Millennials Are Killing Capitalism

Special co-host Noah Tesfaye interviews SDS organizers discussing student encampments, solidarity with Palestine, divestment demands, resistance to repression, impact on US policies, response to campus warnings, building coalitions, and confronting global imperialism.

Paul Renfro, an associate professor of history, discusses how the moral panic of 'Stranger Danger' led to widespread fear of child abductions. The conversation explores the racial implications, societal panics, and the intersection with mass incarceration. It challenges the myth of 'stranger danger' and highlights vulnerabilities faced by children beyond sensationalized threats.

In the episode members of the Kenya Organic Intellectuals Network returns to the podcast. Folks will recall that we had a conversation with them last year on their book Breaking the Silence on NGOs in Africa. This conversation started thinking about the situation in Haiti. We previously had a discussion with Dr. Jemima Pierre on the current situation and the western backed invasion of Haiti for which Kenya is sending police. But also I was interested in how the struggle in Palestine was being received in Kenya both at a governmental level and among the masses. Along those lines, often Sudan, Congo, and Haiti are raised up as other examples of genocide, of imperialism, of terrible violence and humanitarian catastrophe as people seek to expand our analysis of what's happening in Palestine beyond that individual conflict. I wanted to get their perspectives on all of these situations as folks who organize from a Pan African Scientific Socialist perspective from the Kenyan context. Just a note that May 25th is African Liberation Day and we also hosted a conversation with the All-African People's Revolutionary Party on our YouTube channel the other day. Our guests are Gacheke Gachihi, Lewis Maghanga, Okakah Onyango, and Wanjiru Wanjira. Gacheke Gachihi is the Coordinator of Mathare Social Justice Centre and a member of the Organic Intellectuals Network. Lewis Maghanga is a member of the Organic Intellectuals Network and an organiser with the Revolutionary Socialist League based in Kenya. Okakah Onyango is a member of the Revolutionary Socialist League, Organic Intellectuals Network and Social Justice Movement. He is a dedicated tech-driven community organizer, blending roles of revolutionary intellectualism and communications strategist. Wanjira Wanjiru is a social justice advocate and artivist with a decade of experience as a grassroot human rights defender. She is Co- founder of the Mathare Social Justice centre and coordinator of Matigari kids book club where children learn about pan-african history. She is a writer with the Kenya Organic Intellectuals Network and co-host of Liberating Minds podcast, a history channel on Youtube. She is also working with the African Social Justice Network team in South Africa and Zambia. After we recorded this episode Mathare experienced major floods. We've included a video of Wanjira discussing the floods. There was also a mass arrest of human rights defenders at the Mathare Social Justice Centre. We encourage folks to reach out to the Mathare Social Justice Centre to see if there are ways that we can provide support. And I would just note that in this discussion obviously we focused so much on struggles elsewhere and its important to connect and look for ways to support these comrades in their struggles as well. We hope that people will connect with these comrades to discuss how they can learn more from them and coordinate struggles with them as they suggest in the episode. I will just note I know a majority of our work has been on the Youtube side in recent months, make sure you subscribe to our YouTube feed so that you can access all of that content as well. We do have a lot of audio work that needs to be edited and released as well and we're working to find the right balance to get that work done. To support our work as always become a patron of the show at patreon.com/millennialsarekillingcapitalism This episode was recorded on March 28, 2024 Music is provided as always by Televangel Links: Mathare Social Justice Centre Revolutionary Socialist League (Kenya) Liberating Minds podcast Pio Gama Pinto book Breaking the Silence on NGOs in Africa (Book)

