The Real News Podcast

From 'Game of Thrones' to neo-Nazi viking obsessions, medieval images have a currency in contemporary culture that spans from the mainstream to the fringe. Why does the past have such a hold on us today? And what do we make of debates over medieval 'authenticity' that presume the medieval world was uniformly white, misogynistic and hyper-violent? Real medievalists Tirumular (Drew) Narayanan and Ben Bertrand join Art for the End Times to unpack the cultural complexes at work in contemporary medieval representations, and provide an actual historical perspective from their field. You can read Drew and Ben's Current Affairs article "Medieval Dreams and Far Right Nightmares" here: https://www.academia.edu/60461478/Medieval_Dreams_and_Far_Right_NightmaresTirumular (Drew) Narayanan is a PhD candidate in Art History at the University of Wisconsin - Madison.Ben Bertrand is a History PhD candidate at Fordham University.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer: Donate: https://therealnews.com/donate-podSign up for our newsletter: https://therealnews.com/newsletter-podLike us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/therealnewsFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/therealnewsBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

In 1973 the organization 9 to 5 was founded as a national association of women office workers advocating for their rights. Organizing women against workplace discrimination and harassment, 9 to 5 brought a new generation of white-collar women workers into the labor movement, and remains one of the largest organizations of women workers in the United States. Their experiences inspired the 1980 film "9 to 5," starring Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, and Dolly Parton. Now, almost half a century since 9 to 5's beginnings, founder Ellen Cassedy joins The Marc Steiner Show to discuss her new memoir, "Working 9 to 5: A Women's Movement, a Labor Union, and the Iconic Movie."Ellen Cassedy was a founder and longtime leader of 9 to 5, the national association of women office workers. "Working 9 to 5" is her first-person account of this exciting movement, which began in the early 1970s, mobilizing women across the country to organize for rights and respect on the job. Ellen is also the award-winning author of "We Are Here: Memories of the Lithuanian Holocaust."Post-Production: Brent TomchikHelp us continue producing The Marc Steiner Show by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer:Donate: https://therealnews.com/donate-pod-mssSign up for our newsletter: https://therealnews.com/nl-pod-stGet The Marc Steiner Show updates: https://therealnews.com/up-pod-stLike us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/therealnewsFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/therealnewsBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

Tensions have been building for months as Brazil heads for an electoral showdown that will have major implications for the country and for the world. Leftist national hero and former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is currently leading in the polls in the race to unseat current far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, but the outcome is all but assured, and fears are mounting that the dark, increasingly fascistic forces Bolsonaro has unleashed in recent years will take extreme January 6-style measures to retain power if Lula wins the presidential election in October. Brazil’s national elections will take place on Oct. 2, 2022. If either candidate secures over 50% of the popular vote on Oct. 2, they will be declared the winner. However, if neither candidate crosses the 50% threshold, a second round of elections will be held at the end of October.The essential context for Brazil’s contemporary political scene has been covered extensively by the The Real News through the limited podcast series Brazil on Fire, hosted by journalist Michael Fox and co-produced by NACLA. For a special look at Brazil’s landscape ahead of Sunday’s elections, TRNN Editor-in-Chief Maximillian Alvarez sits down with Michael Fox for a final look at this pivotal moment in Brazil’s history, and what’s at stake for the wider world.Listen to Brazil on Fire: https://therealnews.com/brazil-on-fireStudio/Post-Production: Adam ColeyHelp us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer: Donate: https://therealnews.com/donate-podSign up for our newsletter: https://therealnews.com/newsletter-podLike us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/therealnewsFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/therealnewsBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

This time last year, we introduced listeners to the family of Evan Seyfried, a dedicated Kroger employee in Milford, Ohio, for nearly 20 years, whose beautiful life was tragically cut short after he was targeted and tortured by coworkers and driven to suicide, according to Evan’s family. A lot has happened since we published that episode one year ago, and we wanted to provide Working People listeners with an update on how Evan’s family and loved ones are doing, the status of the lawsuit against Kroger, and how the Justice for Evan coalition is growing around the country. In this episode, we check in with Evan’s father Ken, his brother Eric, his girlfriend and best friend Amy Chamberlin, Jana Murphy and Erica Erskine of the Justice for Evan coalition, and Austin LiPuma, the attorney representing the Seyfrieds in their lawsuit against Kroger.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer: Donate: https://therealnews.com/donate-podSign up for our newsletter: https://therealnews.com/newsletter-podLike us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/therealnewsFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/therealnewsBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

