The Beautiful Idea

Lake Effect Collective (https://lakeeffect.noblogs.org/) is a Chicago-based group formed in the wake of the Palestine encampments in Chicago in 2024 that has been experimenting with radical political development, writing and analysis for the last few years. Neither an affinity group nor a party, Lake Effect is concerned about increasing capacity for strategic action while interfacing with mass struggle. In this interview, we sit down with them to talk about their model of engagement with anti-deportation and anti-ICE organization in Chicago. Drawing on their recent writings, we discuss how resistance in Chicago has evolved over the past decade from large protests and rapid-response mobilizations toward more targeted confrontations with the infrastructure that enables deportations (such as offices, detention contracts, and transportation hubs). While some disruptions have successfully delayed or stopped deportations, LE members point out that many tactics —especially tech-heavy rapid response systems or symbolic protests — have often failed to build lasting power because they remain reactionary and disconnected from everyday relationships with affected communities.  LE emphasizes that durable resistance depends on relationships of obligation and solidarity that persist beyond individual raids or crises. We speak about their experimentations with a Los Angeles-inspired tactic called "community defense hubs", or "centros." These are physical spaces where neighbors, organizers, and existing anti-deportation networks can gather regularly, build trust, and coordinate practical defense efforts over time. We touch on the importance of grounding organizing spaces in what local communities already need, how to navigate tensions with nonprofits and/or peace-policing tendencies while maintaining autonomy, and the need to balance security with openness. LE members also articulate the importance of being clear and upfront about their politics across different spaces.  This discussion is part of an ongoing series that The Beautiful Idea is developing to explore different kinds of anti-ICE organizing efforts across the US. For more information about Lake Effect's work, please check out their blog at https://lakeeffect.noblogs.org/.

We speak with an organizer based in New Orleans about the community's efforts to confront ICE during a special operation that took place there in December of 2025. Among other topics, we touch on the complicated dynamics of organizing with nonprofit groups, the ways that police operations can impact community defense initiatives, and how NOLA's powerful tradition of mutual aid in the wake of Katrina has transformed into a preventative tactic against ICE kidnappings there. This conversation is part of an ongoing series we're developing on ICE resistance efforts across the country. Stay tuned for more like this soon! In the meantime, consider supporting the upcoming Week of Action in Minneapolis, from February 25th to March 1st. More info here: https://melttheicemn.com/

In this episode we talk to a variety of people on the ground in Minneapolis about their thoughts on the filter blockades and other things happening there currently relating to anti ICE resistance. These reportbacks and recordings were done between January 24 through February 5th.  For more info on filter blockades, check out this great recent piece by Crimethinc  https://crimethinc.com/2026/02/06/filter-blockades-a-tactic-from-the-twin-cities-to-fight-ice-and-defend-your-neighborhood#a-step-by-step-guide This is part of an ongoing series on ICE/DHS activity, the ways it varies in local conditions, and how that interplays with local histories and dynamics of resistance. Music in this episode: Texture Freq - So What? It's the Future https://texturefreq.bandcamp.com YP Engineering - Tim Walz https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lqrqct0mGTAPc0IrRx7G6AcKtrkgzhyg8&si=Z7p7PrquBdTkVNb- Carsie Blanton - Come Out Ye Cowards ICE https://carsieblanton.bandcamp.com Intro music by Breakaway and Seaside Tryst

In this episode we sit down with a member of Crimethinc to discuss the first year of the second Trump administration. In many ways the speed, severity, and violence of the first year has made the situation difficult to understand comprehensively. So, instead of just focusing on the swirl of events over the past 12 months, we are going to go back to the roots of what's happening today, the rise of neoliberalism. To make sense of everything we have experienced over the last year we start with events that occurred almost 40 years ago, with the fall of the Soviet Union and the rise of neoliberalism to primacy. This started a dynamic in which wealth has been increasingly concentrated in the hands of a shrinking number, in which cost of living is rising and wages are not keeping up, in which debt has come to be the mechanism used to fill in those financial gaps. Combined with an increasing scarcity of resources neoliberalism has led to a world in which those with resources and investments are capable of mobilizing state violence to protect and expand those interests in conflict with an increasingly desperate populace. Since the Obama administration and the financial crisis of 2008 capital and power has accelerated the dynamic of concentration, setting the stage for the invasions of American cities, the brutalization of our communities, and the serial violation of "rights" that many of us thought of as inviolable. Also during this period movements have arisen to oppose this concentration of power and wealth every step of the way. From the fights in the streets during the global anti-capitalist movement to the parks of Occupy, the barricades of the movements against the police in 2014 and 2020, or on the plains at Standing Rock, a dynamic of conflict has emerged along with the logistics and knowledge to sustain prolonged conflict with the state. This is all setting the stage for what is happening in Minneapolis, where the DHS has deployed all available units, and still cannot control the streets. We finish our discussion talking about the implications of what is happening in Minneapolis and how this might just become a quagmire that the administration cannot commit more to or pull itself out of without significant costs. We recorded this before the brutal ICE execution of Alex Pretti. Since then the people of Minneapolis have fought bravely in the streets against ICE, as well as the state police and local cops.  https://crimethinc.com/2026/01/25/minneapolis-responds-to-the-murder-of-alex-pretti-an-eyewitness-account For more on what is happening in Minneapolis check out Crimethinc (https://crimethinc.com) , Unicorn Riot (https://unicornriot.ninja) and tune in to this show as we bring you all updates from the ground.

In this episode, we speak with some organizers involved in anti-ICE resistance at the peak of the show-downs in Minneapolis, one week after ICE agents killed Renee Good, and 20 minutes after Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis was shot. We discuss some of the ways that people in the city are escalating their engagement with ICE, how local police are engaging (or not) with ICE activity, and ways that people elsewhere can best support Minneapolis and prepare for further crackdowns in their own cities. Please check out the links below for ways to support people on the ground in Minneapolis right now: -Venmo @mplsfamilysupport to support young mothers whose families have been ruptured by ice abductions. They are being faced with caring for their children alone, while not being able to work or leave their homes for fear of being disappeared as ICE raids continue to escalate.  -Venmo @twincitiessolidarity to help buy supplies and community infrastructure for ongoing mutual aid efforts in the face of the ICE siege -Venmo @Chef-Collective-1123 or CashApp $ChefCollective1123 to source supplies for increasing requests for Shelter in Place Grocery Packs (coming in with greater frequency as people run out of food at home) -https://www.standwithminnesota.com/ (links to a bunch of crowdfunding and direct fundraising asks, in order of most need) Current raffle fundraisers — (close Jan 28th) -https://www.instagram.com/p/DTixS5tFWgo/?img_index=1 -https://www.instagram.com/p/DTdoCR7iSA-/?img_index=1 Please check out the links below for recent articles on ICE raids and rapid response networks in the Twin Cities: -"Rapid Response Networks in the Twin Cities: A Guide to an Updated Model" https://crimethinc.com/2026/01/15/rapid-response-networks-in-the-twin-cities-a-guide-to-an-updated-model -"North Minneapolis Chases Out ICE: A Firsthand Account of the Response to Another ICE Shooting" https://crimethinc.com/2026/01/15/north-minneapolis-chases-out-ice-a-firsthand-account-of-the-response-to-another-ice-shooting -"Minneapolis Responds to ICE Committing Murder: An Account From the Streets" https://crimethinc.com/2026/01/08/minneapolis-responds-to-ice-committing-murder-an-account-from-the-streets Check out further reading about the Prairieland Case, several people facing charges related to an anti-ICE demo in Texas: -https://haters.noblogs.org/post/2025/12/11/beneath-the-prairie-the-concrete/

We are at a moment of impasse, a time where political spaces and dynamics are shifting drastically. In the past months we have seen military units deploy to streets, the DOJ get used as an overt weapon of the administration, and terrorism laws being openly utilized to suppress anarchist movements. At the same time, there is a distinct sense in which the state, and this current administration, is breaking the state apart while they are trying to consolidate control over it. We are stuck in a race between administrative authoritarianism and the collapse of the American state as we understand it. The result has been a situation that is kinetic rather than definitive, in which the conditions of politics change into terms that are more material and less clear, which differ from place to place, and in which situational awareness becomes paramount for anyone attempting to act directly and effectively. At times like this it makes sense to do something anarchists have been doing for decades, delving into operational theory. Operational theory is often described as the space that exists between strategy (large-scale movements over time) and tactics (the immediate techniques of fighting). It is a space in which we focus on dynamics, terrains, logistics, in an attempt not to pin an enemy down to simple categories, but to understand ourselves as acting in an environment that shapes those enemies, and ourselves, in very specific hyper-localized ways.  In this discussion we will be sitting down with an editor for the upcoming publication BREACH Digest to talk a little bit about operational theory. We discuss what operational theory is, the history of anarchists studying the operational arts, and some resources that you can get into if you want to dig deeper.  BREACH Digest is a forthcoming publication with a release scheduled in the coming months. To follow their work go to their website, https://breachdigest.noblogs.org/, for more details. Further Reading Carl von Clausewitz On War https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1946/1946-h/1946-h.htm Antoine-Henri Jomini The Art of War https://www.gutenberg.org/files/13549/13549-h/13549-h.htm RAND Corporation on Netwar and Swarming https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/monograph_reports/MR1382/RAND_MR1382.pdf https://www.rand.org/pubs/documented_briefings/DB311.html Institute for the Study of Insurgent Warfare https://theanarchistlibrary.org/category/author/institute-for-the-study-of-insurgent-warfare Links to works by Col. John Boyd on organic command and control and the OODA loop https://www.colonelboyd.com/boydswork US Military Counterinsurgency Manual https://irp.fas.org/doddir/army/fm3-24.pdf

We're back after a brief summer break! The war in Ukraine is often, like many conflicts, discussed through the lens of foreign policy and the interests of these entities that we call states. This is not the framing that we simply inherit from media, it is one that the Left globally has embraced just as thoroughly as liberals and conservatives. Discussions become echoes of the Cold War, where massive power blocks collide in some geopolitical game involving huge historical projects.  There are myriad issues with this framing, but we will focus on just one in this episode. This framing has a tragic side effect, it has the tendency to disappear people on the ground living through conflict, and often abandoning them as a result. It has led some on the Left to support the worst authoritarians, right wing religious extremists, and genocidaires, all while abandoning people fighting authoritarianism repeatedly, merely because the states that supports the regime they are fighting are "anti-American".  We want to have a different discussion about war, and about Ukraine; a discussion about what it means to be an anarchist living in a place actively under invasion, facing existential threats, and the threat of immanent arrest or death if you lose. We are joined by Anton from the Solidarity Collectives to talk about the war, how life continues in a warzone, what the war has meant for the anarchist community in Ukraine and the wider region, and how a movement can not just survive, but also actively engage in the situation around them, against all odds. You can follow the work of Solidarity Collectives here: https://www.solidaritycollectives.org/en/ https://bsky.app/profile/solcolua.bsky.social

On this episode of The Beautiful Idea, we speak with several authors and organizers, marking six months into the second Trump administration coming to power. During our multiple discussions, we look at the recent deployment of the military into Los Angeles, CA, the ramping up of ICE raids and arrests across the US, and the passing of the Republican so-called "Big Beautiful Bill," which ear-marks billions for war and the deportation machine, while cutting taxes on the ultra-wealthy and corporations, and slashing social services, health-care, and food assistance for the poor. Already, which has lead to rural hospitals being threatened with closure [https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2025/07/10/medicaid-cuts-could-lead-to-8-mississippi-hospitals-closing-see-why/84530916007/] as food banks struggle to keep up with demand [https://www.yahoo.com/news/federal-funding-cuts-could-close-222733096.html]. In this episode you will hear from: * Silky Shaw [https://bsky.app/profile/silkys13.bsky.social], the executive director of the Detention Watch Network, and author of Unbuild Walls: Why Immigrant Justice Needs Abolition [https://www.haymarketbooks.org/events/614-unbuild-walls-why-immigrant-justice-needs-abolition], from Haymarket Books. Shaw talks about the rapid acceleration of deportations under Trump and the construction of new detention facilities, such as the newly built concentration camp, Alligator Alcatraz. * Jessica Pishko [https://bsky.app/profile/jesspish.bsky.social], author of The Highest Law in the Land: How the Unchecked Power of Sheriffs Threatens Democracy [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/707263/the-highest-law-in-the-land-by-jessica-pishko/], breaks down the interplay between police and ICE, as well as the brutal violence deployed by law enforcement during recent demonstrations in Los Angeles. * Kristian Williams [https://www.kristianwilliams.com/], author of Our Enemies and Blue: Police and Power in America [https://www.kristianwilliams.com/product/our-enemies-in-blue-police-and-power-in-america/], takes on the role of counter-insurgency in the Trump administration, the weaponization of fascist spectacle, and the growth of conspiracy theories within protest movements. * Vicky Osterweil [https://bsky.app/profile/vickyacab.bsky.social], author of In Defense of Looting [https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/vicky-osterweil-in-defense-of-looting] and a member of Collective of Anarchist Writers (CAW) [https://www.cawshinythings.com/], breaks down the recently passed Republican budget bill, and talks about its potential impact in our communities and ways in which we can push back. As anger continues to build in the streets, we hope this discussion shines a light on the contours and context of the building social war being waged against poor and working people across the US. MUSIC: Intro music by Breakaway [https://breakawaybreakaway.bandcamp.com/] and Seaside Tryst [https://seasidetryst.bandcamp.com/] Filastine & Nova - Requiem 432 [https://youtu.be/A2LvqColxzA?si=eYcsOINIb65k3758] Neurosis - The Doorway [https://youtu.be/OUBegD4_Bn4?si=DWI5Z6VcwDftXZ7S]

