Time To Say Goodbye

Hello from Philly! This week, Andy joins us for one of Tammy’s last eps as a host of TTSG. 🥲 After catching up on dog COVID, [6:10] we discuss how China’s historical self-identification as a vanguard of the Third World has given way, through decades of technological and economic growth, to a more general anti-West position. [29:00] We also reflect on the various pockets of U.S. public opinion on Gaza and Zionism, from Andy’s college students to our elected officials (and their press secretaries). [53:30] Finally, we debate whether the term “barbaric” has been selectively applied since October 7, along with larger questions of media bias. In this episode, we ask: Where does China’s relatively strong support of Palestine come from, and is it actually as strong as it seems? How does the movement for a free Palestine fit into the idea of what it means to be a good leftist? Should media outlets rethink when to publish gruesome images of victims of violence? For more, see: * Times coverage of the Biden-Xi Summit (and Blinken’s reaction to a Biden gaffe) * More on the three young Palestinian American students who were shot in Vermont, the NYU doctor who was fired over his racist social media posts, and the friendship between a Palestinian and a pro-Israel chef in Philly that has soured* Words from Lydia Polgreen and from Jay on the question of publishing graphic photos of children killed in Gaza Reminder: Tammy is hosting a virtual TTSG book club meeting for subscribers tonight at 5pm PST // 8pm EST (9am in Shanghai) with cartoonist, illustrator, and Discord OG Jillian Tamaki! We’ll get some BTS insight from Jillian on the graphic novel she just published with her cousin and co-author, Mariko Tamaki, Roaming. You can find the Zoom info on Discord or in this post! Subscribe on Patreon or Substack to join our Discord community. You can also follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and X (Twitter), and email us at timetosaygoodbyepod@gmail.com.  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit goodbye.substack.com/subscribe

Hello! This week, Jay talks to a student organizer for Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a coalition of seventy five student organizations who have been organizing and putting on protests on campus. Last week, the administration of Columbia University suspended two of the student groups – Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voices for Peace. The organizer and Jay talk about why Columbia made this decision, what the climate is like on campus, and what the administration has been telling students about the suspensions. We also talk about divestment, broadly, as an organizing tactic and discuss the anti-apartheid divestment protests for South Africa. Tammy will be back next week for three more episodes!Reminder: On Nov. 29, Tammy will host her last TTSG book club event over Zoom with cartoonist, illustrator, and Discord OG Jillian Tamaki—on Jillian’s new graphic novel, Roaming! Check out the Discord for details and a book discount.Subscribe on Patreon or Substack to join our Discord community. You can follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and X (Twitter), and email us at timetosaygoodbyepod@gmail.com.  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit goodbye.substack.com/subscribe

Former New York Times Magazine writer Jamie Lauren Keiles joins the podcast to discuss their resignation, signing open letters, and unlearning pro-Israel propaganda. They explore the creation of an 'objective' position within media institutions, the impact of open letters, and the perspectives of an American Jew on Israel-Palestine. They also touch on unlearning trauma, the fight for Palestine, and the challenges of writing a book. The episode concludes with an announcement of upcoming changes to the podcast.

This week, we are joined by Tania Hary, the executive director of Gisha (“access”), an Israeli legal organization that fights for the freedom of movement of Palestinians. [2:25] We discuss the restrictive status quo that was in place long before October 7, in which Israel controlled travel in and out of the occupied territories, the flow of goods and food into Gaza, and the Census-like registry of the Palestinian population (that is implicated in the questioning of Gazan fatalities). [30:45] Tania explains how political repression and compulsory military service convince many Israelis that theirs is the “most moral army in the world.” In this episode, we ask: How are Israelis consuming images from and narratives about Gaza? What does it mean for politicians and media to dispute information, namely death counts, coming from sources in a besieged Gaza? What does this war reveal about the world order, humanitarian law, and human rights? For more, see: * A recent press conference on how to report accurately on Gaza, featuring Tania* Reporting from Haaretz on the backlash against Arab Israelis* Tania’s testimony before the UN Security Council earlier this year* Protesters braving it in Tel Aviv this past weekSubscribe on Patreon or Substack to join our Discord community and participate in our upcoming IRLish book event. You can also follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and X (Twitter), and email us at timetosaygoodbyepod@gmail.com.  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit goodbye.substack.com/subscribe

Hello! This week, New York Times Magazine contributing writer and repeat guest Rozina Ali talks with us about media coverage of the war in Israel and Gaza as well as the challenges faced by journalists, more than twenty of whom have been killed in the region over the past two weeks. We also discuss whether there has been a chilling of speech in the West, the history of suppressed expression when it comes to Israel and Palestine, and how all this may shake out in politics and public sentiment. In this episode, we ask: How accurate are the comparisons of this moment to 9/11, in terms of media suppression, Islamophobia, and our ability to parse complicated political issues? Does social media incentivize checking certain boxes around Israel-Palestine over moving dialogue forward? Why are U.S. elected officials so out of touch with public opinion? For more, see: * Retaliation within Israel (Crackdown on Freedom of Speech of Palestinian Citizens of Israel), on U.S. college campuses (A “McCarthyite Backlash” Against Pro-Palestine Speech), at the 92Y (92NY Pulls Event With Viet Thanh Nguyen Over Criticism of Israel), and more (A Surge in Suppression)* A growing list of journalist casualties since October 7, from the Committee to Protect Journalists * Mona Chalabi’s visualization of deaths in the war versus New York Times coverage of those deaths* Articles on the killings of synagogue president Samantha Woll in Detroit and of Muslim six-year-old Wadea Al-Fayoume in Chicago * Egyptian comedian Bassem Youssef, interviewed by Piers Morgan* Rozi’s Times Magazine profile of Rashida Tlaib, from March 2022 * Our first episode with Rozina, from March 2021: Kimchi nationalism, Biden on immigration and foreign policy, and Desi identities * Plus, our episode with Viet Thanh Nguyen, from August 2020: Ethnic Studies, Revolutionary Politics, and the Third World Liberation Front* A recent U.S. opinion poll on the war, from CBS News/YouGov (compared with lackluster support for a ceasefire in Congress)* Last week’s episode with Amjad Iraqi, a policy analyst and Palestinian citizen of Israel: The siege in Gaza and Israel’s end gameIf you’re a writer, journalist, or media worker who has faced retaliation for expressing your views on the war in Gaza, you can reach out to the National Writers Union for support by filling out this survey. Subscribe on Patreon or Substack to keep us going and join our Discord community. You can also follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and X (Twitter), and email us at timetosaygoodbyepod@gmail.com. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit goodbye.substack.com/subscribe

Amjad Iraqi, senior editor at +972 Magazine and a policy analyst at Al-Shabaka, discusses the ongoing conflict in Gaza and Israel. He explains the differences in this moment for Palestinians and Israeli Jews, untangles the international context of Hamas, and emphasizes the need to reject colonial and statist frameworks in the fight for Palestinian liberation.

Laphonza Butler, U.S. Senator from California, discusses the laborsome journey of transitioning from an organizer to a politician. The podcast also explores biased media coverage on the Israel-Palestine conflict and the overcorrection of judgment on diverse figures. The significance of California in gig worker classification and the relationship between unions and political power are other engaging topics.

Hello from the Condé cafeteria! This week, our guest is Samhita Mukhopadhyay, a writer and editor and the former executive editor at Teen Vogue. [5:30] Samhita’s personal essay in The Cut explores how being prescribed the new weight-loss drug Mounjaro, not long after her father died of complications from diabetes, challenged her thinking around health and body image. [36:00] We also discuss the decline(?) of the girlboss—Samhita is writing a book on women and work culture—and the enduring power of individualistic corporate feminism. Plus, we hear about Samhita’s tenure at Teen Vogue as the outlet expanded its political coverage and tried to change the culture of fashion magazines. (Apologies for the slightly worse-than-usual audio quality on this ep.)In this episode, we ask: Has the body image discourse around Ozempic and Mounjaro limited the drugs’ real, life-changing possibilities? What does it mean for both weight-loss culture and health access that these are pricey prescription medications? When is hating on girlboss culture classist and racist? For more, see: * Samhita’s essays on the weight-loss drug Mounjaro and The Demise of the Girlboss* Jia Tolentino’s take: Will the Ozempic Era Change How We Think About Being Fat and Being Thin? Subscribe on Patreon or Substack to join our Discord community and to hear about IRL hangouts with Jay, Tammy, and other listeners! You can also follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and X (Twitter), and email us at timetosaygoodbyepod@gmail.com.  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit goodbye.substack.com/subscribe

Hello from the negotiating table! This week, it’s just us, talking more hot labor summer and a bit about poetry (Tammy recommends the work of Mai Der Vang!). [9:00] After 146 days on strike, the Writers Guild of America, which represents about 11,000 screenwriters, announced on Sunday that they’d reached a tentative agreement with the AMPTP studio group. (Forgive the timing of this ep: the WGA released details of the tentative agreement on Tuesday night, after we had recorded; members will still have to vote on the deal.) [23:00] Meanwhile, as one strike (maybe) ends, another expands! Nearly 20,000 United Auto Workers members across 40 states have walked off the job to demand a fairer share of record profits from the Big 3 automakers, seeking to reverse Great Recession-era losses and prove the might of a new and improved UAW. In this episode, we ask: Why does so much of the public support the WGA strike, a white-collar union whose ranks include very highly paid (less sympathetic?) members? How sturdy is the very new, seemingly democratic operation of the UAW under Shawn Fain?Can this union wave bring back American manufacturing, or are we just buying time before another big offshoring push? What’s with EVs and the enviro dimensions of car-making? For more, see: * Tammy’s dispatch on the WGA strike and animation labor for the New York Review of Books* An In These Times podcast that touches on UAW’s unionization push within higher ed * Previous TTSG convos we reference in this ep, about the WGA, UAW, Labor Notes unionism, deaths of despair, and more: * Listener Qs: Barbenheimer, hot labor summer, & white-Asian relationships in film (July 2023) * A.I. scab-bot$, with Max Read (June 2022) * Is it finally Strikevember?! (November 2022) * Inflaaaation, cool unions, and "We Own This City" (June 2022) * SCOTUS trouble, working-class white people, and Taiwan's military (October 2020) * Some background on Walter Reuther’s UAW, from 2009Subscribe on Patreon or Substack to join our Discord community and meet us IRL. You can also follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and X (Twitter), and email us at timetosaygoodbyepod@gmail.com. And if you’re a freelancer, consider organizing with Tammy & the Freelance Solidarity Project!  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit goodbye.substack.com/subscribe

Karen Tongson, USC professor and lover of singable musics, talks about her childhood with musician parents, the resistance of Filipino music to American colonization, and why it's unfair to criticize Olivia Rodrigo. They also delve into the challenges faced by comedians hiring journalists and discuss the essence of suburban life in Rodrigo's music.