Working People

In September, before the current ceasefire deal was announced, we spoke with two Palestinians in Gaza—Mohamed Abu Tawila (a former English teacher) and his nephew Abdul Rahman (a would-be college student)—about surviving 700 days of genocidal destruction at the hands of Israel's military and with the full backing of the United States. In this critical follow-up episode, we speak once again with Mohamed Abu Tawila from Gaza to get an on-the-ground account of life for Palestinians after the shaky implementation of the ceasefire began on Oct. 10. Additional links/info: Mohamed's Instagram account Living Water Mutual Aid in Gaza Chuffed fundraiser page and Instagram account GoFundMe campaign to support Mohamed's water delivery operation and his family Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / The Real News Network, "'Hearts are crying and bodies are bleeding': Gazans describe their daily struggle to survive" Tareq S. Hajjaj, Mondoweiss, "Israel's repeated ceasefire violations are part of its strategy to keep waging war on Gaza" DropSite News, "Israel kills over 100 Palestinians in overnight bombardment of Gaza; thousands killed in Sudan's El-Fasher" Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Alina Nehlich

In this special crossover edition of Working People and The Marc Steiner Show, hosts Maximillian Alvarez and Marc Steiner examine how the "artificial intelligence" (AI) boom is shaping the economy and the impact it is already having—and will continue to have—on working people's lives, livelihoods, and jobs. Alvarez and Steiner speak with two members of a new mutual aid and advocacy group called Stop Gen AI, which formed this year out of the critical need to provide material support for creatives, knowledge workers, and anyone else impacted by generative AI. Guests: Kim Crawley is a former cybersecurity professor and co-author of The Pentester Blueprint. She founded Stop Gen AI in May 2025 in response to the immense socioeconomic harm generative AI has done to her and her peers, and to the vast environmental, cultural, scientific, psychological, and economic harm it does to the world. Stop Gen AI is unique for its anticapitalist focus and commitment to raising survival funds for people who are struggling. Emmi is an information security expert with experience across many niches of the industry, including application security across a number of verticals, and she is a specialist in insider threat and cyber threat intelligence. She joined the efforts of Stop Gen AI in 2025 due to the overwhelming amount of friends she has seen lose their entire lives and careers due to the out-of-control AI bubble. She also has nearly two decades of experience with boots-on-the-ground union organizing, protesting, and activism. Additional links/info: Stop Gen AI website and Mastodon page Stop Gen AI Twitch Fest information Khiree Stewart, WBALTV 11, "'Just holding a Doritos bag': Student handcuffed after AI system mistook bag of chips for weapon" Marc Steiner & Maximillian Alvarez, The Marc Steiner Show, "Trump and Silicon Valley's plan to rule the world with AI weapons" Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Stephen Frank, Marc Steiner Show Theme Song Credits: Studio Production: David Hebden Audio Post-Production: Alina Nehlich

The federal government shutdown is now in its fourth week. Over 700,000 federal employees have been furloughed, with nearly as many continuing to work without pay, yet there are still no signs that an end to the shutdown is near. "Unlike past presidents, Mr. Trump appears to feel little urgency to strike a deal to reopen the government," Luke Broadwater writes at The New York Times. "Instead, he has used the shutdown, which began Oct. 1, as an opportunity to further remake the federal bureaucracy and jettison programs he does not like, seizing on unorthodox budgetary maneuvers that some have called illegal." In this episode, we speak with three furloughed federal employees about the harm government shutdowns cause working people, and we discuss why this shutdown is different. Guests: Adam is a furloughed federal employee who works in recreation for the US Forest Service, managing hiking, biking, and equestrian trails in central Idaho. He serves as chapter president of National Federation of Federal Employees Local 1753, and he is an organizer with the Federal Unionists Network. Ellen is a furloughed federal employee who works in SNAP oversight and administration at the USDA Food and Nutrition Service. She serves as chapter president of National Treasury Employees Union Local 255, representing FNS employees at the Northeast regional office, and she is an organizer with the Federal Unionists Network in Boston. April is a furloughed federal employee who works in the office of Head Start at the Administration for Children and Families HQ in Washington, DC. She serves as chapter president of the National Treasury Employees Union Local 250. Additional links/info: Federal Unionists Network website, BlueSky, and Instagram Federal Unionists Network: "Join Us To Defend Public Services!" Luke Broadwater, The New York Times, "The Shutdown Is Stretching On. Trump Doesn't Seem to Mind." Democracy Now!, "Shadow president: Project 2025 architect Russell Vought is using shutdown to gut federal agencies" Featured Music: Jules Taylor, "Working People" Theme Song Credits: Featured music: Jules Taylor, "Working People" Theme Song Audio Post-Production: Alina Nehlich