For as long as people have been getting pregnant, they've also been figuring out how to get un-pregnant. A self-managed abortion (SMA) is when a person ends their pregnancy outside of the formal medical system. Most often, self-managed abortions are done as "medication abortions" — abortions induced by medication. In this episode of The Beautiful Idea, we talk about self-managed medication abortions done with a combination of the drugs misoprostol and mifepristone. Guests Jane and Hazel are both abortion doulas (also known as abortion companions) with extensive experience supporting people completing self-managed medication abortions. Jane, based in Appalachia, works with the Mountain Area Abortion Doula Collective (MAADCO). Hazel, based in the Rust Belt, is a former abortion clinic worker, and wrote the zine "how to do it anyway: a guide to self-managing an abortion at home" after Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022. We discuss the history of reproductive justice, how self-managed abortion is often stigmatized and why that can be harmful, and the actual step-by-step details of what a medication abortion entails (how to measure pregnancy, which pills to take when, how it might feel physically in the body, what to look out for to determine if an abortion has been completed, pain management, and some of the ways that people sometimes emotionally or culturally process an abortion), among other topics.  There are many resources on self-managed medication abortion available. Here are just a few, mentioned in today's show: -"how to do it anyway: a guide to self-managing an abortion at home" (https://www.tangledwilderness.org/shop/p/how-to-do-it-anyway) -National Network of Abortion Funds (https://abortionfunds.org/) — connects people to local abortion funds for financial aid, and to resources that provide practical support (childcare, rides to clinics, etc.) -Abortion Finder (https://www.abortionfinder.org/) — finds verified abortion clinics  -Plan C Pills (https://www.plancpills.org/about) — educational website w resources on how to source abortion pills, how to dose them, what to look out for -Aid Access (https://aidaccess.org/en/) — provides access to medication abortion via mail -RX List (RXlist.com) — searchable database that provides information about general drug interactions -Miscarriage & abortion hotline (https://mahotline.org/) — text hotline for medical advice, particularly if you are self-managing an abortion -The Mountain Area Abortion Doula Collective (MAADCO) (https://mtnabortiondoula.co/) -Holler Health Justice (https://www.hollerhealthjustice.org/) -The Yellow Hammer Fund (https://abortionfunds.org/fund/yellowhammer-fund/) -"The Janes" (https://www.hbo.com/movies/the-janes) — HBO documentary on the Jane Collective (1960s/70s underground network of abortion providers) -"Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff" podcast episode about the Jane Collective (https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-cool-people-who-did-cool-96003360/episode/part-one-the-jane-collective-direct-96629898/)

Welcome back to The Beautiful Idea. So much has happened since we started to put this episode together. We've got a lot to cover, so let's not waste any time and dive right into it! On today's episode, first we present a interview with an organizer on the recent "Statelessness" conference that took place in Evansville, IN. For more on the conference, check out this recording from the presentation [https://compulsories.noblogs.org/files/2025/04/painting-presentation.mp3], the Belki Sibe [https://www.belkisibe.com/] documentary which was shown at the event, a presentation from keynote speaker Jane Gordon [https://newbooksnetwork.com/jane-a-gordon-statelessness-and-contemporary-enslavement-routledge-2020], and a PDF booklet about the conference [https://archive.org/details/statelessness-booklet-print-v-5]. Next, we speak with someone involved in Antifa International, which supports international antifascist prisoners [https://linktr.ee/antifainternational], and then turn towards our discussion on the recent deployment of National Guard troops in Los Angeles, CA. A reminder to follow the Beautiful Idea on BlueSky [https://bsky.app/profile/beautifulidea.bsky.social], Mastodon [https://kolektiva.social/@thebeautifulidea], and Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/thebeautifulideashow/] and check out our website [https://thebeautifulidea.show/]. The Beautiful Idea is also a proud member of the Channel Zero Anarchist Podcast network [https://channelzeronetwork.com/]. Music Credits Intro: * Breakaway [https://breakawaybreakaway.bandcamp.com/] & Seaside Tryst [https://seasidetryst.bandcamp.com/] Transition clips: * Infernal Noise Brigade - Goat Eyes [https://youtu.be/wwYw-ulJFFo?si=urNMB2_grn5BHvhF] * Eyedea & Abilities - Music Music [https://youtu.be/u4pjTV1pyGE?si=lwMccZ8viRwwWjg8] * Decide Today - Free Marius Mason (June 11) [https://decidetoday.bandcamp.com/album/2019-east-europe-tour-cd]

In this conversation, we speak with two recent International Solidarity Movement (ISM) volunteers about their experiences accompanying Palestinians in the West Bank. International Solidarity Movement is an initiative based in Palestine that enables international volunteers to physically accompany Palestinians facing harassment and attacks from the Israeli occupation. We discuss what everyday resistance — both large and small — looks like for Palestinians in the West Bank. Among many other topics, we explore the ways that ISM volunteers move between what they call "protective presence" and "solidarity" in their accompaniment work, how their experience has shifted or impacted the way they understand anti-colonial resistance more broadly, and what they see on the horizon for Palestine.  This interview was originally conducted immediately following the agreement to a ceasefire between the IDF and Hamas, on January 16th, 2025. Israel violated the ceasefire numerous times from January 19 to March 17, killing at least 170 people in Gaza, averaging nearly three deaths a day. On March 18th, Israel officially broke the ceasefire agreement, and continues to bombard Gaza with air strikes and ground offensives. Gaza is on the verge of famine and a total collapse of healthcare infrastructure, as Israel continues to bar the entry of much-needed medical supplies, fuel, and other humanitarian aid including food and clean water to the region.  As of May 19th, 2025, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, at least 53,339 people — including at least 17,400 children — have been confirmed killed in Gaza. Last month, we published an interview with a friend and comrade of Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi, a 26-year-old who was killed by the Israeli Defense Forces on September 6th, 2024, while accompanying Palestinians in the West Bank as an ISM volunteer.  That interview, called "The Murder of Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi and the Future of International Solidarity" is available on our feed and at this link: https://thebeautifulidea.show/the-murder-of-aysenur-ezgi-eygi-and-the-future-of-international-solidarity-2/.  For more information about the work of ISM, visit their website at: https://palsolidarity.org/

Join us as we sit down with members of the subMedia Collective to discuss their upcoming series InterRebellium. In this conversation we run down the history of subMedia, beginning in the 90s rave scene, the development of anarchist media in the first 25 years of this century, and what the future holds. Finally we discuss their upcoming series, InterRebellium, which traces a trajectory of insurgent and autonomous action through struggles around the world. The trailer for InterRebellium can be found at https://sub.media/interrebellium-trailer/ subMedia's work can be found on their site https://sub.media You can also follow them on Kolektiva platforms at https://kolektiva.social/@subMedia and https://kolektiva.media/a/submedia/video-channels subMedia has also released a series with recent podcast guest Peter Gelderloos, It's Revolution or Death, which can be found here: https://sub.media/its-revolution-or-death-part-one-short-term-investments/

Dean Spade is the author of "Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During this Crisis and the Next", and "Normal Life: Administrative Violence, Critical Trans Politics, and the Limits of Law". Well known for highlighting the ways that mutual aid can be a direct response to societal needs as well as a transformative practice that shifts our reliance away from the state and toward each other, Spade has just published a new book called "Love in a Fucked Up World: How to Build relationships, hook up, and raise hell together". Informed by over two decades of experience pushing for trans liberation and racial and economic justice, Spade's new book discusses the urgency of building sustainable, accountable, and truly abolitionist interpersonal relationships that empower us to resist state violence over the long haul. In a time of increasing despair, he urges us to move beyond symbolic actions and embrace riskier, more meaningful forms of action that require trust, deep solidarity, and real vulnerability. We touch on Spade's personal journey of radicalization, think about some of the potential of this moment, and unpack some concrete tools for self-reflection and expression. In addition to Spade's books, check out the "Five Questions for Cultivating Solidarity When Responding to Political Repression", downloadable in English & Spanish here: https://www.communityjusticeexchange.org/en/resources-all/five-questions-for-cultivating-solidarity Follow Dean Spade: Twitter – https://x.com/deanspade Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/spade.dean Personal website – https://www.deanspade.net/

Welcome back to The Beautiful Idea! We're excited to bring you a jam-packed show today and we have some amazing content planned, so be sure to subscribe to the show [https://thebeautifulidea.show/] and follow us on Mastodon [https://kolektiva.social/@igd_news] and BlueSky [https://bsky.app/profile/igd.bsky.social]. In today's episode, we feature: * An interview with an organizer for the recent Florida Abolitionist Gathering [https://crimethinc.com/2025/03/15/they-cant-beat-all-of-us-a-reportback-from-the-florida-abolitionist-gathering]. * A participant in the Imaginary Crimes Tour [https://cryptpad.fr/pad/#/2/pad/view/g6H3S1Zum45tRJPwAP9t--jD2CyBQFq-rY5g6YOQB8A/embed/] which is already underway, about how people are fighting back against state repression against the Stop Cop City Movement. * Present an audio version of a call for events and gatherings on May Day [https://crimethinc.com/2025/04/08/may-day-means-resistance-a-call-to-take-action-on-may-first]. * Unpack Trump's escalating trade war. Extended show notes can be found at https://thebeautifulidea.show/people-hit-the-streets-as-trumps-trade-war-heats-up/

On September 6th of last year, 26 year old University of Washington graduate Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi was shot and killed by IDF soldiers while doing accompaniment in the West Bank of Palestine with International Solidarity Movement (ISM). In this episode, we speak with a friend of Ayşenur's who had travelled to the West Bank to do accompaniment with ISM alongside her, and was present during the days leading up to and immediately after her murder.  We discuss what happened to Ayşenur, settler violence against Palestinians and IDF complicity, grief, remembrance, and ways in which anarchist movements internationally can effectively support people facing violence from the state and occupying forces.  During the discussion a number of pieces are referenced: "Theses On Palestine Solidarity" (anonymous): https://haters.noblogs.org/files/2024/01/Theses-on-Palestine-Solidarity.pdf "The Gaza Ghetto Uprising" (Adi Callai*): https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Pt_1k7nSv1M&pp=ygUUZ2F6YSBnaGV0dG8gdXByaXNpbmc%3D "The Gaza ceasefire will not cure the wounds of genocide" (Roaa Shamallakh): https://mondoweiss.net/2025/01/the-gaza-ceasefire-will-not-cure-the-wounds-of-genocide/ For more information about Ayşenur and her murder at the hands of the IDF, please see https://www.realchangenews.org/news/2024/10/02/remembering-ay-enur-activist-s-death-felt-deeply-seattle-and-beyond and https://southseattleemerald.org/voices/2024/09/10/aysenurs-legacy-the-tragic-loss-of-an-activist-a-friend-and-a-fighter-for-international-solidarity The speaker interviewed on this episode does not represent the views of International Solidarity Movement. For more about the work of ISM, visit their website at:https://palsolidarity.org/ This interview was originally conducted immediately following the agreement to a ceasefire between the IDF and Hamas, on January 16th, 2025. We apologize for the delayed release. *Adi Callai has previously been interviewed by contributors to this show. Shortly following the October 7th attacks, they appeared on "This is America" (with Tom Nomad) to discuss IDF strategy (https://itsgoingdown.org/counter-insurgency-israel-podcast/).

In this episode of The Beautiful Idea, we present an interview with author Jamie Merchant, author of Engame: Economic Nationalism and Global Decline [https://reaktionbooks.co.uk/work/endgame] and numerous articles at The Brooklyn Rail [https://brooklynrail.org/contributor/Jamie-Merchant/]. Merchant argues that we have entered a post-neoliberal age, with both Trump and Biden abandoning many of the touch-stones of corporate globalization that defined the past several decades. But what comes next? During our discussion we talk about how and why Bidenism failed following the upheavals of 2020 and the rise of the Tech-Right as a bloc within the Trump administration. We map out what this formation wants and how it connects to the State's push to expand the American tech industry and in particular, Artificial Intelligence (AI). We also unpack what it would mean to create new forms of autonomous class based street politics, as demonstrations against ICE and Tesla continue to grow.

In this episode of The Beautiful Idea, we speak with Tracy Rosenthal [https://www.haymarketbooks.org/authors/1596-tracy-rosenthal] and Leonardo Vilchis [https://www.haymarketbooks.org/authors/1597-leonardo-vilchis], two tenant organizers in Los Angeles, CA, involved in the Los Angeles Tenant Union (LATU) [https://latenantsunion.org/en/], and co-authors of the new book, Abolish Rent: How Tenants Can End the Housing Crisis [https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/2496-abolish-rent]. From the publisher [https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/2496-abolish-rent]: "Rent drives millions into debt, despair, and onto the streets. The social cost of rent is too damn high. Written for anyone fed up with the permanent housing crisis, complicit politicians, and real estate greed, Abolish Rent dissects our housing system from the perspective of those it immiserates. Through unsparing analysis and striking stories of resistance, it shows us how tenants can, through organizing and collective action, harness our power and win the housing we deserve. From two co-founders of the largest tenants union in the country, this deeply reported account of the resurgent tenant movement centers poor and working-class people who are fighting back, staying put, and remaking the city in the process. Authors Tracy Rosenthal and Leonardo Vilchis take us to trilingual strategy meetings, raucous marches against gentrification, and daring eviction defenses where immigrants put their lives on the line. These are the seeds of the revolutionary movement we need to make our housing, our cities, and the world our home." During our discussion, we cover the growing crisis around rent and housing and how landlords and politicians have attempted to shift the discussion onto attacks on migrants and the houseless. We cover how the Los Angeles Tenant Union and the wider Autonomous Tenant Union Network have grown to build a grassroots, tenant led autonomous movement, aimed at building power on a neighborhood level.

Welcome back to The Beautiful Idea, a new project from a collective of several anarchist and autonomous media producers scattered around the world. We're bringing you interviews and stories from the front-lines of autonomous social movements and struggles, as well as original commentary and analysis. In this episode we sit down with Adam Greenfield, author of the book Lifehouse, out on Verso. In this discussion we talk about technology and the internet, the occurrence of disaster, the long emergency, the concept of lifehouses, prepperism, and the complexities of organizing in communities. You can find Lifehouse: Taking Care of Ourselves In A World On Fire here: https://www.versobooks.com/products/2536-lifehouse

In our following episode, we speak with folks around the country about this unfolding reality. First, we catch up with Mia Wong [https://bsky.app/profile/miawong.bsky.social], a journalist at It Could Happen Here [https://www.iheart.com/podcast/105-it-could-happen-here-30717896/], a daily podcast on Cool Zone Media about everyday resistance and the current crisis, then we speak with a participant in the publishing collective CrimethInc [https://crimethinc.com/], about the emerging cracks in the current crisis and what this means about how we can respond, and finally we speak to folks in Olympia, WA and North Carolina about recent "Festival of Resistance" [https://crimethinc.com/2025/01/20/reports-from-the-festivals-of-resistance-day-of-the-forest-defender] events that were organized in the lead up to Trump's inauguration. Thanks for listening, let's get into it. Music: Intros: Breakaway [https://breakawaybreakaway.bandcamp.com/] and Seaside Tryst [https://seasidetryst.bandcamp.com/] Transition: Filastine, Soundswarm Compostion [https://filastine.bandcamp.com/] and E.T., Sword That's Bending [https://e-t-music.bandcamp.com/]

On this episode of The Beautiful Idea, we speak with former political prisoner Eric King and Josh Davidson from the Certain Days [https://burningbooks.com/products/certain-days-the-2025-freedom-for-political-prisoners-calendar] political prisoner calendar project. Eric and Josh discuss their recent round of discussions with Firestorm Books [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCZfcB6hPv4&list=PLfp8FRTvfDTsVOAO3GuRaKqwfV_9AdqqV] around their recent collection, Rattling the Cages [https://www.akpress.org/rattling-the-cages.html], featuring former political prisoners and abolitionist organizers. These discussions have also been recently formatted into a new zine series, found here [https://archive.org/search?query=creator%3A%22Rattling+the+Cages%22]. During our discussion we cover the shifting terrain of anti-repression and prison support organizing, how things swill change under Trump, and the need for building a broad abolitionist movement that can win campaigns and shift public perception.