
Laura Flanders and Friends: Intersectional Solution Centered Journalism on Democracy, Movements, Society and Culture
Uncensored history meets bold voices with Laura Flanders, award winning journalist and author. The show explores actionable models for creating a better world by reporting on the people and movements driving systemic change. We spotlight the solutions of tomorrow, today. The show airs on PBS stations in over 300 US markets, and airs on 60+ community radio stations via PRX Exchange and Pacifica, and is available on YouTube and here as a podcast. Subscribers receive lots of video and audio web exclusives in addition to the weekly episode. Recent field reports and specials include: Jimmy Carter; 60th Anniversary of Selma Bloody Sunday March; Bernie Sanders' Fighting Oligarchy; Labor Movement vs. Fascism: Worker Organizers & Teachers Under Attack; And interviewee highlights include Award Winning Actor, Director, Writer, Liev Schreiber on his documentary "Meeting Zelensky"; Award winning journalists Maria Hinojosa (Award Winning Suave Podcast and host of Latino USA) & Chenjerai Kumanyika (Award Winning Podcast Series Empire City) on Forced Removals, Foreign Detention, the War on Education & Free Speech; Democracy & Capitalism: A Failed Experiment? with Bloomberg Economist & host of Truponomics, Stephanie Flanders; Masha Gessen & Jason Stanley on fascism then and now; Naomi Klein & Astra Taylor on the arc of history and “End Times Fascism”; Congressman Jamie Raskin on Donald Trump, Elon Musk, DOGE, and congressional oversight of the executive branch."
Latest episodes

Feb 11, 2022 • 29min
Your Neighborhood in your Hands: A Model from the South Bronx
Real estate development conjures up images of gentrification with sleek buildings and polished store fronts often built under the guise of urban revitalization. Far too often, these projects displace long-standing residents and communities of color. What would it look like if real estate development were led by the people who already live in the neighborhood? In this episode, Laura interviews South Bronx native Majora Carter who decided to stay where she grew up and rewrite the playbook for neighborhood development. A self-described “chick from the hood… with zero experience in real estate,” she's a MacArthur “genius award” recipient, owner of the hip hop themed Boogie Down Grind Cafe that has survived and even thrived during Covid, thanks to a bit of help from Beyoncé. Carter is author of Reclaiming Your Community: You Don’t Have to Move Out Of Your Neighborhood To Live In A Better One, just out from Berrett-Koehler. Full episode notes are posted at https://Patreon.com/theLFShow . Patreon Members receive early access to the FULL UNCUT CONVERSATION, plus early access to last week's conversation with Princeton Professor and author Imani Perry discussing her latest book, ‘South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation”.
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

Feb 7, 2022 • 58min
Uncut Full Conversation: Suzanne Pharr & Beth Richie, Freedom for Women Requires Abolition Feminism
Laura Flanders' full uncut conversation with Black abolitionist feminist Beth Richie and Queer southern feminist Suzanne Pharr where they discuss their work as organizers spanning 40 years fighting for an inclusive women's movement. In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court could overturn Roe v Wade, imperiling all women’s freedoms, and creating a new pipeline to prison for the vulnerable just as the world is learning how counterproductive most incarceration - solutions are. Today’s guests argue that things could have been very different. If the white dominated “choice” movement had paid closer attention to all women’s choices, or lack thereof; If anti-violence advocates had rejected criminalization and incarceration as a solution to the violence in women’s lives. Things could have been different, our guests argue, if a different part of the US women’s movement had gained more attention - attention it is beginning to get now. There has always been such a movement, they know, because they were there. Today we talk to Black abolitionist feminist Beth Richie and Queer southern feminist Suzanne Pharr have worked together, for abolition, feminism, and a systemicly different world for forty years. What have they learned? And what is their message for us now, when so much hangs in the balance? Full episode notes are posted at https://Patreon.com/theLFShow Patreon Members have early access to the FULL UNCUT Meet the BIPOC Press Roundtable with URL Media on Voting Rights.
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

Feb 4, 2022 • 29min
Imani Perry: The Future of Democracy Depends on the South
As goes the South, so goes the nation. It may be a cliché but according to this week’s guest it’s true. In South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation, author and scholar Imani Perry makes the compelling argument that Americans need to stop dismissing the South if they’re ever going to build an equitable future for the entire United States. She takes us on a trip through the region, delving into the complex realities that exist beneath the stereotypes. Intertwining conversations and stories from her journey in the present with powerful—but underrepresented—moments from history, Perry illustrates how the real, rebellious, intensely creative people of the South have led movements for civil rights in every generation. In this episode, Laura and Imani Perry look to the South for answers that will enlighten every American.Guests: Imani Perry, Author, South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation Full episode notes are posted at https://Patreon.com/theLFShow . Patreon Members receive early access to the FULL UNCUT CONVERSATION, plus early access to last week's 'Meet the BIPOC Press Roundtable on Voting Rights'.
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

