The Leadership Center for Social Justice Podcast

This episode’s guest is Ricardo Levins Morales, Twin Cities based Artist and Organizer. In this episode, Ricardo shares stories around hope based on his many years of being immersed in organizing work. He shares many practical lessons for how the practice of hope can help build and sustain justice movements. Resources-Ricardo Levins Morales Website-Video Recording of Ricardo’s TalkEpisode Transcription available hereHost: Ry O. SiggelkowProducer: Adam PfuhlPodcast Engineer: Michael MouaMusic: Kavyesh KavirajEpisode Recorded on February 15th, 2023You can find out more about the Leadership Center for Social Justice on our website and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

This episode’s guest is Avery Gordon, author and Professor Emerita of Sociology at University of California, Santa Barbara. In this episode, we are in conversation with Avery about her book The Hawthorn Archive: Letters from the Utopian Margins. Avery shares about this unconventional archive, which contains a selected history of "radicals, runaways, deserters, abolitionists, heretics, dreamers and liberationists." Avery talks about the development of the archive, the radical histories and imaginings that live within it, and what it might mean for us today to collectively develop "organs for the alternative," refusing to live on the terms of the powers that be and becoming "unavailable for servitude, back stiff with conviction." Resources-The Hawthorn Archive: Letters from the Utopian Margins-Ghostly Matters: Haunting and the Sociological ImaginationEpisode Transcription available hereHost: Ry O. SiggelkowProducer: Adam PfuhlPodcast Engineer: Michael MouaMusic: Kavyesh KavirajEpisode Recorded on February 15th, 2023You can find out more about the Leadership Center for Social Justice on our website and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

This episode’s guest is Marcus Rediker, award-winning author and Distinguished Professor of Atlantic History at the University of Pittsburgh. In this episode, we are in conversation with Marcus about writing history "from below." Marcus shares about the connections between the sea, the slave ship, and modern day prisons. He also discusses the revolutionary spirit that is present in the history of ordinary working people who have long struggled for a more just world.ResourcesThe Slave Ship: A Human HistoryThe Fearless Benjamin Lay: The Quaker Dwarf Who Became The First Revolutionary AbolitionistThe Many-Headed Hydra: The Hidden History of the Revolutionary AtlanticMarcus Rediker’s WebsiteEpisode Transcription available hereHost: Ry O. SiggelkowProducer: Adam PfuhlPodcast Engineer: Michael MouaMusic: Kavyesh KavirajEpisode Recorded on January 30th, 2023You can find out more about the Leadership Center for Social Justice on our website and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

This episode’s guest is Nandita Sharma, author and Sociology Professor at University of Hawaii, Manoa. In this episode, we are in conversation with Nandita on nationalism, colonialism, and the rise of xenophobia. Nandita discusses the historical shift from the age of empires to the age of independent nation states. She connects how this shift did not fix the issues of colonization, but instead exacerbated issues through further exclusion with border controls and racialising who does and doesn’t belong in a nation. Nandita also discusses her collaborative project called Eating In Public that pushes back against global capitalism and colonialism.ResourcesHome Economics: Nationalism and the Making of ‘Migrant Workers’ in CanadaHome Rule: National Sovereignty and the Separation of Natives and MigrantsEating In PublicNandita Sharma’s WebsiteEpisode Transcription available hereHost: Ry O. SiggelkowProducer: Adam PfuhlPodcast Engineer: Michael MouaMusic: Kavyesh KavirajEpisode Recorded on December 9th, 2022You can find out more about the Leadership Center for Social Justice on our website and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

This episode’s guest is Liz Fekete, author and director of the Institute of Race Relations. In this episode, we are in conversation with Liz on the history of the Institute of Race Relations and how they have changed within the 50 years they’ve been around. Liz also discusses the interventionist work of the Institutes first director, Sivanandan and how that impacted the work of the Institute.ResourcesInstitute of Race RelationsA Suitable Enemy: Racism, Migration and Islamophobia in EuropeEurope’s Fault Lines: Racism and the Rise of the RightEpisode Transcription available hereHost: Ry O. SiggelkowProducer: Adam PfuhlPodcast Engineer: Michael MouaMusic: Kavyesh KavirajEpisode Recorded on October 24th, 2022You can find out more about the Leadership Center for Social Justice on our website and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

This episode’s guest is Peter Linebaugh, author and historian. In this episode, we are in conversation with Peter about his many books, including The Many-Headed Hydra, a widely influential book co-authored with Marcus Rediker that excavates the hidden revolutionary history of transatlantic resistance, rebellion, and solidarity against slavery and the enclosure of land. Peter speaks to us about the ongoing history of capitalist exploitation and extraction, the sin of private property, the connection between the prison and the expropriation of land, always seeking to make visible the centrality of how ordinary working people have cooperated together for life, freedom, and love. This is an episode about learning to do theology from below, that is, learning to paying attention to the revolutionary actions and possibilities of ordinary people of faith who have refused to comply with forms of social life predicated on death, resisting servitude and enclosure and with courage – and often at tremendous risk – act together to level and dig up the hedges and fences and borders intended to keep people from the land that sustains life.Peter speaks to us about counter-movements and counter-theologies, the principles of commoning, and the ongoing forms of global resistance to enclosure and dispossession. Peter shares stories "from below" of human cooperation and considers how this is lived out today.ResourcesRed Round Globe Hot BurningThe Many Headed HydraThe Magna Carta ManifestoStop, Thief!Episode Transcription available hereHost: Ry O. SiggelkowProducer: Adam PfuhlPodcast Engineer: Michael MouaMusic: Kavyesh KavirajEpisode Recorded on November 14th, 2022You can find out more about the Leadership Center for Social Justice on our website and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

This episode’s guest is Steed Davidson, Professor of Hebrew Bible Old Testament at McCormick Theological Seminary. In this episode, we are in conversation with Steed about the connections between the Bible,  empire, and liberation. Steed reflects on his work in postcolonial biblical studies and his argument that the Bible is strongly connected to empire and colonialism. However, he also shares that there continue to be insurgent readings of the Bible that can be used as a tool against imperialism and for liberation. Steed reflects on how his experiences growing up in Tobago post British colonialism shaped his worldview and his studies. ResourcesEmpire and Exile: Postcolonial Readings of the Book of JeremiahWriting/Reading the Bible in Postcolonial PerspectivesIslands, Islanders and the Bible: RumInationsEpisode Transcription available hereHost: Ry O. SiggelkowProducer: Adam PfuhlPodcast Engineer: Michael MouaMusic: Kavyesh KavirajEpisode Recorded on November 9th, 2022You can find out more about the Leadership Center for Social Justice on our website and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

This episode’s guest is Bridget Anderson, Director of Migration Mobilities Bristol and Professor of Migration, Mobilities and Citizenship at the University of Bristol. In this episode, we are in conversation with Bridget on the history of migration and the movement toward a “No Borders” Politics. Bridget discusses the normalization of the movement of goods but the movement of people being seen as exceptional, especially the movement of the global poor and working class. Bridget considers and expands upon the imagination that is needed to create a world with no borders.ResourcesUs and Them? : The Dangerous Politics of Immigration Controls Doing the Dirty Work? : The Global Politics of Domestic LaborMigration Mobilities BristolEpisode Transcription available hereHost: Ry O. SiggelkowProducer: Adam PfuhlPodcast Engineer: Michael MouaMusic: Kavyesh KavirajEpisode Recorded on October 10th, 2022You can find out more about the Leadership Center for Social Justice on our website and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

This episode’s guest is Maria Clara Bingemer, Professor of Theology at the Pontificial Catholic University in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In this episode, we are in conversation with Maria about her book Latin American Theology: Roots and Branches (Orbis Books, 2016). Maria discusses the origins of liberation theology in Latin America, the Vatican's repression of theologians over several decades, and the dramatic changes that have taken place since the beginning of the pontificate of Pope Francis.  Following Gustavo Gutiérrez, she speaks of the universal pretensions of liberation theology as a proposal that centers the poor as both the subject and method of an entirely new way of doing theology. She also shares about recent theological developments in eco-feminism and the global struggles for a habitable earth amid the climate catastrophe.ResourcesLatin American Theology: Roots and BranchesEpisode Transcription available hereHost: Ry O. SiggelkowProducer: Adam PfuhlPodcast Engineer: Michael MouaMusic: Kavyesh KavirajEpisode Recorded on October 31st, 2022You can find out more about the Leadership Center for Social Justice on our website and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

This episode’s guest is Lewis Gordon who is an author, Philosophy Department Head and Professor at University of Connecticut, Storrs. In this episode, we are in conversation with Lewis about his book Fear of Black Consciousness (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2022). Lewis discusses the differences he sees between black consciousness with a lowercase “b” and Black Consciousness with an uppercase “B”.  He shares about Black Consciousness as a commitment to life, radical love, and to building a better world and discusses how he sees that playing out in the world.ResourcesFear of Black ConsciousnessEpisode Transcription available hereHost: Ry O. SiggelkowProducer: Adam PfuhlPodcast Engineer: Michael MouaMusic: Kavyesh KavirajEpisode Recorded on October 17th, 2022You can find out more about the Leadership Center for Social Justice on our website and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

This episode’s guest is A. Naomi Paik, author and Associate Professor of Criminology, Law and Justice and Global Asian Studies at University of Illinois, Chicago. In this episode, we are in conversation with Naomi about her book Bans, Walls, Raids, Sanctuary: Understanding U.S. Immigration for the 21st Century  (University of California Press, 2020). Naomi discusses the history of immigration bans in the United States, the interconnectedness of social justice issues, and the significance of sanctuary as an abolitionist practice.ResourcesNaomi Paik’s WebsiteBans, Walls, Raids, Sanctuary: Understanding U.S. Immigration for the 21st CenturyEpisode Transcription available hereHost: Ry O. SiggelkowProducer: Adam PfuhlPodcast Engineer: Michael MouaMusic: Kavyesh KavirajEpisode Recorded on November 21, 2022You can find out more about the Leadership Center for Social Justice on our website and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

This episode’s guest is David Theo Goldberg, author and Distinguished Professor at the University of California, Irvine. David is among the most significant scholars writing on race and racism over the last several decades. According to Paul Gilroy, few scholars have "done more to shake the field and to influence it, who've been more consistent, more prolific." In this episode, we are in conversation with David about his books Are We All Postracial Yet? (Polity, 2015) and Dread: Facing Futureless Futures (Polity, 2021). David discusses the recent fabrication and reframing of Critical Race Theory by influential right-wing voices, the sense of dread that led him to write his most recent book, and his hope for a collective ecology of care.ResourcesAre We All Post Racial Yet?Dread: Facing Futureless FuturesEpisode Transcription available hereHost: Ry O. SiggelkowProducer: Adam PfuhlPodcast Engineer: Michael MouaMusic: Kavyesh KavirajEpisode Recorded on September 26, 2022You can find out more about the Leadership Center for Social Justice on our website and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

This episode’s guest is Dean Spade, author and associate law professor at Seattle University School of Law. In this episode, we are in conversation with Dean Spade on his book Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During this Crisis (And the Next) (Verso Press, 2020). Dean discusses the importance of mutual aid in building social movements and a sense of belonging in community.ResourcesMutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next)Dean Spade’s WebsiteEpisode Transcription available hereHost: Ry O. SiggelkowProducer: Adam PfuhlPodcast Engineer: Michael MouaMusic: Kavyesh KavirajEpisode Recorded on December 13, 2022You can find out more about the Leadership Center for Social Justice on our website and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

This episode’s guest is Beverly Mitchell, author and professor. Beverly is a professor of systematic theology and church history at Wesley Theological Seminary. In this episode, we are in conversation about Beverly’s book Plantations and Death Camps: Religion, Ideology and Human Dignity (Fortress Press, 2009). Beverly discusses the process of writing this book and discovering her convictions around faith and human dignity.ResourcesPlantations and Death Camps: Religion, Ideology and Human DignityEpisode Transcription available hereHost: Ry O. SiggelkowProducer: Adam PfuhlPodcast Engineer: Michael MouaMusic: Kavyesh KavirajEpisode Recorded on November 14, 2022You can find out more about the Leadership Center for Social Justice on our website and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

In this episode, listen to a recording of The Leadership Center’s December Praxis event titled “The Praxis of Love: A Community Conversation on All About Love by bell hooks”.  Panelists include Rev. Dr. Jessica Chapman Lape, Dr. Todd Lawrence and Rosy Petri.ResourcesRev. Dr. Jessica Chapman LapeDr. Todd LawrenceRosy PetriYoutube Recording of the Praxis of Love EventPBS Video on bell hooksCSpan Video featuring bell hooksEpisode Transcription available hereHost: Ry O. SiggelkowProducer: Adam PfuhlPodcast Engineer: Michael MouaMusic: Kavyesh KavirajEpisode Recorded on December 2, 2022You can find out more about the Leadership Center for Social Justice on our website and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

This episode’s guest is Todd Miller, an independent journalist and author. Todd has researched and written about border issues for more than 15 years. He has written four books and has been featured in a multitude of publications including The New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and Al Jazeera English. In this episode, we are in conversation about Todd’s book Build Bridges, Not Walls: A Journey to a World Without Borders (City Lights, 2021). Todd discusses the moral dilemmas he has faced while reporting on the border and where he has found hope in his observation of border issues.Resources- Build Bridges, Not Walls: A Journey to a World Without Borders-Todd Miller’s Website- The Border Chronicle- The Border Chronicle PodcastEpisode Transcription available hereHost: Ry O. SiggelkowProducer: Adam PfuhlPodcast Engineer: Michael MouaMusic: Kavyesh KavirajEpisode recorded on September 19th, 2022.You can find out more about the Leadership Center for Social Justice on our website and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Episode Transcription available hereHost: Ry O. SiggelkowProducer: Adam PfuhlPodcast Engineer: Michael MouaMusic: Kavyesh KavirajYou can find out more about the Leadership Center for Social Justice on our website and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.