The Final Straw Radio

This week, we’re featuring an interview with Fig, an anarchist and member of the anti-Imperialist US veterans organization About Face to talk about decruitment, the work of About Face and an assessment of shifts in military priority under the lead of Hegseth towards the southern US border and the Trump administration 2.0’s multi-polar spin. There’s a lot here and we’ll have a transcript in the near future. Transcript PDF (Unimposed) Zine (Imposed PDF) Links About Face: https://aboutfaceveterans.org/ GI Rights Hotline: https://girightshotline.org/ Military Law Task Force of the NLG: https://nlgmltf.org/ a recent Politico article considering some military focus shifts discussed in this chat Past veteran interviews on TFSR: Graham Clumpner pt 1 & pt 2 (2020) Eddie Falcon (2013)

This week we’re sharing recent chat with Jazz and Badger, two residents of Barnardsville, a small village just outside of Asheville, NC. We spoke about the community, the impact of Hurricane Helene, some lessons learned from coordinating among the neighbors and how people are faring now, nearly 5 months out from the storm. You can find their website at MutualAidBarnardsville.com Transcript PDF (Unimposed) Zine (Imposed PDF) To hear similar stories from after the storm you can find links to past interviews in our show notes alongside links to groups working in the area, a few articles concerning government response and interviews recorded by Blue Ridge Public Radio: Voices of Helene. Articles on recovery referenced: https://www.bpr.org/bpr-news/2025-01-13/are-fema-rules-to-blame-for-slow-wnc-housing-recovery-heres-what-we-learned https://www.newsweek.com/fema-kicking-hurricane-survivors-housing-administrator-responds-2013660 https://www.bpr.org/bpr-news/2025-02-03/gov-stein-calls-for-1-07-billion-in-state-funding-for-helene-recovery Recent Storm Support for EKY, ETN, SWVA + WV Recent floods in middle Appalachia in the middle of an intense winter cold snap have left many without potable water or other basic needs. ATV donation / loan / operation request to help check on people in hollers, help clear roads, drive supplies: reach out to theferalraccoon (a t) proton (d ot) me OR MutualAidDisasterRelief ( at) gmail (do t) com. EKY One place you can look for where to send resources is Eastern KY Mutual Aid, found on Instagram or Facebook under the name Hillbillies Helping Hillbillies. And you can find out more by visiting the website or checking social media for Mutual Aid Disaster Relief. Some of the useful links are here for those unable to use the platforms: EKY Mutual Aid Patreon Volunteer form if in the region EKY Mutual Aid Cashapp: $SoupBeansFriedTaters EKY Mutual Aid Paypal: @EKYMutualAid In Pikeville, KY, there’s a request for food grade 5 gallon for water filtration where municipal water isn’t running or wells are contaminated there’s a request for restaurants to save buckets for water filtration. People interested can contact Cara at 859_533_0349 DROP OFF LOCATION: Pike Central HS 100 Winners Circle Drive Pikeville, KY 41501 Other EKY sites: Appalachian Crisis Aid Fund The Y'all Squad https://TheYallSquad.org/donate SWVA SAMS Lonesome Pine Mutual Aid Paypal: @SAMSVA The Care Collective of SW VA Venmo: @carecollectiveofswva Cumberland Mountain Mutual Aid Paypal: cumberlandmountainmutualaid (a t) gmail (d o t) com Venmo: @CMMAID CashApp: $CMMUTUALAID WV WVUMC Disaster Response Ministries https://WVUMC.org/donate Bluejay Rising https://BluejayRising.org/donate Spark of Love Foundation CashApp: $sparkoflove4thekids PayPal: The Spark of Love Foundation ETN Disaster Relief at Work https://www.drawbuckets.org/donate

This week, a conversation with Thorin Klosowski of the Electronic Frontier Foundation about some basic tools and ideas for keeping our information a little safer online and the Surveillance Self-Defense site, ssd.eff.org . We discuss device encryption, tor-browser, vpns, encrypted messaging apps like WhatsApp, Signal and Telegram as well as password vaults. I’m hoping this’ll be the first of a few interviews to try to make digital security concepts a little more accessible. Transcript PDF (Unimposed) Zine (Imposed PDF) SSD.EFF.org Consumer Reports Digital Security and Privacy site (including personal planning app): https://www.consumerreports.org/digital-security-privacy/ https://www.404media.co/ https://www.theverge.com/ https://techcrunch.com/

This week on the show, we're sharing two interviews. First up, Dulce, a member of Companeros Inmigrantes en las Montanas en Accion, or CIMA, a local organizing and advocacy group by and for immigrants in western NC about her experience working for dignity and solidarity in light of the current and past administrations. More on CIMA can be found at CIMAWNC.Org Ducle of CIMA Transcript Dulce of CIMA PDF (Unimposed) Dulce of CIMA Zine (Imposed PDF) Then, Ian speaks with Kristian Williams, author of Gang Politics, Resist Everything Except Temptation, and Our Enemies in Blue, among others, about his recent book, The Illuminist: Philosophical Explanations in the work of Alan Moore. The chat touches upon Moore’s work and its anarchist underpinnings, his legacy in and out of comics, the necessity of imagination, and the possibilities that arise from death and disaster. The book is available from emergencyhearts.com, emergencyhearts.bandcamp.com, and kristianwilliams.com. You can find past interviews we've done with Kristian here. Kristian Williams Transcript Kristian Williams PDF (Unimposed) - pending Kristian Williams Zine (Imposed PDF) - pending

Today we’re sharing an interview recorded this week with Gabriel Kuhn speaking about the West German urban guerrilla group the 2nd of June Movement, the book he co-edited on this subject entitled From Hash Rebels to Urban Guerrillas: A Documentary History of the 2nd of June Movement (from PM Press and Kersplebedb), the milieu from which it arose, how it compared to other groups at the time like the Red Army Faction, and some of the legacy of their critiques and interventions on radical politics in the autonomen movement and beyond. Transcript PDF (Unimposed) Zine (Imposed PDF) For the hour we speak about the context from which the 2nd of June Movement grew (alongside the Red Army Faction, Revolutionary Cells and others) in the 1970's, their goals and actions, the timing of the book and the legacy that these groups left to German society and the autonomous movements that continued. • Our prior interview with Gabriel on Liberating Sapmi • Gabriel’s blog: https://lefttwothree.org/ • A blog collecting documents of this period: http://germanguerilla.com/ . ... . .. Featured Track: 5:45 by Gang of Four from The Peel Sessions  

This week, we are sharing an interview with a member of the Solidarity Fund for Imprisoned and Persecuted Revolutionaries, or Tameio. We talk about the case of the explosion in an apartment in the Athens district of Ampelokipi from late October of 2024 which left comrade Kyriakos Xymitiris dead and left Marianna badly injured, after which there have been arrests of four other comrades (so far), including Nikos Romanos. Some supporters of those arrested believes the case is the New Democracy government distracting from their economic collapse by increasing repression and the spectre of terrorism. Transcript PDF (Unimposed) Zine (Imposed PDF) We also speak about the anti-repression landscape that Tameio participates in, the end of asylum protections against police on university campuses and difficulties faced by the anti-authoritarian and anarchist movements in Greece today. https://tameio.net https://athens.indymedia.org/ Nikos Romanos’ letter on the case from December 5th, 2024: https://actforfree.noblogs.org/2024/12/08/letter-from-anarchist-comrade-nikos-romanos-from-korydallos-prison-greece/

We’re sharing a recent interview with Michelle Pitcher of the Texas Observer about living conditions and forced labor in the TDCJ, the Texas prison system. You can reach Michelle at pitcher@texasobserver.org or follow her at @michellepitcher.bsky.social . Thank you again so much for the continuing support of this project. Transcript PDF (Unimposed) Zine (Imposed PDF) Related Articles https://www.texasobserver.org/prison-heat-lawsuit-tdcj/ https://www.texasobserver.org/texas-prison-plantations https://www.texasobserver.org/solidarity-prison-labor-union/ Our prior interview with Jason Walker (more of his writings at his blog) can be found here (with a transcript available). And our prior chat with Comrade Z can be found here.

In a revealing conversation, an anonymous long-term anarchist comrade shares insights on surviving state repression. They discuss the emotional toll of trauma and the importance of supportive communities in navigating mental health challenges. The speaker emphasizes cultivating a strong security culture amidst growing surveillance and the need for collective resilience. Personal anecdotes highlight strategies for coping with intimidation, reinforcing the significance of solidarity in revolutionary movements. This discussion invites newcomers to engage with the anarchist ethos while prioritizing emotional well-being.

This week, we're sharing a recording of Andrew Zonneveld from the 2024 Another Carolina Anarchist Bookfair talking about his book All Will Be Equalized!: Georgia's Freedom Seekers of the Swamps, Backwoods, and Sea Islands 1526-1890 alongside his friend Modibo Kadalie. To see a video with the slides from the presentation, check out our youtube page. Transcript PDF (Unimposed Zine (Imposed PDF)

In this episode, you’ll hear Cedric and Khuzama, two libertarian communists with connections to Syria and editor contributors to the blog interstices-fajawat.org , speaking about their observations of what’s been going on leading up to and through the ouster of Bashar Al-Assad, as well as complications among various factions on the ground and the view from the Syrian diaspora. The situation on the ground is changing fast, so check the show notes for this episode on our website for links to news sources that can be helpful in keeping up. Transcript PDF (Unimposed) Zine (Imposed PDF) And if you care to hear a perspective from an anarchist combatant affiliated with Tekosina Anarsist, which works with the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria affiliated with the SDF and Rojava Revolution, you can find our episode from December 22nd and the transcribed zine.