This week Roqayah and Kumars are joined by Detroit-based filmmakers Naomi Burton and Nick Hayes, cofounders of Means Media and co-creators of the new digital streaming service Means TV, a workers’ cooperative and a left-wing alternative to soul-crushing corporate behemoths like Netflix.
Naomi and Nick share how they came to left politics and made a name for themselves producing the defining campaign videos for AOC and other insurgent congressional candidates in the run-up to the 2018 midterm election. They explain why the business magazine Fast Company named them one of the world’s most innovative companies, and give listeners a rundown of their diverse slate of content, including feature films, documentaries, animation and gaming content. The gang discusses their shared love for Street Fight Radio and the value of building our own independent cultural institutions in the face of increasing attempts by establishment media to co-opt the creative energy of the rising American left.
Follow Naomi on Twitter @NaomiABurton and Nick @nickhayesfilm. You can subscribe to Means TV and browse their content on their website, means.tv.
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This week, Roqayah and Kumars are joined by Amanda, also known as @CatContentOnly on Twitter, an independent researcher based in NYC whose work focuses on cultural impressions around health and illnesses. Amanda, a medical anthropology graduate from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, discusses the one thing on everyone's mind this week: COVID-19, also known as the Coronavirus.
We take a deep look into what the Coronavirus is and the long term implications for those with compromised immune systems and other pre-existing medical conditions as well as homeless communities, who already face brutal restrictions and state sanctioned abuse.
Amanda helps us understand the ongoing failures of the US government in responding to what the World Health Organization has classified as a "pandemic". The crew also examines the xenophobic hysteria that has resulted in attacks on Asian communities and heightened stigmatization which includes the description of this virus as "foreign" and "Chinese".
Finally, we examine the impact that unilateral US sanctions are having on Iran during this pandemic and how China is attempting to assist Iran during this outbreak.
If you want to support the show and receive access to tons of bonus content, subscribe on our Patreon for as little as $5 a month. Also, don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review the show on Apple Podcasts. We can't do this show without your support!!!
Today we’re joined by writer and journalist Leslie Lee III, host of the left-wing arts and culture podcast Struggle Session, to take stock of the Bernie Sanders campaign thus far and the state of the Democratic primary race after another night of favorable results for Joe Biden.
After filling listeners in on his own origin story and the birth of Struggle Session, Leslie breaks down the media narratives around overwhelming black support for Biden and the various premature postmortems on Bernie’s 2020 bid. The gang discusses the importance of taking heart from how far we’ve come since 2016, keeping up the momentum around Bernie’s agenda to the convention, and expanding the base for a socialist movement by organizing around specific issues, regardless of electoral outcomes. Finally, the crew rounds out the hour with an obligatory Star Wars segment.
You can follow Leslie on Twitter @leslieleeiii and check out Struggle Session wherever pods are cast.
If you want to support the show and receive access to tons of bonus content, subscribe on our Patreon for as little as $5 a month. Also, don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review the show on Apple Podcasts. We can't do this show without your support!!!
This week, Roqayah and Kumars are joined by Kate Willett, comedian, writer, and co-host of the left-wing feminist podcast Reply Guys. Kate has also appeared in Netflix's “Comedy Lineup” and recently made her network debut on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Kate dives into how she broke out in comedy and what has helped define her left-wing bona fides, including the tragic passing of her boyfriend, comedian Raghav Mehta.
We discuss her powerful essay for ELLE Magazine which explains just how Kate went from a Hillary Clinton fan to a quintessential Bernie Bro, and how canvassing for the Sanders campaign has helped her deal with the aftermath of losing Raghav.
If you want to support the show and receive access to tons of bonus content, subscribe on our Patreon for as little as $5 a month. Also, don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review the show on Apple Podcasts. We can't do this show without your support!!!