CounterPunch Radio

In this special episode of CounterPunch Radio, Bill Ayers, friend of Pilsen Community Books and fellow podcaster at Under the Tree, introduces Amos Kennedy and fellow artists and activists Monica Trinidad and Chi Nwosu. This evening at Pilsen Community Books in Chicago included a packed-house crowd for a celebration for the release of Citizen Printer by renowned letterpress printer Amos P. Kennedy, Jr. A self-described “humble negro printer,” Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr., is internationally recognized for his type-driven messages of social justice and Black power, emblazoned in rhythmically layered and boldly inked prints made for the masses. Borrowing words from civil rights heroes such as Rosa Parks, Fannie Lou Hamer, Frederick Douglass, and Sojourner Truth, Kennedy issues fearless statements on race, capitalism, history, and politics—along with plenty of witty truisms—in his exuberant, colorful, and one-of-a-kind posters and handbills. Amos P. Kennedy, Jr. was working a corporate job when, at nearly forty, he discovered the art of letterpress printing on a tour of Colonial Williamsburg. Kennedy then devoted himself to the craft, earning an MFA in graphic design at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He now operates Kennedy Prints!, a letterpress printshop in Detroit. He has exhibited in dozens of museums and galleries across the United States, including the Library of Congress, and the libraries of the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Monica Trinidad (she/they) is a queer Latine visual artist, communicator, and cultural strategist. A lifelong Chicagoan, Monica has created zines, graphics, mixed media posters, communication strategies, and plans highlighting youth-led, intergenerational, and intersectional grassroots organizing work in Chicago and nationally. Chi Nwosu is a Black, non-binary, queer, Nigerian artist based in Chicago. Their work is an alchemy of cultural narratives that centres marginalised experiences and utilises potent cultural, political, and spiritual symbols. Chi’s art invites viewers to imagine collective liberation, envisioning communities rooted in kindness, compassion, and care. Please, head over to Pilsen Community Books and pick up some books! The post Citizen Printer, Bill Ayers w/ Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr., Monica Trinidad, and Chi Nwosu appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

On this episode of CounterPunch Radio, Erik Wallenberg and Joshua Frank welcome Ellen Schrecker to discuss the legacy of McCarthyism and the current right-wing attack on academic freedom in the U.S., and why the situation is even worse today than it was in the 1950s. Ellen Schrecker is an American historian and author who has written extensively about McCarthyism and American higher education. She is the author of many books, including The Lost Promise: American Universities in the 1960s, published by the University of Chicago Press, which provides the first comprehensive analysis of American higher education’s most turbulent decade. She holds a Ph.D. from Harvard, taught there and at NYU and Princeton, and later joined Yeshiva University, from which she retired as a full professor. Head over and grab some books from the best shop, Pilsen Community Books. The post Resisting Attacks on Academic Freedom / Ellen Schrecker appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

Rebecca Maria Goldschmidt speaks with members of the Asamblea Oaxaqueña por Palestina on Día de los Muertos in Oaxaca, México. They discuss local issues of gentrification, militarization, narco-violence, and religious Zionism, and Mexico’s political and economic ties to the colonial occupation of Palestine. Asamblea Oaxaqueña por Palestina is an autonomous, non-partisan, solidarity space formed by people from Oaxaca united to acompany the resistance of the Palestinian people. Podcast in Spanish, see English transcript here! The post The Palestinization of the World w/ Asamblea Oaxaqueña por Palestina appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

On this episode, Erik Wallenberg and Joshua Frank talk with climate justice campaigner and author Tori Tsui. Tori is a Senior Advisor for the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty and is a climate justice lead for Brian Eno’s Earth Percent. Her debut book, It’s Not Just You, explores the intersection of mental health and climate change and was shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize. The U.S. version is scheduled for release in April 2026. The post Beyond Eco-Anxiety w/ Tori Tsui appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

On this episode of CounterPunch Radio, Erik Wallenberg and Joshua Frank talk to Presleigh Hayashida and Sophie Shepherd about efforts to evict genocide profiteers out of the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Gen Z organizing, and much more. Presleigh Hayashida is a Brooklyn-based community organizer working on general anti-fascist organizing and the movement for a Free Palestine. In her spare time, she works as a civil engineer, spends time with her two cats, and stares at trees. Sophie Shepherd is a Brooklyn-based community organizer and writer.  She graduated summa cum laude from Scripps College in 2024, earning a B.A. in Environmental Analysis and a minor in Writing & Rhetoric. Follow Demilitarize Brooklyn Navy Yard on Instagram. The post Genocide Profiteers Out of Brooklyn Navy Yard + Gen Z Organizing w/ Presleigh Hayashida and Sophie Shepherd appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

On this episode of CounterPunch Radio, Erik Wallenberg and Joshua Frank talk to Josh MacPhee and Kennedy Block, authors of the new book, Strike While the Needle is Hot: A Discography of Worker’s Revolt, published by Common Notions Press. Josh MacPhee is a founding member of the Justseeds Artists’ Cooperative, the author of An Encyclopedia of Political Record Labels, and coeditor of Signal: A Journal of International Political Graphics and Culture. He cofounded and helps run Interference Archive, a public collection of cultural materials produced by social movements. Kennedy Block is an independent researcher and archivist participating in, documenting, and connecting contemporary struggles for control over our own lives. Pick up the book and mixtape at Common Notions. The post Strike While the Needle is Hot w/ Josh MacPhee and Kennedy Block appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

On this episode of CounterPunch Radio, Rebecca Maria Goldschmidt speaks with anti-Zionist Jewish community organizers in Brazil and Argentina from Vozes Judaicas por Libertação and JudíesxPalestina about their recent protective presence trip to the West Bank with the Center for Jewish Non-violence. They share a report back on the impacts of ongoing settler and occupational violence on Palestinian communities in Massafer Yatta and Burin, connecting issues from the global south, from water rights to police brutality, as well as the ways the movement in Latin America differs from the dominant US and Eurocentric Jewish anti-zionist discourse. Please support Masafer Yatta (Palestinian Territory) The post The Anti-Zionist Movement in Latin America w/ Vozes Judaicas por Libertação and JudíesxPalestina appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

On this episode of CounterPunch Radio, we are excited to present a panel discussion featuring Ramzy Baroud and Janene Yazzie, which took place last July at Socialism 2025 in Chicago. Ramzy and Janene discuss the connections between Indigenous struggles worldwide and how the fight for a free Palestine is a fight for justice on all Native lands. The panel was sponsored by Haymarket Books, Pilsen Community Books and CounterPunch. Ramzy Baroud is a frequent contributor to CounterPunch, author and Editor of The Palestine Chronicle. He is the author of six books. His forthcoming book, ‘Before the Flood,’ will be published by Seven Stories Press. His other books include ‘Our Vision for Liberation’, ‘My Father was a Freedom Fighter’ and ‘The Last Earth’. Baroud is a Non-resident Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA). Janene Yazzie is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation. She has over 12 years of experience as a community organizer and human rights advocate deeply rooted in local community issues. Beginning from her community Tsé si’ áni, in Diné Bikéyah, she has worked on the intersections of climate change, water security, food security, energy development, and nation building with indigenous communities and indigenous-led organizations in the US, Canada and Latin America. The post From Turtle Island to Palestine w/ Ramzy Baroud and Janene Yazzie appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

On this episode of CounterPunch Radio, Joshua Frank and Erik Wallenberg talk with Leona Morgan about nuclear colonialism in the Southwest and beyond. Leona Morgan (Diné/Navajo) is an Indigenous community organizer who has been fighting nuclear colonialism since 2007. The Albuquerque-based activist co-founded and works with the Nuclear Issues Study Group and Diné No Nukes, which contributes to the Haul No! initiative and Radiation Monitoring Project. A participant in the international campaign Don’t Nuke The Climate, Morgan hones in on the manifold dangers and issues that stem from nuclear colonialism and environmental racism. Please support Haul No! The post Ending Nuclear Colonialism w/ Leona Morgan appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

On this episode of CounterPunch Radio, Rebecca Maria Goldschmidt talks with members of Punks Against Apartheid to discuss the history of the network, their entry points into Palestine organizing, and the current watershed moment of cultural intifada across global stages. In 2011, PAA launched a successful cultural BDS campaign against Dead Kennedys’ Jello Biafra, who canceled his scheduled gig in Tel Aviv. Relaunched in 2024, the network connects punk communities worldwide in mutual aid efforts, boycott campaigns, and encourages all artists and musicians to get involved to bring an end to the genocide and support Palestinians in their just struggle for liberation and self-determination. The post Racism Ain’t Punk w/ Punks Against Apartheid appeared first on CounterPunch.org.