Laura Flanders and Friends: Solutions-Focused Progressive Perspectives on Politics, News, and Culture

Synopsis:  Join a thought-provoking conversation with Laura, Dean Obeidallah, and Joy Reid as they dissect the media landscape's seismic shifts and explore how journalists can reclaim their role in serving the people.This show is made possible by you! To become a sustaining member go to LauraFlanders.org/donateDescription: Journalism is at an inflection point. Under a hail of lawsuits, firings, new hires, and mercenary mergers, the business of media is in shambles even as the need for reliable, truthful information to reach voters is greater than ever. Where does that leave journalists? In this episode, Laura and her guests discuss the money media’s dangerous denials and obfuscations, the problem with bothsidesism in a time of fascism, and the coverage of Renee Good’s killing in Minneapolis. Dean Obeidallah is a lawyer, writer, award-winning comedian and host of SiriusXM radio’s national daily program “The Dean Obeidallah Show”. Joy Reid, formerly host of the award-winning ReidOut on MSNBC, is a best-selling author, and host of the Joy Reid Show on YouTube. The decline of legacy media isn’t all bad news — especially for those, like Palestinians and others, who were always shut out of it — and the rise of independent platforms, savvy media consumers and new mechanisms for collaboration just might usher in a new age of great journalism, just when we need it. Join Dean, Joy and Laura for this rich conversation on resistance, reporting, and survival.“What I would like corporate media to understand, their job is not to make money for shareholders and executives to get bonuses, but serve the people, make them smarter, even if it means losing access. I know that's a lot to ask, but that's what I would like because an educated, informed electorate is the key to saving this republic.” - Dean Obeidallah“It is a crime against journalism for the editorial director of a news network to say our job is not to deliver the news, but to go viral. That's crazy.”- Joy ReidGuests:•  Dean Obeidallah: Host of SiriusXM radio's The Dean Obeidallah Show• Joy Reid: Host of The Joy Reid Show Watch the episode released on YouTube; PBS World Channel 11:30am ET Sundays and on over 300 public stations across the country (check your listings, or search here via zipcode). Listen: Episode airing on community radio (check here to see if your station airs the show) & available as a podcast January 28th, 2026.Full Episode Notes are located HERE.Full Conversation Release: While our weekly shows are edited to time for broadcast on Public TV and community radio, we offer to our members and podcast subscribers the full uncut conversation. Music Credit:  'Thrum of Soil' by Bluedot Sessions, 'Steppin' by Podington Bear, and original sound design by Jeannie HopperSupport Laura Flanders and Friends by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/c/lauraflandersandfriends RESOURCES:*Recommended book:“Medgar and Myrlie: Medgar Evers and the Love Story That Awakened America” by Joy-Ann Reid: *Get the Book(*Bookshop is an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. The LF Show is an affiliate of bookshop.org and will receive a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.) Related Laura Flanders Show Episodes:• Doxed, Stalked & Swatted: When the Far Right Goes After Journalists: Watch / Listen:  Full Uncut Conversation and Episode Cut• Maysoon Zayid: Comedy of Resistance, Disability, Difference & Palestine:   Watch / Listen:  Full Uncut Conversation and Episode Cut• Patrick & Claud Cockburn: A Legacy of Guerilla Journalism Against Media Complacency:  Watch / Listen:  Full Uncut Conversation and Episode Cut• Masha Gessen & Jason Stanley: Is it Doomsday for U.S. Democracy?:  Watch / Listen:  Full Uncut Conversation and Episode CutRelated Articles and Resources:• ‘There was no warning’:  Joy Reid is speaking out about how she was fired from MSNBC, by Madeleine Marr, June 26, 2025, Miami Herald•  Dean Obeidallah - Substack•  ‘We Need to Be the News’:  Inside Bari Weiss’s Bumpy Revamp at CBS, by Michael M. Grynbaum and Benjamin Mullin, January 13, 2026, New York Times•  What would Edward R. Murrow think of CBS parent company caving in to Donald Trump? By Kevin Cullen, July 3, 2025, The Boston Globe•  Nattering nabobs of news criticism:  50 years ago today, Spiro Agnew laid out a blueprint for attacking the press, by Thomas Alan Schwartz, November 13, 2019, NiemanLab•  1964 Pulitzer Prize Winners - Journalism - Editorial Writing:  Hazel Brannon Smith of Lexington, The Pulitzer Prices•  MeidasTouch News - a pro-democracy news network.•  Six Prosecutors Quit Over Push to Investigate ICE Shooting Victim’s Widow, by Ernesto Londono, January 13, 2026, New York Times  Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders-Executive Producer, Writer;  Sabrina Artel-Supervising Producer; Jeremiah Cothren-Senior Producer; Veronica Delgado-Video Editor, Janet Hernandez-Communications Director; Jeannie Hopper-Audio Director, Podcast & Radio Producer, Audio Editor, Sound Design, Narrator; Sarah Miller-Development Director, Nat Needham-Editor, Graphic Design emeritus; David Neuman-Senior Video Editor, and Rory O’Conner-Senior Consulting Producer. FOLLOW Laura Flanders and FriendsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/Blueky:  https://bsky.app/profile/lfandfriends.bsky.socialFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraFlandersAndFriends/Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lauraflandersandfriendsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lgLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lauraflandersandfriendsPatreon:   https://www.patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriendsACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

Synopsis:  Together, Laura and Donna consider expansive questions: how do we understand ourselves in an age of artificial intelligence? And how do we resist the pull of authoritarian “mono-thought” — the demand for certainty, sameness, and simple answers in a complex world? This show is made possible by you! To become a sustaining member go to LauraFlanders.org/donateDescription: “Thinking requires action and passion,” says feminist philosopher and scholar, Donna Haraway in this unique conversation. In her 1985 essay “A Cyborg Manifesto” and 2003 work, “The Companion Species Manifesto”, Haraway challenged patriarchal, capitalist, binary, species-ist ways of looking at the world. It’s no surprise that people are looking to her work again now. Generative thinking, she tells Laura, requires “taking the risk to try a new pattern; to invent something that may very well fall apart in your collective hands but leaves threads to be picked up again.” In this episode, Haraway and Flanders sit down for an expansive conversation about what it means to be human in an age of AI and resisting what she calls authoritarian “mono-thought.” Plus, a commentary from Laura on staying in the present and “staying with the trouble.”“An individual is embedded deeply in worlds with other people, with other organisms, with living and non-living parts of the world. To be a self is to come to a thicker appreciation and accountability for the way we're embedded in the world and act in the world. That's what I mean by being a proper self.” - Donna HarawayGuest:  Donna Haraway, Distinguished Professor Emerita, University of California Santa Cruz, History of Consciousness Department; Author, A Cyborg Manifesto, When Species Meet, Staying with the Trouble: Making Kin in the ChthuluceneWatch the episode released on YouTube; PBS World Channel 11:30am ET Sundays and on over 300 public stations across the country (check your listings, or search here via zipcode). Listen: Episode cut airing on community radio (check here to see if your station airs the show) & available as a podcast January 21st, 2026.Full Episode Notes are located HERE.Music Credit: Opolopo's 'No More Lies remix' of “We Rise” by Groove Junkies, Opolopo and Solara courtesy of More House Music;  'Steppin' by Podington Bear, and original sound design by Jeannie Hopper'Additional Credits:  Audio Clip- Donna Haraway lecturing at the Next Nature Museum for Friday Next, organized in collaboration with the Premium Erasmium Foundation, and recorded by Emily Cohen IbañezSupport Laura Flanders and Friends by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/c/lauraflandersandfriendsRESOURCES:*Recommended book:“The Companion Species Manifesto: Dogs, People, and Significant Otherness” by Donna Haraway: *Get the book(*Bookshop is an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. The LF Show is an affiliate of bookshop.org and will receive a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.)Related Laura Flanders Show Episodes:•  Pride Pioneers Holly Hughes & Esther Newton: How Queer Kinship Ties Help Us Survive: Watch / Listen:  Episode Cut•  Survival Guide for Humans Learned from Marine Mammals with Alexis Pauline Gumbs:  Watch / Listen:  Episode Cut and Full Uncut Conversation•  “Powerlands”: Indigenous Youth Fight Big Oil & Gas Worldwide:  Watch / Listen:  Episode Cut and Full Uncut Conversation Related Articles and Resources:•  Donna Haraway:  Story Telling for Earthly Survival by Fabrizo Terranova - Watch•  Making Oddkin:  Story Telling for Earthly Survival lecture at Yale - Watch•  You Are Cyborg by Hair Kunzru, February 1, 1997, WIRED•  Donna Haraway, Erasmus laureate 2025 at the Next Nature Museum, November 21, 2025, by Next Nature•  Rethinking Humanity with Donna Haraway:  A Cyborg Manifesto for the AI Age, August 18, 2025, Philosopheasy  Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders-Executive Producer, Writer;  Sabrina Artel-Supervising Producer; Jeremiah Cothren-Senior Producer; Veronica Delgado-Video Editor, Janet Hernandez-Communications Director; Jeannie Hopper-Audio Director, Podcast & Radio Producer, Audio Editor, Sound Design, Narrator; Sarah Miller-Development Director, Nat Needham-Editor, Graphic Design emeritus; David Neuman-Senior Video Editor, and Rory O’Conner-Senior Consulting Producer. FOLLOW Laura Flanders and FriendsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/Blueky:  https://bsky.app/profile/lfandfriends.bsky.socialFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraFlandersAndFriends/Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lauraflandersandfriendsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lgLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lauraflandersandfriendsPatreon:   https://www.patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriendsACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

Synopsis:  A leading voice in feminist philosophy, Donna Haraway joins Laura for an incisive discussion on challenging patriarchal norms and cultivating a more inclusive understanding of humanity, one that prioritizes accountability and empathy in an increasingly complex world.This show is made possible by you! To become a sustaining member go to LauraFlanders.org/donateDescription: “Thinking requires action and passion,” says feminist philosopher and scholar, Donna Haraway in this unique conversation. In her 1985 essay “A Cyborg Manifesto” and 2003 work, “The Companion Species Manifesto”, Haraway challenged patriarchal, capitalist, binary, species-ist ways of looking at the world. It’s no surprise that people are looking to her work again now. Generative thinking, she tells Laura, requires “taking the risk to try a new pattern; to invent something that may very well fall apart in your collective hands but leaves threads to be picked up again.” In this episode, Haraway and Flanders sit down for an expansive conversation about what it means to be human in an age of AI and resisting what she calls authoritarian “mono-thought.” Plus, a commentary from Laura on staying in the present and “staying with the trouble.”“An individual is embedded deeply in worlds with other people, with other organisms, with living and non-living parts of the world. To be a self is to come to a thicker appreciation and accountability for the way we're embedded in the world and act in the world. That's what I mean by being a proper self.” - Donna HarawayGuest:  Donna Haraway, Distinguished Professor Emerita, University of California Santa Cruz, History of Consciousness Department; Author, A Cyborg Manifesto, When Species Meet, Staying with the Trouble: Making Kin in the ChthuluceneWatch the episode released on YouTube; PBS World Channel 11:30am ET Sundays and on over 300 public stations across the country (check your listings, or search here via zipcode). Listen: Episode airing on community radio (check here to see if your station airs the show) & available as a podcast January 21st, 2026.Full Episode Notes are located HERE.Full Conversation Release: While our weekly shows are edited to time for broadcast on Public TV and community radio, we offer to our members and podcast subscribers the full uncut conversation. Music Credit:  'Thrum of Soil' by Bluedot Sessions, 'Steppin' by Podington Bear, and original sound design by Jeannie HopperSupport Laura Flanders and Friends by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/c/lauraflandersandfriendsRESOURCES:*Recommended book:“The Companion Species Manifesto: Dogs, People, and Significant Otherness” by Donna Haraway: *Get the book(*Bookshop is an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. The LF Show is an affiliate of bookshop.org and will receive a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.)Related Laura Flanders Show Episodes:•  Pride Pioneers Holly Hughes & Esther Newton: How Queer Kinship Ties Help Us Survive: Watch / Listen:  Episode Cut•  Survival Guide for Humans Learned from Marine Mammals with Alexis Pauline Gumbs:  Watch / Listen:  Episode Cut and Full Uncut Conversation•  “Powerlands”: Indigenous Youth Fight Big Oil & Gas Worldwide:  Watch / Listen:  Episode Cut and Full Uncut Conversation Related Articles and Resources:•  Donna Haraway:  Story Telling for Earthly Survival by Fabrizo Terranova - Watch•  Making Oddkin:  Story Telling for Earthly Survival lecture at Yale - Watch•  You Are Cyborg by Hair Kunzru, February 1, 1997, WIRED•  Donna Haraway, Erasmus laureate 2025 at the Next Nature Museum, November 21, 2025, by Next Nature•  Rethinking Humanity with Donna Haraway:  A Cyborg Manifesto for the AI Age, August 18, 2025, Philosopheasy    Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders-Executive Producer, Writer;  Sabrina Artel-Supervising Producer; Jeremiah Cothren-Senior Producer; Veronica Delgado-Video Editor, Janet Hernandez-Communications Director; Jeannie Hopper-Audio Director, Podcast & Radio Producer, Audio Editor, Sound Design, Narrator; Sarah Miller-Development Director, Nat Needham-Editor, Graphic Design emeritus; David Neuman-Senior Video Editor, and Rory O’Conner-Senior Consulting Producer. FOLLOW Laura Flanders and FriendsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/Blueky:  https://bsky.app/profile/lfandfriends.bsky.socialFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraFlandersAndFriends/Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lauraflandersandfriendsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lgLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lauraflandersandfriendsPatreon:   https://www.patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriendsACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

