Laura Flanders and Friends: Solutions-Focused Progressive Perspectives on Politics, News, and Culture

The economic collapse unfolding before our eyes is much bigger than it appears and the solution isn’t simply to “build back better.” COVID-19 didn’t create the challenges we face. It laid bare flaws that have long existed at the foundation of our system. That is particularly true for Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color. What kind of reconstruction effort would truly reflect the scale of the problem? What should we rebuild and what should we abandon? To answer these questions, Laura interviews Professor Robert Reich, economist Stephanie Kelton, community organizer Esteban Kelly and Service Employees International Union president Mary Kay Henry about their visions for a recovery that will enable us to build a new economy that is equitable, reparative and sustainable.  Music in the Middle:  “Stepping Back In Time” by Basel and the Supernaturals from their album “Smoke & Mirrors” Full episode notes along with related episodes, related articles and more are free and posted at https://Patreon.com/theLFShow  Please consider becoming a member for as little as $3 or $5 a month like a newspaper or magazine subscription to keep this content accessible to radio and TV viewers and podcast subscribers.  Thanks!  Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders-Executive Producer, Writer;  Sabrina Artel-Supervising Producer; Jeremiah Cothren-Senior Producer; Veronica Delgado-Video Editor, Janet Hernandez-Communications Director; Jeannie Hopper-Audio Director, Podcast & Radio Producer, Audio Editor, Sound Design, Narrator; Sarah Miller-Development Director, Nat Needham-Editor, Graphic Design emeritus; David Neuman-Senior Video Editor, and Rory O’Conner-Senior Consulting Producer. 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

"In the context of the Divine Right of Kings, the who-said-what-to-Harry and Meghan question. is most certainly missing the white supremacist forest for the trees." The F-Word is released bi-weekly featuring timely commentaries by Laura Flanders and guests. Support theLFShow with your media muscles by becoming a monthly sustaining member for $3, $5, $12 or more, goto https://Patreon.com/theLFShow  Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders-Executive Producer, Writer;  Sabrina Artel-Supervising Producer; Jeremiah Cothren-Senior Producer; Veronica Delgado-Video Editor, Janet Hernandez-Communications Director; Jeannie Hopper-Audio Director, Podcast & Radio Producer, Audio Editor, Sound Design, Narrator; Sarah Miller-Development Director, Nat Needham-Editor, Graphic Design emeritus; David Neuman-Senior Video Editor, and Rory O’Conner-Senior Consulting Producer. 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

Achieving social justice is going to take much more than reforming our criminal justice system. Valuing all lives equally is going to require a profound reckoning with every system of “othering” that lies at the heart of our economy. “You can't deal, for example, with capitalism unless you deal with patriarchy, “ says political historian Vijay Prashad. The question of women’s unrecognized labor, care labor and so on is central to the reproduction of the system, says Prashad. Executive Director of the Tri-continental Institute for Social Research,  Vijay Prashad talked with Laura for “The Economics of Abolition” episode of the Laura Flanders Show. Here, we present more of that conversation, uncut. The Tri-continental Institute for Social Research is a movement-driven institution focused on building peace and justice through provoking intellectual debate. For more information on Vijay Prashad, along with a list of links to related episodes from our archives and related articles go to Patreon.com/theLFShow.  That’s also where you’ll find a link to watch our episode and download the podcast on the "Economics of Abolition" that portions of today’s conversation was featured in.  And while you’re there, please support the show by committing to a a monthly donation as a Patreon Partner, like a magazine or newspaper subscription, for as little as $3 a month.  By doing so, you keep our programming, free as a podcast, and to radio and TV audiences across the country.  Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders-Executive Producer, Writer;  Sabrina Artel-Supervising Producer; Jeremiah Cothren-Senior Producer; Veronica Delgado-Video Editor, Janet Hernandez-Communications Director; Jeannie Hopper-Audio Director, Podcast & Radio Producer, Audio Editor, Sound Design, Narrator; Sarah Miller-Development Director, Nat Needham-Editor, Graphic Design emeritus; David Neuman-Senior Video Editor, and Rory O’Conner-Senior Consulting Producer. 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

Life gives us plenty of reasons for cynicism but best-selling author Rutger Bregman (Utopia for Realists) summons a wealth of evidence that humankind can do better. Bregman’s the guy who took down Tucker Carlson and whose suggestion they pay taxes made the tax dodgers uncomfortable at Davos. Could a new understanding of our species—based on psychology, evolutionary biology, and political economic history—help us see ourselves in a new light and guide us toward a kinder future? Laura has her doubts — which makes for a great discussion. And we hear about The Correspondent, a Dutch news platform owned and operated by its writers and readers.You'll find a link to watch this episode, check out the episode notes posted along with an invitation to join guests and Laura for a live premiere and chat event to view this week’s episode via our YouTube channel, Sunday's 11:30am, at Patreon.com/theLFShow    Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders-Executive Producer, Writer;  Sabrina Artel-Supervising Producer; Jeremiah Cothren-Senior Producer; Veronica Delgado-Video Editor, Janet Hernandez-Communications Director; Jeannie Hopper-Audio Director, Podcast & Radio Producer, Audio Editor, Sound Design, Narrator; Sarah Miller-Development Director, Nat Needham-Editor, Graphic Design emeritus; David Neuman-Senior Video Editor, and Rory O’Conner-Senior Consulting Producer. 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

"How do we live with the decades-long reality that tens of thousands of families in #IndianCountry have had no electricity and limited cell and broadband access - not for a day or a week - but for years already." The F-Word is released bi-weekly featuring timely commentaries by Laura Flanders and guests. Support theLFShow with your media muscles by becoming a monthly sustaining member for $3, $5, $12 or more, goto https://Patreon.com/theLFShow  Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders-Executive Producer, Writer;  Sabrina Artel-Supervising Producer; Jeremiah Cothren-Senior Producer; Veronica Delgado-Video Editor, Janet Hernandez-Communications Director; Jeannie Hopper-Audio Director, Podcast & Radio Producer, Audio Editor, Sound Design, Narrator; Sarah Miller-Development Director, Nat Needham-Editor, Graphic Design emeritus; David Neuman-Senior Video Editor, and Rory O’Conner-Senior Consulting Producer. 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

You'll find a link to watch this special, “Indigenous People's Power,” and episode notes posted at Patreon.com/theLFShow  along with an invitation to join guests and Laura for a live premiere and chat event to view this week’s episode . “Standing Rock was our Ferguson,” indigenous activist and author Edgar Villanueva tells Laura Flanders in this week’s timely episode. 2020 was a watershed year for indigenous peoples’ movements. Native American organizers made great strides when it comes to elections, mutual aid and protests, but the Covid pandemic also took its toll, and nowhere more grievously than on Native American lives. This week, from the reservation on Pine Ridge to rural Arizona to the metropolis of New York City,  Laura catches up with a newly-elected elections official, a philanthropist leading a radical shift in philanthropy and the organizer of one of the nation’s largest Indigenous alliances who is facing felony charges for his peaceful protest against President Trump’s visit to Mt. Rushmore. Where are their movements headed in this new year with a new administration? And what lessons can we all learn from indigenous peoples’ organizing? This episode provides an illuminating background to the confirmation struggle surrounding Deb Haaland’s nomination to head up the Department of the Interior, the first Native American to be named to that position. GUESTS:Gabriella Cázares-Kelly, Pima County Recorder, First Native American to win an elected county-wide seat in ArizonaNick Tilsen, President & CEO, of the NDN Collective Edgar Villanueva,  Activist, Author, philanthropist, and Founder of the Decolonizing Wealth Project  Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders-Executive Producer, Writer;  Sabrina Artel-Supervising Producer; Jeremiah Cothren-Senior Producer; Veronica Delgado-Video Editor, Janet Hernandez-Communications Director; Jeannie Hopper-Audio Director, Podcast & Radio Producer, Audio Editor, Sound Design, Narrator; Sarah Miller-Development Director, Nat Needham-Editor, Graphic Design emeritus; David Neuman-Senior Video Editor, and Rory O’Conner-Senior Consulting Producer. 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

Princeton Professor and author Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor discusses the current housing insecurity crisis in the US, the history of African American homeownership, the need for public solutions to the housing crisis, the importance of societal change, and the inspiring activism in addressing housing insecurity.

You'll find a link to watch this special, “Indigenous People's Power,” and episode notes posted at Patreon.com/theLFShow  along with an invitation to join guests and Laura for a live premiere and chat event to view this week’s episode . Before 2020, America was already in a housing crisis. The Covid-19 pandemic, high unemployment, and a recession have only made things worse. A record level of evictions have created record levels of homelessness at a time when public health demands that as many people as possible stay home. What is to be done? In this episode, housing activists from Philadelphia share their experiences and insights from a long history of organizing that recently resulted in a landmark agreement with the Philadelphia Housing Authority. Laura also interviews Philadelphia-based author, professor and New Yorker magazine contributor Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor. Her 2019 book, Race for Profit: How Banks and the Real Estate Industry Undermined Black Homeownership was a finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize.  Music in the Middle:  “Place Delight” by Stephen Emmer featuring Mary Griffin, from the album Home Ground, released on Electric Fairytale Recordings.  Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders-Executive Producer, Writer;  Sabrina Artel-Supervising Producer; Jeremiah Cothren-Senior Producer; Veronica Delgado-Video Editor, Janet Hernandez-Communications Director; Jeannie Hopper-Audio Director, Podcast & Radio Producer, Audio Editor, Sound Design, Narrator; Sarah Miller-Development Director, Nat Needham-Editor, Graphic Design emeritus; David Neuman-Senior Video Editor, and Rory O’Conner-Senior Consulting Producer. 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 second impeachment trial of Donald Trump began just as we were learning of the death, on February 7, of the bold and brilliant labor leader, Karen Lewis."The F-Word is released bi-weekly featuring timely commentaries by Laura Flanders and guests. Support theLFShow with your media muscles by becoming a monthly sustaining member for $3, $5, $12 or more, goto https://Patreon.com/theLFShow  Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders-Executive Producer, Writer;  Sabrina Artel-Supervising Producer; Jeremiah Cothren-Senior Producer; Veronica Delgado-Video Editor, Janet Hernandez-Communications Director; Jeannie Hopper-Audio Director, Podcast & Radio Producer, Audio Editor, Sound Design, Narrator; Sarah Miller-Development Director, Nat Needham-Editor, Graphic Design emeritus; David Neuman-Senior Video Editor, and Rory O’Conner-Senior Consulting Producer. 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

James Baldwin was one of the 20th century’s most incisive thinkers and writers. In our own era, as political rhetoric, state violence, and popular uprising bring racism into stark relief, many Americans have been turning to Baldwin’s work for insights from the Civil Rights Movement and the years that followed. In his most recent book, Princeton African American Studies Department chair Professor Eddie Glaude brings Baldwin’s wisdom to today’s challenges. In this episode, Laura spends the full half-hour in conversation with Professor Glaude about his book, Begin Again: James Baldwin's America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own.  Music in the Middle:  I Survived 45 by Josh Milan, courtesy of Honeycomb Music.You can watch the premiere of this episode on Public Television on the World Channel, 11:30am ET and at our YouTube Channel where you're invited to join us for a live viewing party and chat hosted by Laura.  Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders-Executive Producer, Writer;  Sabrina Artel-Supervising Producer; Jeremiah Cothren-Senior Producer; Veronica Delgado-Video Editor, Janet Hernandez-Communications Director; Jeannie Hopper-Audio Director, Podcast & Radio Producer, Audio Editor, Sound Design, Narrator; Sarah Miller-Development Director, Nat Needham-Editor, Graphic Design emeritus; David Neuman-Senior Video Editor, and Rory O’Conner-Senior Consulting Producer. 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