Resisting Trump & Authoritarianism: The “Beautiful Solutions” Toolbox (Full Conversation)

Discover effective survival strategies under authoritarianism in "Beautiful Solutions: A Toolbox for Liberation," featuring insights from global contributors and activists.

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How do people survive authoritarianism? With harsher policing, market chaos, mass layoffs and healthcare cuts, Americans are fearing the worst under Donald Trump and Elon Musk, and many are seeking effective survival tools. Arriving just on time, “Beautiful Solutions: A Toolbox for Liberation” was published last year by OR Books. It’s packed with collective wisdom for surviving, and in so doing, creating a more just, equitable society. With over 70 contributions from the Americas, Africa, Asia and Indigenous peoples around the world, change is everywhere, it can start anywhere, and as “Beautiful Solutions” reminds us, “our problems are global and interconnected, and our solutions must be too.” To expand on some of the models in the book, Laura Flanders is joined by one of the co-editors Eli Feghali, former director of the New Economy Coalition, and contributor Nikki Marín Baena, co-founder and co-director at Siembra NC, a Latino base building and political organization in North Carolina. Lauren Hudson co-hosts. Hudson is a cooperative and Solidarity Economy organizer and researcher and teaches at the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies.

“. . . How do we dream our big dreams about not just what we're fighting against, but what we're fighting for, and really hold onto those and also understand that the little projects and the little connections that we make with each other, those are the only things that can become those big dreams.” - Nikki Marín Baena

“The only thing that I feel some fear about in this moment is that maybe some of us will give up ground that we don't need to give up out of anticipatory fear of what might happen . . . That's not to say that the risks aren't real, that's not to say that the plans that are being telegraphed and the news aren't real, but it's to say that we should not let go of what we fought for until we absolutely have to . . . We just have to trust each other and trust ourselves.” - Eli Feghali

“I have to think as an educator . . . how do we teach this moment? . . . I think what [my students] will say is this was a rupture, and it was a rupture that forced many of us back into some corners, but it was also an invitation to participate in the world in a different way.” - Lauren Hudson

Guests:

•. Eli Feghali, Co-Editor, Beautiful Solutions; Former Co-Director, New Economy Coalition

•. Nikki Marín Baena, Co-Director, Siembra NC

•. Lauren Hudson, Organizer & Researcher, Cooperative and Solidarity Economy

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*Recommended book:

“Beautiful Solutions: A Toolbox for Liberation” by Elandria Williams, Rachel Plattus, Eli Feghali and Nathan Schneider, *Get the Book

(*Bookshop is an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. The LF Show is an affiliate of bookshop.org and will receive a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.)

Related Laura Flanders Show Episodes:

•  Cooperation vs Authoritarianism in Spain, Watch / Listen

•  Taking Power vs Making Power: A Special Report from Greece, Watch / Listen  

•  Armed with Art: Taking Down the Wall of Whiteness, Watch / Listen

Related Articles and Resources:

•  Beautiful  Trouble, Sister Project to Beautiful Solutions Learn More

•  Pandas And The Informal Economy of Mexico, by Medium

• Prepare to Oppose Trump’s Immigrant Purge, by Nikki Marín Baena, November 22, 2024, Progressive

Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders, along with Sabrina Artel, Jeremiah Cothren, Veronica Delgado, Janet Hernandez, Jeannie Hopper, Gina Kim, Sarah Miller, Nat Needham, David Neuman, and Rory O’Conner. 

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