Feb 1, 2022 • 4min
F-Word: Win or Lose, Nominations Debates are Dangerous
"Justice Breyer has announced his resignation from the Supreme Court and a Biden/Harris pick is expected to win confirmation. The Democrats’ choice is unlikely to shift the court’s balance, we’re told, but the media’s milquetoast reassurance misses the point that when it comes to balance it’s not just the court, it’s also the public debate that’s shfted dramatically to the right. And nomination fights have a nasty habit of playing a big role in that...."Related episode to check out- "Freedom for Women Requires Abolition Feminism: Suzanne Pharr & Beth Richie" . The F-Word is released bi-weekly featuring timely commentaries by Laura Flanders and guests. Flex your media muscles, become a monthly sustaining member for $3, $5, $12 at http://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

Jan 28, 2022 • 29min
Voting Rights: BIPOC Media Sound the Alarm
Even as the nation celebrated the birthday and legacy of voting rights advocate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, the right to vote for which King fought so hard remains a matter of hot dispute. States across the country are introducing laws restricting the right to vote for certain Americans, and as recently as this month, a majority of US Senators opposed changing the filibuster rules to pass a voting rights law named for King’s ally John Lewis. In this episode of the monthly series we call “Meet the BIPOC Press” co-hosts Mitra Kalita and Sara Lomax-Reese, with Solomon Jones of WURD and Michelle García of palabra., explore the central role that Black and Brown media play in securing the future of American democracy, and the ways that BIPOC media are changing the stories we tell about voting rights, belonging and electoral power.Co-hosts:S. Mitra Kalita, CEO & Co-Founder, URL MediaSara Lomax-Reese, Co-Founder, URL MediaGuests:Michelle García, Journalist & Author, Anima Sola, forthcoming book on American bordersSolomon Jones, Author, Columnist, Philadelphia Inquirer Full episode notes are posted at https://Patreon.com/theLFShow . Patreon Members receive early access to the FULL UNCUT CONVERSATION, plus early access to last week's conversation with feminist abolitionists Dr. Beth Richie and Suzanne Pharr.
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

Jan 27, 2022 • 41min
Uncut Full Interview: Arundhati Roy
Laura Flanders' full uncut interview with Arundhati Roy where in they discussed surveillance and data mining in the age of Covid, the realities of India's pharmaceutical industry and Roy's take on trans politics where she says more about osmotic identities.Arundhati Roy, Novelist, Writer & Political Activist, Author, Azadi: Freedom. Fascism. Fiction., My Seditious Heart & Numerous Other EssaysDescription: Two years ago this month, the first cases of Covid-19 were reported in the United States. “Historically, pandemics have forced humans to break with the past and imagine their world anew,” wrote acclaimed author and activist Arundhati Roy just weeks into the shutdown. So have we? Two years on, what’s changed and what hasn’t in the US, India, and globally in a world that often seems to be teetering on the brink. If our goal is a better society, a world that is sustainable, just, and free, how are we doing, and what role do writers, literature, and language itself play in helping us find our way? This time on the LF Show, we explore all of this and more with Arundhati Roy who joins us from her home in New Delhi, India. Roy is the author of The God of Small Things and The Ministry of Utmost Happiness as well as numerous essays on human rights, environmental justice, and global capitalism. This Spring, a new edition of her book of essays Azadi: Fascism, Fiction, and Freedom in the Time of the Virus will be out from Haymarket Books. All that and a closing commentary from Laura about American Exceptionalism and the pitfalls therein.Patreon member supporters receive early access to audio exclusives including uncut interviews, and where full episode notes are posted. Become a member and support independent media at https://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

Jan 21, 2022 • 29min
Freedom for Women Requires Abolition Feminism: Suzanne Pharr & Beth Richie
In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court could overturn Roe v Wade, imperiling all women’s freedoms, and creating a new pipeline to prison for the vulnerable just as the world is learning how counterproductive most incarceration - solutions are. Today’s guests argue that things could have been very different. If the white dominated “choice” movement had paid closer attention to all women’s choices, or lack thereof; If anti-violence advocates had rejected criminalization and incarceration as a solution to the violence in women’s lives. Things could have been different, our guests argue, if a different part of the US women’s movement had gained more attention - attention it is beginning to get now. There has always been such a movement, they know, because they were there. Today we talk to Black abolitionist feminist Beth Richie and Queer southern feminist Suzanne Pharr have worked together, for abolition, feminism, and a systemicly different world for forty years. What have they learned? And what is their message for us now, when so much hangs in the balance?Guests:Suzanne Pharr, Co-founder, Southerners on New Ground. Author, Transformation: Toward a People’s DemocracyBeth Richie, Director, Institute for Research on Race & Public Policy, University of Illinois at Chicago. Author, Compelled to Crime: the Gender Entrapment of Black Battered Women & Abolition. Feminism. Now. Full episode notes are posted at https://Patreon.com/theLFShow Patreon Members receive early access to the FULL UNCUT INTERVIEW with ARUNDHATI ROY from last week's podcast and the entire full uncut 1 hour conversation with Suzanne Pharr & Beth Richie from this week's podcast. We are independent and community funded, please consider becoming a member and sharing your thoughts at Patreon as a member. Non-members do have access to the episode notes and later access to full uncut interviews.
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

Jan 18, 2022 • 4min
F-Word: A Fascist World is Breathing
Another World is Possible. Fascism Too, Is Breathing: Listening to Arundhati Roy.Related episode to check out- Arundhati Roy: Freedom, Fascism, Fiction and the Pandemic PortalThe F-Word is released bi-weekly featuring timely commentaries by Laura Flanders and guests. Flex your media muscles, become a monthly sustaining member for $3, $5, $12 at http://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

Jan 14, 2022 • 31min
Arundhati Roy: Freedom, Fascism, Fiction and the Pandemic Portal
Two years ago this month, the first cases of Covid-19 were reported in the United States. “Historically, pandemics have forced humans to break with the past and imagine their world anew,” wrote acclaimed author and activist Arundhati Roy just weeks into the shutdown. So have we? Two years on, what’s changed and what hasn’t in the US, India, and globally in a world that often seems to be teetering on the brink. If our goal is a better society, a world that is sustainable, just, and free, how are we doing, and what role do writers, literature, and language itself play in helping us find our way? This time on the LF Show, we explore all of this and more with Arundhati Roy who joins us from her home in New Delhi, India. Roy is the author of The God of Small Things and The Ministry of Utmost Happiness as well as numerous essays on human rights, environmental justice, and global capitalism. This Spring, a new edition of her book of essays Azadi: Fascism, Fiction, and Freedom in the Time of the Virus will be out from Haymarket Books. All that and a closing commentary from Laura about American Exceptionalism and the pitfalls therein.GuestsArundhati Roy, Novelist, Writer & Political Activist, Author, Azadi: Freedom. Fascism. Fiction., My Seditious Heart & Numerous Other Essays Full episode notes are posted at https://Patreon.com/theLFShow Patreon Members receive early access to the FULL UNCUT INTERVIEW with ARUNDHATI ROY
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

Jan 7, 2022 • 30min
Kristina Wong with Rebecca Solnit: The Power of Art and Aunties
“Had the government stepped in and done its job, had they not advocated against vaccines and mask mandates, we wouldn't have been frantically gathering our children to cut up bedsheets to make masks for medical workers and everyone else.” That’s Kristina Wong, performance artist, comedian, and writer. This week, Wong tells the story of how she created a network of “aunties,” who were primarily Asian American, in a mutual aid project that ended up making and distributing over 500 thousand masks during the first year of the pandemic. In winter 2021, she opened Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord, which played to sold-out audiences at the New York Theatre Workshop. Now Wong, legendary writer Rebecca Solnit, and several other members of The Auntie Sewing Squad have co-authored a book: The Auntie Sewing Squad Guide to Mask Making, Radical Care, and Racial Justice. Here to discuss the show, the book, the phenomenon of mutual aid in times of disaster, and how racial justice and feminism underlie it all are Aunties Kristina Wong and Rebecca Solnit. A regular contributor to the Guardian, Solnit is the author of Hope in the Dark from Haymarket Books, among twenty other publications. GuestsRebecca Solnit, Author, Historan, ActivistKristina Wong, Performance Artist, Comedian & Writer, Sweatshop Overlord Support the show by becoming a member as a monthly supporter at Patreon.com/theLFShow We do not accept corporate or government funding. We rely on you! Full Episode Notes are posted at Patreon.com/theLFShow for members and non-members.
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