The Popaganda Podcast

True Detective Night Country was a massive success with not-so-great reviews. Led by Kali Reis, the first Indigenous lead of an HBO series, Hollywood legend Jodie Foster, and Issa Lopez, the Mexican Filmmaker who created, wrote, and directed this powerful supernatural thriller, this season had us - and a record-breaking 3.2 million viewers - on the edge of our seats for the season finale.So then why are people being such haters?Kali ‘Meuquinonoag’ Reis is an Afro-Indigenous storyteller that is raising the visibility of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women (MMIW) through her portrayal of Alaskan Native trooper Evangeline Navarro and her own intersectional visibility and activism. She also happens to be the first Indigenous Boxing World Champion. Weaving a story that explores conversations with ancestors beyond the veil, environmental justice, and what Liz Danvers represents to us, this show gave us a lot to talk about.Join Shannon and Tashmica as they discuss how American viewers didn't get the answers they wanted from HBO Max's True Detective Night Country, but they definitely got the answers they deserved.Come for the pop culture. Stay for the abolition.For this week’s pop culture homework, visit www.popagandapod.com.Leave a 5-star review for The Popaganda Podcast and we might feature it in an upcoming episode! You can also send us love or suggest show topics by emailing us at popagandapod@gmail.com. Follow us on Social media!TikTok - @Popaganda_Pod YouTube - The Popaganda PodcastInstagram - @popagandapod Sponsored in part by: Accountable Communities Consortium and The Firecracker Foundation.Access: Transcript now available on Apple Podcasts!Content Warning: The Popaganda Podcast explores the intersections of transformative justice, prison abolition, and pop culture. We will be talking in general about the existence of domestic violence, sexual violence, and state violence and our experiences with these forms of violence throughout the season. In this episode in particular, we will be talking about these themes and our own survivorship. We will not be talking in high levels of detail about specific experiences of violence. We invite everyone to use this information to make choices about what is right for you.Credits:Executive Producers: Shannon Perez-Darby and Tashmica TorokAudio Production: Shannon Perez-DarbyShow Notes + Art: Tashmica Torok

In today’s episode of The Popaganda Podcast, Tashmica introduces Shannon to the Satanic Panic of the 1980s through the award-winning documentary, Satan Wants You. To scare people back into a Sunday pew, the Catholic Church funded the publication of a book based on the account of a woman who claimed to have survived satanic ritualistic child abuse. Michelle Remembers was a bestseller and the survivor Michelle Smith and Dr. Larry Pazder, her therapist, coauthor, and eventually her husband, spent their time promoting the book on talk shows or training law enforcement to spot this new crime spree targeting children across the country. Cops started training therapists and suddenly, more than 200 people across the country had been criminalized without a single shred of evidence.It was all based on a convenient lie. Does any of this sound familiar? Pun intended. This is a Tim Ballard and the Sound of Freedom origin story. Check out our last episode for context!Join Tashmica and Shannon as they fall down a rabbit hole where they discover that when it comes to resistance, bodily autonomy, and knowing who the real enemies of children are, the Church of Satan may be the church for a time such as this. Come for the pop culture. Stay for the abolition.For this week’s pop culture homework, visit www.popagandapod.com.Leave a 5-star review for The Popaganda Podcast and we might feature it in an upcoming episode! You can also send us love or suggest show topics by emailing us at popagandapod@gmail.com. Follow us on Social media!TikTok - @Popaganda_Pod YouTube - The Popaganda PodcastInstagram - @popagandapod Sponsored in part by: Accountable Communities Consortium and The Firecracker Foundation.Access: Transcript now available on Apple Podcasts!Content Warning: The Popaganda Podcast explores the intersections of transformative justice, prison abolition, and pop culture. We will be talking in general about the existence of domestic violence, sexual violence, and state violence and our experiences with these forms of violence throughout the season. In this episode in particular, we will be talking about these themes and our own survivorship. We will not be talking in high levels of detail about specific experiences of violence. We invite everyone to use this information to make choices about what is right for you.Credits:Executive Producers: Shannon Perez-Darby and Tashmica TorokAudio Production: Shannon Perez-DarbyShow Notes + Art: Tashmica Torok

Shannon Perez-Darby and Tashmica Torok discuss Brittany Spears, the nuances of conservatorship, mad liberation, and the liberatory possibilities of dancing on the internet with our first guest ever - mad queer mama, Zara Raven. Zara Raven is building a world without prisons + policing, starting at home. They are the coordinator for Queenies Crew, an initiative that engages children in learning about building communities of care without prisons or policing, the former director of Collective Action for Safe Spaces in D.C., a grassroots, trans and queer-led organization that focuses on creating safe republic spaces, and a cocreator of 8 to Abolition. For more information about Zara, visit https://linktr.ee/bubblybutfierce. Come for the pop culture. Stay for the abolition.

Tim Ballard is a lying, McLiar face (allegedly) but that doesn’t mean that he hasn’t had an indelible impact on how everyday Americans understand or misunderstand the sexual exploitation of children around the globe. But how did this qanon-tinged thriller become the 10th biggest domestic film of the year? Join Shannon and Tashmica for a conversation about Operation Underground Railroad, the scam behind the ‘new’ Anti-Trafficking Movement, and why the mythology created by Ballard is a threat to your reproductive rights. We watched The Sound of Freedom so you don’t have to. Please don’t watch it. We beg you. Listen + subscribe everywhere you get your podcasts. For more information, visit www.popagandapod.com. Come for the pop culture. Stay for the abolition.

Why do Shannon and Tashmica say the criminal legal system instead of the criminal justice system? Tashmica breaks it down with a little help from the Bureau of Justice and the Vera Institute for Justice.Functions of Criminal JusticeWhy we say "criminal legal system," Not "criminal justice system"Season 2 of The Popaganda Podcast launched on Monday, April 22nd. Did you know that a 9-minute video called “Tom Cruise on Tom Cruise, Scientologist” was leaked to the media in 2008? In a bizarrely intense interview, Cruise claimed that Scientologists are the only people on the planet equipped to handle addictions, car accidents, and natural disasters.If this made you stop and say, “What now?” You might be one of our pop culture besties.Click here to listen + subscribe everywhere you get your podcasts. You can also join our Pop Culture Besties! Instagram Broadcast Channel for a behind-the-scenes look at what we’re watching, our pop culture emergencies (that are never real emergencies), and special announcements. If you love the project, your engagement will help it grow so thank you in advance for supporting this one-of-a-kind show.Come for the pop culture. Stay for the abolition. Leave a 5-star review for The Popaganda Podcast and we might feature it in an upcoming episode! You can also send us love or suggest show topics by emailing us at popagandapod@gmail.com. Follow us on Social media!TikTok - @Popaganda_Pod YouTube - The Popaganda PodcastInstagram - @popagandapod

Tom Cruise once claimed Scientology had solved humanity’s greatest challenges. To which Shannon and Tashmica say, “What now?”The Popaganda Podcast kicks off season 2 with a conversation about “Tom Cruise on Tom Cruise, Scientologist”. An American actor, producer, and celebrity Scientologist, Tom Cruise is the lead in major blockbuster films like Top Gun and the spy series Mission: Impossible. As latchkey kids, we will never forget him jumping on Oprah’s couch over his love for Katie Holmes. Long since divorced under questionable circumstances, Cruise has given millions to a religious organization despite repeated accusations of abuse and he’s never been canceled. How does he do it?*insert Kate Bornstein + Leah Remini sideeye*Tune in as cohosts Shannon Perez-Darby and Tashmica Torok discuss how cults, communes, and even nonprofit organizations can use power and control dynamics to hurt people. Could a healthy practice of accountability change everything? Let's talk about it!Come for the pop culture. Stay for the abolition.For more information, visit www.popagandapod.com.Pop Culture Homework:Tom Cruise on Tom Cruise, ScientologistMission: ImpossibleKate BornsteinMy Scientology MovieGoing Clear: Scientology & the Prison of Belief Leah Remini, Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and ScientologyAre our Movements Cults? Just Sex: Mapping Your Desire Podcast with Jamie Grant featuring Shannon Perez Darby People + Practices We Love:BEAM: Healing and Accountability WheelPower and Control WheelLeave a 5-star review for The Popaganda Podcast and we might feature it in an upcoming episode! You can also send us love or suggest show topics by emailing us at popagandapod@gmail.com. Follow us on Social media!TikTok - @Popaganda_Pod YouTube - The Popaganda PodcastInstagram - @popagandapod Sponsored in part by: Accountable Communities Consortium and The Firecracker Foundation.Access: Transcript now available on Apple Podcasts!Content Warning: The Popaganda Podcast explores the intersections of transformative justice, prison abolition, and pop culture. We will be talking in general about the existence of domestic violence, sexual violence, and state violence and our experiences with these forms of violence throughout the season. In this episode in particular, we will be talking about these themes and our own survivorship. We will not be talking in high levels of detail about specific experiences of violence. We invite everyone to use this information to make choices about what is right for you.Credits:Executive Producers: Shannon Perez-Darby and Tashmica TorokAudio Production: Shannon Perez-DarbyShow Notes + Art: Tashmica Torok

The Popaganda Podcast: an award-winning social justice podcast about the pop culture we love and how it inspires us to build a safer, more just world for everyone. Hosts Shannon Perez-Darby and Tashmica Torok are former latchkey kids who grew up to become survivor activists and pop culture besties. Tune in for elevated unscripted commentary that normalizes transformative justice practices and prison abolition strategies by amplifying one culture-shifting truth – we keep us safe.Season 2 launches on April 22, 2024. Listen everywhere you get your podcasts.Come for the pop culture. Stay for the abolition.Leave a 5-star review for The Popaganda Podcast and we might feature it in an upcoming episode! You can also send us love or suggest show topics by emailing us at popagandapod@gmail.com. Follow us on Social media!TikTok - @Popaganda_Pod YouTube - The Popaganda PodcastInstagram - @popagandapod Sponsored in part by: Accountable Communities Consortium and The Firecracker Foundation.Access: Transcript now available on Apple Podcasts!Content Warning: The Popaganda Podcast explores the intersections of transformative justice, prison abolition, and pop culture. We will be talking in general about the existence of domestic violence, sexual violence, and state violence and our experiences with these forms of violence throughout the season. In this episode in particular, we will be talking about these themes and our own survivorship. We will not be talking in high levels of detail about specific experiences of violence. We invite everyone to use this information to make choices about what is right for you.Credits:Executive Producers: Shannon Perez-Darby and Tashmica TorokAudio Production: Shannon Perez-DarbyShow Notes + Art: Tashmica TorokFor more information, visit www.popagandapod.com.

It takes more power to build than to burn and Shannon Perez Darby and Tashmica Torok want to build.In the season finale of The Popaganda Podcast, you are invited to jump into a time machine and look into their radical visions for a future where transformative justice practices and abolition frameworks are realized. Listen in as they reflect on how their lived experiences in childhood and within their family systems have helped them see the sci-fi possibilities that have helped sustain their hopefulness in a future that they will likely never see.What can we build if we feel connected to and are willing to sacrifice for that bolder, more just future?Pop Culture HomeworkParable of the Sower, Fledgling, and Kindred by Octavia ButlerRaising Free People by Akilah S. RichardsFoundationSponsored by:The Firecracker FoundationAccountable CommunitiesSubscribe, Like, and Follow!TikTok: @Popaganda_PodInstagram: @popagandapodContent Warning: This podcast explores the intersections of transformative justice and pop culture. We will be talking in general about the existence of domestic sexual and state violence and our experiences with these forms of violence throughout the season, and in this episode in particular, we will be talking about these themes and our own survivorship. We will not be talking in high levels of detail about specific experiences of violence. We invite everyone to use this information to make choices about what is right for you. 

In episode 5 of The Popaganda Podcast, Tashmica Torok guides Shannon Perez-Darby through where her love of True Crime began and how it has changed over time. The people who are the most interested in the True Crime genre are also those who experience the highest rates of sexual and domestic violence. How can this be?Listen in as we explore what may be our unhealthiest relationship with Copaganda or a tool to help our loved ones see the criminal legal system for what it truly is.PS - if you need a primer on Copaganda, go back and give episode 2 a listen.Pop Culture HomeworkIn the Heat of the NightSweet Valley High Super Thriller SeriesMind Over MurderThis Is Why You Can't Turn Away From True CrimeWhy do we love true crime — and is it healthy for us? Why do women love true crime? I have a theory.Four Propositions on True Crime and AbolitionForEveryone Collective: Abolitionist DocumentariesSponsored by:The Firecracker FoundationAccountable CommunitiesSubscribe, Like, and Follow!TikTok: @Popaganda_PodInstagram: @popagandapodContent Warning: This podcast explores the intersections of transformative justice and pop culture. We will be talking in general about the existence of domestic sexual and state violence and our experiences with these forms of violence throughout the season, and in this episode in particular, we will be talking about these themes and our own survivorship. We will not be talking in high levels of detail about specific experiences of violence. We invite everyone to use this information to make choices about what is right for you. 

Lingo Plinko is a minisode of the Popaganda Podcast with Shannon Perez Darby and Tashmica Torok. During these short and sweet segments, we'll be breaking down our working definitions of the transformative justice terms that we use throughout the podcast episodes.So far, you’ve heard us drop the acronym TERF at least twice. But do you know what a TERF is or what Shannon means by “TERF-y” talking points?Listen in as Tashmica talks about Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminism (TERF) so that you can spot and disrupt TERF-y talking points and learn how to be a better ally to trans people. Check out the links below for more!You May Have Heard About TERFSHappy Pride! Don't Be A TERFDax Shepard’s Latest Podcast Controversy With Jonathan Van Ness, ExplainedHow to Spot TERF IdeologyWhy Sex isn't Binary - The Scientista FoundationDefend Trans Youth – The Firecracker FoundationTo be in touch with Shannon or Tashmica, you can send an email to popagandapod@gmail.com.

One thing about Shannon Perez-Darby and Tashmica Torok is they're gonna get to the bottom of a TikTok beef. In episode four of Popaganda, join them as they scroll through a collection of bookmarked beefs and discuss cancellations that have pushed popular influencers into digital exiles.Whether we're creating parasocial or for real social relationships online, we are creating patterns that we can all learn from.Pop Culture HomeworkJustice Producer's CollaborativeUnlocking Us with Brene Brown@mikaylanogueira@witchytwitchytv@mercurystardustSponsored by:The Firecracker FoundationAccountable CommunitiesSubscribe, Like, and Follow!TikTok: @Popaganda_PodInstagram: @popagandapodContent Warning: This podcast explores the intersections of transformative justice and pop culture. We will be talking in general about the existence of domestic sexual and state violence and our experiences with these forms of violence throughout the season, and in this episode in particular, we will be talking about these themes and our own survivorship. We will not be talking in high levels of detail about specific experiences of violence. We invite everyone to use this information to make choices about what is right for you. 

Lingo Plinko is a minisode of the Popaganda Podcast with Shannon Perez Darby and Tashmica Torok. During these short and sweet segments, we'll be breaking down our working definitions of the transformative justice terms that we use throughout the podcast episodes.Listen in as Tashmica talks about what we mean by the word 'Abolition' and offers real world examples of abolitionist practices.For more information about the movement to Stop Cop City, visit stopcop.city. If you want to dive deeper on abolition 101, check out Transform Harm or Critical Resistance. To be in touch with Shannon or Tashmica, you can send an email tp popagandapod@gmail.com.

In the third episode of Popaganda,  Shannon Perez-Darby invites Tashmica Torok for a hometown visit to one of her favorite pop culture stomping grounds -- Bachelor Nation!Listen in as we reflect on examples of harm, accountability, and repair lived out by the Bachelor Nation contestants. And because we have a few extra roses to hand out, we'll throw in a conversation about a couple of our favorite podcast hosts - Dax Shephard and Jonathon Van Ness.This may be the most dramatic episode of the Popaganda Podcast yet!Pop Culture HomeworkBachelor NationGame of RosesArm Chair ExpertGetting CuriousSmartlessUncoupling: 5 Steps to Living Happily Even AfterSponsored by:The Firecracker FoundationAccountable CommunitiesSubscribe, Like, and Follow!TikTok: @Popaganda_PodInstagram: @popagandapodContent Warning: This podcast explores the intersections of transformative justice and pop culture. We will be talking in general about the existence of domestic sexual and state violence and our experiences with these forms of violence throughout the season, and in this episode in particular, we will be talking about these themes and our own survivorship. We will not be talking in high levels of detail about specific experiences of violence. We invite everyone to use this information to make choices about what is right for you. 

In the second episode of Popaganda, Shannon Perez-Darby and Tashmica Torok talk about what Copaganda is and how it impacts survivors as they attempt to seek out justice for themselves and their communities. Cops are always singing, whatcha gonna do when they come for you but we want to know, whatcha gonna do when they don’t. As children, McGruff taught us to take a bite out of crime but something must’ve gone wrong because he’s not taking our calls.

In the first episode of Popaganda, Shannon Perez-Darby and Tashmica Torok make some pretty big confessions. Shannon has spent hundreds of hours watching the Kardashians and as if that’s not bad enough, Tashmica spent much of 2022 soothing herself by secretly watching The Cosby Show. They say they’re abolitionists but, do they even go here?Listen in as they talk about how they discovered Transformative Justice (TJ) and where they see connections between the pop culture they love and the prison abolition work we all need to accomplish in order to remake the world into a more just place.#QOTD“I had a situation where I did something that hurt my partner deeply. In the course of repairing that, and of course, of attending that together, I also had this experience where I got to feel a true depth, really feel what it was to also be unconditionally loved to have this feeling of, oh, this person loves me. And there's actually nothing I could do that would make this person not care for me. And I can actually feel that through the course of having made a mistake, having done something that was hurtful to him, and having repaired it. From that repair, was also deep connection. Both were true. It was painfully miserable to harm him and it was also deeply connective to repair and then feel what it was to be in connection still after having done something that was harmful to him.”- Shannon Perez-DarbyPop Culture HomeworkIndiana JonesTeenage Mutant Ninja TurtlesLifetime TVThe Color PurpleThe Women of Brewster PlaceBillie Holiday; Lady Sings the BluesBuffy the Vampire SlayerThe Price Is RightBill Cosby; The Cosby ShowChuck Norris; Walker Texas RangerFull Metal JacketPlatoonThe BasementThe Walking DeadKirk Cameron and Nicolas Cage; Left Behind MoviesJada Pinkett Smith and Jordyn Sparks; Red Table TalkKim, Kylie, and Chloe Kardashian; The KardashiansSponsored by:The Firecracker FoundationAccountable CommunitiesSubscribe, Like, and Follow!TikTok: @Popaganda_PodInstagram: @popagandapodContent Warning: This podcast explores the intersections of transformative justice and pop culture. We will be talking in general about the existence of domestic sexual and state violence and our experiences with these forms of violence throughout the season, and in this episode in particular, we will be talking about these themes and our own survivorship. We will not be talking in high levels of detail about specific experiences of violence. We invite everyone to use this information to make choices about what is right for you.