Speaking Out of Place

Far too few people know about the terrible war and the massive famine taking place in Sudan.  Today learn about the long history behind these events, the people and groups involved, and the roles that foreign governments and international organizations like the IMF have played. Importantly, we learn how civil society groups are bringing a form of mutual aid and support to the people of Sudan where the national government, warring factions, and international humanitarian organizations have utterly failed.Dr. Osman Hamdan is a graduate of the University of Khartoum, Sudan, and holds a PhD in forestry economics from the Dresden University of Technology.  He is a longtime pro-democracy fighter and activist. Umniya Najaer is a doctoral candidate in the Program in Modern Thought and Literature at Stanford University where she studies Black Feminist Thought and the Black Radical Tradition.  Her poetry chapbook Armeika (2018, Akashic Press) explores experiences of the Sudanese-American diaspora and the unofficial government torture sites known as Biyout al-Ashbah, or ghost houses.

For decades, the works of scholar Angana Chatterji and author and journalist Siddhartha Deb have exposed the violence and fascism lying behind the mythology of India as the world's largest democracy.  In the wake of India's most recent elections, in which the far right Hindutva BJP was surprisingly reduced from its former majority to a ruling minority government.Siddhartha and Angana join us to discuss the election results, the deep roots of fascism, the enduring structures of colonialism, and possible futures of resistance.Angana P. Chatterji is Founding Chair, Initiative on Political Conflict, Gender and People’s Rights at the Center for Race and Gender, University of California, Berkeley. A cultural anthropologist and interdisciplinary scholar of South Asia, Dr. Chatterji’s work since 1989 has been rooted in local knowledge, witness to post/colonial, decolonial conditions of grief, dispossession, agency, and affective solidarity. Her investigations with colleagues in Indian-administered Kashmir includes inquiry into unknown, unmarked and mass graves. Chatterji’s recent scholarship focuses on political conflict and coloniality in Kashmir; prejudicial citizenship in India; and violence (as a category of analysis) as agentized by Hindu nationalism, addressing religion in the public sphere, Islamomisia, state power, gender, caste, and racialization, and accountability. Her research also engages questions of memory, belonging, and legacies of conflict across South Asia. Chatterji has served on human rights commissions and offered expert testimony at the United Nations, European Parliament, United Kingdom Parliament, and United States Congress, and has been variously awarded for her work. Her sole and co-authored publications include: Breaking Worlds: Religion, Law, and Nationalism in Majoritarian India; Majoritarian State: How Hindu Nationalism is Changing India; Conflicted Democracies and Gendered Violence: The Right to Heal; Contesting Nation: Gendered Violence in South Asia; Notes on the Postcolonial Present; Kashmir: The Case for Freedom; Violent Gods: Hindu Nationalism in India’s Present; Narratives from Orissa; and reports: Access to Justice for Women: India’s Response to Sexual Violence in Conflict and Social Upheaval; BURIED EVIDENCE: Unknown, Unmarked and Mass Graves in Kashmir.Born in Shillong, north-eastern India, Siddhartha Deb lives in New York. His fiction and nonfiction have been longlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award, shortlisted for the Orwell Prize, and been awarded the Pen Open prize and the 2024 Anthony Veasna So Fiction prize. His journalism and essays have appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, The New Republic, Dissent, The Baffler, N+1, and Caravan. His latest books include the novel, The Light at the End of the World (Soho Press 2023) and Twilight Prisoners: The Rise of the Hindu Right and the Fall of India (Haymarket Books, 2024). 

Author and activist Chris Carlsson discusses his novel set in a dystopian world, focusing on resisting political cynicism and rebuilding after destruction. The podcast explores biotechnology in capitalism, political events, protests, societal shifts, and the interconnected world of Witches' Butter. It also touches on the role of grassroots movements in shaping healthcare and energy production.

Authors Sami Hermez and Sireen Sawalha discuss their book 'My Brother, My Land: A Story from Palestine,' highlighting Palestinian resistance, family dynamics, and colonial violence. They explore the challenges of sharing personal narratives from Palestine, the implications of plant picking restrictions by Israeli authorities, the impact of Israeli presence, and the radicalization of a Palestinian man. The podcast also delves into crafting a powerful narrative, persistence, and resistance in Palestine.

Jeanelle Hope and Bill Mullen discuss the interconnectedness of anti-Black racism and fascism, highlighting historical examples like the Abraham Lincoln Brigade and the 'We Charge Genocide' document. They emphasize the need for global solidarity in struggles for liberation and the importance of recognizing how racism and fascism are embedded in the law.

Nay San Lwin and Chris Gunness discuss the ongoing Rohingya genocide, failures of international institutions, and parallels with other genocides. They highlight the challenges faced by the Rohingya community in Myanmar, the pursuit of justice through universal jurisdiction, and violations of the non-refoulement principle by countries like Bangladesh and India. They also touch on youth awareness, global activism, complexities in Myanmar, reflections on student movements, rethinking genocide beyond legal frameworks, and the struggle of the Rohingya population in Myanmar.

Eminent political theorists Michael Hardt and Sandro Mezzadra discuss the global war regime, colonial continuities, and resistance movements against the Gaza genocide. They explore complexities of international law, capitalist interests in global wars, and the impact of militarization in Italy. The conversation also touches on reimagining politics of liberation, building solidarity with Palestine, and challenging traditional narratives of war.

The podcast features activists from US, UK, and Northern Ireland discussing global student protests against Israel, racialization of violence in Gaza and West Bank, challenges of activism on university campuses, contrast between British and American higher education systems, impact of radicalization on education, and reflections on history and activism.

Discussions on the suppression of critiques of Israel as anti-Semitic, the historical Jewish American criticisms of Israel and Zionism, challenges faced by activists advocating for Palestinian rights, controversies within the Jewish community, and the impact of pro-Palestine activism on college campuses.

Recent weeks have seen a series of strikes between Israel and Iran. Israel's attack on an Iranian embassy building in Damascus, killing seven, followed by Iranian barrage of missile and drone strikes on Israel, killing no one, and then followed by Israeli strikes on Iran in Isfahan all of this occurring, of course, with the continuing unfolding genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and intensifying violence in the West Bank. As these strikes between Israel and Iran ignited fears of a regional conflagration, we are joined on the show by prominent Iran scholar and anthropologist Narges Bajoghli, whose most recent co-authored book is an in-depth study of the impact and perverse effects of sanctions on Iran, as well as by eminent scholar of international law John Quigley.We discuss recent events from the perspective of international law and dissect dangerously pervasive myths, assumptions and racist tropes informing policy with respect to Iran.Narges Bajoghli is Assistant Professor at the Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies. She is an award-winning anthropologist, writer, and professor. Trained as a political anthropologist, media anthropologist, and documentary filmmaker, Narges' research is at the intersections of media, power, and resistance. She is the author of several books, including the award-winning book Iran Reframed: Anxieties of Power in the Islamic Republic (Stanford University Press 2019; winner 2020 Margaret Mead Award; 2020 Choice Award for Outstanding Academic Title; 2021 Silver Medal in Independent Publisher Book Awards for Current Events);  ​How Sanctions Work: Iran and the Impact of Economic Warfare (with Vali Nasr, Djavad Salehi-Esfahani, and Ali Vaez, Stanford University Press 2024); and a graphic novella, Sanctioned Lives (2024). Before joining the Ohio State faculty in 1969, Professor John B. Quigley was a research scholar at Moscow State University, and a research associate in comparative law at Harvard Law School. Professor Quigley teaches International Law and Comparative Law. In 1982-83 he was a visiting professor at the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.Professor Quigley is active in international human rights work. His numerous publications include books and articles on human rights, the United Nations, war and peace, east European law, African law, and the Arab-Israeli conflict. In 1995 he was recipient of The Ohio State University Distinguished Scholar Award. He formerly held the title of President’s Club Professor of Law.