

Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff
Cool Zone Media and iHeartPodcasts
As long as there’s been oppression, there’ve been people fighting it. This weekly podcast dives into history to drag up the wildest rebels, the most beautiful revolts, and all the people who long to be—and fight to be—free. It explores complex stories of resistance that offer lessons and inspiration for us today, focusing on the ensemble casts that make up each act of history. That is to say, this podcast focuses on Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Aug 4, 2025 • 54min
Part One: Indymedia: How Lefty Techies and Journalists Reinvented the Internet
Margaret talks to Sarah Marshall about the Independent Media Centers that helped protesters build movements and changed how online communication happens. Sources: https://daily.jstor.org/the-invention-of-journalistic-objectivity/ https://daily.jstor.org/to-fix-fake-news-look-to-yellow-journalism/ https://web.archive.org/web/20200304071058/http://www.infoshop.org/about-us/ https://dl.acm.org/doi/fullHtml/10.1145/3485447.3512282#fig3 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0163443720926039 https://www.academia.edu/21814073/Indymedia_Journalism_A_Radical_Way_of_Making_Selecting_and_Sharing_News https://www.academia.edu/45052617/Indymedia_and_Media_Activism_at_the_Turn_of_the_Millennium https://crimethinc.com/2017/08/25/german-government-shuts-down-indymedia-what-it-means-and-what-to-do https://crimethinc.com/2022/10/28/the-billionaire-and-the-anarchists-tracing-twitter-from-its-roots-as-a-protest-tool-to-elon-musks-acquisition https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeldelcastillo/2022/09/11/jack-dorseys-former-boss-is-building-a-decentralized-twitter/ https://libcom.org/article/sources-and-police-raid-bristol-indymedia https://www.cjr.org/business_of_news/local-news-indymedia-network-25-anniversary.phpSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Aug 3, 2025 • 33min
CZM Book Club: Hermetica, by Alan Lea, Part One
Margaret reads you a modern speculative fiction novella written in the classic style that she thinks you'll like.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jul 30, 2025 • 46min
CZM Rewind: The Japanese Anarchists Part Two
We're once again joined by Margaret Killjoy, host of the new podcast Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff, to talk about the history of anarchism in Japan. Original Air Date: 4.29.22 on It Could Happen HereSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jul 28, 2025 • 52min
CZM Rewind: The Japanese Anarchists Part 1
We're joined by Margaret Killjoy, host of the new podcast Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff, to talk about the history of anarchism in Japan. Original Air Date: 4.28.22 on It Could Happen HereSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jul 27, 2025 • 31min
CZM Book Club: How to Live Like the World is Ending by Margaret Killoy
Margaret reads you an essay about how to think about living during what feels like apocalyptic times. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jul 23, 2025 • 59min
Part Two: Street Medics: The People Who Wash Pepperspray Out of Your Eyes
Margaret talks to Kaveh Hoda about the decentralized medical infrastructure that keeps protesters safe. Sources: non-public training documents provided by a street medic friendhttps://www.bu.edu/bostonia/fall10/street-medic/street-medic.pdfhttp://web.archive.org/web/20250220125506/https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5024403/http://web.archive.org/web/20241028174039/https://massleague.org/CHC/History.phphttps://web.archive.org/web/20250212163349/https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/medical-committee-human-rights/2014-09 https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/28/health/h-jack-geiger-dead.html https://medium.com/@Hesperian/care-for-where-there-is-no-justice-the-modern-history-of-street-medics-and-how-they-support-social-a02e940523d4https://www.fifthestate.org/archive/416-spring-2025/the-praxis-of-street-medics/ https://mutualaiddisasterrelief.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/kupdf.net_street-medic-handbook.pdfhttps://tabpres.org/the-flying-black-medics/https://web.archive.org/web/20071220215141/http://bostonphoenix.com/boston/news_features/other_stories/multipage/documents/02704493.htmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jul 21, 2025 • 56min
Part One: Street Medics: The People Who Wash Pepperspray Out of Your Eyes
Margaret talks to Kaveh Hoda about the decentralized medical infrastructure that keeps protesters safe. Sources: https://www.bu.edu/bostonia/fall10/street-medic/street-medic.pdf http://web.archive.org/web/20250220125506/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5024403/ http://web.archive.org/web/20241028174039/ https://massleague.org/CHC/History.php https://web.archive.org/web/20250212163349/ https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/medical-committee-human-rights/2014-09 https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/28/health/h-jack-geiger-dead.html https://medium.com/@Hesperian/care-for-where-there-is-no-justice-the-modern-history-of-street-medics-and-how-they-support-social-a02e940523d4 https://www.fifthestate.org/archive/416-spring-2025/the-praxis-of-street-medics/ https://mutualaiddisasterrelief.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/kupdf.net_street-medic-handbook.pdf https://tabpres.org/the-flying-black-medics/ https://web.archive.org/web/20071220215141/ http://bostonphoenix.com/boston/news_features/other_stories/multipage/documents/02704493.htm https://archive.org/stream/street-medic-guide-paper-revolution-collective-See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jul 20, 2025 • 29min
CZM Book Club: Winnie the Pooh by AA Milne
Margaret got talked into doing something fun for book club this week. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jul 16, 2025 • 59min
Part Two: The National Lawyers Guild: The Legal Arm of Basically Every Social Movement in the US
Margaret continues talking to Joelle Monique about the almost 90 year history of the organization for progressive and radical lawyers. Sources: https://moatlaw.com/2019/07/25/stand-with-the-people-watch-and-oppose-the-police/ https://www.nlg.org/a-history-of-the-nlg-1937-1987/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_presidential_elections_by_popular_vote_margin#/media/File:1828-_Margin_of_victory_in_US_presidential_elections_-_popular_vote.svg https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/william-perkins-black-12522/ https://www.etymonline.com/word/barrister https://www.etymonline.com/word/bar https://www.americanbar.org/about_the_aba/timeline/ https://nationalbar.org/nba-history/ https://www.michbar.org/file/barjournal/article/documents/pdf4article2529.pdf https://www.nlg.org/national-lawyers-guild-convention-will-celebrate-75-years-reunite-activists/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jul 14, 2025 • 51min
Part One: The National Lawyers Guild: The Legal Arm of Basically Every Social Movement in the US
Margaret talks to Joelle Monique about the almost 90 year history of the organization for progressive and radical lawyers. Sources: https://moatlaw.com/2019/07/25/stand-with-the-people-watch-and-oppose-the-police/ https://www.nlg.org/a-history-of-the-nlg-1937-1987/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_presidential_elections_by_popular_vote_margin#/media/File:1828-_Margin_of_victory_in_US_presidential_elections_-_popular_vote.svg https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/william-perkins-black-12522/ https://www.etymonline.com/word/barrister https://www.etymonline.com/word/bar https://www.americanbar.org/about_the_aba/timeline/ https://nationalbar.org/nba-history/ https://www.michbar.org/file/barjournal/article/documents/pdf4article2529.pdf https://www.nlg.org/national-lawyers-guild-convention-will-celebrate-75-years-reunite-activists/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.