Synopsis: In a powerful tribute to a fearless leader, friends and collaborators share stories of Alice Wong's unwavering commitment to centering disabled voices and challenging systemic inequality in all its forms.This show is made possible by you! To become a sustaining member go to LauraFlanders.org/donateDescription: Alice Wong lived longer than she expected, but not long enough. The celebrated disability activist lived by the principle that disability justice is integral to all liberation movements, and centered disabled stories with the Disability Visibility Project. When Alice Wong died on November 14 at the age of 51, people across social movements shared their grief and awe for her work, such as her bestselling 2022 memoir, “Year of the Tiger: An Activist's Life”. She has been called an oracle, visionary, unapologetic and fearless, and our guests, Wong’s dear friends and collaborators, are committed to lifting up her legacy. Sandy Ho is the Executive Director of the Disability & Philanthropy Forum and partner with Alice Wong and Mia Mingus in the Access is Love campaign. She was asked by Alice Wong to post her letter after she passed, where Wong writes “. . . our wisdom is incisive and unflinching.” Steven Thrasher is an acclaimed journalist, professor and author of “The Viral Underclass: The Human Toll When Inequality & Disease Collide”. He was suspended from teaching classes after speaking out — as Wong also did — on Palestine. Join us as we celebrate Alice Wong and ask what is the work to be done when it comes to healthcare and civil rights for disabled people. Plus a commentary from Laura on imagining the next 100 years.“A lot of Alice's advocacy was focused around the systems that force disabled people to be at the margins . . . Whether it is the Black Lives Matter movement or the pandemic, we see the ways in which our society and political systems respond, and not in ways that prioritize those who are least privileged and have the least amount of power.” - Sandy Ho“I remember talking to [Alice Wong] about the ways she had been conditioned as a disabled Asian American woman to try to accept crumbs, to not complain, to be very docile. I thought that she was really brilliant in bridging together not just Asian American communities, but queer communities, LGBTQ communities, all the communities where your body is made to feel like it doesn't belong.” - Steven ThrasherGuests:• Sandy Ho: Executive Director, Disability & Philanthropy Forum• Steven Thrasher: Daniel Renberg Chair of Social Justice in Reporting, Northwestern University; Author, The Viral Underclass & The Overseer Class*Recommended books:“Year of the Tiger: An Activist's Life” by Alice Wong, *Get the book“The Viral Underclass: The Human Toll When Inequality and Disease Collide” by Steven Thrasher, *Get the book(*Bookshop is an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. The LF Show is an affiliate of bookshop.org and will receive a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.) Watch the episode released on YouTube; PBS World Channel 11:30am ET Sundays and on over 300 public stations across the country (check your listings, or search here via zipcode). Listen: Episode airing on community radio (check here to see if your station airs the show) & available as a podcast January 14th, 2026.Full Episode Notes are located HERE.Full Conversation Release: While our weekly shows are edited to time for broadcast on Public TV and community radio, we offer to our members and podcast subscribers the full uncut conversation. Music Credit:  Kibir La Alma rework of “Until Tomorrow Comes” by Marysia Osu from her full length remix ep ‘harp, beats & dreams,’ courtesy of Brownswood Recordings;  'Steppin' by Podington Bear, and original sound design by Jeannie Hopper Support Laura Flanders and Friends by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/c/lauraflandersandfriends RESOURCES:Related Laura Flanders Show Episodes:• “The Future is Disabled”: Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha: Watch / Listen:  Episode Cut and Full Uncut Conversation• The New Disabled Population in Gaza: Comedian & Disability Advocate Maysoon Zayid:  Watch / Listen:  Episode Cut and Full Uncut Conversation• Anita Cameron & Keith Jones on The Americans with Disabilities Act: A Civil Rights Milestone With Miles To Go:  Watch / Listen:  Episode CutRelated Articles and Resources:•  Disability Visibility Project, Founder:  Alice Wong•  DisabledWriters.com•  Access Is Love•  A Tribute to an Oracle, Alice Wong, by Rebecca Cokley, November 26, 2025, The Nation•  Trump Gutted AIDS Health. Care at the Worst Possible Time, by Steven W. Thrasher & Afeef Nessouli, December 1, 2025, The Intercept•  On Valentine’s Day, Let’s Recognize Why #AccessIsLove, by Alice Wong, February 14, 2019, Rooted In Rights•  Remembering Alice Wong:  Writer, Advocate, Friend, by Steven W. Thrasher, November 17, 2025, LitHub• Crips for eSims for Gaza, chuffed.org• Alice Wong Interview with Steven Thrasher with subtitles, Watch• Alice Wong, 2024 MacArthur Fellow, MacArthur Foundation  Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders-Executive Producer, Writer;  Sabrina Artel-Supervising Producer; Jeremiah Cothren-Senior Producer; Veronica Delgado-Video Editor, Janet Hernandez-Communications Director; Jeannie Hopper-Audio Director, Podcast & Radio Producer, Audio Editor, Sound Design, Narrator; Sarah Miller-Development Director, Nat Needham-Editor, Graphic Design emeritus; David Neuman-Senior Video Editor, and Rory O’Conner-Senior Consulting Producer. FOLLOW Laura Flanders and FriendsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/Blueky:  https://bsky.app/profile/lfandfriends.bsky.socialFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraFlandersAndFriends/Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lauraflandersandfriendsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lgLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lauraflandersandfriendsPatreon:   https://www.patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriendsACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

Synopsis:  In a powerful tribute to a fearless leader, friends and collaborators share stories of Alice Wong's unwavering commitment to centering disabled voices and challenging systemic inequality in all its forms.This show is made possible by you! To become a sustaining member go to LauraFlanders.org/donateDescription: Alice Wong lived longer than she expected, but not long enough. The celebrated disability activist lived by the principle that disability justice is integral to all liberation movements, and centered disabled stories with the Disability Visibility Project. When Alice Wong died on November 14 at the age of 51, people across social movements shared their grief and awe for her work, such as her bestselling 2022 memoir, “Year of the Tiger: An Activist's Life”. She has been called an oracle, visionary, unapologetic and fearless, and our guests, Wong’s dear friends and collaborators, are committed to lifting up her legacy. Sandy Ho is the Executive Director of the Disability & Philanthropy Forum and partner with Alice Wong and Mia Mingus in the Access is Love campaign. She was asked by Alice Wong to post her letter after she passed, where Wong writes “. . . our wisdom is incisive and unflinching.” Steven Thrasher is an acclaimed journalist, professor and author of “The Viral Underclass: The Human Toll When Inequality & Disease Collide”. He was suspended from teaching classes after speaking out — as Wong also did — on Palestine. Join us as we celebrate Alice Wong and ask what is the work to be done when it comes to healthcare and civil rights for disabled people. Plus a commentary from Laura on imagining the next 100 years.“A lot of Alice's advocacy was focused around the systems that force disabled people to be at the margins . . . Whether it is the Black Lives Matter movement or the pandemic, we see the ways in which our society and political systems respond, and not in ways that prioritize those who are least privileged and have the least amount of power.” - Sandy Ho“I remember talking to [Alice Wong] about the ways she had been conditioned as a disabled Asian American woman to try to accept crumbs, to not complain, to be very docile. I thought that she was really brilliant in bridging together not just Asian American communities, but queer communities, LGBTQ communities, all the communities where your body is made to feel like it doesn't belong.” - Steven ThrasherGuests:• Sandy Ho: Executive Director, Disability & Philanthropy Forum• Steven Thrasher: Daniel Renberg Chair of Social Justice in Reporting, Northwestern University; Author, The Viral Underclass & The Overseer Class *Recommended books:“Year of the Tiger: An Activist's Life” by Alice Wong, *Get the book“The Viral Underclass: The Human Toll When Inequality and Disease Collide” by Steven Thrasher, *Get the book(*Bookshop is an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. The LF Show is an affiliate of bookshop.org and will receive a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.) Watch the episode released on YouTube; PBS World Channel 11:30am ET Sundays and on over 300 public stations across the country (check your listings, or search here via zipcode). Listen: Episode airing on community radio (check here to see if your station airs the show) & available as a podcast January 14th, 2026.Full Episode Notes are located HERE.Full Conversation Release: While our weekly shows are edited to time for broadcast on Public TV and community radio, we offer to our members and podcast subscribers the full uncut conversation. Music Credit:  'Thrum of Soil' by Bluedot Sessions, 'Steppin' by Podington Bear, and original sound design by Jeannie Hopper Support Laura Flanders and Friends by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/c/lauraflandersandfriends RESOURCES:Related Laura Flanders Show Episodes:• “The Future is Disabled”: Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha: Watch / Listen:  Episode Cut and Full Uncut Conversation• The New Disabled Population in Gaza: Comedian & Disability Advocate Maysoon Zayid:  Watch / Listen:  Episode Cut and Full Uncut Conversation• Anita Cameron & Keith Jones on The Americans with Disabilities Act: A Civil Rights Milestone With Miles To Go:  Watch / Listen:  Episode CutRelated Articles and Resources:•  Disability Visibility Project, Founder:  Alice Wong•  DisabledWriters.com•  Access Is Love•  A Tribute to an Oracle, Alice Wong, by Rebecca Cokley, November 26, 2025, The Nation•  Trump Gutted AIDS Health. Care at the Worst Possible Time, by Steven W. Thrasher & Afeef Nessouli, December 1, 2025, The Intercept•  On Valentine’s Day, Let’s Recognize Why #AccessIsLove, by Alice Wong, February 14, 2019, Rooted In Rights•  Remembering Alice Wong:  Writer, Advocate, Friend, by Steven W. Thrasher, November 17, 2025, LitHub• Crips for eSims for Gaza, chuffed.org• Alice Wong Interview with Steven Thrasher with subtitles, Watch• Alice Wong, 2024 MacArthur Fellow, MacArthur Foundation CHAPTERS:  Remembering Alice Wong: A Visionary Activist's Profound Impact00:00:00How Sandy Ho and Steven Thrasher Connected with Alice00:02:09Alice Wong's Vision for Disability Justice and Bridging Movements00:06:16The Evolution of Disability Activism: From ADA to Disability Justice00:12:29Alice Wong's Fight Against Inaccessible Healthcare and Systemic Ableism00:15:17Navigating Political Attacks and the Complexities of Assisted Suicide00:19:55Imagining a World Budgeted for Access and Bodily Autonomy00:24:40Alice Wong's Unapologetic Humor and Generous Spirit00:29:39Sandy Ho Shares Alice Wong's Moving Posthumous Message00:34:16The Enduring Impact of the Disability Visibility Project00:38:38Reflecting on Activism's Future and Supporting Progressive Media00:42:54  Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders-Executive Producer, Writer;  Sabrina Artel-Supervising Producer; Jeremiah Cothren-Senior Producer; Veronica Delgado-Video Editor, Janet Hernandez-Communications Director; Jeannie Hopper-Audio Director, Podcast & Radio Producer, Audio Editor, Sound Design, Narrator; Sarah Miller-Development Director, Nat Needham-Editor, Graphic Design emeritus; David Neuman-Senior Video Editor, and Rory O’Conner-Senior Consulting Producer. FOLLOW Laura Flanders and FriendsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/Blueky:  https://bsky.app/profile/lfandfriends.bsky.socialFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraFlandersAndFriends/Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lauraflandersandfriendsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lgLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lauraflandersandfriendsPatreon:   https://www.patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriendsACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

Synopsis:  In conversation with Laura Flanders, ecologist and activist Professor Robin Wall Kimmerer discusses how embracing ecological grief can be a powerful catalyst for change in restoring balance between humans and the Earth they inhabit.Make a tax deductible YEAR END DONATION and become a member go to LauraFlanders.org/donate. This show is made possible by you! Description:  When was the last time you listened to the plants? Plant ecologist Robin Wall Kimmerer, a self-proclaimed “student of the plants,” has dedicated her life to helping people of all ages understand the symbiotic relationship between humans and nature. Her latest initiative “Plant Baby Plant” does exactly that, by mobilizing communities to restore plants while building collective power for the Earth. Kimmerer is a distinguished professor, MacArthur Fellow, mother and an enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. Her 2013 book “Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants” emerged as a surprise bestseller with almost three million copies sold across 20 languages. In this enlightening episode, Robin Wall Kimmerer and Laura Flanders explore how nature can inform our language, our economy, our movements and more. As you’ll hear, our survival depends on it. Plus, a commentary from Laura on what it took to separate people from nature. Hint: it wasn’t peaceful.“I think it is so important that we embrace ecological grief rather than look away . . . When we recognize that pain we feel for our relationships with the natural world is also the measure of our love for the living world. It's that love which is mirrored in the grief that makes you get back up and say, ‘Not on my watch.’” - Robin Wall Kimmerer“. . . We have to kind of decolonize our minds from this industrial revolution concept that the Earth belongs to us as a source of nothing more than belongings, natural resources that are our property . . . There is this notion in many Indigenous worldviews that human beings play a critical role in maintaining balance, that the way we take from the living world can actually be regenerative.” - Robin Wall KimmererGuest:  Robin Wall Kimmerer: Plant Ecologist, Writer, Professor; Founder, Plant Baby Plant; Author, Braiding Sweetgrass*Recommended book:Bookshop: “The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World” by Robin Wall Kimmerer: Get the book*  And to accompany the book:(*Bookshop is an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. The LF Show is an affiliate of bookshop.org and will receive a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.)Watch the episode released on YouTube; PBS World Channel Sundays at 11:30am and on over 300 public stations across the country (check your listings, or search here via zipcode). Listen: Episode airing on community radio (check here to see if your station airs the show) & available as a podcast January 7th, 2026.Full Episode Notes are located HERE.Related Podcast:  Full uncut conversation is available in the podcast feed.Music Credit: “Ode to Nature” by Hover Fly from the Climate Soundtrack Compilation produced by DJ’s for Climate Action, "Steppin" by Podington Bear, and original sound design by Jeannie HopperSupport Laura Flanders and Friends by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/c/lauraflandersandfriends RESOURCES:Related Laura Flanders Show Episodes:•  Survival Guide for Humans Learned from Marine Mammals with Alexis Pauline Gumbs:  Watch / Listen:  Episode Cut and Full Uncut Conversation•  Ecology: The Infrastructure of the Future?: Watch / Listen:  Episode Cut• Peter Linebaugh on International Workers' "May Day" Origins. Plus, Commentary: 19th Century Anarchist Lucy Parsons, Listen•  Yellowstone at 150: Can Indigenous Stewardship Save Our Parks?:  Watch / Listen:  Episode CutRelated Articles and Resources:•  Speaking of Nature:  Finding language that affirms our kinship with the natural world, by Robin Wall Kimmerer, Orion Nature and Culture•  Watch:  Gifts of the Land:  A Guided Nature Tour with Robin Wall Kimmerer, The Commons KU• The Braiding Sweetgrass’ Author Wants Us to Give Thanks Everyday, by Alexander Alter, November 29, 2024, New York Times•  Fishing in a superfund site:  Onondaga Lake’s road to recovery, by Bee Kavanaugh, SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry, January 2, 2025, Planet Forward   Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders-Executive Producer, Writer;  Sabrina Artel-Supervising Producer; Jeremiah Cothren-Senior Producer; Veronica Delgado-Video Editor, Janet Hernandez-Communications Director; Jeannie Hopper-Audio Director, Podcast & Radio Producer, Audio Editor, Sound Design, Narrator; Sarah Miller-Development Director, Nat Needham-Editor, Graphic Design emeritus; David Neuman-Senior Video Editor, and Rory O’Conner-Senior Consulting Producer. FOLLOW Laura Flanders and FriendsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/Blueky:  https://bsky.app/profile/lfandfriends.bsky.socialFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraFlandersAndFriends/Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lauraflandersandfriendsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lgLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lauraflandersandfriendsPatreon:   https://www.patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriendsACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

Synopsis:  Plant ecologist Robin Wall Kimmerer, a self-proclaimed “student of the plants,” has dedicated her life to helping people of all ages understand the symbiotic relationship between humans and nature. Her latest initiative “Plant Baby Plant” does exactly that, by mobilizing communities to restore plants while building collective power for the Earth.Make a tax deductible YEAR END DONATION and become a member go to LauraFlanders.org/donate. This show is made possible by you! Description: When was the last time you listened to the plants? Plant ecologist Robin Wall Kimmerer, a self-proclaimed “student of the plants,” has dedicated her life to helping people of all ages understand the symbiotic relationship between humans and nature. Her latest initiative “Plant Baby Plant” does exactly that, by mobilizing communities to restore plants while building collective power for the Earth. Kimmerer is a distinguished professor, MacArthur Fellow, mother and an enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. Her 2013 book “Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants” emerged as a surprise bestseller with almost three million copies sold across 20 languages. In this enlightening episode, Robin Wall Kimmerer and Laura Flanders explore how nature can inform our language, our economy, our movements and more. As you’ll hear, our survival depends on it. Plus, a commentary from Laura on what it took to separate people from nature. Hint: it wasn’t peaceful.“. . . We have to kind of decolonize our minds from this industrial revolution concept that the Earth belongs to us as a source of nothing more than belongings, natural resources that are our property . . . There is this notion in many Indigenous worldviews that human beings play a critical role in maintaining balance, that the way we take from the living world can actually be regenerative.” - Robin Wall KimmererGuest:  Robin Wall Kimmerer,  Plant Ecologist, Writer, Professor; Founder, Plant Baby Plant; Author, Braiding Sweetgrass*Recommended book:Bookshop: “The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World” by Robin Wall Kimmerer: Get the book*  And to accompany the book:(*Bookshop is an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. The LF Show is an affiliate of bookshop.org and will receive a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.)Watch the episode released on YouTube; PBS World Channel December 4th, 2026 and on over 300 public stations across the country (check your listings, or search here via zipcode). Listen: Episode airing on community radio (check here to see if your station airs the show) & available as a podcast December 7th, 2026.Full Episode Notes are located HERE.Full Conversation Release: While our weekly shows are edited to time for broadcast on Public TV and community radio, we offer to our members and podcast subscribers the full uncut conversation. Music Credit:  'Thrum of Soil' by Bluedot Sessions, 'Steppin' by Podington Bear, and original sound design by Jeannie HopperSupport Laura Flanders and Friends by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/c/lauraflandersandfriends RESOURCES:Related Laura Flanders Show Episodes:•  Survival Guide for Humans Learned from Marine Mammals with Alexis Pauline Gumbs:  Watch / Listen:  Episode Cut and Full Uncut Conversation•  Ecology: The Infrastructure of the Future?: Watch / Listen:  Episode Cut• Peter Linebaugh on International Workers' "May Day" Origins. Plus, Commentary: 19th Century Anarchist Lucy Parsons, Listen•  Yellowstone at 150: Can Indigenous Stewardship Save Our Parks?:  Watch / Listen:  Episode CutRelated Articles and Resources:•  Speaking of Nature:  Finding language that affirms our kinship with the natural world, by Robin Wall Kimmerer, Orion Nature and Culture•  Watch:  Gifts of the Land:  A Guided Nature Tour with Robin Wall Kimmerer, The Commons KU• The Braiding Sweetgrass’ Author Wants Us to Give Thanks Everyday, by Alexander Alter, November 29, 2024, New York Times•  Fishing in a superfund site:  Onondaga Lake’s road to recovery, by Bee Kavanaugh, SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry, January 2, 2025, Planet Forward CHAPTERS:Welcoming Robin Wall Kimmerer and Plant Baby Plant00:00:00Redefining Botany: Learning From, Not Just About, Plants00:02:02Integrating Indigenous Wisdom with Western Scientific Knowledge00:04:18Shifting Worldviews Through a Grammar of Animacy00:06:19Biomimicry: Learning Nature's Circular Economic Principles00:08:48Reclaiming Reciprocity: Nature's Gifts and Human Alienation00:11:02Decolonizing Our Minds: Humans as Healers for the Land00:14:09From Cultural Burning to Regenerative Yards: Acts of Resistance00:18:23Mobilizing Urban Communities with Plant Baby Plant Initiatives00:23:02The Power of Process: Success, Giving Back, and Challenging Misuse00:26:57Nature's True Laws: Cooperation, Mutualism, and Moss Wisdom00:29:59AI's Limits: Beyond Intellect to Holistic Indigenous Wisdom00:33:41Ecological Grief as a Catalyst for Love and Action00:36:40The Next Generation's Gift of Compassion and Imagination00:40:26Practices for a Regenerative Future: Gratitude and Remembering Kinship00:42:28  Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders-Executive Producer, Writer;  Sabrina Artel-Supervising Producer; Jeremiah Cothren-Senior Producer; Veronica Delgado-Video Editor, Janet Hernandez-Communications Director; Jeannie Hopper-Audio Director, Podcast & Radio Producer, Audio Editor, Sound Design, Narrator; Sarah Miller-Development Director, Nat Needham-Editor, Graphic Design emeritus; David Neuman-Senior Video Editor, and Rory O’Conner-Senior Consulting Producer. FOLLOW Laura Flanders and FriendsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/Blueky:  https://bsky.app/profile/lfandfriends.bsky.socialFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraFlandersAndFriends/Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lauraflandersandfriendsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lgLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lauraflandersandfriendsPatreon:   https://www.patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriendsACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

Synopsis:  From his early days as an illustrator for the Black Panther Party to winning the prestigious Mohn Award in 2023, artist Akinsanya Kambon has been using art to amplify marginalized voices and tell stories of resilience.Make a tax deductible YEAR END DONATION and become a member go to LauraFlanders.org/donate. This show is made possible by you! Description: With each glimmering piece he creates, artist Akinsanya Kambon brings suppressed histories of both colonization and liberation to life. His ceramic works depict struggle and survival across the African diaspora, and stepping into his studio is a spiritual experience, as Laura Flanders recently discovered. Kambon was a member of the Sacramento chapter of the Black Panther Party where he worked on the layout and illustration of the party’s famous paper and became lieutenant for culture, illustrating among other things the party’s ten point plan and works for young people. In 2023, he won the prestigious Mohn Award — the top prize given by the Hammer Museum for his participation in their biennial “Made in LA” show, titled Acts of Living. His one-man show opened in Beverly Hills at Marc Selwyn Fine Art in April 2025. An exhibition of his work will open at the New York Sculpture Center in May 2026. In this unique conversation, Flanders asks Kambon about his own survival stories, including his polio diagnosis, getting drafted into the Vietnam War, and his year on death row. Kambon was arrested in connection with the killing of a police officer and was later acquitted from that high-profile Oak Park Four case. Join Flanders and Kambon as they discuss how art keeps spirits alive, and catch Flanders’ commentary on today’s fight to control our nation’s stories.“Art educates the masses of people. Not Black or white or Asian, this educates the masses of young people to our struggle, to how long they're struggling and how it's connected.” - Akinsanya Kambon“I thought of myself as an artist even when I was a child, because art was therapy for me . . . I used to always seem like I would always take the side of the underdog.” - Akinsanya KambonGuest:  Akinsanya Kambon, Artist, Former Marine, Black Panther & Art Professor Additional Credits:Additional Crew:  Marco Amador, Producciones Cimarrón Clips from the documentary short- "Akinsanya Kambon The Hero Avenges," Produced by The Hammer Museum;  Directed by Gabriel Noguez and Sean Rowry.Special thanks: Cynthia Wornham, Annie Philbin, Marc Selwyn Fine Art  Full Conversation Release: While our weekly shows are edited to time for broadcast on Public TV and community radio, we offer to our members and podcast subscribers the full uncut conversation. These audio exclusives are made possible thanks to our member supporters.Watch the special report on YouTube; PBS World Channel September 5th, and on over 300 public stations across the country (check your listings, or search here via zipcode). Listen: Episode airing on community radio September 10th  (check here to see if your station is airing the show) & available as a podcast.Full Episode Notes are located HERE.-Related Podcast:  Uncut Conversation with Akinsanya Kambon, Artist, Former Marine, Black Panther & Art Professor RESOURCES:Related Laura Flanders Show Episodes:•  Jacqueline Woodson & Catherine Gund: Breathing Through Chaos & the “Meanwhile”, Watch / Listen:  Episode Cut - Full Uncut Conversation•  Genesis Be & Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis: Building Collective Freedom with a Poet & Preacher, Watch / Listen:  Episode Cut   •  Ai Weiwei: How Do We Save Our Humanity?  Watch / Listen:  Episode Cut - Full Uncut Conversation  Related Articles and Resources:• Akinsanya Kambon exhibit for ‘Made in L.A. 2023: Acts of Living’ the Hammer Museum’s biennial exhibition highlighting the practices of artists working throughout the greater Los Angeles area• Akinsanya Kambon Receives $100,000 John Award, Made in L.A. Biennial’s Top Prize Honors Artistic Excellence, by Victoria L. Walntine, December 12, 2023, Culture Type•  Akinsanya Kambon’s exhibition April 17-May31, 2025 at Marc Selwyn Fine Art•. 10 Shows to see in Los Angeles May 2025, by Matt Stromberg, May 1, 2025 Hyperallergic• Upcoming Akinsanya Kambon Exhibitions: He will be featured in a solo exhibition represented by Ortuza Projects in collaboration with Marc Selwyn Fine Art during Frieze New York in May 2026, and concurrent with a solo exhibition at the New York Sculpture Center.  Art Media Agency  Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders-Executive Producer, Writer;  Sabrina Artel-Supervising Producer; Jeremiah Cothren-Senior Producer; Veronica Delgado-Video Editor, Janet Hernandez-Communications Director; Jeannie Hopper-Audio Director, Podcast & Radio Producer, Audio Editor, Sound Design, Narrator; Sarah Miller-Development Director, Nat Needham-Editor, Graphic Design emeritus; David Neuman-Senior Video Editor, and Rory O’Conner-Senior Consulting Producer. FOLLOW Laura Flanders and FriendsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/Blueky:  https://bsky.app/profile/lfandfriends.bsky.socialFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraFlandersAndFriends/Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lauraflandersandfriendsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lgLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lauraflandersandfriendsPatreon:   https://www.patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriendsACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

Synopsis:  Step into the studio of ceramicist Akinsanya Kambon, where ancient traditions meet revolutionary fervor: here, stunning works born from earthy materials recount tales of resistance, redemption, and hope across generations and geography.Make a tax deductible YEAR END DONATION and become a member go to LauraFlanders.org/donate. This show is made possible by you! Description [original release date September 2025]: With each glimmering piece he creates, artist Akinsanya Kambon brings suppressed histories of both colonization and liberation to life. His ceramic works depict struggle and survival across the African diaspora, and stepping into his studio is a spiritual experience, as Laura Flanders recently discovered. Kambon was a member of the Sacramento chapter of the Black Panther Party where he worked on the layout and illustration of the party’s famous paper and became lieutenant for culture, illustrating among other things the party’s ten point plan and works for young people. In 2023, he won the prestigious Mohn Award — the top prize given by the Hammer Museum for his participation in their biennial “Made in LA” show, titled Acts of Living. His one-man show opened in Beverly Hills at Marc Selwyn Fine Art in April 2025. An exhibition of his work will open at the New York Sculpture Center in May 2026. In this unique conversation, Flanders asks Kambon about his own survival stories, including his polio diagnosis, getting drafted into the Vietnam War, and his year on death row. Kambon was arrested in connection with the killing of a police officer and was later acquitted from that high-profile Oak Park Four case. Join Flanders and Kambon as they discuss how art keeps spirits alive, and catch Flanders’ commentary on today’s fight to control our nation’s stories.“Art educates the masses of people. Not Black or white or Asian, this educates the masses of young people to our struggle, to how long they're struggling and how it's connected.” - Akinsanya Kambon“I thought of myself as an artist even when I was a child, because art was therapy for me . . . I used to always seem like I would always take the side of the underdog.” - Akinsanya KambonGuest:  Akinsanya Kambon, Artist, Former Marine, Black Panther & Art ProfessorSpecial thanks: Cynthia Wornham, Annie Philbin, Marc Selwyn Fine Art  Additional Credits:Additional Crew:  Marco Amador, Producciones Cimarrón Clips from the documentary short- "Akinsanya Kambon The Hero Avenges," Produced by The Hammer Museum;  Directed by Gabriel Noguez and Sean Rowry. Full Conversation Release: While our weekly shows are edited to time for broadcast on Public TV and community radio, we offer to our members and podcast subscribers the full uncut conversation. These audio exclusives are made possible thanks to our member supporters.Watch the special report on YouTube; PBS World Channel, and on over 300 public stations across the country (check your listings, or search here via zipcode). Listen: Episode airing on community radio  (check here to see if your station is airing the show) & available as a podcast.Full Episode Notes are located HERE. RESOURCES:Related Laura Flanders Show Episodes:•  Jacqueline Woodson & Catherine Gund: Breathing Through Chaos & the “Meanwhile”, Watch / Listen:  Episode Cut - Full Uncut Conversation•  Genesis Be & Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis: Building Collective Freedom with a Poet & Preacher, Watch / Listen:  Episode Cut   •  Ai Weiwei: How Do We Save Our Humanity?  Watch / Listen:  Episode Cut - Full Uncut Conversation  Related Articles and Resources:• Akinsanya Kambon exhibit for ‘Made in L.A. 2023: Acts of Living’ the Hammer Museum’s biennial exhibition highlighting the practices of artists working throughout the greater Los Angeles area• Akinsanya Kambon Receives $100,000 John Award, Made in L.A. Biennial’s Top Prize Honors Artistic Excellence, by Victoria L. Walntine, December 12, 2023, Culture Type•  Akinsanya Kambon’s exhibition April 17-May31, 2025 at Marc Selwyn Fine Art•. 10 Shows to see in Los Angeles May 2025, by Matt Stromberg, May 1, 2025 Hyperallergic• Upcoming Akinsanya Kambon Exhibitions: He will be featured in a solo exhibition represented by Ortuza Projects in collaboration with Marc Selwyn Fine Art during Frieze New York in May 2026, and concurrent with a solo exhibition at the New York Sculpture Center.  Art Media Agency  Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders-Executive Producer, Writer;  Sabrina Artel-Supervising Producer; Jeremiah Cothren-Senior Producer; Veronica Delgado-Video Editor, Janet Hernandez-Communications Director; Jeannie Hopper-Audio Director, Podcast & Radio Producer, Audio Editor, Sound Design, Narrator; Sarah Miller-Development Director, Nat Needham-Editor, Graphic Design emeritus; David Neuman-Senior Video Editor, and Rory O’Conner-Senior Consulting Producer. FOLLOW Laura Flanders and FriendsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/Blueky:  https://bsky.app/profile/lfandfriends.bsky.socialFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraFlandersAndFriends/Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lauraflandersandfriendsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lgLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lauraflandersandfriendsPatreon:   https://www.patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriendsACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

Synopsis:  Fifty years ago, factory floor workers at Lucas Aerospace challenged their company's focus on war machines with an innovative plan for socially useful production - and it could be just as relevant today.Make a tax deductible YEAR END DONATION and become a member go to LauraFlanders.org/donate. This show is made possible by you! Description [original release date July 2025]:  Military budgets are skyrocketing across the globe, while funding for social needs—housing, healthcare, education—is being slashed. Politicians often justify this skewed spending by claiming it creates jobs. But what if the people doing those jobs had a say in how public money was used?Fifty years ago, workers at Lucas Aerospace, a U.K. military contractor, designed a visionary proposal known as the Lucas Plan: a worker-led alternative focused on socially useful production rather than weapons of war.In our special report, The Lucas Plan at 50: A Radical Investment in Society, Not the War Machine, Laura spoke with Hilary Wainwright, Co-Author of The Lucas Plan: A New Trade Unionism in the Making? And Co-Editor of Red Pepper magazine. Hilary is one of the voices behind that groundbreaking effort.What follows is the full, uncut conversation with Hilary—rich with lessons for today’s movements for climate justice, peace, and economic democracy.Guest:  Hilary Wainwright: Co-Author, The Lucas Plan: A New Trade Unionism in the Making?; Co-Editor Red Pepper magazine SPECIAL THANKS: Karen Bell, Joe Guinan, Steve Schofield ADDITIONAL CREW: Stanley Arlidge - Episode Producer, Clementine Malpas, Tiger Nest Films Full Conversation Release: While our weekly shows are edited to time for broadcast on Public TV and community radio, we offer to our members and podcast subscribers the full uncut conversation. These audio exclusives are made possible thanks to our member supporters. RESOURCES:- Watch the episode released on YouTube July 11th 5pm ET; PBS World Channel July 13th, and on over 300 public stations across the country (check your listings, or search here via zipcode) and airing on community radio (check here to see if your station airs the show) & available as a podcast July 16th.- Additional Uncut Conversation featuring Brian Salisbury: Former Lucas Aerospace Shop Steward from Season 6, Episode 215  - The Lucas Plan at 50: A Radical Investment in Society, Not the War MachineFull Episode Notes are located HERE.  Recommended book:• “The Lucas Plan: A New Trade Unionism in the Making?” by Hilary Wainwright and Dave Elliott, Learn More Related Laura Flanders Show Episodes:Democracy & Capitalism: A Failed Experiment?:  Watch / Listen:  Uncut Conversation - EpisodeCommunity Wealth Building: An Economic Reset:  Watch / Listen:  Uncut Conversation - EpisodeDollars and Democracy: Participatory Budgeting:  Watch / Listen:  EpisodeFrom Cleveland, OH to Preston, UK.  Community Wealth Building, Watch / Listen: Episode Related Articles and Resources:• A Lucas Plan For the Twenty First Century From Asset Manager Arsenal to Green Industrial Strategy, by Khern Rogsly, October 2024 - Common Welath•  The Lucas Plan the Way to an Alternative Security Strategy, by Khem Royally, December 11, 2024, Rethinking Security• UK to cut green levies on businesses in bid to reduce energy costs and boost manufacturing, by Jessica Elgot and Rob Davies, June 22, 2025, The Guardian•. Decarbonising and diversifying defense in the US and the UK:  A workers’ enquiry for a Just Transition, Decarbonising-Defence.co.uk•  Wortley Hall, the Worker’s Stately home, a member of the co-operative union•. US Defense Secretary Called Europe ‘Pathetic.”  Two BU Experts on Whether the Alliance Is Damaged, by Rich Barlow, March 27, 2025, Boston University Today•  ‘I will not protect you’:  Trump Threatens to Abandon Nato Allies, Kaitlan Collins, October 11, 2024, CNN  Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders-Executive Producer, Writer;  Sabrina Artel-Supervising Producer; Jeremiah Cothren-Senior Producer; Veronica Delgado-Video Editor, Janet Hernandez-Communications Director; Jeannie Hopper-Audio Director, Podcast & Radio Producer, Audio Editor, Sound Design, Narrator; Sarah Miller-Development Director, Nat Needham-Editor, Graphic Design emeritus; David Neuman-Senior Video Editor, and Rory O’Conner-Senior Consulting Producer. FOLLOW Laura Flanders and FriendsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/Blueky:  https://bsky.app/profile/lfandfriends.bsky.socialFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraFlandersAndFriends/Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lauraflandersandfriendsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lgLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lauraflandersandfriendsPatreon:   https://www.patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriendsACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

Synopsis:  As global military spending skyrockets and social programs face drastic cuts, a 50-year-old alternative emerges as a beacon of hope: the Lucas Plan, born from workers' determination to repurpose their skills for societal good.Make a tax deductible YEAR END DONATION and become a member go to LauraFlanders.org/donate. This show is made possible by you! Description [Original release date July 2025]: With the passage of the Republicans’ “Big Beautiful Bill” and NATO allies pledging to more than double their spending on defense as a portion of all economic output, military spending around the world is soaring, while spending on meeting social needs and the climate crisis is on the chopping block. Governments often justify spending public money this way by saying it will create good jobs, but what if the workers themselves had a say? Fifty years ago, employees at Lucas Aerospace, a huge military contractor in the United Kingdom came up with an alternative plan. Their approach, known as the Lucas Plan, used the workers’ same expertise, but directed production away from bombs, towards goods that actually help society. In this special episode, Laura heads to the UK to interview some of the original workers involved in the Lucas Plan and investigates what one senior government minister at the time called "one of the most remarkable exercises in all of British industrial history.” As she says, it’s as relevant now as the day it was conceived.“What we're talking about is a poor economic choice that's being made to posture . . . and look like a big military power in a world that's growing increasingly unstable.” - Khem Rogaly“One of the things that the Lucas Plan has done is actually made it fairly clear to people that there are choices. You're given the impression that you have to make weapons. No, you don't. You're given the choice . . . The issue here is who controls technology and who should control technology, and should it be used to free people or should it be used to enslave people?” - Philip AsquithGuests:• Brian Salisbury: Former Lucas Aerospace Shop Steward• Philip Asquith: Former Lucas Aerospace Shop Steward• Hilary Wainwright: Co-Author, The Lucas Plan: A New Trade Unionism in the Making?; Co-Editor Red Pepper magazine• Khem Rogaly: Senior Research Fellow, Commonwealth; Author, A Lucas Plan for the Twenty First Century: From Asset Manager Arsenal to Green Industrial Strategy ADDITIONAL CREW: Stanley Arlidge - Episode Producer, Clementine Malpas, Tiger Nest FilmsSPECIAL THANKS: Karen Bell, Joe Guinan, Steve Schofield MUSIC CREDITS:  Thrum of Soil by Blue Dot Sessions and original sound design by Jeannie Hopper  RESOURCES:- Watch the episode released on YouTube July 11th 5pm ET; PBS World Channel July 13th, and on over 300 public stations across the country (check your listings, or search here via zipcode) and airing on community radio (check here to see if your station airs the show) & available as a podcast July 16th.-Related Podcast:  Uncut Conversation featuring Brian Salsibury, Former Lucas Aerospace Shop Steward-Related Podcast:  Uncut Conversation featuring Hilary Wainwright, Co-Author, The Lucas Plan: A New Trade Unionism in the Making?; Co-Editor Red Pepper magazineFull Episode Notes are located HERE.  Recommended book:• “The Lucas Plan: A New Trade Unionism in the Making?” by Hilary Wainwright and Dave Elliott, Learn More Related Laura Flanders Show Episodes:Democracy & Capitalism: A Failed Experiment?:  Watch / Listen:  Uncut Conversation - EpisodeCommunity Wealth Building: An Economic Reset:  Watch / Listen:  Uncut Conversation - EpisodeDollars and Democracy: Participatory Budgeting:  Watch / Listen:  Episode•  From Cleveland, OH to Preston, UK.  Community Wealth Building, Watch / Listen: Episode Related Articles and Resources:• A Lucas Plan For the Twenty First Century From Asset Manager Arsenal to Green Industrial Strategy, by Khern Rogsly, October 2024 - Common Welath•  The Lucas Plan the Way to an Alternative Security Strategy, by Khem Royally, December 11, 2024, Rethinking Security• UK to cut green levies on businesses in bid to reduce energy costs and boost manufacturing, by Jessica Elgot and Rob Davies, June 22, 2025, The Guardian•. Decarbonising and diversifying defense in the US and the UK:  A workers’ enquiry for a Just Transition, Decarbonising-Defence.co.uk•  Wortley Hall, the Worker’s Stately home, a member of the co-operative union•. US Defense Secretary Called Europe ‘Pathetic.”  Two BU Experts on Whether the Alliance Is Damaged, by Rich Barlow, March 27, 2025, Boston University Today•  ‘I will not protect you’:  Trump Threatens to Abandon Nato Allies, Kaitlan Collins, October 11, 2024, CNN  Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders-Executive Producer, Writer;  Sabrina Artel-Supervising Producer; Jeremiah Cothren-Senior Producer; Veronica Delgado-Video Editor, Janet Hernandez-Communications Director; Jeannie Hopper-Audio Director, Podcast & Radio Producer, Audio Editor, Sound Design, Narrator; Sarah Miller-Development Director, Nat Needham-Editor, Graphic Design emeritus; David Neuman-Senior Video Editor, and Rory O’Conner-Senior Consulting Producer. FOLLOW Laura Flanders and FriendsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/Blueky:  https://bsky.app/profile/lfandfriends.bsky.socialFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraFlandersAndFriends/Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lauraflandersandfriendsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lgLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lauraflandersandfriendsPatreon:   https://www.patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriendsACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

Synopsis:  Fifty years ago, factory floor workers at Lucas Aerospace challenged their company's focus on war machines with an innovative plan for socially useful production - and it could be just as relevant today.Full Conversation Release: While our weekly shows are edited to time for broadcast on Public TV and community radio, we offer to our members and podcast subscribers the full uncut conversation. These audio exclusives are made possible thanks to our member supporters.Description [original release date July 2025]:  Military budgets are skyrocketing across the globe, while funding for social needs—housing, healthcare, education—is being slashed. Politicians often justify this skewed spending by claiming it creates jobs. But what if the people doing those jobs had a say in how public money was used?Fifty years ago, workers at Lucas Aerospace, a U.K. military contractor, designed a visionary proposal known as the Lucas Plan: a worker-led alternative focused on socially useful production rather than weapons of war.In our special report, The Lucas Plan at 50: A Radical Investment in Society, Not the War Machine, Laura spoke with Brian Salisbury, a former Lucas Aerospace shop steward and one of the voices behind that groundbreaking effort. He comes from a proud family of Lucas workers: his father worked there for over 40 years. He himself worked for the company for 22 years at the Birmingham plant. At 90 years old today He says: “At a time when there’s a lack of a political alternative narrative to neoliberalism the opportunity to put forward a response from the “bottom up” is essential given the direction of travel by those in power on either side of the Atlantic.”What follows is the full, uncut conversation with Brian—rich with lessons for today’s movements for climate justice, peace, and economic democracy.Guest:  Brian Salisbury: Former Lucas Aerospace Shop Steward SPECIAL THANKS: Karen Bell, Joe Guinan, Steve Schofield ADDITIONAL CREW: Stanley Arlidge - Episode Producer, Clementine Malpas, Tiger Nest Films Full Episode Notes are located HERE.  Recommended book:• “The Lucas Plan: A New Trade Unionism in the Making?” by Hilary Wainwright and Dave Elliott, Learn More Related Laura Flanders Show Episodes:Democracy & Capitalism: A Failed Experiment?:  Watch / Listen:  Uncut Conversation - EpisodeCommunity Wealth Building: An Economic Reset:  Watch / Listen:  Uncut Conversation - EpisodeDollars and Democracy: Participatory Budgeting:  Watch / Listen:  Episode•  From Cleveland, OH to Preston, UK.  Community Wealth Building, Watch / Listen: Episode Related Articles and Resources:• A Lucas Plan For the Twenty First Century From Asset Manager Arsenal to Green Industrial Strategy, by Khern Rogsly, October 2024 - Common Welath•  The Lucas Plan the Way to an Alternative Security Strategy, by Khem Royally, December 11, 2024, Rethinking Security• UK to cut green levies on businesses in bid to reduce energy costs and boost manufacturing, by Jessica Elgot and Rob Davies, June 22, 2025, The Guardian•. Decarbonising and diversifying defense in the US and the UK:  A workers’ enquiry for a Just Transition, Decarbonising-Defence.co.uk•  Wortley Hall, the Worker’s Stately home, a member of the co-operative union•. US Defense Secretary Called Europe ‘Pathetic.”  Two BU Experts on Whether the Alliance Is Damaged, by Rich Barlow, March 27, 2025, Boston University Today•  ‘I will not protect you’:  Trump Threatens to Abandon Nato Allies, Kaitlan Collins, October 11, 2024, CNN  Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders-Executive Producer, Writer;  Sabrina Artel-Supervising Producer; Jeremiah Cothren-Senior Producer; Veronica Delgado-Video Editor, Janet Hernandez-Communications Director; Jeannie Hopper-Audio Director, Podcast & Radio Producer, Audio Editor, Sound Design, Narrator; Sarah Miller-Development Director, Nat Needham-Editor, Graphic Design emeritus; David Neuman-Senior Video Editor, and Rory O’Conner-Senior Consulting Producer. FOLLOW Laura Flanders and FriendsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/Blueky:  https://bsky.app/profile/lfandfriends.bsky.socialFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraFlandersAndFriends/Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lauraflandersandfriendsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lgLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lauraflandersandfriendsPatreon:   https://www.patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriendsACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

Description:  Originally released in 2024, this episode is re-released in 2025 to honor the lives and legacy of Rob Reiner and Michele Reiner, whose sudden deaths are deeply felt. We share this conversation again to uplift the vital work they brought into the world.How does a religion rooted in love and peace become a force that fuels political violence, as seen on January 6, 2021? In the documentary God & Country, producer Rob Reiner and director Dan Partland, examine the rise of Christian Nationalism — a dangerous fusion of patriarchal White Nationalism and messianic faith. Based on Katherine Stewart’s The Power Worshippers, the film reveals how this movement threatens both secular democracy and Christianity itself.Rob Reiner — Emmy-winning actor, acclaimed director, and lifelong defender of democratic values — devoted his later years to confronting authoritarianism. Michele Reiner, also a producer on God & Country, was a vital creative and moral force behind the film and this episode. Their work, and their warning, remain urgent in 2025 as the consequences of the 2024 election continue to unfold.The episode closes with Laura Flanders on why civic engagement matters now more than ever.Guests:•  Dan Partland: Director, God & Country•  Rob Reiner: Producer, God & Country• Full Conversation-  LISTENMake a tax deductible YEAR END DONATION and become a member, go to LauraFlanders.org/donate. This show is made possible thanks to you!  *Recommended book:“The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism” by Katherine Stewart,  Get the Book(*Bookshop is an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. The LF Show is an affiliate of bookshop.org and will receive a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.)Related Laura Flanders Show Episodes:•  Lisa Graves: The Extremist Revolution & Democracy Hanging by a Thread, Watch  /  Listen-Download Podcast•  Congressman Jamie Raskin On January 6th: After a Failed Coup, a Successful One?, Watch / Listen-Download Podcast•  How Radical Self Love Can Heal the World, Watch  /  Listen-Download PodcastRelated Articles and Resources:•  ‘God & Country,’ the Movie, List of Theater by zipcode  Information Here•  Stop the Coup 2025 - Stop Project 2025 - Get Involved / Learn More Here• All of Us, Organizing to Counter White Christian Nationalism and Build a Pro-Democracy Society, by Organizing All of Us, PDF Download•  Why a Group of Christians Is Fighting the Growing Threat of Christian Nationalism, by Vera Bergengruen, January 6, 2021, TIME Magazine, Read Here•  White Christian Nationalism:  Attacking our Democracy, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Learn More Here•  BJC (Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, Learn More Here Support Laura Flanders and Friends by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/c/lauraflandersandfriends  Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders-Executive Producer, Writer;  Sabrina Artel-Supervising Producer; Jeremiah Cothren-Senior Producer; Veronica Delgado-Video Editor, Janet Hernandez-Communications Director; Jeannie Hopper-Audio Director, Podcast & Radio Producer, Audio Editor, Sound Design, Narrator; Sarah Miller-Development Director, Nat Needham-Editor, Graphic Design emeritus; David Neuman-Senior Video Editor, and Rory O’Conner-Senior Consulting Producer. FOLLOW Laura Flanders and FriendsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/Blueky:  https://bsky.app/profile/lfandfriends.bsky.socialFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraFlandersAndFriends/Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lauraflandersandfriendsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lgLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lauraflandersandfriendsPatreon:   https://www.patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriendsACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

Indivisible’s Ezra Levin and Hungarian organizer László Upor share creative, community-driven tactics — from joyful protests to bold campus actions — that pushed back against autocratic agendas. Their message: you have more power than you think.Make a tax deductible YEAR END DONATION and become a member go to LauraFlanders.org/donate. This show is made possible by you! Description: If you care about resisting autocracy and building democracy, the U.S. has much to learn from Hungary. While Donald Trump rails against Europe, he and Hungary’s strongman leader, Viktor Orbán, have praised each other for years. Anti-democratic, anti-immigrant, anti-woman, anti-queer — Orbán and Trump came to power on parallel tracks with similar values. In their first interview together, Ezra Levin, the co-founder of Indivisible (the group behind No Kings!) and László Upor, a leader in one of Hungary’s most creative and visible resistance efforts, share their experiences of resisting authoritarianism. Upor is former Vice Rector and Acting Rector of the University of Theatre and Film Arts in Budapest — the one university that fought back when the Orbán administration began taking control of Hungary’s universities. Levin is the co-founder and co-executive director of Indivisible, the grassroots movement behind such protests as the historic Hands Off and No Kings rallies. From the principles of their organizing to frog suits and caution tape, today’s episode is a masterclass in creative resistance. Plus a commentary from Laura.“Our enemy in this isn't Trump, it's not the Republicans. It's not the broader regime. Our enemy is this sense of cynicism or fatalism or nihilism . . . I do think a core principle in our communication philosophy is convincing people, you have power, you just gotta use it. The best way to use it is in concert with a lot of other people in your community.” - Ezra Levin“You have to laugh at them, not be afraid of them . . . They don't understand mirth. They don't understand the derision. They think they are invincible. And when we don't give in, they don't understand what's going on.” - László UpperGuests:• Ezra Levin: Co-Founder & Co-Executive Director, Indivisible• László Upor: Former Vice Rector & Acting Rector, University of Theatre and Film Arts (SzFE), Budapest, HungaryListen to the full uncut conversation in this podcast feed.Watch the episode released on YouTube, PBS World Channel, and on over 300 public stations across the country (check your listings, or search here via zipcode). Listen: Episode airing on community radio (check here to see if your station airs the show) & available as a podcast.Full Episode Notes are located HERE.Music Credit: “Give In to What is Real” by STR4TA from their album Aspects released on Brownswood Recordings, "Steppin" by Podington Bear, and original sound design by Jeannie HopperSupport Laura Flanders and Friends by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/c/lauraflandersandfriends RESOURCES:* Recommended Book:“We Are Indivisible: A Blueprint for Democracy After Trump” by Leah Greenberg and Ezra Levin, Get the Book*(*Bookshop is an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. The LF Show is an affiliate of bookshop.org and will receive a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.) Related Laura Flanders Show Episodes:• Congresswoman Jayapal & Marine Veteran Goldbeck: Standing Together Against the Administration’s War on Civilians:  Watch / Listen:  Full uncut interview and Episode cut• Masha Gessen & Jason Stanley: Is it Doomsday for U.S. Democracy?: Watch / Listen:  Full uncut interview and Episode cut • Dolores Huerta & Ellen Gavin: Creative Courage in the Face of Fascism:  Watch / Listen:  Full uncut interview and Episode cut   Related Articles and Resources:•  Indivisible:  A Practical Guide to Democracy on the Brink:  Strategies, Tactics, & Tips for How Everyday Americans Can Fight Back Together Wherever We Live, lead authors Leah & Ezra -co-founders of Indivisible, Download the PDF and Audio Version•  The Three R’s Framework by Scot Nakagawa, October 1, 2025, Substack•. Countering Authocratization:  Lessons from the 2025 Harvard Nonviolent Action Lab Summit, October 16, 2025, Harvard Kennedy School:  Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation•  Learning Republic: Students and Teachers from Hungary’s Theater and Film University Build an Alternative to Autocracy, by Alisa Solomon, Theater Magazine•  The Government Took Over Their University.  Here’s How These Students Fought Back, by Todd London, September 16, 2025, Howlround Theatre Commons• How to save the news.  The internet has become a tool of misinformation and mass surveillance.  A global initiative seeks to change that. by Marta Peirano, November 5, 2025, Prospect Avenue•  Artists Against Authoritarianism: A Talk by László Upor, September 2, 2025, Columbia University School of the Arts  Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders-Executive Producer, Writer;  Sabrina Artel-Supervising Producer; Jeremiah Cothren-Senior Producer; Veronica Delgado-Video Editor, Janet Hernandez-Communications Director; Jeannie Hopper-Audio Director, Podcast & Radio Producer, Audio Editor, Sound Design, Narrator; Sarah Miller-Development Director, Nat Needham-Editor, Graphic Design emeritus; David Neuman-Senior Video Editor, and Rory O’Conner-Senior Consulting Producer. FOLLOW Laura Flanders and FriendsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/Blueky:  https://bsky.app/profile/lfandfriends.bsky.socialFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraFlandersAndFriends/Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lauraflandersandfriendsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lgLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lauraflandersandfriendsPatreon:   https://www.patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriendsACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

Synopsis:  If you’re worried about authoritarianism, this episode reminds you that people-powered resistance still wins. Indivisible’s Ezra Levin and Hungarian organizer László Upor share creative, community-driven tactics — from joyful protests to bold campus actions — that pushed back against autocratic agendas. Their message: you have more power than you think.Make a tax deductible YEAR END DONATION and become a member go to LauraFlanders.org/donate. This show is made possible by you! Description: If you care about resisting autocracy and building democracy, the U.S. has much to learn from Hungary. While Donald Trump rails against Europe, he and Hungary’s strongman leader, Viktor Orbán, have praised each other for years. Anti-democratic, anti-immigrant, anti-woman, anti-queer — Orbán and Trump came to power on parallel tracks with similar values. In their first interview together, Ezra Levin, the co-founder of Indivisible (the group behind No Kings!) and László Upor, a leader in one of Hungary’s most creative and visible resistance efforts, share their experiences of resisting authoritarianism. Upor is former Vice Rector and Acting Rector of the University of Theatre and Film Arts in Budapest — the one university that fought back when the Orbán administration began taking control of Hungary’s universities. Levin is the co-founder and co-executive director of Indivisible, the grassroots movement behind such protests as the historic Hands Off and No Kings rallies. From the principles of their organizing to frog suits and caution tape, today’s episode is a masterclass in creative resistance. Plus a commentary from Laura.“Our enemy in this isn't Trump, it's not the Republicans. It's not the broader regime. Our enemy is this sense of cynicism or fatalism or nihilism . . . I do think a core principle in our communication philosophy is convincing people, you have power, you just gotta use it. The best way to use it is in concert with a lot of other people in your community.” - Ezra Levin“You have to laugh at them, not be afraid of them . . . They don't understand mirth. They don't understand the derision. They think they are invincible. And when we don't give in, they don't understand what's going on.” - László UpperGuests:• Ezra Levin: Co-Founder & Co-Executive Director, Indivisible• László Upor: Former Vice Rector & Acting Rector, University of Theatre and Film Arts (SzFE), Budapest, Hungary Watch the episode released on YouTube; PBS World Channel December 14th, and on over 300 public stations across the country (check your listings, or search here via zipcode). Listen: Episode airing on community radio (check here to see if your station airs the show) & available as a podcast December 17th.Full Episode Notes are located HERE.Music Credit:  'Thrum of Soil' by Bluedot Sessions, 'Steppin' by Podington Bear, and original sound design by Jeannie HopperSupport Laura Flanders and Friends by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/c/lauraflandersandfriends RESOURCES:* Recommended Book:“We Are Indivisible: A Blueprint for Democracy After Trump” by Leah Greenberg and Ezra Levin, Get the Book*(*Bookshop is an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. The LF Show is an affiliate of bookshop.org and will receive a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.) Related Laura Flanders Show Episodes:• Congresswoman Jayapal & Marine Veteran Goldbeck: Standing Together Against the Administration’s War on Civilians:  Watch / Listen:  Full uncut interview and Episode cut• Masha Gessen & Jason Stanley: Is it Doomsday for U.S. Democracy?: Watch / Listen:  Full uncut interview and Episode cut • Dolores Huerta & Ellen Gavin: Creative Courage in the Face of Fascism:  Watch / Listen:  Full uncut interview and Episode cut   Related Articles and Resources:•  Indivisible:  A Practical Guide to Democracy on the Brink:  Strategies, Tactics, & Tips for How Everyday Americans Can Fight Back Together Wherever We Live, lead authors Leah & Ezra -co-founders of Indivisible, Download the PDF and Audio Version•  The Three R’s Framework by Scot Nakagawa, October 1, 2025, Substack•. Countering Authocratization:  Lessons from the 2025 Harvard Nonviolent Action Lab Summit, October 16, 2025, Harvard Kennedy School:  Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation•  Learning Republic: Students and Teachers from Hungary’s Theater and Film University Build an Alternative to Autocracy, by Alisa Solomon, Theater Magazine•  The Government Took Over Their University.  Here’s How These Students Fought Back, by Todd London, September 16, 2025, Howlround Theatre Commons• How to save the news.  The internet has become a tool of misinformation and mass surveillance.  A global initiative seeks to change that. by Marta Peirano, November 5, 2025, Prospect Avenue•  Artists Against Authoritarianism: A Talk by László Upor, September 2, 2025, Columbia University School of the ArtsChapters:Parallels Between Trump and Orbán: The Need for Resistance00:00:00Ezra Levin on Indivisible's Start and Current Focus00:02:25László Upor on Creative Resistance at Hungarian University00:07:09Why Ridicule and Joy are Key to Fighting Authoritarianism00:11:03László Upor on Creating a Free Society After University Takeover00:22:42Identifying the Cracks in Trump and Orbán's Power00:28:27Discussing Coalition Building and Tactical Innovation in Activism00:34:22Boycotts and the Future Story of Liberal Democracy00:42:49  Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders-Executive Producer, Writer;  Sabrina Artel-Supervising Producer; Jeremiah Cothren-Senior Producer; Veronica Delgado-Video Editor, Janet Hernandez-Communications Director; Jeannie Hopper-Audio Director, Podcast & Radio Producer, Audio Editor, Sound Design, Narrator; Sarah Miller-Development Director, Nat Needham-Editor, Graphic Design emeritus; David Neuman-Senior Video Editor, and Rory O’Conner-Senior Consulting Producer. FOLLOW Laura Flanders and FriendsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/Blueky:  https://bsky.app/profile/lfandfriends.bsky.socialFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraFlandersAndFriends/Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lauraflandersandfriendsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lgLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lauraflandersandfriendsPatreon:   https://www.patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriendsACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

Synopsis:  “Wealth Supremacy”: Uncovering How The Global Economic System Drives InequalityMake a tax deductible YEAR END DONATION and become a member go to LauraFlanders.org/donate. This show is made possible by you! Description [original release date September 8, 2023]: As we look back on this conversation first recorded in 2023 — fifteen years after the 2008 financial crash — its warnings and wisdom feel even more urgent today. The extractive systems that fueled the crisis haven’t disappeared; in many ways, they’ve tightened their grip. But so have the movements, ideas, and communities committed to building something better.In this re-air, Laura revisits a powerful conversation with Marjorie Kelly, author of Wealth Supremacy, and Edgar Villanueva of the Lumbee people and founder of the Decolonizing Wealth Project. Together, they break down “capital bias” — the rules that prioritize wealth over people, manufacturing, and the planet — and explore how this bias continues to deepen inequality and undermine democracy.But they also point toward possibility. If wealth supremacy is a story we’ve been taught, can we unlearn it? What happens when Indigenous perspectives, community-centered economics, and a spiritual shift in how we value life begin to guide our choices? This episode offers not just critique but clarity — and not just urgency but hope.Whether you’re hearing this for the first time or returning with fresh ears, this conversation is here to inform, inspire, and uplift. Change is not only necessary — it’s already underway.“. . . Big capital is out there right now buying water rights . . . Communities are saying no . . . Water needs to be declared a public trust. You have these two completely different worldviews, which show us we can have a financialized world or we can have a democratic world . . .” - Marjorie Kelly “. . . Capitalism was completely founded upon the enslavement of Black people in this country. That is the blueprint for our economy. I don't know how to take racism and harm out of that existing system without completely imagining a new system . . .” - Edgar VillanuevaGuests:Marjorie Kelly: Distinguished Senior Fellow, The Democracy Collaborative; Author, Wealth Supremacy: How the Extractive Economy and the Biased Rules of Capitalism Drive Today’s CrisesEdgar Villanueva (Lumbee): Founder & Principal, Decolonizing Wealth Project *Recommended book:“Wealth Supremacy: How the Extractive Economy and the Biased Rules of Capitalism Drive Today's Crises” by Marjorie Kelly Check out the Book(*Bookshop is an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. The LF Show is an affiliate of bookshop.org and will receive a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.)Related Laura Flanders Show Episodes:•  How to Make a Democratic Economy, Watch / Download Podcast•  Decolonizing Wealth Through Indigenous Leadership: Edgar Villanueva, Watch / Download Podcast•  *Saket Soni:  How Trafficked Workers Pulled Off “The Great Escape”  Watch / Download PodcastRelated Articles and Resources:•  Action guide for advancing Community Wealth Building in the United States, by the Democracy Collaborative  Read Here - Download• “*Private equity profits from climate disaster clean-up – while investing in fossil fuels,” by Nina Lakhani, The Guardian  Read Here*features Sakit Soni•  Ending the extractive economy before it brings an end to us, by Neil McInroy, Democracy Collaborative,  Read Here Support Laura Flanders and Friends by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/c/lauraflandersandfriends  Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders-Executive Producer, Writer;  Sabrina Artel-Supervising Producer; Jeremiah Cothren-Senior Producer; Veronica Delgado-Video Editor, Janet Hernandez-Communications Director; Jeannie Hopper-Audio Director, Podcast & Radio Producer, Audio Editor, Sound Design, Narrator; Sarah Miller-Development Director, Nat Needham-Editor, Graphic Design emeritus; David Neuman-Senior Video Editor, and Rory O’Conner-Senior Consulting Producer. FOLLOW Laura Flanders and FriendsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/Blueky:  https://bsky.app/profile/lfandfriends.bsky.socialFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraFlandersAndFriends/Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lauraflandersandfriendsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lgLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lauraflandersandfriendsPatreon:   https://www.patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriendsACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

Synopsis:  Meet the fearless reporters who dare to shine a light on dark corners of American politics, tracking extremist groups and debunking disinformation with courage and conviction.Make a tax deductible YEAR END DONATION and become a member go to LauraFlanders.org/donate. This show is made possible by you! Description: Today’s guests have paid a price for their reporting on far Right extremists. But if journalists don’t do this critical work, then who will? The Trump administration is deprioritizing domestic terrorism to serve a political agenda, scaling back investigations of far-Right extremism while redirecting DHS agents to immigration crackdowns. As programs tracking domestic extremism are dismantled and January 6 rioters are recast as "patriots," journalists find themselves on the frontlines — and their attackers are now people in power. Jordan Green is an investigative reporter for Raw Story whose coverage on far-Right extremism has spanned from Charlottesville to January 6. He is currently working on a book about militant accelerationism. Green also reported on a story we’ve covered extensively on the show: the attack on two power stations in Moore County, North Carolina. A correspondent for the Texas Observer, investigative journalist Steven Monacelli has been tracking extremism, disinformation, social movements, and the influence of dark money in politics. He received the The Al Neuharth Innovation in Investigative Journalism Award for revealing the identities of far-Right extremists, including government employees. Freelance journalist Amanda Moore embedded with the far Right in 2020 and has faced backlash from far-Right groups for her reporting. Her reporting at present focuses on ICE and Border Control, and her work has appeared in the Nation, Politico, and the Intercept. Join us for this chilling conversation on threats against journalists and the implications for democracy, plus a commentary from Laura.Guests:•  Jordan Green: Investigative Journalist, Raw Story•  Steven Monacelli: Freelance Investigative Journalist; Correspondent, The Texas Observer;  publisher of Protean Magazine, a nonprofit literary magazine; co-founder of Apprentice Creative Space•  Amanda Moore: Freelance Investigative Journalist Watch the episode released on YouTube; airing on PBS World Channel 11:30am ET, and on over 300 public stations across the country (check your listings, or search here via zipcode). Listen: Episode airing on community radio (check here to see if your station airs the show) & available as a podcast December 10th.Full Episode Notes are located HERE.Music Credit: “Logue” by Tom Skinner featuring Contour from the album Kaleidoscopic Visions released on Brownswood Recordings, "Steppin" by Podington Bear, and original sound design by Jeannie Hopper Support Laura Flanders and Friends by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/c/lauraflandersandfriends RESOURCES:Related Laura Flanders Show Episodes:•  Power Grids Under Attack: The Threat is Domestic Terrorism – Not Drag Artists:  Watch / Listen:  Episode Cut•  What is Political Violence? Uncovering MAGA Militancy & Strategies to Protect Democracy:  Watch / Listen:  Episode Cut and Full Uncut Conversation•  Congresswoman Jayapal & Marine Vet Goldbeck: Standing Against the Administration’s War on Civilians:  Watch / Listen:  Episode Cut and Full Uncut ConversationRelated Articles and Resources:•  I’ve Seen How the Neo-Nazi Movement Is Escalating. You Should Worry.  By Jordan Green, July 14, 2025, The Assembly NC•  Pentagon Marine tied to ‘6 bullets to head’ threat against Pete Hegseth won’t face probe, by Jordan Green, November 7, 2025, Raw Story•. Ex-Soldier linked to far-right groups pleads guilty to gun charge, by Jordan Green, September 17, 2205, Raw Story•  I Was Banned From CPAC, but the Extremists Weren’t, by Amanda Moore, February 27, 2024, The Nation•  Undercover With the New Alt-Right, by Amanda Moore, August 22, 2023, The Nation•  Trump Inauguration Official’s “Phony Charity” Allegedly Pocketed East Palestine Train Disaster Funds, by Amanda Moore, January 19, 2025, The Intercept•  Revealed:  The Operators Behind Four Major Neo-Nazi X Accounts, by Steven Monacelli and Tristan Lee, December 4, 2024, Texas Observer•  The GOP Mega Donor Behind The Big to Break Dallas City Government, by Steven Monacelli, October 14, 2024, Texas Observer•  Parker County ‘White Nationalist Fight Club’ Leader Exposed, by Steven Monacelli, February 15, 2024, Texas Observer•  “The Federal Government Is Gone:  Under Trump, the Fight Against Extremist Violence Is Left Up to the States, by Hannah Allam, May 29, 2025, ProPublica•  How MAGA Took Over America’s 250th Birthday, by Amanda Moore and Dan Friedman, June 13, 2025, Mother Jones  Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders-Executive Producer, Writer;  Sabrina Artel-Supervising Producer; Jeremiah Cothren-Senior Producer; Veronica Delgado-Video Editor, Janet Hernandez-Communications Director; Jeannie Hopper-Audio Director, Podcast & Radio Producer, Audio Editor, Sound Design, Narrator; Sarah Miller-Development Director, Nat Needham-Editor, Graphic Design emeritus; David Neuman-Senior Video Editor, and Rory O’Conner-Senior Consulting Producer. FOLLOW Laura Flanders and FriendsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/Blueky:  https://bsky.app/profile/lfandfriends.bsky.socialFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraFlandersAndFriends/Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lauraflandersandfriendsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lgLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lauraflandersandfriendsPatreon:   https://www.patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriendsACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

Synopsis:  Journalists Investigating Far-Right Extremism Face Growing Threats: As the Trump administration scales back investigations into far-right extremist groups, journalists on the front lines are facing increased attacks and threats from powerful figures.Make a tax deductible YEAR END DONATION and become a member go to LauraFlanders.org/donate. This show is made possible by you! Description: Today’s guests have paid a price for their reporting on far Right extremists. But if journalists don’t do this critical work, then who will? The Trump administration is deprioritizing domestic terrorism to serve a political agenda, scaling back investigations of far-Right extremism while redirecting DHS agents to immigration crackdowns. As programs tracking domestic extremism are dismantled and January 6 rioters are recast as "patriots," journalists find themselves on the frontlines — and their attackers are now people in power. Jordan Green is an investigative reporter for Raw Story whose coverage on far-Right extremism has spanned from Charlottesville to January 6. He is currently working on a book about militant accelerationism. Green also reported on a story we’ve covered extensively on the show: the attack on two power stations in Moore County, North Carolina. A correspondent for the Texas Observer, investigative journalist Steven Monacelli has been tracking extremism, disinformation, social movements, and the influence of dark money in politics. He received the The Al Neuharth Innovation in Investigative Journalism Award for revealing the identities of far-Right extremists, including government employees. Freelance journalist Amanda Moore embedded with the far Right in 2020 and has faced backlash from far-Right groups for her reporting. Her reporting at present focuses on ICE and Border Control, and her work has appeared in the Nation, Politico, and the Intercept. Join us for this chilling conversation on threats against journalists and the implications for democracy, plus a commentary from Laura.Guests:•  Jordan Green: Investigative Journalist, Raw Story•  Steven Monacelli: Freelance Investigative Journalist; Correspondent, The Texas Observer;  publisher of Protean Magazine, a nonprofit literary magazine; co-founder of Apprentice Creative Space•  Amanda Moore: Freelance Investigative Journalist Full Conversation Release: While our weekly shows are edited to time for broadcast on Public TV and community radio, we offer to our members and podcast subscribers the full uncut conversation. These audio exclusives are made possible thanks to our member supporters. Watch the episode released on YouTube; PBS World Channel December 7th, and on over 300 public stations across the country (check your listings, or search here via zipcode). Listen: Episode airing on community radio (check here to see if your station airs the show) & available as a podcast December 10th.Full Episode Notes are located HERE.Music Credit:  'Thrum of Soil' by Bluedot Sessions, and original sound design by Jeannie Hopper Support Laura Flanders and Friends by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/c/lauraflandersandfriends RESOURCES:Related Laura Flanders Show Episodes:•  Power Grids Under Attack: The Threat is Domestic Terrorism – Not Drag Artists:  Watch / Listen:  Episode Cut•  What is Political Violence? Uncovering MAGA Militancy & Strategies to Protect Democracy:  Watch / Listen:  Episode Cut and Full Uncut Conversation•  Congresswoman Jayapal & Marine Vet Goldbeck: Standing Against the Administration’s War on Civilians:  Watch / Listen:  Episode Cut and Full Uncut ConversationRelated Articles and Resources:•  I’ve Seen How the Neo-Nazi Movement Is Escalating. You Should Worry.  By Jordan Green, July 14, 2025, The Assembly NC•  Pentagon Marine tied to ‘6 bullets to head’ threat against Pete Hegseth won’t face probe, by Jordan Green, November 7, 2025, Raw Story•. Ex-Soldier linked to far-right groups pleads guilty to gun charge, by Jordan Green, September 17, 2205, Raw Story•  I Was Banned From CPAC, but the Extremists Weren’t, by Amanda Moore, February 27, 2024, The Nation•  Undercover With the New Alt-Right, by Amanda Moore, August 22, 2023, The Nation•  Trump Inauguration Official’s “Phony Charity” Allegedly Pocketed East Palestine Train Disaster Funds, by Amanda Moore, January 19, 2025, The Intercept•  Revealed:  The Operators Behind Four Major Neo-Nazi X Accounts, by Steven Monacelli and Tristan Lee, December 4, 2024, Texas Observer•  The GOP Mega Donor Behind The Big to Break Dallas City Government, by Steven Monacelli, October 14, 2024, Texas Observer•  Parker County ‘White Nationalist Fight Club’ Leader Exposed, by Steven Monacelli, February 15, 2024, Texas Observer•  “The Federal Government Is Gone:  Under Trump, the Fight Against Extremist Violence Is Left Up to the States, by Hannah Allam, May 29, 2025, ProPublica•  How MAGA Took Over America’s 250th Birthday, by Amanda Moore and Dan Friedman, June 13, 2025, Mother Jones CHAPTERS:00:00:00Defending Democracy Through Investigative Journalism00:03:17Journalists Share Harrowing Personal Attacks and Harassment00:05:59Amanda Moore Details Her Personal Doxxing and Swatting00:09:46Uncovering Neo-Nazi Infrastructure Attacks and Youth Radicalization00:12:11From Fringe to Power: Dark Money and Political Influence00:14:29How Attacking Journalists Hides Government Failures00:17:53Powerful Figures and Government Inaction Fueling Threats00:21:03Strategies for Journalists and Supporting Independent Reporting00:26:01Journalists' Ongoing Investigations into Extremism and Corruption00:32:29Reflecting on the Future of Journalism and Society00:37:34Amanda Moore's Stalker and Supporting Independent Journalism00:42:34  Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders-Executive Producer, Writer;  Sabrina Artel-Supervising Producer; Jeremiah Cothren-Senior Producer; Veronica Delgado-Video Editor, Janet Hernandez-Communications Director; Jeannie Hopper-Audio Director, Podcast & Radio Producer, Audio Editor, Sound Design, Narrator; Sarah Miller-Development Director, Nat Needham-Editor, Graphic Design emeritus; David Neuman-Senior Video Editor, and Rory O’Conner-Senior Consulting Producer. FOLLOW Laura Flanders and FriendsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/Blueky:  https://bsky.app/profile/lfandfriends.bsky.socialFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraFlandersAndFriends/Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lauraflandersandfriendsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lgLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lauraflandersandfriendsPatreon:   https://www.patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriendsACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

Synopsis:  In a call to action, Sara Nelson urges workers to move beyond defense and set the agenda for change, declaring "our world is burning" but asserting that collective power can be used to create a better future.Make a tax deductible YEAR END DONATION and become a member go to LauraFlanders.org/donate. This show is made possible by you! Description [original release date July 2025]: Sara Nelson knows how to leverage worker power — and so do the 55,000 flight attendants she represents. A union member since 1996, she’s been the International President of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO since 2014. You may remember her integral role in threatening a strike, which helped pressure the Trump administration to end the 2019 government shutdown. But under the second Trump term, the administration plans to gut many government agencies and has canceled one million contracts for federal workers so far. “We have to understand that if one group is under attack, we're next,” she tells Laura Flanders in this exclusive interview. “So we have to rush to each other's sides.” In this episode, Nelson and Flanders explore labor movement tactics and strategies, wins and losses, and why general strikes and cross-industry worker solidarity are critical in this moment. What is her message and her mission for 2025? All that, plus a commentary from Laura on floods and profits.“We have to understand that if one group is under attack, we're next. So we have to rush to each other's sides. But we can also turn this around and not just be on defense. . . We are in a crisis. Yeah. Our world is burning. We can actually set the agenda and make things better.”Guest:  Sara Nelson: International President of the Association of Flight Attendants- (AFA-CWA) (representing 55,000 Flight Attendants at 20 airlines)  Watch the episode released on YouTube July 18th 5pm ET; PBS World Channel July 20th, and on over 300 public stations across the country (check your listings, or search here via zipcode). Listen: Episode airing on community radio (check here to see if your station airs the show) & available as a podcast July 23rd.Full Episode Notes are located HERE.Music Credit: “Be the Change” by Nation Beat from their album Archaic Humans released on Rope a Dope Records, "Steppin" by Podington Bear, and original sound design by Jeannie HopperSupport Laura Flanders and Friends by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/c/lauraflandersandfriendsRESOURCES:*Recommended book:“The Work of Living: Working People Talk about Their Lives and the Year the World Broke” by Maximillian Alvarez, Get the Book*(*Bookshop is an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. The LF Show is an affiliate of bookshop.org and will receive a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.)Related Laura Flanders Show Episodes:• Labor Safety, Project 2025, & the Far Right’s Plot Against Workers: What You Need to Know:  Watch / Listen:  Episode• Labor Movement v. Fascism: Worker Organizers & Labor Educators Are Under Attack: Watch / Listen:  Episode• UAW President Shawn Fain: "Workers are still up against the same billionaires": Watch• Special Report- Bernie Sanders & AOC:  “Fighting Oligarchy” with People Power Watch / Listen:  Special Report, Uncut Interview- Bernie Sanders• Watch: Episode, Bernie Sanders’ Speech at the Fight Oligarchy rally, Kenosha, WI•  Special Report- Labor Movement v. Fascism:  Worker Organizers & Labor Educators Are Under Attack. Watch / Listen   Related Articles and Resources:•  Is America Pissed Off Enough at Trump and Musk for a General Strike?  By Susan Miligan, April 24, 2025, The New Republic•  In Chicago, a Coalition of Unions, Community Organizers, and Riders Have Forced Uber to Come to the Table, by Will Tanzman and Lori Simmons, July 16, 2025, The Nation•  US aviation agency reinstating fired employees after court order, union says, by David Shepardson, March 17, 2025, Reuters•  Unions sue to stop Trump from ending collective bargaining rights for many federal employees, by Tami Luhby, April 4, 2025, CNN• The Sleeping Giant That could Stop Trump’s Agenda in Its Tracks, by Mary Harris, April 25, 2025, SLATE• The Call Is Out for Mass, Simultaneous Strikes in 4 Years, by Sarah Lazare, October 14, 2024, The Nation• How Association of Flight Attendants President Sara Nelson became America’s most powerful voice for labor, by Morgan Clendaniel, September 9, 2024, Fast Company Magazine•  Sara Nelson:  Let’s Show Bosses They’re Lucky to Have Our Work, by Sara Nelson, February 13, 2024, Jacobin Magazine  Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders-Executive Producer, Writer;  Sabrina Artel-Supervising Producer; Jeremiah Cothren-Senior Producer; Veronica Delgado-Video Editor, Janet Hernandez-Communications Director; Jeannie Hopper-Audio Director, Podcast & Radio Producer, Audio Editor, Sound Design, Narrator; Sarah Miller-Development Director, Nat Needham-Editor, Graphic Design emeritus; David Neuman-Senior Video Editor, and Rory O’Conner-Senior Consulting Producer. FOLLOW Laura Flanders and FriendsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/Blueky:  https://bsky.app/profile/lfandfriends.bsky.socialFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraFlandersAndFriends/Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lauraflandersandfriendsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lgLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lauraflandersandfriendsPatreon:   https://www.patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriendsACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

Synopsis:  US Labour Leader Sounds Alarm on Government Attacks.  Sara Nelson's urgent call to action for cross-industry worker solidarity and general strikes as a powerful countermeasure against the Trump administration's plans to gut government agencies ending federal contracts is both timely and crucial.  The uncut conversation includes the entire rich and inspiring discussion ringing in at 50minutes.This show is made possible by you! To become a sustaining member go to LauraFlanders.org/donateFull Conversation Release: While our weekly shows are edited to time for broadcast on Public TV and community radio, we offer to our members and podcast subscribers the full uncut conversation. These audio exclusives are made possible thanks to our member supporters.Description [original release date July 2025]: Sara Nelson knows how to leverage worker power — and so do the 55,000 flight attendants she represents. A union member since 1996, she’s been the International President of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO since 2014. You may remember her integral role in threatening a strike, which helped pressure the Trump administration to end the 2019 government shutdown. But under the second Trump term, the administration plans to gut many government agencies and has canceled one million contracts for federal workers so far. “We have to understand that if one group is under attack, we're next,” she tells Laura Flanders in this exclusive interview. “So we have to rush to each other's sides.” In this episode, Nelson and Flanders explore labor movement tactics and strategies, wins and losses, and why general strikes and cross-industry worker solidarity are critical in this moment. What is her message and her mission for 2025? All that, plus a commentary from Laura on floods and profits.“We have to understand that if one group is under attack, we're next. So we have to rush to each other's sides. But we can also turn this around and not just be on defense. . . We are in a crisis. Yeah. Our world is burning. We can actually set the agenda and make things better.”Guest:  Sara Nelson: International President of the Association of Flight Attendants- (AFA-CWA) (representing 55,000 Flight Attendants at 20 airlines)  Watch the episode released on YouTube July 18th 5pm ET; PBS World Channel July 20th, and on over 300 public stations across the country (check your listings, or search here via zipcode). Listen: Episode airing on community radio (check here to see if your station airs the show) & available as a podcast July 23rd.Full Episode Notes are located HERE. CHAPTERS:2:44 thoughts on today, forward on your mind: 911, lay-offs, bankruptcy & crisis capitalism, fighting back, immigration issues facing colleagues5:29 How safe is flying today?  Safety:  air traffic controllers, pilots, flight attendants.  Attacks on the industry.  Dismantling of departments that help aviation including national weather service, USAID intersecting with rising pandemics.8:27 What is coming in this moment and the cuts to agencies and a move to privatize the national weather service or air traffic controllers.  An opportunity for the labor movement in this moment.11:22 Sara’s origin story and the importance of unions and putting a check on unchecked capitalism.14:00 Union fights for flight attendants including no smoking, weight restrictions, sexism, high heels.  Fighting for ‘rest rules (10 hours of rest)’, health care, pay and pensions.  Cross-Union solidarity. Win for the labor movement, FAA Reauthorization bill.19:06 When we fight we win.  Power mapping then and now in the industry.  Labor movement strategy.21:40. The plight of Air Traffic Controllers in the Reagan years then informing the labor movement now.23:14   The New Deal and union power to the decline of unions. Imbalance of power.  The power of organizing on many levels.  Call to action, ‘what you can do’.  Building labor solidarity.29:40 Union’s in the Trump era.  Now is the moment to lean in, organize and pushing back.Your not going to win if you don’t fight.  Mother Jones and the Colorado miners fight.33:56  Communities rising to the occasion.  Democratic candidate, Zohran Mamdani’s run for Mayor of New York City.   Working class agenda and the spirit of solidarity.37:30 General strikes.  History lessons including Iceland’s Women’s day off. The need for more women and young people to participate in union organizing.41:29  Are there potential allies perhaps like some ICE workers who are expressing moral concerns?  Systems are the problem, not the majority of workers. 44:45 What do you think the future will tell of this moment?49:00 Bonus  RESOURCES:*Recommended book:“The Work of Living: Working People Talk about Their Lives and the Year the World Broke” by Maximillian Alvarez, Get the Book*(*Bookshop is an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. The LF Show is an affiliate of bookshop.org and will receive a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.)Related Laura Flanders Show Episodes:• Labor Safety, Project 2025, & the Far Right’s Plot Against Workers: What You Need to Know:  Watch / Listen:  Episode• Labor Movement v. Fascism: Worker Organizers & Labor Educators Are Under Attack: Watch / Listen:  Episode• UAW President Shawn Fain: "Workers are still up against the same billionaires": Watch• Special Report- Bernie Sanders & AOC:  “Fighting Oligarchy” with People Power Watch / Listen:  Special Report, Uncut Interview- Bernie Sanders• Watch: Episode, Bernie Sanders’ Speech at the Fight Oligarchy rally, Kenosha, WI•  Special Report- Labor Movement v. Fascism:  Worker Organizers & Labor Educators Are Under Attack. Watch / Listen   Related Articles and Resources:•  Is America Pissed Off Enough at Trump and Musk for a General Strike?  By Susan Miligan, April 24, 2025, The New Republic•  In Chicago, a Coalition of Unions, Community Organizers, and Riders Have Forced Uber to Come to the Table, by Will Tanzman and Lori Simmons, July 16, 2025, The Nation•  US aviation agency reinstating fired employees after court order, union says, by David Shepardson, March 17, 2025, Reuters•  Unions sue to stop Trump from ending collective bargaining rights for many federal employees, by Tami Luhby, April 4, 2025, CNN• The Sleeping Giant That could Stop Trump’s Agenda in Its Tracks, by Mary Harris, April 25, 2025, SLATE• The Call Is Out for Mass, Simultaneous Strikes in 4 Years, by Sarah Lazare, October 14, 2024, The Nation• How Association of Flight Attendants President Sara Nelson became America’s most powerful voice for labor, by Morgan Clendaniel, September 9, 2024, Fast Company Magazine•  Sara Nelson:  Let’s Show Bosses They’re Lucky to Have Our Work, by Sara Nelson, February 13, 2024, Jacobin Magazine  Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders-Executive Producer, Writer;  Sabrina Artel-Supervising Producer; Jeremiah Cothren-Senior Producer; Veronica Delgado-Video Editor, Janet Hernandez-Communications Director; Jeannie Hopper-Audio Director, Podcast & Radio Producer, Audio Editor, Sound Design, Narrator; Sarah Miller-Development Director, Nat Needham-Editor, Graphic Design emeritus; David Neuman-Senior Video Editor, and Rory O’Conner-Senior Consulting Producer. FOLLOW Laura Flanders and FriendsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/Blueky:  https://bsky.app/profile/lfandfriends.bsky.socialFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraFlandersAndFriends/Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lauraflandersandfriendsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lgLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lauraflandersandfriendsPatreon:   https://www.patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriendsACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel