Rattling The Bars

In this episode of Rattling the Bars, Mansa Musa speaks with independent journalist Victoria Valenzuela, who reports for a wide range of news outlets on incarceration in California and Louisiana. Victoria’s recent articles shed light on the inhumane conditions at California City Detention Center—specifically its no-contact visitation policy, making it the only detention center in California to enact such a rule. CCDC is operated by the for-profit corporation CoreCivic (formerly Corrections Corporation of America), an organization with a history marred by systemic violence that is currently capitalizing on Trump's mass deportation policies to expand its detention contracts.In the second half of the conversation, Mansa and Victoria discuss the circumstances of incarcerated women domestic violence survivors in California and the potential for prison abolition. They note that the state's incarcerated women population has decreased from roughly 11,000 to 3,700 over two decades.Related link:Families Are Fighting Draconian No-Contact-Visit Policy at California ICE Jail via TruthoutVictoria Valenzuela’s SubstackCredits:Production/Post-production: Cameron GranadinoBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/rattling-the-bars--4799829/support.Follow Rattling the Bars on Spotify or Apple Podcasts Sign up for our newsletterFollow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkHelp us continue producing Rattling the Bars by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer

In this episode of Rattling the Bars, Mansa Musa speaks with Dr. Kimberly Dawn Miller, Co-Coordinator of the Haiti/Americas Team for the Black Alliance for Peace. They examine geopolitical relations and the unfiltered history of U.S. imperialism in the Caribbean—including economic warfare against Cuba, the state of Florida’s recent arrest warrant for former Cuban leader Raúl Castro, Trump and JD Vance’s racist criminalization of Haitians, and over a century of capitalist resource extraction and regime change in Haiti.The Black Alliance for Peace in Miami, organizing alongside the Miami Coalition, seeks to end the blockade against Cuba. October 24–31 marks the Cuba Week of Action against the U.S. chokehold on Cuba, leading up to the International and National Day of Action on October 28. This aligns with the United Nations’ annual vote, where the international community will once again vote on the U.S. embargo on Cuba. Credits:Production/Post-production: Cameron GranadinoBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/rattling-the-bars--4799829/support.Follow Rattling the Bars on Spotify or Apple Podcasts Sign up for our newsletterFollow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkHelp us continue producing Rattling the Bars by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer

October 22nd marks the National Day to Stop Police Brutality. Free DC and Pan-African Community Action (PACA) are two organizations in the nation’s capital engaged in building community and direct action against the various entities that form the policing apparatus in DC: police, FBI, HSI, National Guard, etc.While Trump boosts their funding—much like giving a steroid to the carceral machine—Free DC and PACA are heightening the contradictions of the Trump administration’s fascist agenda by providing vulnerable communities with the resources that the government withholds and refuses to fund.Trump’s deployment of the National Guard costs upwards of $3M daily and will total $2.9B by the end of his term. How would you spend $3M a day?On this episode of Rattling the Bars, former political prisoner and Black Panther Mansa Musa speaks with organizers pushing back against the National Guard occupation of DC on the eve of the Black Panther Party’s 60th Anniversary. Production/Post-production: Cameron GranadinoBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/rattling-the-bars--4799829/support.Follow Rattling the Bars on Spotify or Apple Podcasts Sign up for our newsletterFollow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkHelp us continue producing Rattling the Bars by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer

In the second half of this insightful conversation, former political prisoner Mansa Musa joins Black Panther Party archivist and photographer Billy X Jennings to examine the pivotal 1971 FBI office break-in by antiwar activists. The stolen documents exposed COINTELPRO—the federal government's covert operation to surveil, infiltrate, and dismantle radical political movements. Despite state-sponsored efforts to suppress the organization, the Panthers’ legacy survives through modern social movements, culture, politics, and communal socialism. Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee, who worked closely alongside the Panthers on their early survival programs, brings deep personal insight into their lasting community impact. Published in conjunction with the 60th anniversary of the Black Panther Party, this feature continues our series on the BPP's enduring role in social justice.Credits:Production/Post-production: Cameron GranadinoBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/rattling-the-bars--4799829/support.Follow Rattling the Bars on Spotify or Apple Podcasts Sign up for our newsletterFollow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkHelp us continue producing Rattling the Bars by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer

In this episode of Rattling the Bars, host Mansa Musa interviews archivist, photographer, and veteran Black Panther Party member Billy X Jennings.Joining the Party at age 17 after relocating from Hobson City, Alabama, to Oakland, Jennings managed BPP offices and served as bodyguard to Huey P. Newton. During Bobby Seale’s 1973 Oakland mayoral run, Jennings helped spearhead an unprecedented electoral effort: "…an organizing event on the highest level the parties had ever been. I mean, the party is known for organizing, but to go into electoral politics and do what we did for a first time basis, it changed over. Even though Bobby lost that election, it changed openly because it opened up so many doors. Part of his job was to kick down doors because we were the Vanguard."Today, Jennings operates the official Black Panther Party Alumni website and leads political education initiatives across the Bay Area for the Party’s 60th Anniversary. Production/Post-production: Cameron GranadinoBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/rattling-the-bars--4799829/support.Follow Rattling the Bars on Spotify or Apple Podcasts Sign up for our newsletterFollow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkHelp us continue producing Rattling the Bars by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer