Jonathan Soto, a public-education advocate and NYC DSA-endorsed candidate for the NY State Assembly. If he wins, Soto will be the first Socialist legislator elected from the Bronx in more than a century.
Much of NYC's fate is decided in Albany where a new session of the state legislation has begun. We speak with State Sen. Jabari Brisport and Assemblymember Marcela Mitaynes, both Democratic Socialists, about their top priorities and how to make state government work for working people. They also respond to Gov. Hochul's goals set out in her recent 'State of the State' address.
We hear from The Indy's Lara-Nour Walton about the process of writing her cover story on the Little Palestine neighborhood in South Brooklyn.
Over the weekend the Ridgewood Tenants Union led a 1,000-person march that highlighted the displacement experienced in both rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods like Ridgewood and by Palestinians at the hands of Israeli settlers. We speak with two organizers from the Ridgewood Tenants Union, Raquel Namuche and Lamisse Beydoun.
We look at the continued surge of pro-Palestine protests in New York City, starting with a report-back from Monday’s shutdown of Lower Manhattan traffic by pro-Palestinian protesters who made national headlines yesterday when they blocked inbound traffic on the Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Williamsburg Bridges and outbound traffic at the Holland Tunnel.
We look at the continued surge of pro-Palestine protests in New York City, starting with a report-back from Monday’s shutdown of Lower Manhattan traffic by pro-Palestinian protesters who made national headlines yesterday when they blocked inbound traffic on the Brooklyn, Manhatta,n and Williamsburg Bridges and outbound traffic at the Holland Tunnel. Over the weekend the Ridgewood Tenants Union led a 1,000-person march that highlighted the displacement experienced in both rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods like Ridgewood and by Palestinians at the hands of Israeli settlers. We speak with two organizers from the Ridgewood Tenants Union, Raquel Namuche and Lamisse Beydoon. Lastly, we hear from Indy author Lara-Nour Walton who wrote a cover story about the Little Palestine neighborhood in South Brooklyn.
In this special Christmas edition of The Indypendent News Hour, we spend the first segment with Jonathan Kuttab, executive director of Friends of Sabeel North America, an unapologetic Christian voice for Palestine. Kuttab is a human-rights attorney and author of Beyond the Two-State Solution. We will speak about the ongoing atrocities in Palestine including those against Christian Palestinians.Then we speak with Dr. Bedross Matossian, Professor of Middle East History & Politics at the University of Nebraska-Lincon. He focuses on Armenian and comparative genocide, Ottoman studies, Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and global History. We will look at the Armenian genocide, the current ethnic cleansing of Armenians from the Artsakh territory between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and the oppression Armenian Palestinians face in Palestine.
We speak with Dr. Bedross Matossian about the Armenian genocide, the current ethnic cleansing of Armenians from the Artsakh territory between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and the oppression Armenian Palestinians face in Palestine.Matossian is a professor of Middle East History & Politics at the University of Nebraska-Lincon. He focuses on Armenian and comparative genocide, Ottoman studies, Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and global History.
Jonathan Kuttab is the executive director of Friends of Sabeel North America, an unapologetic Christian voice for Palestine, and a human-rights attorney and author of Beyond the Two-State Solution. We speak about the ongoing atrocities in Palestine, including those against Christian Palestinians.
We learn about the "Beirut to Brooklyn" art exhibit at Brooklyn College, for which students in Beirut wrote first-person pieces about being in Lebanon and Beirut, and Eben Wood took corresponding photographs.
We speak Tara Currie of Brooklyn for Peace about the Move the Money campaign to divert money from the Pentagon to meeting human needs, and then we learn about the "Beirut to Brooklyn" art exhibit at Brooklyn College.
We speak with former City Council budget staffer & socialist Brandon West about Mayor Adams' brutal mid-year budget cuts, how he is abusing the budgetary process, and what the Council should do about it.
We start the show by speaking w/ former City Council budget staffer & socialist Brandon West about Mayor Adams' brutal mid-year budget cuts, how he is abusing the budgetary process, and what the Council should do about it.We also weak with Tara Currie of Brooklyn for Peace about the Move the Money campaign to divert money from the Pentagon to meeting human needs, and then we learn about the "Beirut to Brooklyn" art exhibit at Brooklyn College.Plus updates from Ashley Marinaccio about a protest for a Palestinian theatre and Amba Guerguerian about the latest from Gaza.
The Indypendent's Amba Guerguerian in conversation with Riham Barghouti, founding member of the BDS movement that came out of Palestine in 2005 and founding member of Adalah-NY here in NYC. Barghouti has a deep knowledge of Palestinian resistance
Amid Israel's war on Gaza and COP 23, we speak with Savitri D. and Reverend Billy Talen of the Church of Stop Shopping, a good friends of The Indy that are always on the cutting edge of social movements.
This week, diplomats, world leaders and a small army of fossil fuel industry lobbyists have gathered in the United Arab Emirates, or UAE, for the 28th annual U.N. climate summit. There’s no sign that progress will be made on reaching new agreements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and stabilize soaring global temperatures. We are joined by Tefa Galvis, a member of the eco-socialist working group of the NYC chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America. Last year, the eco-socialists were a key part of a coalition of groups that persuaded the New York state legislature to pass the revolutionary Build Public Renewables Act.
We go to CUNY, the City University of New York. For the past months it’s been a flashpoint in the battle over campus free speech during a time of war. At Hunter College on the Upper East Side, the campus has been roiled by the administration’s flip-flopping on whether they will allow a film that’s critical of Israel to be shown. And at Baruch College in Lower Manhattan, top officials there canceled a teach-in on Gaza by members of that school’s history department. We are joined by Tami Gold, Professor of Film and Media Studies at Hunter College, Johanna Fernandez, Professor of History at Baruch College and author of The Young Lords: A Radical History and Safa Khan, a student at Baruch College.
First, we go to CUNY, the City University of New York. For the past months it’s been a flashpoint in the battle over campus free speech during a time of war. At Hunter College on the Upper East Side, the campus has been roiled by the administration’s flip-flopping on whether they will allow a film that’s critical of Israel to be shown. And at Baruch College in Lower Manhattan, top officials there canceled a teach-in on Gaza by members of that school’s history department. We are joined by Tami Gold, Professor of Film and Media Studies at Hunter College, Johanna Fernandez, Professor of History at Baruch College and author of The Young Lords: A Radical History and Safa Khan, a student at Baruch College.Then, this week, diplomats, world leaders and a small army of fossil fuel industry lobbyists have gathered in the United Arab Emirates, or UAE, for the 28th annual U.N. climate summit. There’s no sign that progress will be made on reaching new agreements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and stabilize soaring global temperatures. We are joined by Tefa Galvis, a member of the eco-socialist working group of the NYC chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America. Last year, the eco-socialists were a key part of a coalition of groups that persuaded the New York state legislature to pass the revolutionary Build Public Renewables Act.Lastly we speak with Savitri D. and Reverend Billy Talen of the Church of Stop Shopping, a good friends of The Indy that are always on the cutting edge of social movements.
Wayne Gardine was locked up for a crime he didn't commit and has spent 29 years behind bars. He was exonerated on Monday, but ICE is trying to make sure he never sees freedom.
Then we speak with radical theater creator Ash Marinaccio about worldwide performances yesterday, including here in New York, of the Gaza Monologues, a non-fiction play that brings to life the voices of the children of Gaza. The play was created by the Palestinian-led Ashtar Theater which led the effort to stage it around the globe.
First, we speak with Indy investigative reporter Ted Hamm about Muhammad Aziz, who was falsely convicted in Malcolm X’s 1965 murder and exonerated in 2021. His recent $40 million lawsuit names 19 FBI officials involved in the incident, investigation and cover-up, including former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover.
First, we speak with Indy investigative reporter Ted Hamm about Muhammad Aziz, who was falsely convicted in Malcolm X’s 1965 murder and exonerated in 2021. His recent $40 million lawsuit names 19 FBI officials involved in the incident, investigation and cover-up, including former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover.Then we speak with radical theater creator Ash Marinaccio about worldwide performances yesterday, including here in New York, of the Gaza Monologues, a non-fiction play that brings to life the voices of the children of Gaza. The play was created by the Palestinian-led Ashtar Theater which led the effort to stage it around the globe.Lastly, we get an update from Palestine protests and ICE detention and take listener call-ins.
Indypendent Editor-in-Chief John Tarleton joined King Downing on WBAI's Good Morning Nueva York on Monday November 27 to talk about recent coverage in The Indy including stories about the exoneration of two cops in the killing of Kawski Trawick, the filing of a $40 million lawsuit against the FBI by a man who was wrongfully convicted in the assasination of Malcolm X and an article we did on the similarities between South African and Israeli apartheid.
We speak with Indypendent columnist John Teufel, author of our “This Month in Eric Adams” column, about Mayor Adams' proposed extreme budget cuts (15%) and the FBI Investigation into potentially-corrupt Turkish contributions to his mayoral campaign.
We turn to Hunter College, one of the crown jewels of the City University of New York, where a shocking act of censorship has rocked the campus and underscored the intense crackdown on pro-Palestine speech taking place throughout academia. Last Tuesday, Hunter’s Acting President Ann Kirschner canceled the screening of “Israelism." Tami Gold, professor of film and media studies at Hunter who planned the screening, joins us along with Hunter faculty member Sandor John, and student journalist P. Campbell.
In the first half of the show, we look at the growing crackdown on pro-Palestine speech at the City University of New York and other campuses in the city. Then we speak with Indypendent columnist John Teufel, author of our “This Month in Eric Adams” column, about Mayor Adams' proposed budget cuts and the FBI Investigation into the funding of his mayoral campaign.
On Election Day in New York City, thousands of people made their voices heard on the steps of City Hall. Protestors demanded President Biden and other elected officials to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. They also demanded a free Palestine. The march was organized by the Palestinian-led organization Within Our Lifetime and other community groups in New York City. The Indypendent chatted with various march participants.
First, we get an update on the March on Washington for Palestine, as well as hear voices from everyday NYCers talking about Palestine/Israel.Then, in the Bronx, activists are calling out Congressman Ritchie Torres, one of Israel’s most ardent supporters in Congress, for championing genocide in Gaza and for seeming to have forgotten his own constituents who live in the poorest congressional district in the country. We are joined by Sonyi Lopez and Richie Merino from The Bronx Anti-War Coalition (BAWC), an anti-imperialist organization dedicated to challenging state violence and U.S. militarism at home and abroad.Lastly, we interviewed Ellen Davidson, a longtime contributing editor to The Indypendent, anti-war activist, and Jewish anti-zionist who has traveled multiple times to the West Bank. She is a member of Veterans for Peace, Jews Say No, and the U.S. arm of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla Coalition. We ask her about the article she wrote in our November issue titled “What Does it Mean to Call Israel an Apartheid State?”
We interview Ellen Davidson, a longtime contributing editor to The Indypendent, anti-war activist, and Jewish anti-zionist who has traveled multiple times to the West Bank. She is a member of Veterans for Peace, Jews Say No, and the U.S. arm of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla Coalition. We ask her about the article she wrote in our November issue titled “What Does it Mean to Call Israel an Apartheid State?”
First, we get an update on the March on Washington for Palestine, as well as hear voices from everyday NYCers talking about Palestin/Israel. Then (at 11:28), in the Bronx, activists are calling out Congressman Ritchie Torres, one of Israel’s most ardent supporters in Congress, for championing genocide in Gaza and for seeming to have forgotten his own constituents who live in the poorest congressional district in the country. We are joined by Sonyi Lopez and Richie Merino from The Bronx Anti-War Coalition (BAWC), an anti-imperialist organization dedicated to challenging state violence and U.S. militarism at home and abroad.
We speak with Andrew Tilson, the executive director of the Workers United Film Festival, which kicked off on Friday, about the featured films this year and why he started the fest in the first place.
We talk about the resurgent labor movement. The United Auto Workers announced a historic victory Monday in their six-week strike against the Big Three auto companies. We hear from the President of Local 3039 which represents workers at a Stellantis auto parts warehouse in Tappan, NY.
We get updates from an on-the-ground reporter in Gaza who we've been following, as well as talk about Palestinian solidarity movements across the globe and take a call from a listener.
In the first half of the show, we get updates from an on-the-ground reporter in Gaza who we've been following, as well as talk about Palestinian solidarity movements across the globe and take a call from a listener. In the second half of the show, we talke about the resurgent labor movement. The United Auto Workers announced a historic victory Monday in their six-week strike against the Big Three auto companies. We hear from the President of Local 3039 which represents workers at a Stellantis auto parts warehouse in Tappan, NY. And we’ speak with Andrew Tilson, the executive director of the Workers United Film Festival, which kicked off on Friday.https://www.workersunitefilmfestival.org/
John Tarleton and Amba Guerguerian discuss the shocking events in Israel and the Gaza Strip from the past few days and what may lay ahead. There’s a lot to unpack there.
We hear from Carl Miller and The Indy’s investigative reporter Ted Hamm. Forty-two years after he was convicted of an infamous murder of a Crown Heights rabbi, Miller is still seeking exoneration from the Brooklyn DA’s office. Hamm wrote about the case and why his conviction should be overturned in the current print edition of The Indypendent.
We hear some of the music from the Indigenous People’s Day celebration on Randall’s Island recorded by Indypendent reporters Elias Guerra and Kimberly Izar. Peoples from Hawaii, the Philippines, Nigeria, U.S. and N.Y. tribes, and many others were there.
We get to get a perspective from Mexico on the continuing surge of migrants from South America to the United States & on Mayor Adams' recent visit to Mexico, Ecuador and Colombia to discourage migrants from journeying north. Our guest, Laura Carlsen, is the director of MIRA: Feminisms and Democracies, A Mexico-City based think tank.
In our first segment we get to get a perspective from Mexico on the continuing surge of migrants from South America to the United States & on Mayor Adams' recent visit to Mexico, Ecuador and Colombia to discourage migrants from journeying north. Our guest, Laura Carlsen, is the director of MIRA: Feminisms and Democracies, A Mexico-City based think tank.We hear some of the music from the Indigenous People’s Day celebration on Randall’s Island recorded by Indypendent reporters Elias Guerra and Kimberly Izar. Peoples from Hawaii, the Philippines, Nigeria, U.S. and N.Y. tribes, and many others were there.Then we hear from Carl Miller and The Indy’s investigative reporter Ted Hamm. Forty-two years after he was convicted of an infamous murder of a Crown Heights rabbi, Miller is still seeking exoneration from the Brooklyn DA’s office. Hamm wrote about the case and why his conviction should be overturned in the current print edition of The Indypendent. Lastly, show hosts John Tarleton and Amba Guerguerian discuss the shocking events in Israel and the Gaza Strip from the past few days and what may lay ahead. There’s a lot to unpack there.
In New York City, subway and bus fares seem to go only one way: Up. But on Sep. 24, the MTA threw those fare hikes in reverse for riders on five of its bus routes. Those routes — one in each borough — are now free for all riders. It’s a six-month pilot project to see if free fares will drive up bus ridership and increase the speed of the buses whose drivers no longer have to collect fares. Then we hear field reports from The Indypendent's Elias Guerra. He spoke with riders on the B60, one of the trial lines.
On Sep. 24, the MTA threw those fare hikes in reverse for riders on five of its bus routes. Those routes — one in each borough — are now free for all riders. It’s a six-month pilot project to see if free fares will drive up bus ridership and increase the speed of the buses whose drivers no longer have to collect fares. The Indypendent's Elias Guerra. He spoke with riders on the B60, one of the trial lines. Then we speak with State Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist who represents Assembly District 36 in Astoria, Queens. Last spring, he led the push in Albany to win funding for this no-fare experiment.
Negotiators for the Writers Guild of America and the big Hollywood studios reached a tentative contract agreement that ended the screenwriters’ strike after 148 days. We hear from J.T. Allen, who was a WGA strike captain at the Warner Bros. picket line near Los Angeles. Then we spend most of the segment with labor historian Toni Gilpin about the historic autoworkers strike now in its third week with workers out on strike in more than 20 states. Gilpin comes from a proud UAW family and is the author of The Long Deep Grudge: A Story of Big Capital, Radical Labor, and Class War in the American Heartland.
First segment: Negotiators for the Writers Guild of America and the big Hollywood studios reached a tentative contract agreement that ended the screen writers’ strike after 148 days. We hear from J.T. Allen, who was a WGA strike captain at the Warner Bros. picket line near Los Angeles. Then we speak with labor historian Toni Gilpin about the historic autoworkers strike now in its third week with workers out on strike in more than 20 states. Gilpin comes from a proud UAW family and is the author of The Long Deep Grudge: A Story of Big Capital, Radical Labor, and Class War in the American Heartland.Second segment: On Sep. 24, the MTA threw those fare hikes in reverse for riders on five of its bus routes. Those routes — one in each borough — are now free for all riders. It’s a six-month pilot project to see if free fares will drive up bus ridership and increase the speed of the buses whose drivers no longer have to collect fares. We hear field reports from riders on the B60, one of the trial lines. Then we speak with State Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist who represents Assembly District 36 in Astoria, Queens. Last spring, he led the push in Albany to win funding for this no-fare experiment.
We speak with labor historian Toni Gilpin about the historic autoworkers strike now in its third week with workers out on strike in more than 20 states. Gilpin comes from a proud UAW family and is the author of The Long Deep Grudge: A Story of Big Capital, Radical Labor, and Class War in the American Heartland.
The Indypendent News Hour on WBAI-99.5 FM // 3 Oct. ‘23Negotiators for the Writers Guild of America and the big Hollywood studios reached a tentative contract agreement that ended the screen writer’ strike after 148 days. The contract agreement was unanimously approved by the WGA’s executive council and is now being voted on by the union’s 11,000 members. We hear from J.T. Allen, who was a WGA strike captain at the Warner Bros. picket line near Los Angeles.
We speak with Hector Oseguera, anti-money laundering specialist and former candidate for Congress in New Jersey’s 8th congressional district, about the corruption and bribery scandal that has engulfed New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez.
First we turn to Belleville, Michigan, where President Joe Biden joined striking auto workers outside a General Motors facility. Then we venture across the New York City region from a United Auto Workers picket line in the Hudson Valley, to the corruption scandal that has engulfed New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez, and back to New York City where our reporter Keating Zelenke has been speaking with student-loan debtors who face a Sunday, Oct. 1 deadline to resume making their monthly payments after a three-and-a-half year pandemic moratorium.
Indypendent reporter Keating Zelenke talks about her article in our September print edition on student-loan debtors who face an October 1 deadline to resume making their monthly loan payments after a three-and-a-half-year pandemic moratorium comes to an end.
On Friday, Sep. 22, United Auto Workers President Sean Fain announced the strike was being expanded to 38 parts distribution centers across the country belonging to General Motors and Stellantis, the parent company of Chrysler. One of the parts distribution centers that went on strike on Friday at noon is in Tappan, NY, in Rockland County, north of the city. We are joined by Jeff Purcell, president of UAW Local 3039, which represents roughly 80 workers at the Stellantis’ Tappan facility.
We talk about Sunday's climate march ahead of the UN summit in NYC. There were as many as 75,000 people on hand demanding that President Biden take dramatic actions to end fossil fuels. We also hear from Bill Brunson, a co-founder of the Liz Christy Garden on Houston between Bowery and 2nd Ave., one of the first community gardens in the city.
We get an update on the epic struggle in Atlanta over the future of Cop City, the massive police-training facility that local officials are clear cutting a forest to build. Matt Scott, editor at the Atlanta Community Press Collective, talks about the latest developments in the referendum push, the RICO charges 61 protesters are facing, the current state of the site, an upcoming mass action in Atlanta, and more.
In the first half of today’s show, we get all the the latest from the epic struggle in Atlanta over the future of Cop City, the massive police training facility that local officials want to clear cut a forest to build. Matt from the Atlanta Community Press Collective catches us up on all that and more.We cover Sunday's climate march ahead of the UN summit in NYC. There were as many as 75,000 people on hand demanding that President Biden take dramatic actions to end fossil fuels. We also hear from Bill Brunson, a co-founder of the Liz Christy Garden on Houston between Bowery and 2nd Ave., one of the first community gardens in the city.In the second half of the show, we do some pitching and hear from callers.
In the first half the show, we speak with State Senator Jessica Ramos of Queens about climate change, the city’s failed response to the migrant crisis and her reaction to growing speculation that she might challenge Mayor Eric Adams in the 2025 Democratic primary.
In our second segment, we are joined by long time Indypendent columnist and Contributing Editor Nicholas Powers. Nick is currently working on his fourth book. It explores the intersection of psychedelics, race and systems of power and it asks where psychedelics would fit in a socialist revolution. Nick is also preparing to leave in a few days for Burning Man, the annual late summer counter-cultural extravaganza held every year in the Nevada desert. The festival draws upwards of 80,000 people. Nick has been attending Burning Man for the past 20 years. He fills all of us non-Berners in on what all the hype is about.
We speak with State Senator Jessica Ramos of Queens about climate change, the city’s failed response to the migrant crisis and her reaction to growing speculation that she might challenge Mayor Eric Adams in the 2025 Democratic primary.
We are joined by long time Indypendent columnist and Contributing Editor Nicholas Powers. Nick is currently working on his fourth book. It explores the intersection of psychedelics, race and systems of power and it asks where psychedelics would fit in a socialist revolution. Nick is also preparing to leave in a few days for Burning Man, the annual late summer counter-cultural extravaganza held every year in the Nevada desert. The festival draws upwards of 80,000 people. Nick has been attending Burning Man for the past 20 years. He fills all of us non-Berners in on what all the hype is about.
We take call-ins during the last segment of our weekly news hour and also provide updates on a newsroom search in smalltown Kansas and a recent win for the ongoing movement to stop the building of a police training center in Atlanta.
Indy correspondent Amba Guerguerian provides an update from the SAG-AFTRA picket lines where we hear from a picketer and bystanders. And then we speak with The Indy’s film critic and Screen Actors Guild member Peter Carellini who is starring in a new role — as a union strike captain out on the picket line three mornings a week leading chanting and singing. He talks about his sentiments around the strike, from dread to passion.
Manhattan State Supreme Court Judge Lyle Frank issued a permanent injunction barring the Adams administration from transferring the retirees from traditional Medicare coverage to a Medicare Advantage plan controlled by the private insurance giant Aetna. The switch would have gone into effect on September 1. While that won’t be happening, the Adams administration has vowed to pursue an appeal to a higher court. Steven Wishnia has covered this story closely over the past two years in the pages of The Indypendent and as a guest on this show. He rejoins us to give us an update on what this latest development means.
In our first segment, we’ll look at a big legal victory on Friday for New York City’s 250,000 retired city employees. The Adams administration wanted to switch their medical coverage from traditional Medicare to a privately run plan. But that’s on ice for now.
In our second segment, we have an update from the SAG-AFTRA picket lines. And we hear from The Indy’s film critic and Screen Actors Guild — as a union strike captain who is out on the picket line three mornings a week leading chanting and singing.
In the final part of the show, we catch up on some of the other important news of the day and take listener calls.
We discuss the recent Rikers budget cuts with Dr. Ronald Day, which eliminated funding for outside groups who provide programming on Rikers Island that educates inmates and provides training for how to re-enter society. He covers what the programs offered to inmates and how programming being cut will hurt inmates.
Alex Pellittieri, recently elected to the DSA’s national steering committee, talks to us about the DSA’s recent convention in Chicago. He discusses the path forward for the DSA, the central issues for DSA, and how to make the relationship between labor and socialism stronger.
First, we discuss the recent Rikers budget cuts with Dr. Ronald Day, which eliminated fundingfor outside groups who provide programming on Rikers Island that educates inmates and provides training for how to re-enter society. He covers what the programs offered to inmates and how programming being cut will hurt them.
We also talk to Alex Pellittieri, who was recently elected to the DSA’s national steering committee. He updates us on the DSA’s recent convention in Chicago, the path forward for the DSA, their central issues, and how to make the relationship between labor and socialism stronger.
We talk with Brendan Lopez, a union leader at his Starbucks location who was fired in June. Lopez and his fellow baristas confronted the boss who fired him at a Starbucks corporate headquarters. Lopez discusses his firing, Starbucks' union-busting activities, and striking.
We cover the recent historic contract settlement between UPS and the Teamsters. We speak with Antonio Rosario, an organizer with Local 804 about why the recent contract is unprecedented for workers.
First, we cover the recent historic contract settlement between UPS and the Teamsters. We speak with Antonio Rosario, an organizer with Local 804 about why the recent contract is unprecedented for workers.
We then talk with Brendan Lopez, a union leader at his Starbucks location who was fired in June. Lopez and his fellow baristas confronted the boss who fired him at a Starbucks corporate headquarters. Lopez discusses his firing, Starbucks' union-busting activities, and striking.
Amba Guerguerian gives updates about the deteriorating conditions on Rikers Island, including the recent cut of daily programming, and yesterday's announcement that the federal government is going to court to take control of Rikers from New York.
We talk to two SAG-AFTRA members, Nicole Izanek and Jonathan Walker, about the historic actors' and writers' strike. They discuss the atmosphere on the picket line, how the contract they're fighting for reflects the massive changes that have taken place within the industry, and how the greed of streaming services has led to inequity and pay disparity.
We talk to two SAG-AFTRA members, Nicole Izanek and Jonathan Walker, about the historic actors' and writers' strike. They discuss the atmosphere on the picket line, how the contract they're fighting for reflects the massive changes that have taken place within the industry, and how the greed of streaming services has led to inequity and pay disparity.
Then, Amba Guerguerian gives updates about the deteriorating conditions on Rikers Island, including the recent cut of daily programming, and yesterday's announcement that the federal government is going to court to take control of Rikers from New York.
In the first part of the show, we speak with Steve Wishnia and Evelyn Jones about retired city workers’ recent legal victory that paves the way for retirees to keep their healthcare. Wishnia is a labor journalist, and Jones Rich is a retired public educator and activist at the forefront of the fight to keep their Medicare coverage.
We then talk to Derrick Holmes of Rider’s Alliance, an organization that advocates for improved mass transit in New York, about the fight to make a busway on Fordham Road.
Finally, Amba Guerguerian interviews UPS driver Antonio Rosario about the possibility of a strike on August 1st. They discuss the teamsters and UPS drivers' negotiations with UPS, and the drivers and teamsters readiness to strike if a fair contract is not reached.
Amba Guerguerian interviews UPS driver Antonio Rosario about the possibility of a strike on August 1st. They discuss the teamsters and UPS drivers' negotiations with UPS, and the drivers and teamsters willingness to strike if a fair contract is not reached.
We talk to Derrick Holmes of Rider’s Alliance, an organization that advocates for improved mass transit in New York, about the fight to make a busway on Fordham Road.
We speak with Steve Wishnia and Evelyn Jones about retired city workers' recent legal victory that paves the way for retirees to keep their healthcare. Wishnia is a labor journalist, and Jones Rich is a retired public educator and activist at the forefront of retirees' fight to keep their Medicare coverage.
In this extended version of an interview aired on The Indypendent News Hour on WBAI Jun. 27, we get some exciting updates on the struggle to stop Cop City from Dr. Jacqueline Echols of the South River Watershed Alliance in southern Atlanta, who has been integrally involved in the fight since it began two years ago.
We speak with Talia Jane, an independent journalist who has been closely following the rise in far-right movement that are targeting the LGBTQ+ community.
We speak with Maria Flores of Starbucks Workers United. Flores is a Starbucks barista whose union is challenging their company over its support for Pride, which workers say is hypocritical.
Yesterday was Election Day. Primaries were held for a number of local offices including City Council and District Attorney in Queens and The Bronx.
The Indypendent’s Owen Schacht and Lydia Wei spoke with voters in Harlem who will be choosing a new City Councilmember in the most closely-watched race of the day. Incumbent socialist Kristen Richardson Jordan dropped out of the race earlier this spring though her name remains on the ballot. Here’s what votes were saying about the three remaining candidates: Inez Dickens, Yusef Salaam and Al Taylor.
Our reporters approached about 50 voters outside three different venues in Central Harlem. Of the 11 who spoke with us, right said they were voting for Yusef Salaam, 2 for Inez Dickens and 1 for Kristen Richardson Jordan. Salaam did in fact win yesterday’s race and will now represent District 9 in City Council.
In the first part of the show, we hear the voices of Harlem voters as well as those of participants in Sunday’s Queer Liberation March.
Then we speak with Maria Flores of Starbucks Workers United. Flores is a Starbucks barista whose union is challenging their company over its support for Pride, which workers say is hypocritical.
And we speak with Talia Jane, an independent journalist who has been closely following the rise in far-right movement that are targeting the LGBTQ+ community.
In the final part of the show, we have some exciting updates on the struggle to stop Cop City from Dr. Jacquelyn Echols, a grassroots enviro-community leader in Atlanta.
We speak with John Teufel, the author of the cover story in this month’s Indypendent that takes a look at the completely broken process for how the NYPD disciplines, or not, officers accused of serious misconduct. John has followed the NYPD closely over the past 20 years; we also talk about the surprise resignation last week of Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell.
We get an update on the just-completed state legislative session in Albany from democratic socialist State Senator Kristin Gonzalez. We talk about the Build Public Renewables Act, the New York Power Authority, the failure to pass Good Cause Eviction and more.
We talk about the Rent Guidelines Board which meets today, June 21, to vote on how high rents will be allowed to go up this year and next for New York’s nearly 1 million rent-stabilized apartments. Tenants are urging the RGB to scrap proposed rent hikes of as much as 7% and freeze rents or even roll them back.
We talk about the Rent Guidelines Board which meets today, June 21, to vote on how high rents will be allowed to go up this year and next for New York’s nearly 1 million rent-stabilized apartments. Tenants are urging the RGB to scrap proposed rent hikes of as much as 7% and freeze rents or even roll them back.
Then, we will get an update on the just-completed state legislative session in Albany from democratic socialist State Senator Kristin Gonzalez. We talk about the Build Public Renewables Act, the New York Power Authority, the failure to pass Good Cause Eviction and more.
In the last segment of the show, we speak with John Teufel, the author of the cover story in this month’s Indypendent that takes a look at the completely broken process for how the NYPD disciplines, or not, officers accused of serious misconduct. John has followed the NYPD closely over the past 20 years; we also talk about the surprise resignation last week of Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell.
The only way to stop the climate crisis, or at least slow it down, is with organizing. Here in New York, we have a robust climate justice movement. It has been busy of late trying to put New York at the forefront of a Green New Deal. We speak with Jessica Azulay, executive director of the Alliance for a Green Economy. The Alliance’s goal is a prosperous, safe, and healthy New York, fulfilling the promise of conservation, energy efficiency, and safe, clean renewable energy sources to end our state’s reliance on wasteful and environmentally destructive forms of energy.
Ecosexual Pioneers Annie Sprinkle And Beth Stephens Discuss Human Relationships to the Earth by The Indypendent
First segment: The only way to stop the climate crisis, or at least slow it down, is with organizing. Here in New York, we have a robust climate justice movement. It has been busy of late trying to put New York at the forefront of a Green New Deal. We speak with Jessica Azulay, executive director of the Alliance for a Green Economy. The Alliance’s goal is a prosperous, safe, and healthy New York, fulfilling the promise of conservation, energy efficiency, and safe, clean renewable energy sources to end our state’s reliance on wasteful and environmentally destructive forms of energy.
Second segment: We are joined by Annie Sprinkle and Beth Stephens, pioneers in the field of ecosexuality (the earth is a living being and spirit, they say). The ecosexuals will be hosting a four-day symposium in the East Village starting on Thursday, June 15, Exploring the Earth as Lover: Ecosex and the City, the idea is to forage new relationships with the environment, engage in human/ non-human collaboration, critique calcified ideologies, and engage in new sexualities—all through the lens of environmentalism that is feminist, queer, sensual, sexual, posthuman, exuberant, and steeped in humor and play.
We speak with Sam Fleischman of Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee about the group's expanding efforts to help workers organize labor unions and fight for better pay and working conditions. They recently helped launch the first-ever labor campaign at a standalone pizzeria in NYC.
In the first half of The Indy News Hour, we speak with Nerdeen Kiswani of Within Our Lifetime Palestine about right-wing attacks on the CUNY Law School after its commencement speaker denounced Israel as an apartheid state and called on progressives to support the Palestinian cause. She is joined by Mitchel, a former member of the CUNY School of Law Jewish Law Students Association (JALSA).
In the second half of the show, we speak with Sam Fleischman of Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee about the group's expanding efforts to help workers organize labor unions and fight for better pay and working conditions.
We speak with Nerdeen Kiswani, chair of Within Our Lifetime Palestine about right-wing attacks on the CUNY Law School after its commencement speaker denounced Israel as an apartheid state and called on progressives to support the Palestinian cause. She is joined by Mitchel, a former member of the CUNY School of Law Jewish Law Students Association (JALSA).
Betsy Plum, executive director of Rider's Alliance, speaks about a hard-won boost in state funding for the MTA that should improve mass transit service in the coming year and what remains to be done.
On May 6, protesters took to the subway tracks at Lexington Avenue and 63rd Street subway stop on the Upper East Side, bringing trains to a complete standstill demanding justice for Jordan Neely, a homeless man killed on the subway by ex-marine Daniel Penny. We speak with Kimberly Bernard, one of the protest's organizers, about police repression and what comes next.
Former Sunset Park tenant organizer-turned-Socialist Assemblymember Marcela Mitanyes speaks about the ongoing campaign this spring to win affordable housing legislation in Albany.
First Segment: Former Sunset Park tenant organizer-turned-Socialist Assemblymember Marcela Mitanyes speaks about the ongoing campaign this spring to win affordable housing legislation in Albany.Second segment: On May 6, protesters took to the subway tracks at Lexington Avenue and 63rd Street subway stop on the Upper East Side, bringing trains to a complete standstill demanding justice for Jordan Neely, a homeless man killed on the subway by ex-marine Daniel Penny. We speak with Kimberly Bernard, one of the protests organizers, about police repression and what comes next.Third Segment: Betsy Plum, executive director of Rider's Alliance, speaks about a hard-won boost in state funding for the MTA that should improve mass transit service in the coming year and what remains to be done.
—In our first segment, we spoke with Lee Ziesche, spokesperson for Public Power New York, about climate legislation recently enacted in New York that greatly expands the ability of the public sector to produce renewable energy. Advocates are hailing it as the first state-level Green New Deal. But, will Gov. Kathy Hochul seek to undermine an initiative she was cornered into supporting?—Sounds from May Day '23: Union square rally and Starbucks workers confront management—NY Gov. Kathy Hochul delayed the passage of NY's annual state budget by a month to win rollbacks in the state's 2019 bail reform law. The Indy's criminal justice correspondent Ted Hamm talks about what the impact could be of these punitive new measures.—Tess Cohen has been both a prosecutor and a defense attorney. Now, she is running in the Democratic primary for Bronx District Attorney against incumbent Darcel Clark. Cohen has vowed to shrink the footprint of the criminal justice system in NYC's poorest borough.
Tess Cohen has been both a prosecutor and a defense attorney. Now, she is running in the Democratic primary for Bronx District Attorney against incumbent Darcel Clark. Cohen has vowed to shrink the footprint of the criminal justice system in NYC's poorest borough.
NY Gov. Kathy Hochul delayed the passage of NY's annual state budget by a month to win rollbacks in the state's 2019 bail reform law. The Indy's criminal justice correspondent Ted Hamm talks about what the impact could be of these punitive new measures.
We spoke with Lee Ziesche, spokesperson for Public Power New York, about climate legislation recently enacted in New York that greatly expands the ability of the public sector to produce renewable energy. Advocates are hailing it as the first state-level Green New Deal. But, will Gov. Kathy Hochul seek to undermine an initiative she was cornered into supporting?
Sounds from May Day '23: Union Square Rally and Starbucks Workers Confront Management by The Indypendent
We get an update on the New York State budget impasse in Albany with socialist State Senator Jabari Brisport of Brooklyn. We find out more what has Democrat Governor Kathy Hochul and the legislature at odds, starting with criminal-justice and bail reform.
We speak from tenant organizers down in Coney Island with the United Front Against Displacement that have been fighting against the privatization of their NYCHA complexes, a practice that has been implemented city-wide since 2016 and is hurting longtime New Yorkers.
We hear from workers at Trader Joe’s who are on the verge of voting on whether or not to unionize at their store at Essex Crossing in Lower Manhattan. They held a rally yesterday in front of the store. We also have updates from Rutgers, retired NYC municipal workers and ongoing protests in France.
Another fantastic show. In our first section, we hear from workers at Trader Joe’s who are on the verge of voting on whether or not to unionize at their store at Essex Crossing in Lower Manhattan. They held a rally yesterday in front of the store. We also have some other labor news updates.In our second segment, we speak from tenant organizers down in Coney Island with the United Front Against Displacement that have been fighting against the privatization of their NYCHA complexes, a practice that has been implemented city-wide since 2016 and is hurting longtime New Yorkers.Then we get an update on the New York State budget impasse in Albany with socialist State Senator Jabari Brisport of Brooklyn. We find out more what has Democrat Governor Kathy Hochul and the legislature at odds, starting with criminal-justice and bail reform.
We talk with NYPD watchdog, lawyer and Indypendent columnist John Teufel about the fat new contract Mayor Adams signed last week with New York City’s PBA police union.
The NYPD and Parks Police violently shut down a community gathering on April 9 in Sunset Park organized by Mexicanos Unidos. The organization has previously held an unpermitted open-air market on Sundays at the park. The market, known as Plaza Tonatiuh, was shut down on Sunday, April 2 for not having the proper vending license. The group returned last Sunday to celebrate the Easter holiday and with no intention to engage in vending. It didn’t matter to the police. The Indypendent’s Amba Guerguerian was on hand and recorded this footage when moved to shut down the event. Amba spoke with Paz, a representative of Mexicanos Unidos who talked about the group’s activities and explained in greater detail what happened on Sunday.
A New York City activist has finally made it home from Cop City protests in Atlanta after being jailed for a month. Priscilla Grim was arrested at a music festival in the Weelaunee Forest on March 5. The DeKalb County DA’s office charged Grim and 22 other Stop Cop City week of action participants with domestic terrorism on trumped-up evidence. It claims that wearing black clothing and having mud on pants was evidence of having engaged in property destruction that took place in another part of the forest earlier that day.
In the opening segment, we hear from Priscilla Grim, Brooklyn-based digital media activist. She was arrested at a Cop City protest in Atlanta on March 5th and was held without bail for a month before finally being released last week. Later in the show, we follow up on the violent police raid that shut down an Easter Sunday at Sunset Park organized by Mexicanos Unidos. And we talk with NYPD watchdog and Indy columnist John Teufel about the fat new contract Mayor Adams signed last week with New York City’s PBA police union.
On Tuesday, Donald Trump was arraigned at the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse for paying $130,000 in hush money to a former mistress in the final weeks of the 2016 presidential campaign and then falsifying related business documents. We hear from Indy criminal justice correspondent Ted Hamm who interviewed then-candidate for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg in 2020 and has continued to closely follow his career.
Donald Trump flew back to his Mar-a-Lago mansion following his arraignment. Meanwhile, thousands of incarcerated people on Rikers Island who have not had a trial cannot leave that hellhole of a jail for lack of money to make bail. On yesterday’s radio show, Assemblymember Phara Souffrant Forrest, a democratic socialist from Brooklyn, updated us on state budget negotiations in Albany between Gov. Kathy Hochul, who wants to roll back the 2019 bail reform law and state legislators who do not.
On Tuesday, Donald Trump was arraigned at the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse for paying $130,000 in hush money to a former mistress in the final weeks of the 2016 presidential campaign and then falsifying related business documents. Supporters and detractors of Trump rallied outside the courthouse. The intense divisions of the Trump era were on full display as well as the toxic brew of grievances and conspiracy theories embraced by the former president’s most rabid followers.We covered Arraignment Day on this week's show. Our reporters gathered comments from average New Yorkers and diehard MAGA protesters and then joined us on the show.
On Tuesday, Donald Trump was arraigned at the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse for paying $130,000 in hush money to a former mistress in the final weeks of the 2016 presidential campaign and then falsifying related business documents. Supporters and detractors of Trump rallied outside the courthouse. The intense divisions of the Trump era were on full display as well as the toxic brew of grievances and conspiracy theories embraced by the former president’s most rabid followers.We heard from Indy criminal justice correspondent Ted Hamm who interviewed then-candidate for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg in 2020 and has continued to closely follow his career.
On Tuesday, Donald Trump was arraigned at the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse for paying $130,000 in hush money to a former mistress in the final weeks of the 2016 presidential campaign and then falsifying related business documents. Supporters and detractors of Trump rallied outside the courthouse. The intense divisions of the Trump era were on full display as well as the toxic brew of grievances and conspiracy theories embraced by the former president’s most rabid followers.We covered Arraignment Day on this week's show. Our reporters gathered comments from average New Yorkers and diehard MAGA protesters and then joined us on the show. We also heard from Indy criminal justice correspondent Ted Hamm who interviewed then-candidate for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg in 2020 and has continued to closely follow his career. Indy Editor-in-Chief John Tarleton looked at Trump’s political and media strategy and took calls from listeners including one who argued that Trump would be the “peace candidate” in 2024.Donald Trump flew back to his Mar-a-Lago mansion following his arraignment. Meanwhile, thousands of incarcerated people on Rikers Island who have not had a trial cannot leave that hellhole of a jail for lack of money to make bail. On yesterday’s radio show, Assemblymember Phara Souffrant Forrest, a democratic socialist from Brooklyn, updated us on state budget negotiations in Albany between Gov. Kathy Hochul, who wants to roll back the 2019 bail reform law and state legislators who do not.
We will hear from Indypendent investigative journalist Ted Hamm about a wrongful conviction case he's covering. Hector Lopez was convicted of a 1994 arson-double murder despite a lack of physical evidence tying him to the crime.
We speak with Gabriel Medrano, a lead worker-organizer at the Essex Crossing Trader Joe's in lower manhattan, where the independent Trader Joe's Union announced a union election will be held last week. We also get updates on other labor happenings in the city and country and hear voices from the current mass protests and strikes in France.Then, we take listener call ins to honor their heroes for Women's History Month.Lastly, we provide an update on the fight down in Atlanta to stop the construction of the country's largest police-training facility.
We speak with Gabriel Medrano, a lead worker-organizer at the Essex Crossing Trader Joe's in lower manhattan, where the independent Trader Joe's Union announced a union election will be held last week. We also get updates on other labor happenings in the city and country and hear voices from the current mass protests and strikes in France.
We take call-ins from listeners who shout out women they'd like to honor for Women's History Month.
We hear from DSA-NYC organizer Danny Valdez about the DSA's ongoing Tax the Rich campaign that aims to expand social spending to New York that would benefit the state's working class. Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state legislature are facing an April 1 deadline to complete the budget. On Saturday, hundreds of New Yorkers with the Invest in Our New York coalition marched from Columbus Circle to “Billionaire’s Row” on 5th Avenue to call for higher taxes on NY’s wealthiest residents.
We look at the battle over New York State’s $227 billion annual state budget. Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state legislature are facing an April 1 deadline to complete the budget. On Saturday, hundreds of New Yorkers with the Invest in Our New York coalition marched from Columbus Circle to “Billionaire’s Row” on 5th Avenue to call for higher taxes on NY’s wealthiest residents.We speak with Socialist NY Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani about budget negotiations at the State Capitol right now — the meetings, the discussions, the bargaining, the pressure from well-heeled lobbyists as well as from people-powered movement.
In the first half of the show, we look at the battle over New York State’s $227 billion annual state budget. Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state legislature are facing an April 1 deadline to complete the budget. On Saturday, hundreds of New Yorkers with the Invest in Our New York coalition marched from Columbus Circle to “Billionaire’s Row” on 5th Avenue to call for higher taxes on NY’s wealthiest residents.We speak with Socialist NY Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani about budget negotiations at the State Capitol right now — the meetings, the discussions, the bargaining, the pressure from well-heeled lobbyists as well as from people-powered movement.Then we hear from DSA-NYC organizer Danny Valdez about the ongoing Tax the Rich campaign.Lastly, we take call-ins from listeners who shout out women they'd like to honor for Women's History Month.
We will look at Cop City, a massive new police training facility being built on the edge of Atlanta. Atlanta’s political leaders describe Cop City as a progressive response to the George Floyd protests and demands for better police training. However, critics of the $90 million project say it promotes the further militarization of policing. Cop City has become a magnet for protesters not only in Atlanta but from around the country. On January 18, a forest defender named Tortuguita was shot and killed by police during a raid of a protest encampment inside the forest. It marked the first time an environmental activist has been killed by the police in the United States. This past weekend, hundreds of protesters returned to the Waulanee Forest to begin a week of action against Cop City. There was a two-day music festival this weekend. Late Sunday afternoon, more than 200 masked protesters broke away from the music festival and marched to the Cop City construction site where they set fire to some police equipment, making national headlines. Indypendent Associate Editor Amba Guerguerian was on hand for the Cop City convergence this weekend.
We speak with Anthony Sims, who was convicted in the 1998 slaying of Li Run Chen at a Bushwick Chinese food joint in May 1998. The prosecution’s case was built around the testimony of a witness whose story has since been found to be awash in contradictions. Sims was paroled last fall after 24 years behind bars. He is still seeking to clear his name. He has a court hearing on Friday where Judge Danny Chun could throw out his conviction Meanwhile, Anthony is about to begin a fellowship with the Ford Foundation. Years of preparation while he was incarcerated have put Sims in a place to succeed after his release.
In the first segment, we speak with Anthony Sims, who was convicted in the 1998 slaying of Li Run Chen at a Bushwick Chinese food joint in May 1998. The prosecution’s case was built around the testimony of a witness whose story has since been found to be awash in contradictions. Sims was paroled last fall after 24 years behind bars. He is still seeking to clear his name. He has a court hearing on Friday where Judge Danny Chun could throw out his conviction Meanwhile, Anthony is about to begin a fellowship with the Ford Foundation. Years of preparation while he was incarcerated have put Sims in a place to succeed after his release. In our second segment, we will look at Cop City, a massive new police training facility being built on the edge of Atlanta. Atlanta’s political leaders describe Cop City as a progressive response to the George Floyd protests and demands for better police training. However, critics of the $90 million project say it promotes the further militarization of policing. Cop City has become a magnet for protesters not only in Atlanta but from around the country. On January 18, a forest defender named Tortuguita was shot and killed by police during a raid of a protest encampment inside the forest. It marked the first time an environmental activist has been killed by the police in the United States. This past weekend, hundreds of protesters returned to the Waulanee Forest to begin a week of action against Cop City. There was a two-day music festival this weekend. Late Sunday afternoon, more than 200 masked protesters broke away from the music festival and marched to the Cop City construction site where they set fire to some police equipment, making national headlines. Indypendent Associate Editor Amba Guerguerian was on hand for the Cop City convergence this weekend.
Tenants of 1111 Ocean Ave, a 102-unit, six-story building in Flatbush, announced a lawsuit last week against their landlord, Sam Wasserman, demanding immediate repairs to their apartments and an end to years of harassment. The building now has a record 572 violations, including 157 immediately hazardous conditions that include years-old leaks and massive ceiling collapses. With support from Flatbush Tenant Coalition, tenants at 1111 Ocean Ave have been fighting for years for repairs, and 16 of them have been on rent strike for over two years. We speak with three of the rent strikers who are also some of the most active members of the Tenant Association, Phyllis McQueen, Rita Kettrles and Janice Broadie.
First segment: Tenants of 1111 Ocean Ave, a 102-unit, 6-story building in Flatbush, announced a lawsuit last week against their landlord, Sam Wasserman, demanding immediate repairs to their apartments and an end to years of harassment. The building now has a record 572 violations, including 157 immediately hazardous conditions that include years-old leaks and massive ceiling collapses. With support from Flatbush Tenant Coalition, tenants at 1111 Ocean Ave have been fighting for years for repairs, and 16 of them have been on rent strike for over two years. We are joined by three of the rent strikers who are some of the most active members of the Tenant Association, Phyllis McQueen, Rita Kettrles and Janice Broadie.Second segment: The New York State Senate recently approved the Build Public Renewables Act. If enacted, the bill would supercharge the buildout of wind, solar and geothermal energy in New York and put it under publicly controlled, democratic management. However, some key unions have so far declined to support the measure as it heads to the State Assembly where it is likely to face more resistance.
The New York State Senate recently approved the Build Public Renewables Act. If enacted, the bill would supercharge the buildout of wind, solar and geothermal energy in New York and put it under publicly controlled, democratic management. However, some key unions have so far declined to support the measure as it heads to the State Assembly where it is likely to face more resistance.
We spent the full hour with Nicholas Powers about his cover story on Black Love and its transformative impact on American history. Nicholas is a professor of African-American literature at the State University of New York. Our discussion draws on his knowledge of Black history, the Black literary canon and his own experience of becoming a parent for the first time and raising his son as a single Black father.
We speak with New York City Councilmember Chi Ossé, elected in 2021 at the age of 23 as the youngest-ever member of the council. He played an important role in organizing BLM protests during the George Floyd uprising in NYC and has been one of the forceful voices in the City Council that has pushed back against Mayor Adams' austerity initiatives.
We speak on The Indy News Hour with WBAI’s very own Rachel Hu. She is the co-host of Covert Action, which airs on Wednesdays mornings from 9-10 a.m. She is also a managing editor at Breakthrough News, an independent media project that uplifts critical voices of resistance nationally and internationally. Breakthrough News has a recently-launched program, Breakthrough Disruptors, that brings together media makers and activists. Rachel joins us to talk about that and movement media.
We spend the first half of the show with WBAI’s very own Rachel Hu. She is the co-host of Covert Action, which airs on Wednesdays mornings from 9-10 a.m. She is also a managing editor at Breakthrough News, an independent media project that uplifts critical voices of resistance nationally and internationally. Breakthrough News has a recently-launched program, Breakthrough Disruptors, that brings together media makers and activists. Rachel joins us to talk about that and movement media.In the second half of the show, we speak with New York City Councilmember Chi Ossé, elected in 2021 at the age of 23 as the youngest-ever member of the council. He played an important role in organizing BLM protests during the George Floyd uprising in NYC and has been one of the forceful voices in the City Council that has pushed back against Mayor Adams' austerity initiatives.
In this episode, we talk about police accountability and why it’s so sorely lacking here in New York. We speak with John Teufel, the author of This Month in Eric Adams, a column on indypendent.org. Teufel is a savvy observer of New York politics and media and a former investigator at the Civilian Complaint Review Board, where he reviewed dozens of case of police misconduct and saw first-hand how the system of police accountability works. In 2021, he won a lawsuit against the city to dislodge NYPD disciplinary reporters, which we now can access via FOIA requests. In the second half of the show, Michael Hayes, author of The Secret Files: Bill de Blasio, the NYPD and the Broken Promises of Police Reform, joins in the conversation.
We speak with Kristen Gonzalez, NY's newest Democratic Socialist state senator and, at 27, the youngest woman to ever serve in the NY State Senate. She talks about tech privacy, housing, staying true to socialism, and the NY Supreme Court.We also get updates on co-host Amba Guerguerian's time in Cairo, the new lows the machine Democrats have sunk to, and organizing Amazon.
We speak with Kristen Gonzalez, NY's newest Democratic Socialist state senator and, at 27, the youngest woman to ever serve in the NY State Senate. She talks about tech privacy, housing, staying true to socialism, and the NY Supreme Court.
Yesterday City Council’s labor committee held a public hearing on a measure supported by the Adams administration that would make it possible for the City to transfer 250,000 retired city workers from their current medicare health coverage to privately-run Medicare Advantage. The retirees have put up a fierce battle for over a year. City council is tentatively scheduled to vote on the measure on Jan. 19. We speak with Barbara Karess, adjunct professor at Baruch College in manhattan and a proud member of professional Professional Staff Congres CUNY.
The Indypendent's Steven Wishnia updates us on the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) strike. He’s been speaking with nurses about their working conditions and demands. Over seven thousand nurses at four private hospitals are on strike. “Bosses have pushed us to strike by refusing to seriously consider our proposals to address the desperate crisis of unsafe staffing that harms our patients,” says the union.
We speak with callers live on the air on The Indypendent News Hour on WBAI 99.5 FM. Callers share their views on the nurses’ strike and how municipal union leaders have set up retired municipal employees to lose medicare benefits.
The Indypendent's Steven Wishnia updates us on the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) strike. He’s been speaking with nurses about their working conditions and demands. Over seven thousand nurses at four private hospitals are on strike. “Bosses have pushed us to strike by refusing to seriously consider our proposals to address the desperate crisis of unsafe staffing that harms our patients,” says the union.Yesterday City Council’s labor committee held a public hearing on a measure supported by the Adams administration that would make it possible for the City to transfer 250,000 retired city workers from their current medicare health coverage to privately-run Medicare Advantage. The retirees have put up a fierce battle for over a year. City council is tentatively scheduled to vote on the measure on Jan. 19. We speak with Barbara Karess, adjunct professor at Baruch College in manhattan and a proud member of professional Professional Staff Congres CUNY.Lastly, we speak with callers live on the air on WBAI 99.5 FM. Callers share their views on the nurses’ strike and how municipal union leaders have set up retired municipal employees to lose medicare benefits.
We speak with The Indy's Nicholas Powers' beautiful essay in our December-January print edition about his mother who passed away last year. She was a radical Nuyorican activist and a child of the '60s generation."She was born in 1948, in a Puerto Rican Brooklyn enclave and turned 20 in 1968, the peak of anti-Vietnam War protests, the hippie movement, the Young Lords and Black Panther rebellions. All the marches and slogans scooped my mother like a giant wave and lifted her out of the neighborhood, out of the family, and flung her into America," writes Powers.
We get the latest on the battle to stop Gov. Hochul's Hector LaSalle nomination to NY Court of Appeals from Peter Martin of the Center for Community Alternatives. We also speak with Nicholas Powers about his radical Nuyorican mother and an article he wrote about her in the current issue of The Indypendent.
We look once again at the epic battle for the Hector LaSalle nomination to be the chief judge of New York State Court of Appeals, the state's highest court. The selection by Gov. Kathy Hochul has earned the ire of progressives. We speak with one of the advocates who has been leading the fight against this nomination about the broad resistance.
We speak with New York State senator and socialist Julia Salazar about the growing revolt in the State Senate against Gov. Hochul's nomination of conservative judge Hector LaSalle to lead NYS's highest court for the next 14 years. We also discuss the role of the judiciary in a capitalist state, whether law can be separate from politics, the uses and abuses of identity politics and why the NY Democratic Party establishment has no qualms about betraying its own core supporters.
On this week's show:We speak New School student organizers Cooper Sterling and Bella Coles. They are members of Student-Faculty Solidarity, the lead group on campus that advocates on behalf of part-time faculty. They report back on the critical negotiations that began last night between ACT-UAW 7902, the union representing striking part-time faculty, and the university.Then, we speak with Beth Miller of Jewish Voices for Peace and Sumaya Awad, co-editor of Palestine: A Socialist Introduction. Last week, 12 NYC City Council members traveled to Israel. While there, they were confronted by Jewish anti-occupation activists that urged them to travel to Sheikh Jarrah, which they refused to do. So why are they there, if they are only interested in seeing one half of the situation?
We speak New School student organizers Cooper Sterling and Bella Coles. They are members of Student-Faculty Solidarity, the lead group on campus that advocates on behalf of part-time faculty. They report back on the critical negotiations that began last night between ACT-UAW 7902, the union representing striking part-time faculty, and the university.
We speak with Beth Miller of Jewish Voices for Peace and Sumaya Awad, co-editor of Palestine: A Socialist Introduction. Last week, 12 NYC City Council members traveled to Israel. While there, they were confronted by Jewish anti-occupation activists that urged them to travel to Sheikh Jarrah, which they refused to do. So why are they there, if they are only interested in seeing one half of the situation?
Indypendent Editor-in-Chief John Tarleton and Associate Editor Amba Guerguerian chat between segments of The Indypendent News Hour on WBAI-99.5 FM. Interesting updates on subjects local and national.
We speak with Indy Ben Mankoff on WBAI. The disparities within the NYC school system are a frequent topic of conversation on this radio station and elsewhere, but what’s lesser known is that public-school libraries are disappearing. The city Department of Education’s (DOE) Office of Library Services doesn’t have reliable data, but the available figures indicate that over 60% of city high schools do not have the state-mandated library media specialist on staff, and more than 40% don’t have any library space.
In the November/December issue of The Indypendent, substitute-teacher-turned-librarian Ben Mankoff wrote an article investigating what is going on with the New York City Schools public libraries.
We speak with George Abro of the New York Progressive Action Network about the recent midterms election and why he thinks New York Dems did so badly.
We speak with George Abro of the New York Progressive Action Network about the recent midterms election and why he thinks New York Dems did so badly.
Then, we hear from Indy reporter Ben Mankoff. The disparities within the NYC school system are a frequent topic of conversation on this radio station and elsewhere, but what’s lesser known is that public-school libraries are disappearing. The city Department of Education’s (DOE) Office of Library Services doesn’t have reliable data, but the available figures indicate that over 60% of city high schools do not have the state-mandated library media specialist on staff, and more than 40% don’t have any library space.
In the November/December issue of The Indypendent, substitute-teacher-turned-librarian Ben Mankoff wrote an article investigating what is going on with the New York City Schools public libraries.
We speak with Democratic Socialist Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani of Queens about fighting Con Ed’s latest price-gouging rate hikes, the need for a Publicly controlled power system fueled by renewable energy sources and the daily work of being a Socialist elected official operating within a capitalist system.
Regina Bueno is from Niterói, Rio de Janeiro. She sent us these vocal messages shortly after Brazil's presidential election results announced Lula would again be president of Brazil. She believes he is a champion of the poor and marginalized people of Brazil.
Over the past couple of years, The Indypendent News Hour has become the premiere news and public affairs show on WBAI, a listen-sponsored community radio station whose signal beams 90 miles in all directions from atop a Midtown skyscraper. On Nov. 8 2022, we expanded our normal one-hour news show into a five-hour election night special.
We not only keep track of key races in New York and nationally but provide a deeper analysis of the issues that have animated the midterms — crime, inflation, abortion rights, the threat to democracy — and ones that haven’t been discussed nearly enough: the racist backlash to Black Lives Matter, the demise of local news and the spread of conspiracy theories, the growing power of the billionaire class over the rest of society.
Throughout the show, we heard live interviews with NYC voters by roving Indy reporters. Here is the five-hour breakdown.
FIRST HOUR —Interview with Ben Max, editor of Gotham Gazette, about the most competitive governor’s race in New York in a generation as well as key congressional and legislative races that could swing the balance of power in Washington and Albany.
—Interviews with Socialist state legislators Jabari Brisport and Phara Souffrant Forrest about Kathy Hochul turning to the New York Left to save her floundering campaign.
SECOND HOUR —Interview with legendary NYC journalist Tom Robbins.
—Interview with Bob Hennelly about the demise of local media and the national media echo chamber that has been promoting the “red wave” for weeks.
—Grassroots report from Florida where Gov. Ron DeSantis is pioneering is testing out his version of homegrown American fascism as prepares to run for President in 2024.
THIRD HOUR —Interview with acclaimed Marxist-feminist-anti-racist scholar Linda Martín Alcoff. Will there be a backlash against the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade? If not, why not?
—Interview with Indy Contributing Editor Nicholas Powers about the underlying causes of the public hysteria over crime, the rise of conspiracy theories and why working class people of color are now also starting to move away from supporting the Democrats.
FOURTH HOUR —Grassroots report from North Carolina where Cheri Beasley is trying to become the first Black woman from the South to be elected to the Senate.
—Interview with Mondale Robinson of the Black Male Voter Project.
—Interview with Carrie Santoro, executive director of Pennsylvania Stands Up.
—Interview with historian Max Elbaum about what the left must do to defeat MAGA and reset U.S. politics in a more progressive direction
FIFTH HOUR —Interview with Linda Sarsour, Brooklyn-born Palestinian-American activist, Women’s March co-founder and national surrogate for Bernie Sanders in 2016 and 2020. —Grassroots report from Arizona. —Interview with Ron Daniels, President and Founder of the Institute of the Black World 21s Century about the Midterm elections and their impact on Black America.
We speak with Leo of Mexicanos Unidos, a politically-and-community-oriented group in Sunset Park, Brooklyn working to develop a critical, collective social consciousness for the Mexican community. The group, which was founded during the George Floyd Uprisings of 2020, hosts a sprawling weekly open-air market in Sunset Park (the park) called Plaza Tonatiuh and engages community in political education.
We speak with Hall and Greyson of Starbucks Workers United (SWU), who are part of a group of workers that just launched a union campaign at Starbucks/Amazon go in Times Square. Worker-led SWU has organized over 300 Starbucks shops since last year.
Co-hosts John Tarleton and Amba Guerguerian talk about leftist and Workers Party founding member Lula da Silva defeating far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil's presidential runoffs. We connect it to (and discuss) the governor's race here with Democratic incumbent Kathy Hochul being neck-and-neck in the polls with MAGA candidate Lee Zeldin.
On this week's show:
In the first segment, we talk about leftist and Workers Party founding member Lula da Silva defeating far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro in the Brazil presidential runoffs. We connect it to (and discuss) the governor's race here with Democratic incumbent Kathy Hochul being neck-and-neck in the polls with MAGA candidate Lee Zeldin.
In the second segment, we speak with Hall and Greyson of Starbucks Workers United (SWU), who are part of a group of workers that just launched a union campaign at Starbucks/Amazon go in Times Square. Worker-led SWU has organized over 300 Starbucks shops since last year.
In the third segment, we speak with Leo of Mexicanos Unidos, a politically-and-community-oriented group and community entity in sunset park, Brooklyn working to develop a critical, collective social consciousness for the Mexican community. The group, which was founded during the George Floyd Uprisings of 2020, hosts a sprawling weekly open-air market in Sunset Park called Plaza Tonatiuh and engages community in political education.
On this week's show:
With Republican Lee Zeldin gaining rapidly in the polls on incumbent Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul, in our first segment we hear clips from a raucous Get Out The Vote rally for Kathy Hochul Sunday afternoon on the Upper West Side. The event was disrupted by Zeldin supporters and some really strange and disturbing anti-vaxxers. We hear from Indy reporter Ted Hamm who has a new article out on how Zeldin is using blatantly racist images, tropes and campaign promises to push his tough on crime message.
Then, we talk to Democratic Socialist Assemblywoman Marcela Mitaynes of Sunset Park, Brooklyn about the governor’s race and how it could affect working class New Yorkers. We also speak with Mitaynes, a former tenant organizer, about the shocking news that came out last week about how nearly 90,000 rent-stabilized apartments in the city are currently vacant even as both rents and homelessness continue soaring.
In the third segment, we speak with acclaimed street photographer Alex Harsley about a new exhibit of his life’s work that is being staged on the Lower East Side.
We speak with acclaimed street photographer Alex Harsley about a new exhibit of his life’s work that is being staged on the Lower East Side in a photo exhibit titled "Sixty-four years of Images of my NYC Community." The optical time journey highlights Harsley's "quest for the ultimate photo that truly represents the beauty of his community as it has evolved over the years." @ Cooper Square Committee's Studio One 59-61 E 4th St. #3W until Nov. 15.
We talk to Democratic Socialist Assemblywoman Marcela Mitaynes of Sunset Park, Brooklyn about the governor’s race and how it could affect working-class New Yorkers. We also speak with Mitaynes, a former tenant organizer, about the shocking news that came out last week about how nearly 90,000 rent-stabilized apartments in the city are currently vacant even as both rents and homelessness continue soaring.
With Republican Lee Zeldin gaining rapidly in the polls on incumbent Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul, in our first segment we hear clips from a raucous Get Out The Vote rally for Kathy Hochul Sunday afternoon on the Upper West Side. The event was disrupted by Zeldin supporters and some really strange and disturbing anti-vaxxers. We hear from Indy reporter Ted Hamm who has a new article out on how Zeldin is using blatantly racist images, tropes and campaign promises to push his tough on crime message.
We speak on The Indypendent News Hour on WBAI with members of Brooklyn Eviction Defense about the rapid growth of BED tenant associations since March & why a tenant association is an important thing to be a part of, to defend your rights as a tenant, fight evictions and organize communities.
We speak with members of the Amazon Labor Union about the Oct. 12-17 union election at ALB1, a warehouse in Schodack, NY, near Albany and about heightening work-safety concerns among Amazon workers as three warehouses caught on fire last week, two of which occurred at Amazon Labor Union-associated warehouses.
On this week's Indypendent News Hour:
In the first segment we speak with members of the Amazon Labor Union about the Oct. 12-17 union election at ALB1, a warehouse in Schodack, NY, near Albany and about heightening work-safety concerns among Amazon workers as three warehouses caught on fire last week, two of which occurrd at Amazon Labor Union-associated warehouses.
In the second segment, we speak with members of Brooklyn Eviction Defense about the rapid growth of BED tenant associations since March and why a tenant association is an important thing to be a part of, to defend your rights as a tenant, fight evictions and organize communities.
On this week's Indypendent News Hour, we talk about the life and legacy of Dr. Jeffrey Perry, who died over the weekend. Perry was an independent, working-class scholar whose work focused on the role of white supremacy as a retardant to progressive social change and on the centrality of struggle against white supremacy to progressive social change efforts. Perry wrote and spoke in particular on two of the most important thinkers on race and class in the twentieth century: Hubert Harrison and Theodore W. Allen, both of whom we will hear more about shortly. Perry's friend of 50 years, Sean Ahern, joins us to commemorate Perry. Ahern is a retired public-school teacher and member of the NYC Coalition to Finally End Mayoral Control.
On this week's Indypendent News Hour, we talk about the life and legacy of Dr. Jeffrey Perry, who died over the weekend. Perry was an independent, working-class scholar whose work focused on the role of white supremacy as a retardant to progressive social change and on the centrality of struggle against white supremacy to progressive social change efforts. Perry wrote and spoke in particular on two of the most important thinkers on race and class in the twentieth century: Hubert Harrison and Theodore W. Allen, both of whom we will hear more about shortly. Perry's friend of 50 years, Sean Ahern, joins us to commemorate Perry. Ahern is a retired public-school teacher and member of the NYC Coalition to Finally End Mayoral Control.
On this week's show:
First Segment: Alexa Avilés, democratic socialist City Councilmember whose South Brooklyn district encompasses Red Hook, Sunset Park, Greenwood and parts of Windsor Terrace, Dyker Heights and Borough Park. We catch up with her on the latest from Puerto rico, the city’s response to the influx of migrants from border states and the latest disturbing news from the New York City Housing Authority which she oversees as the Chair of the City Council’s Committee on NYCHA.
Second Segment: In our second segment, we talk about the life and legacy of Dr. Jeffrey Perry, who died over the weekend. Perry was an independent, working-class scholar whose work focused on the role of white supremacy as a retardant to progressive social change and on the centrality of struggle against white supremacy to progressive social change efforts. Perry wrote and spoke in particular on two of the most important thinkers on race and class in the twentieth century: Hubert Harrison and Theodore W. Allen, both of whom we will hear more about shortly. Perry's friend of 50 years, Sean Ahern, joins us to commemorate Perry. Ahern is a retired public-school teacher and member of the NYC Coalition to Finally End Mayoral Control.
Third Segment: Labor and culture. The 11th annual Worker Unite Film Festival begins on Friday, Oct. 7 at Cinema Village Theater. It will be WUFF’s first in-person festival since the pandemic. The festival comes at a time when we’re seeing an upsurge in labor organizing and strikes and labor unions are more popular in public opinion polls than any time in the past five decades. We are joined by WUFF Executive Director Andrew Tilson and two special guests, avant-garde jazz luminary William Hooker, whose 2021 film The Lost Generation: Outside the Mainstream will be a part of the festival and Sean Claffy, who directed Americonned, a film that examines "the long overdue uprising of American workers.”
On this week's show:
First Segment: Alexa Avilés, democratic socialist City Councilmember whose South Brooklyn district encompasses Red Hook, Sunset Park, Greenwood and parts of Windsor Terrace, Dyker Heights and Borough Park. We catch up with her on the latest from Puerto rico, the city’s response to the influx of migrants from border states and the latest disturbing news from the New York City Housing Authority which she oversees as the Chair of the City Council’s Committee on NYCHA.
Second Segment: In our second segment, we talk about the life and legacy of Dr. Jeffrey Perry, who died over the weekend. Perry was an independent, working-class scholar whose work focused on the role of white supremacy as a retardant to progressive social change and on the centrality of struggle against white supremacy to progressive social change efforts. Perry wrote and spoke in particular on two of the most important thinkers on race and class in the twentieth century: Hubert Harrison and Theodore W. Allen, both of whom we will hear more about shortly. Perry's friend of 50 years, Sean Ahern, joins us to commemorate Perry. Ahern is a retired public-school teacher and member of the NYC Coalition to Finally End Mayoral Control.
Third Segment: Labor and culture. The 11th annual Worker Unite Film Festival begins on Friday, Oct. 7 at Cinema Village Theater. It will be WUFF’s first in-person festival since the pandemic. The festival comes at a time when we’re seeing an upsurge in labor organizing and strikes and labor unions are more popular in public opinion polls than any time in the past five decades. We are joined by WUFF Executive Director Andrew Tilson and two special guests, avant-garde jazz luminary William Hooker, whose 2021 film The Lost Generation: Outside the Mainstream will be a part of the festival and Sean Claffy, who directed Americonned, a film that examines "the long overdue uprising of American workers.”
On this week’s Indypendent News Hour on WBAI, we feature an intersection of labor and culture. The 11th annual Worker Unite Film Festival begins on Friday, Oct. 7 at Cinema Village Theater. It will be WUFF’s first in-person festival since the pandemic. The festival comes at a time when we’re seeing an upsurge in labor organizing and strikes and labor unions are more popular in public opinion polls than any time in the past five decades. We are joined by WUFF Executive Director Andrew Tilson and two special guests, avant-garde jazz luminary William Hooker, whose 2021 film The Lost Generation: Outside the Mainstream will be a part of the festival and Sean Claffy, who directed Americonned, a film that examines "the long overdue uprising of American workers.”
On this week’s Indypendent News Hour on WBAI, we feature an intersection of labor and culture. The 11th annual Worker Unite Film Festival begins on Friday, Oct. 7 at Cinema Village Theater. It will be WUFF’s first in-person festival since the pandemic. The festival comes at a time when we’re seeing an upsurge in labor organizing and strikes and labor unions are more popular in public opinion polls than any time in the past five decades. We are joined by WUFF Executive Director Andrew Tilson and two special guests, avant-garde jazz luminary William Hooker, whose 2021 film The Lost Generation: Outside the Mainstream will be a part of the festival and Sean Claffy, who directed Americonned, a film that examines "the long overdue uprising of American workers.”
On this week’s Indypendent News Hour on WBAI, we speak with Alexa Avilés, democratic socialist City Councilmember whose South Brooklyn district encompasses Red Hook, Sunset Park, Greenwood and parts of Windsor Terrace, Dyker Heights and Borough Park. We catch up with her on the latest from Puerto rico, the city’s response to the influx of migrants from border states and the latest disturbing news from the New York City Housing Authority which she oversees as the Chair of the City Council’s Committee on NYCHA.
On this week’s Indypendent News Hour on WBAI, we speak with Alexa Avilés, democratic socialist City Councilmember whose South Brooklyn district encompasses Red Hook, Sunset Park, Greenwood and parts of Windsor Terrace, Dyker Heights and Borough Park. We catch up with her on the latest from Puerto rico, the city’s response to the influx of migrants from border states and the latest disturbing news from the New York City Housing Authority which she oversees as the Chair of the City Council’s Committee on NYCHA.
Home care workers are some of the most exploited workers in New York City. These workers are expected to work shifts as long as 24 hours while being shortchanged on the pay they are owed. Many of these women have experienced debilitating injuries and illnesses. A coalition of groups including Chinese Staff & Workers Association, Flushing Workers Center, National Organization for Women NYS, NYC DSA Socialist Feminists & National Mobilization Against SweatShops is leading the “Ain’t I A Woman” campaign to get City Council to pass new laws that would curtail the abuses home care workers endure. Sarah Ahn and Zeke Luger from the Ain’t I A Woman campaign joined us to talk about this. Ahn has been organizing with home care workers for years. Luger is a patient’s family member who supports stronger labor protections for home care workers.
Home care workers are some of the most exploited workers in New York City. These workers are expected to work shifts as long as 24 hours while being shortchanged on the pay they are owed. Many of these women have experienced debilitating injuries and illnesses. A coalition of groups including Chinese Staff & Workers Association, Flushing Workers Center, National Organization for Women NYS, NYC DSA Socialist Feminists & National Mobilization Against SweatShops is leading the “Ain’t I A Woman” campaign to get City Council to pass new laws that would curtail the abuses home care workers endure. Sarah Ahn and Zeke Luger from the Ain’t I A Woman campaign joined us to talk about this. Ahn has been organizing with home care workers for years. Luger is a patient’s family member who supports stronger labor protections for home care workers.
We were excited to be joined by James Davis, President of PSC-CUNY on WBAI. The 50th anniversary is coming up of the Professional Staff Congress union at CUNY, formed in 1972. The union represents over 30,000 faculty and professional staff at the City University of New York at its 24 campuses. CUNY is the largest urban higher-education system in the country, and we talk about the fight for a free and just CUNY that the union has been a part of for years.
We were excited to be joined by James Davis, President of PSC-CUNY on WBAI. The 50th anniversary is coming up of the Professional Staff Congress union at CUNY, formed in 1972. The union represents over 30,000 faculty and professional staff at the City University of New York at its 24 campuses. CUNY is the largest urban higher-education system in the country, and we talk about the fight for a free and just CUNY that the union has been a part of for years.
Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez recently announced that he was throwing out 378 past convictions that were tainted by police corruption. We were joined by one of our contributing editors and an expert investigative reporte, Ted Hamm, who has written extensively about the intersection of our criminal justice system and the machinations of power-politics in Brooklyn, especially at the Brooklyn DA’s office, where there’s been some recent developments.
Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez recently announced that he was throwing out 378 past convictions that were tainted by police corruption. We were joined by one of our contributing editors and an expert investigative reporte, Ted Hamm, who has written extensively about the intersection of our criminal justice system and the machinations of power-politics in Brooklyn, especially at the Brooklyn DA’s office, where there’s been some recent developments.
We speak on WBAI about Labor Day 2022 and how it was celebrated yesterday by a rising new generation of bold young unionists. The Amazon Labor Union, joined by Starbucks Workers United and many other insurgent labor groups rallied to demand billion-dollar companies Amazon and Starbucks recognize their unions.
On April 1 of this year, the Amazon Labor Union pulled off what many said was impossible — they won a union election at JFK8, an Amazon warehouse in Staten Island. The election results were objected to by Amazon and after months of hearings and deliberation, the National Labor Relations Board announced on Thursday that the company’s objections had no merit. The worker-led Amazon Labor Union is demanding the company come to the bargaining table and negotiate a first contract.
Since the ALU win at the Staten Island warehouse, workers at three other U.S. warehouses have launched union campaigns. Workers have been organizing in Albany since this spring at the ALB1 warehouse, where a union election will be held October 13-15.
For the latest developments with the Amazon Labor Union, we were joined by Seth Goldstein, pro-bono lawyer for the ALU, and Michael Verrastro, a former Amazon employee in Albany who joined the union effort after being abruptly fired.
We speak on WBAI about Labor Day 2022 and how it was celebrated yesterday by a rising new generation of bold young unionists. The Amazon Labor Union, joined by Starbucks Workers United and many other insurgent labor groups rallied to demand billion-dollar companies Amazon and Starbucks recognize their unions.
On April 1 of this year, the Amazon Labor Union pulled off what many said was impossible — they won a union election at JFK8, an Amazon warehouse in Staten Island. The election results were objected to by Amazon and after months of hearings and deliberation, the National Labor Relations Board announced on Thursday that the company’s objections had no merit. The worker-led Amazon Labor Union is demanding the company come to the bargaining table and negotiate a first contract.
Since the ALU win at the Staten Island warehouse, workers at three other U.S. warehouses have launched union campaigns. Workers have been organizing in Albany since this spring at the ALB1 warehouse, where a union election will be held October 13-15.
For the latest developments with the Amazon Labor Union, we were joined by Seth Goldstein, pro-bono lawyer for the ALU, and Michael Verrastro, a former Amazon employee in Albany who joined the union effort after being abruptly fired.
A mini segment with Editor-in-Chief on the history of Labor Day and how it harkens back to a split in the labor world between TK and TK which still runs strong today.
A mini segment with Editor-in-Chief on the history of Labor Day and how it harkens back to a split in the labor world between TK and TK which still runs strong today.
We speak on WBAI-99.5 FM with Dr. Kaliris Salas-Ramirez, a public school parent leader and a member of New York City’s school board. A new school years begins on Thursday for New York City’s 1 million public school students. Dr. Kaliris Salas-Ramirez has been a leading critic of the decision by Eric Adams and the City Council to defund the schools this year by $469 million. She talks about the impact that decision is having on the city’s children and their support systems and what public education activists are doing to claw that money back.
We speak on WBAI-99.5 FM with Dr. Kaliris Salas-Ramirez, a public school parent leader and a member of New York City’s school board. A new school years begins on Thursday for New York City’s 1 million public school students. Dr. Kaliris Salas-Ramirez has been a leading critic of the decision by Eric Adams and the City Council to defund the schools this year by $469 million. She talks about the impact that decision is having on the city’s children and their support systems and what public education activists are doing to claw that money back.
First Segment: On April 1 of this year, the Amazon Labor Union pulled off what many said was impossible — they won a union election at JFK8, an Amazon warehouse in Staten Island. The election results were objected to by Amazon and after months of hearings and deliberation, the National Labor Relations Board announced on Thursday that the company’s objections had no merit. The worker-led Amazon Labor Union is demanding the company come to the bargaining table and negotiate a first contract.
Since the ALU win at the Staten Island warehouse, workers at three other U.S. warehouses have launched union campaigns. Workers have been organizing in Albany since this spring at the ALB1 warehouse, where a union election will be held October 13-15.
For the latest developments with the Amazon Labor Union., we were joined by Seth Goldstein, pro-bono lawyer for the ALU, and Michael Verrastro, a former Amazon employee in Albany who joined the union effort after being abruptly fired. ————— Second segment: Our special guest was Dr. Kaliris Salas-Ramirez, a public school parent leader and a member of New York City’s school board. A new school years begins on Thursday for New York City’s 1 million public school students. Dr. Kaliris Salas-Ramirez has been a leading critic of the decision by Eric Adams and the City Council to defund the schools this year by $469 million. She talks about the impact that decision is having on the city’s children and their support systems and what public education activists are doing to claw that money back.
First Segment: On April 1 of this year, the Amazon Labor Union pulled off what many said was impossible — they won a union election at JFK8, an Amazon warehouse in Staten Island. The election results were objected to by Amazon and after months of hearings and deliberation, the National Labor Relations Board announced on Thursday that the company’s objections had no merit. The worker-led Amazon Labor Union is demanding the company come to the bargaining table and negotiate a first contract.
Since the ALU win at the Staten Island warehouse, workers at three other U.S. warehouses have launched union campaigns. Workers have been organizing in Albany since this spring at the ALB1 warehouse, where a union election will be held October 13-15.
For the latest developments with the Amazon Labor Union., we were joined by Seth Goldstein, pro-bono lawyer for the ALU, and Michael Verrastro, a former Amazon employee in Albany who joined the union effort after being abruptly fired. ————— Second segment: Our special guest was Dr. Kaliris Salas-Ramirez, a public school parent leader and a member of New York City’s school board. A new school years begins on Thursday for New York City’s 1 million public school students. Dr. Kaliris Salas-Ramirez has been a leading critic of the decision by Eric Adams and the City Council to defund the schools this year by $469 million. She talks about the impact that decision is having on the city’s children and their support systems and what public education activists are doing to claw that money back.
Listen along as Indypendent Editor-in-Chief John Tarleton and WBAI's Linda Sarsour discuss the results from Tuesday's Democratic primary in New York. In their conversation, they talk about some of the Left's big victories on Tuesday and why it failed to coalesce and win in NY's newly created 10th congressional district in Lower Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn.
We spoke with writer and leftist pundit Tom Robbins on primary night about some of the hardest-fought races and the terrain these races were being contested on. Some of the wealthiest New Yorkers are spending millions of dollars this year to drown out the voices of progressive grassroots candidates.
We speak with voters as they exit polling places in congressional districts NY-10 and NY-10. In NY-10 where progressive incumbent Jamaal Bowman (who was backed by the DSA two years ago when he first won election)ran to keep his seat against three more moderate challengers. In NY-16, David Alexis ran an insurgent DSA-backed campaign against Kevin Parker, who has held the seat for two decades and has received more than $100,000 in campaign donations in his career from fossil-fuel interests. Alexis, a taxi driver who wants to redefine community safety, lost, but not by a large margin. He's already hinted at running again in two years.
We hear from State Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou. She is carrying the progressive banner in the wide-open race for New York’s newly created 10th congressional district which encompasses Lower Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn. The latest polls show Niou running second in a field of 15 candidates, trailing only Dan Goldman, a former federal prosecutor and an heir to the Levi Strauss fortune.
Also, a reminder that we will be hosting a special, two-hour election night edition of The Indypendent News Hour Tuesday, Aug. 23 from 5-7 p.m. The second round of Democratic Party primary elections will be held Tuesday August 23rd. Congressional and State Senate seats are up for grabs across the New York City region. We will speak with candidates, community leaders, pundits and voters like you about who is best suited to represent New Yorkers for the next two years in Washington, D.C. and Albany.
We speak with Ariadna Phillips of South Bronx Mutual Aid, who has been part of on-the-ground solidarity efforts when buses of asylum seekers arrive in NYC, sent from Texas border towns by Gov. Greg Abbott, who calls Biden's anything-but border policy "open borders."
So far, around 4000 people have arrived and the buses keep coming, says Phillips, who explains the difficulty of the journey described as "hell" and "prison." She also describes the current "resettlement" process.
We speak with Ariadna Phillips of South Bronx Mutual Aid, who has been part of on-the-ground solidarity efforts when buses of asylum seekers arrive in NYC, sent from Texas border towns by Gov. Greg Abbott, who calls Biden's anything-but border policy "open borders."
Then we hear from State Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou. She is carrying the progressive banner in the wide-open race for New York’s newly created 10th congressional district which encompasses Lower Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn. The latest polls show Niou running second in a field of 15 candidates, trailing only Dan Goldman, a former federal prosecutor and an heir to the Levi Strauss fortune.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has been sending the asylum seekers to “sanctuary cities” Washington, DC, and NYC for months — without sufficient food, water and medical assistance, say those that are supporting the migrants as they arrive. Since Friday, two buses carrying asylum seekers have arrived from Texas, with a total of 68 passengers. 4,000 immigrants have come from Texas in the last few months.
We are joined by Adriana Phillips, founder of South Bronx Mutual Aid and a member of the NYC ICE watch network. She has been on-the-ground, greeting buses as they arrive from Texas.
We learn about races to watch in the upcoming state and national legislative elections from co-host John Tarleton, the Editor-in-Chief of The Indy and a keen observer of electoral politics.
There are ~1,800 public schools in NYC serving 1 million students. But even though school will start in a month, most schools don't know what their annual budget will be and whether they will have to lay off staff. The matter appeared to be settled on June 13 when Mayor Eric Adams pushed the City’s annual budget through City Council with hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts to school funding. But on Friday New York Supreme Court Justice Lyle Frank ruled that the process upon which the Department of Education's budget was established violated state law and allowed City Hall a new vote. Earlier today, the Mayor appealed the decision to a higher court.
We speak with Paul Trust, a father and teacher at P.S. 39 and one of the four plaintiffs in the lawsuit. We were also joined by Kaliris Salas-Ramirez, another NYC public school parent and the Manhattan representative on the Panel for Education Policy, the New York City school board.
—There are ~1,800 public schools in NYC serving 1 million students. But even though school will start in a month, most schools don't know what their annual budget will be and whether they will have to lay off staff. The matter appeared to be settled on June 13 when Mayor Eric Adams pushed the City’s annual budget through City Council with hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts to school funding. But on Friday New York Supreme Court Justice Lyle Frank ruled that the process upon which the Department of Education's budget was established violated state law and allowed City Hall a new vote. Earlier today, the Mayor appealed the decision to a higher court.
We speak with Paul Trust, a father and teacher at P.S. 39 and one of the four plaintiffs in the lawsuit. We were also joined by Kaliris Salas Ramirez, another NYC public school parent and the Manhattan representative on the Panel for Education Policy, the New York City school board.
—Then, in our second segment, we hear a bit from john about the upcoming state and national legislative elections from co-host John Tarleton. Tarleton is the Editor-in-Chief of The Indy and a keen observer of electoral politics.
—Texas Governor Greg Abbott has been sending the asylum seekers to “sanctuary cities” Washington, DC, and NYC for months — without sufficient food, water and medical assistance, say those that are supporting the migrants as they arrive. Since Friday, two buses carrying asylum seekers have arrived from Texas, with a total of 68 passengers. 4,000 immigrants have come from Texas in the last few months.
We are joined in our third segment by Adriana Phillips, founder of South Bronx Mutual Aid and a member of the NYC ICE watch network. She has been on-the-ground, greeting buses as they arrive from Texas.
We get a needed sermon from Reverend Billy Talen of the Church of Stop Shopping about their new “Earth Church” in a former bank building on the Lower East Side. Billy insists if we’re going to survive the climate crisis, we will need soon need an Earth-centered cultural revolution.
Advocates for the Build Public Renewables Act get another chance to make their case tomorrow. On Thursdays New York State Assembly will host an unprecedented mid-summer hearing on the BRPA. If passed and signed into law, the bill would greatly expand New York’s public power system and the state’s use of renewable energy sources. To discuss this, we speak with Sarahana Shrestha. She recently knocked off a 13-term State Assemblymember in her Hudson Valley district while running on the promise to fight for public power.
We look at the ongoing struggle to unionize workers at Starbucks franchises across the US. Starbucks Workers at 316 stores in 36 states have filed to unionize despite Starbucks’ aggressive anti-union campaign. So far, 201 Starbucks stores in 32 states have won union elections. Just 40 stores have lost an election. In retaliation, Starbucks has been union-busting. Among other tactics, they have fired worker-organizers and sometimes even closed down stores. Austin Locke, a key Starbucks organizer, was fired from Starbucks on July 5 just five days after his store on Starbucks at Ditmars Blvd and 31st Street in the Astoria, Queens won their union election 7-4. He speaks with us about his experience and updates us on the union fight.
We commemorate Michael Lardner, founder and driving force behind the Marxist Education Project who died last Wednesday at 68. He hailed from a family of Michigan autoworkers and came to New York as a young man to work on the grapes boycott called by the United Farm Workers. In that same era, he helped found the New York Marxist School which became the Brecht Forum. When the Brecht Forum closed down in 2014, Michael stepped into a moment of great sadness and disappointment and launched the Marxist Education Project.
First, we commemorate Michael Lardner, founder and driving force behind the Marxist Education Project who died last Wednesday at 68. He hailed from a family of Michigan autoworkers and came to New York as a young man to work on the grapes boycott called by the United Farm Workers. In that same era, he helped found the New York Marxist School which became the Brecht Forum. When the Brecht Forum closed down in 2014, Michael stepped into a moment of great sadness and disappointment and launched the Marxist Education Project.
We look at the ongoing struggle to unionize workers at starbucks franchises across the US. Starbucks Workers at 316 stores in 36 states have filed to unionize despite starbucks’ aggressive anti-union campaign. So far, 201 Starbucks stores in 32 states have won union elections. Just 40 stores have lost an election. In retaliation, Starbucks has been union-busting. Among other tactics, they have fired worker-organizers and sometimes even closed down stores. Austin Locke, a key starbucks organizer, was fired from starbucks on July 5 just five days after his store on Starbucks at Ditmars Blvd and 31st Street in the Astoria, Queens won their union election 7-4. He speaks with us about his experience and updates us on the union fight.
Advocates for the Build Public Renewables Act get another chance to make their case tomorrow. On Thursdays New York State Assembly will host an unprecedented mid-summer hearing on the BRPA. If passed and signed into law, the bill would greatly expand New York’s public power system and the state’s use of renewable energy sources. To discuss this, we speak with Sarahana Shrestha. She recently knocked off a 13-term State Assemblymember in her Hudson Valley district while running on the promise to fight for public power.
Finally, we get a much-needed sermon from Reverend Billy Talen of the Church of Stop Shopping about their new “Earth Church” in a former bank building on the Lower East Side. Billy insists if we’re going to survive the climate crisis, we will need soon need an Earth-centered cultural revolution.
New York’s supreme court, the New York Court of Appeals has taken a conservative turn in recent years. It’s been stacked with Andrew Cuomo appointees. The chief justice of the seven-member court, Janice DiFiore, a Cuomo appointee, unexpectedly announced she would be stepping down last week. The court is divided 4-3 in favor of a conservative block of which DiFiore is a member. As she leaves, there’s a chance for the court to go in a different direction. Our third guest, Matthew Thomas, has looked into misconduct by another justice, Madeline Singas, who was appointed last year by Cuomo and is urging the state legislature to consider impeaching her and opening up another seat on the Court of Appeals.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams has made homeless sweeps one of the defining features of his administration. The sweeps often end with people’s few worldly possessions being tossed in the back of a garbage truck. The City was at it again on Tuesday, dismantling a couple of encampments by the Manhattan Bridge. It also planned to oust a homeless encampment in Sara Roosevelt Park at the intersection of Forsyth and Canal. One abolitionist neighborhood resident, Isabel, has sought to aid the homeless men instead of looking away or trying to involve the police. Isabel joins us to talk about how she’s chosen to respond to homelessness in her community.
A report-back from The Indy's Amba Guerguerian. Sri Lanka, the teardrop-shaped island nation of 23 million people located just south of India. The country has been in the throes of an economic meltdown. A mass protest movement erupted in April; on July 10, thousands of demonstrators took over the presidential palace and sent the country’s leader Gotabaya Rajapaksa fleeing into exile. In now-iconic images, the protesters were seen taking selfies on the President’s canopied bed and splashing in his private swimming pool. Guerguerian has been following this story and is in touch with Sri Lanka protesters in the capital city of Colombo.
We start with a report-back from The Indy's Amba Guerguerian. Sri Lanka, the teardrop-shaped island nation of 23 million people located just south of India. The country has been in the throes of an economic meltdown. A mass protest movement erupted in April; on July 10, thousands of demonstrators took over the presidential palace and sent the country’s leader Gotabaya Rajapaksa fleeing into exile. In now-iconic images, the protesters were seen taking selfies on the President’s canopied bed and splashing in his private swimming pool. Guerguerian has been following this story and is in touch with Sri Lanka protesters in the capital city of Colombo.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams has made homeless sweeps one of the defining features of his administration. The sweeps often end with people’s few worldly possessions being tossed in the back of a garbage truck. The City was at it again on Tuesday, dismantling a couple of encampments by the Manhattan Bridge. It also planned to oust a homeless encampment in Sara Roosevelt Park at the intersection of Forsyth and Canal. One abolitionist neighborhood resident, Isabel, has sought to aid the homeless men instead of looking away or trying to involve the police. Isabel joins us to talk about how she’s chosen to respond to homelessness in her community.
NY’s supreme court, the New York Court of Appeals has taken a conservative turn in recent years. It’s been stacked with Andrew Cuomo appointees. The chief justice of the seven-member court, Janice DiFiore, a Cuomo appointee, unexpectedly announced she would be stepping down last week. The court is divided 4-3 in favor of a conservative block of which DiFiore is a member. As she leaves, there’s a chance for the court to go in a different direction. Our third guest, matthew Thomas, has looked into misconduct by another justice, Madeline Singhas, who was appointed last year by Cuomo and is urging the state legislature to consider impeaching her and opening up another seat on the Court of Appeals.
First Segment: We speak with Max Rivlin-Nadler of the Hell Gate news website about the dearth of lifeguards at city pools this summer and how that’s affecting ordinary New Yorkers who don’t have their own rooftop pools or private gym memberships.
Second Segment: How did we end up with the new city budget we have? And what will its impact be in the coming year, especially New York’s 1 million public school students? We speak with City Councilmember Shahana Hanif of District 39 in Brooklyn. She’s the co-chair of the City Council’s Progressive Caucus and was in the thick of this year’s drama around the budget.
Third Segment: We speak with John Teufel, who authors a monthly column called "This Month in Eric Adams." He also wrote the cover article for our July print edition, “Welcome to the Fear Factory: How The Mayor, The Cops and the Corporate Media Make It Impossible To Solve New York City’s Many Challenges.”
We had reporters Molly Morrow and Yastika Guru out in the field speaking with Lower East Side voters about their ballot selections as they exited their polling places.
In this week's show, Host John Tarleton takes us through an election-night special edition as voters cast ballots in Democratic and Republican primaries for all statewide offices and all 150 seats in the NY State Assembly. In a heavily Democratic state like New York, the primary is often the race that determines the winner in the general election in November.
In this segment we speak with Sumathy Kumar, co-chair of the New York City Chapter of the Democratic Socialist of America, which has emerged as a force in New York politics and in this race was aiming to knock off some longtime incumbents and double its contingents in the State Assembly.
In this week's show, Host John Tarleton takes us through an election-night special edition as voters cast ballots in Democratic and Republican primaries for all statewide offices and all 150 seats in the NY State Assembly. In a heavily Democratic state like New York, the primary is often the race that determines the winner in the general election in November.
In this segment, we speak with Ana María Archila, Working Families Party nominee for Lt. Governor who some observers think could pull off the biggest upset of the night. She’s a longtime social movement leader with Make the Road New York and the Center for Popular Democracy, which she co-founded. She vowed to make the Lt Gov’s office a hub for organizing and pushing the Governor to take more pro-working class positions.
In this week's show, Host John Tarleton takes us through an election-night special edition as voters cast ballots in Democratic and Republican primaries for all statewide offices and all 150 seats in the NY State Assembly. In a heavily Democratic state like New York, the primary is often the race that determines the winner in the general election in November.
In the first segment, we get an overview on some of the key races and issues from Ben Max, executive editor of Gotham Gazette and host of Max Politics on WBAI.
Host John Tarleton takes us through an election-night special edition as voters cast ballots in Democratic and Republican primaries for all statewide offices and all 150 seats in the NY State Assembly. In a heavily Democratic state like New York, the primary is often the race that determines the winner in the general election in November.
We get an overview on some of the key races and issues from Ben Max, executive editor of Gotham Gazette and host of Max Politics on WBAI. We’ll also speak with Ana María Archila, Working Families Party nominee for Lt. Governor who some observers think could pull off the biggest upset of the night. In the third segment, we speak with Sumathy Kumar, co-chair of the New York City Chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, which has emerged as a force in New York politics and is aiming to knock off some longtime incumbents and double its contingents in the State Assembly. We also had reporters in the field who asked voters about their selections as they exited the polls.
On Saturday, as a part of the moral monday movement, tens of thousands gathered in Washington, D.C., for the Mass Poor People’s and Low-Wage Workers’ Assembly and Moral March. We hear from Amba Guerguerian, Indypendent associate editor, who was there and spoke with many participants. She says people are at their wit's end and ready to fight for a democratic system and a redistribution of wealth. We also hear a message from her friend Evan in Cali, Colombia, where the first leftist president was elected.
We focus on the militant, rank-and-file wing of the labor movement which gathered in Chicago this weekend for the annual “Troublemakers” conference sponsored by Labor Notes Magazine. The conference was packed with 4,000 attendees the largest ever in the history of the event. What new plans were hatched, strategies debated and discussed and relationships formed that could blossom into future organizing efforts? New York-based union organizers Wen Zhuang and Eric Dirnbach of the Emergency Workers Organizing Committee, who were both present, give us a feel for the energizing weekend.
The 53rd annual NYC Pride March will be held this Sunday starting at 12 Noon. Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to line the parade Route which begins at 25th Street and 5th Avenue next and makes its way to 16th Street and 5th Avenue. It will be the first full-scale Pride March held since the Pandemic began. Also on Sunday will be the 4th annual Queer Liberation March which promotes itself as a “cop and corporate free” alternative to the traditional Pride March that honors the radical spirit of the 1969 Stonewall Stonewall Uprising, which pride commemorates. Jay Walker, a founding member of the Reclaim Pride Coalition which organizes the Queer Liberation March, joins us on the air.
Indypendent Editor in Chief John Tarleton has been closely following some of the latest developments in the first round of Democratic primaries, which will be held on June 28 for all statewide offices and state assembly seats. Early voting is already underway. Tarleton speaks about progressive and socialist candidates that are challenging machine Democrats in a number of key races.
Indypendent Editor in Chief John Tarleton has been closely following some of the latest developments in the first round of Democratic primaries, which will be held on June 28 for all statewide offices and state assembly seats. Early voting is already underway. Tarleton speaks about progressive and socialist candidates that are challenging machine Democrats in a number of key races.
The 53rd annual NYC Pride March will be held this Sunday starting at 12 Noon. Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to line the parade Route which begins at 25th Street and 5th Avenue next and makes its way to 16th Street and 5th Avenue. It will be the first full-scale Pride March held since the Pandemic began. Also on Sunday will be the 4th annual Queer Liberation March which promotes itself as a “cop and corporate free” alternative to the traditional Pride March that honors the radical spirit of the 1969 Stonewall Stonewall Uprising, which pride commemorates. Jay Walker, a founding member of the Reclaim Pride Coalition which organizes the Queer Liberation March, joins us on the air.
We focus on the militant, rank-and-file wing of the labor movement which gathered in Chicago this weekend for the annual “Troublemakers” conference sponsored by Labor Notes Magazine. The conference was packed with 4,000 attendees the largest ever in the history of the event. What new plans were hatched, strategies debated and discussed and relationships formed that could blossom into future organizing efforts? New York-based union organizers Wen Zhuang and Eric Dirnbach of the Emergency Workers Organizing Committee, who were both present, give us a feel for the energizing weekend.
On Saturday, as a part of the moral monday movement, tens of thousands gathered in Washington, D.C., for the Mass Poor People’s and Low-Wage Workers’ Assembly and Moral March. We hear from Amba Guerguerian, Indypendent associate editor, who was there and spoke with many participants. She says people are at their wit's end and ready to fight for a democratic system and a redistribution of wealth. We also hear a message from her friend Evan in Cali, Colombia, where the first leftist president was elected.
We talk about the new city budget that was passed Monday night. The $101 billion Fiscal Year 2023 budget includes full funding for the NYPD but cuts for a number of city agencies most notably the Department of Education while billions of federal stimulus money sit in the city's coffers.
We hear from Indypendent Editor-in-Chief John Tarleton about how budget passing works as well as from education advocates Leonie Haimson and Kaliris Salas-Ramirez, who are infuriated by the austerity budget cuts.
Climate activists hoped that Democratic super-majorities in the NY State Senate and State Assembly could deliver historic legislation that would greatly expand the state of New York’s role in producing renewable energy, create tens of thousands of union jobs and lower rates for consumers. The Build Public Renewables Act did pass the Senate at the end of May but then died in the Assembly without receiving a vote before the legislature adjourned for the year.
State Senator Jabari Brisport of Brooklyn and Illapa Sairitupac, a climate activist who is running for State Assembly in Lower Manhattan, join us to talk about the battle for public power in NY.
We start the show in Albany, where climate activists hoped that Democratic super-majorities in the State Senate and State Assembly could deliver historic legislation that would greatly expand the state of New York’s role in producing renewable energy, create tens of thousands of union jobs and lower rates for consumers. The Build Public Renewables Act did pass the Senate at the end of May but then died in the Assembly without receiving a vote before the legislature adjourned for the year.
State Senator Jabari Brisport of Brooklyn and Illapa Sairitupac, a climate activist who is running for State Assembly in Lower Manhattan, join us to talk about the battle for public power in NY.
In the second half of the show, we talk about the new city budget that was passed Monday night. The $101 billion Fiscal Year 2023 budget includes full funding for the NYPD but cuts for a number of city agencies most notably the Department of Education while billions of federal stimulus money sits in coffers.
We hear from Indypendent Editor-in-Chief John Tarleton about how budget passing works as well as from education advocates Leonie Haimson and Kaliris Salas-Ramirez, who are infuriated by the austerity budget cuts.
We are joined by Amazon Labor Union core organizer Connor Spence and lawyer Seth Goldstein: Since winning a union election at the massive JFK8 warehouse in Staten Island in April, the amazon labor union has continued organizing in Staten Island and beyond. They are organizing for a union win in JFK8s three sister warehouses and Amazon warehouses around the country are indicating they want to unionize. But this is no easy fight, and in many ways, an uphill battle. While Amazon continues to pour millions of dollars into anti-union campaigning, the ALU is fighting to start contract negotiations at JFK8. These have been stalled by the corporation’s objections to the JFK election results, which will be heard at the national labor relations board office in Pheonix, Arizona on June 13. On Monday, the ALU faced off Amazon in labor court, and this time they were the ones bringing the complaints to the Board. That hearing was in regards to 6 unfair labor practice complaints filed by the independent union’s legal team.
