

The Red Nation Podcast
The Red Nation
The Red Nation Podcast features discussions on Indigenous history, politics, and culture from a left perspective. Hosted by Nick Estes and Jen Marley with help from our friend and comrade Sina. The Red Nation Podcast is also the home of Red Power Hour, hosted by Melanie Yazzie and Elena Ortiz.
Our show is entirely supported by our patrons on Patreon, support the show and get access to bonus content and other patron exclusive benefits here: Patreon.com/redmediapr
Website: therednation.org
Follow the hosts on Twitter @nickwestes and @JenMarley1680 and the Red Nation @The_Red_Nation.
Theme song: "Dead Horse" by Weedrat https://weedrat.bandcamp.com/
Our show is entirely supported by our patrons on Patreon, support the show and get access to bonus content and other patron exclusive benefits here: Patreon.com/redmediapr
Website: therednation.org
Follow the hosts on Twitter @nickwestes and @JenMarley1680 and the Red Nation @The_Red_Nation.
Theme song: "Dead Horse" by Weedrat https://weedrat.bandcamp.com/
Episodes
Mentioned books

May 11, 2026 • 1h 23min
RPH vs. Indigenous Futurism
RPH is back! Red Power Hour co-hosts Melanie Yazzie and Elena Ortiz tackle a collection of stories, Love after the End An Anthology of Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer Speculative Fiction Watch the video edition on The Red Nation Podcast YouTube channel Empower our work: GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/empower-red-medias-indigenous-content Subscribe to The Red Nation Newsletter: https://www.therednation.org/ Patreon https://www.patreon.com/redmediapr

May 4, 2026 • 1h 10min
Doing Native journalism w/ Danielle Paradis
The Red Nation Podcast host Nick Estes is be joined by Edmonton-based Otipemisiwak Métis journalist Danielle Paradis for an episode on Native journalism, journalistic ethics and self-Indigenization, reporting on the separatist movement and Indigenous politics in Alberta. Watch the video edition on The Red Nation Podcast YouTube channel Empower our work: GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/empower-red-medias-indigenous-content Subscribe to The Red Nation Newsletter: https://www.therednation.org/ Patreon https://www.patreon.com/redmediapr

Apr 27, 2026 • 1h 5min
RPH vs. Sinners (2025) w/ Jodi Byrd (Part 1)
**Producer's note: This is the first half of a two-part episode. The second half will be available to patrons of Red Media and on YouTube channel for free. Sign up today for as little as $2 a month for access to all the great bonus content! RPH is back! Indigenous scholar Jodi Byrd joins co-hosts Melanie Yazzie and Elena Ortiz for another episode on Ryan Coogler's Sinners (2025) Watch the video edition on The Red Nation YouTube channel https://youtu.be/KUMpfJpzrOs Empower our work: GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/empower-red-medias-indigenous-content Subscribe to The Red Nation Newsletter: https://www.therednation.org/ Patreon https://www.patreon.com/redmediapr

Apr 20, 2026 • 1h 2min
The Cuban Revolution and U.S. Imperialism w/ August Nimtz
TRN Podcast host Nick Estes in conversation with August Nimtz, Professor of Political Science and African American and African Studies at the University of Minnesota. Check out the Minnesota Cuba Committee https://www.facebook.com/MNCubaCmte/ Watch the video edition on The Red Nation Podcast YouTube channel https://youtu.be/h2-BIkBSXMg Empower our work: GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/empower-red-medias-indigenous-content Subscribe to The Red Nation Newsletter: https://www.therednation.org/ Patreon https://www.patreon.com/redmediapr

Apr 13, 2026 • 1h 16min
RPH - ICE Out! Drop the Charges! An Interview with Isabel Lopez
Red Power Hour co-host Melanie Yazzie sits down with Isabel Lopez to discuss almost a year of community-led resistance to Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Minneapolis-Saint Paul. Lopez was the first community protector to be arrested for protesting a violent ICE raid in a neighborhood of color in South Minneapolis in June 2025. Lopez is one of over 300 community protectors facing state and federal charges. However, Lopez faces the most serious and the highest number of charges. Listen to learn more about her case and how you can support her and other arestees! Watch the video edition on The Red Nation Podcast YouTube channel Empower our work: GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/empower-red-medias-indigenous-content Subscribe to The Red Nation Newsletter: https://www.therednation.org/ Patreon https://www.patreon.com/redmediapr

Apr 6, 2026 • 1h 18min
Holding Our Ground: Voices and Strategies Against Self-Indigenization w/ Kim TallBear
TRN Podcast Nick Estes live in conversation with Kim TallBear about the conference they organized, Holding Our Ground: Voices and Strategies Against Self-Indigenization. You can watch the individual panels that were livestreamed on our YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKWiQX270BMoLRv25dDskRfsJ2pptPf3Z Conference description: "This two-day, hybrid symposium will convene leading experts, community members, and "first responders" to the global issue of self-Indigenization, particularly in the form of "Indigenous ethnic fraud," or "pretendianism," as it is referred to in North America. The symposium will be held in Minneapolis, on the traditional homelands of the Dakota people, who were imprisoned and eventually exiled in 1863 to aid settler appropriation of "Minnesota," a word also taken from the Dakota. On top of seizing land, US citizens have for centuries "played Indian" via sports mascots and appropriating Native nation names and iconography in scouting and in industries including the military. In the twenty-first century, we see ballooning numbers of US citizens make mythological claims to belong to Native lineages and nations. Some capitalize on those claims to appropriate Indigenous resources and opportunities, and to seize governance of institutions. We see an obviously violent example of self-Indigenization in the Department of "Homeland Security" whose agents seize governance of these lands, terrorize, imprison, and threaten to exile. As multiple forms of self-Indigenization converge, not all are grasped as violent, yet they combine to further colonial extraction. Extractive self-Indigenization, including Indigenous ethnic fraud, not only targets American Indians, but also First Nations, Métis, and Inuit in Canada; and global Indigenous communities in Aotearoa/New Zealand, Australia, Mexico, and elsewhere. This symposium will bring participants together to engage in critical discussions, learn from one another, and discuss actionable strategies to disrupt this global problem." Empower our work: GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/empower-red-medias-indigenous-content Subscribe to The Red Nation Newsletter: https://www.therednation.org/ Patreon https://www.patreon.com/redmediapr

Mar 30, 2026 • 1h 11min
Red Power Hour - Solidarity with the Prairieland 19
Red Power Hour co-host Melanie Yazzie hosts a conversation with Kelsey Fryman and Cloud Runner, and Kristen on the Prairieland 19, a group of Anti-ICE protestors who have been incarcerated for months on fabricated charges of supporting terrorism. DFW Support Committee: https://prairielanddefendants.com/ Legal Defense Fund: https://www.givesendgo.com/supportDFWprotestors GoFundMe to help Maricela Rueda's family: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-maricelas-family-while-she-fights-for-justice GoFundMe to help Des: https://www.gofundme.com/f/get-artist-des-revol-an-immigration-attorney Empower our work: GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/empower-red-medias-indigenous-content Subscribe to The Red Nation Newsletter: https://www.therednation.org/ Patreon https://www.patreon.com/redmediapr

Mar 23, 2026 • 1h 8min
Decolonizing West Asia: The Ramadan War w/ Sina Rahmani
TRN Podcast host Nick Estes live in conversation with Sina Rahmani, host of The East is a Podcast and producer of The Red Nation Podcast, on the wider context of the Ramadan War and what is at stake in this historic confrontation. Watch the livestream edition on The Red Nation Podcast Empower our work: GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/empower-red-medias-indigenous-content Subscribe to The Red Nation Newsletter: https://www.therednation.org/ Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/redmediapr

Mar 16, 2026 • 1h 19min
RPH. vs Smoke Signals (1998)
A lively look at Smoke Signals as a landmark Indigenous-made film and why it still matters. They unpack themes of grief, masculinity, and redemption through Victor and Thomas. Conversation covers Sherman Alexie’s influence and the fallout around his misconduct. Calls for more Indigenous women, Two Spirit, and queer storytellers and critique of limited female roles appear throughout.

Mar 9, 2026 • 1h 11min
RPH vs. Avatar: Fire and Ash (2026)
Two critics break down Avatar: Fire and Ice with sharp takes on cultural appropriation and pretendianism. They map how settler futurism and recycled white savior tropes reshape Indigenous futures. The conversation skewers caricatured Na'vi, dubious origins, and how settlers are written into indigeneity. Expect close readings of symbolism, cringe moments, and comparisons to Hollywood colonial fantasies.