"In Texas, a socialist professor is now in the fight of his life against MAGA's New McCarthyism," scholar and author Bill V. Mullen writes in Jacobin. "Tom Alter, a labor historian and tenured professor of history at Texas State University, was fired from his job on September 10 after a far-right troll doctored a videotape of Alter speaking at a virtual Revolutionary Socialism conference. After viewing the video, university president Kelly Damphousse fired Alter on September 10 with what Alter and his supporters say was no due process." While Alter was provisionally reinstated on Sept. 26, he and his family remain in limbo as they wait for a final decision from Texas State University regarding his firing. In this urgent episode of Working People, we speak with Professor Alter himself about the sequence of events that have made his case a flashpoint in the MAGA right's all-out assault on free speech, higher education, and the people who live, work, and study there. Editor's Note (10/14/25): On Monday, Oct. 13, Professor Tom Alter was notified by Texas State University President Kelly Damphousse that "his employment at Texas State University is terminated, effective immediately." "I stand in opposition to Texas State University's attack on democratic rights that are protected by the Texas and United States Constitutions as well as the academic freedom that was once the hallmark of Texas higher education," Professor Alter said in a public statement. "To be clear, my termination is part of a broader political attack being carried out by the authoritarian far-right to crush democracy and democratic institutions in the United States in general and Texas in particular. But the charges leveled against me by the Texas State University administration do not stand up to the facts; I have truth on my side and I look forward to my day in court." Additional links/info: Texas State Employees Union - CWA Local 6186: "Reinstate Dr. Tom Alter | Defend Free Speech" Bill V. Mullen, Jacobin, "MAGA McCarthyism comes to Texas State" Russell Payne, Salon, "Fox News "expert" says Hitler went to heaven" Full video of Professor Alter's Revolutionary Socialism conference speech Edward Helmore, The Guardian, "US anti-fascism expert leaves country day after being blocked from flying to Spain" Featured Music: Jules Taylor, "Working People" Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor

In a stunning and massive development, tech giant Microsoft has announced that it is terminating parts of the Israeli military's access to proprietary technology that it was using to conduct mass surveillance and targeting of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. "Microsoft told Israeli officials late last week that Unit 8200, the military's elite spy agency, had violated the company's terms of service by storing the vast trove of surveillance data in its Azure cloud platform," the Guardian reports. "The termination is the first known case of a US technology company withdrawing services provided to the Israeli military since the beginning of its war on Gaza." This major development would not have happened without the joint-investigative work of reporters at The Guardian, +972 Magazine, and Local Call exposing Microsoft's complicity with Unit 8200's mass-surveillance campaign, but it also would not have happened without the disruptive protests by tech workers within Microsoft. In this panel discussion, we speak with three fired Microsoft tech workers and members of the "No Azure for Apartheid" campaign—Nisreen Jaradat, Julius Shan, and Anna Hattle—about the role workers have played in pressuring Microsoft to end its complicity in Israel's war crimes. Additional Links/Info: No Azure for Apartheid Instagram and Linktree Maximillian Alvarez, The Nation, "How Microsoft workers helped halt a major contract with the Israeli military" Harry Davies & Yuval Abraham, The Guardian, "Microsoft blocks Israel's use of its technology in mass surveillance of Palestinians" Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / The Real News Network, "The biggest labor story in the US right now is happening at Microsoft" Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / The Real News Network, "'Microsoft is an active partner in the genocide!': Inside the tech worker revolt for Palestine" Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, "Cops violently dismantle Palestine encampment at Microsoft HQ, arrest protestors" Harry Davies & Yuval Abraham, The Guardian, "'A million calls an hour': Israel relying on Microsoft cloud for expansive surveillance of Palestinians" Credits: Studio Production: David Hebden Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor

Last week, The Real News Network published a bombshell interview with two federal whistleblowers working in the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Max spoke with Paul Osadebe and Palmer Heenan, two attorneys in HUD's Office of Fair Housing, about the "chaos" that has upended HUD under the new Trump administration, and the vulnerable Americans who are being systematically abandoned as a result. Then, on Monday, Sept. 29, exactly one week after going public, Osadebe and Heenan were fired in what the Federal Unionist Network describes as "a stunning act of illegal retaliation." In this urgent followup interview, we speak once again with Osadebe and Heenan about the conditions of their firing, and what this attack on whistleblowers means for the future of government transparency and the future of HUD itself. Guests: Paul Osadebe is a shop steward for the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) – Local 476, a member of the Federal Unionists Network, and, until recently, an attorney working in the federal government. Osadebe is one of the four employees within HUD who have filed formal whistleblower complaints through the office of Senator Elizabeth Warren (D – Massachusetts). Osadebe was fired for his whistleblowing on Sept. 29. Palmer Heenan is a rank-and-file member of AFGE – Local 476, a member of the Federal Unionists Network, and, until recently, an attorney working in the federal government. Heenan is one of the four employees within the Department of Housing and Urban Development who have filed formal whistleblower complaints through the office of Senator Elizabeth Warren (D – Massachusetts). Heenan was fired for his whistleblowing on Sept. 29. Additional resources: Debra Kamin, The New York Times, "Trump appointees roll back enforcement of Fair Housing laws" Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, "EXCLUSIVE: Federal whistleblowers expose how Trump's HUD is abandoning vulnerable Americans" Federal Unionists Network: "BREAKING: HUD whistleblowers fired after exposing civil rights violations" Federal Unionists Network website, BlueSky, and Instagram AFGE – Local 476 website Credits: Studio Production / Post-Production: Cameron Granadino

Federal whistleblowers are going public with an emergency message from within the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). According to their formal complaint, under President Trump's administration, "HUD leadership has already violated the law" and taken actions that "will result in legal violations, gross mismanagement, gross waste of funds, and present a specific danger to public health and safety." The complaints were filed by four attorneys and staff workers at HUD'S Office of General Counsel and Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. In their first on-air appearance since going public with their allegations, Max speaks with attorneys and federal employees Paul Osadebe and Palmer Heenan about their whistleblower complaints and the "chaos" at Trump's HUD. Guests: Paul Osadebe is an attorney working in the federal government, a shop steward for the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) – Local 476, and a member of the Federal Unionists Network. Osadebe is one of the four employees within the Department of Housing and Urban Development who have filed formal whistleblower complaints through the office of Senator Elizabeth Warren (D – Massachusetts). Palmer Heenan is an attorney working in the federal government, a rank-and-file member of AFGE – Local 476, and a member of the Federal Unionists Network. Heenan is one of the four employees within the Department of Housing and Urban Development who have filed formal whistleblower complaints through the office of Senator Elizabeth Warren (D – Massachusetts). Additional resources: Debra Kamin, The New York Times, "Trump appointees roll back enforcement of Fair Housing laws" Federal Unionists Network website, BlueSky, and Instagram AFGE – Local 476 website Federal Unionists Network: HUD Whistleblowers Sound Alarm on Civil Rights (Report) Federal Unionists Network: Join Us To Defend Public Services! Credits Studio Production: David Hebden Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor

Current and former tech workers with the No Azure for Apartheid coalition continue to disrupt business as usual at Microsoft's global headquarters in solidarity with Palestinians facing a genocide, and in protest of Microsoft's contracts with the Israeli military to provide tech that Israel uses to surveil, kill, and retroactively justify the killing of Palestinians. In this episode of Working People, which is a critical follow-up to our last episode, we speak with a panel of five tech workers and No Azure for Apartheid coalition members who have all been fired by Microsoft in the past year in response to their protest actions: Anna Hattle, Joe Lopez, Hossam Nasr, Nisreen Jaradat, and Riki. Even after losing their jobs, however, these workers have vowed not to stop organizing and protesting until Microsoft meets their demands to "fully and perpetually divests from Israel's economy of occupation, apartheid, and genocide." Additional links/info: No Azure for Apartheid Instagram and Linktree Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / The Real News Network, "'Microsoft is an active partner in the genocide!': Inside the tech worker revolt for Palestine" Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, "Cops violently dismantle Palestine encampment at Microsoft HQ, arrest protestors" Tom Warren, The Verge, "Microsoft locks down a building after protesters get inside president's office" Microsoft: Brad Smith press conference on Aug. 26, 2025 Harry Davies & Yuval Abraham, The Guardian, "'A million calls an hour': Israel relying on Microsoft cloud for expansive surveillance of Palestinians" Featured Music: Jules Taylor, "Working People" Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor

Tech workers at the heart of Microsoft are waging one of the most significant and under-covered labor battles in the US right now. For the last two weeks, members of the No Azure for Apartheid coalition, including current and former tech workers at Microsoft and community allies, have been taking bold, continuing, and escalating actions to disrupt business as usual in solidarity with Palestinians facing genocide and in protest of Microsoft's contracts with the Israeli military to provide tech that Israel uses to surveil, kill, and retroactively justify the killing of Palestinians. Those actions have included establishing a "liberated zone" encampment and even occupying executives' offices at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, WA. In this on-the-ground episode of Working People, recorded at Microsoft headquarters on Aug. 19-20, we take you to the front lines of the No Azure for Apartheid struggle.Additional links/info: No Azure for Apartheid Instagram and Linktree Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, "Cops violently dismantle Palestine encampment at Microsoft HQ, arrest protestors" Tom Warren, The Verge, "Microsoft employee arrested at headquarters while protesting Israel contracts" Tom Warren, The Verge, "Microsoft locks down a building after protesters get inside president's office" Harry Davies & Yuval Abraham, The Guardian, "'A million calls an hour': Israel relying on Microsoft cloud for expansive surveillance of Palestinians" Featured Music: Jules Taylor, "Working People" Theme Song Credits: Studio Production: Maximillian Alvarez Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor

Right now, Israel's military is invading and obliterating what remains of Gaza City. After 700 days of genocidal bombing, shooting, forced starvation, and the systematic destruction of schools, hospitals, farms, refugee camps, roads, houses, and the entire infrastructure of civilian life, the Palestinians clinging to life in Gaza City are being exterminated, while others run or limp for their lives with nowhere safe to go. Amid the horrors of Israel's military onslaught, with starvation and illness spreading, Mohamed Abu Tawila, a former English teacher, and his nephew Abdul Rahman, a would-be college student, have been raising money online and risking their lives and safety to secure and transport clean water to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. In this urgent episode, we speak with Mohamed and Abdul Rahman from Gaza about their daily struggle to live in the midst of genocide. Additional links/info: Mohamed's Instagram account Abdul Rahman's Instagram account GoFundMe campaign to support Mohamed's water delivery operation and his family GoFundMe campaign to support Abdul Rahman's family Ruwaida Amer, The Real News Network, "Gaza journalist's URGENT MESSAGE: 'We need to eat! We need this war to stop!'" Featured Music: Jules Taylor, "Working People" Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor