The Africas VS. America

The Outlaw Ocean, according to our host Matthew Amha, “exemplifies the kind of trenchant, deeply reported, serialized journalism that we don't see enough of; and represents the form at its very highest level. Reporting which adds value and colour and context and interrogation to corners of life in desperate need of it.”If you liked our podcast, we think you’ll appreciate the urgent, unsettling journalism led by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Ian Urbina. His domain is the vast and largely lawless ocean, where forced labour and other human rights abuses are as common as investigative reporting is rare. Like us, he tells stories powerful people don’t want you to know. You can find The Outlaw Ocean wherever you get your podcasts: https://link.mgln.ai/oo-tava

In this live discussion from the Hot Docs festival, Matthew joins Falen Johnson on stage to speak about the stories journalists choose to tell — and how they tell them. He reflects on the personal cost of infusing his own experiences into his journalism, and how he navigated the MOVE organization’s historically fraught relationship with the media.

In this On Air Fest exclusive, host Matthew Amha sits down with activist and MOVE member Mike Africa Jr. to discuss the making of The Africas VS. America and the ethical challenges of telling a family's carefully-guarded story. Mike Jr. opens up about his fraught childhood in the MOVE family, including his memories of the 1985 bombing, and the power of community healing.

In the early hours of May 13, 1985, police direct residents of Osage Avenue in West Philadelphia to leave their homes, and not return for 24 hours. It’s Mother’s Day, and authorities have come to resolve a years-long conflict with a family of local revolutionaries — the Africas, collectively known as MOVE. There are 13 people in the Africa home that morning. Six of them are children. By the end of the day, most will be dead, and a neighbourhood will lie in ruins. Artwork by Yannick Lowery.For transcripts of this series, please visit here.

A quiet and reclusive young man is conscripted to war in Korea and returns having been made anew. Vincent Leaphart becomes the enigmatic John Africa, whose revolutionary vision will prove irresistible to followers seeking a new way of living. But what begins as a movement concerned with the protection of all life, will gradually turn to nonviolent direct action and large-scale civil disobedience in reaction to the state. This is the origin story of John Africa, leader of what will soon become known as MOVE.For transcripts of this series, please visit here.