In this episode Josh interviews Amba Guerguerian and Harry to discuss the New York War Crimes project and their efforts to get people to Boycott, Divest, and Unsubscribe from the New York Times. Amba Guerguerian is an associate editor at The Indypendent and a contributor at The New York War Crimes. Harry is a writer, educator and organizer with Writers against the War on Gaza and a contributor at The New York War Crimes. The New York War Crimes is a project dedicated to de legitimizing the imperial mouthpiece that is The New York Times through focused contemporary and historical critique, while providing an alternative platform for Palestinian and Arab authors, poets and artists — precisely what you won't find in the pages of The Times. If you would like to support our work the best way to do so as always is to become a patron of the show for as little as $1 a month at patreon.com/millennialsarekillingcapitalism. We are also still working to increase our subscriber base over on the YouTube channel so subscribing to that feed is another great way. We have four, possible five live episodes coming this upcoming week so make sure you are subscribed there or on patreon to catch all of that content. This episode was recorded on March 31, 2024 This episode was co-edited/produced by Aidan Elias and Jared Ware Music is provided as always by Televangel Links: The New York War Crimes The Indypendent Writers Against the War on Gaza U.S. Media Control and October 7th with Bryce Greene Electronic Intifada Mondoweiss The Anti-Empire Project with Justin Podour MAKC YouTube Channel

Abdaljawad Omar, a writer and lecturer from Palestine, discusses recent developments in the Palestinian resistance against Zionist occupation. Topics include the siege on Al Shifa hospital, war crimes, dehumanizing tactics in Gaza, deformation in political decision-making, the Black Panther Party's resistance, and the complex US-Israel relationship.

Eugene Puryear discusses The Black Belt Thesis and its origins, articulations, and implications in the US communist movement. They explore the intersection of slavery, capitalism, and Black liberation, highlighting the necessity of addressing national oppression and white supremacy for true class unity. The conversation delves into the challenges and impacts of the communist movement in America, emphasizing the importance of self-determination for Black people and unity in the Black Belt region. They also discuss critiques and connections in Black liberation movements, analyzing historical figures and the roots of fascism within capitalist modernity.

In this episode we interview Tammy Kovich and El Jones to discuss the book Antifascism Against Machismo Published by our good friends at Kersplebedeb, and described as "An intergenerational dialogue on the meaning of feminist antifascism. Anti-Fascism Against Machismo collects and continues a conversation begun by Tammy Kovich (as "Petronella Lee") in 2019. Four feminist, antifascist revolutionaries jump off from each other's reflections and bring the particularities of their varied contexts to bear on one central problem: What has and will a women's war against fascism look like?" We pick up this conversation with Tammy Kovich who wrote the original zine upon which the book is constructed as well as El Jones who wrote the introduction. The book itself also includes contributions from Veronica L and from the late great Butch Lee who became an ancestor in 2021, and who we all spend time honoring in this conversation. Among other things we discuss different variants of fascist or far right patriarchy and misogyny, the problems of the politics of representation and neocolonialism, and histories of the resistance of women in antifascist movements including in Ethiopia, Yugoslavia, and Spain. I will add that we recorded this conversation back in August, and I am sure that if we had recorded it after October 7th we would have talked about what an antifascist war against zionism might look like and the contributions of women and children in the Palestinian struggle against genocide. We very much appreciated this book and encourage folks to pick it up from Kersplebedeb's retail arm which is leftwingbooks.net/. It is currently 40% off for the month of March along with over 400 titles at their online bookstore. If you appreciate the work that we do, becoming a patron of the show or increasing your pledge to the show if you can afford to do so, are the most meaningful ways you can help us keep it going. We would not be able to bring you these episodes on a weekly basis and the livestreams we put out multiple times per week without the support of our listeners. We also will be starting a new study group in April and the best place for you to find out more about that and track everything we release is to become a patron for as little as $1 a month at patreon.com/millennialsarekillingcapitalism

Zeyad El Nabolsy, an Assistant Professor at York University specializing in African philosophy, delves into the intricate connections between Marxism-Leninism and anti-colonial struggles in East Africa. He discusses the influential roles of figures like Abdul Rahman Mohamed Babu and the historical significance of the Dar es Salaam Debates. The conversation also addresses the complexities of neocolonialism, local adaptations of Marxism, and the revolutionary potential of the peasantry, all while emphasizing the need for open-access research in the academic community.

For this episode we interview Ernest McMillan to discuss his memoir Standing: One Man's Odyssey During the Turbulent '60s which came out last summer. McMillan grew up in the highly segregated heart of Dallas, Texas. We talk to him about his childhood experiences within his segregated Black community, and his experiences organizing against white supremacy in Dallas and across the South with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). McMillan's story is one of the power of organizing, but also of fierce state repression, police raids, trumped up charges, and a j ourney to find refuge in West Africa, time in the underground, political imprisonment, and prison organizing. There are many more aspects of his life story of course, but those are some of the ones he discusses in Standing and in this episode as well. A couple of notes, McMillan offers a few words on solidarity with Palestinians, and on the importance of this today. This conversation was recorded in September, and I say that just to underscore the long history of solidarity between SNCC members and the Palestinian Liberation struggle. If we had recorded it after October I'm sure we would've talked about that solidarity in more detail, but I'll just say it's a common thread that has come up in most of our conversations with SNCC veterans. We do have a number of new episodes on their way soon. I apologize to the audio listeners that I have been a little busier on the video side in recent months, but Aidan Elias - who co-produced this episode - is helping to produce and release the audio content we have and more is on its way soon. We encourage folks to pick up Ernest's book to learn more about his life and political odyssey. To support our work please consider contributing to our patreon. You can do so for as little as $1 a month at patreon.com/millennialsarekillingcapitalism Other conversations we've had with SNCC veterans or about SNCC (or SNCC members) in some capacity.

In this episode we speak to Pulitzer Prize winning composer and musician Henry Threadgill and the co-author of his autobiography Brent Hayes Edwards. The book we discuss, which was published last year is entitled Easily Slip into Another World: A Life in Music. Henry Threadgill was born in Chicago in 1944. He is one of the most significant and innovative composers of the 20th and 21st Century. In addition to being an award winning composer is an amazing saxophonist and flautist. He also is known for his percussion work, in particular the invention of the hubkaphone, a marimba like instrument made out of hub caps. He has been a leader or co-leader of the bands Air, Ensemble Double UP, Make a Move, The Henry Threadgill Ensemble, The Henry Threadgill Sextett, The Situation Society Dance Band, Very Very Circus, X-75, Zooid and 14 or 15 Kestra: Agg and probably some others I didn't track down. If we went into all the bands and groups Henry was a part of the list would be three times as long. In recent years Threadgill has established a completely new chromatic system for musical composition outside the confines of diatonic harmony. In 2016, he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for In For a Penny, In for a Pound, an album he composed for his sextet, Zooid. He currently lives in New York. Brent Hayes Edwards is a Professor at the Center for Jazz Studies at Columbia University and the Director of the Scholars-in-Residence Program at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture at the New York Public Library. So why this episode, it's a bit outside of most of our content here. Perhaps the closest things we've done to a conversation like this would be the dialogue we hosted between Fred Moten & Hanif Abdurraqib or the interview we did with Dionne Brand last year. But although I didn't ask it directly, the guiding question that animated this interview and engagement with Henry and Brent's book for me was: what insights might a truly revolutionary composer have for aspiring revolutionary organizers or for cultural workers seeking to maximize the revolutionary possibilities of their work? We hope you enjoy this conversation and that it proves as meaningful to you as it was to us. It was a tremendous honor to sit down with Henry Threadgill and Brent Hayes Edwards to discuss their beautiful book which is available now everywhere. Thank you to Aidan Elias for co-producing this episode. If you appreciate the work that we do, as always you can support our work for as little as $1 per month at patreon.com/millennialsarekillingcapitalism. Our podcast is fully supported by individual contributions of folks like you and we encourage you to join the amazing folks who make it possible for us to bring you these conversations on a weekly basis.