Block & Build

Cayden is joined by Maurice Mitchell, National Director of the Working Families Party, live from the floor of this week's Rising Majority Congress, a week long gathering of over 700 organizers and activists on the left, working in diverse coalition to strategize a plan for the next 10 years while envisioning goals for 2050. In this episode, Maurice speaks to Working Families Party's role in strategy as they engage in political endorsement and organizing across the country at the local and national levels. They explore the type of party vehicle we need to build and drive to reach the long-term goals of a multi-racial, working class led political future and how we co-operate amidst our diverse range of needs and issues. To connect with Maurice and WFP: Text WFP to #30403 and find them on all social platforms as @workingfamilies Text MOE to #30403 and find him on all social platforms at @mauricewfp Support this show and others like it by becoming a subscriber of Convergence: https://convergencemag.com/donate/

Many of us have seen the attacks against student protestors over the last month on campuses like UCLA and others by both the police and right wing Zionists, attempting to disrupt their right to peaceful protest. This led to a wave of stand-up strikes against unfair labor practices of unionized student workers represented by UAW Local 4811 across the University of California system. As a result, legal actions have gone back and forth in state courts attempting to force an end to the strike without meeting unionized worker demands. As this story continues to unfold, we are joined this episode by President of UAW Local 4811, Rafael Jaime, to tell the full story of how we got to this moment, hopes for reaching student worker demands, and where things go next. In the latter half of the show, Cayden and Producer Josh Elstro breakdown some big moves this week by tech giants Apple and Adobe that may have detrimental, long-term impact the tools we use as movement activists and organizers to communicate our messages. Together they explore the facts of user privacy, and terms of service announcements each company made regarding users of their products this week and explore how we as organizers dependent on this technology might rationally respond.

In spite of 34 felony convictions last week, there is still a very real chance that Donald Trump will once again be elected president of the United States in November or that he'll contest the results and attempt another coup. Few of us were truly prepared for his victory in 2016. Many of us felt helpless in the wake of his 2020 blitz to steal the election. As a result, many responses were directionless and lacking in strategy. Experienced organizers Daniel Hunter (350.org) and Katey Lauer are helping individuals and organizations alike be more prepared for the many possible outcomes of the November election through a new multimedia project and book, What If Trump Wins? Convergence is excited to be the first media outlet to announce the project's launch, which along with the book includes an individualized "pick your own path" interactive website and a brief role playing game which can be easily facilitated and run within your organization or comrades. Each of these tools invites participants to first notice what feelings they're having about the possibility of another Trump presidency or reliving the general post election chaos and uncertainty of 2020 which led to the January 6th insurrection. From this space of emotional grounding, participants can safely strategize and tease out possible outcomes based on historic research of other attempted coups and autocratic governments. Katey and Daniel joined Cayden this week to discuss the What if Trump Wins? project and how people can engage with it in whatever way is most useful to them. Order the book here. Support this show and others like it by becoming a Patreon member: patreon.com/convergencemag

Of course the hot button issue of the day is former President Donald Trump's 34 felony convictions in his hush money trial. We briefly discuss how this impacts us as organizer, but have so much else to report. Executive Director of Center for Third World Organizing, Chinyere Tutashinda (chinyere@ctwo.org), joins Cayden this episode to discuss the immediate dangers and risks of AI generated social media activism which may have had its first major viral moment with the widely shared "All Eyes on Rafah" graphic you've likely seen. They also explore how organizers and activists think about their work on a longer horizon than the daily news cycle itself. Later in the episode, reporter for PRISM, Nicole Froio joins to discuss her new exclusive piece Why does Planned Parenthood contract with the arms manufacturer Raytheon? Together they explore the nuanced and complicated reality of a vital health care organization's need to prioritize cyber security and the limited amount of trustworthy market options capable of providing such support. To support this show and others like it, become a Patreon member: Patreon.com/convergencemag.com

This week, Cayden is joined by Executive Director of New Left Accelerator, Deborah Barron and Executive Director of the Center for Empowered Politics, Alex Tom to discuss risk. Any time we perform acts of civil disobedience, we subject ourselves to varying degrees of risk. As we’ve seen in the news lately in campus protests many risk personal arrest. Others, meanwhile, risk loss of funding, jobs, and more. The panel explores how to strategically make assessments of what risks we should take in the face of increasing tendencies of fascist power plays by the MAGA Right. They also take a look at how risk is currently and historically considered in left and progressive movements. Support this show and others like it by becoming a Patreon subscriber: patreon.com/convergencemag

Today's episode features an interview by Steven Pitts, the former host and creator of our longest running podcast, Black Work Talk. He sat down with Professor of Sociology and Labor at University of Massachusetts - Amherst, Cedric de Leon, to discuss Cedric’s forthcoming book contracted with University of California Press, Freedom Train. In the book, Cedric centers the monumental contributions of Black workers to desegregating the labor movement and connecting the struggles of organized labor to those of civil society before and during the civil rights era. It excavates the era’s intra-movement conflicts as well as the way that labor leaders and rank and file workers were critical not just in organizing their workplaces but in galvanizing the government to act on crucial pieces of policy, from desegregating the defense industry under the auspices of the New Deal to creating pressure for the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act in the 1960s. You can find an excerpt of the interview already available in print on Convergence's website. Find more about Cedric's work here. To support this show and others like, consider joining a Patreon subscriber: Patreon.com/convergencemag

This week on the show, Cayden is joined by organizer and former Executive Director of Lavender Phoenix, Sammie Ablaza Wills, discussing outcomes from the past month's student protests. They explore some of the agreements of universities that have agreed to work and negotiate with students. The episode also dives into Sammie's recent article published by Convergence, Right Size Belonging: Six Practices for Organizers; considering how it applies to this new wave of campus organizing. Aside from a glimpse of what right sized belonging in organizations can look like, this episode also engages the importance of finding the right balance of comradely, interpersonal trust, while still maintaining vigilance for outside threats and maintaining proper security for our organizations and movements. Support this show and others like it by becoming a Patreon subscriber: patreon.com/convergencemag

This week’s show is our first Movement Media Round Table. We intend on this show to occasionally connect listeners with our fellow travelers in the independent, progressive media space to share some of the top stories from their outlets you should be following. For this round table, Cayden is joined by Editor-at-Large of Truthout.org, Maya Schenwar and Editor-in-Chief of PRISM, Lara Witt. Each of our guests share some of the top stories of the week from their respective publications. We encourage listeners to read the full stories at their sites here: Pro-Israel Legislators Have Concocted a Dangerous Ruse to Shut Down Nonprofits by Andy Lee Roth at truthout.org PEN America is both a lifeline and a ‘wasted opportunity’ for some incarcerated writers by Tamar Sarai at prismreports.org Support this show and others like it by becoming a Patreon supporter: patreon.com/convergencemag

This week on the show, hosts of the podcast Mystery A.I. Hype Theater 3000, Emily M. Bender (Professor of Linguistics at University of Washington) and Alex Hanna (Director of Research at the Distributed AI Research Institute), join Cayden to help make sense of the inescapable hype of all things “Artificial Intelligence.” What’s being oversold? What are the actual threats? And what exactly are we talking about when we say A.I.? Hype or not, the advancement of technology in the workplace has strong implications for workers which some unions and communities are already organizing to protect themselves against. Also on the show, Cayden and his guests will look at the ongoing campus protests for divestment from Israel and ceasefire in Gaza. Support this show and others like it by becoming a Patreon member: patreon.com/convergencemag

On the show this week, 45-year labor movement veteran Bob Master joins us to discuss the intersections of the ongoing protests for ceasefire in Gaza and a politicized labor movement. He and Cayden will take a deeper dive into his new piece, Militancy–and Beyond, co-published by Convergence and Jacobin. In the full article, Bob lays out the need for political strategy and education in the labor movement so it can build working-class governing  power from the recent wave of militant strikes. This episode also features the second part of Highlander Research and Education Center’s Ash-Lee Henderson’s conversation with Convergence print contributorStephanie Luce and Chicago Teachers Union Vice Presiden Jackson Potter about how we fight the looming threat signaled by  Project 2025, and the MAGA presidency that would usher in its dangerous promises. The full video is available on our website now. Support this show and others like it by becoming a Patreon member: patreon.com/convergencemag

This week on the show we have a feature from Co-Executive Director of the Highlander Research and Education Center, Ash-Lee Henderson on the threat of another MAGA administration to the burgeoning labor movement. Also, Arizona is the latest state to lean into a total abortion ban in this post Dobbs world. What does that mean for us as organizers and voters? Joining to discuss this and more is National Director of Organizing and Tech Innovation for Working Families Party, Jennifer Knox. Find out the legal and electoral status of abortion in your state via the Rewire News guide here. Text "WFP" to 30403 for info on how to get involved in campaigns supported by Working Families Party.

Welcome to Block & Build, a new weekly editorial podcast from Convergence Magazine. Each week, Convergence publisher Cayden Mak will take listeners on an exploration of what’s happening in politics and what we can do about it – not simply as individuals acting alone, but as people coming together into a larger movement. The show examines a political strategy we call “Block & Build” as a point of view that impacts the way we approach both politics and everyday life. In this first episode, Cayden is joined by Rising Majority National Director Loan Tran to explore the complexities of simultaneously "blocking" the fascist MAGA movement while "building" the multiracial democracy we deserve, all within a deeply entrenched culture of over 40 years of neoliberal economic and cultural hegemony. Connect to learn more about Rising Majority Instagram: rising_majority  Twitter/X: @rising_majority  You can subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Please support the show and Convergence Magazine: patreon.com/convergencemag

Every week, Block & Build takes on the current balance of political forces in the United States from a movement perspective. Host Cayden Mak, publisher of Convergence Magazine, guides listeners in an exploration of what’s happening in politics and what we can do about it – not simply as individuals acting alone, but as people coming together into a larger movement. The show examines the political strategy we call “Block & Build” as a point of view that impacts the way we approach both politics and everyday life. This is the flagship podcast of the progressive trend in the broad anti-fascist front. Listeners are invited to join Cayden in discovering the routes we can take to not just defeat the authoritarian far Right, but build the influence of progressive and Left political ideas that are overwhelmingly popular, so we can come out of this year’s battles stronger, instead of depleted. Many commentators struggle to zoom out, missing the forest for the trees and leading to more conversations that merely circle the drain of status quo horse-race politics. Instead, Block & Build aims to identify the places we do have power and opportunities to shape the landscape for progress. The show features a rotating cast of some of the best minds in organizing today as they discuss what it means to evolve strategy and thinking to advance the governing power of the Left.