Laura Flanders and Friends: Solutions-Focused Progressive Perspectives on Politics, News, and Culture - podcast cover

Laura Flanders and Friends: Solutions-Focused Progressive Perspectives on Politics, News, and Culture

Laura Flanders, Curious Communicationswww.lauraflanders.org
Uncensored history meets bold voices with Laura Flanders, award winning journalist and author. The show explores actionable models for creating a better world by reporting on the people and movements driving systemic change. We spotlight the solutions of tomorrow, today. The show airs on PBS stations in over 300 US markets, and airs on 60+ community radio stations via PRX Exchange and Pacifica, and is available on YouTube and here as a podcast. Subscribers receive lots of video and audio web exclusives in addition to the weekly episode. Recent field reports and specials include: Jimmy Carter; 60th Anniversary of Selma Bloody Sunday March; Bernie Sanders' Fighting Oligarchy; Labor Movement vs. Fascism: Worker Organizers & Teachers Under Attack; And interviewee highlights include Award Winning Actor, Director, Writer, Liev Schreiber on his documentary "Meeting Zelensky"; Award winning journalists Maria Hinojosa (Award Winning Suave Podcast and host of Latino USA) & Chenjerai Kumanyika (Award Winning Podcast Series Empire City) on Forced Removals, Foreign Detention, the War on Education & Free Speech; Democracy & Capitalism: A Failed Experiment? with Bloomberg Economist & host of Truponomics, Stephanie Flanders; Masha Gessen & Jason Stanley on fascism then and now; Naomi Klein & Astra Taylor on the arc of history and “End Times Fascism”; Congressman Jamie Raskin on Donald Trump, Elon Musk, DOGE, and congressional oversight of the executive branch."
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Episodes

Should Activists Run for Congress?

Seattle Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-WA-7th) and Baltimore activist Dominique Stevenson discuss activism, political involvement and why leaders should consider running for office. Then Stevenson takes us on to a community farming project in Baltimore's Sandtown (Freddie Gray's neighborhood). Music featured: “Bruthas” by Paris Cesvette featuring Brutha Basil from her album “Celestial (My Journey Among Stars)” released on Groove Odyssey. Support theLFShow Laura Flanders and Friends Crew: Laura...

Aug 15, 201828 minEp. 196

Monopoly Capitalism: At The Breaking Point?

Monopoly capitalism may be on its last legs! Economist Michael Hudson joins us to say his predictions on the Trump budget have come true and seem to suggest, more than ever, that capitalism is not only a disservice to the people, but it's also unsuccessful. Then, Stacy Mitchell and Joe Maxwell joined us at the 2018 Progressive Caucus Strategy Summit in Baltimore. Monopoly capitalism, they say, translates to monopolized power. Music featured: "Funkin' For the World" by Nona Hendryx on SoulClap Re...

Aug 08, 201831 minEp. 195

Ferguson to Detroit: Community Building from the Barbershop to the Polls

Entrepreneurship in St. Louis, MO; electoral organizing in Uniontown, AL; and community wealth building on urban farms in Detroit, MI. We hit the road to report on community wealth building. We visit activist and musician Tef Poe's barbershop, Frontline Stylez , a project spurred by the Ferguson uprising. Then, journalist Salaam Green on #BlackVotersMatter in Alabama, a movement led by grassroots coalition organizing, led by black women. Plus, Jerry Hebron and Bryce Detroit join us from Oakland ...

Aug 01, 201831 minEp. 194

F-Word: Ominous Silence on the Anniversary of the ADA

The American with Disabilities Act turned 28 this July.Traditionally, Capitol Hill marks the day. The first two years of the Trump administration are the first, that the anniversary’s passed without official anything. Our goal is to thrive, not just survive. By becoming a member , you sustain our independent, and grassroots-driven content! Laura Flanders and Friends Crew: Laura Flanders-Executive Producer, Writer; Sabrina Artel-Supervising Producer; Jeremiah Cothren-Senior Producer; Veronica Del...

Jul 27, 20184 minEp. 193

Decolonizing Wealth Through Indigenous Leadership

This week Laura speaks to Edgar Villanueva, about being one of the very few indigenous people working in grant-making, and ask what he thinks Native American traditions have to teach philanthropy. His latest book is " Decolonizing Wealth ". Then, a special report from the ‘United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues’ this past spring that included voices from the Rosa Luxemberg Stiftung and MADRE ’s delegation of Indigenous Women Leaders from around the world. Music Spotlight: "Awakening...

Jul 25, 201828 minEp. 192

F-Word: Cooperatives, From Brooklyn to Brattleboro

Socialism is as close as your closest coop. Our goal is to thrive, not just survive. By becoming a member , you sustain our independent, and grassroots-driven content! Laura Flanders and Friends Crew: Laura Flanders-Executive Producer, Writer; Sabrina Artel-Supervising Producer; Jeremiah Cothren-Senior Producer; Veronica Delgado-Video Editor, Janet Hernandez-Communications Director; Jeannie Hopper-Audio Director, Podcast & Radio Producer, Audio Editor, Sound Design, Narrator; Sarah Miller-De...

Jul 20, 20184 minEp. 191

Special Report: Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party's Radical Rise

What difference does a Party make? We talk about what's happening in the UK where one of the two main parties is picking up many of the radical demands coming out of movement groups seeking to transform the economy and society. In 2017, mainstream media predicted that the Labour Party​ would be crushed in the general election. Instead, it won its best result in 20 years, getting more than 40% of the vote under the leadership of life long socialist and anti-war campaigner Jeremy Corbyn. Although ...

Jul 18, 201828 minEp. 190

Telling Stories of the Syrian Civil War: Marwan Hisham and Molly Crabapple

Our wars abroad and our wars at home. This week on the show, acclaimed graphic artist Molly Crabapple and Syrian journalist Marwan Hisham join Laura to talk about their collaborative book “Brothers of the Gun.” Then, a report by Jonathan Klett on a community in Wisconsin that mobilized to greet Republicans attending a Trump fundraiser: Voces de La Frontera . Music Spotlight: “No State Solution” by Free Radicals featuring Marcos, remixed by Lacandon. Support theLFShow Laura Flanders and Friends C...

Jul 11, 201828 minEp. 189

F-Word: Jeff Sessions Sets Back The Clock

Pay no attention to what the media say about how undermined Jeff Sessions is. POTUS may bait him publicly via tweet. In private, at the DOJ, Sessions is a man on a mission to roll back civil rights and that’s just what he’s doing. Our goal is to thrive, not just survive. By becoming a member , you sustain our independent, and grassroots-driven content! Laura Flanders and Friends Crew: Laura Flanders-Executive Producer, Writer; Sabrina Artel-Supervising Producer; Jeremiah Cothren-Senior Producer;...

Jul 07, 20183 minEp. 188

All Families Belong Together: Immigration & Incarceration

Families torn apart at the border and through our prison system. Can we use this moment of public awareness to create change? Emani Davis, a long-standing advocate for children of incarcerated parents and Color Of Change's Rashad Robinson are this week's guests, plus an explainer on the Bail Bond System with Molly Crabapple and John Legend from Color of Change . Music: "Memory Lane" by Tomasia Got Flows & Stef-I. Support theLFShow Laura Flanders and Friends Crew: Laura Flanders-Executive Pro...

Jul 05, 201829 minEp. 187

Minicast: Election 2018 Special, Young Voters and the Progressive Path Forward.

The following minicast features highlights from an Election special on Young Voters Hosted by Laura Flanders. The event took place a couple weeks prior to the NY Democratic Congressional primary election where Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez defeated 19 year-incumbent Joseph Crowley. Produced by Globalvision , and a co-production of theLFShow, Free Speech TV, and Manhattan Neighborhood Network. Guests: Alexandria Ocasio Cortez - District NY-14 Congressional Candidate, Nathan Rubin- Millennial Politics ...

Jul 02, 201810 minEp. 186

Bodies, Borders, Resistance, Rebirth: Arundhati Roy

India in the throes of a fascism that echoes what we have in America. The country is undergoing a political upheaval with PM Modi at its front, and fueled by increased violence towards Muslims, queers, Dalits, women, and more. Our guest, Arundhati Roy, covers this vast breadth of ground in her second novel in 20 years, ‘ The Ministry of Utmost Happiness', is now out in paperback . Music selection: “Into the Sun” by Grupal featuring Thenmozhi Soundararajan, from Grupal’s album Migration Music. Su...

Jun 27, 201828 minEp. 185

F-Word: National Suicide Point?

"Smash society and you create craven people. Craven, from the early English word meaning crushed, defeated, overwhelmed." Our goal is to thrive, not just survive. By becoming a member , you sustain our independent, and grassroots-driven content! Laura Flanders and Friends Crew: Laura Flanders-Executive Producer, Writer; Sabrina Artel-Supervising Producer; Jeremiah Cothren-Senior Producer; Veronica Delgado-Video Editor, Janet Hernandez-Communications Director; Jeannie Hopper-Audio Director, Podca...

Jun 22, 20184 minEp. 184

Democratizing Wealth, Expanding Power - The Preston Model

On this week's program, coproduced with the Democracy Collaborative, Laura reports on a transatlantic experiment in cooperative community wealth building. In Preston, Lancashire, England, a formerly industrial city, the birthplace of the industrial revolution in many ways, they’ve seen ten years of austerity and partly out of need, and partly out of aspiration they’re practicing, experimenting, with a new model, the Preston model, and it’s inspired by a model in another formerly industrialized c...

Jun 20, 201829 minEp. 183

F-Word: Bottom Up Wins In Virginia’s Primaries

A certain handshake in Singapore dominated the news June 12, so you may have missed Virginia’s Democratic primaries. Our goal is to thrive, not just survive. By becoming a member , you sustain our independent, and grassroots-driven content! Laura Flanders and Friends Crew: Laura Flanders-Executive Producer, Writer; Sabrina Artel-Supervising Producer; Jeremiah Cothren-Senior Producer; Veronica Delgado-Video Editor, Janet Hernandez-Communications Director; Jeannie Hopper-Audio Director, Podcast &a...

Jun 15, 20183 minEp. 182

A Public Bank For Public Good!

What would students in debt, worker coops, and entrepreneurs stand to gain from a public bank in the financial capital of the world? This week, Deyanira del Río- New Economy Project , Linda Levy, Lower East Side People's Federal Credit Union & Cindy Martinez- Enlace on why it's more needed than ever - and what they're doing to make it happen. Then, the Public Bank NYC 's recent launch action with NYC organizations, including NYPRIG ; NYCC ; and The Working World . Music: "Masters of Greed" b...

Jun 13, 201828 minEp. 181

F-Word: Liberal and Establishment Media Thwarting Populist Politics

The commentary is an excerpt taken from our online-only interview with Chomsky , where the famed linguist analyzed the state of geo-nuclear politics, the crisis of climate change, and the need for international solidarity against proliferation. Check out all our web exclusives including the latest featuring Christine Hong: 'Nuclear Brinkmanship is Business As Usual for US-North Korea Relations'. Our goal is to thrive, not just survive. By becoming a member , you sustain our independent, and gras...

Jun 12, 20184 minEp. 180

Outsider Power Shifts Insider Politics: Working Families' Maurice Mitchell

Social movements and party politics - inherently at odds or natural allies? This week, in his first in-depth TV appearance, Maurice Mitchell, the new National Director of the Working Families Party , joins us in studio. Laura and Maurice discuss his activist background, the WFP's national and international vision, and how the organization is tackling this midterm election year. Music: “I Want to Believe” by UNA from their album "Noise of the Wing". Support theLFShow Laura Flanders and Friends Cr...

Jun 06, 201828 minEp. 179

F-Word: Throwing Shade not Light on Youth Voting

For the first time, 18-35 year-old "millennials" and their even younger counterparts, “generation z” will be America’s single largest voting block – with power to swing the result, if they actually turn out to cast a ballot. The perennial question is, will they? Write to Laura. She'd love to hear from you info@LauraFlanders.org Our goal is to thrive, not just survive. By becoming a member , you sustain our independent, and grassroots-driven content! Laura Flanders and Friends Crew: Laura Flander...

Jun 01, 20183 minEp. 178

Should activists run for Congress?

Seattle Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-WA-7th) and Baltimore activist Dominique Stevenson discuss activism, political involvement and why leaders should consider running for office. Then Stevenson takes us on to a community farming project in Baltimore's Sandtown (Freddie Gray's neighborhood). Music featured: “Bruthas” by Paris Cesvette featuring Brutha Basil from her album “Celestial (My Journey Among Stars)” released on Groove Odyssey. Support theLFShow Laura Flanders and Friends Crew: Laura...

May 30, 201828 minEp. 177

F-word: After Brexit, Blexit: Putting Your Money Where Your Life Is

Public banks serving public interests. Find out more about BLEXIT at NextCity.org and learn about the Banking for Justice campaign at NewEconomynyc.org and watch the Laura Flanders Show . Please write a review in iTunes . Our goal is to thrive, not just survive. By becoming a member , you sustain our independent, and grassroots-driven content! Laura Flanders and Friends Crew: Laura Flanders-Executive Producer, Writer; Sabrina Artel-Supervising Producer; Jeremiah Cothren-Senior Producer; Veronica...

May 24, 20183 minEp. 176

Making Data Shift Power: Bex Hong Hurwitz and Rashida Richardson

It seems like the only tech headlines we have are about disasters. But what about the original promise of tech to innovate and empower? Bex Hong Hurwitz- Data & Society fellow and Rashida Richardson- AI Now Institute , join Laura to discuss the subversive and democratic potential of technology, and how we harness it. Then, Kayleigh Walsh from the UK-based tech cooperative Outlandish - a model that centers on empowerment and sustainability. Music by Mia Doi Todd "Digital" City Zen Records. Su...

May 23, 201828 minEp. 175

Minicast: Indigenous Women Speak Out At UNPFII

In this minicast, we speak to indigenous women leaders at the 17th session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) at the UN, New York. The Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung —New York Office, together with the international women’s rights organization MADRE , welcomed a delegation of Indigenous women leaders from across the world to participate in the UNPFII . The session was titled "Local and Global Strategies for Countering Migration and Displacement." Support theLFShow Laura...

May 22, 20186 minEp. 174

Communities Over Commodities: How to Get There?

Housing affordability and power by design? This week on the show, Monique George of Picture the Homeless and Gianpaolo Baiocchi from NYU's Urban Democracy Lab & lead author of the Communities Over Commodities Report argue that a truly just housing policy requires a shift in power. Then [00:22:16], from our TED Women series, two architects who are combatting the effects of gentrification and serving low-income communities through innovative design. Music: “My Truth” by Groove Junkies and Reel...

May 16, 201829 minEp. 173

Hujar, Wojnarowicz: Art, AIDS & Challenge of Retrospection

1980’s art both personal and political arose out of the AIDS epidemic. Two major NYC art exhibits – Peter Hujar: Speed of Life (Morgan, thru May 20) and David Wojnarowicz: History Keeps Me Awake . What do the lives of these masterful artists have to do with the art and activism of today? Laura Flanders and her guests bring the exhibits together in a frank and probing discussion: David Kiehl , Joel Smith , artist Pamela Sneed - Visual Aids . Music: "Come On, Come On" Scott Hardkiss feat Lisa Shaw...

May 09, 201830 minEp. 172

F-Word: What if Ida B. Wells Depended on Facebook?

"Would Well’s Free Speech have made it into my news feed on Facebook? I doubt it, because Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced in a meeting with media executives May 1, that his company had started ranking news organizations by trust. News sources that score higher will be promoted, those with lower scores will be suppressed." Please write a review in iTunes . Our goal is to thrive, not just survive. By becoming a member , you sustain our independent, and grassroots-driven content! Laura Fland...

May 04, 20184 minEp. 171

Taking Down the Confederacy - One Monument At A Time

Many are protesting Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant's proclaiming April as Confederate Heritage Month, the last state banner to feature confederate iconography. The movement to change it has become a klaxon for the greater movement to take down Confederate symbols. Laura speaks with actress and activist Aunjanue Ellis about her organization Take It Down America , and why this movement is personal. +Genesis Be, returns to Mississippi to speak to a old friend who thinks the flag should stay. Support ...

May 01, 201828 minEp. 170

F-Word: Water, Profit and Public Trust in Michigan

Two hundred dollars a year, to make private profits off public water is little for Nestle Water Company in the state of Michigan. When it’s what residents in Flint Michigan are paying every month to drink private water because the public supply’s been poisoned, it’s a lot. Become a member today . Thank you! Laura Flanders and Friends Crew: Laura Flanders-Executive Producer, Writer; Sabrina Artel-Supervising Producer; Jeremiah Cothren-Senior Producer; Veronica Delgado-Video Editor, Janet Hernande...

Apr 27, 20183 minEp. 169

Bringing the Public to Public Art

When it comes to the heart of the matter of art in New York City, what does a more equitable landscape for art and culture look like? Laura speaks with 3 guests who make it their job to figure out how we’ll democratize access to art and art making plus an example of what that looks like with Educated Little Monsters and Silent Barn . Betty Yu, Chinatown Art Brigade , Amin Husain, MTL Collective, and Charlotte Cohen, Brooklyn Arts Council . Music feat'd “Mask Off Remix” by ELM. Support theLFShow!...

Apr 25, 201829 minEp. 168

F-Word: U.S. Led Strike on Syria More of a Show of Weakness

“Politicians and pundits tend to get excited about war, but the US-led strike on Syria of April 14th, was more of a show of weakness than of strength, veteran Middle East correspondent, Patrick Cockburn tells Laura Flanders.“ Patrick has reported on the middle east since the 1970's. Please take the time to write a review in iTunes. Our goal is to thrive, not just survive. Become a member today . Thank you! Laura Flanders and Friends Crew: Laura Flanders-Executive Producer, Writer; Sabrina Artel-...

Apr 20, 20184 minEp. 167
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