Democracy isn’t dead, it just needs to be reimagined so that all of us can flourish. And that requires radical imagination! Angela Glover Blackwell, host of the Radical Imagination podcast, has a new podcast: Reimagining Democracy for a Good Life ! In this six-part series, Angela, along with an array of guests, seeks to find the essential elements of a strong, inclusive multiracial democracy in, perhaps, one of the most unlikely places: Los Angeles. Find out more at https://www.policylink.org/re...
May 09, 2024•5 min
Ever wonder who will carry the torch of change into the future of American politics and environmental action? Be inspired by two trailblazers whose leadership and determination exemplify what's needed to ensure a more equitable and sustainable future for all. Juan Ramiro Sarmiento of Run for Something discusses how the organization reshapes the political sphere by supporting young, diverse candidates in key, down-ballot local and state elections. Transitioning from the ballot box to the courtroo...
Jan 18, 2024•23 min•Season 5Ep. 8
Venture with us into an episode where Rue Mapp of Outdoor Afro and Ronda Chapman from the Trust for Public Land discuss their efforts to reconnect Black communities with nature's joys and healing powers. Their stories weave a narrative tapestry that celebrates culture, fosters community, and uplifts Black voices in the outdoor spaces. While both Rue and Ronda bring to light the systemic racism that has long kept outdoor spaces out of reach for many, each, in their individual efforts, also stitch...
Dec 29, 2023•29 min•Season 5Ep. 7
Discover the powerful role of artificial intelligence in preserving indigenous languages in our latest episode, where I, Angela Glover Blackwell, engage in a compelling discussion with Keoni Mahelona, the talented CTO of Te Hiku Media. We delve into the rich history of the Māori people, uncovering the injustices they've faced and the ways AI is paving the way toward the revitalization of their language. Get ready to be intrigued and enlightened as we discuss how Te Hiku Media is disrupting tradi...
Dec 15, 2023•23 min•Season 5Ep. 6
Get ready to be inspired by revolutionizing education. Our guest, Ja'Sonta Roberts, the offsite programs manager for Assemble, takes us on a journey through a new STEAM curriculum that’s infused with Black history and Afrofuturism. This dynamic approach, developed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, helps students envision their future selves as innovators and leaders. We dive deep into the heart of this progressive curriculum, exploring how Afrofuturism is woven into lessons, the value of representati...
Dec 01, 2023•28 min•Season 5Ep. 5
What if the nearest source of clean water was miles away from your home? Picture a world where access to this basic necessity is not a given, but a struggle. That's the reality for many in the Navajo Nation, and our guest, Cindy Howe, director of the Navajo Water Project at DigDeep, knows it all too well. Yet her passion for bridging the water divide shines through as she talks about the importance of local leadership and collaboration in addressing this crisis, while fighting the recent Supreme...
Nov 17, 2023•18 min•Season 5Ep. 4
Can you imagine a world in which we not only acknowledge the systemic injustices tied to housing and land disparities but actively rectify them? Join us as we engage in a profound conversation with Rasheedah Phillips, Afrofuturist and Director of Housing at PolicyLink to explore spatial reparations -- a transformative approach to rectifying historical wrongs. We journey through local initiatives like those in Evanston, Illinois, demonstrating the possibilities of reparations targeted at specific...
Nov 02, 2023•20 min•Season 5Ep. 3
In this episode of Radical Imagination, we hear from Doris Brown, co-director of West Street Recovery, to unravel this mystery. She lifts the veil on how systemic inequities, housing, infrastructure, and government funding are all intertwined with climate issues. Her work in Houston, particularly in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, has led to community organizing that transformed devastation into platforms for change. A fascinating journey from a community of 12 to over 100 members in the Nort...
Oct 20, 2023•32 min•Season 5Ep. 2
If we are to realize a radically inclusive, thriving, multiracial democracy, we must lay claim to that future, raise our voices, and use our collective power to redesign a nation that truly works for all. Tune in for a stirring discussion with Michael McAfee, President & CEO of PolicyLink, as we unpack the significant impact of President Biden's Executive Orders on racial equity and how they can be wielded to effect real change. We discuss the impact of Black voters turning out in record num...
Oct 03, 2023•20 min•Season 5Ep. 1
Are you ready to be inspired, provoked, and galvanized into action? Prepare yourself for a stimulating journey, as we kick-start Season 5 of Radical Imagination! I’m your host, Angela Glover Blackwell, and this season, we dive deep into the minds of activists, artists, educators, and leaders who are not just dreaming big but are also crafting innovative solutions for transformative change. Our guests range from those using cutting-edge technology to preserve cultural languages and traditions, to...
