Laura Flanders and Friends: Intersectional Solution Centered Journalism on Democracy, Movements, Society and Culture

Description: “Reckoning” is the new best-selling book from V (formerly Eve Ensler), author of “The Vagina Monologues” and founder of V-Day/One Billion Rising, the global movement to end violence against all women, gender-expansive people, girls, and the earth. Reckoning, writes V, is “the antidote to fascism”. In this Women’s History Month special, which includes performances by V and Laurence Olivier Award-winning actress and Tony nominee, Noma Dumezweni, Laura speaks with V about why she changed her name, her long history working for peace, the current pushback against teaching African American history, and the abortion she had at the age of 23 when she was living in a halfway home. What is the reckoning we need, and where can it lead us? What happens if we do NOT reckon?“. . . There was no way I could bring up a child, and that child would've been destroyed. I realized that I could make a decision not to have that child. That was literally the first time in my life that I went and I made a choice about my own body.”  - V (formerly Eve Ensler)“We are living in a patriarchal paradigm . . . but it wasn't always here . . . It requires imagination for all of us to say, is this racist, patriarchal paradigm, the paradigm we choose to live in for eternity? Or do we want to live in a different paradigm and are we going to struggle to dismantle it?  - V (formerly Eve Ensler)Guest:   V (formerly Eve Ensler), Award-winning Playwright, Author & Founder V-Day & One Billion Rising; Best-selling Author, Reckoning, The ApologyThe Show is listener and viewer supported.  That's thanks to you!  Please donate and become a member.Full conversation & show notes are available at Patreon.com/theLFShow Chapters:(0:00:01) - Reckoning(0:10:06) - Bodily Autonomy and Reclaiming(0:22:11) - Rising UpChapter Summaries:(0:00:01) - Reckoning (10 Minutes)This chapter begins with a discussion about the importance of reckoning in today's world. Vee, the author, activist and playwright, formerly known as Eve Ensler, explains how changing her name was a key step in her own reckoning process. She then goes on to discuss how lack of reckoning leads to the repeating of terrible things that have already occurred in the past, particularly in terms of war and violence against women, trans people, and non-binary people. Vee then talks about the role of solidarity and how it is a place of belonging. (0:10:06) - Bodily Autonomy and Reclaiming (12 Minutes)This chapter of the podcast discusses the importance of bodily autonomy for women and the importance of imagining alternatives to the patriarchal paradigm that has been in place for the past 17,000 years. Tony nominee, Noma Dumezweni performance is featured and discussed, as is V's own experience with abortion. V talks about how her abortion was the first autonomous decision she made about her own body, and how it changed her life. The conversation then moves to how to reckon with the continued stealing of bodily autonomy from women and how to respond. (0:22:11) - Rising Up (8 Minutes)This conversation discusses the importance of creating a positive, revolutionary world in which people can turn their pain into power. Through the example of City of Joy, a revolutionary center in the Congo, the conversation delves into the power of creating a space where people can discover their divine power. It then turns to the biblical story of Eve, retelling it to show her as a brave character. The conversation then asks what is the state of the rising of people around the world, particularly those in Afghanistan, Iran, Congo, and Palestine.  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.  FOLLOW Laura Flanders and FriendsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/Blueky:  https://bsky.app/profile/lfandfriends.bsky.socialFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraFlandersAndFriends/Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lauraflandersandfriendsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lgLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lauraflandersandfriendsPatreon:   https://www.patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriendsACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

Monthly sustaining supporters receive early access to listen and download the full uncut conversation from our weekly episode release.  Flex your media muscles by signing up at LauraFlanders.org/donateIn this podcast episode, I discuss how Black and Brown-owned media outlets are growing with Mitra Kalita, co-founder of URL and publisher of Epicenter NYC, Alexandra Martinez, senior news reporter at Prism, and Malak Silmi of Outlier Media. We also explore the federal impact on local communities and how access to the morning-after pill, the pandemic, and small business have been affected. Additionally, we discuss the rise of right-wing extremism and the complexities of the migrant influx into New York City. We also touch on the importance of coming together for collaboration and using the language of the impacted communities for reporting. Lastly, we thank the participants for their contributions and collaboration to this podcast.Guests:S. Mitra Kalita: Co-Founder, URL Media; CEO & Publisher, Epicenter-NYCAlexandra Martinez: Senior News Reporter, PrismMalak Silmi: Reporter, Outlier Media Chapters:(0:00:01) - BiPOC Media Outlets(0:14:53) - Federal Impact on Local Communities(0:30:03) - Siloing and the Right-Wing Red Wave(0:41:59) - Coming Together for Collaboration Chapter Summaries:(0:00:01) - BiPOC Media Outlets (15 Minutes)Meet the BiPOC Press' focuses on the growth of URL Media, a national network of black and brown-owned media outlets. Mitra Kalita, co-founder of URL and publisher of Epicenter NYC, Alexandra Martinez, senior news reporter at Prism, and Malak Silmi of Outlier Media each shared their perspectives on the stories that will be driving news coverage in the coming year. Topics discussed included the economy, housing, finance, politics, reproductive justice, voting rights, public health and more. The conversation also focused on the use of the term 'BiPOC' (0:14:53) - Federal Impact on Local Communities (15 Minutes)This conversation examines how the current climate of emergency and lack of federal funding has impacted local communities across the US. Topics discussed include the FDA's recent approval of the abortion pill, the unequal access to the morning-after pill among different states, and how the pandemic has impacted small businesses and public health. The participants also discussed how different methods of reporting are being used to capture local meetings and to disrupt false narratives, as well as the anti-gay protests that have been occurring in cities across the country. They emphasize the importance of centering the solutions from the impacted communities and using the language they want to use. (0:30:03) - Siloing and the Right-Wing Red Wave (12 Minutes)This conversation focuses on the growing number of anti-trans bills, anti-abortion bills, and the rise of right-wing extremism across the United States. The participants discuss how they are covering these issues in their reporting and how they are reaching new audiences in an age where social media algorithms are increasingly limiting visibility. They also explore the complexities of the migrant influx into New York City and how the public services are struggling to provide support. It is discussed how media must be cautious when covering these stories and how trust and honest reporting is key to connecting with the communities affected by these issues' (0:41:59) - Coming Together for Collaboration (0 Minutes)This conversation focused on the mayor's visit to El Paso at the New Year and his announcement that eight thousand people have come into New in the past year. The participants discussed the significance of this influx of people and the collaboration between them in the monthly round table. The conversation ended with the speaker thanking the participants for their contribution and collaboration to the podcast' Key Words:BiPOC Media, URL Media, Mitra Kalita, Epicenter NYC, Alexandra Martinez, Prism, Malak Silmi, Outlier Media, Federal Impact, Local Communities, Morning-After Pill, Pandemic, Small Business, Right-Wing Extremism, Migrant Influx, New York City, Collaboration, Language of Impacted Communities, Economy, Housing, Finance, Politics, Reproductive Justice, Voting Rights, Public Health, Abortion Pill, Anti-Trans Bills, Anti-Abortion Bills, Social Media Algorithms, El Paso, Round Table   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.  FOLLOW Laura Flanders and FriendsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/Blueky:  https://bsky.app/profile/lfandfriends.bsky.socialFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraFlandersAndFriends/Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lauraflandersandfriendsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lgLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lauraflandersandfriendsPatreon:   https://www.patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriendsACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

What role did Warrior Women play in the Wounded Knee Occupation, and the American Indian Movement (AIM)? This February 2023, as we mark the 50th anniversary of the occupation, Laura speaks with two Indigenous women activists, a mother-daughter duo, who have been involved in the Red Power movement their entire lives. Madonna Thunder Hawk, Oohenumpa Lakota and Lakota Matriarch, Marcella (Marcy) Gilbert, Lakota/Dakota/Nakota, with Elizabeth Castle, co-director of the documentary Warrior Women, have co-organized the Warrior Women Project, an oral history archive that’s the first of its kind. Hear how the project, and an interactive exhibit set to open this month, are finally putting a spotlight on Indigenous women at the frontlines of the movement.“What the Warrior Women Project is doing is keeping that empowerment moving forward, and offering it to others. It teaches our reality of who we are within the United States, so that we don't disappear, so that we don't melt into the melting pot.” - Marcy Gilbert, Lakota/Dakota/Nakota“The connections in the Red Power Movement days are the same today. It's all about land. Indigenous land struggles all over the planet, wherever colonization happened and is happening, has always been a land struggle. Whether it's in Northern Ireland, or here in our territory, the Dakota, Lakota territory, or Palestine, it's an Indigenous struggle, and it always starts with the land.” - Madonna Thunder Hawk, Oohenumpa Lakota and Lakota Matriarch Guests:Madonna Thunder Hawk (Oohenumpa Lakota), Lakota Matriarch; Co-Organizer, Warrior Women Project Marcella Gilbert (Lakota/Dakota/Nakota), Lifelong AIM Member; Co-Organizer, Warrior Women Project The Show is listener and viewer supported.  That's thanks to you!  Please donate and become a member.Full conversation & show notes are available at Patreon.com/theLFShow  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.  FOLLOW Laura Flanders and FriendsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/Blueky:  https://bsky.app/profile/lfandfriends.bsky.socialFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraFlandersAndFriends/Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lauraflandersandfriendsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lgLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lauraflandersandfriendsPatreon:   https://www.patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriendsACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

Monthly sustaining members receive early access to listen and download the full uncut conversation from our episode "Johann Hari: Get Your Mind Back / Save Democracy?".  Join here.  We are members supported media. Are we too distracted to think? The answer is worse than you’d expect. In his latest book, New York Times bestselling author Johann Hari says we’re all the victims of attention theft and the consequences are catastrophic, for our personal lives and our democracy. Adults in the workplace focus on a task for 3 minutes on average, and that number is declining. “We've got so many crises we need to deal with that require sustained focus and attention on the part of the citizenry,” Hari tells Laura, but our focus has been stolen by companies out to make a profit. “Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention and How to Think Deeply Again” was named one of the best books of 2022 by many publications and is out in paperback this month. In this wide-ranging conversation, Johann and Laura discuss how we got here, what structural changes we need, and how we need to stop beating ourselves up. It's not our fault we can't focus, says Hari, but we do need our minds back if we want society to function. All that and a commentary from Laura on Luddites.Full research and reading list to further delve into the conversation is available here on Patreon (no membership required).  Sign up for our newsletter at https://LauraFlanders.org to receive links to the show notes, and more.  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.  FOLLOW Laura Flanders and FriendsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/Blueky:  https://bsky.app/profile/lfandfriends.bsky.socialFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraFlandersAndFriends/Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lauraflandersandfriendsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lgLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lauraflandersandfriendsPatreon:   https://www.patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriendsACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

"Saket Soni is a brilliant labor organizer. He's also a talented storyteller. His first book, The Great Escape, A True Story of Forced Labor and Immigrant Dreams in America, tells the gripping, can't-put-it down tale of one of the largest human trafficking schemes in modern US history and how 500 Indian-born workers brought their corporate exploiters to account...."The F-Word is released bi-weekly featuring timely commentaries by Laura Flanders and guests.You can hear this week's show, via this podcast feed, with Saket Soni or catch Laura's full uncut conversation, by becoming a Patreon member.   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.  FOLLOW Laura Flanders and FriendsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/Blueky:  https://bsky.app/profile/lfandfriends.bsky.socialFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraFlandersAndFriends/Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lauraflandersandfriendsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lgLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lauraflandersandfriendsPatreon:   https://www.patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriendsACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

“THE GREAT ESCAPE: A True Story of Forced Labor and Immigrant Dreams in America” tells the story of one of the largest human trafficking schemes in modern American history and how the traffickers were finally held to account. Saket Soni was the co-founder of The New Orleans Workers Center for Racial Justice in the post-Katrina years. Today he’s the founder and director of Resilience Force, a project that comes directly out of his experience working with the men in this book. The U.S. is experiencing a labor shortage, and climate catastrophe will increase the need for disaster recovery workers. How can we build the resilient workforce we need, with the rights and equity workers deserve? Join Laura and Saket for this urgent conversation on the future of labor.“The workers in this book, though I didn't know it at the time, were the first of a growing workforce that I call the resilience workforce. Workers who rebuild after hurricanes, floods, fires, and other disasters. As climate change has proceeded . . . this workforce has grown and it's still largely immigrant, largely undocumented and very vulnerable.”"What we are really trying to do at Resilience Force is build this million-strong, massive, skilled workforce. We need to rebuild American cities, but also build a new social fabric in America."Guest:Saket Soni: Author, THE GREAT ESCAPE: A True Story of Forced Labor and Immigrant Dreams in America; Founder & Director, Resilience Force The Show is listener and viewer supported.  That's thanks to you!  Please donate and become a member.Full conversation & show notes are available at Patreon.com/theLFShow  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.  FOLLOW Laura Flanders and FriendsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/Blueky:  https://bsky.app/profile/lfandfriends.bsky.socialFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraFlandersAndFriends/Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lauraflandersandfriendsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lgLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lauraflandersandfriendsPatreon:   https://www.patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriendsACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

Our monthly contributors via Patreon/ActBlue receive EARLY ACCESS to listen and download the full uncut conversations from our weekly LFShow.  Season 3, Episode 341-  “The Future is Disabled” with Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha:  Writer, Disability/Transformative Justice Movement Worker; Author, The Future Is Disabled: Prophecies, Love Notes and Mourning SongsDescription: “At the core of my work and life is the belief that disabled wisdom is the key to our survival and expansion,” shares Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, a writer, disability, and transformative justice movement worker. Laura speaks with Leah about her newly-released book of essays, The Future is Disabled: Prophecies, Love Notes, and Mourning Songs. The book, published by Arsenal Pulp Press, an independent queer of color-led press, was written during the pandemic and documents two years of “disabled” isolation. Among the grief and despair came essential organizing from the Disability Justice movement — and we should all take notice. And what about joy? Disabled pleasure activism, disabled art and culture-making brought hope in a time of crisis. Leah has joined Laura twice previously to talk about their work and read their poetry. In her new book, Leah asks: What if, in the near future, the majority of people will be disabled—and what if that’s not a bad thing? Full research and reading list to further delve into the conversation is available here on Patreon.   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.  FOLLOW Laura Flanders and FriendsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/Blueky:  https://bsky.app/profile/lfandfriends.bsky.socialFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraFlandersAndFriends/Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lauraflandersandfriendsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lgLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lauraflandersandfriendsPatreon:   https://www.patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriendsACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

What are the stories that will be driving news coverage in the coming year for communities of color and our network partners in the media that serve them? In this 2023 preview for our monthly Meet the BIPOC Press roundtable with URL Media, we consider issues involving the economy, community investment, reproductive justice, local government, environmental justice, LGBTQ+ rights, the aftermath of COVID, and more. How will our partners be reporting the stories — and angles — that matter most? Laura is joined by Mitra Kalita, the publisher of Epicenter-NYC, a newsletter based in Queens, New York, and the co-founder of URL Media, a network of Black and Brown community news outlets; Alexandra Martinez, Senior Reporter with Prism, whose reporting on such topics as immigration and the affordable housing crisis also appears in VICE, CNN, and other outlets; and Malak Silmi, the local government reporter for Outlier Media, a Detroit-based service journalism organization with a mission to empower Detroit residents to hold landlords, municipal government, and elected officials accountable for longstanding problems. What are some of their stories?“I think this is the year that much of mainstream America is accepting that we are either in or about to enter our recession. I think for communities of color, we've been there for the last year. You're seeing this with demand at food pantries, utilities, housing. One of the things I'm proudest of is that we covered the explosion of food insecurity.” - S. Mitra Kalita“[At] Prism, we are a BIPOC-led newsroom . . . So that allows us to bring nuance to the reporting that we do. Without that nuance, you really can't have honest, truthful storytelling.” - Alexandra Martinez“With our Documenters program, we employ citizens from across the city and the state to go into these local meetings, whether virtually or in person, and simply document . . . This has helped serve a lot of reporters as well as a lot of citizens.” - Malak SilmiGuests:S. Mitra Kalita: Co-Founder, URL Media; CEO & Publisher, Epicenter-NYCAlexandra Martinez: Senior News Reporter, PrismMalak Silmi: Reporter, Outlier MediaThe Show is listener and viewer supported.  That's thanks to you!  Please donate and become a member.Full conversation & show notes are available at Patreon.com/theLFShow  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.  FOLLOW Laura Flanders and FriendsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/Blueky:  https://bsky.app/profile/lfandfriends.bsky.socialFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraFlandersAndFriends/Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lauraflandersandfriendsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lgLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lauraflandersandfriendsPatreon:   https://www.patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriendsACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

Description: In 2020, the authorities at the Louisiana State Penitentiary (better known as Angola, for the former plantation on which it stands) shut down a play in the middle of a performance.  What happened in that audience of incarcerated men that got guards so concerned? That’s the subject of “Angola Do You Hear Us? Voices From a Plantation Prison," (2023 Oscar Short-Listed) a new MTV documentary directed and edited by Cinque Northern (My Name is Pauli Murray) and produced by Catherine Gund. Award-winning actress and writer, Liza Jessie Peterson, (HBO’s Def Poetry, Ava Duvernay’s 13th), whose one-woman show was shut down that day, and Norris Henderson, a former inmate who'd worked with her to bring the show, join Laura to reflect on the intersection of art and politics, incarceration and economics, and the work of VOTE, the criminal justice reform group Henderson founded upon his release. What difference can a play make? Watch and see.The Laura Flanders Show is made possible by listeners like you!  We do not take advertising or government funding.  Please become a member today for as little as $3 a month.  Patreon supporters  receive early access to listen and download the full uncut conversation from our weekly show.Full research and reading list to further delve into the conversation is available at Patreon.com/theLFShow.  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.  FOLLOW Laura Flanders and FriendsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/Blueky:  https://bsky.app/profile/lfandfriends.bsky.socialFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraFlandersAndFriends/Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lauraflandersandfriendsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lgLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lauraflandersandfriendsPatreon:   https://www.patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriendsACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

The F-Word is released bi-weekly featuring timely commentaries by Laura Flanders and guests.Twenty-three minutes. That’s how long it takes for your brain to refocus after shifting from one task to the next. Check your email, glance at a text, and you’ll pay for what’s called a “switch effect.”“We’ve fallen for a mass delusion that our brains can multi-task. They can’t,” author Johann Hari found out in researching his latest book. We’re paying a price for our stolen ability to focus and maybe that’s one of the reasons we’re falling for autocrats and punting on solving the world’s grievous problems.Can we spare a few minutes to focus on Luddites? Read people’s historian Peter Linebaugh, or Jacobin writer, Peter Frase; check out a Smithsonian Magazine’s feature by Clive Thompson -- and you’ll find that Luddites weren’t backward thinking thugs, but rather, skilled craftspeople whose lives were about to be wrecked.Textile cutters, spinners and weavers, before factories came along, those British textile workers enjoyed a pretty good life. Working from home, they had a certain amount of autonomy over their lives. The price for their products was set and published. They could work as much or as little as liked. Come the early 1800s – war and recession - and machines and factories threatened all of that. The Luddites – a made up name - didn't start by breaking machines. They started by making demands of the factory owners to phase in the technology slowly. Some proposed a tax on textiles to fund worker pensions. They called for government regulation. Relief from the harms and a fair share of the profits from progress. It was only when they were denied all of that that they started breaking stuff up. Today, the big U.S. social media companies are facing lawsuits. On January 6th, Seattle Public Schools sued TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, SnapChat, and YouTube for their negative impact on students’ mental and emotional health. The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments next month over the protections the tech industry enjoys under law when their algorithms intentionally push potentially harmful content for profit. What would breaking the machines look like in our time? I don't know. But if Hari’s right, it’s not just the quality of our lives that’s in danger. It’s the state of our minds that’s at stake. You can hear this week's show, via this podcast feed, with Johann Hari or catch Laura's full uncut conversation that includes, Noam Chomsky, the subject of his next book -- a man with no problem with focus it seems -- through a patreon subscription to theLFShow   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.  FOLLOW Laura Flanders and FriendsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/Blueky:  https://bsky.app/profile/lfandfriends.bsky.socialFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraFlandersAndFriends/Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lauraflandersandfriendsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lgLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lauraflandersandfriendsPatreon:   https://www.patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriendsACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel