

The Real News Podcast
The Real News Network
Daily Reports, specials, and podcasts by The Real News Network (TRNN). TRNN makes media connecting you to the movements, people, and perspectives that are advancing the cause of a more just, equal, and livable planet. TRNN is a nonprofit media organization. We do not accept advertising revenue or corporate sponsorship.Sign up for our newsletter at therealnews.comText us at (410) 431-0868Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jul 25, 2022 • 58min
From Haiti to Minneapolis, anti-colonial resistance catches white supremacy by surprise
Read the transcript of this podcast: https://therealnews.com/from-haiti-to-minneapolis-anti-colonial-resistance-catches-white-supremacy-by-surpriseResistance is everywhere, but everywhere a surprise, especially when the agents of struggle are the colonized, the enslaved, the wretched of the earth. Anticolonial revolts and slave rebellions have often been described by those in power as “eruptions”—volcanic shocks to a system that does not, cannot, see them coming. In his new book, Anticolonial Eruptions: Racial Hubris and the Cunning of Resistance, Geo Maher diagnoses a paradoxical weakness built right into the foundations of white supremacist power, a colonial blind spot that grows as domination seems more complete. TRNN Editor-in-Chief Maximillian Alvarez interviews Maher about his book and what understanding the dynamics of anticolonial eruptions, past and present, can tell us about the historical moment we’re in and the task ahead of us.Geo Maher is an organizer, writer, radical political theorist, co-editor of the Duke University Press series Radical Américas, and Visiting Associate Professor at Vassar College. He is the author of numerous books, including We Created Chávez: A People’s History of the Venezuelan Revolution; Building the Commune: Radical Democracy in Venezuela; Decolonizing Dialectics; A World Without Police; and Anticolonial Eruptions: Racial Hubris and the Cunning of Resistance.Pre-Production/Studio: Dwayne GladdenPost-Production: Adam ColeyHelp us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer: Donate: https://therealnews.com/donate-podSign up for our newsletter: https://therealnews.com/newsletter-podLike us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/therealnewsFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/therealnewsBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

Jul 25, 2022 • 19min
Mutulu Shakur denied compassionate release despite terminal cancer diagnosis
Read the transcript of this podcast: https://therealnews.com/mutulu-shakur-former-black-liberation-army-member-denied-compassionate-release-despite-terminal-cancer-diagnosisAfter 36 years behind bars as a political prisoner, Mutulu Shakur is on his deathbed. The movement elder, healer, and radical Black freedom fighter was diagnosed with stage 3 bone marrow cancer in June of this year. Despite qualifying for compassionate release and having been eligible for parole since 2016, prison and federal authorities have refused to grant Shakur his freedom. With time running out, activists gathered at the Department of Justice on the weekend of July 23 to demand Shakur’s release. In this episode of Rattling the Bars, Mansa Musa reports from the rally to free Mutulu Shakur.Born in Baltimore and raised in Queens, Mutulu Shakur first became politically active in the 1960s as a member of the Revolutionary Action Movement and Republic of New Afrika. In 1970, Shakur helped found the People’s Drug Program at Lincoln Hospital in the South Bronx alongside the Black Panther Party and the Young Lords. As the husband of Afemi Shakur, Mutulu Shakur was the stepfather of Tupac Shakur. He was convicted in 1988 for his role in the prison escape of Assata Shakur, as well as for the 1981 robbery of a Brink’s armored car in Nanuet, New York, which resulted in the deaths of two police officers and a security guard.Pre-Production/Studio/Post-Production: Cameron GranadinoHelp us continue producing Rattling the Bars by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer: Donate: https://therealnews.com/donate-pod-rtbSign up for our newsletter: https://therealnews.com/nl-pod-rtbGet Rattling the Bars updates: https://therealnews.com/up-pod-rtbLike us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/therealnewsFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/therealnewsBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

Jul 22, 2022 • 35min
Inside airport workers’ fight for dignity and livable wages
Read the transcript of this podcast: https://therealnews.com/inside-airport-workers-fight-for-dignity-and-livable-wagesAirport workers have been on the front lines of the pandemic and the labor struggle in recent years. In Florida, for instance, workers in Tampa, Orlando, Miami and beyond have staged multiple actions over the past year to demand a living wage. Many airport workers in Florida earn as little as $7 an hour, tips included. Now, a new bill, the Good Jobs for Airports Act, could establish national wage and benefits standards for airport workers. To learn more about airport workers’ ongoing fight for dignity and higher wages, freelance journalist and new TRNN contributor McKenna Schueler talks with Scottie Walker, a cabin cleaner at Tampa International Airport and a member of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) 32BJ.Pre-Production/Studio/Post-Production: Cameron GranadinoHelp us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer: Donate: https://therealnews.com/donate-podSign up for our newsletter: https://therealnews.com/newsletter-podLike us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/therealnewsFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/therealnewsBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

Jul 22, 2022 • 1h 24min
PAR: Mainstream Media says copwatchers are a menace—here’s why they’re wrong
Read the transcript of this podcast: https://therealnews.com/mainstream-media-says-copwatchers-are-a-menace-heres-why-theyre-wrongIn this live conversation and Q&A, Police Accountability Report hosts Taya Graham and Stephen Janis discuss a recent win to protect the right to record police in the second highest court in the land. Guest Abade Irizarry (aka Liberty Freak) joins the stream to discuss the cop watching incident that started his quest and how the rights guaranteed by the First Amendment must be fought for.If you have evidence of police misconduct or brutality, or if you have a question for Taya or and Stephen, please share it with us and we might be able to investigate for you. You can email us tips privately at par@therealnews.com, message us at Police Accountability Report on Facebook or Instagram, or @eyesonpolice on Twitter.Pre-Production: Stephen Janis, Taya Graham, Studio: Jocelyn DombroskiHelp us continue producing Police Accountability Report by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer: Donate: https://therealnews.com/donate-pod-parSign up for our newsletter: https://therealnews.com/nl-pod-parGet Police Accountability Report updates: https://therealnews.com/pod-up-parLike us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/therealnewsFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/therealnewsBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

Jul 22, 2022 • 14min
PAR: Police used this dangerous restraint during a fatal arrest, so why isn’t anyone talking about it?
Read the transcript of this podcast: https://therealnews.com/police-used-this-dangerous-restraint-during-a-fatal-arrest-so-why-isnt-anyone-talking-about-itThe death of Christopher Robert Hensley in the custody of Fletcher, North Carolina, police is raising new questions about the use of deadly restraint by law enforcement. In this episode of Police Accountability Report, Taya Graham and Stephen Janis talk to independent pathologist Cyril Wecht, who reviewed footage of the arrest, to shed light on the circumstances surrounding Hensley’s death. We ask questions of North Carolina law enforcement officials to learn why cops are still using a tactic that has been widely recognized as both dangerous and deadly.Pre-Production/Studio: Stephen JanisPost-Production: Adam ColeyHelp us continue producing Police Accountability Report by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer: Donate: https://therealnews.com/donate-pod-parSign up for our newsletter: https://therealnews.com/nl-pod-parGet Police Accountability Report updates: https://therealnews.com/pod-up-parLike us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/therealnewsFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/therealnewsBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

Jul 20, 2022 • 1h 22min
Working People: UK rail workers prepare for second round of strikes
Read the transcript and see show notes for this podcast: https://therealnews.com/uk-rail-workers-prepare-for-second-round-of-strikesLast month, roughly 40,000 UK rail workers with the National Union of Rail, Maritime, and Transport Workers (RMT) went on strike for three days, bringing major portions of the British rail system to a halt in a historic show of collective strength. This week, after receiving a contract offer from state-owned Network Rail that union leaders described as "paltry," the RMT announced that workers at Network Rail and the train operating companies will engage in another day of strike action on Wednesday, July 27. With these strikes, and in the ongoing negotiations, workers are fighting for livable wages at a time when the cost of living is spiraling out of control and corporate executives and shareholders are stuffing their pockets with cash. As Adam Bychawski writes, "Train companies paid out nearly £800m to shareholders last year before telling rail unions that employees must take a real-terms pay cut for them to stay afloat." But workers are fighting for much more; they are fighting against years of austerity policies and corporate profit-generating schemes that have led to deteriorating working conditions and quality of service on the rails; they are fighting against further job losses for the sake of "modernization"'; and they are fighting for better, safer, more accessible, and well-staffed rail services for the people who depend on them.In this special panel episode, we speak with four rail workers and RMT members/officers—Mel Mullings, Clayton Clive, Cat Cray, and Gaz Jackson—about the strike and the importance of workers around the world standing in solidarity with strikers.Help us make our coverage of international labor stories even better by taking this quick, 90-second survey: https://therealnews.com/workers-of-the-world-90-second-audience-survey?article_url=https://therealnews.com/uk-rail-workers-prepare-for-second-round-of-strikes-podcastHelp us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer: Donate: https://therealnews.com/donate-podSign up for our newsletter: https://therealnews.com/newsletter-podLike us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/therealnewsFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/therealnewsBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

Jul 19, 2022 • 1h 7min
Art for the End Times: 'Why leftists should read Marilynne Robinson—despite her sins'
Read the transcript of this podcast: Marilynne Robinson established herself through some of the most biting critiques of neoliberalism written in her time. Since being identified as Obama's "favorite novelist," she's taken political positions more aligned with the powerful than her readers might have once thought possible. Nevertheless, the searing insight and aesthetic magnificence of Robinson's ornate prose can't be denied. Phil Christman, author of How to be Normal, joins Lyta Gold on this episode of Art for the End Times to discuss Robinson's oeuvre, its impact on his own writing, and what the left can still recover from her work.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer: Donate: https://therealnews.com/donate-podSign up for our newsletter: https://therealnews.com/newsletter-podLike us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/therealnewsFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/therealnewsBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

Jul 18, 2022 • 30min
Rattling the Bars: Virginia revokes early release for inmates with good behavior
Read the transcript of this podcast: https://therealnews.com/virginia-revokes-early-release-for-inmates-with-good-behaviorLawmakers in Virginia have approved a draconian budget measure from Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin that takes aim at inmates’ eligibility for early release. The new law prevents so-called “violent offenders” from applying credits earned for good behavior towards their early release. Even inmates who have already earned early release are being affected, with some families learning at the eleventh hour that their loved ones will no longer be allowed to come home. Prison reform activist Chari Baker, whose spouse is also incarcerated, recently confronted Governor Youngkin over his cruel decision to prolong the separation of families on the verge of being reunited. Baker joins Rattling the Bars co-host Mansa Musa to discuss the new Virginia law and what advocates, families, and incarcerated people are doing to fight back.Pre-Production/Studio/Post-Production: Cameron GranadinoHelp us continue producing Rattling the Bars by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer: Donate: https://therealnews.com/donate-pod-rtbSign up for our newsletter: https://therealnews.com/nl-pod-rtbGet Rattling the Bars updates: https://therealnews.com/up-pod-rtbLike us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/therealnewsFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/therealnewsBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

Jul 18, 2022 • 28min
Marc Steiner Show: Biden budget showers military with cash, shafts everyone else
Read the transcript of this podcast: Last week, after months of tortured talks and compromises from Democrats to pass legislation that their extremist colleague and West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin would approve, Manchin still blew up all hopes for Congress and President Biden to meaningfully address the climate crisis. Meanwhile, Biden’s budget priorities continue to focus on throwing good money after bad into the military, even exceeding the amounts that the Pentagon requested. From 2022 to 20223, as Lindsay Koshgarian has pointed out, the amount of money added to the military budget could cover most of the cost of Biden’s Build Back Better package. In this installment of The Marc Steiner Show, Marc speaks with Koshgarian about Democrats’ self-destructive addiction to pumping cash into the military-industrial complex while failing to address the issues that matter most to voters.Lindsay Koshgarian is the Program Director of the National Priorities Project, a project of the Institute for Policy Studies, where she analyzes the federal budget process and politics, military spending, and specifically how federal budget choices for different spending priorities and taxation interact.Tune in for new episodes of The Marc Steiner Show every Monday on TRNN, and subscribe to the TRNN YouTube channel for video versions of The Marc Steiner Show podcast.Pre-Production/Studio: Dwayne GladdenPost-Production: Stephen FrankHelp us continue producing The Marc Steiner Show by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer:Donate: https://therealnews.com/donate-pod-mssSign up for our newsletter: https://therealnews.com/nl-pod-stGet The Marc Steiner Show updates: https://therealnews.com/up-pod-stLike us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/therealnewsFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/therealnewsBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

Jul 15, 2022 • 41min
Starbucks and other companies escalate war on unions with store closures
Read the transcript of this podcast: https://therealnews.com/starbucks-and-other-companies-escalate-war-on-unions-with-store-closuresThe union wave is hitting coffee chains big and small, but the bosses aren’t going down without a fight. In June, after workers there voted overwhelmingly to unionize, Starbucks permanently closed the popular College Ave. location in Ithaca, New York, in a suspected act of retaliation, leaving workers in dire financial straits. Then, on July 11, Starbucks announced it would close 16 of its branches over alleged “safety concerns.” Workers and organizers have been quick to point out that two of the branches targeted for closure in Seattle also recently unionized, and they allege that Starbucks is breaching US labor laws. Meanwhile, in Louisville, Kentucky, local “progressive” coffee chain Heine Brothers’ Coffee has come under fire for its own response to employees’ efforts to unionize, including closing the Douglass Loop location, where some of the most vocal pro-union workers were employed. In an urgent panel discussion, TRNN Editor-in-Chief Maximillian Alvarez speaks with worker-organizers from the closed Heine Brothers’ store in Louisville and the closed College Ave. Starbucks in Ithaca: Gami Ray, a barista and worker-organizer with the Heine Brothers’ Workers Union, and Bek, a shift supervisor and worker-organizer with Starbucks Workers United.Pre-Production/Studio/Post-Production: Cameron GranadinoHelp us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer: Donate: https://therealnews.com/donate-podSign up for our newsletter: https://therealnews.com/newsletter-podLike us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/therealnewsFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/therealnewsBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!


