The Real News Podcast

Fifty years into the era of mass incarceration, states like Arkansas, Montana, California, and Colorado are pushing to build new prisons and expand immigrant detention. In this episode of Rattling the Bars, host Mansa Musa talks with Nicole Porter of The Sentencing Project about how federal and state governments are doubling down on new prison construction and ICE contracts to expand the prison-industrial complex, what sets the US criminal justice system apart from other countries around the world, and how organizers are fighting for real prison population reductions instead of more cages.Guest:Nicole D. Porter, named a “New Civil Rights Leader” by Essence Magazine for her work to challenge mass incarceration, manages The Sentencing Project’s state and local advocacy efforts on sentencing reform, voting rights, and confronting racial disparities in the criminal legal system. Since joining The Sentencing Project in 2009, Porter’s advocacy and findings have supported criminal legal reforms in several states including Kentucky, Maryland Missouri, California, Texas and the District of Columbia. Porter’s areas of expertise include research and grassroots support around challenging racial disparities, felony disenfranchisement, in addition to prison closures and prison reuse. Her research has been cited in several major media outlets including Salon and the Washington Post, and she has appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, and on National Public Radio and MSNBC.Additional links/info:The Sentencing Project website, Facebook page, and InstagramLisa Armstrong, Essence, “The new Civil Rights leaders”Credits:Producer / Videographer / Post-Production: Cameron GranadinoBecome 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!

On Dec. 6, people across the United States marched. They protested. They carried banners: No war on Venezuela. No blood for oil. US hands off Venezuela. They chanted and waved Venezuelan flags.Trump says he’s coming to remove Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. He’s promised it’s only a matter of time. The United States has amassed the largest military buildup in the Caribbean since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. But according to a recent CBS poll, 70% of Americans are opposed to US military action in Venezuela. And over the weekend, those voices were loud. Marches against US military intervention. Against the ongoing US boat strikes in the Caribbean and Pacific. Against Trump rhetoric that claims to applaud peace, while carrying out and threatening violence at home and abroad—violence against Venezuela. BIG NEWS! This podcast has won Gold in this year’s Signal Awards for best history podcast! It’s a huge honor. Thank you so much to everyone who voted and supported. And please consider signing up for the Stories of Resistance podcast feed on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Spreaker, or wherever you listen. And please take a moment to rate and review the podcast. A little help goes a long way.The Real News’s legendary host Marc Steiner has also been in the running for best episode host. And he also won a Gold Signal Award. We are so excited. You can listen and subscribe to the Marc Steiner Show here on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Please consider supporting this podcast and Michael Fox’s reporting on his Patreon account: patreon.com/mfox. There you can also see exclusive pictures, video, and interviews. Written and produced by Michael Fox.Resources:Here are links to some of my recent reporting on these issues:With the Strike on a “Drug-Carrying Boat,” Trump Returns to a Dangerous US Policy for Latin AmericaCaribbean Leaders Call for Unified Latin American Resistance to US AttacksHere are links to some of the clips I used in today’s episode:En Burlington, Vermont, los movimientos sociales se movilizan activamente en apoyo a #Venezuela frente a las amenazas de guerra provenientes de #EstadosUnidos.https://x.com/teleSURtv/status/1997430017744122186Los manifestantes recorren Los Ángeles en una movilización nacional contra la guerra de Estados Unidos contra Venezuela. Hubo manifestaciones en más de 65 ciudades de todo #EEUU, y los manifestantes exigieron el fin las amenazas de #Trump contra #Venezuelahttps://x.com/manelmarquez/status/1997631357279736148"Estados Unidos no tiene nada que hacer en #Venezuela la única razón por la cual EEUU entraría en Venezuela es el petróleo...EEUU ha tenido una política desastrosa en América Latina" Isabel Allende.https://x.com/FlorenciaLagosN/status/1996750163327537537Massive ‘NO WAR ON VENEZUELA’ Billboard Drops in Times Square A new sign in the heart of #TimesSquare highlights the truth: the majority of Americans oppose #USA military operations in #Venezuela. As the #Trump administration escalates toward a catastrophic military operation by passing Congress, violating international law, and fabricating pretexts, the message is now impossible to ignore.https://x.com/telesurenglish/status/1996338046048903299A movement incubator based in NYC for the working class. Political education. Cultural work. Internationalism & movement building.https://x.com/PeoplesForumNYC/status/1997397881699930114/video/1Protestors hold "No War on Venezuela" rally in downtown L.A.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cc_dweHYl0cNew poll shows most Americans are against military action in Venezuelahttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2nKT-yl-OcBecome 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!

Canadian journalist Nora Loreto reads the latest headlines for Monday, December 8, 2025.TRNN has partnered with Loreto to syndicate and share her daily news digest with our audience. Tune in every morning to the TRNN podcast feed to hear the latest important news stories from Canada and worldwide.Find more headlines from Nora at Sandy & Nora Talk Politics podcast feed.Become 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!

In the 1980s, the United States wreaked havoc in Central America. Backing authoritarian dictatorships. Fueling massacres and violence. Funding, training, and organizing the Contras, a paramilitary organization created to overthrow the leftist Sandinista government in Nicaragua. The US government was spending billions on its interventionist policies across Central America in the name of fighting so-called communism.But people pushed back across Central America. And they also responded in the United States. Hundreds of thousands of people marched in the streets against US intervention in the region. It was the Central American solidarity movement. BIG NEWS! This podcast has won Gold in this year’s Signal Awards for best history podcast! It’s a huge honor. Thank you so much to everyone who voted and supported. And please consider signing up for the Stories of Resistance podcast feed on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Spreaker, or wherever you listen. And please take a moment to rate and review the podcast. A little help goes a long way.The Real News’s legendary host Marc Steiner has also been in the running for best episode host. And he also won a Gold Signal Award. We are so excited. You can listen and subscribe to the Marc SteinerShow here on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.Please consider supporting this podcast and Michael Fox’s reporting on his Patreon account: patreon.com/mfox. There you can also see exclusive pictures, video, and interviews. Written and produced by Michael Fox.Resources:Under the Shadow podcastNicaragua, 1980s. Revolution | Under the Shadow, Episode 10, Part 1Some clips of this episode of Stories of Resistance were taken from Episode 10, Part 2 Nicaragua, 1980s. Contra War | Under the Shadow, Episode 10, Part 2Become 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!

Canadian journalist Nora Loreto reads the latest headlines for Friday, December 5, 2025.TRNN has partnered with Loreto to syndicate and share her daily news digest with our audience. Tune in every morning to the TRNN podcast feed to hear the latest important news stories from Canada and worldwide.Find more headlines from Nora at Sandy & Nora Talk Politics podcast feed.Become 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!

Canadian journalist Nora Loreto reads the latest headlines for Thursday, December 4, 2025.TRNN has partnered with Loreto to syndicate and share her daily news digest with our audience. Tune in every morning to the TRNN podcast feed to hear the latest important news stories from Canada and worldwide.Find more headlines from Nora at Sandy & Nora Talk Politics podcast feed.Become 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!

Canadian journalist Nora Loreto reads the latest headlines for Wednesday, December 3, 2025.TRNN has partnered with Loreto to syndicate and share her daily news digest with our audience. Tune in every morning to the TRNN podcast feed to hear the latest important news stories from Canada and worldwide.Find more headlines from Nora at Sandy & Nora Talk Politics podcast feed.Become 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!

ICE, Border Patrol, and other federal agencies have turned immigrant neighborhoods in Chicago, IL, and Charlotte, NC, into open-air hunting grounds, snatching people off streets, out of parking lots, and in front of their children. But in each city, federal forces have also faced strong grassroots resistance. In this episode of The Marc Steiner Show, Marc speaks with organizers from Charlotte and Chicago, Miguel Alvelo Rivera and Andrew Willis Garcés, about the on-the-ground reality of President Trump’s immigration raids and the ways communities are organizing and mobilizing against them. Guest:Miguel Alvelo Rivera is a migrant from Puerto Rico who came to the United States in 2007. He is the executive director of Latino Union of Chicago and has been a life-long educator, advocate, and believer in the power of people to change the world for the better. Co-founder of the community organizing, advocacy, and human rights group, Chicago Boricua Resistance, he's been active in community, environmental, and labor movements since he was a teenager in Puerto Rico. He's also worked as an Uber driver and delivery person, as a bartender, and as an educator in theater of the oppressed, adult education, and youth programming. Andrew Willis Garcés is based in Greensboro, NC. He is a lifelong Southerner shaped and inspired by the Southern grassroots organizing tradition and also by the communities of resistance from his maternal homeland of Colombia. He founded Siembra NC under the Trump Administration, and has worked with several dozen unions and grassroots community organizations over the last two decades as an organizer, strategist, communications consultant and trainer. He’s been with Training for Change since 2009. You can read some of his writing at The Forge, Truthout, Waging Nonviolence, Convergence, In These Times.Additional links/info: Siembra NC website, Facebook page, TikTok, and InstagramLatino Union of Chicago website, Facebook page, and InstagramCredits:Producer: Rosette SewaliStudio Production: Cameron GranadinoAudio Post-Production: Stephen FrankBecome 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!

ICE raids and the expanded use of expedited removal are tearing apart immigrant families and neighborhoods in Baltimore. In this episode of Rattling the Bars, host Mansa Musa speaks with Baltimore reporter Kori Skillman about how lack of democratic oversight and collusion between local government and federal law enforcement have enabled ICE’s lawless tactics and left Baltimore’s immigrant communities living in constant fear, economic precariousness, and social isolation.Guest:Kori Skillman is a Report for America Corps Member covering justice and accountability for the Baltimore Beat. Skillman investigates policing, incarceration, and civil rights in Baltimore. Most recently, she worked on ABC News’ assignment desk, covering breaking news and editing for live broadcasts. A Bay Area native, Skillman holds a dual B.A. in journalism and international business from San Diego State University, with a focus on the Middle East and North Africa, and an M.S. from Columbia Journalism School.Additional links/info:Kori Skillman, Baltimore Beat, “Indiscriminate ICE arrests have left Baltimore’s immigrant communities in a constant state of fear and anxiety”Kori Skillman, Baltimore Beat, “Lack of ICE oversight shows how Baltimore has long been at the mercy of outside powers”Credits:Producer / Videographer / Post-Production: Cameron GranadinoBecome 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!

Canadian journalist Nora Loreto reads the latest headlines for Monday, December 1, 2025.TRNN has partnered with Loreto to syndicate and share her daily news digest with our audience. Tune in every morning to the TRNN podcast feed to hear the latest important news stories from Canada and worldwide.Find more headlines from Nora at Sandy & Nora Talk Politics podcast feed.Become 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!