The discussion dives into New York Democrats' plans to ban masks in public transit, raising questions about social equity. North Carolina's controversial anti-mask bill is scrutinized, revealing its harsh impacts on marginalized communities. Legal implications around mask mandates are explored, particularly how ambiguous language can escalate violence. Historical contexts highlight past mask bans and their use in quelling dissent. The need for solidarity among social movements stands out as vital in navigating these political challenges.

Micah Khater discusses the intersection of race, disability, and incarceration in early 20th century southern US, focusing on how Black women in Alabama prisons used letters for resistance. They explore bureaucratic narratives of disability, challenges of engaging with state archives, historical prison escapes, and the importance of listening to those impacted for positive change.

Subscribe on Patreon and hear this week's full patron-exclusive episode here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/105955239 Beatrice and Jules are joined by Sophie Lewis to discuss how last month NYU disciplined students involved in Palestine solidarity encampments by compelling them to write confessional “reflection papers” and complete so-called “Integrity Modules,” a series of exercises designed by “behavioral intervention management” company Symplicity. We look at how the documents form a perfect storm of pop psych, management consulting speak, and hegemonic repression, and attempt to complete one of the modules ourselves. You can pre-order Sophie's next book, Enemy Feminisms: TERFs, Policewomen, and Girlbosses Against Liberation, here: https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/2489-enemy-feminisms Get Health Communism here: www.versobooks.com/books/4081-health-communism Find Jules' new book here: https://www.versobooks.com/products/3054-a-short-history-of-trans-misogyny Runtime 1:39:08, 10 June 2024

Graeme Wood from The Atlantic discusses skepticism towards Gaza death statistics. The podcast critiques the dehumanization of Palestinians, challenges in reporting casualty numbers, and the importance of accurate data in conflict zones.

Subscribe on Patreon and hear this week's full patron-exclusive episode here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/105522184 Beatrice and Phil speak with Melissa Gira Grant about how it came to be that abortion politics are spoken of as the hinge point of the 2024 election—with some pundits confidently predicting the outcome will come down to Biden’s promise to “restore Roe”—and yet at the same time the Democratic Party continues to speak about abortion in only the most hollow and abstract of ways, completely ignoring the reality that for most people the status quo of abortion access was already unacceptable prior to Dobbs. Get Health Communism here: www.versobooks.com/books/4081-health-communism Find Jules' new book here: https://www.versobooks.com/products/3054-a-short-history-of-trans-misogyny Runtime 1:09:59, 3 June 2024

This episode was originally released for Death Panel patrons on March 18th 2024, and quickly became one of our most widely requested unlocks. To support the show and help make episodes like this one possible, become a patron at www.patreon.com/deathpanelpod Beatrice, Artie and Jules discuss a recent piece in NPR, “Wrestling with my husband's fear of getting COVID again,” which presents avoiding covid both as the product of unreasonable “anxiety” and as something immunocompromised people should let go of lest their loved ones consider abandoning them. Transcript: www.deathpanel.net/transcripts/npr-covid Find our book Health Communism here: www.versobooks.com/books/4081-health-communism Find Jules' new book, A Short History of Trans Misogyny, here: https://www.versobooks.com/products/3054-a-short-history-of-trans-misogyny Death Panel merch here (patrons get a discount code): www.deathpanel.net/merch As always, support Death Panel at www.patreon.com/deathpanelpod

Subscribe on Patreon and hear this week's full patron-exclusive episode here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/105055097 Beatrice and Abby discuss last night’s horrific assault on Rafah, liberal handwringing that the bombings may have been somehow “justified”—or that, in the words of one Atlantic writer, in these circumstances “it is possible to kill children legally”—and how events like this have lasting effects that reverberate outward into forms of violence that, to quote our listener G, “might not be as spectacular or obvious as a bomb.” Read Afnan's letter, which Beatrice reads in the episode, "A Palestinian Healthcare Worker on the Water Crisis in Gaza | عاملة صحية فلسطينية تتحدث عن أزمة المياه في غزة" here: https://blindarchive.substack.com/p/a-palestinian-healthcare-worker-on Get Health Communism here: www.versobooks.com/books/4081-health-communism Find Jules' new book here: https://www.versobooks.com/products/3054-a-short-history-of-trans-misogyny Runtime 1:10:00, 27 May 2024

Beatrice, Artie and Jules discuss the recent push by state and local governments to criminalize masking in public space, in some cases introducing new legislation to make existing anti-mask laws more severe, and take a close look at HB237, “Unmasking Mobs and Criminals,” a bill currently being debated in North Carolina that perfectly illustrates the links between covid activism, abolition, and the fight for Palestinian liberation. Transcript: https://www.deathpanel.net/transcripts/anti-mask-laws Find audio files of the North Carolina Senate Judiciary and Rules committee meetings from last week here: https://bit.ly/3K9ypsO Find our book Health Communism here: www.versobooks.com/books/4081-health-communism Find Jules' new book, A Short History of Trans Misogyny, here: https://www.versobooks.com/products/3054-a-short-history-of-trans-misogyny Death Panel merch here (patrons get a discount code): www.deathpanel.net/merch As always, support Death Panel at www.patreon.com/deathpanelpod

Every Monday we release an extra full episode just for patrons; this week we've chosen to make today's patron episode public in hopes that it encourages people to donate to Gaza Muni (link below). Death Panel is entirely listener supported, so to support our work and get a second episode every week and our entire back catalogue, go to https://www.patreon.com/deathpanelpod Beatrice and Abby discuss how the ongoing water crisis in Palestine is a tool of genocide, how to understand the centrality of water and sanitation systems to all of the infrastructure needed to support life, and what Death Panel listeners and contacts in Gaza tell us we can do to help. Transcript: www.deathpanel.net/transcripts/water-gaza Support Gaza Municipality here: https://bit.ly/MuniWater Support Afnan’s fundraiser here: https://bit.ly/HelpAfnan More spotlight campaigns on the Gaza Funds website here: https://gazafunds.com

Beatrice and Jules speak with historian Jiya Pandya about how the Bhopal gas leak—often described as the worst industrial disaster in living memory—continues to be an unchecked crisis 40 years later, what it teaches us about how to respond to more recent crises, and how organizers here in the US can get in touch with Bhopal survivor activists who will be coming to the US later this fall. Transcript: www.deathpanel.net/transcripts/bhopal-jiya-pandya Read Jiya's piece “Crip Life Amidst Debilitation: Medicalization, Survival, and the Bhopal Gas Leak” here: https://dsq-sds.org/index.php/dsq/article/view/9653/8013 Find our book Health Communism here: www.versobooks.com/books/4081-health-communism Find Jules' new book, A Short History of Trans Misogyny, here: https://www.versobooks.com/products/3054-a-short-history-of-trans-misogyny Death Panel merch here (patrons get a discount code): www.deathpanel.net/merch As always, support Death Panel at www.patreon.com/deathpanelpod