Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff
Cool Zone Media and iHeartPodcasts
As long as there’s been oppression, there’ve been people fighting it. This weekly podcast dives into history to drag up the wildest rebels, the most beautiful revolts, and all the people who long to be—and fight to be—free. It explores complex stories of resistance that offer lessons and inspiration for us today, focusing on the ensemble casts that make up each act of history. That is to say, this podcast focuses on Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff.
Episodes
Mentioned books
22 snips
Feb 18, 2026 • 32min
The Punk Rock Good Life: A Guide to an Aesthetic Life
An essay-driven tour of a punk-inspired aesthetic life, from DIY rituals to intentional meals and potlucks. Stories about off-grid living and romanticizing hardship set the tone. Practical habits include making art, growing food, repairing clothes, and limiting screens. Community, mutual aid, and treating music and physical media as ritual are highlighted throughout.
Feb 15, 2026 • 41min
CZM Book Club: Black Hole, by November Rush
A Valentine's Day reading of a queer dark sci-fi love story about parasitic fungal minds and body takeover. The narrative follows consciousness-swapping, intimate codependence, and catastrophic physical collapse. Tension rises as a shipboard contagion spreads and a captain fights to stop possession. The hosts then discuss the story as an allegory for codependent relationships.
Feb 11, 2026 • 53min
Part Two: Saint Maximillian Kolbe: A Conservative Who Died Protecting People From Fascists
Molly Conger, writer and podcaster who researches complicated historical figures, digs into the life of Maximilian Kolbe. They trace his early antisemitic writings, his refugee work sheltering thousands, his arrest and death at Auschwitz. The conversation centers on moral complexity, hagiography, and how heroic sacrifice can coexist with troubling beliefs.
Feb 9, 2026 • 1h 6min
Part One: Saint Maximillian Kolbe: A Conservative Who Died Protecting People From Fascists
Molly Conger, podcaster and commentator on odd histories, joins to unpack Maximilian Kolbe’s tangled life. They trace his early antisemitic propaganda, missionary media work, and shifting enemies as Nazism rose. Short, sharp scenes explore his nationalist context, militia organizing, and the foreshadowing of his later refuge efforts.
Feb 8, 2026 • 42min
CZM Book Club: Mutual Aid by Dean Spade, Part Two
Short readings explore pitfalls like deservingness, saviorism, cooptation, and how mutual aid differs from charity. Practical questions and facilitation basics guide group choices, consensus decision-making, and shared leadership. Discussions cover preventing burnout, cultivating supportive group culture, and transitioning responsibilities to sustain collective care.
Feb 4, 2026 • 36min
Part Two: Ben Passmore on Black History
Ben Passmore, cartoonist and author of Black Arms to Hold You Up, guides readers through painful Black history with a fictionalized narrator. He talks about balancing humor with heavy events, counter-narratives to Black tragedy, revolutionary versus everyday resistance, intergenerational struggle and anarchist influences, and practical solidarity for imprisoned activists.
Feb 2, 2026 • 36min
Part One: Ben Passmore on Black History
Ben Passmore, a celebrated comics author and cartoonist, discusses his graphic history Black Arms to Hold You Up. He explores why he wrote the book and traces armed self-defense from Watts to modern uprisings. Conversations cover New African ideas, Marcus Garvey’s legacy, local controversies, ideological fluidity in Black movements, and his surreal narrative choices.
Feb 1, 2026 • 37min
CZM Book Club: Mutual Aid by Dean Spade, Part One
A lively reading of Dean Spade’s Mutual Aid exploring why mutual aid matters in crises. Stories range from Hong Kong direct action to Puerto Rico disaster responses. Traces historical roots in Indigenous and Black traditions. Covers how mutual aid meets survival needs, builds movements, and creates local, participatory infrastructure.
23 snips
Jan 28, 2026 • 1h 2min
Everyone vs ICE: On the Ground In Minnesota, Pt. 2
They recount Minneapolis nights of mutual aid, rapid-response tactics and keeping watch at ICE sites. They describe icy logistics, sheltering hubs like Powwow Grounds, and fierce community support during raids. They explore diverse protest tactics, solidarity practices and practical steps for neighbors to build lasting mutual aid.
19 snips
Jan 27, 2026 • 57min
Everyone vs ICE: On the Ground In Minnesota
They describe on-the-ground rapid response and mutual aid mobilizations that counter immigration raids. They recount neighbors shielding a Somali daycare, using Signal networks and whistles to disrupt detentions. They talk about decentralized solidarity rooted in past organizing and practical supports like rent, supplies, and legal observers.
