Radio Inquilab

Radio Inquilab speaks with Yasmin Nair a fierce activist, media and cultural critic, and academic. We talk about the November 2024 election looking into the principal reasons why Kamala Harris lost despite raising the most amount of money ever raised for a Presidential race. Yasmin delves into how Harris was never a good candidate and had no experience to run such a competitive and important race. Her very important and prescient article, written on August 23 2024, is worth a read: https://yasminnair.com/kamala-harris-will-lose/We talk about immigration, and how neither the left nor the right are really interested in fixing a system that dehumanizes immigrants. Yasmin's writing on immigration is deeply humane and comes from a perspective that regardless the kind of work immigrants do, they need to be first and foremost looked at for being living breathing individuals. This was a wonderful conversation where we explored so many ideas that challenge traditional politics and limit our abilities to make a positive change. Yasmin can be found on X @nairyasmin and her website: https://yasminnair.com/This is part 1 of a two-part conversation.

Dr. Nora Jaber joins Radio Inquilab to talk about her research and work as it pertains to the question of international law. As a Palestinian with Saudi nationality, Dr. Jaber has focused her research on the rights of Islamic women in Saudi and the framework they have used -- barring Western ideas and concepts -- to achieve freedom. She explains how when Saudi women were fighting for the right to drive and travel without an accomplice, the concept of Western feminism was viewed by the women as anathema. Instead they used their own methods and religious framework for progress. Dr. Jaber also tackles the very difficult question of international law and how it has proved to be extremely ineffective in the face of the escalating violence by Israel against Palestinians, urging the need for an urgent alternative approach. Resources Recommended: Ratna Kapur, Gender, Alterity and Human Rights: Freedom in a FishbowlBell Hooks, Feminism Is for EverybodyNora Jaber, On International Law & Gaza: Critical Reflections, London Review Françoise Vergès, A Decolonial FeminismSarah Ahmed, Living a Feminist Life

In this episode, Tehzeeb Bano joins the podcast to explore the glaciers of Gilgit-Baltistan. She sheds light on the region’s 7,000 glaciers and how climate change is rapidly accelerating their decline, threatening both the local environment and Pakistan’s fresh water supply.Tehzeeb introduces the concept of glacier grafting—a practice long known to the indigenous communities in the area. She emphasizes the importance of leaning into indigenous knowledge to bridge gaps in our understanding of nature. By revisiting and revitalizing these ancient practices, we may find new ways to rejuvenate our environment and secure a sustainable future for generations to come.Resources Recommended: Perceptions of Glacier Grafting: An Indigenous Technique of Water Conservation for Food Security in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan by Tehzeeb Bano & OthersThe Snow Leopard and the Goat: Politics of Conservation in the Western Himalayas (Culture, Place, and Nature) by Shafkat HussainDelusional States: Feeling Rule and Development in Pakistan's Northern Frontier by Nosheen Ali

In this episode, Prof Clint Carroll from UC Boulder talks about the connection Natives have to their land and how despite overwhelming change in the world, have been able to maintain it. He specifically refers to how Cherokee people have developed material, spiritual, and political ties with the lands they have inhabited since removal from their homelands in the southeastern United States despite devastating consequences and how we have so much to learn from that. He also talks about the role of Medicine Keepers and how women are central to that. Clint shows us how we can take so many lessons from the Cherokee in fighting climate change and colonization.Resources Recommended: Osiyo TV Season 8Cherokee Voices for the LandRoots of Our Renewal, Clint Carroll

Rangineh joins Radio Inquilab to talk about her childhood experiences in Tehran that inevitably shaped the rest of her life. She talks about how the Iran/Iraq war left deep impressions on her and led to the formation of Solh Resolutions International, an organization that guides and empowers us to expand our awareness and understanding of ourselves and others through human-centered facilitation, conflict transformation, and circular curations.She talks about her work with The Circle Way (TCW), a circle methodology that offers a counter-cultural, equity-centered approach to working with groups while shifting organizations from transactional places into relational spaces as well as how she works with groups to shift power and create conflict consciousness.We touched everything from COVID to indigenous teachings to how we can incorporate simple concepts in our lives everyday to enrich our living.Resources Recommended:https://www.solhresolutionsinternational.com/Rangineh Azimzadeh Tehrani's Linkedin profile

Colonialism is a major driver of gender-based violence (GBV) today. Former colonies often experience higher rates of intimate partner violence. Research increasingly links political conflict and GBV, indicating that colonial and imperialist interventions contribute directly to systemic violence against marginalized communities like Palestine, Haiti, the DRC, Kashmir, West Papua, Nagorno-Karabakh, and Sudan.  In this episode, moderated by Global Dev 4 Palestine, several experts get together to discuss how colonization and GBV are intricately linked. Experts, in order of appearance:Dr Michelle Lokot is a practitioner, Assistant Professor, and Co-Director of the Health in Humanitarian Crises Centre at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, specialising in feminist research, gender-based violence (GBV) and qualitative research methods.Xian Warner is the Research and Partnerships Manager at The Equality Institute with 17 years of experience conducting research on prevalence, perpetration, and prevention of violence against women across the Asia-Pacific region.Safia Elhillo is a Sudanese-American author and poet and winner of the Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poets, California Book Award, Arab American Book Award, and the Brunel International African Poetry Prize.Hala Hanina is a Gazan social and political activist and PhD researcher in politics and sociology, with experience leading campaigns against domestic violence with community and government participation in Gaza.Dr Elizabeth Louis is a Black Haitian-American Licensed Clinical Psychologist dedicated to global mental health, supporting ethnic/racial minority well-being, and addressing stigma, health disparities through culturally tailored training.Esther Haluk is a West Papuan poet and feminist human rights defender focused on Indigenous women's rights, environmental protection, and socio-political and economic issues, and strong engagement with faith-based organizations.This episode was developed with funding from the Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI) and Coalition of Feminists for Social Change (COFEM).

Abubaker Abed, a 22-year old war correspondent from Palestine, currently living in Gaza joins Radio Inquilab to talk about the ceasefire deal. Due to a lack of stable internet connection, Abubaker called me from the Al-Aqsa hospital and despite audio challenges, background noises we were able to talk. Abubaker describes the situation on the ground as total annihilation of Gaza, Rafah and the surrounding areas. People making their way back to their homes are finding nothing except rubble and amidst all this there is growing fear that Israel might violate the ceasefire. It is a heart breaking situation that the Palestinians are currently experiencing thanks to the utter silence and total complicity of the West.

In this episode, Soraya Beheshti talks to Radio Inquilab about the massive student protest movement taking place throughout the country. She talks about her experience as student and subsequently as Vice Chair of the Columbia Alumni Association of the UAE, a post she stepped down from after Columbia's President had the student protestors arrested and the military and police marched against them. Soraya talks about what an education at Columbia meant for her and how the school prepared her to stand up against atrocities and be her true honest self. The current stance of the university and the violence they have displayed against students is not just surprising but also shocking. Soraya further talks about her experience working in refugee communities and how she learned the true meaning of hope, resilience and love from some of the most vulnerable people on the planet. Her book, Karavan Kitchen, demonstrates how food is often the central connection many refugees have to their native countries and a means of creating community even when forced to live in difficult conditions many miles from home. Resources Recommended:Karavan Kitchen, Soraya Beheshti: https://www.amazon.com/Karvan-Kitchen-Soraya-Beheshti/dp/1590566009The UN Refugee Agency: https://www.unhcr.org/International Rescue Committee: https://www.rescue.org/The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine, Ilan Pappe The Swimmers, Netflix

Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Colorado, Ather Zia talks about Kashmir and the fraught nature of life there.Ather explains the deep, long, fraught history of Kashmir - how the many rulers exploited Kashmir through the ages with little to no regard for the people, how indigenous knowledge and people were harmed to make Kashmir a part of India and how the government of India harasses, kidnaps, rapes, pillages and kills with total impunity.Ather was born in Kashmir and lived there for several years so she has a unique lens to give voice to the people of Kashmir, speak on their behalf about the gross injustices happening and how the answer for freedom of Kashmir is a clarion call against colonialism and occupation everywhere in the world.Its a fascinating conversation about neoliberalism, neocolonialism and the supposed post colonial world order.Resources Recommended:A Desolation Called Peace: Voices from Kashmir, Ather Zia, Javed Iqbal BhatStand With Kashmir: https://standwithkashmir.org/Kashmiri Scholars Advocacy and Consultative Network: kashmiri-scholars.orgKashmiri Futures: A Beginning: https://read.dukeupress.edu/english-language-notes/article/61/2/1/382831/Kashmiri-FuturesA-Beginning

This episode features Corrina Gould, the Co-Director for The Sogorea Te’ Land Trust, a women-led organization within the urban setting of her ancestral territory of the Bay Area that works to return Indigenous land to Indigenous people. Corrina talks about rematriation, why it is important and how someone can be a good guest on land that does not belong to them/they are not native to. She discusses how our present lifestyles are harming our Mother Earth and what we need to do to reconnect and reclaim our relationship with the land. Corrina explains the concept of shuumi and why it is important in the context of rematriation. She talks about the brutal history of colonization of California and how the effects are being felt even today. She talks about how one can practice good land practices and aspects of the lives of our ancestors that cancan be borrowed today to live a more fulfilling life. Corrina can be found on Instagram @corrina_gould. Resources Recommended: 1.     https://sogoreate-landtrust.org/2.     www.Shellmound.org 3.     Instagram: @Sogoreatelandtrust, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SOGOREATELANDTRUST/