Sep 22, 2023•2 min
"If we have any hopes of fundamentally breaking away from the patterns of the past and rupturing the inadequate present, the future can no longer be envisioned only by those with the privilege of time and space to imagine. It can no longer be constructed within a bootstraps narrative of personal responsibility and self-determination that treats only some as deserving of a roof over their heads. Our measure of progress must rely on how much we can transform our values to provide broad scale and e...
Nov 25, 2022•22 min•Season 4Ep. 8
Non-police emergency response remains an extremely relevant topic, even though we're seeing strong pushback against the Defund the Police movement -- including from those who were initially supportive. Yet police, throughout the country, continue to remain at odds with the communities they are supposed to protect. In this episode, Angela discusses the potential of emergency triage that doesn’t involve police intervention with Brandon Anderson, an abolitionist and founder of the police reporting ...
Nov 04, 2022•24 min•Season 4Ep. 7
Since the pandemic, people have quit their jobs in record numbers, with around 47 million people leaving their jobs in 2021. Many of these workers are Black and Latinx; many of them women. In this episode, we examine what it means to have a healthy relationship with work, and we hear a radical new way to define the role of work in our lives. Angela speaks with Sarah Jaffe, the author of "Work Won't Love You Back," and welcomes back Saru Jayaraman, founder of One Fair Wage. Tune into Radical Imag...
Oct 07, 2022•21 min•Season 4Ep. 6
The history of the trans-Atlantic trade of enslaved Africans has been rewritten, sanitized, flat out misrepresented, and often obscured by the lens through which we observe history. As a society, when we need to get a more enlightened look at ourselves and the world around us, we turn to the vision of artists. This week’s guest Ashley Shaw Scott Adjaye is artistic director of the World Reimagined -- a national public art project in the United Kingdom that explores the history & legacy of the...
Sep 15, 2022•20 min•Season 4Ep. 5
While reparations and reparative justice are just a talking point for some people, there is a growing movement in our country to reconnect Black people with land and property that was illegally stolen from them or their ancestors. In this episode of Radical Imagination, we learn about the radical movement for land justice– a blueprint for policy change that could pave the way for reparations for Black families nationwide. Host Angela Glover Blackwell speaks with Kavon Ward – poet, activist, and ...
Aug 19, 2022•27 min•Season 4Ep. 4
Today on Radical Imagination, Clyde Prout III, chairman of the Colfax Todd’s Valley Consolidated Tribe in California, tells the remarkable story of how his tribe reclaimed land stolen by the government nearly half a century ago. Native people were violently displaced from their ancestral homelands throughout US history, as land was stolen and sold to private owners, made “public” in the name of preserving natural resources, or set aside for agriculture and recreation. We’ll also hear from Jeff D...
Jul 29, 2022•24 min•Season 4Ep. 3
Since becoming the first Sub-Saharan African country to win independence from a colonial power, Ghana has been an inspiration to Black Americans to return to Africa. For many, it's a brief journey. We're changed by what we learn about the culture and our collective past. And that informs our lives and our work when we return home. But other people stay. They make vital contributions to the culture, the economy, and the nation's future. We hear from two Black women -- Renee Neblett the Founding D...
Jul 14, 2022•25 min•Season 4Ep. 2
Even today, when many of us are in pain because of systemic inequities, we tend to hold ourselves personally accountable for the trauma we bear. And we think of healing as individual work. The season 4 debut of Radical Imagination upends these myths and frees us of the emotional burdens we shouldn't have to carry alone. Host Angela Glover Blackwell speaks with Prentis Hemphill, a writer, therapist, and the founder of the Embodiment Institute, about the revolutionary idea of collective trauma and...
Jun 30, 2022•23 min•Season 4Ep. 1
Radical healing. Afro-futurism. Repatriation of stolen land. Housing justice. Black Americans returning to Ghana. Bold alternatives to work and policing. On Season 4 of Radical Imagination we transcend the borders of geography and policy to explore transformative ways of healing and repairing the sins of the past, and how they interconnect with the revolutionary work of creating a just, equitable future. Coming this month! Tune into Radical Imagination as we dive into the stories and solutions t...
Jun 21, 2022•2 min
Debt continues to drown millions of young people, families, and retirees, especially Black and Brown communities who bear a disproportionate impact. In this episode of Radical Imagination, host Angela Glover Blackwell speaks with Astra Taylor, a filmmaker, activist and the director of the Debt Collective, a membership union who are calling for the cancellation of all types of debt. Tune into Radical Imagination as we dive into the stories and solutions that are fueling change. www.radicalimagina...
Sep 17, 2021•24 min•Season 3Ep. 8
Last November Los Angeles County voted to dismantle the largest youth juvenile system in the country to create a new approach where care is prioritized over punishment. Radical Imagination host Angela Glover Blackwell speaks with youth grassroots organizer Kent Mendoza. He was incarcerated as a youth and was involved in the reimagining of a new system. We also hear from James Bell, the founding president of the Haywood Burns Institute and a consulting partner on LA County's Youth Justice Reimagi...
Aug 25, 2021•32 min•Season 3Ep. 7
As Covid-19 continues to sweep the world and most countries, especially in the Global South, struggle to access vaccines, Radical Imagination takes a fresh look at how the US patent system keeps billions of people at home and abroad from obtaining life-saving medicines. Since our first episode on this topic, early in the pandemic, the situation has become more dire. In India, one of the world’s largest vaccine producers, almost nobody had access to the Covid vaccine last spring, when the virus b...
Jul 22, 2021•22 min•Season 3Ep. 6
Artificial intelligence and algorithms are increasingly used to make life-changing decisions in policing, lending, hiring, renting, health care, and many other realms. The technology has come under fire for encoding and intensifying racial bias. But what if AI could be transformed into a tool for fighting discrimination and inequality? Host Angela Glover Blackwell discusses this intriguing possibility with Black in AI co-founder, activist, and computer scientist Rediet Abebe. We also hear the st...
Jun 25, 2021•28 min•Season 3Ep. 5
Social justice activists tend to be so driven to fix tough systemic problems that we often overlook the obvious: We want to create a society filled with joy and satisfaction for all. In this episode of Radical Imagination, we celebrate pleasure and explore its importance in the work of societal transformation. Host Angela Glover Blackwell talks with adrienne maree brown, author Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good . Join us for a conversation about finding love, delight, and pleasure ...
May 14, 2021•27 min•Season 3Ep. 4
An economy that works for all depends on a robust system of caregiving. That has become all too clear during the pandemic, as 2.5 million women were pushed out of the workforce to care for family members. This episode of Radical Imagination looks at the growing movement to reimagine care across the lifespan, recognize it as essential infrastructure, invest in it, and improve wages and labor protections for the workers — mostly Black and immigrant women —we trust to care for the people we love. H...
Apr 12, 2021•28 min•Season 3Ep. 3
What would our economy look like if it put people before profits? For one thing, nobody would have to accept the sub-minimum wage of $2.13, which many states allow for restaurant workers -- a legacy of slavery that marginalizes and impoverishes a wide swath of a workforce made up largely of people of color and immigrants. In this episode of Radical Imagination, host Angela Glover Blackwell speaks with Saru Jayaraman, president of One Fair Wage and director of the Food Labor Research Center at UC...
Mar 23, 2021•29 min•Season 3Ep. 2
Radical Imagination opens with a deep dive into the 1921 massacre of hundreds of Black people in the thriving business district of Tulsa, Oklahoma. We examine how history books erased that atrocity and distorted so much of Black history. Host Angela Glover Blackwell talks with Hannibal B. Johnson, historian and Education Chair for the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Commission, about the radical effort to make the story of Tulsa's Black Wall Street part of Oklahoma’s K-12 school curricula. Join us and ...
Feb 26, 2021•20 min•Season 3Ep. 1
San Francisco’s District Attorney Chesa Boudin was elected on the promise of bringing justice to the criminal "justice" system. He's part of a new wave of reform-minded prosecutors who are trying to change the system, eliminate the most harmful practices, and bring accountability to policing. Host Angela Glover Blackwell talks with Boudin about his efforts to bring fairness and compassion to a system that is oppressive by design. Too often, reform from the inside simply perpetuates the status qu...
Nov 28, 2020•25 min•Season 2Ep. 9
In this episode of Radical Imagination we follow up on our coverage of police abolition. Host Angela Glover Blackwell speaks with human rights lawyer and organizer Derecka Purnell, whose advocacy has led to the dismissal of thousands of cases based on unconstitutional policing practices. We first explored the abolition movement a year ago — before the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Black people, spurred nationwide protests. Now we look at the changing political and cultural...
Oct 10, 2020•28 min•Season 2Ep. 8
Well before Covid-19, Black Americans struggled to access healthcare and had disproportionately high rates of chronic illness and death. Nowhere is this more glaring than in the Mississippi Delta, where Black people with diabetes are commonly treated by amputation and are three times more likely to die of the disease than their White counterparts. Host Angela Glover Blackwell speaks with Dr. Foluso Fakorede, who moved to the region to improve patient care and stop the unnecessary the loss of lim...
Sep 05, 2020•36 min•Season 2Ep. 7
