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Delete Your Account Podcast

Delete Your Account is a new podcast hosted by journalist Roqayah Chamseddine and her plucky sidekick Kumars Salehi. Every week they will talk about important stories from the worlds of politics and pop culture, both on and off-line, in a way that will never bore you.
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Now displaying: August, 2018
Aug 29, 2018

On this episode, Roqayah and Kumars are joined by Australian comedian and writer Ben McLeay, known better by his Twitter handle @thomas_violence. Ben has written for Pedestrian and SBS Comedy’s The Back Burner and is a co-host on the Boonta Vista podcast.

Ben shares some important Australian diggerydo’s and diggerydon’ts, imparting his wisdom on how to navigate a country like Australia where every animal has the ability to kill you. We dive into the political crisis gripping Australia just as word was coming in of the departure of now-former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Ben also offers some background on Australia's colonial attitudes, and the surging racism and incitement of violence against refugees that is dominating Australian politics.

You can follow Ben on Twitter, and listen to him on Boonta Vista.

A transcript for this episode will be provided upon request. Please send an email to deleteuracct @ gmail to get a copy sent to you when it is completed.

There is an extended version of this episode, for patreon subscribers only! If you want to support the show and receive access to tons of bonus content, subscribe on our Patreon page for as little as $5 a month. Also, don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review the show on iTunes. We can't do this show without your support!!!

Aug 17, 2018

This week, Roqayah and Kumars are joined by Aaron Cantú, a journalist with the Santa Fe Reporter and one of more than 200 people arrested at the #J20 protests on the day of Trump’s inauguration. As he describes in his article “Enemy of the People: An indicted journalist reflects on conspiracy in today's America,” Aaron was charged with 8 felonies and faced up to 80 years in prison before the charges were dropped in July after almost 18 months. Roqayah and Kumars ask Aaron about his experience of prosecution, and Aaron shares historical examples the of the criminalization of dissent that provide context for the collective identity and guilt attributed to the #J20 defendants by the prosecution.

We talk about the chilling effect of government suppression of left-wing dissent, as well as how antifa tactics including doxxing have forced the far right to regroup. We also discuss the false equivalence between fascist and antifascist protesters in mainstream media reporting, citing recent examples. Finally, Aaron shares his views on the responsibilities journalists have while reporting left- and right-wing movements.

Follow Aaron on Twitter @aaron_con_choco and read his latest work at the Santa Fe Reporter. You can also read Bobby London’s article “Your Camera is a Snitch” on her blog, and check out our previous coverage of the #J20 protests and prosecutions with Alexei Wood here.

A transcript for this episode will be provided upon request. Please send an email to deleteuracct @ gmail to get a copy sent to you when it is completed.

If you want to support the show and receive access to tons of bonus content, subscribe on our Patreon page for as little as $5 a month. Also, don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review the show on iTunes. We can't do this show without your support!!!

Aug 8, 2018

On this episode, Kumars interviews Fatema Ahmad, deputy director of Muslim Justice League, a Boston-based community organization committed to providing support to Muslims and others targeted by state surveillance. She has also worked with the American Friends Service Committee’s Communities against Islamophobia project and Muslims for Social Justice.

We learn about Countering Violent Extremism or CVE, a federal anti-terrorism program that provides training, funding and otherwise enables people to report on and stamp out the "seeds of radicalization" in mosques, universities, restaurants and other cultural spaces. Though it is deeply racist and has been proven ineffective, CVE's infiltration and surveillance has fed a climate of fear and distrust among US Muslims. CVE programs encourage people to view common Muslim religious and cultural practices, as well as political activity as innocuous as going to an anti-war protest, with suspicion. Fatema highlights the dangers of addressing the racist implementation of CVE with calls for "equal opportunity surveillance" of both white and non-white extremists. Fatema argues that as long as a surveillance apparatus exists, it will always be enforced in a racist manner, so the focus should be on ending these programs rather than expanding them to others. We also talk about the tensions inherent in trying to prevent political extremist violence without acknowledging and addressing the root causes, western imperialism and capitalist exploitation chief among them. Fatema discusses ways that people can get involved in fighting against CVE programs and against the surveillance and criminalization of Muslim communities, and how to avoid accidentally feeding into narratives that stigmatize.

Follow Muslim Justice League on Twitter at @MuslimJustice.

A transcript for this episode will be provided upon request. Please send an email to deleteuracct @ gmail to get a copy sent to you when it is completed.

If you want to support the show and receive access to tons of bonus content, subscribe on our Patreon page for as little as $5 a month. Also, don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review the show on iTunes. We can't do this show without your support!!!

Aug 1, 2018

Today Roqayah and Kumars are joined by Ellie Virrueta, a student at Cal State LA and youth organizer with the Inglewood-based Youth Justice Coalition and the San Gabriel Valley Chapter of the Immigrant Youth Coalition. We discuss California Assembly Bill 931, the proposed legislation that would limit circumstances under which use of deadly force by police is allowed. Currently, police can get away with murder if their actions are deemed "reasonable", an impossibly vague standard. This new law instead requires lethal police violence to be "necessary", meaning all non-lethal alternatives have been exhausted. Ellie talks about the story of her 14  year-old cousin, Junior Rodriguez, who was killed by police during a mental health episode, and how this event motivated Ellie to get involved in the fight to pass this bill and against police brutality in general. We hash out the details of the legislation and go over the flimsy and laughable arguments against it from police unions and other pro-cop organizations. Finally, Ellie explains the timeline for AB 931’s passage and how you can support this and other efforts to end police violence in California.  

You can follow Youth Justice Coalition on Twitter @YouthJusticeLA, plus find out more information on how to get involved on their website.

A transcript for this episode will be provided upon request. Please send an email to deleteuracct @ gmail to get a copy sent to you when it is completed.

If you want to support the show and receive access to tons of bonus content, subscribe on our Patreon page for as little as $5 a month. Also, don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review the show on iTunes. We can't do this show without your support!!!

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