We are joined by Layan Fuleihan, Education Director at the People’s Forum: On Friday, 10-15 members of a far-right/anti-vaxxer coalition stormed into the People’s Forum, a socialist educational and cultural space on West 37th street. According to members of the People’s forum who were present for the altercation, the NYPD facilitated the barrage by preventing the people’s forum from forcing the occupiers to leave. The protesters remained in the space for over an hour, while staff and guests were physically assaulted and verbally harassed, and the space was vandalized.
On this week's Indy News Hour:
—Prakash Churaman joins us with his lawyer Jose Nieves: When Churaman was 15 he was was snatched from his home by the NYPD and bullied into making a false murder confession. He would spend 4 years on Rikers awaiting a trial while his peers went to high school and looked to begin building their adult lives. Churaman was convicted and then saw the conviction overturned on appeal but was forced to live under virtual house arrest with an ankle monitor that tracked his every move. The Queens DA’s office was planning to retry Prakash in the hopes of sending him away to prison for life. But as his case grew greater public scrutiny, it began to collapse. Yesterday, at a routine pre-trial hearing, Queens prosecutors dropped all charges in the case to the astonishment of Prakash and his supporters.
—Layan Fuleihan, Education Director at the People’s Forum: On Friday, 10-15 members of a far-right/anti-vaxxer coalition stormed into the People’s Forum, a socialist educational and cultural space on West 37th street. According to members of the People’s forum who were present for the altercation, the NYPD facilitated the barrage by preventing the people’s forum from forcing the occupiers to leave. The protesters remained in the space for over an hour, while staff and guests were physically assaulted and verbally harassed, and the space was vandalized.
— Amazon Labor Union member Connor Spence and lawyer Seth Goldstein: Since winning a union election at the massive JFK8 warehouse in Staten Island in April, the amazon labor union has continued organizing in Staten Island and beyond. They are organizing for a union win in JFK8s three sister warehouses and Amazon warehouses around the country are indicating they want to unionize. But this is no easy fight, and in many ways, an uphill battle. While Amazon continues to pour millions of dollars into anti-union campaigning, the ALU is fighting to start contract negotiations at JFK8. These have been stalled by the corporation’s objections to the JFK election results, which will be heard at the national labor relations board office in Pheonix, Arizona on June 13. On monday, the ALU faced off Amazon in labor court, and this time they were the ones bringing the complaints to the Board. That hearing was in regards to 6 unfair labor practice complaints filed by the independent union’s legal team.
Prakash Churaman, who was 15 at the time, was snatched from his home by the NYPD and bullied into making a false murder confession. He would spend 4 years on Rikers awaiting a trial while his peers went to high school and looked to begin building their adult lives. Churaman was convicted and then saw the conviction overturned on appeal but was forced to live under virtual house arrest with an ankle monitor that tracked his every move.. The Queens DA’s office was planning to retry Prakash in the hopes of sending him away to prison for life. But as his case grew greater public scrutiny, it began to collapse. Yesterday, at a routine pre-trial hearing, Queens prosecutors dropped all charges in the case to the astonishment of Prakash and his supporters.
A mini segment with Indypendent Editor-in-Chief John Tarleton, who has been following New York State’s electoral politics and redistricting. The maps for Congress and State Senate drawn by the Democrats in the state legislature earlier this year were thrown out by the state’s top court and control over the mapmaking landed in the hands of a Republican judge in Stueben County, New York, who in turn appointed a "neutral third party" expert to draw the maps.
We speak with labor organizers Wen Zhuang and Eric Dirnbach, who are trying to speed accelerate worker unionization rates. EWOC is pioneering a new model of labor organizing that fills a huge void left by traditional unions that don’t emphasize organizing unorganized workers. The Indy’s Amba Guerguerian wrote the cover story on the Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee (EWOC) after covering various labor battles in the city over the past year.
Sireah McNeill is being denied a lease to her family home after her mother’s passing in February and is determined to rally community support to stop this act of displacement and gentrification in the Historic Clinton Hill community. We speak with McNeill and two organizers from Brooklyn Eviction Defense, a grassroots group of tenants supporting tenants in Brooklyn.
We start with a mini segment with Indypendent Editor-in-Chief John Tarleton, who has been following New York State’s electoral politics and redistricting. Then:
Sireah McNeill is being denied a lease to her family home after her mother’s passing in February and is determined to rally community support to stop this act of displacement and gentrification in the Historic Clinton Hill community. We speak with McNeill and organizers from Brooklyn Eviction Defense, a grassroots group of tenants supporting tenants in Brooklyn.
We speak with labor organizers Wen Zhuang and Eric Dirnbach, who are trying to speed accelerate worker unionization rates. EWOC is pioneering a new model of labor organizing that fills a huge void left by traditional unions that don’t emphasize organizing unorganized workers. The Indy’s Amba Guerguerian wrote the cover story on the Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee, or EWOC, after covering various labor battles in the city over the past year.
We talk about Cuba, where co-host and Indy Associate Editor Amba Guerguerian just traveled with a brigade of journalists, who were present at the International Workers Day parade in Havana. Guerguerian talks about some notable differences between Cuba and the U.S., how the blockade works, and how sanctions affect nearly all aspects of Cuban life.
To help us better understand the struggle we’re in right now for a woman’s right to control her own body, we're joined by two guests:
Melanie MacLennan works as an addiction doctor here for the New York City health system. Until around 2008, she was an abortion doctor and performed abortions in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Arkansas. She was 18 years old when Roe was decided and is furious about what’s happening now.
We also hear from journalist and documentary filmmaker Erin Sheridan. Erin has been a contributing writer for The Indypendent since 2018. She covered abortion defense activism when she was based here in New York City. She is currently living in Boise, Idaho where abortion rights are dire threat.
To help us better understand the struggle we’re in right now for a woman’s right to control her own body, we're joined by two guests:
Melanie MacLennan works as an addiction doctor here for the New York City health system. Until around 2008, she was an abortion doctor and performed abortions in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Arkansas. She was 18 years old when Roe was decided and is furious about what’s happening now.
We also hear from journalist and documentary filmmaker Erin Sheridan. Erin has been a contributing writer for The Indypendent since 2018. She covered abortion defense activism when she was based here in New York City. She is currently living in Boise, Idaho where abortion rights are dire threat.
In the second half of the show, we pivot to Cuba, where co-host and Indy Associate Editor Amba Guerguerian just traveled with a brigade of journalists, who were present at the International Workers Day parade in Havana. Guerguerian talks about some notable differences between Cuba and the U.S., how the blockade works, and how sanctions affect nearly all aspects of Cuban life.
Indypendent Contributing Editor Nicholas Powers talks about his new novel, the resurgence in interest in psychedelics (which he has always been a champion of) and why men should be speaking out just as loudly for a women’s right to choose.
Working-class nurse, tenant organizer and NY State Assemblymember Phara Souffrant Forrest speaks about her first term in office, which includes becoming a mom for the first time just a few months ago. She is one of a wave of young socialist NY legislators elected in the past few years, defeating a 4-term incumbent in 2020 to win Assembly District 57. She is now running for reelection.
On this weeks' Indy News Hour:
Working-class nurse, tenant organizer and NY State Assemblymember Phara Souffrant Forrest on her first term in office, which includes becoming a mom for the first time just a few months ago. She is one of a wave of young socialist NY legislators elected in the past few years, defeating a 4-term incumbent in 2020 to win Assembly District 57. She is now running for reelection.
Indypendent Contributing Editor Nicholas Powers talks about his new novel, the resurgence in interest in psychedelics (which he has always been a champion of) and why men should be speaking out just as loudly for a women’s right to choose.
Ana Maria Archila is a longtime immigrant rights leader and Co-Executive Director of the Center for Popular Democracy, one of the largest community organizing networks in the country, with 54 affiliate organizations in 32 states and Puerto Rico. She is running for Lt. Gov. in the June 28 Democratic primary with NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams who is running for Governor.
The Lt. Governor’s race was blown wide open last week when now-former Lt. Gov Brian Benjamin resigned following his indictment on federal corruption charges. Under New York election law, there’s only a slim chance that Gov. Kathy Hochul can have Benjamin removed from the ballot and replaced with someone more to her liking. This unexpected turn of events has brought a surge of endorsements to Archila in the past week and greatly increased the chances of an unabashedly left candidate winning statewide office in New York for the first time in decades, if ever.
Nerdeen Kiswani is a is the founder and chair of the NYC-based group, Within Our Lifetime - United for Palestine, a community organization revitalizing the revolutionary spirit of the Palestinians in exile in pursuit of liberation. Through WOL, Nerdeen has organized around the Palestinian cause nationwide and worldwide, building solidarity with oppressed peoples fighting for liberation. Nerdeen is in her third year at CUNY school of Law, where she is the president of Students for Justice in Palestine.
Updates on what has been going on recently in Gaza with amped up attacks on the holy Al-Aqsa mosque as well as with the NYC Palestinian community as Nakba day approaches.
Ana Maria Archila is a longtime immigrant rights leader and Co-Executive Director of the Center for Popular Democracy, one of the largest community organizing networks in the country, with 54 affiliate organizations in 32 states and Puerto Rico. She is running for Lt. Gov. in the June 28 Democratic primary with NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams who is running for Governor.
The Lt. Governor’s race was blown wide open last week when now-former Lt. Gov Brian Benjamin resigned following his indictment on federal corruption charges. Under New York election law, there’s only a slim chance that Gov. Kathy Hochul can have Benjamin removed from the ballot and replaced with someone more to her liking. This unexpected turn of events has brought a surge of endorsements to Archila in the past week and greatly increased the chances of an unabashedly left candidate winning statewide office in New York for the first time in decades, if ever. __________ Nerdeen Kiswani is a is the founder and chair of the NYC-based group, Within Our Lifetime - United for Palestine, a community organization revitalizing the revolutionary spirit of the Palestinians in exile in pursuit of liberation. Through WOL, Nerdeen has organized around the Palestinian cause nationwide and worldwide, building solidarity with oppressed peoples fighting for liberation. Nerdeen is in her third year at CUNY school of Law, where she is the president of Students for Justice in Palestine.
Updates on what has been going on recently in Gaza with amped up attacks on the holy Al-Aqsa mosque as well as with the NYC Palestinian community as Nakba day approaches.
Leaked Audio: Amazon Managers Discipline ALU Organizer for Union Talk by The Indypendent
NY legislators approved a $220 billion state budget at the end of last week. The measure included a rollback of bail reform laws passed in 2019 and a $600 million public subsidy for building a new stadium for the Buffalo Bills football team. We speak with State Senator Jessica Ramos, who expressed concerns about the budget. She represents Senate District 13, which encompasses several working-class immigrant communities in Western Queens including Woodside, Jackson Heights, Elmhurst and Corona.
India Walton electrified the Left last year during her run for Mayor of Buffalo when she almost became the first Socialist to lead a major American city in 60 years. She’s now right in the thick of the movement to push President Biden to cancel $1.7 trillion in student loan debt for 45 million Americans.
We speak housing justice with Raquel Namuche, a tenant organizer in Ridgewood, Queens who was arrested on Saturday during a police sweep of unhoused people in her community. Towards the end of the segment, we learn about PAH, a radical Spanish housing-justice group, from a journalist who has covered them and one of their longtime organizers.
We speak housing justice with Raquel Namuche, a tenant organizer in Ridgewood, Queens who was arrested on Saturday during a police sweep of unhoused people in her community. Towards the end of the segment, we learn about PAH, a radical Spanish housing-justice group, from a journalist who has covered them and one of their longtime organizers.
NY legislators approved a $220 billion state budget at the end of last week. The measure included a rollback of bail reform laws passed in 2019 and a $600 million public subsidy for building a new stadium for the Buffalo Bills football team. We speak with State Senator Jessica Ramos, who expressed concerns about the budget. She represents Senate District 13, which encompasses several working-class immigrant communities in Western Queens including Woodside, Jackson Heights, Elmhurst and Corona.
India Walton electrified the Left last year during her run for Mayor of Buffalo when she almost became the first Socialist to lead a major American city in 60 years. She’s now right in the thick of the movement to push President Biden to cancel $1.7 trillion in student loan debt for 45 million Americans.
Leaked audio provided to The Indy of a captive audience meeting on March 23, just two days before the current union election (March 25-30) happening at Amazon warehouse JFK8 on Staten Island. Amazon made sure each employee sat in at least 7 of these union-busting sessions masked as “required trainings,” for which union busters made $3-10K/class, says the Amazon Labor Union. The person who asks the first question is Derrick Palmer, Vice President of Organizing, Amazon Labor Union. If you listen closely, after the meeting ends, some anonymous workers express grievances to Palmer about working for Amazon. At the beginning of this clip, you hear the meeting conductor telling workers they cannot not opt of a union. That is only partially true, as per 1988 Supreme Court case Commun. Workers of America v. Beck, which set the precedent that workers can partially opt out of private-sector unions (if they disagree with the politics of the union, a member can pay a lesser amount of dues that only covers the cost of collective bargaining for a fair contracts).
The story of the late Kalief Browder helped inspire the movement to dramatically reduce the use of cash bail for people charged with crime. In 2010, Kalief was thrown into Rikers for allegedly stealing a backpack at the age of 16. He refused to take a guilty plea and was held there for 3 years awaiting a trial. His case was eventually dismissed. But, he was so traumatized by his experience at Rikers that he took his own life after he was released. His older brother, Akeem Browder, has committed his life to incarceration reform from Rikers to Albany. Akeem is the founder of the Kalief Browder Foundation, which operates a youth program in the penal colony. The foundation also helps to organize city and state-wide campaigns for criminal justice reform and played a key role in winning a historic bail reform law in 2019. Akeem talks to us about what Rikers is like today and what Governor Kathy Hochul’s last-minute plan to gut some of New York’s landmark criminal-justice reforms.
There’s not a lot of justice in our criminal justice system. And when it does come, it is often years in the making. In 2015, Saul Robles was convicted of killing Alex Santiago during a 20-person brawl that took place in Park Slope, Brooklyn. In 2019, an appeals court overturned the conviction finding numerous faults with how the Brooklyn DA’s office handled the case. Earlier this week, the DA’s office finally announced it would not try to retry Robles. The Indypendent’s Ted Hamm has been following this case closely and updates us on the recent good news.
The U.S. is experiencing an inflation rate of almost 8%, the highest it’s been in 40 years. The cost of just about everything is going up, up and up. To rein in inflation, the Federal Reserve plans to steadily increase interest rates over the coming year. To help us better understand what the Federal Reserve is, why it’s doing what it’s doing and who the winners and losers, Paddy Quick joins us. Quick is a retired professor of economic at St. Francis College in New York, a member of the Union of Radical Political Economists and a contributing writer for The Indypendent. Her latest piece, is titled “Get Ready for a Government-Engineered Increase in Unemployment." Read it here: indypendent.org/2022/03/get-ready…-in-unemployment/
The U.S. is experiencing an inflation rate of almost 8%, the highest it’s been in 40 years. The cost of just about everything is going up, up and up. To rein in inflation, the Federal Reserve plans to steadily increase interest rates over the coming year. To help us better understand what the Federal Reserve is, why it’s doing what it’s doing and who the winners and losers, Paddy Quick joins us. Quick is a retired professor of economic at St. Francis College in New York, a member of the Union of Radical Political Economists and a contributing writer for The Indypendent. Her latest piece, is titled “Get Ready for a Government-Engineered Increase in Unemployment." Read it here: https://indypendent.org/2022/03/get-ready-for-a-government-engineered-increase-in-unemployment/
There’s not a lot of justice in our criminal justice system. And when it does come, it is often years in the making. In 2015, Saul Robles was convicted of killing Alex Santiago during a 20-person brawl that took place in Park Slope, Brooklyn. In 2019, an appeals court overturned the conviction finding numerous faults with how the Brooklyn DA’s office handled the case. Earlier this week, the DA’s office finally announced it would not try to retry Robles. The Indypendent’s Ted Hamm has been following this case closely and updates us on the recent good news.
The story of the late Kalief Browder helped inspire the movement to dramatically reduce the use of cash bail for people charged with crime. In 2010, Kalief was thrown into Rikers for allegedly stealing a backpack at the age of 16. He refused to take a guilty plea and was held there for 3 years awaiting a trial. His case was eventually dismissed. But, he was so traumatized by his experience at Rikers that he took his own life after he was released. His older brother, Akeem Browder, has committed his life to incarceration reform from Rikers to Albany. Akeem is the founder of the Kalief Browder Foundation, which operates a youth program in the penal colony. The foundation also helps to organize city and state-wide campaigns for criminal justice reform and played a key role in winning a historic bail reform law in 2019.
Akeem talks to us about what Rikers is like today and what Governor Kathy Hochul’s last-minute plan to gut some of New York’s landmark criminal-justice reforms.
Longtime peace and justice organizer Leslie Cagan was the coordinator for the June 12, 1982 Rally for Nuclear Disarmament, when upwards of 1 million people marched past the United Nations and then gathered in Central Park to demand an end to the arms race. It remains one of the largest single protest events in U.S. history. Cagan takes us through some of the history of that event and the impact it made at the time. She also helps us think about where we are today with nuclear war again on the radar.
City Councilmember Sandy Nurse has a long history as a radical activist and community organizer in Bushwick, Brooklyn. She was elected to City Council last year and is leading some important battles from her new position as Chair of the Sanitation Committee. She explains how trash in NYC works and whats missing. Among other things, she’s leading the fight to reverse Mayor Adams proposed cuts to the Sanitation Dept budget.
On this week's radio show with hosts John Tarleton and Amba Guerguerian:
— In our first segment, we speak with City Councilmember Sandy Nurse. Sandy has a long history as a radical activist and community organizer in Bushwick, Brooklyn. She was elected to City Council last year and is leading some important battles from her new position as Chair of the Sanitation Committee. She explains how trash works in NYC works and whats missing. Among other things, she’s leading the fight to reverse Mayor Adams proposed cuts to the Sanitation Dept budget.
—Then, we go to longtime peace and justice organizer Leslie Cagan. She was the Coordinator for the June 12, 1982 Rally for Nuclear Disarmament, when upwards of 1 million people marched past the United Nations and then gathered in Central Park to demand an end to the arms race. It remains one of the largest single protest events in U.S. history. Cagan takes us through some of the history of that event and the impact it made at the time. She also helps us think about where we are today with nuclear war again on the radar.
We talk with leftist political comic Francesca Fiorentini. She’s the host of the Bitchuation Room podcast which brings together political comics, activists and thinkers. She also appears on The Damage Report on the Young Turks Network and is the host and lead writer for AJ+’s Newsbroke which airs short, entertaining videos that use a light-hearted approach to unpack complex topics such as white fragility in the workplace and the history of socialism in America. She’s done all this while facing the challenges of breaking into a field where the voices of women and people of color have historically been marginalized.
Kristen Gonzalez, 26, a socialist from Queens, is running for State Senate. If elected, she will make history as the youngest woman ever elected to the New York State Senate. She’s been off to a fast start since entering the race, with endorsements from the NYC Democratic Socialists of America and the Working Families Party.
Jen Hernandez, lead housing organizer with Make the Road New York which is a part of the statewide Housing Justice for All Coalition, gives us an update on the campaign for the Good Cause Eviction Law. She also fills us in on why March could be the decisive month for getting such a law passed in New York in 2022.
On this week's show with hosts John Tarleton and Amba Guerguerian:
— Jen Hernandez, lead housing organizer with Make the Road New York which is a part of the statewide Housing Justice for All Coalition, gives us an update on the campaign for the Good Cause Eviction Law. She also fills us in on why March could be the decisive month for getting such a law passed in New York in 2022.
—Kristen Gonzalez, 26, a socialist from Queens, is running for State Senate. If elected, she will make history as the youngest woman ever elected to the New York State Senate. She’s been off to a fast start since entering the race, with endorsements from the NYC Democratic Socialists of American and the Working Families Party.
—We talk with leftist political comic Francesca Fiorentini. She’s the host of the Bitchuation Room podcast which brings together political comics, activists and thinkers. She also appears on The Damage Report on the Young Turks Network and is the host and lead writer for AJ+’s Newsbroke which airs short, entertaining videos that use a light-hearted approach to unpack complex topics such as white fragility in the workplace and the history of socialism in America. She’s done all this while facing the challenges of breaking into a field where the voices of women and people of color have historically been marginalized.
We hear from Christina Zawerucha about her experiences coming of age in New York’s Ukrainian-American diaspora and how it has shaped her life. She also sings us an amazing freedom song live on air.
Linda Martin Alcoff, a leading critical race theorist, talks with us about why the Left should stop running from the controversy around critical race theory and see it as an opportunity. She says that pretending CRT isn’t real robs us of the chance to mount a strong defense.
Emilia Decaduin, a trans socialist organizer and Democratic Party District leader in Assembly District 37 in Sunnyside, Queens, talks about the growing backlash to Eric Adams’ appointment of several brazen homophobes to his administration.
On this week's show with hosts John Tarleton and Amba Guerguerian:
—Emilia Decaduin, a trans socialist organizer and Democratic Party District leader in Assembly District 37 in Sunnyside, Queens, talks about the growing backlash to Eric Adams’ appointment of several brazen homophobes to his administration.
—Linda Martin Alcoff, a leading critical race theorist, talks with us about why the Left should stop running from the controversy around critical race theory and see it as an opportunity. She says that pretending CRT isn’t real robs us of the chance to mount a strong defense.
—We hear from Christina Zawerucha about her experiences coming of age in New York’s Ukrainian-American diaspora and how it has shaped her life. She also sings us an amazing freedom song live on air.
The latest front in Mayor Eric Adams crusade for public safety: New York City’s vast subway system. On Friday, Mayor Adams announced that the city would now be taking a zero tolerance approach to unhoused people in the subway system. Alex Vitale, a professor of sociology at Brooklyn College and the author of “The End of Policing" talks about the Mayor’s new strategy for policing the homeless and his broader approach to public safety.
We also speak with speak with Peter Malvan, who spent 32 years living as a homeless New Yorker. During that time, he lived in the subway systems, in shelters and in parks. And from 1991 to 2011, he worked jobs. Peter has now been housed for the past year and a half. He is the Vice President of Midnight Run and a homeless advocate with the Safety Net Project, Persons with Lived Experience of NYC, Homeless Can’t Stay Home, & VOCAL-NY and a member of the Coalition for the Homeless NYC.
Slumlord C+C Management has just taken over Harlem River Houses from NYCHA. This means that the tenants of the complex are no longer protected by Section 9 public housing laws and instead fall under Section 8 low-income housing rules, which are less protective. This privatization and gentrification scheme being pushed by Eric Adams puts the roughly 600,000 people living in NYCHA buildings at a larger threat of eviction and bad conditions. On Saturday, tenants of Harlem River Houses and their allies held a rally to speak out against the privatization. Vanessa, and Ryan, members of the United Front Against Displacement, speak with us about the struggle. Vanessa is also a tenant of Harlem River Houses.
On this week's show with hosts John Tarleton and Amba Guerguerian:
—The latest front in Mayor Eric Adams crusade for public safety: New York City’s vast subway system. On Friday, Mayor Adams announced that the city would now be taking a zero tolerance approach to unhoused people in the subway system. Alex Vitale, a professor of sociology at Brooklyn College and the author of “The End of Policing" talks about the Mayor’s new strategy for policing the homeless and his broader approach to public safety.
We also speak with speak with Peter Malvan, who spent 32 years living as a homeless New Yorker. During that time, he lived in the subway systems, in shelters and in parks. And from 1991 to 2011, he worked jobs. Peter has now been housed for the past year and a half. He is the Vice President of Midnight Run and a homeless advocate with the Safety Net Project, Persons with Lived Experience of NYC, Homeless Can’t Stay Home, & VOCAL-NY and a member of the Coalition for the Homeless NYC.
— Slumlord C+C Management has just taken over Harlem River Houses from NYCHA. This means that the tenants of the complex are no longer protected by Section 9 public housing laws and instead fall under Section 8 low-income housing rules, which are less protective. This privatization and gentrification scheme being pushed by Eric Adams puts the roughly 600,000 people living in NYCHA buildings at a larger threat of eviction and bad conditions. On Saturday, tenants of Harlem River Houses and their allies held a rally to speak out against the privatization. Vanessa, and Ryan, members of the United Front Against Displacement, speak with us about the struggle. Vanessa is also a tenant of Harlem River Houses.
—We briefly speak with retired teacher Roberta Pikser about the battle to keep the city from transferring 250,000 retired city workers from Medicare to the privately-run Medicare Advantage.
On this week's radio show with hosts John Tarleton and Amba Guerguerian:
— The Robinson family is fighting with the help of its neighbors to stay in the home that has been theirs since 1951. The landlord tried multiple times this week to forcibly enter the home at 964 Park Place in Crown Heights but was met with fierce community response. We speak with Sherease Torain, who was born in the home, Nicoás Vargas of Brooklyn Eviction Defense and Joel Feingold of Crown Heights Tenants Union, two of the groups that has come to support the Robinson Family.
—In the past week, six Starbucks stores in New York City and on Long Island have filed for union recognition with the National Labor Relations Board, the first in the NYC region to do so. They are among the more than 80 Starbucks stores in at least 23 states that have sought to unionize since baristas at a Buffalo Starbucks store voted to unionize two months ago. Two baristas — Megan DiMotta and Cynthia Villanave, from a Starbucks store in Bath Beach, Brooklyn which filed for union recognition last week, the first in Brooklyn to do so — join us on WBAI-99.5 FM.
—We talk Black History Month and in particular two films that are going to be screened at the Maysles Documentary Center in Harlem in the coming days. One is about the poet Audre Lorde and her time in Germany and the other is about the great writer, historian and activist W.E.B. DuBois who also has some interesting ties to Germany. Kazembe Balagun — project manager at the Rosa Lux Stifgung’s New York office, a cultural historian, a contributing writer for The Indypendent and much more — joins us to talk about the films.
We talk Black History Month and in particular two films that are going to be screened at the Maysles Documentary Center in Harlem in the coming days. One is about the poet Audre Lorde and her time in Germany and the other is about the great writer, historian and activist W.E.B. DuBois who also has some interesting ties to Germany. Kazembe Balagun — project manager at the Rosa Lux Stifgung’s New York office, a cultural historian, a contributing writer for The Indypendent and much more — joins us to talk about the films.
In the past week, six Starbucks stores in New York City and on Long Island have filed for union recognition with the National Labor Relations Board, the first in the NYC region to do so. They are among the more than 80 Starbucks stores in at least 23 states that have sought to unionize since baristas at a Buffalo Starbucks store voted to unionize two months ago. Two baristas — Megan DiMotta and Cynthia Villanave, from a Starbucks store in Bath Beach, Brooklyn which filed for union recognition last week, the first in Brooklyn to do so — speak with us on WBAI-99.5 FM.
One month to the day after Gov. Kathy Hochul ended the state’s eviction moratorium, the Robinson family is fighting with the help of its neighbors to stay in the home that has been theirs since 1951. Sherease Torain, a member of Crown Heights Tenants Union, her mother, Ms. Robinson, and Ms. Robinson’s 98-year-old mother all live in the home.
The landlord tried multiple times this week to forcibly enter the home at 964 Park Place in Crown Heights. On Tues., Feb 15, the family was back in housing court while dozens of supporters refused to leave the house while dozens of police waited nearby. We speak with Sherease Torain, Nicoás Vargas of Brooklyn Eviction Defense and Joel Feingold of Crown Heights Tenants Union, two of the groups that has come to support the Robinson Family.
We speak with Indy Contributing Editor and Eric Adams voter Nicholas Powers, who in his latest article does a fascinating job of exploring the political and cultural sources of Adams’ deep popularity in the Black community, what left activists have failed to understand about Adams and his supporters and how our new mayor has already begun to betray his working class supporters in favor of his wealthy backers.
On WBAI-99.5 FM, Indypendent News Hour Tuesdays 5-6 p.m.
Keron Alleyne, Candidate for Assembly District 60 in an upcoming special election for the district that covers East New York and parts of the surrounding neighborhoods. Alleyne has been endorsed by District 60 Assemblymember Charles Barron and his wife, Inez Barron. If Alleyne wins the upcoming special election, he will have to then be reelected in this summer's primary to carry out a full term. He plans to protect his predominantly Black district from gentrification and keep community spaces vibrant.
On WBAI-99.5 FM, Indypendent News Hour Tuesdays 5-6 p.m.
Chris Smalls, president of Amazon Labor Union, the grassroots union formed by Staten Island Amazon workers in protest of the company's handling of COVID and other workplace violations, updates us on the fight to be recognized as an official union by the National Labor Relations Board. The around 6000 employees at largest of the four Staten Island Amazon warehouses, JFK8, will vote on whether or not to unionize this spring.
On WBAI-99.5 FM, Indypendent News Hour Tuesdays 5-6 p.m.
Co-host Amba Guerguerian went out to the United Metro Energy Corporation Tuesday morning, where all workers have been on strike for 9 months. Their billionaire boss, John Catsimatidis, pays them $10 the industry average for their dangerous work transporting oil. We hear the voices of the strikers and learn how to support them.
On WBAI-99.5 FM, Indypendent News Hour Tuesdays 5-6 p.m.
On this week's episode of The Indy News Hour:
Co-host Amba Guerguerian went out to the United Metro Energy Corporation Tuesday morning, where all workers have been on strike for 9 months. Their billionaire boss, John Catsimatidis, pays them $10 the industry average for their dangerous work transporting oil. We hear the voices of the strikers and learn how to support them.
Chris Smalls, president of Amazon Labor Union, the grassroots union formed by Staten Island Amazon workers in protest of the company's handling of COVID and other workplace violations, updates us on the fight to be recognized as an official union by the National Labor Relations Board. The around 6000 employees at largest of the four Staten Island Amazon warehouses, JFK8, will vote on whether or not to unionize this spring.
Keron Alleyne, Candidate for Assembly District 60 in an upcoming special election for the district that covers East New York and Brownsville. Alleyne has been endorsed by District 60 Assemblymember Charles Barron and his wife, Inez Barron. If Alleyne wins the upcoming special election, he will have to then be reelected in this summer's primary to carry out a full term. He plans to protect his predominantly Black district from gentrification and keep community spaces vibrant.
Indy Contributing Editor and Eric Adams voter Nicholas Powers, who in his latest article does a fascinating job of exploring the political and cultural sources of Adams’ deep popularity in the Black community, what left activists have failed to understand about Adams and his supporters and how our new mayor has already begun to betray his working class supporters in favor of his wealthy backers.
Voices of United Metro Energy Corp Workers on Strike with Teamsters Local 553 by The Indypendent
On this week's show, Indypendent Editor-in-Chief John Tarleton and Associate Editor Amba Guerguerian interview Security-Treaurer of Teamsters Local 553, Demos Demopolous, who is leading two dozen oil workers in Brooklyn on their 9-month long strike against billionaire boss, John Castimatidis, owner of United Metro Energy Corp.
On this week's show, Indypendent Editor-in-Chief John Tarleton and Associate Editor Amba Guerguerian interview Nic Nicoludis. Nicoludis, member of Rank and File Action (RAFA), the more militant faction of PSC-CUNY, The City University of New York staff & faculty union. RAFA is demanding an end to a mandate that 70% of courses be taught in person this semester and called for CUNY admin to reverse all planned adjunct layoffs resulting from the madate.
On this week's show, Indypendent Editor-in-Chief John Tarleton and Associate Editor Amba Guerguerian interview Socialist Citycouncilmember Alexa Avilés, a member of DSA, who was just made chair of city council’s NYCHA committee. Avilés, who represents Sunset Park and Red Hook in Brooklyn, talks about how she plans to approach NYCHA.
On this week's show, Indypendent Editor-in-Chief John Tarleton and Associate Editor Amba Guerguerian interview Ted Hamm, Indy criminal justice reporter, about the recent police killing in Harlem and the current rhetoric around public safety in NYC and reform pushbacks.
On this week's show, Indypendent Editor-in-Chief John Tarleton and Associate Editor Amba Guerguerian interview:
On this week's show, Indypendent Editor-in-Chief John Tarleton and Associate Editor Amba Guerguerian interview:
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Ted Hamm, Indy criminal justice reporter, about the recent police killing in the Bronx and the current rhetoric around public safety in NYC and reform pushbacks.
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Nic Nicoludis of Rank and File Action (RAFA), the more militant faction of PSC-CUNY, The City University of New York staff & faculty union. RAFA is demanding an end to a mandate that 70% of courses be taught in person this semester and called for CUNY admin to reverse all planned adjunct layoffs.
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Socialist Citycouncilmember Alexa Aviles, a member of DSA, who was just made chair of city council’s NYCHA committee. Aviles represents Sunset Park and Red Hook in Brooklyn.
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Security-Treaurer of Teamsters Local 553, Demos Demopolous, who is leading two dozen oil workers in Brooklyn on their 9-month long strike against billionaire boss, John Castimatidis, owner of United Metro Energy Corp.
Assemblymember Marcela Mitaynes about her first year in office, why she got arrested at Thursday’s climate demo and the prospects for moving bold progressive legislation in Albany this year.
Amba Guerguerian, an Indy reporter who was at the Brooklyn Housing Court Tuesday — the first day courts were open since the NY eviction moratorium expired — and spoke with tenants on the brink of eviction and "eviction defender" tenant organizers.
Indypendent EIC John Tarleton interviews Bronx public school parent and former AOC staffer Jonathan Soto who is running for a State Assembly as a champion of replacing mayoral control of schools with community control.
Indypendent EIC John Tarleton interviews Permeash & Kaira A, two public school students who walked out of their classes last week to protest unsafe conditions in their buildings amid the latest surge of COVID-19.
This week on The Indypendent New Hour, we hear from:
Amba Guerguerian, a reporter who was at the Brooklyn Housing Court on Tuesday — the first day NY courts were open since the NY eviction moratorium expired on Saturday — and spoke with tenants on the brink of eviction and "eviction defender" tenant organizers.
Two public school students who walked out of their classes last week to protest unsafe conditions in their buildings amid the latest surge of COVID-19.
Bronx public school parent and former AOC staffer Jonathan Soto who is running for a State Assembly as a champion of replacing mayoral control of schools with community control.
Assemblymember Marcela Mitaynes about her first year in office, why she got arrested at Thursday’s climate demo and the prospects for moving bold progressive legislation in Albany this year.
Neelu Shruti, birthing justice advocate, says pregnant people looking for healthy opportunities to hospital birthing have just been betrayed by Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Matthew Thomas, (Vulgar Marxism on Substack) talks about his latest investigation that looks at how Columbia and NYC’s other private universities get away with not paying more than $.5 billion in property taxes. That money is enough to make CUNY (City University of New York) free again.
Sarmad Akkach, an organizer with the Student Workers of Columbia, gives us the latest update on what's happening at Columbia University where 3,000 graduate student workers have been on strike for two months as of yesterday. It’s the largest active labor strike in the country. The workers have held strong and Columbia has started to make some substantial concessions.
NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams speaks on an array of topics including the Omicron variant, how the pandemic is being handled, newly inaugurated NYC mayor Eric Adams and his own bid for Governor.
This week's episode on WBAI-99.5 FM features:
—Sarmad Akkach, an organizer with the Student Workers of Columbia, gives us the latest update on what's happening at Columbia University where 3,000 graduate student workers have been on strike for two months as of yesterday. It’s the largest active labor strike in the country. The workers have held strong and Columbia has started to make some substantial concessions.
—Matthew Thomas, (the Vulgar Marxist on Substack) talks about his latest investigation that looks at how Columbia and NYC’s other private universities get away with not paying more than $1/2 billion in property taxes. That money is enough to make CUNY free again.
—Neelu Shruti, birthing justice advocate, says pregnant people looking for healthy opportunities to hospital birthing have just been betrayed by Gov. Kathy Hochul.
This week on Indy News we speak with:
—Sean Petty, a pediatric emergency room nurse at Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx. He is also an activist in the New York State Nurses Association, the union that represents 42,000 nurses in New York. In a March 18, 2020 interview with the Indypendent at the onset of the Covid pandemic in New York, Sean warned “I’m running out of words to describe how dangerous and scary all of this is.” With the Omicron variant sweeping across New York City and the country, he is alarmed once again.
— Amazon Labor Union President Chris Smalls and VP Derrick Palmer to update us on the struggle to unionize Amazon workers. On Dec. 22, for the second time in three months, Staten Island Amazon workers hand-delivered signed cards to a National Labor Relations Board office in Brooklyn, petitioning that the board authorize a union vote. The refiling comes after six weeks of furious organizing by the Amazon Labor Union after withdrawing their first petition. This time, the union is targeting only the largest facility on Staten Island, JFK8.
—Julia Thomas, author of “Rikers Island Transferees Now Held in Maximum Security Prison Where Drinking Water Tastes Like Sewage” from the recent Dec. issue of The Indypendent. Bedford hills, a maximum-security prison in Westchester is experiencing an influx of women and transgender and non-binary people — all held pre-trial — who are being transferred from Rikers Island. The controversial and inhumane transfers, which began in October, come after renewed calls to close Rikers and address the increasingly inhumane conditions on the penal colony.
This week on Indy News we speak with Sean Petty, a pediatric emergency room nurse at Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx. He is also an activist in the New York State Nurses Association, the union that represents 42,000 nurses in New York. In a March 18, 2020 interview with the Indypendent at the onset of the Covid pandemic in New York, Sean warned “I’m running out of words to describe how dangerous and scary all of this is.” With the Omicron variant sweeping across New York City and the country, he is alarmed once again.
This week on Indy News we speak with Amazon Labor Union President Chris Smalls and VP Derrick Palmer to update us on the struggle to unionize Amazon workers. On Dec. 22, for the second time in three months, Staten Island Amazon workers hand-delivered signed cards to a National Labor Relations Board office in Brooklyn, petitioning that the board authorize a union vote. The refiling comes after six weeks of furious organizing by the Amazon Labor Union after withdrawing their first petition. This time, the union is targeting only the largest facility on Staten Island, JFK8.
This week on Indy News we speak with Julia Thomas, author of “Rikers Island Transferees Now Held in Maximum Security Prison Where Drinking Water Tastes Like Sewage” from the recent Dec. issue of The Indypendent. Bedford hills, a maximum-security prison in Westchester is experiencing an influx of women and transgender and non-binary people — all held pre-trial — who are being transferred from Rikers Island. The controversial and inhumane transfers, which began in October, come after renewed calls to close Rikers and address the increasingly inhumane conditions on the penal colony.
On this week's Indy News Hour:
—Caitlin Liss os the Student Workers or Columbia gives us a live update on increasingly high stakes labor struggle at Columbia University, the nation’s largest active strike of 3,000 students workers against the leaders of a university with a $14.4 billion endowment. The University is threatening to fire them from their jobs if they don’t end their five-week strike by Friday.
—President of the New York Postal Workers Union Jonathan Smith talks about the union effort to get the postal service back on track. Biden still hasn't replaced Trump-appointed Postmaster Louis DeJoy, who is implementing measures that aren’t good for customers or workers, like understaffing and raising prices while giving American people less service.
—Evan George, editor of Bostopia News podcast talks about what's afoot in Boston — moves toward free mass transit, a Green New Deal and rent control — with new mayor Michelle Wu in charge. This stands in contrast to NYC where our incoming new mayor is obsessed with more policing and cryptocurrency and to this drift nationally in the Democratic Party of insisting that nothing can or should change very much.
Evan George, editor of Bostopia News podcast talks about what's afoot in Boston — moves toward free mass transit, a Green New Deal and rent control — with new mayor Michelle Wu in charge. This stands in contrast to NYC where our incoming new mayor is obsessed with more policing and cryptocurrency and to this drift nationally in the Democratic Party of insisting that nothing can or should change very much.
President of the New York Postal Workers Union Jonathan Smith talks about the union effort to get the postal service back on track. Biden still hasn't replaced Trump-appointed Postmaster Louis DeJoy, who is implementing measures that aren’t good for customers or workers, like understaffing and raising prices while giving American people less service.
Caitlin Liss os the Student Workers or Columbia gives us a live update on increasingly high stakes labor struggle at Columbia University, the nation’s largest active strike of 3,000 students workers against the leaders of a university with a $14.4 billion endowment. The University is threatening to fire them from their jobs if they don’t end their five-week strike by Friday.
A new variant of the Coronavirus, the Omicron variant, was just discovered in South Africa. We are faced with the possibility that the new variant may prove resistant to the vaccines that we had hoped to bring the pandemic under control.
We speak with author Costas Panayotakis about his recent article for The Indypendent, “Omicron Variant Underscores Why We Must Abolish Global Vaccine Apartheid." Panayotakis is a professor of sociology at the New York City College of Technology (CUNY).
In an attempt to curb a surge in overdose deaths caused by increasingly potent street drugs, NYC is authorizing two supervised injection sites in East Harlem and Washington heights.
Trained staff at the two sites will provide clean needles, administer naloxone to reverse overdoses and provide users with options for addiction treatment. Users will bring their own drugs. New York will become the first U.S. city to open officially authorized injection sites.
We don’t know all the details on these sites or how they will operate, but they are a part of an approach to addiction called “harm reduction.” Melanie MacLennan, an NYC-based substance abuse doctor, talks with us about harm reduction, safer use of drugs and what safe injection site can mean to a community.
In October 2020, without consulting the community, the City announced a high-rise housing development at the corner of Bedford and Church Avenues in Flatbush. The site is the last remaining section of an African Burial Ground dating at least to the 1700s.
The Flatbush African Burial Ground Coalition is a group of artists, historians, activists, organizers, lawyers, engineers, and neighbors who are committed to protecting the Flatbush African Burial Ground at 2274 - 2286 Church Avenue.
We speak with Joan Alexander Bakiriddin, a proud member of the Flatbush African Burial Ground Coalition and an advocate and active member of her community. She has been a big part of the collective determination in preserving the sacred Brooklyn ground.
In this edition of The Indypendent News Hour, we speak with a member of the Flatbush African Burial Ground Coalition about a current struggle to preserve an African burial ground located on the corners of Bedford and Church Avenues in Flatbush, Brooklyn.
Then, we turn to some breaking news. This week, the city announced that two safe injection sites in Harlem and Washington Heights that will be run by non-profit harm reduction groups. This much needed addition to our public infrastructure comes after 100,000 ODs resulting in death between April of 2020 and 2021. We will speak with an addiction doctor about the new sites and what it means for New Yorkers.
Lastly, we pivot to the global scale and speak with author Costas Panayotakis about his new article for The Indypendent, "Omicron Variant Underscores Why We Must Abolish Global Vaccine Apartheid."
Voters across the country head to the polls today on the first election day since Donald Trump’s defeat last November. Governorships are up for grabs in New Jersey and Virginia. Boston, Buffalo, Atlanta, Seattle and Minneapolis are choosing their next mayors. The future of policing has been a flashpoint in each of those races. In Minneapolis, where George Floyd was murdered, voters will also vote on whether to abolish their current police department and replace it with a new Department of Public Safety.
Our special guests include WBAI’s Tom Robbins and Ben Max, Alex Vitale, author of 'The End of Policing,' Linda Martín Alcoff, author of 'The Future of Whiteness,' a newly elected Socialist City Councilwoman from Sunset Park, Brooklyn, and more.
In 2021, the Republicans have used racial dog whistles around critical race theory, “parents rights” and other manufactured culture war controversies to energize their base, especially in Virginia where their candidate won the governor’s race.
In our election night special, we speak with Linda Martín Alcoff, author of T'he Future of Whiteness,' about this and how the Left should respond. We also speak with Alex Han, executive director of Organizing Upgrade, about the impact of national Democrats being unable to deliver on their promises in a moment of surging right-wing populism.
In our election night special, we get an on-the-ground report from Buffalo where India Walton, 39-year-old nurse and housing activist, is vying to become the first socialist mayor of a major U.S. city in 60 years. Walton won the Democratic nomination in June in a shocking upset. She is now facing a well-financed write-in challenge from the city’s incumbent mayor who she defeated in the primary.
We discuss the India Walton campaign and its impact on Buffalo with Michael Niman, a professor of journalism and media studies at Buffalo State University.
Imani Oakley, a progressive running for Congress in New Jersey's 10th congressional district, joins us for our election night special. She talks about key local races in New Jersey, the lack of enthusiasm for sitting Democratic governor Phil Murphy and the party machine’s latest attempts to derail her primary challenge to a corporate Democrat incumbent in NJ’s congressional district which encompasses Newark.
For our election night special, Ben Max, host of “Max Politics,” which airs on WBAI Wednesdays 5-6 pm, fills us in on some of the more competitive races in New York City and gives us his thoughts on where New York’s new leaders will try to take the city.
Eric Adams' mayoral victory in the Democratic primary was fueled by his emphasis on policing and public security and his biography as a former cop. The future of policing has also been a flashpoint in a number of other big city mayor’s races that are on the ballot today.
We speak with Alex Vitale, a professor of sociology at Brooklyn College and author of 'The End of Policing.' In the book, Vitale argues that the police as an institution are ill-suited for almost all the work they do and that their interactions with the public should be reduced to the absolute minimum possible. In this election night special, Vitale elaborates why he things the NYPD and other police forces should be dramatically shrunk and their interactions with the public minimized.
No mayor is an island unto themself. They have to work with City Council. They also have to work with the governor and state legislators in Albany which wields tremendous power over the city.
In our election night special, City Councilmember-elect Alexa Aviles and State Senator Jabari Brisport join us to talk about how they see things going with the new city government under a Mayor Adams. Alexa Aviles won the Democratic primary in June in District 38 in South Brooklyn and had no opponent on today’s ballot. Jabari Brisport won a Central Brooklyn State Senate seat in 2020 and has had a very busy first year in the legislature. They are both democratic socialists who ran for office as champions of the working class.
For this election night special, Tom Robbins talk about what might come next after the NY general elections. Tom was a legendary investigative journalist at the Village Voice for many years best known for his award-winning coverage of political corruption and urban issues. He currently hosts Deadline NYC Mondays 5-6 pm on WBAI Radio.
Nancy Romer of the NYC People’s Climate Movement speaks about what we might expect from the COP26 climate summit as environmental activists head to Glasgow, Scotland for the conference.
Lee Ziesche of Sane Energy Project, a group committed to replacing fracked gas infrastructure with community-led, sustainable energy. Ziesche talks about a recent win against fracked gas in Queens and other environmental fights in NYC and beyond.
Braxton Brewington, spokesperson for the Debt Collective. Consumer Debt. Medical debt. Student loan debt. Carceral debt. And so on. Tens of millions of Americans are debt-burdened. Brewington is later joined by William Ritziu of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance. Ritziu and many other drivers and in tens of thousands of dollars of medallion debt are currently on hunger strike to demand the City rectify the predatory lending they previously allowed.
This week we speak with:
—Braxton Brewington, spokesperson for the Debt Collective. Consumer Debt. Medical debt. Student loan debt. Carceral debt. And so on. Tens of millions of Americans are debt-burdened.
—Brewington is later joined by William Ritziu of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance. Ritziu and many other drivers and in tens of thousands of dollars of medallion debt are currently on hunger strike to demand the City rectify the predatory lending they previously allowed.
—Lee Ziesche of Sane Energy Project, a group committed to replacing fracked gas infrastructure with community-led, sustainable energy. Ziesche talks about a recent win against fracked gas in Queens and other environmental fights in NYC and beyond.
—Nancy Romer of the NYC People’s Climate Movement speaks about what we might expect from the COP26 climate summit as environmental activists head to Glasgow, Scotland for the conference.
We speak with Felicia Singh, D32 Candidate: On Nov. 3rd NYers return to the polls for city elections. The District 32 race in Queens is the last Republican-held district in Queens. The Republican candidate, Joann Ariola, is facing a strong challenge from Felicia Singh, a teacher, educator, daughter of working-class immigrants who ran as a proud progressive in June, presenting a dichotomy in a part of Queens that was solidly conservative in the past.
We speak with writer and researcher Matt Thomas, the author of the Vulgar Marxist Substack and a keen observer of the workings of the judicial machinery here in New York. After steadily trending downward for many years, the population of incarcerated persons at Rikers Island is once again rising even though the majority of detainees have not had a trial. This is due in part to the role of law-and-order judges and the politicians who help them rise through the judicial ranks.
We speak with Madeline Feliciano, Nicholas Feliciano's grandmother Joshua Carmoega, Nicholas’s uncle, and David Rankin, who is representing them in a lawsuit against the city. In December 2019, Nicholas Feliciano attempted to kill himself and was visibly hanging in his cell for 7-odd minutes before anyone did anything to help him get down. The Board of Corrections just released a report on the incident stating, “the circumstances of this incident are disturbing and starkly illustrate persistent issues in the City’s jails.”
On this week's show we spoke with:
—Madeline Feliciano, Nicholas Feliciano's grandmother Joshua Carmoega, Nicholas’s uncle, and David Rankin, who is representing them in a lawsuit against the city. In December 2019, Nicholas Feliciano attempted to kill himself and was visibly hanging in his cell for 7-odd minutes before anyone did anything to help him get down. The Board of Corrections just released a report on the incident stating, “the circumstances of this incident are disturbing and starkly illustrate persistent issues in the City’s jails.”
—Writer and researcher Matt Thomas, the author of the Vulgar Marxist substack and a keen observer of the workings of the judicial machinery here in New York. After steadily trending downward for many years, the population of incarcerated persons at Rikers Island is once again rising even though the majority of detainees have not had a trial. This is due in part to the role of law-and-order judges and the politicians who help them rise through the judicial ranks.
—Felicia Singh, D32 Candidate: On Nov. 3rd NYers return to the polls for city elections. The District 32 race in Queens is the last Republican-held district in Queens. The Republican candidate, Joann Ariola, is facing a strong challenge from Felicia Singh, a teacher, educator, daughter of working-class immigrants who ran as a proud progressive in June, presenting a dichotomy in a part of Queens that was solidly conservative in the past.
Alane Hartley and Russell Braen, co-owners of Park Hill Orchard in Easthampton, Massachusetts, talk about the people who grow and harvest food, the challenges they face and the community-centered solutions that some farmers have developed that stand in stark contrast to Big Ag and its corporate monoculture.
Joe DeManuelle-Hall, an NYC-based organizer with Labor Notes, a media and organizing project that has been the voice of union activists who want to put the movement back in the labor movement since 1979, talks about the historical context around the upswing in the labor movement and some of the current strikes happening now.
Theodore Hamm talks about the real estate interests of NYC's prospective next mayor, Eric Adams, who has received a large amount of donations from real estate developers and other wealthy, conservative New Yorkers like Michael Bloomberg.
On this week's show:
Theodore Hamm talks about the real estate interests of NYC's prospective next mayor, Eric Adams, who has received a large amount of donations from real estate developers and other wealthy, conservative New Yorkers like Michael Bloomberg.
Joe DeManuelle-Hall, an NYC-based organizer with Labor Notes, a media and organizing project that has been the voice of union activists who want to put the movement back in the labor movement since 1979, talks about the historical context around the upswing in the labor movement and some of the current strikes happening now.
Alane Hartley and Russell Braen, co-owners of Park Hill Orchard in Easthampton, Massachusetts, talk about the people who grow and harvest food, the challenges they face and the community-centered solutions that some farmers have developed that stand in stark contrast to Big Ag and its corporate monoculture.
The Workers Unite! Film Festival — showcasing documentaries about worker struggles — returns to the big screen this week starting Friday at Cinema Village Theater in Lower Manhattan. We talk with Andrew Tilson, the festival's executive director, and two directors of the featured films at the festival, Patricia Nazario (Backstreet to the American Dream) Peter Findley (Company Town).
Film fest homepage: https://www.workersunitefilmfestival.org/festival-calendar-2021?gclid=CjwKCAjwkvWKBhB4EiwA-GHjFtE3bnfIJaR5IE2g8aMcSqr4Rqesf_FWTpjG2UyByxRVay-GWGp73BoCssQQAvD_BwE
Debt-stricken taxi drivers have entered their 17th day of a round-the-clock protest outside City Hall. They are demanding the mayor and city council cover the massive debts they incurred when the price of a taxi medallion collapsed after the City allowed Uber and Lyft to flood the streets with their own drivers who did not have to pay for medallions. We speak with Bhairavi Desai of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance about how the city reaped hundreds of millions of dollars in taxi medallion sales a decade ago but has since turned its back on cab drivers, many of whom owe upwards of a half-million dollars each.
Hildalyn Hernandez Colon, Director of Policy and Strategic Partnerships at the Workers Justice Project, talks about recent victories at City Hall won by New York City’s 65,000 delivery workers and the organizing that went into that in the midst an upsurge in worker militancy across the country spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hildalyn Hernandez Colon, Director of Policy and Strategic Partnerships at the Workers Justice Project, talks about recent victories at City Hall won by New York City’s 65,000 delivery workers and the organizing that went into that among an upsurge in worker militancy across the country spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Debt-stricken taxi drivers have entered their 17th day of a round-the-clock protest outside City Hall. They are demanding the mayor and city council cover the massive debts they incurred when the price of a taxi medallion collapsed after the City allowed Uber and Lyft to flood the streets with their own drivers who did not have to pay for medallions. We speak with Bhairavi Desai of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance about how the city reaped hundreds of millions of dollars in taxi medallion sales a decade ago but has since turned its back on cab drivers, many of whom owe upwards of a half-million dollars each.
The Workers Unite! Film Festival — showcasing documentaries about worker struggles — returns to the big screen this week starting Friday at Cinema Village Theater in Lower Manhattan. We talk with Andrew Tilson, the festival's executive director, and two directors of the featured films at the festival, Patricia Nazario (Backstreet to the American Dream) Peter Findley (Company Town).
This week we spoke with Cleveland, who has been incarcerated in NYC jails for 28 months. He spent the first year of his sentence on Rikers and then was moved to the Vernon C Bain Correctional Center, commonly known as “The Boat,” which is right across from Rikers and shares many of the same conditions and staff. Cleveland talks about the many abuses of rights of the incarcerated that occur on Rikers as well as the abuses of due process in the NYC court system.
Last name withheld for privacy reasons.
This week on The Indypendent News Hour we spoke with Marcial Morales, who, after successfully being released from ICE detention on hunger strike, has supported a slew of hunger strikes in New Jersey and around the US. He updates us on current strikes in Buffalo and Miami and what uncertain future awaits people who are deported.
This week we spoke with Derek Ludovici, a contributor to The Indypendent newspaper and anthropology professor at Brooklyn College and City College. Derek received his masters from from the American University in Cairo and was in Egypt during the Arab Spring. He talks about his recent op-ed for the Indypendent’s Sept. issue called “What I Learned During the Forever Wars,” including what it was like to teach vets who served in one of the many U.S. wars in the Mid. East. Read Derek's article:https://indypendent.org/2021/09/what-i-learned-during-the-forever-wars/
This week we spoke with: —Cleveland, who has been incarcerated in NYC jails for 28 months. He spent the first year of his sentence on Rikers and then was moved to the Vernon C Bain Correctional Center, commonly known as “The Boat,” which is right across from Rikers and shares many of the same conditions and staff. Cleveland talks about the many abuses of rights of the incarcerated that occur on Rikers as well as the abuses of due process in the NYC court system.
—Derek Ludovici, a contributor to The Indypendent newspaper and anthropology professor at Brooklyn College and City College. Derek received his masters from from the American University in Cairo and was in Egypt during the Arab Spring. He talks about his recent op-ed for the Indypendent’s Sept. issue called “What I Learned During the Forever Wars,” including what it was like to teach vets who served in one of the many U.S. wars in the Mid. East.
—Marcial Morales, who, after successfully being released from ICE detention on hunger strike, has supported a slew of hunger strikes in New Jersey and around the US. He updates us on current strikes in Buffalo and Miami and what uncertain future awaits people who are deported.
Amy Littlefield, abortion access correspondent for The Nation, speaks about her recent coverage of SB 8, Texas legislation that eliminates abortion protections for women and creates a system of citizen bounty hunters who can sue women for getting abortions. She talks about how this affects other states and how soon we might see Roe v. Wade overturned.
Priscilla Grim, one of the editors of The Occupy Wall St. Journal, has stayed involved with various OWS-related formations since the 2011. She fills us in on what different OWS and occupy-adjacent groups have been doing since 2011 (how they've been able to change public opinion around capitalism) and what they plan to do for the tenth anniversary of the movement.
Priscilla Grim, one of the editors of The Occupy Wall St. Journal, has stayed involved with various OWS-related formations since the 2011. She fills us in on what different OWS and occupy-adjacent groups have been doing since 2011 (how they've been able to change public opinion around capitalism) and what they plan to do for the tenth anniversary of the movement.
Amy Littlefield, abortion access correspondent for The Nation, speaks about her recent coverage of SB 8, Texas legislation that eliminates abortion protections for women and creates a system of citizen bounty hunters who can sue women for getting abortions. She talks about how this affects other states and how soon we might see Roe v. Wade overturned.
The latest from East River Park, a 46-acre park running along the East River, the only green space for the Lower East Side’s working class community. The park has been the home to a battle over the last several years over its preservation. The city is very close to being able to go forward with its plan to demolish the recently renovated park and rebuild a new, smaller park over the course of a decade.
Harriet Hirschhorn from East River Park Action gives us an update on the battle to save the park.
New York City public schools are reopening for the new school year. Amid the Delta wave, are the schools ready to do their work while keeping students and teachers safe? MORE (Movement of Rank and File Educators), the social justice caucus of the United Federation of Teachers says that there’s still much the city and department of education need to do in order to create a safe learning environment. They also want UFT to fight harder for its members.
Amanda Vender, a MORE member and co-author of ‘Students, Teachers at Risk of New COVID Surge as NYC Adopts Lax Approach to Classroom Safety,’ joins us on WBAI to discuss the issue.
Read the article: https://indypendent.org/2021/09/studentsatrisk/
In the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, hopes were running high that something profound would emerge at the site where 3,000 people were killed and hundreds more first responders were poisoned and later died of their illnesses. It hasn’t quite turned out that way.
Todd Fine talks about what happened at Ground Zero over the past 20 years. Fine is president of the Washington Street Advocacy Group, which promotes historic preservation and historical memory in Lower Manhattan and across New York City. He has an in-depth special feature in this subject that will appear in the September issue of The Indypendent.
—Segment One, Todd Fine:
In the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, hopes were running high that something profound would emerge at the site where 3,000 people were killed and hundreds more first responders were poisoned and later died of their illnesses. It hasn’t quite turned out that way.
Todd Fine talks about what happened at Ground Zero over the past 20 years. Fine is president of the Washington Street Advocacy Group, which promotes historic preservation and historical memory in Lower Manhattan and across New York City. He has an in-depth special feature in this subject that will appear in the September issue of The Indypendent.
—Segment Two, Amanda Vendor:
New York City public schools are reopening for the new school year. Amid the Delta wave, are the schools ready to do their work while keeping students and teachers safe? MORE (Movement of Rank and File Educators), the social justice caucus of the United Federation of Teachers says that there’s still much the city and department of education need to do in order to create a safe learning environment. They also want UFT to fight harder for its members.
Amanda Vendor, a MORE member and co-author of ‘Students, Teachers at Risk of New COVID Surge as NYC Adopts Lax Approach to Classroom Safety,’ joins us on WBAI to discuss the issue. Read the article: indypendent.org/2021/09/studentsatrisk/
Segment 3, Harriet Hirschhorn:
—The latest from East River Park, a 46-acre park running along the East River, the only green space for the Lower East Side’s working class community. The park has been the home to a battle over the last several years over its preservation. The city is very close to being able to go forward with its plan to demolish the recently renovated park and rebuild a new, smaller park over the course of a decade.
Harriett Hirschhorn from East River Park Action gives us an update on the battle to save the park.
Anita Varma leads the Solidarity Journalism Initiative at the Center for Media Engagement. She is also a new assistant professor in the School of Journalism & Media at UT Austin, where her research and teaching focus on how journalists represent marginalized communities and how this reporting can improve.
Anita’s family immigrated from Bihar, India in 1978 and she grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
She is speaks with us about solidarity reporting with Afghanistan and beyond.
When Joe Biden announced that US troops would pull out of Afghanistan, thousands of people rushed to Hamid Karzai International Airport where many lost their lives in the events that followed. Over 150 people died after a suicide bomber detonated his vest at a U.S. checkpoint just days before U.S. troops departure on August 31.
We speak to two people working to get at-risk individuals through the Kabul airport and out of Afghanistan:
Madi Williamson, based in Istanbul, is a nurse from Seattle, Washington who specializes in human-centered migratory health. She spent five years working with refugee populations in the Middle East and Mediterranean regions.
Shakib Noori, based in Washington, DC with over a decade of professional experience with private sector, NGO, and government institutions. Shakib is an Afghan-American. He has worked with many international organizations in and outside Afghanistan.
NY state lawmakers are expected to Convene in an emergency special session to extend the eviction moratorium. This comes after the Supreme Court slashed down NY eviction moratorium two weeks ago and years of community protest. Tenants rights organizers are demanding that state leaders reconvene the legislature and extend the eviction moratorium.
Worse, only 8,000 out of 180,000 applicants to New York’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program have received funds so far.
Marcela Mitaynes, the socialist State Assemblyperson who represents Sunset Park and Red Hook in the Assembly. Mitaynes began her career as a tenant organizer 15 years ago after her immigrant family was evicted from their home.
Reverend Billy Talen of the Church of Stop Shopping talks about NYC parks and the fight for the planet. He was part of a failed effort in 2015 to get Monsanto's Roundup pesticide out of the NYC parks system. Billy also just came back from Minnesota where there's a huge battle led by indigenous people over a tar-sands pipeline, the "new Standing Rock," he says.
Marika Plater has extensively studied and written about the NYC public park system. She is the lead source in The Indypendent's August cover story, 'Parks for the People.' We look at the history of the class struggle around NYC parks.
Parks for the People: https://indypendent.org/2021/07/parks-for-the-people/
We look at the unfolding crisis in Afghanistan. Two long-time peace activists Kathy Kelly and Medea Benjamin talk about the latest from Afghanistan, why the U.S.-backed regime collapsed so quickly and what the future may hold. Kathy Kelly is the co-founder of Voices for Creative Non-violence. She visited Afghanistan many times over the past decade and worked with peace activists there. Medea Benjamin is a co-founder of Code Pink Women for Peace. She also visited Afghanistan a number of times during the U.S. occupation.
—We look at the unfolding crisis in Afghanistan. Two long-time peace activists Kathy Kelly and Medea Benjamin talk about the latest from Afghanistan, why the U.S.-backed regime collapsed so quickly and what the future may hold. Kathy Kelly is the co-founder of Voices for Creative Nonviolence. She visited Afghanistan many times over the past decade and worked with peace activists there. Medea Benjamin is a co-founder of Code Pink Women for Peace. She also visited Afghanistan a number of times during the U.S. occupation. —Marika Plater has extensively studied and written about the NYC public park system. She is the lead source in The Indypendent's August cover story, 'Parks for the People.' We look at the history of the class struggle around NYC parks. —Reverend Billy Talen talks more about parks and the fight for the planet. He was part of a failed effort in 2015 to get Monsanto's Roundup pesticide out of the NYC parks system. Billy also just came back from Minnesota where there's a huge battle led by indigenous people over a tar-sands pipeline, the "new Standing Rock," he says.
In North Brooklyn, National Grid has begun construction on a controversial new liquid natural gas pipeline which would bring highly volatile fracked gas from Pennsylvania to New York. Its opponents see the $185 million project as both a public health hazard and bad energy policy as it would further lock the city into a dependence on natural gas for decades to come instead of speeding up a transition to 100% renewable energy. Residents’ opposition has temporarily stopped construction of Phase 5 of the pipeline, but National Grid has not given up on those projects. The pipeline's opposition just began a strike campaign encouraging NYers to withhold $66 from their gas bills. Lee Ziesche of Sane Energy Project, a major player in the opposition, speaks about the current status of the pipeline.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced his resignation on Tuesday amid a mushrooming sexual harassment scandal. Kathy Hochul will take his place and become New York’s first female governor. Cuomo was also under investigation for his role in covering up the deaths of thousands of nursing home patients who perished at the height of the pandemic last year and for using state workers to help him write a book about his leadership during the pandemic which he received $5 million for writing. Ross Barkan, the author of The Political Currents newsletter on Substack, a must read for understanding the latest on state and local politics, comes on air to talk about Cuomo's resignation.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced his resignation on Tuesday amid a mushrooming sexual harassment scandal. Kathy Hochul will take his place and become New York’s first female governor. Cuomo was also under investigation for his role in covering up the deaths of thousands of nursing home patients who perished at the height of the pandemic last year and for using state workers to help him write a book about his leadership during the pandemic which he received $5 million for writing. Barbara Bowen, who was the President of Professional Staff Congress-City University of New York, reflects on the resignation and talks about how difficult it was to be a progressive union leader for the past 10 years under Cuomo's governance.
—New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced his resignation on Tuesday amid a mushrooming sexual harassment scandal. Kathy Hochul will take his place and become New York’s first female governor. Cuomo was also under investigation for his role in covering up the deaths of thousands of nursing home patients who perished at the height of the pandemic last year and for using state workers to help him write a book about his leadership during the pandemic which he received $5 million for writing. Ross Barkan, the author of The Political Currents newsletter on Substack, a must read for understanding the latest on state and local politics, comes on air to talk about Cuomo's resignation. —Barbara Bowen, who was the President of Professional Staff Congress-City University of New York, reflects on the resignation and talks about how difficult it was to be a progressive union leader for the past 10 years under Cuomo's governance. —In North Brooklyn, National Grid has begun construction on a controversial new liquid natural gas pipeline which would bring highly volatile fracked gas from Pennsylvania to New York. Its opponents see the $185 million project as both a public health hazard and bad energy policy as it would further lock the city into a dependence on natural gas for decades to come instead of speeding up a transition to 100% renewable energy. Residents’ opposition has temporarily stopped construction of Phase 5 of the pipeline, but National Grid has not given up on those projects. The pipeline's opposition just began a strike campaign encouraging NYers to withhold $66 from their gas bills. Lee Ziesche of Sane Energy Project, a major player in the opposition, speaks about the current status of the pipeline.
—Cea Weaver of Housing Justice 4 All, a statewide coalition of more than 70 organizations fighting for housing for all New Yorkers: A federal eviction moratorium instituted last year lapsed this past Friday at midnight putting an estimated 11 million tenants nationwide at risk of eviction. Here in New York, a statewide eviction moratorium is slated to end at the end of August. Cea breaks down what’s going on and how tenants movements are responding to the dire rent situation. —Kaitlin Baucom, mutual aid and anti-homelessness organizer with The Gym: Two Saturdays ago, June 25, the NYPD attacked and attempted to displace a mutual aid hub and organizing collective based out of an empty storefront space in a Brooklyn building called The Gym. Fourteen reportedly violent arrests were made and one person was hospitalized. Kaitlin Baucom, who has lived in and been doing social activism out of the same building at 1083 Broadway for the past 8 years talks about the space and the police attack. —Charles Lenchner, co-founder of People for Bernie: In Cleveland, a race to fill a vacant congressional seat has brought on a showdown between the progressive and pro-corporate wings of the Democratic Party. Voters are heading to the polls today to choose between former Ohio State Senator Nina Turner, a close ally of Bernie Sanders and Cuyahoga County Councilperson Shontel Brown who is backed by senior leadership of the Congressional Black Caucus and a whole lot of outside Super PAC money.
Charles Lenchner, co-founder of People for Bernie: In Cleveland, a race to fill a vacant congressional seat has brought on a showdown between the progressive and pro-corporate wings of the Democratic Party. Voters are heading to the polls today to choose between former Ohio State Senator Nina Turner, a close ally of Bernie Sanders and Cuyahoga County Councilperson Shontel Brown who is backed by senior leadership of the Congressional Black Caucus and a whole lot of outside Super PAC money.
Two Saturdays ago, June 25, the NYPD attacked and attempted to displace a mutual aid hub and organizing collective based out of an empty storefront space in a Brooklyn building called the gym. Fourteen reportedly violent arrests were made and one person was hospitalized. Kaitlin Baucom, who has lived in and been doing social activism out of the same building at 1083 Broadway for the past 8 years talks about the space and the police attack.
Cea Weaver of Housing Justice 4 All, a statewide coalition of more than 70 organizations fighting for housing for all New Yorkers: A federal eviction moratorium instituted last year lapsed this past Friday at midnight putting an estimated 11 million tenants nationwide at risk of eviction. Here in New York, a statewide eviction moratorium is slated to end at the end of August. Cea breaks down what’s going on and how tenants movements are responding to the dire rent situation.
—Daniela Alulema, DACA recipient and program director at the Center for Migration Studies of New York. A federal judge in Texas ruled that no more Dreamers as the youths are known can enter the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that gives them protections from deportation. —Gail Walker is the Director of IFCO/Pastors for Peace. We look at the U.S.-Cuba standoff and how people in New York City and elsewhere are stepping up to end the U.S. embargo of Cuba or where possible go around it to deliver crucial supplies to the socialist nation. —Ken lewis and David Alexis,from a drivers' coop recently started in New York that is challenging the duopoly of Uber and Lyft, which exploit their workers tremendously and represent the worst sort or rapacious capitalism in NYC. The drivers coop thinks theres another way that is better for both workers and consumers.
—Gail Walker is the director Director of IFCO/Pastors for Peace. We look at the U.S.-Cuba standoff and how people in New York City and elsewhere are stepping up to end the U.S. embargo of Cuba or where possible go around it to deliver crucial supplies to the socialist nation.
Ken lewis and David Alexis from a drivers' coop recently started in New York that is challenging the duopoly of Uber and Lyft, which exploit their workers tremendously and represent the worst sort or rapacious capitalism in NYC. The drivers coop thinks theres another way that is better for both workers and consumers.
—Daniela Alulema, DACA recipient and program director at the Center for Migration Studies of New York. A federal judge in Texas ruled that no more Dreamers as the youths are known can enter the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that gives them protections from deportation.
Michael Pellagatti, a laid-off double decker tour bus guide, talks about the automation of the bus tour guide. Two hundred tour guides have been laid off since the pandemic and instead of rehiring them, tour companies are switching to automated tours. Pellagotti stresses not only the importance of keeping people employed, but the disparity in the experiences of a live tour and an automated tour.
NY Assemblymember Carmen De La Rosa (D-72) talks about the first-of-its-kind $2.1 billion excluded workers fund included in the fiscal year 2022 New York State Budget. Most undocumented workers and other workers who missed out on COVID-19 relief (unemployment, stimulus checks) will be eligible to receive either $3,200 or $15,600. Rosa explains what will be needed for the application as well as the uphill battle some applicants will face in aggregating the required documents in order to benefit from the fund.
Rita Joseph, NYC City Councilmember-elect for District 40, which mostly encompasses Flatbush, Brooklyn, who emigrated from Haiti when she was two-years-old, gives perspective on the unfolding crisis in her family's country and shares her goals for City Hall, including more just education, healthcare, housing, and police practices.
John Tarleton interviews Imani Oakley, who just announced she is running for Congress in New Jersey’s 10th congressional district which encompasses Newark (primary held next June). Oakley, a socialist running on the Democrat ticket, is taking on one of the machine’s dynastic heirs, Donald Payne, Jr. who inherited the seat from his father in 2012.
John Tarleton interviews Kristin Richardson Jordan, who has pulled into a narrow lead for the NYC city council District 9 seat that covers Central and East Harlem currently held by incumbent Bill Perkins. Richardson talks about running her grassroots campaign centered around the theme of “radical love" as an LGBTQ+ Black woman and democratic socialist.
John Tarleton interviews Todd Fine, a lower Manhattan preservationist and activist, talks about Governor Cuomo’s recently halted plan to build a memorial to essential workers at Battery Park City. Angered that the the construction of the memorial, an eternal flame, would result in bulldozing part of Battery Park, neighborhood locals protested enough to stop the plan for now. Meanwhile, Mayor de Blasio remembers the covid-19 pandemic by hosting a ticker tape parade for essential workers.
Editor-in-Chief of The Indypendent newspaper John Tarleton interviews: — Todd Fine, a lower Manhattan preservationist and activist, talks about Governor Cuomo’s recently halted plan to build a memorial to essential workers at Battery Park City. Angered that the the construction of the memorial, an eternal flame, would result in bulldozing part of Battery Park, neighborhood locals protested enough to stop the plan for now. Meanwhile, Mayor de Blasio remembers the covid-19 pandemic by hosting a ticker tape parade for essential workers. —Kristin Richardson Jordan, who has pulled into a narrow lead for the NYC city council District 9 seat that covers Central and East Harlem currently held by incumbent Bill Perkins. Richardson talks about running her grassroots campaign centered around the theme of “radical love" as an LGBTQ+ Black woman and democratic socialist. —Imani Oakley, who just announced she is running for Congress in New Jersey’s 10th congressional district which encompasses Newark (primary held next June). Oakley, a socialist running on the Democrat ticket, is taking on one of the machine’s dynastic heirs, Donald Payne, Jr. who inherited the seat from his father in 2012.
Indypendent field reporters Julia Thomas, Amba Guerguerian, Zion DeCoteau and Roman Broszkowski hit the streets on primary day to speak with NYC voters about how they feel about the city elections — an election during with ranked-choice voting is being implemented for the first time and almost every electable city official's seat is up for grabs.
As the city's 2021 primary election day comes to a close, The Indypendent's John Tarleton and Olivia Riggio interview Ben Max, executive editor at the Gotham Gazette and co-host of the Max & Murphy show, which discusses New York politics and airs weekly on WBAI. Max has been reporting on and analyzing the mayoral race on Max & Murphy as well as on his Twitter @TweetBenMax, where he’s been giving his followers play-by-plays on poll data and other developments.
The Indypendent Newspaper hosts a three hour election-coverage show for WBAI as the NYC primary elections come to a close on Tuesday, June 22, 2021. Half of the city council seats, the mayor, comptroller, Manhattan DA, Brooklyn borough president, and much more are up for grabs. We talk with journalists, experts, and advocates who are versed in the spectrum of electoral politics in NYC as well as reflect on recent Juneteenth celebrations.
As the city's 2021 primary election day comes to a close, The Indypendent's John Tarleton and Olivia Riggio interview Julie Hollar, managing editor at FAIR (Fairness & Accuracy & Reporting), who just wrote a piece called “Tabloids Want Crime, Not Rent, on NYC Voters’ Minds.” Outlets like the New York Post and New York Daily News have failed to afford sufficient coverage to a more pressing issue for New Yorkers: housing. Hollar discusses the sensational coverage and how it’s shaped the narrative of NYC and the mayoral race.
As the city's 2021 primary election day comes to a close, The Indypendent's EIC John Tarleton talks election politics with Tom Robbins, the host of Deadline NYC on WBAI who was, for many decades, a reporter and anchor for the Village Voice.
As the city's 2021 primary election day comes to a close, The Indypendent's EIC John Tarleton interviews Chi Anunwa, co-chair of NYC DSA (Democratic Socialists of America), about the six DSA-endorced city council races. They discuss whether the DSA still has viable grounding in the city after having won five seats in the last state assembly election.
As the city's 2021 primary election day comes to a close, The Indypendent's EIC John Tarleton talks with The Indy’s investigative journalist Ted Hamm, and former editor at Brooklyn Rail, who follows the machinations of local politics quite closely. Hamm talks about the 1% playing dirty in the election and more.
The Indypendent's EIC John Tarleton and co-host Natasha Santos of Brooklyn For Peace interview Pastor Tabatha Holley of New Day Church in the Northwest Bronx, an open and affirming (independent and non denominational) community of organizers, educators, artists, young people and dreamers committed to building the movement of God against the forces of Empire. Holley talks about Juneteenth , which was just celebrated for the first time in the U.S. as an officially recognized holiday/event.
As the city's 2021 primary election day comes to a close, The Indypendent's EIC John Tarleton and co-host Natasha Santos of Brooklyn For Peace talk with Lucas Shapiro of The Jewish Vote, a group that endorsed a number of candidates and encourages alliance forming. Shapiro explains Ranked Choice Voting (implemented for the first time during this election), how it works, how it came about.
The Indypednent's John Tarleton and Julia Thomas interview Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CODEPINK, who was recently in Peru to observe the elections. The daughter of a former dictator is still trying to reverse her apparent defeat in the country’s June 6 presidential run-off election. Keiko Fujimori is alleging fraud and trying to annul 500,000 votes in her contest against leftist Pedro Castillo, who appears to have won by a narrow margin. A victory for Castillo, a union leader and former school teacher who is the son of peasant farmers, would mark a significant shift to the left for Peru, which has long been a stronghold of neoliberalism.
The Indypendent's John Tarleton and Julia Thomas interview Alexa Avilés, a democratic socialist running for city council seat in District 38. A mother of two teen-age daughters and a member of her local community board, she has been slammed by her detractors as a “danger” to her community for supporting cuts to the NYPD’s $6 billion annual budget. Some of New York’s wealthiest men are pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars into races where the left is running strong candidates, like Avilés's.
The Indypendent's John Tarleton and Julia Thomas interview Ross Barkan, author and political columnist who has emerged one of the leading political commentators on state and local politics in New York. Ross gives his latest hot takes on the mayoral race, and his new book, 'The Prince: Andrew Cuomo, The Coronavirus, And The Fall Of New York.'
The Indy's John Tarleton and Julia Thomas intervew: —Alexa Avilés, a democratic socialist running for city council seat in District 38. A mother of two teen-age daughters and a member of her local community board, she has been slammed by her detractors as a “danger” to her community for supporting cuts to the NYPD’s $6 billion annual budget. Some of New York’s wealthiest men are pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars into races where the left is running strong candidates, like Avilés's. —Ross Barkan, author and political columnist who has emerged one of the leading political commentators on state and local politics in New York. Ross gives his latest hot takes on the mayoral race, and his new book, 'The Prince: Andrew Cuomo, The Coronavirus, And The Fall Of New York.' —Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CODEPINK, who was recently in Peru to observe the elections. the daughter of a former dictator is still trying to reverse her apparent defeat in the country’s June 6 presidential run-off election. Keiko Fujimori is alleging fraud and trying to annul 500,000 votes in her contest against leftist Pedro Castillo, who appears to have won by a narrow margin. A victory for Castillo, a union leader and former school teacher who is the son of peasant farmers, would mark a significant shift to the left for Peru, which has long been a stronghold of neoliberalism.
The Indypendent's John Tarleton and Amba Guerguerian interview Roberta Pikser and Norm Scott, retired members of the United Federation of Teachers who are fighting back against plans hatched by the City and public sector union leaders to save money by placing them on a privately run version of Medicare known as Medicare Advantage.
The Indypendent's John Tarleton and Amba Guerguerian interview Neelu Shruti, a birth justice advocate, midwifery student, the founder of Love Child and the author of ‘Black mothers Matter’ for The Indypendent. They talk about Black mothers and midwives and how New York State can begin to reverse longstanding racist policies and practices that have allowed the medical industry to maximize profits off of childbirth while doing great harm.
The Indypendent's John Tarleton and Amba Guerguerian interview Jay Walker, co-founder of the Reclaim Pride Coalition and founding member of Gays Against Guns and Alex Vitale, a Brooklyn College professor and author of “The End of Policing.” They talk about the NYPD’s move to place early curfews on popular public parks. On June 5, the NYPD sent hundreds of riot police into Washington Square Park to push everyone out by 10 pm.
The Indypendent's John Tarleton and Amba Guerguerian interview: —Jay Walker, co-founder of the Reclaim Pride Coalition and founding member of Gays Against Guns and Alex Vitale, a Brooklyn College professor and author of “The End of Policing.” They talk about the NYPD’s move to place early curfews on popular public parks. On June 5, the NYPD sent hundreds of riot police into Washington Square Park to push everyone out by 10 pm. —Neelu Shruti, a birth justice advocate, midwifery student, the founder of Love Child and the author of ‘Black mothers Matter’ for The Indypendent. She talks about Black mothers and midwives and how New York State can begin to reverse longstanding racist policies and practices that have allowed the medical industry to maximize profits off of childbirth while doing great harm. —Roberta Pikser and Norm Scott, retired members of the United Federation of Teachers who are fighting back against plans hatched by the City and public sector union leaders to save money by placing them on a privately run version of Medicare known as Medicare Advantage.
John Tarleton interviews The Independent’s investigative reporter, Ted Hamm, about his recent article on sexual harassment within the Riverside Park Conservancy, the entity that manages Riverside Park. He also talks about his recent coverage of the Manhattan DA’s race.
John Tarleton interviews Tara Currie of Brooklyn for Peace about a rally outside the Times Square military recruiting station on Tax Day where peace activists protested the $750 billion annual military budget as well as the billions of dollars per year in aid that flows to Israel.
John Tarleton, Editor-in-Chief of The Indypendent, interviews: —Jason Rosenberg of the Reclaim Pride Coalition about the controversy around cops at Pride and how things are looking for the 2021 Queer Liberation March. NYC Pride’s recent decision to ban contingents of cops from marching in their big annual parade has miffed the NYPD. —Tara Currie of Brooklyn for Peace, who talks about a Tax Day rally outside the Times Square military recruiting station where peace activists protested the $750 billion annual military budget as well as the billions of dollars per year in aid that flows to Israel. —The Independent’s investigative reporter, Ted Hamm about his recent article on sexual harassment within the Riverside Park Conservancy, the entity that manages Riverside Park. He also talks about his recent coverage of the Manhattan DA’s race.
John Tarleton interviews Jason Rosenberg of the Reclaim Pride Coalition about the controversy around cops at Pride and how things are looking for the 2021 Queer Liberation March. NYC Pride’s recent decision to ban contingents of cops from marching in their big annual parade has miffed the NYPD.
John Tarleton, Editor-in-Chief of The Indypendent newspaper, interviews journalist Alex Kane, who helps make sense of the current conflict in Gaza as well as its impact on a heated mayoral race back here in New York City. The Israel/Palestine military clashes follow protests in East Jerusalem over an Israeli move to evict Palestinian families form their homes in East Jerusalem. Officials in Gaza report that 26 Palestinians, including 9 children, have been killed. Two people in Israel were also reported killed.
John Tarleton, Editor-in-Chief of The Indypendent newspaper, interviews Intercept writer Rose Adams, who broke a story that debases some of the claims of Jean Kim, City Hall lobbyist who alleged that Comptroller Scott Stringer sexually harassed her, roiling the NYC mayoral race.
John Tarleton, Editor-in-Chief of The Indypendent newspaper, interviews The Indy's Todd Fine, who talks about several mega-development projects in lower Manhattan that are meeting strong opposition as well as the City Council’s Land Use Committee vote to approve the de Blasio administration’s plan to rezone Governor’s Island in order to bring in retail and hotels, bringing the plan one step closer to fruition.
John Tarleton, Editor-in-Chief of The Indypendent newspaper, interviews: —Journalist Alex Kane, who helps make sense of the current conflict in Gaza as well as its impact on a heated mayoral race back here in New York City. The Israel/Palestine military clashes follow protests in East Jerusalem over an Israeli move to evict Palestinian families form their homes in East Jerusalem. Officials in Gaza report that 26 Palestinians, including 9 children, have been killed. Two people in Israel were also reported killed. —Intercept writer Rose Adams, who broke a story that debases some of the claims of Jean Kim, City Hall lobbyist who alleged that Comptroller Scott Stringer sexually harassed her, roiling the NYC mayoral race. —The Indypendent's Todd Fine, who talks about several mega-development projects in lower Manhattan that are meeting strong opposition as well as the City Council’s Land Use Committee vote to approve the de Blasio administration’s plan to rezone Governor’s Island in order to bring in retail and hotels, bringing the plan one step closer to fruition.
The Indypendent's John Tarleton and Amba Guerguerian interview Valerie Coley and N’Jelle Murphy of Flatbush Tenant Coalition about Intro 2050, which would provide nearly all NYC tenants with immediate access to legal counsel, something that would very important heading into the wave of evictions New York City will see if the May 1 eviction moratorium expiration isn’t extended.
The Indypendent's John Tarleton and co-host Amba Guerguerian interview Nedia Morsy, Organizing Director of Make the Road New Jersey, talks about the 21-day, immigrant-led hunger strike happening in New Jersey to push Governor Phil Murphy to create an excluded worker fund like the one that the New York state legislature just passed.
Indypendent Editor-in-Chief John Tarleton interviews Amba Guerguerian about her recent cover article in The Indypendent’s May issue about the contracts with ICE that Jersey’s Hudson, Essex and Bergen Counties make millions from by holding ICE detainees in their county jails.
The Indypendent's John Tarleton and Amba Guerguerian interview: Alexa Avilés, Sunset Park parent activist and District 38 City Council candidate, about the need to break away from standardized testing and how it hurts marginalized communities.
The Indypendent's John Tarleton and co-host Amba Guerguerian interview: —Alexa Avilés, Sunset Park parent activist and District 38 City Council candidate, about the need to break away from standardized testing and how it hurts marginalized communities.
—Nedia Morsy, Organizing Director of Make the Road New Jersey, talks about the 21-day, immigrant-led hunger strike happening in New Jersey to push Governor Phil Murphy to create an excluded worker fund like the one that the New York state legislature just passed.
—Valerie Coley and N’Jelle Murphy of Flatbush Tenant Coalition about Intro 2050, which would provide nearly all NYC tenants with immediate access to legal counsel, something that would very important heading into the wave of evictions New York City will see if the May 1 eviction moratorium expiration isn’t extended.
—(AND) John Tarleton interviews Amba Guerguerian about her recent cover article in The Indypendent’s May issue about the contracts with ICE that Jersey’s Hudson, Essex and Bergen Counties make millions from by holding ICE detainees in their county jails.
John Tarleton and Julia Thomas discuss 12 Minnesota jurors finding Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who killed Goerge Floyd, guilty on all three accounts of murder. Then they interview Bob Gangi, head of the Police Reform Organizing Project and long-time criminal justice advocate, about racist and abusive policing and potential reforms.
An August 22, 2018 secretly recorded meeting between a group of abolitionist activists and two Essex County freeholders (now commissioners) that was secretly taped by one participant. At minute 44, activist Faye Lederman asks about her children using Essex County parks and the zoo and what she needs to them about how they're funded. Then-Vice President (now president) Wayne Richardson and board counsel Michael Parlavecchio try to obfuscate about the diverse revenue sources, but Parlavecchio explicitly confirms that the ICE money "is part of it." At that same meeting Essex County commissioner Wayne Richardson assiduously defends the impeccable conditions of the detention facility--though this meeting was after the July 2018 DHS inspection that revealed conditions so horrendous that DHS itself condemned it.
John Tarleton and Julia Thomas interview Eileen Myles about, poet and community activist, about how residents of the Lower East Side are fighting to save the 58-acre East River Park from being demolished by the de Blasio administration.
John Tarleton and Julia Thomas interview Jake Jacobs, a middle school art teacher in the Bronx and a member of the Movement of Rank and File Educators, the leftwing social justice caucus in the United Federation of Teachers. They talk about what's happening in New York City's classrooms as public schools struggle to continue teaching 1.1 million students.
John Tarleton and Julia Thomas interview NY State Senator Jessica Ramos of Queens about the newly enacted state budget which includes higher taxes on the rich for the first time in a decade, a $2.1 billion excluded workers fund, aid for distressed tenants, her thoughts on the NYC mayoral race and much more.
John Tarleton, Editor-in-Chief of The Indypendent newspaper, and Julia Thomas interview: —NY State Senator Jessica Ramos of Queens about the newly enacted state budget which includes higher taxes on the rich for the first time in a decade, a $2.1 billion excluded workers fund, aid for distressed tenants, her thoughts on the NYC mayoral race and much more. —Jake Jacobs, a middle school art teacher in the Bronx and a member of the Movement of Rank and File Educators, the leftwing social justice caucus in the United Federation of Teachers. They talk about what's happening in New York City's classrooms as public schools struggle to continue teaching 1.1 million students. —Eileen Myles about, poet and community activist, about how residents of the Lower East Side are fighting to save the 58-acre East River Park from being demolished by the de Blasio administration.
John Tarleton and Julia Thomas interview Lauren Gurley, a labor reporter for VICE who has extensively covered Amazon. She is covering the labor struggle that has been unfolding in Bessemer, Alabama, where nearly 6,000 Amazon workers voted on whether to form the first Amazon union shop in the United States. The company has poured millions into trying to convince its workers to reject the union.
John Tarleton and Julia Thomas interview Colleen Baublitz, a PhD candidate in the Earth and Environmental Sciences department at Columbia University, and a member of the Graduate Workers of Columbia union. Thousands of students with the Graduate Workers of Columbia union have been on strike since March 15 over demands for higher pay, expanded healthcare provisions, and workplace protections. This comes after two years of stalled contract negotiations.
John Tarleton, Editor-in-Chief of the Indypendent and the Indy's Julia Thomas interview: —Steven Wishnia, long-time reporter on the drug war and the author of 'The Cannabis Companion.' New York is on the verge of enacting historic legislation to legalize marijuana and create a legal market for it to be bought and sold. —Lauren Gurley, a labor reporter for Vice who has reported extensively on Amazon. She has been covering the labor struggle that has been unfolding in Bessemer, Alabama where nearly 6,000 Amazon workers voted on whether to form the first Amazon union shop in the US. The company has poured millions into trying to convince its workers to reject the union. —Colleen Baublitz, a PhD candidate at Columbia University and a member of the Graduate Workers of Columbia union. Thousands of students with the Graduate Workers of Columbia union have been on strike since March 15 over demands for higher pay, expanded healthcare provisions, and workplace protections after two years of stalled contract negotiations.
John Tarleton and Julia Thomas interview Steven Wishnia, long-time reporter on the drug war and author of 'The Cannabis Companion.' New York is on the verge of enacting historic legislation to legalize marijuana and create a legal market for it to be bought and sold.
John Tarleton and Amba Guerguerian intervew Akeem Browder, the brother of the late Kalief Browder and the founder of the Kalief Browder foundation, about the HALT Solitary Confinement Act which passed with supermajorities in the New York State Legislature. The act will put humane limitations on the use of solitary confinement in New York so that it will no longer fall under definitions of torture.
John Tarleton, the Editor-in-Chief of the Indypendent, and Amba Guerguerian interview: —Glenn Cantave, a participant in a group of hunger strikers who are fasting until a $3.5 billion excluded worker fund is included in the New York state budget. This would ensure excluded workers (undocumented people, the recently incarcerated) with weekly payments on par with the unemployment benefits other workers have received. —Danny Pearlstein of Riders Alliance, a membership organization of subway and bus riders in New York City, about what it will take to restore NYC's mass transit system and what will be done with the federal aid that the MTA just received. —Akeem Browder, the brother of the late Kalief Browder and the founder of the Kalief Browder foundation, about the HALT Solitary Confinement Act which passed with supermajorities in the New York State Legislature. The act will put humane limitations on the use of solitary confinement in New York so that it will no longer fall under definitions of torture.
John Tarleton and Amba Guerguerian interview Danny Pearlstein of Riders Alliance, a membership organization of subway and bus riders in New York City, about what it will take to restore NYC's mass transit system and what will be done with the federal aid that the MTA just received.
John Tarleton and Amba Guerguerian interview Glenn Cantave, a participant in a group of hunger strikers who are fasting until a $3.5 billion excluded worker fund is included in the New York state budget. This would ensure excluded workers (undocumented people, the recently incarcerated) with weekly payments on par with the unemployment benefits other workers have received.
John Tarleton and Julia Thomas interview Elizabeth Palley, a professor at Adelphi University who has written extensively on the policy and politics of child care in the United States. They talk about the American Rescue Plan that Joe Biden signed into law this past Thursday. The $1.9 trillion spending package provides assistance to American reeling from the pandemic that includes new provisions to help poor and middle class families with children.
John Tarleton and Julia Thomas interview Michael Hollingsworth about how Crown Heights residents are organizing to save the Associated Supermarket, a beloved neighborhood grocery store, as it faces a 30-day eviction notice from a luxury real estate developer. Hollingsworth is a candidate for City Council in District 35, one of the districts neighboring the Supermarket and a longtime housing justice advocate and the lead organizer for the Crown Heights Tenant Union.
John Tarleton, and Julia Thomas interview NY Assemblymember Marcela Mitanyes about the latest in Albany re: the multiple recent scandals around Gov. Cuomo and how the wrap up of budget negotiations is going. Mitanyes is part of a coalition of progressive groups from across the state is pushing a package of bills that would raise $50 billion in revenues from the rich to help pay for New York’s recovery from the pandemic and economic crisis.
John Tarleton, Editor-in-Chief of the Indypendent newspaper and co-host Julia Thomas interview: —NY Assemblymember Marcela Mitanyes about the latest in Albany re: the multiple recent scandals around Gov. Cuomo and how the wrap up of budget negotiations is going. Mitanyes is part of a coalition of progressive groups from across the state is pushing a package of bills that would raise $50 billion in revenues from the rich to help pay for New York’s recovery from the pandemic and economic crisis. —Michael Hollingsworth about how Crown Heights residents are organizing to save the Associated Supermarket, a beloved neighborhood grocery store, as it faces a 30-day eviction notice from a luxury real estate developer. Hollingsworth is a candidate for City Council in District 35, one of the districts neighboring the Supermarket and a longtime housing justice advocate and the lead organizer for the Crown Heights Tenant Union. —Elizabeth Palley, a professor at Adelphi University who has written extensively on the policy and politics of child care in the United States. They talk about the American Rescue Plan that Joe Biden signed into law this past Thursday. The $1.9 trillion spending package provides assistance to American reeling from the pandemic that includes new provisions to help poor and middle class families with children.
John Tarleton and Amba Guerguerian interview Leia-Lee Doran of the Indypendent about her recent article,"Being Asian American in a Time of Rising Hate Forces Me to Face My Own Divided Feelings." Read the article here: https://indypendent.org/2021/02/being-asian-american-in-a-time-of-rising-hate-forces-me-to-face-my-own-divided-feelings/
John Tarleton and Amba Guerguerian interview Pete Sikora, Climate and Inequality Campaigns Director of New York Communities for Change, about Cuomo's attempt to gut a part of the NYC Green New deal that requires big buildings to switch over to clean energy.
John Tarleton and Amba Guerguerian interview Sarah Lazur and Tiffany King of Crown Heights Tenants Union about the reopening of NYC Housing Court, tenant organizers' push for New York State to pass a cancel rent bill and what it's like to be on rent strike.
John Tarleton, Editor-in-Chief of the Indypendent and co-host Amba Guerguerian interview: —Sarah Lazur and Tiffany King of Crown Heights Tenants Union about the reopening of NYC Housing Court, tenant organizers' push for New York State to pass a cancel rent bill and what it's like to be on rent strike. —Pete Sikora, Climate and Inequality Campaigns Director of New York Communities for Change, about Cuomo's attempt to gut a part of the NYC Green New deal that requires big buildings to switch over to clean energy. —Leia-Lee Doran of the Indypendent about her recent article,"Being Asian American in a Time of Rising Hate Forces Me to Face My Own Divided Feelings."
John Tarleton and Olivia Riggio interview Reverend Billy Talen of the Church of Stop Shopping, a New York City based performance art and gospel choir troupe. Talen commemorates Lawrence Ferlinghetti, the legendary Beatnik poet and publisher, died at his home in San Francisco on February 24th at the age of 101.
John Tarleton and Olivia Riggio interview Erin McNeill, the founder and president of Media Literacy Now, talks about Cook v. Raimondo. In 2018, a group of students and parents on their behalf filed a class-action lawsuit, Cook v. Raimondo against state officials, namely Governor Gina Raimondo. The Rhode Island suit accuses the state of not providing children with sufficient education to prepare them to participate in democracy, therefore violating the 14th amendment’s equal protection clause.
John Tarleton and Olivia Riggio interview Vivia Morgan, a licensed real estate agent, a community board member, and candidate for New York City Council for the nearby 40th district. Vivia started Change.org petition to protect the Associated Supermarket has been evicted and has been given 90 days to vacate. A luxury apartment building would replace the neighborhood supermarket in Crown Heights, leaving a food desert in its place.
John Tarleton and Olivia Riggio interview Jack Gross and James Innis of New York City Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). They talk about a broad statewide coalition of progressive groups that is backing the Invest in Our New York Act, which would raise $50 billion in new taxes from the wealthy. The DSA is one member of that coalition and they are doing grassroots canvassing in NYC to expand the campaign.
John Tarleton, the Editor-in-Chief of the Indypendent newspaper is joined by Olivia Riggio in interviewing: —Jack Gross and James Innis of New York City Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). They talk about a broad statewide coalition of progressive groups that is backing the Invest in Our New York Act, which would raise $50 billion in new taxes from the wealthy. The DSA is one member of that coalition and they are doing grassroots canvassing in NYC to expand the campaign. —Vivia Morgan, a licensed real estate agent, a community board member, and candidate for New York City Council for the nearby 40th district. Vivia started Change.org petition to protect the Associated Supermarket has been evicted and has been given 90 days to vacate. A luxury apartment building would replace the neighborhood supermarket in Crown Heights, leaving a food desert in its place. —Erin McNeill, the founder and president of Media Literacy Now, talks about Cook v. Raimondo. In 2018, a group of students and parents on their behalf filed a class-action lawsuit, Cook v. Raimondo against state officials, namely Governor Gina Raimondo. The Rhode Island suit accuses the state of not providing children with sufficient education to prepare them to participate in democracy, therefore violating the 14th amendment’s equal protection clause. —Reverend Billy Talen of the Church of Stop Shopping, a New York City based performance art and gospel choir troupe. Talen commemorates Lawrence Ferlinghetti, the legendary Beatnik poet and publisher, died at his home in San Francisco on February 24th at the age of 101.
John Tarleton interviews Peter Rickman, who was an officer in the grad student union at the University of Wisconsin, playing a key role in organizing the Wisconsin Capitol occupation of 2011. Ten years later, John and Peter reflect on the public sector labor unionists and their supporters taking over the Wisconsin State Capitol Building in protest of Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s push to strip Wisconsin public sector workers of their collective bargaining rights.
John Tarleton interviews Shawné Lee, daughter of "Mama" Joy Chatel, who lived in and fought to protect the "Truesdell House," a relic of the underground railroad's presence in Brooklyn. After years of community efforts, the Landmarks and Preservation Commission of New York City just announced its plans to confer historic landmark status to the house, also known as 227 Duffield Street and 227 Abolitionist Place.
John Tarleton interviews Linda Martín Alcoff, a professor of philosophy at CUNY’s Hunter College, long-time writer for the Indypendent and the author of numerous books including “The Future of Whiteness” and “Rape and Resistance.” They talk about the Capitol insurrection, a second failed impeachment of Donald Trump and where we go from here.
John Tarleton, Editor-in-Chief of the Indypendent newspaper interviews: —Linda Martín Alcoff, a professor of philosophy at CUNY’s Hunter College, long-time writer for the Indypendent and the author of numerous books including “The Future of Whiteness” and “Rape and Resistance.” They talk about the Capitol insurrection, a second failed impeachment of Donald Trump and where we go from here. —Shawné Lee, daughter of "Mama" Joy Chatel, who lived in and fought to protect the "Truesdell House," a relic of the underground railroad's presence in Brooklyn. After years of community efforts, the Landmarks and Preservation Commission of New York City just announced its plans to confer historic landmark status to the house, also known as 227 Duffield Street and 227 Abolitionist Place. —Peter Rickman, who was an officer in the grad student union at the University of Wisconsin, playing a key role in organizing the Wisconsin Capitol occupation of 2011. Ten years later, John and Peter reflect on the public sector labor unionists and their supporters taking over the Wisconsin State Capitol Building in protest of Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s push to strip Wisconsin public sector workers of their collective bargaining rights.
—Nicholas Powers, who recently published an article about Q Anon and its weaponization of anti-Semitic imagery to push its conspiracies, about what he called the monstrous sticky ball of the Q Anon conspiracy. Read Powers' article here: https://indypendent.org/2021/01/qanon-recycles-anti-semitic-imagery-to-sell-hatred/
Olivia Riggio interviews Tedd Hamm, who has been covering the NYC mayoral race and has a recent article on Andrew Yang for the Indypendent, about multidimensional candidate Yang and the mayoral race. Read Hamm's article here: ihttps://indypendent.org/2021/02/mercurial-andrew-yang-jumpstarts-drowsy-nyc-mayors-race/
Olivia Riggio interviews Molly Simmons, a full-service sex worker and an organizer with the Sex Workers Outreach Program (SWOP)in Brooklyn, about SWOP’s organizing and the struggles sex workers have been facing during the pandemic.
Olivia Riggio, Indypendent reporter filling in this week for John Tarleton, interviews: —Molly Simmons, a full-service sex worker and an organizer with the Sex Workers Outreach Program (SWOP)in Brooklyn, about SWOP’s organizing and the struggles sex workers have been facing during the pandemic. —Tedd Hamm, who has been covering the NYC mayoral race and has a recent article on Andrew Yang for the Indypendent, about multidimensional candidate Yang and the mayoral race. Read Hamm's article here: https://indypendent.org/2021/02/mercurial-andrew-yang-jumpstarts-drowsy-nyc-mayors-race/ —Nicholas Powers, who recently published an article about Q Anon and its weaponization of anti-Semitic imagery to push its conspiracies, about what he called the monstrous sticky ball of the Q Anon conspiracy. Read Powers' article here: https://indypendent.org/2021/01/qanon-recycles-anti-semitic-imagery-to-sell-hatred/
John Tarleton interviews Art Chang, an NYC mayoral candidate who’s worked at the New York City Law Department, the New York State Empire Development Corporation, the Indiana Department of Child Services, the City University of New York and for JP Morgan/Chase. He has worked to establish the NYC Votes website, an all-purpose portal for New York election information.
John Tarleton interviews Jose Saldana, Director of Release Aging People from Prison. RAPP is a group led by formerly incarcerated persons that is campaigning for the state legislature to back a package of proposed laws that would make it much easier for prisoners to obtain parole especially for those prisoners over the age of 50.
John Tarleton interviews Astra Taylor and Umme Hoque about the Debt Collective's newly launched campaign to pressure Biden over the first 100 days of his administration to go all in on student loan debt abolition. Umme Hoque is the Organizing Director of The Debt Collective and a student loan debtor herself. Astra Taylor is a documentary filmmaker, author and co-founder of The Debt Collective.
John Tarleton, Editor-in-Chief of the Indypendent newspaper, interviews: —Astra Taylor and Umme Hoque about the Debt Collective's newly launched campaign to pressure Biden over the first 100 days of his administration to go all in on student loan debt abolition. Umme Hoque is the Organizing Director of The Debt Collective and a student loan debtor herself. Astra Taylor is a documentary filmmaker, author and co-founder of The Debt Collective. —Jose Saldana, Director of Release Aging People from Prison. RAPP is a group led by formerly incarcerated persons that is campaigning for the state legislature to back a package of proposed laws that would make it much easier for prisoners to obtain parole especially for those prisoners over the age of 50. —Art Chang, NYC mayoral candidate who’s worked at the New York City Law Department, the New York State Empire Development Corporation, the Indiana Department of Child Services, the City University of New York and for JP Morgan/Chase. He has worked to establish the NYC Votes website, an all-purpose portal for New York election information.
John Tarleton interviews Tami Gold, award-winning filmmaker and artist and Dr. María E. Pérez y González, an Associate Professor & Deputy Chairperson in the Department of Puerto Rican and Latino Studies at Brooklyn College, CUNY. They talk about their recent documentary, "Making The Impossible Possible," the story of the student-led struggle to win Puerto Rican Studies at Brooklyn CollegePossible.
John Tarleton interviews Jabari Brisport, the newly seated State Senator from Brooklyn’s 25th District who won along with four other democratic socialists. Their conversation covers the NYPD's behavior on MLK day and the fight to tax New York's billionaires.
John Tarleton, Editor-in-Chief of the Indypendent newspaper, interviews: —Jabari Brisport, the newly seated State Senator from Brooklyn’s 25th District who won along with four other democratic socialists. Their conversation covers the NYPD's behavior on MLK day and the fight to tax New York's billionaires. —Tami Gold, award-winning filmmaker and artist and Dr. María E. Pérez y González, an Associate Professor & Deputy Chairperson in the Department of Puerto Rican and Latino Studies at Brooklyn College, CUNY. They talk about the documentary "Making The Impossible Possible," the story of the student-led struggle to win Puerto Rican Studies at Brooklyn CollegePossible.
Olivia Riggio interviews Pauline Pisano, a lead organizer with The New York State Poor People’s Campaign, about the organization's fight to stop evictions in New York and their upcoming winter offensive, an organizing drive that includes a series of information sessions and demonstrations throughout the holiday season to raise awareness for homeless issues.
Olivia interviews Liz Pelley, a journalist with 'In These Times' who recently published an article about the recently formed Union of Musicians and Allied Workers (UMAW). They also talk about Spotify's minimal payments to artists.
Olivia Riggio interviews Rev. Moose, executive director of the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) about the Save Our Stages Act. Many independent venues have had to close since the onset of the pandemic and NIVA is fighting for expanded relief for venue owners as part of the Save Our Stages Act.
Olivia Riggio, Indypendent reporter filling in this week for John Tarleton, interviews: --Rev. Moose, executive director of the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) about the Save Our Stages Act. Many independent venues have had to close since the onset of the pandemic and NIVA is fighting for expanded relief for venue owners as part of the Save Our Stages Act. --Liz Pelley, a journalist with 'In These Times' who recently published an article about the recently formed Union of Musicians and Allied Workers (UMAW). They also talk about Spotify's minimal payments to artists. --Pauline Pisano, a lead organizer with The New York State Poor People’s Campaign, about the organization's fight to stop evictions in New York and their upcoming winter offensive, an organizing drive that includes a series of information sessions and demonstrations throughout the holiday season to raise awareness for homeless issues.
John Tarleton interviews Brandon West, a member of the DSA for the City slate that has 6 candidates running for City Council this year. From the perspective as a former staffer at City Council and organizer of movements to defund the NYPD, he talks about how City Council could achieve defunding the police if the socialist squad wins in the 2021 election.
John Tarleton, Editor-in-Chief of the Indypendent newspaper, interviews: --Steven Wishnia, the Indypendent’s longtime housing correspondent about his latest article on evictions, eviction moratoriums and the struggle for housing justice for millions of people during this pandemic. He also fills us in about the recently extended eviction moratorium here in New York state. --Manon Vergerio, a member of Unlock NYC, an all-women tech collective that just released easy-to-use chatbot for would-be renters to use when confronted with unscrupulous landlords. --Brandon West, a member of the DSA for the City slate that has 6 candidates running for City Council this year. From the perspective as a former staffer at City Council and organizer of movements to defund the NYPD, he talks about how City Council could achieve defunding the police if the socialist squad wins in the 2021 election.
John Tarleton interviews Manon Vergerio, a member of Unlock NYC, an all-women tech collective that just released easy-to-use chatbot for would-be renters to use when confronted with unscrupulous landlords.
Read our recent article covering Unlock NYC's chatbot, "All-Women Tech Group Launches New Tool to End Rental Voucher Discrimination":https://indypendent.org/2020/12/unlocknyc/
John Tarleton interviews Steven Wishnia, the Indypendent’s longtime housing correspondent about his latest article on evictions, eviction moratoriums and the struggle for housing justice for millions of people during this pandemic. He also fills us in about the recently extended eviction moratorium here in New York state.
Read his latest article,"Hurricane Warning: Tenants Nationwide Face a Looming Wave of Evictions": https://indypendent.org/2020/12/hurricane-warning/
John Tarleton, Editor-in-Chief of The Indypendent newspaper, interviews: --Amba Guerguerian, author of 'Black Lives Matter Backlash: The NYPD’s War on Protesters Intensifies,' of The Indypendent's December issue. They talk about the NYPD's knack for crushing signs of political dissent and the City's lackluster attempt at police reform. --Moumita Ahmed, candidate for the Feb. 2 special election to fill the vacant seat for City Council District 24 in Queens. Ahmed, focused on bringing a socialist political revolution to Queens, has started multiple political and social organizations and programs and advocates for Bangladeshis/Bangladeshi-Americans in NYC.
John Tarleton interviews Moumita Ahmed, candidate for the Feb. 2 special election to fill the vacant seat for City Council District 24 in Queens. Ahmed, focused on bringing a socialist political revolution to Queens, has started multiple political and social organizations and programs and advocates for Bangladeshis/Bangladeshi-Americans in NYC.
John Tarleton interviews Amba Guerguerian, author of 'Black Lives Matter Backlash: The NYPD’s War on Protesters Intensifies,' of The Indypendent's December issue. They talk about the NYPD's knack for crushing signs of political dissent and the City's lackluster attempt at police reform.
John Tarleton, editor-in-chief of The Indypendent newspaper interviews:
--Brian Garita from Mexicanos Unidos about the ICE detainee hunger strike at Bergen County Jail and the way that people who were protesting outside of the jail in solidarity were attacked by riot police. The conditions in Bergen County are so bad that ICE detainees at the Bergen County Jail recently went on a 31-day hunger strike to demand changes. --Thompson Newkirk, bartender at Castello Plan, a restaurant the Ditmas Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, about how Cuomo's recent decision to close indoor dining will affect small businesses. --Jonathan Soto, an aide to Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez, about AOC's Homework Helpers mutual aide program. More than 13,000 volunteers responded to AOC's call to help tutor struggling school children in her district. For many students, COVID-induced remote learning is a difficult and frustrating experience that leaves them struggling to keep up with their class work. --Roger Manning from the Metro Area Governors Island Coalition about the de Blasio administration's aim to rezone Governor’s Island. They say they want to set up a climate research center but critics say the rezoning plan would open the door to all sorts of other development.
John Tarleton interviews Roger Manning from the Metro Area Governors Island Coalition about the de Blasio administration's aim to rezone Governor’s Island. They say they want to set up a climate research center but critics say the rezoning plan would open the door to all sorts of other development.
John Tarleton interviews Thompson Newkirk, bartender at Castello Plan, a restaurant the Ditmas Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, about how Cuomo's recent decision to close indoor dining will affect small businesses.
John Tarleton interviews Jonathan Soto, an aide to Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez, about AOC's Homework Helpers mutual aide program. More than 13,000 volunteers responded to AOC's call to help tutor struggling school children in her district. For many students, COVID-induced remote learning is a difficult and frustrating experience that leaves them struggling to keep up with their class work.
John Tarleton interviews Brian Garita from Mexicanos Unidos about the ICE detainee hunger strike at Bergen County Jail and the way that people who were protesting outside of the jail in solidarity were attacked by riot police. The conditions in Bergen County are so bad that ICE detainees at the Bergen County Jail recently went on a 31-day hunger strike to demand changes.
John Tarleton Interviews Medea Benjamin, a political activist who co-founded CODEPINK Women for Peace, about what is in the future for US foreign policy, Biden's cabinet, and the harms of Democrats' “do-gooder” motto for U.S. armed international intervention. This interview is a preview to Saturday’s event co-hosted by The Indypendent, “Biden’s Foreign Policy: Who Will be the Architects?”. View the invite here: https://indypendent.org/2020/11/bidens-foreign-policy-who-will-be-the-architects/
John Tarleton interviews Jes, a Brooklyn-based Community organizer in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter Movement who works with a No Name Group and BK4BL (Brooklyn 4 Black Lives) on community organizing initiatives and protests actions. She talks about how to keep protesters safe, the installation of Brooklyn community fridges, and why the term “Defund the police," is important to use (after Obama recently claimed the opposite).
John Tarleton interviews Kathy Santoiemma, leader of the New Rochelle nurses and member of New York State Nurses Association, about the current situation at Montefiore Hospital in New Rochelle, where the unionized nurses find themselves locked out of their jobs due to an ongoing labor dispute with management.
John Tarleon, editor-in-chief of The Indypendent newspaper, interviews: --Kathy Santoiemma, leader of the New Rochelle nurses and member of New York State Nurses Association, talks about the current situation at Montefiore Hospital in New Rochelle, where the unionized nurses find themselves locked out of their jobs due to an ongoing labor dispute with management. --Medea Benjamin, a political activist who co-founded CODEPINK Women for Peace, about what is in the future for US foreign policy, Biden's cabinet, and the harms of Democrats' “do-gooder” motto for U.S. armed international intervention. This interview is a preview to Saturday’s event co-hosted by The Indypendent, “Biden’s Foreign Policy: Who Will be the Architects?” --Jes, a Brooklyn-based Community organizer in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter Movement who works with a No Name Group and BK4BL (Brooklyn 4 Black Lives) on community organizing initiatives and protests actions. She talks about how to keep protesters safe, the installation of Brooklyn community fridges, and why BLM uses the term “Defund the police."
John Tarleton, editor-in-chief of The Indypendent, interviews Jo Ann Brown one of the health care workers at Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center, a hospital in East Flatbush that is slated to be closed in February. Jo Ann is trying to rally support for keeping the hospital open at least through the pandemic.
John Tarleton, editor-in-chief of The Indypendent, interviews Shams DaBaron, one of the men who has been staying at the hotel Lucerne since earlier this summer when the City moved about 300 unhoused men into the hotel at 76th and Broadway on the affluent Upper West Side as a way to keep homeless people safe during the pandemic. Now the City is caught up in a legal battle as it tries to again move the men, who with good reason don't want to leave.
John Tarleton, editor-in-chief of The Indypendent, interviews Maritza Silva-Farrell, executive director of ALIGN, the Alliance for a Greater New York. ALIGN is one of the groups that participated in a 02 December rally outside of Jeff Bezos’s NYC home to "deliver democracy" and end Amazon’s mass surveillance, deportations, gentrification, dirty energy, monopoly & worker abuse.
John Tarleton, editor-in-chief of The Indypendent, interviews: --Maritza Silva-Farrell, executive director of ALIGN, the Alliance for a Greater New York. ALIGN is one of the groups that participated in a 02 December rally outside of Jeff Bezos’s NYC home to "deliver democracy" and end Amazon’s mass surveillance, deportations, gentrification, dirty energy, monopoly & worker abuse. --Shams DaBaron, one of the men who has been staying at the hotel Lucerne since earlier this summer when the City moved about 300 unhoused men into the hotel at 76th and Broadway on the affluent Upper West Side as a way to keep homeless people safe during the pandemic. Now the City is caught up in a legal battle as it tries to again move the men, who with good reason don't want to leave. --Jo Ann Brown one of the health care workers at Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center, a hospital in East Flatbush that is slated to be closed in February. Jo Ann is trying to rally support for keeping the hospital open at least through the pandemic.
John Tarleton Interviews Sean Petty, nurse at public hospital in the Bronx and member of New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA), about the growing public health challenges posed by a second wave of COVID-19 as NY positive cases increase.
John Tarleton interviews Jessica Ramos, State Senator from Queens, about the new Democrat supermajority in the NY's Senate, taxing the rich, subways and school closings.
John Tarleton interviews Aixa Rodrgiuez, a high-school ESL teacher, member of Movement of Rank-and-File Educators & Bronx Educators United for Justice, about the way NYC public schools were opened and closed this fall. This interview comes less than a week after Mayor de Blasio's 11/18 announcement that public schools would close the following day.
John Tarleton, the editor-in-chief of The Indypendent, interviews: - Aixa Rodrgiuez, a high-school ESL teacher, member of Movement of Rank-and-File Educators & Bronx Educators United for Justice, about the way NYC public schools were opened and closed this fall. -Jessica Ramos, State Senator from Queens, about the new Democrat supermajority in the NY's Senate, taxing the rich, subways and school closings. -Sean Petty, nurse at public hospital in the Bronx and member of New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA), about the growing public health challenges posed by a second wave of COVID-19 as NY positive cases increase.
John Tarleton interviews Eric Stoner on election night. Eric is a co-founder and editor of Waging Nonviolence, a website that chronicles the variety of non-violent campaigns and movements active in the world today. He shares some ideas for what to do if Trump tries to claim an un-earned victory.
John Tarleton intereviews Yasemin Ozer on election night. Yasmin is a Turkish scholar who has lived under an authoritarian regime that tried to steal an election last year, only to be thwarted by a pro-democracy movement. She recently wrote "From One Fragile Democracy to Another" for The Indypendent. You can read it here: https://indypendent.org/2020/10/from-one-fragile-democracy-to-another/
John Tarleton Interviews Miles Kampf-Lassin of In These Times on election night. Miles recently wrote the article "How Our Politics Came Undone," about Trump and associates' disorienting strategies to hide the truth from the public. He warns that we could see more of these antics in the days following the election.
John Tarleton interviews Mike Tork on election day. Mike is a member of Veterans for Peace who made a 10-hour drive from his home in Cape Cod, Massachusetts to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to join a team of election defenders there.
John Tarleton, the editor-in-chief of The Indypendent, interviews: -Mike Tork, a member of Veterans for Peace who made a 10-hour drive from his home in Cape Cod, Massachusetts to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to join a team of election defenders there. -Miles Kampf-Lessin of In These Times who recently wrote the article "How Our Politics Came Undone," about Trump and associates' disorienting strategies to hide the truth from the public. -Eric Stoner, a co-founder and editor of Waging Nonviolence, a website that chronicles the variety of non-violent campaigns and movements active in the world today. -Yasemin Ozer, a Turkish scholar who has lived under an authoritarian regime that tried to steal an election last year, only to be thwarted by a pro-democracy movement.
John Tarleton interviews Jordan Teicher, who recently wrote “Showdown at Gowanus Canal” for The Indypendent, about the the growing controversy in Brooklyn around a massive rezoning proposal the city is pushing for Gowanus. Here is Jordan's article: https://indypendent.org/2020/10/showdown-at-the-gowanus-canal/
John Tarleton interviews Savitri D., Director of the Church of Stop Shopping and the organizer of a protest against NYC's Police Benevolent Association (PBA) on 10/27/20, about the protest and the reactionary antics of the PBA.
John Tarleton, the editor-in-chief of The Indypendent, interviews: -Savitri D., Director of the Church of Stop Shopping and the organizer of a protest against NYC's Police Benevolent Association (PBA) on 10/27/20, about the protest and the reactionary antics of the PBA. -Jordan Teicher, who recently wrote “Showdown at Gowanus Canal” for The Indypendent, about the the growing controversy in Brooklyn around a massive rezoning proposal the city is pushing for Gowanus.
John Tarleton, the editor-in-chief of The Indypendent, speaks with: --Jabari Brisport, a middle school math teacher in Crown Heights, Brooklyn & the presumptive new Senator from State Senate District 25 in Central and parts of South Brooklyn, about COVID in NYC schools and more. --Kevin LaCherra, one of four protesters who disrupted construction of the North Brooklyn Pipeline by chaining themselves underground where the pipeline is currently being dug. The pipeline would bring fracked gas from Pennsylvania to New York.
John Tarleton interviews Kevin LaCherra, one of four protesters who disrupted construction of the North Brooklyn Pipeline by chaining themselves underground where the pipeline is currently being dug. The pipeline would bring fracked gas from Pennsylvania to New York.
John Tarleton Interviews Jabari Brisport, a middle school math teacher in Crown Heights, Brooklyn & the presumptive new Senator from State Senate District 25 in Central and parts of South Brooklyn, about COVID in NYC schools and more.
John Tarleton interviews Andrew Tilson, the Executive Director of Workers Unite Film Festival, a labor-oriented festival now virtual for its ninth year.
John Tarleton interviews Jordan Teicher, author of the recent Indypendent article, "Red Wave Rising: How a Socialist Squad Could Transform City Council," about the possibility of a socialist transformation of City Council after the 2021 election.
Read Jordan's article: https://indypendent.org/2020/09/how-a-socialist-squad-could-transform-nyc-city-council/
John Tarleton interviews Melania Brown, the sister of Layleeen Polanco, a trans woman who died in Solitary Confinement, about the movement to end solitary at Rikers Island.
John Tarleton, The Indypendent's editor-in-chief, interviews: --Melania Brown, the sister of Layleeen Polanco, a trans woman who died in Solitary Confinement, about the movement to end solitary at Rikers Island. --Jordan Teicher, author of the recent Indypendent article, "Red Wave Rising: How a Socialist Squad Could Transform City Council," about the possibility of a socialist transformation of City Council after the 2021 election. Read the article: https://indypendent.org/2020/09/how-a-socialist-squad-could-transform-nyc-city-council/. --Andrew Tilson, the Executive Director of Workers Unite Film Festival, a labor-oriented festival now virtual for its ninth year.
John Tarleton interviews Sarah Gordon, a third grade teacher at Brooklyn Friends School and a member of the negotiating committee of the Brooklyn Friends School Union. Teachers and staff at the school went on strike Monday demanding that Brooklyn Friends drop its push to decertify their union. They want to be able to continue collectively bargaining their pay and working conditions as the school re-opens for classes.
John Tarleton interviews JoAnn Brown, a registered dietician who works on the acute care floor at Kingsbrook Jewish Medical center, a safety-net hospital that Governor Cuomo plans to shut down.
John Tarleton, editor-in-chief of The Indypendent, interviews Jo Ann Brown, a registered dietician who works on the acute care floor at Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center, which Governor Cuomo plans to shut down. He also speaks with Sarah Gordon, a third grade teacher at Brooklyn Friends School, where teachers are on strike to protest the unsafe re-opening of their school.
John Tarleton interviews Katya Schwenk, The Indypendent's education correspondent, about the likelihood of children being cyber surveilled as the new school year begins mostly online.
John Tarleton interviews Amba Guerguerian about what it's like to be a census worker in a climate where the census is under attack from the executive branch.
John Tarleton, editor-in-chief of The Indypendent, interviews Amba Guerguerian about what it's like to be a census enumerator and Katya Schwenk, The Indypendent's education correspondent, about children's cyber privacy as the new school year begins mostly online.
John Tarleton interviews Charles Krezell of East River Park Action about the city's flood protection plan that would soon demolish East River Park.
John Tarleton interviews Peter Hogness of Water For Grassroots about how NY volunteers are helping power swing-state community organizing groups to mobilize for the upcoming elections.
John Tarleton, editor-in-chief of The Indypendent, interviews Peter Hogness of Water For Grassroots about the volunteer-powered swing-state community organizing group. He also speaks with Charles Krezell of East River Park Action about the city's flood protection plan that would soon demolish East River Park.
John Tarleton interviews Rosie Rudavsky about the controversy over NYC having placed 300 homeless men at the Hotel Lucerne in the Upper West Side so they don’t stay have to stay in the shelter system, where they might contract COVID-19.
John Tarleton interviews Ariel Boone about the wildfires blazing through the West Coast. Boone is a journalist in the Bay Area who produces UpFront and previously worked for Democracy Now!
John Tarleton, editor-in-chief of The Indypendent, interviews Ariel Boone, a Bay Area journalist, about the wildfires scouring the western seaboard. He also speaks with Rosie Rudavsky about the controversy around the 300 homeless men being housed at the Hotel Lucerne at 76th and Broadway.
John Tarleton interviews Aixa Rodriguez, a public school teacher from the Brons and member of MORE, the social justice caucus of the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), about the possibility of a UFT sponsored strike in opposition to NYC's Sep. 10 planned re-opening of schools in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
John Tarleton, editor-in-chief of The Indypendent, interviews Aixa Rodriguez, public school teacher from the Bronx and member of MORE, the social justice caucus of the United Federation of Teachers, about NYC's plan to re-open schools Sep. 10 despite protest from teachers and the like.
John Tarleton, editor-in-chief of The Indypendent, interviews Jessica Ramos, NY State Senator representing District 13, about the economic repercussions of Covid-19 in immigrant and working-class communities, her participation in the virtual DNC, protests against billionaires and NYC schools re-opening.
John Tarleton and Jessica Ramos discuss how Covid-19 is impacting her working class immigrant district, why we need Barrios Not Billionaires, what it's like being a Bernie Sanders delegate as the virtual DNC begins and the challenges of public school re-openings.
John Tarleton interviews Joel Feingold of the Crown Heights Tenants Union about the protests efforts of the Cancel Rent campaign and New York's recently extended eviction moratorium.
John Tarleton interviews Chuck Zlatkin, the Political and Legislative Director of the American Postal Workers Union, about the current threats to the USPS' existence.
John Tarleton, editor-in-chief of The Indypendent, interviews Chuck Zlatkin of the American Postal Workers Union and Joel Feingold of Crown Hights Tenants Union.
John Tarleton discusses school reopening in the fall, despite the ongoing pandemic, with Alexandra Haridopolos, an ESL teacher at Grace Dodge campus in the Bronx, a union delegate and member of Movement of Rank and File Educators (MORE), the social justice caucus of the United Federation of Teachers.
John Tarleton interviews Katya Schwenk, author of “NYC Teachers and Parents Are Questioning a Return to School" (https://indypendent.org/2020/08/nyc-teachers-and-parents-are-questioning-a-return-to-school/) about the hazards of school re-opening amidst a pandemic.
Should schools be reopening schools in September in the midst a global pandemic? John Tarleton, editor-in-chief of The Indypendent, explores this question with Katya Schwenk, author of “NYC Teachers and Parents Are Questioning a Return to School,” (https://indypendent.org/2020/08/nyc-teachers-and-parents-are-questioning-a-return-to-school/) and Alexandra Haridopolos, an ESL teacher in the Bronx and a member of Movement of Rank and File Educators (MORE).
John Tarleton speaks with Victoria Law about 'Prison by Any Other Name,' her new book on mass incarceration, and how we move towards abolition.
John Tarleton speaks with Nick Encalada-Malinowski of Vocal-NY about the upcoming release of thousands of NYPD misconduct records.
John Tarleton, editor-in-chief of The Indypendent, speaks with Nick Encalada-Malinowski of Vocal-NY about the release of thousands of NYPD disciplinary records and Victoria Law about her new book on mass incarceration and how we move towards abolition.
John Tarleton interviews Orlando Hamilton about the collective bike ride protests that began after the 2020 Black Lives Matter movement erupted. Hamilton is the co-founder of Street Riders NYC, the group that organizes most of the demonstrations.
John Tarleton interviews Marcela Mitaynes who recently won the race against incumbent Felix Ortiz for NY Assembly District 51 (Sunset Park/Red Hook). She talks about winning the hotly contested race and what she hopes to do in the assembly as a tenant organizer who supports working-class-led, grassroots movements.
John Tarleton, editor-in-chief of The Indypendent, speaks with Marcela Mitaynes, the democratic socialist who recently won a State Assembly seat in Sunset Park/Red Hook and with Orlando Hamilton, the co-founder of StreetRidersNYC, a group that has been organizing bike ride protests for Black Lives Matter in New York City.
John Tarleton, editor-in-chief of The Indypendent, discusses the City's plans to partially re-open its 1,800 public schools this fall and what childcare needs will look like if children will only be in class 1-3 days per week with Elizabeth Palley, author of 'In Our Hands: The Struggle for US Child Care Policy' and professor of Social Work at the Adelphi University.
John Tarleton discusses the City's plans to partially re-open its 1,800 public schools this fall with parent leader Khaliris Salas Ramirez, the chair of the school leadership team at Central Park East 1, which oversees the development of curriculum and monitors how the school's budget is spent. Ramirez is also president of the District 4 Community Education Counsel, representing 23 schools in East Harlem.
John Tarleton, editor-in-chief of The Indypendent, discusses the City's plans to partially re-open its 1,800 public schools this fall with parent leader Khaliris Salas Ramirez and Elizabeth Palley, author of 'In Our Hands: The Struggle for US Child Care Policy.'
John Tarleton, editor-in-chief of The Indypendent, speaks with Kim Phillips-Fein, a professor of history at NYU and author of 'Fear City: New York's Fiscal Crisis and the Rise of Austerity Politics,' about austerity in New York in the 70s and now. Reeling from the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, NYC city council approved a city budget with billions of dollars in budget cuts.
John Tarleton interviews Bianca Cunningham, one of the main organizers of the Occupy City Hall movement to defund the NYPD.
John Tarleton interviews Jake Tolan, one of the Reclaim Pride Coalition organizers of the Queer Liberation March on June 28th, about the police riot that attacked celebratory, peaceful marchers.
John Tarleton, the editor-in-chief of The Indypendent interviews Jake Tolan, one of the Reclaim Pride Coalition organizers of the Queer Liberation March on June 28th and Bianca Cunningham, one of the main organizers of the Occupy City Hall movement to defund the NYPD.
John Tarleton, The Indypendent's editor-in-chief interviews Theodore Hamm about a special interest slush-fund doled out to incumbents running for reelection. Then he interviews Phara Souffrant Forrest, a union nurse, tenant activist and socialist running for State Assembly District 57 (central Brooklyn) in the June 23rd primary.
Phara Souffrant Forrest is running in a hotly contested June 23 Democratic primary for Assembly District 57 in Brooklyn where she is challenging incumbent Walter Mosley. She is a Haitian-American union nurse, tenant activist and proud socialist. https://indypendent.org/2020/06/as-pandemic-continues-brooklyn-voters-have-a-chance-to-put-a-socialist-nurse-in-power/
Theodore Hamm and John Tarleton discuss the hotly contested June 23 NY primary and the topic of Hamm's recent Indypdendent article: The Speaker of the New York Senate wields a $4,000,000 slush-fund stuffed with special interest money that he distributes to allies facing tough reelections. Article: https://indypendent.org/2020/06/heastie-controlled-slush-fund-props-up-embattled-ny-state-assembly-incumbents/
Nicholas Powers discusses the uprising of the Black Lives Matter movement and his recent article, "Why We Explode." Read it here: https://indypendent.org/2020/06/why-we-explode/
John Tarleton, The Indypendent's editor-in-chief speaks with Nicholas Powers, a professor of African American Literature at SUNY Old Westbury and a long-time contributor to The Indypendent, about his recent article, "Why We Explode," and the Black Lives Matter movement.
John Tarleton interviews Zohran Kwame Mamdani, a democratic socialist candidate for the New York's 36th assembly district, about the issue of taking contributions from the police.
John Tarleton interviews Aaron Fernando, a CUNY student who made public a list of democratic politicians who receive contributions from the police while espousing "Black Lives Matter."
This is the June 8 segment of WBAI Evening News by The Indypendent. John Tarleton, the show's host and The Indypendent's Editor-in-Chief, interviews Aaron Fernando, a CUNY student who made public a list of democratic politicians who receive contributions from police while espousing "Black Lives Matter." He also speaks with Zohran Kwame Mamdani, a democratic socialist candidate for the New York's 36th assembly district, about the issue of taking contributions from the police.
John Tarleton interviews Jabari Brisport, a democratic socialist running to represent NY state senate district 25. Brisport peaks about the cancel rent/defund the police rally that he is being live interviewed from as well as his potential win of the current electoral race. The rally is a part of nationwide anti-police brutality protests ignited by the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
John Tarleton talks Alex Vitale, Author of The End of Policing and Professor of Sociology and Coordinator of Policing And Social Justice at Brooklyn College. Vitale talks about real ways to reform the NYPD in the midst of the Black Lives Matter/ anti-police brutality protests that erupted after the deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd.
This is the June 1st segment of WBAI Evening News by The Indypendent. John Tarleton, the show's host and The Indypendent's Editor-in-Chief, interviews Alex Vitale, Author of The End of Policing and Professor of Sociology and Coordinator of Policing And Social Justice at Brooklyn College. He also interviews Jabari Brisport, a democratic socialist running to represent NY state senate district 25. Both guests speak about the nationwide anti-police brutality protests ignited by the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
John Tarleton talks with Reverend Billy Talen of the Church of Stop Shopping about his upcoming column in The Indypendent on New York's reopening. The Reverend celebrates his 70th birthday. Read the column here: https://indypendent.org/2020/05/time-to-reopen-the-economy/
John Tarleton interviews Iraqi War veteran Essam Attia about the decline and gradual privatization of the VA. You can read Essam's article on the topic here: https://indypendent.org/.
This is the May 25th segment of WBAI Evening News by The Indypendent. On Memorial Day John Tarleton, the show's host and The Indypendent's Editor-in-Chief, interviews Iraqi War veteran Essam Attia about the state of the VA. He also speaks with Reverend Billy Talen, founder of the Church of Stop Shopping, about re-opening New York.
John Tarleton, The Indypendent's Editor-in-Chief interviews Barbara Bowen, president of the Professional Staff Congress/CUNY. She defends the 1,000 part-time faculty being pre-emptively laid off by the City University of New York and speaks about how the need for a strong public university is more prevalent and immediate than ever.
John Tarleton, The Indypendent's Editor-in-Chief, interviews Lee Ziesche of Sane Energy Project about the May 2020 third and seemingly final defeat of the Willams NESE pipeline.
This is the May 18th segment of WBAI Evening News by The Indypendent. John Tarleton, the show's host and The Indypendent's Editor-in-Chief interviews Lee Ziesche of Sane Energy Project about the defeat of the Willams NESE pipeline and Barbara Bowen, president of the Professional Staff Congress/CUNY about lay offs of over 1000 CUNY part-time faculty.
Indypendent Evening News - Interview With Ben Kabak Of 2nd Avenue Sagas by The Indypendent
The first episode of The Indypundit - the podcast of The Indypendent, New York's progressive print newspaper, hosted by Dean Patterson and executive editor John Tarleton. In this EP we discuss the takeover of East River Park, New York car culture and its cycling discontents, and the overdue firing of Daniel Pantaleo.
Opening track is Louis Prima's Just a Gigolo, closing is Joan Baez Guantanamara
Indy Radio — Eric Garner, Blackouts, Safe Streets Rev. Kirsten John Foy and surprise guest former Governor David Patterson discuss the Eric Garner case live from a protest in Times Square. Also on the program, amid blackouts and mismanagement, ConEd wants to raise rates. Public Advocate Jumaane Williams has something to say about that. And cyclist advocates Bill DiPaola of Times Up and Tom DeVito of Transportation Alternatives on the uptick in traffic-related fatalities and what the city can do to save lives.
A Poet Recounts Teaching At Men's Prisons In Hummingbird by Eleanor Bader by The Indypendent
Prison Reformers Call For A Fully-Staffed, Diverse Parole Board. Will Cuomo Listen? by Renée Feltz by The Indypendent
Healing A SCAR: This Bill Helps Migrant Parents Find The Children Trump Stole by Steven Wishnia by The Indypendent
State Sen. Julia Salazar Insists On Protections For All Tenants, Not Some by John Tarleton by The Indypendent
Real Estate Rules, Bureaucracy Obeys, Communities Rise Up by Tom Angotti by The Indypendent
The American Worker Gets The Spotlight At The Tribeca Film Fest by Mark Read by The Indypendent
Bridging The Divide: Upstate and Downstate Renters Join Forces by Peter Rugh by The Indypendent
It's Do Or Die: Tenant Movement Looks To Seize Once-In-A-Lifetime Opportunity by Steven Wishnia by The Indypendent
Indy Radio News April 15, 2019 - Guest Ted Hamm Discusses the Chantel Lewis Trial by The Indypendent
Indy Radio News April 1, 2019 - Guests Jessica Wisneski and Ross Barkan by The Indypendent
Sanders Faces New Hurdles In Second White House Bid by John Tarleton by The Indypendent
Frida Kahlo: Communist, Feminist, Global Commodity by Lauren Kaori Gurley by The Indypendent
Prisoner’s Dilemma: NY’s Blindfold Law Keeps The Truth In The Dark by Peter Rugh by The Indypendent
There Are A Deluge Of Feminist Films Screening In NYC This Month by Renée Feltz by The Indypendent
Indy Radio News March 18, 2019 - Anthony Ciampa + Shanna Murphy, NYSNA by The Indypendent
Lessons from the FBI’s Secret War On Activism by Michael Steven Smith by The Indypendent
Indy Radio News March 11, 2019 - Guests Ravi Ragbir and Renée Feltz Pt. 2 by The Indypendent
Indy Radio News March 11, 2019 - Guests Ravi Ragbir and Renée Feltz Pt. 1 by The Indypendent
Indy Radio News March 4, 2019 - Guests Darryl Herring and Nick Malinowski of Vocal-NY, Part 2 by The Indypendent
Indy Radio News March 4, 2019 - Guests Darryl Herring and Nick Malinowski of Vocal-NY, Part 1 by The Indypendent
Indy Radio News February 25, 2019 - John Tarleton and Nicholas Powers Pt. 2 by The Indypendent
Indy Radio News February 25, 2019 - John Tarleton and Nicholas Powers Pt. 1 by The Indypendent
New York is Set to Cash In On Cannabis. But Who Will Get the Green? by Steven Wishnia by The Indypendent
‘Tales of America’: J.S. Ondara’s Transplanted Melodies by Brady O'Callahan by The Indypendent
NYC Care Vs. Single Payer: Healthcare Tim Faust speaks with Indy's Peter Rugh (Extended Interview) by The Indypendent
Indy Radio News January 28 - Headlines + Jeff Jones, Community Service Society of NY by The Indypendent
Indy Radio January 14: Interview With Boris Santos, Julia Salazar's Chief Of Staff by The Indypendent
Indy Radio January 14: Converstaion With State Senator Jessica Ramos by The Indypendent
Editor-in-chief of The Indypendent John Tarleton sits down with reporter Lydia McMullen-Laird to discuss covering Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign leading up to her primary win in June 2018.
Jair Bolsonaro, The Trump Of The Tropics, Prepares To Take Power In Brazil by Michael Fox by The Indypendent
While The Rest Of The Subway System Crumbles, MTA To Spend $6B On 3 Stations by John Tarleton by The Indypendent
Outtake: Reverend Billy Talen Says Goodbye to Indy Audio Producer Elia Gran by The Indypendent
Power Up: A History Of Energy And The People Behind It by Bennett Baumer by The Indypendent
Hank's For All The Memories: A Long-Standing Boerum Hill Haunt Bites The Dust by Peter Rugh by The Indypendent
Will Dems In The NY Senate Make 2019 The Year Of The Tenant? by Steven Wishnia by The Indypendent
On this week's Indy Radio News aired on WBAI 99.5 FM on 12/17/2018 we talk to David Dupuis, a tenant from a building in lower Manhattan that has received notice that work crews hired by Jared Kushner’s Westminster City Living contaminated their building with lead laden construction dust, and Brandon Kielbasa, the Director of Organizing at the Cooper Square Committee and the Co-Coordinator of the Lead Dust Free NYC campaign. In the second half of our show we talk to Steven Wishnia who has covered tenant issues in New York for the Indy for over 15 years.
You can find his most recent issue in the December issue of The Indypendent, https://bit.ly/2LtBEfy.
The demand for clean and affordable energy is increasing and here in New York the organization WE ACT for Environmental Justice is installing solar arrays on the rooftops of affordable housing buildings across Northern Manhattan.
Joining us today to talk more about their program is Cecil Corbin-Mark, deputy director at We Act. Cecil thank you for joining us.
On this week's Indy Radio News aired on WBAI 99.5 FM on 12/04/2018 we talk to Dan Gettinger, founder and co-director of the Center for the Study of the Drone, an interdisciplinary research and education institution at Bard College, about the NYPD's acquisition of 14 new drones.
On this week's Indy Radio News aired on WBAI 99.5 FM on 12/04/2018 we talk to Dan Gettinger, founder and co-director of the Center for the Study of the Drone, an interdisciplinary research and education institution at Bard College, about the NYPD's acquisition of 14 new drones. In the seconde half of the show we look at the demand for clean and affordable energy here in New York with Cecil Corbin-Mark from the organization WE ACT for Environmental Justice which is installing solar arrays on the rooftops of affordable housing buildings across Northern Manhattan.
Author Mark Read reviews the film ¡Las Sandinistas! directed by Jenny Murray
You can find his article in the November issue of The Indypendent or on our website https://bit.ly/2QIgPyD
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
Music by Bensound.com
Author Gena Hymowech review the exhibit Brave, Beautiful Outlaws: The Photographs of Donna Gottschalk in the Leslie-Lohman Museum until March 17, 2019.
You can find his article in the November issue of The Indypendent or on our website https://bit.ly/2BodC1V
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
Music by Bensound.com
Welcome to this month's Trump Help Hotline
You can find his article in the November issue of The Indypendent or on our website https://bit.ly/2OI4j06
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
Music by Bensound.com
On this week's Indy Radio News aired on WBAI 99.5 FM on 12/04/2018 we talk to Laura Carlsen, Director of the Americas Program in Mexico City, about Mexico's recent elections.
To read her article as published in the November issue of The Indypendent go to https://bit.ly/2qOqI2q
On Monday's Indy Radio News, John Tarleton, editor-in-chief of The Indypendent, interviewed NYC transportation reporter Aaron W. Gordon about the MTA's renewed push to add three stations to the Q train at a cost of billions of dollars over the next decade or more while the rest of the subway system continues to unravel.
To read more about the Indypendent's coverage on the MTA, please visit https://bit.ly/2tb9J9u
Author Gordon Glasgow reviews the film Mario by director Marcel Gisler.
You can find his article in the November issue of The Indypendent or at https://bit.ly/2KXANmR
Author Chelsey Sanchez reports on Movement for Justice in El Barrio’s fourth action in front of the Cayuga Center,
You can find his article in the November issue of The Indypendent or at https://bit.ly/2RqQPHZ
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
Ann Schneider reviews the book Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism by Kristen R. Ghodsee
You can find his article in the November issue of The Indypendent or at https://bit.ly/2PVt3H4
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
On this week's Indy Radio News aired on WBAI 99.5 FM on 12/04/2018 we talk to NYC subway journalist Aaron W. Gordon. On the second half of the show we talk about Mexico's recent elections wtih Laura Carlsen, the Director of the Americas Program in Mexico City.
To read more of The Indypendent's coverage on the MTA go to https://bit.ly/2tb9J9u
You can find his article in the November issue of The Indypendent or on at https://bit.ly/2DnLJbN
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
Author Nicholas Powers takes a look back at the midterm elections and the rise and fall of the Blue Wave.
You can find his article in the November issue of The Indypendent or at https://bit.ly/2OU4m9b
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
Author Laura Carlsen reviews Andrés Manuel López Obrador triumph in Mexico.
You can find his article in the November issue of The Indypendent or on at https://bit.ly/2qOqI2q
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
Mexico’s AMLO Bucks The Right Wing Trend, But Will He Buck The System? by The Indypendent
Against a backdrop of gentrification, austerity and hurricane wreckage, these activists aren’t just rebuilding their city, they’re reimagining it.
You can find his article in the November issue of The Indypendent or on at https://bit.ly/2PEEJi7
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
On this week's Indy Radio News aired on WBAI 99.5 FM on 11/19/2018 we talk to journalist Kate Aronoff about the Green New Deal that is being impulsed by rep. elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and minority leader of the house of representatives Nancy Pelosi.
To read more of The Indypendent's coverage on ecology go to bit.ly/2pe44gQ
On this week's Indy Radio News aired on WBAI 99.5 FM on 11/19/2018 we talk to journalist Kate Aronoff about the Green New Deal that is being impulsed by rep. elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and minority leader of the house of representatives Nancy Pelosi. On the second part of the show we talk to senior organizer of Food and Water Watch, Eric Weltman about the dangers of fracking and the Delaware River Basin.
To read more of The Indypendent's coverage on ecology go to https://bit.ly/2pe44gQ
On this week's Indy Radio News aired on WBAI 99.5 FM on 11/19/2018 we look into the possible effects that Amazon's headquarters might have in the Long Island City community with Deborah Alexander, co-president of the community education for District 30. We talk to journalist Hanna Brooks Olsen about the impact of Amazon on in Seattle and its community. Finally, we ask Peter Rugh, associate editor of The Indypendent who has done extensive coverage on Amazon, what can residents from Long Island City do to fight this change.
Read our full coverage on https://bit.ly/2qKOSLq
On this week's Indy Radio Show aired on WBAI 99.5 FM on Monday, November 12th we talk to Mexico based Journalist and filmmaker James L. Fredrick, the collective Pueblo Sin Fronteras and freelance reporter Maya Averbuch who is on the ground in Mexico.
To read The Indypendent's full coverage on the Migrant Caravan go to https://bit.ly/2NlAfrW
We talk to longtime grassroots organizer and journalist L.A. Kauffman about her new book, “How To Read a Protest: The Art of Organizing and Resistance” that explores what protests accomplish and how. (Find our whole show on the Indy Radio News list on Soundcloud)
To read our interview with author L.A. Kauffman go to https://bit.ly/2RmPZfy
On this week's Indy Radio News aired on WBAI 99.5 FM on 11/05/2018 with journalist Ross Barkan and author L.A. Kauffman
We talk to longtime grassroots organizer and journalist L.A. Kauffman about her new book, “How To Read a Protest: The Art of Organizing and Resistance” that explores what protests accomplish and how.
In the second half Ross Barkin, award-winning journalist, novelist and recently a candidate in State Senate District 22 in South Brooklyn about how Tuesday midterm election races are looking.
In the second half of the Indy Radio News show, we’re joined by John Tarleton, editor-in-chief of The Indypendent. He wrote an article for this month’s issue of the Indy that looks at how the Republican Party has gained power over the past half-century. It’s called “The Long Game: What The Left Can Learn From The GOP’s Rise To Power.”
To read from John Tarleton's article go to https://bit.ly/2NCTFXY
On this week's Indy Radio Show aired on WBAI 99.5 FM on 10/29/2018 we talked to investigative journalist and director of the groundbreaking film ‘The Best Democracy Money Can Buy’ to talk to us about voter suppression.
The best way to stop rape in our culture would be for men and boys to stop raping. In the meantime, we women have to be ready to defend ourselves though, depending on circumstances, it’s not always possible.
You can find his article in the October issue of The Indypendent or on our website bit.ly/2P6ZO09
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR https://bit.ly/2Okg69G
The labor movement had “Solidarity Forever.” Civil Rights had “Mississippi Goddam,” “Strange Fruit” and the spirituals activists sang with linked arms in the streets. Black Lives Matter adopted Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright.”
“Every movement which has ever won anything has had songs,” says Marc Ribot in promotional materials introducing his new record, Songs of Resistance 1942-2018. Of course.
You can find his article in the October issue of The Indypendent or on our website https://bit.ly/2P6ZO09
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
Photo: Marc Ribot by José Luna/ Secretaría de Cultura Ciudad de México.
On this week's Indy Radio Show aired on WBAI 99.5 FM on 10/29/2018 we talked to investigative journalist and director of the groundbreaking film ‘The Best Democracy Money Can Buy’ to talk to us about voter suppression. In the second half of the show, we’re joined by John Tarleton, editor-in-chief of The Indypendent. He wrote an article for this month’s issue of the Indy that looks at how the Republican Party has gained power over the past half-century. It’s called “The Long Game: What The Left Can Learn From The GOP’s Rise To Power.”
Reverend Billy answers our reader's letters.
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
We go over the upcoming trial of three activists from the group Resist Spectra that briefly halted construction of an Enbridge fracked gas pipeline through direct action in 2016. The three individuals who crawled into the pipeline will present the Necessity Defense claiming that their ‘illegal’ actions were necessary to prevent a greater harm. We talk to their lawyer, David Dorfman.
We talk to Mike Hellstorm, campaign director of the #CountMeIn movement that is celebrating its one-year anniversary this month.
To read more about #CountMeIn go to https://bit.ly/2xVlR2v
In this week's show, we talk about the#CountMeIn movement with campaign director Mike Hellstorm. This movement, led by unionized and non-unionized construction workers from the Hudson Yards development, marks its one-year anniversary this month.
In the second half of our show, we go over the upcoming trial of three activists from the group Resist Spectra that briefly halted construction of an Enbridge fracked gas pipeline through direct action in 2016. The three individuals who crawled into the pipeline will present the Necessity Defense claiming that their ‘illegal’ actions were necessary to prevent a greater harm. We talk to their lawyer, David Dorfman.
To learn more about The Indypendent go to https://bit.ly/2bTNnpb
After decades, French authorities admit to the torture and execution of a young activist in Algeria. But the mystery is far from solved.
You can find his article in the October issue of The Indypendent or at https://bit.ly/2ElTzoh
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
Professor Linda Martín Alcoff talks about next steps after Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination confirmed.
You can find his article in the October issue of The Indypendent or at https://bit.ly/2yotdfp
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
Mark Read reviews Michael Moore's latest movie Fahrenheit 11/9.
You can find his article in the October issue of The Indypendent or on at https://bit.ly/2N2BFGa
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
On the second part of Indy Radio News aired on October 15th on WBAI (99.5 FM)we talked to Marni Halasa, lawyer, journalist, performing artist, who runs the Red Eye Coffee about the Small Business Job Security Act (SBJSA). Marni ran for City Council in District 13 last year. After seeing the needs of her community she started an anti-gentrification group, Community Control of Land Use, to collectively organize small businesses and tenants.
To read more about the SBJSA go to https://bit.ly/2J2Pp3i Photo by Elia Gran
In this week’s show, we talk to photojournalist Shay Horse about the confrontation between the far-right men's organization, Proud Boys, and the anti-fascists that took place on October 12th near the Metropolitan Republican Club.
In this week’s show, we talk to photojournalist Shay Horse about the confrontation between the far-right men's organization, Proud Boys, and the anti-fascists that took place on October 12th near the Metropolitan Republican Club. In the second half, we have Marni Halasa on to talk about the Small Business Jobs Protection Act.
CountMeIn is a campaign and a movement that began last fall, as workers began holding weekly rallies outside Hudson Yards to protest developer The Related Companies’ use of nonunion labor on the behemoth West Side project.
You can find his article in the September issue of The Indypendent or on our website https://bit.ly/2xVlR2v
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
Alex Nicoll reports on recent rallies of the Laundry Workers Center in East Harlem.
You can find his article in the September issue of The Indypendent or on our website https://bit.ly/2ycHJHy
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
Steven Wishnia reviews the books Double Life in Double Time by Alan Shultz and The Hard Stuff by Wayne Kramer.
You can find his article in the September issue of The Indypendent or on our website Indypendent.org
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
Music by MDC
Gena reviews the exhibit 'Fred W. McDarrah: New York Scenes' at the Steven Kasher Gallery until November 3rd 2018.
You can find his article in the October issue of The Indypendent or on our website Indypendent.org
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
Music by Bensound.com
Photo: 1966 © Fred W. McDarrah, Courtesy Steven Kasher Gallery, New York
In this week's show we go live to the American Museum of Natural History where orgranizers from Decolonize This place and other organizations are holding the third annual Anti-Columbus rally. We talk to Meron Tebeje, the communications chair of Black Youth Project (BYP) 100 NYC, about how the action is going. Finally we end with authour Charlse Mann who tells us more about Christopher Columbus and why we celebrate this conflictive federal holiday.
This show airs live on WBAI (99.5 fm) on Mondays from 6-6:30 PM EST
To read more about these issues go to Indypendent.org
To support Indy Radio News become a patron! bit.ly/2xsDpRQ
Sunday, October 7th marked 17 years since the U.S. invaded Afghanistan, a move that has triggered years of combat, massive troop deployments and thousands of deaths in the Afghan War.
Here in New York, protesters gathered at the Times Square military recruiting station to demand an end to this war.
We talk to Susan Schnall who was among the protesters. She is the President of Veterans for Peace and a former navy nurse who was court martialed for anti-Vietnam War actions.
We talk to Susan Schnall, President of Veterans for Peace and a former navy nurse, about the war in Afganistan and the role the US has played in previous wars. In the second half of the show we go live to the American Museum of Natural History where orgranizers from Decolonize This place and other organizations are holding the third annual Anti-Columbus rally. We talk to Meron Tebeje, the communications chair of Black Youth Project (BYP) 100 NYC, about how the action is going. Finally we end with authour Charlse Mann who tells us more about Christopher Columbus and why we celebrate this conflictive federal holiday.
This show airs live on WBAI (99.5 fm) on Mondays from 6-6:30 PM EST
To read more about these issues go to Indypendent.org
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On Monday afternoon hundreds rallies from Flatiron building to the Yale School in protest to Brett Kavanugh's nomination.
This segment that is part of the weekly WBAI (99.5)show Indy Radio News, that broadcasts every Monday at 6 PM ET
Employees for BlackRock — the $6.3 trillion, multinational investment management firm — were given a treat on Wednesday afternoon as they left the company’s midtown office over the lunch hour. Few, however, stopped to read the packaging on the KIND bars the band of smiling environmentalists handed them. Perhaps they were saving them for later. Had they taken a closer look, they would probably notice something was a bit off on the granola bar’s familiar wrapping.
To read our full coverage to https://bit.ly/2P7dqsy
This segment that is part of the weekly WBAI (99.5)show Indy Radio News, that broadcasts every Monday at 6 PM ET
As Republicans attempt to push through Kavanaugh the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) expired last Sunday, spurring the #MarchForBlackWomen. The Senate has passed an extension until 12/6 but critics are demanding its full reauthorization.
To read our full coverage on the march go to https://bit.ly/2y3oeAt
This segment that is part of the weekly WBAI (99.5)show Indy Radio News, that broadcasts every Monday at 6 PM ET
We talk to Farah Tanis, co-founder of Black Women's Blueprint organization, about the March for Black Women that took place near NY City Hall on Sunday, September 30th demanding the renewal of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). In the second half of our show we have guest Casey Harrell on from Australian-based Sunrise Project, who tells us about the environmental threats from BlackRock and our reporter Lydia McMullen-Laird reports directly from Monday’s rally, No Justice, No Seat: March Against Kavanaugh, that marched up from Flatiron Public Plaza to NY’s Yale Club.
This show aired live on WBAI (99.5 fm) on Monday from 6-6:30 PM EST
To read more about these issues go to Indypendent.org
To support Indy Radio News become a patron! https://bit.ly/2xsDpRQ
In the second segment of this week's Indy Radio News, we talked with Linda Martín Alcoff about the #MeToo movement and the troubled Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh. Alcoff is a professor of philosophy at the City University of New York and the author of numerous books including Rape and Resistance and the Future of Whiteness.
To read Linda Alcoff's article published in The Indypendent go to https://bit.ly/2zlxoKo
One year after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, many of the island's inhabitants are still suffering from storm's aftermath. In our first segment of this week's edition of Indy Radio News, we spoke with former New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito about the situation in Puerto Rico and what needs to be done.
To read more coverage on Puerto Ric in The Indypendent, go to https://bit.ly/2ziQ3Uw
We talk to former City Council Speaker, Melissa Mark-Viverito and professor of philosophy at CUNY univeristy, Linda Alcoff in the second Indy Radio News show.
An uptown art project highlights the perils of climate change.
You can find his article in the September issue of The Indypendent or on our website https://bit.ly/2DtM4Lw
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
Music by Xavier Rudd
Welcome to this month's Trump Help Hotline
You can find his article in the September issue of The Indypendent or on our website https://bit.ly/2QHtRwB
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
Music by Bensound.com
Indy Radio News airs on Mondays from 6-6:·30 PM EST on WBAI 99.5
In this week's episode, Charles Lenchner, co-founder of People For Bernie and Nelini Stamp, national organizing director of Working Families Party share their thoughts on the results on Tuesday's results of the NY Democratic Primary elections.
For more information go to Indypendent.org
We review the exhibit Rebel Women: Defying Victorianism in the Museum of the City of New York. Running thru Jan. 6
You can find his article in the August issue of The Indypendent or on our website https://bit.ly/2LxgdZ8
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
Music by Bensound.com
We review David Graeber's book 'Bullshit Jobs' and Andrea Komlosy's 'Work: The Last 1,000 Years'.
You can find his article in the September issue of The Indypendent or on our website https://bit.ly/2Q5H56l
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
Music by Bensound.com
Governor Andrew Cuomo's end of ‘net-metering’ casts a shadow over the future of New York solar power
You can find his article in the September issue of The Indypendent or on our website https://bit.ly/2N01FXD
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
Music by Bensound.com
We review the book, From Head Shops to Whole Foods: The Rise and Fall of Activist Entrepreneurs by Joshua Clark Davis.
You can find his article in the September issue of The Indypendent or on our website https://bit.ly/2p2VwLY
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
Music by Bensound.com
Prisoners in multiple states have been carrying out a prison strike from August 21st to September 9th.
You can find his article in the September issue of The Indypendent or on our website https://bit.ly/2N54iaC
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
Music by Bensound.com
You can find his article in the August issue of The Indypendent or on our website https://bit.ly/2ODeKTl
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
Music by Bensound.com
A Ukrainian fertilizer magnate, a shady lawyer and the Koch Brothers are among the major campaign donors that the Democratic governor and Donald Trump share.
You can find his article in the August issue of The Indypendent or on our website https://bit.ly/2MuKDMX
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
Music by Bensound.com
Big-name feminist advocacy groups have endorsed Andrew Cuomo over his rival Cynthia Nixon, despite Nixon’s record of pro-choice advocacy and criticisms of Cuomo’s legacy on securing reproductive rights.
You can find his article in the August issue of The Indypendent or on our website https://bit.ly/2KLcneC
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
Music by Bensound.com
If you have used TripPlanner, Subway Times or Bus Times, customer service, filed a FOIL request or a sexual harassment complaint, if you have submitted personal information through any of these MTA web portals, your data — such as name, email address, username, password, postal address, phone number, photo uploads, text entries and travel details — has been exposed to countless third-parties, for many years.
You can find his article in the August issue of The Indypendent or on our website https://bit.ly/2mtRwCP
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
Music by Bensound.com
The fall of the ‘Daily News’ is another blow for NYC journalism.
You can find his article in the August issue of The Indypendent or on our website https://bit.ly/2Ma3UTR
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
The introductory audio clips are extracts from AP Archive and The Young Turks
After Supreme Court ruling, union members are receiving ‘stomach-turning’ messages from right-wing groups.
You can find his article in the August issue of The Indypendent or on our website https://bit.ly/2vLEMvz
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
Howie Hawkins author of this article is a retired Teamster from Syracuse, New York and the Green Party candidate for New York Governor. He previously ran as the Green Party’s gubernatorial candidate in 2010 and 2014. During the latter campaign, he received 5% of the vote.
Our columnist addresses the concerns and questions of our readers.
You can find his article in the August issue of The Indypendent or on our website https://bit.ly/2Mrpnef
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
The music has been extracted from a video of Reverend Billy and others protesting against Immigration and Customs Enforcement. https://bit.ly/2MLFWid
What is going on with the New York State Senate these days?
The author, Ross Barkan is a longtime political reporter who is currently running for office in New York’s 22nd Senate district.
You can find his article in the August issue of The Indypendent or on our website https://bit.ly/2LPgTxr
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
How did we get to a place in American history where angry, white, conservative men would shrug off an F.B.I.’s report on Russian cyber-attacks in the 2016 election? Russian agents are villains in Hollywood films from Red Dawn to Rocky 4 to Miracle. They should know better. They don’t because they are reacting to their cultural impotence.
Nicholas Powers reads his whole article based on the one published in the August issue of The Indypendent.
You can find his article in the August issue of The Indypendent or on our website https://bit.ly/2uK0UXB
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
New Yorkers dislike many things. Subway delays. That smell during summer. But what New Yorkers really dislike is real-estate development.
You can find his article in the July issue of The Indypendent or on our website https://bit.ly/2KUy5kB
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
Embattled tenants pressured to take buy-outs in East Harlem, NYC.
You can find his article in the July issue of The Indypendent or on our website https://bit.ly/2KSkbQ2
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
Erin Sheridan retells us the story of an immigrant family facing deportation. Listen until the end for the author's comments.
You can find his article in the July issue of The Indypendent or on our website https://bit.ly/2Klt05p
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
A lawyer during the day and a wrestler during the night? Philip Yiannopoulos reads his article about the double life of The Dagger Mik Drake.
You can find his article in the July issue of The Indypendent or on our website https://bit.ly/2KBao1v
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
Gena Hymowech reviews the play The Boys In The Band playing in Broadway until August 11th.
You can find his article in the July issue of The Indypendent or on our website https://bit.ly/2KLTqg2
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
The protests in Gaza are not about to end.
You can find his article in the June issue of The Indypendent or on our website https://bit.ly/2x4dHHV
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
The Via Crucis caravan, organized with the help of the international volunteer organization Pueblo Sin Fronteras. It started March 25 in Tapachula, near the Guatemalan border, and quickly became an obsession of President Donald Trump and far-right media outlets, who depicted the immigrants as a mob threatening to invade the “homeland.”
You can find his article in the June issue of The Indypendent or on our website https://bit.ly/2GOqoGr
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
The Democrats are obsessed with Russiagate at the expense of issues impacting people’s lives.
You can find his article in the June issue of The Indypendent or on our website https://bit.ly/2xBTARS
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez surpassed expectations, but can this democratic socialist defeat Boss Joe Crowley in their June 26 congressional primary?
You can find his article in the June issue of The Indypendent or on our website https://bit.ly/2LWPgjl
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
Photo by Elia Gran
Author Meredith Tax reads her article on the latest update on one of the three cantons of the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria, Rojava.
You can find his article in the June issue of The Indypendent or on our website https://bit.ly/2L7ppnj
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
Photo by Joey L.
Nicholas Powers comes to visit The Indypendent with his baby son. He read his latest article that navigates people's relationship with religion and spirituality.
You can find his article in the June issue of The Indypendent or on our website.
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
Photo by Elia Gran
Farid Nassif, college professor, tells us about his experience visiting different schools and the problems our current educational system encounters.
You can find his article in the June issue of The Indypendent or on our website https://bit.ly/2soFhLs
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
Illustration by Gino Barzizza.
It all started the night of May 21, 1971. 47 years later Jalil Muntaqim is still in jail, will he ever be free?
You can find his article in the June issue of The Indypendent or on our website https://bit.ly/2LZyy2v
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
Photo: HISTORY LESSON: Former Black Panther Jalil Muntaqim has taught black history courses to his fellow inmates in the New York State prison system. Credit: Sheri Pinto.
Music was composed by Quietly Concerned.
Georgia Kromei reports from this year's Rent Guidelines Board meeting.
You can find his article in the June issue of The Indypendent or on our website https://bit.ly/2LfwUZl
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
This month Reverend Billy takes the Trump Help Hotline to a whole different level. Together with the 'Eagles Of Justice' comes up with an answer as they play, sing and preach it.
On another notice, Reverend Billy and the 30 voice Stop Shopping Choir will appear on Tuesday, June 5th at Starr Bar (214 Starr Street near in Brooklyn). Doors open at 7 - the name of the show is "Trump and Evangelicals Go To Hell" - Admission is free and no-one turned away
Powerful Democratic politicians hate being primaried from the left so much that even a very-long-shot challenge like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez against Joe Crowley or Cynthia Nixon against Andrew Cuomo can really fuck with their heads. Why?
You can find his article in the June issue of The Indypendent or on our website https://bit.ly/2LWPgjl
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
Steven Sherman reviews Mike Davis' latest book, Old Gods, New Enigmas
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
We review the book 'A History More Beautiful and Terrible: The Uses and Misuses of Civil Rights History' by Brooklyn College political scientist Jeanne Theoharis.
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
Photo: Martin Luther King, Jr. speaking in Chicago, April 17, 1968. Credit: Ted Bell/Chicago Urban League Records, University of Illinois at Chicago Library.
New York’s sort-of-third party has won some big victories in the past two decades but its future is uncertain after defying Andrew Cuomo and his labor allies to endorse Cynthia Nixon.
You can find Michael's article in the May issue of The Indypendent or on our website https://bit.ly/2HgA1Pe
Photo: Members of the Working Families Party together with the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys (UAW 2325) call for the removal of immigration officers from New York courts, March 15. Credit: Iryna Yafimchyk/Working Families.
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
An additional $12 million was added last year for adult literacy programs, but advocates are worried some programs may be in jeopardy after the release of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s preliminary budget for the 2019 fiscal year failed to include the additional funding.
You can find his article in the May issue of The Indypendent or on our website https://bit.ly/2KhYC8g
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpR
Photo of a rally held in Borough Hall in favor of the education plan
The increasing detention of undocumented immigrants inside New York City courthouses is spurring protests from the public defenders who represent them. Immigrants make up a large percentage of public defender clients and their attorneys say Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is violating their clients’ rights by preventing them from attending court hearings without fear of apprehension.
You can find his article in the May issue of The Indypendent or on our website https://bit.ly/2wblfbA
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpRQ
Photo: Legal Aid attorneys in Lower Manhattan join a citywide walkout against the presence of immigration agents in New York courthouses, March 15. Photo credit: Iryna Yafimchyk/Working Families.
Temporary housing in New York City for families who were evacuated from Puerto Rico are now being threatened with eviction.
You can find his article in the May issue of The Indypendent or on our website https://bit.ly/2HCkU7d
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpRQ
Photo by Erin Sheridan
April 1 marked the halfway point in the federal government’s fiscal year and, so far, the United States has only admitted 10,548 refugees, placing it on track to fall far short of its already record low admission ceiling of 45,000 individuals. Resettlement workers and refugee advocates say that this is further evidence of the Trump administration’s deliberate efforts to sabotage the refugee resettlement system now and for years to come.
You can find his article in the April issue of The Indypendent or on our website https://bit.ly/2HwlwtU
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpRQ
Illustration by Daniel Fishel
Megatowers, shady developers, community resistance — it’s a story so commonplace these days it is almost a bad joke. But this time the developers might be aiming a bit too high, pushing the community a little too far. #CrownHeights #BotanicGarden
You can find his article in the April issue of The Indypendent or on our website https://bit.ly/2rg2rmJ
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpRQ
We take look at Uzodinma Iweala’s new novel about a gay teen’s coming-out nightmare.
You can find his article in the April issue of The Indypendent or on our website bit.ly/2vwfEw7
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpRQ
A vote by the New York Parole Board to release Herman Bell, a former Black Panther and Black Liberation Army member imprisoned for the killing of two NYPD officers in 1971, mark a victory for reform measures advocated for by the formerly incarcerated.
You can find his article in the April issue of The Indypendent or on our website https://bit.ly/2Fa9lxJ
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpRQ
John Tarleton review Cynthia Nixon's candidacy for the 2018 elections for NY governer.
You can find his article in the April issue of The Indypendent or on our website https://bit.ly/2GFL1cH
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpRQ
Our advice columnist Reverend Billy on the recent student walk out
You can find his article in the April issue of The Indypendent or on our website https://bit.ly/2vwfEw7
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpRQ
Anna Polonyi reviews the film 'This is Our Land (Chez Nous). Directed by Lucas Belvaux.
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpRQ
To read Anna's full article go to https://bit.ly/2Ip8UBC
Intricate works of art produced by Guantánamo detainees have been allowed to trickle out of the prison camp for years. The Trump administration has other plans in mind.
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpRQ
To read Nancy's full article go to https://bit.ly/2J4mNX3
We talk to Marty Stolar about his career and the activists he has defended in court.
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpRQ
To read Apoorva's full article go to bit.ly/2J1agno
Manuel Gomez is using the skills he picked up as a Bronx cop to get the wrongly accused out of jail.
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpRQ
To read Simon's full article go to https://bit.ly/2J1agno
This past February a New York appeals court unanimously overturned the conviction of John Giuca, citing prosecutorial misconduct during a high-profile 2005 Brooklyn trial for the murder of 19-year-old college student Mark Fisher.
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpRQ
To read Theodore's full article go to https://bit.ly/2Gmu47a
A coalition of progressive state legislators and legal organizations is campaigning for legislation to repeal New York State’s “blindfold law”—which allows prosecutors to withhold all evidence, including witness statements, from a criminal defendant until the morning of their trial.
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpRQ
To read Ann's full article go to https://bit.ly/2H3dLcr
Photo credit: Sebastian Pichler.
Gena Hymowech reviews the exhibit “Peter Hujar: Speed of Life” in The Morgan Library & Museum until May 20.
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpRQ
To read Gena's full article go to https://bit.ly/2pI3Q3S
Bhairavi Desai, executive director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, writes about the current struggle yellow cab drivers in NYC are going through.
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpRQ
To read Bhairavi's full article go to https://bit.ly/2oOltzi
Stever Sherman reviews Lane Windham's latest book, Knocking on Labor’s Door: Union Organizing in the 1970s and the Roots of a New Economic Divide
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpRQ
To read Steve's full article go to https://bit.ly/2Ht1nl6
Peter Rugh reviews the Netflix production, Queer Eye.
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpRQ
To read Peter's full article go to https://bit.ly/2oYm5SS
Chris Rasa, our video game expert, goes over the latest DIY games.
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpRQ
To read Chris Rasa's full article go to http://bit.ly/2De396Z
To support this podcast and our publication, it´s as easy as visiting our Patreon page and becoming a monthly subscriber. bit.ly/2xsDpRQ
To read Nathan's full article go to bit.ly/2oRwtuJhttp://bit.ly/2tu2Ipm