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Author: The Indypendent

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The Indypendent News Hour airs Tuesdays 5–6 p.m. on WBAI-99.5 FM. Check out our archives to listen to past interviews with movement organizers, authors, elected officials and others fighting for justice in New York City and beyond.
1162 Episodes
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In our first segment, Nancy Hoch joins us in studio to inspire listeners on how we can protect our neighbours and prepare for ICE.  Hoch talks about the power of finding community in a time of rising authoritarianism, some of the tactics activists have innovated to thwart ICE and keep immigrants safe and how she took the lead in organizing an ICE resistance mutual aid group in her own "Little Caribbean" neighborhood in Brooklyn. To see her full article, go to indypendent.org/issue/301. In our second segment, we are joined by Danny Pearlstein of the Rider’s Alliance, a member-led organization of New York City bus and subway riders that has been organizing for over a decade for a better and more just mass transit system. Topics discussed include expanding eligibility for the city's Fair Fares program that provides free and discounted bus fares for lower-income New Yorkers and the future of the Fordham Road Bus Corridor and concerns that the mayor was backing off his campaign trail commitment to speed up bus traffic in that area. In our final segment, WBAI listeners share their thoughts on the war on Iran.
Nancy Hoch wrote the cover article — NYC Prepares for ICE: Neighborhood-Based Mutual Aid Groups Are Mobilizing Against Trump's Immigration Goons — for this month's print edition of The Indypendent. In this interview, Hoch talks about the power of finding community in a time of rising authoritarianism, some of the tactics activists have innovated to thwart ICE and keep immigrants safe and how she took the lead in organizing an ICE resistance mutual aid group in her own "Little Caribbean" neighborhood in Brooklyn. To see her full article, go to indypendent.org/issue/301
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani made fast and free buses one of the core promises of his campaign platform. For this week's Indypendent News Hour, we spoke with Danny Pearlstein of the Rider’s Alliance, a member-led organization of New York City bus and subway riders that has been organizing for over a decade for a better and more just mass transit system. Topics discussed include expanding eligibility for the city's Fair Fares program that provides free and discounted bus fares for lower-income New Yorkers and the future of the Fordham Road Bus Corridor and concerns that the mayor was backing off his campaign trail commitment to speed up bus traffic in that area.
We asked WBAI listeners for their thoughts on the War on Iran as it enters its fourth day. They didn't disappoint.
In this episode, we see why it will be benefit the collective to tax the rich. In the first segment, we zoom into Albany where thousands of New Yorkers will lobby their representatives to tax the rich. We speak to Divya Sundaram of Our Time for an Affordable New York on what they hope to achieve. In our second segment, we speak to Indy contributors, Lyna Bentahar and John Morris about their recent articles on the pathologies shared by many members of the super-rich and why they are so prone to freaking out about small increases in their taxes that would do a vast amount of good for the rest of society. In our third segment, we speak to Andy Tobias, an investor, best-selling author and member of Patriotic Millionaires, a network of high-wealth individuals that advocates for higher taxes on people like themselves. Tobias told The Indypendent News Hour that multi-millionaires and billionaires can easily afford to pay higher taxes nationally and in the State of New York to help fund high quality essential public services and reduce the runaway economic inequality that is destabilizing the U.S. political system. Tune into an insightful episode and pick up the latest Indy issue for more on what we discussed here.
Thousands of New Yorkers will converge on the State Capitol in Albany on Wednesday to urge lawmakers to support increasing taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers and the state's largest corporations. We kicked of the Tax the Rich edition of The Indypendent News Hour by speaking with Divya Sundaram of Our Time for an Affordable New York, one of the groups playing a key role in organizing Wednesday's lobbying day in Albany.
For Part 2 of our Tax the Rich edition of The Indypendent News Hour, we spoke with Indy contributing writers Lyna Bentahar and John Morris about their recent articles on the pathologies shared by many members of the super-rich and why they are so prone to freaking out about small increases in their taxes that would do a vast amount of good for the rest of society.
Andy Tobias is an investor, best-selling author and member of Patriotic Millionaires, a network of high-wealth individuals that advocates for higher taxes on people like themselves. Tobias told The Indypendent News Hour that multi-millionaires and billionaires can easily afford to pay higher taxes nationally and in the State of New York to help fund high quality essential public services and reduce the runaway economic inequality that is destabilizing the U.S. political system.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani released his first executive budget. The release of the mayor's executive budget kicks off months of City Council hearings, protests and rallies by a wide array of community stakeholders and negotiations between the mayor and city council that will culminate in June with a final budget agreement. We spoke with Peter Sterne, an editor at City & State about what's in the mayor's proposed budget and the political battles that lie ahead. The beloved Reverend Jesse Jackson passed away. He was a democratic socialist who ran for president in 1988, who worked closely with Martin Luther King in his early 20’s. We sit with African American Literature Professor and longtime Indy columnist, Dr. Nicholas Powers to reflect on the legacy of Jesse Jackson, and how we can turn to his wisdom to keep hope alive, as we continue to fight the same battles today.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani released his first executive budget. The release of the mayor's executive budget kicks off months of City Council hearings, protests and rallies by a wide array of community stakeholders and negotiations between the mayor and city council that will culminate in June with a final budget agreement. We spoke with Peter Sterne, an editor at City & State about what's in the mayor's proposed budget and the political battles that lie ahead.
The beloved Reverend Jesse Jackson passed away. He was a democratic socialist who ran for president in 1988, who worked closely with Martin Luther King in his early 20’s. We sit with African American Literature Professor and longtime Indy columnist, Dr. Nicholas Powers to reflect on the legacy of Jesse Jackson, and how we can turn to his wisdom to keep hope alive, as we continue to fight the same battles today.
On this week's Indypendent News Hour, we’ve got some updates on big breakthroughs taking place at the Nurse's Strike. On this episode we journey uptown for some updates on art and politics. We've curated some exciting cultural programming for you in the February events calendar of the Indy and if you’re interested in immersing yourself in the rich cultural programming the city has to offer, head over to the Maysles Documentary Centre in Harlem. For Black History Month, they have a series of curated documentaries on Black Self-Fashioning which the highlight the power of fashion to serve as a movement to celebrate Black culture, beauty and joy. We'll take you through some of them during the show. We sit down with Darializa Avila Chevalier a longtime community organizer and democratic socialist who is mounting an energetic challenge against the incumbent uptown congressman Adriano Espaillat. Tune in for an illuminating discussion that sheds light on how this is more than just a local election, and a much larger movement she believes she's fighting for.
The Nurse’s Strike is still going strong and we’ve got some updates on big breakthroughs taking place. In other news, if you’re interested in immersing yourself in the rich cultural programming the city has to offer, head over to the Maysles Documentary Center in Harlem. For Black History Month, they have a series of curated documentaries on Black Self-Fashioning which the highlight the power of fashion to serve as a movement to celebrate Black culture, beauty and joy.
We sit down with Darializa Avila Chevalier, a longtime community organizer and democratic socialist who is mounting an energetic challenge against the incumbent uptown congressman Adriano Espaillat. She talks about the power of organizing in building the future we want: fighting for affordability and humanity and why she believes this is the moment to ride the waves of hope we have fought long and hard for. Tune in for an illuminating discussion that sheds light on how this is more than just a local election, and a much larger movement.
In our first segment, we returned with updates on the Nurse’s Strike. The Nurses marched to Hochul's office this week. Why are the nurses disappointed in Hochul’s stance and why is Hochul not supporting the nurse’s cause, you may ask? Indy contributor Ted Hamm unpacks the answers to these questions in his latest Indy article breaking the news on Hochul’s connection to the New York City Hospitals, and came on to the show to give us a deeper understanding of how these threads connect. In our second segment, Peter Sterne from City & State Magazine gave us his assessment on Zohran Mamdani’s first month in office. We talked about the many democratic socialist candidates running against established incumbents in 2026.
In our first segment, we returned with updates on the Nurse’s Strike. The Nurses marched to Hochul's office this week. Why are the nurses disappointed in Hochul’s stance and why is Hochul not supporting the nurse’s cause, you may ask? Indy contributor Ted Hamm unpacks the answers to these questions in his latest Indy article breaking the news on Hochul’s connection to the New York City Hospitals, and came on to the show to give us a deeper understanding of how these threads connect.
In our second segment, Peter Sterne from City & State Magazine gave us his assessment on Zohran Mamdani’s first month in office. We talked about the many democratic socialist candidates running against established incumbents in 2026. Jan 27, 2026
On today's Indypendent News Hour, we spoke with Ximena Bustamante, founder of the Undocumented Women's Fund and an organizer with NYC-DSA's Latinas Socialistas, about organizing efforts that are underway across New York City to thwart ICE and to build the kind of massive civilian resistance movement seen in Minneapolis. We also spoke with Ligia Guallpa of The Worker's Justice Fund about recent workplace victories for NYC's 80,000 deliveristas and took listener phone calls.
We spoke with Ximena Bustamante, founder of the Undocumented Women's Fund and an organizer with NYC-DSA's Latinas Socialistas, about organizing efforts that are underway across New York City to thwart ICE and to build the kind of massive civilian resistance movement seen in Minneapolis.
We also spoke with Ligia Guallpa of The Worker's Justice Fund about recent workplace victories for NYC's 80,000 deliveristas. With Mayor Zohran Mamdani on their side, companies are being held accountable for the poor policies they uphold for delivery workers.
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