The Amazon is a place that both Brazil’s former military regime and President Jair Bolsonaro have eyed with dreams of development, looking to take advantage of bountiful resources.It’s a place where Bolsonaro’s deconstruction of state institutions is wreaking havoc. Where illegal and armed actors are pushing into formerly protected areas and plundering the land to make a quick profit. Where Indigenous people are constantly under threat, whether staring down the barrel of a gun, fires, or COVID, and their territories and their way of life are under attack — the invaders slowly eating away at the forests that have given them life for generations.And where Bolsonaro has been empowering those behind the devastation.There is no other place in Brazil that better symbolizes the destruction that Bolsonaro has wrought on the country.The Amazon is under attack. The fires are just the most visible sign.This is Brazil on Fire, a podcast about Brazil’s descent toward fascism under President Jair Bolsonaro. Over these six episodes we look at Bolsonaro’s far-right government that has set the country ablaze, and how the United States helped him do it. We’ll visit the birthplace of Brazilian Nazism, evangelical churches, and Indigenous villages in the Amazon. Hosted by Latin America-based journalist Michael Fox.This podcast is produced in partnership between The Real News Network and NACLA.Edited by Heather Gies.Sound design by Gustavo Türck.Theme music by Monte Perdido.Follow Brazil on Fire at The Real News Network: https://therealnews.com/brazil-on-fire-podHelp The Real News Network continue producing stories like Brazil on Fire by following us and making a small donation:Donate to TRNN: https://www.therealnews.com/donate-pod-brazil-on-fireSign up for our newsletter: https://www.therealnews.com/signup-brazil-on-fireLike us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/therealnewsFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/therealnewsSubscribe to updates from NACLA: https://nacla.org/subscribeBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

In August 2022, the Israeli Defense Forces conducted dawn raids on the offices of seven Palestinian human rights NGOs. The targeted organizations included groups working to support Palestinian women and children, as well as political prisoners. The Israeli government justified shutting down the organizations under the pretext that they were fronts for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The organizations have rigorously denied the allegations, and vowed to continue their work in spite of Israeli repression. Sahar Francis, general director of the Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, joins The Marc Steiner Show to explain why these organizations have come into the crosshairs of the Israeli government. Francis explains that a key motivation for the raids was the work of her and other organizations to advance investigations for Israel's crimes through the UN and International Criminal Court. In order to consolidate the occupation and complete the annexation of Palestine, the Israeli government must target and destroy any resistance. While Francis denies the allegations of Addameer's connections to the PFLP, she points out that the PFLP is not considered a terrorist organization under international law due to the special circumstance of Palestine as an occupied territory.Since 2006, Sahar Francis has been the general director of Ramallah-based Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, a Palestinian NGO providing legal and advocacy support to Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli and Palestinian prisons.Help us continue producing The Marc Steiner Show by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer:Donate: https://therealnews.com/donate-pod-mssSign up for our newsletter: https://therealnews.com/nl-pod-stGet The Marc Steiner Show updates: https://therealnews.com/up-pod-stLike us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/therealnewsFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/therealnewsBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

Read the transcript of this podcast: https://therealnews.com/judge-rules-california-prison-must-closeVisiting Lassen County Judge Robert F. Moody ruled against the town of Susanville on Sept. 8 in a lawsuit which aimed to stop California Correctional Center (CCC) from closing. Judge Moody’s ruling lifts the preliminary injunction and allows the state to move forward with plans for closure effectively immediately.On Sept. 2, the state requested an expedited ruling to dissolve the lawsuit, arguing that the court’s stalling tactics were a “disregard of clear law” which amounted to “an abuse of the court’s discretion.” The ruling marks the end of the town’s year-long fight to keep CCC––a six-decade-old facility requiring $503 million in repairs––open indefinitely. Governor Newsom’s 2022-2023 Enacted Budget mandates that CCC must close by June 30, 2023.The case has been drawn out, contentious and has attracted national media attention. In May, people incarcerated in CCC filed an amicus brief demanding the process be expedited, which was rejected by the judge. Incarcerated organizers released a public statement on Tuesday, August 23rd which decried the process and asked the court to do “the right thing,” stating it was time to “move on” from this case and shut the prison down. Advocates see the decision in this case as a decisive victory.Brian Kaneda is the Deputy Director for CURB, Californians United For A Responsible Budget and a leader of the statewide campaign to Close California Prisons. He is a founding chapter member of California Coalition for Women Prisoners (CCWP) Los Angeles and has spent the past decade monitoring and challenging the incarceration crisis and advocating for the rights of incarcerated people.Shakeer Rahman is an attorney and organizer with the Los Angeles Community Action Network and Stop LAPD Spying Coalition. He represented Timothy Peoples, Duane Palm, and Patrick Noel Everett in their effort to bring the perspective of prisoners inside the California Correctional Center into the City of Susanville's lawsuit to halt the prison's closure.General Dogon is an organizer with the Los Angeles Community Action Network. He previously served 27 years in the California prison system.Studio/Post-Production: Cameron GranadinoHelp us continue producing Rattling the Bars by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer: Donate: https://therealnews.com/donate-pod-rtbSign up for our newsletter: https://therealnews.com/nl-pod-rtbGet Rattling the Bars updates: https://therealnews.com/up-pod-rtbLike us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/therealnewsFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/therealnewsBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

Read the transcript of this podcast: https://therealnews.com/baltimores-enoch-pratt-free-library-workers-move-to-unionizeEmployees of Baltimore’s Enoch Pratt Free Library system have announced their intention to unionize, citing better pay, benefits for all, and greater employee input into working conditions as their chief motivations. Seeking voluntary recognition from Pratt leadership, Pratt Workers United hopes to join AFSCME Council 67, where workers from Walters Art Museum and Baltimore Museum of Art are also seeking representation. TRNN Editor-in-Chief Maximillian Alvarez interviews Pratt Workers United organizers Marti Dirscheri and Antoinette Wilson on the unionization campaign.Studio/Post-Production: Cameron GranadinoHelp us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer: Donate: https://therealnews.com/donate-podSign up for our newsletter: https://therealnews.com/newsletter-podLike us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/therealnewsFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/therealnewsBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

Read the transcript of this podcast: https://therealnews.com/cops-tried-to-confiscate-his-phone-without-a-warrant-things-turned-ugly-when-he-refusedDramatic video shows a Texas police officer brutally beating a man who refused to turn over his phone to police. The victim was not suspected of a crime and was voluntarily cooperating with police. Nevertheless, the police turned on him. The attack raises even more questions about the tactics of rural law enforcement and the failure of the police to police themselves.Post-Production: Stephen Janis, Adam ColeyHelp us continue producing Police Accountability Report by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer: Donate: https://therealnews.com/donate-pod-parSign up for our newsletter: https://therealnews.com/nl-pod-parGet Police Accountability Report updates: https://therealnews.com/pod-up-parLike us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/therealnewsFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/therealnewsBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

Read the transcript of this podcast: https://therealnews.com/brazil-on-fire-episode-5-ghosts-of-the-pastBrazil’s military dictatorship was a dark time in the country’s history. Hundreds were killed. Thousands jailed and tortured. And it is an era that President Jair Bolsonaro remembers with nostalgia—It's where he got his start, and a thing he has long championed as being worthy of returning to.As president, Bolsonaro has called for the closure of Congress and the Supreme Court, marched with supporters to demand military intervention, and appointed more military officials to his government than any leader since the end of the dictatorship.In this episode, we will dive head-first into Brazil’s military regime, which ran the country from 1964 through to 1985. We’ll look at the country’s failure to reckon with the past, and Bolsonaro’s steps to push Brazil back in that direction. This is Brazil on Fire, a podcast about Brazil’s descent toward fascism under President Jair Bolsonaro. Over these six episodes we look at Bolsonaro’s far-right government that has set the country ablaze, and how the United States helped him do it. We’ll visit the birthplace of Brazilian Nazism, evangelical churches, and Indigenous villages in the Amazon.Hosted by Latin America-based journalist Michael Fox.This podcast is produced in partnership between The Real News Network and NACLA.Edited by Heather Gies.Sound design by Gustavo Türck.Theme music by Monte Perdido.Follow Brazil on Fire at The Real News Network: https://therealnews.com/brazil-on-fire-podHelp The Real News Network continue producing stories like Brazil on Fire by following us and making a small donation:Donate to TRNN: https://www.therealnews.com/donate-pod-brazil-on-fireSign up for our newsletter: https://www.therealnews.com/signup-brazil-on-fireLike us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/therealnewsFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/therealnewsSubscribe to updates from NACLA: https://nacla.org/subscribeBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!