The Laura Flanders Show

'Not long after the financial crash of 2008, I heard someone say, “It’s easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism.” Is it?' Our goal is to thrive, not just survive. By becoming a member, you sustain our independent, and grassroots-driven content!

The Trump administration claims its response to Hurricane Maria was a "tremendous," "unsung" success. Yet, what has been truly tremendous since the hurricane is the will of Puerto Ricans building, organizing, and recovering . Reporting from CommonBound, Laura speaks to Edgar Gomez, a city official of Toa Baja, PR & education activists from the island, Ana Yris Guzman Toress-Nuestra Escuela & Nicolle Teresa Ramos-Universidad Sin Fronteras. Music: "We Rising Up" Climbing PoeTree.Support...

"This particular plaque for my father made me think about something else too. If it wasn't for inclusive design, I literally would not exist." Check out our SPECIAL REPORT: Ableism Out, Independent Living Now! Our goal is to thrive, not just survive. By becoming a member, you sustain our independent, and grassroots-driven content!

2018 has been a year of upheaval for students, in and out of the classroom. This week educators and education activists talk about educational justice, teaching in Trump times, and taking stock of the current state of education. We're joined by Natasha Capers, of the NYC Coalition for Educational Justice; Adam Sanchez, of Rethinking Schools & Zinn Education Project; and José Luis Vilson, of EduColor. Music Featured: "Could It Be” by Black Milk, Mass Appeal & “Don’t Believe the Hype” by...

On July 26th, marked the 28th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Thousands of disability activists, including many of those who made this civil rights landmark a reality, convened at the National Council on Independent Living’s (NCIL) 2018 Annual Conference. ​Celebrating ​#ADA28 alongside disability activists​ allows us to revisit the story of how disability came to be a civil right, even as it was pathologized and co-opted into ableist narratives. How can we make...

Laura reports on a transatlantic experiment in cooperative community wealth building. In Preston, Lancashire, England, a formerly industrial city, the birthplace of the industrial revolution in many ways, they’ve seen ten years of austerity and partly out of need, and partly out of aspiration they’re practicing, experimenting, with a new model, the Preston model, and it’s inspired by a model in another formerly industrialized city: Cleveland, Ohio, the Evergreen Cooperative model. Check...

Social movements and party politics - inherently at odds or natural allies? This week, in his first in-depth TV appearance, Maurice Mitchell, the new National Director of the Working Families Party, joins us in studio. Laura and Maurice discuss his activist background, the WFP's national and international vision, and how the organization is tackling this midterm election year. Music: “I Want to Believe” by UNA from their album "Noise of the Wing". Support theLFShow

Seattle Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-WA-7th) and Baltimore activist Dominique Stevenson discuss activism, political involvement and why leaders should consider running for office. Then Stevenson takes us on to a community farming project in Baltimore's Sandtown (Freddie Gray's neighborhood). Music featured: “Bruthas” by Paris Cesvette featuring Brutha Basil from her album “Celestial (My Journey Among Stars)” released on Groove Odyssey. Support theLFShow

Monopoly capitalism may be on its last legs! Economist Michael Hudson joins us to say his predictions on the Trump budget have come true and seem to suggest, more than ever, that capitalism is not only a disservice to the people, but it's also unsuccessful. Then, Stacy Mitchell and Joe Maxwell joined us at the 2018 Progressive Caucus Strategy Summit in Baltimore. Monopoly capitalism, they say, translates to monopolized power. Music featured: "Funkin' For the World" by Nona Hendryx on...

Entrepreneurship in St. Louis, MO; electoral organizing in Uniontown, AL; and community wealth building on urban farms in Detroit, MI. We hit the road to report on community wealth building. We visit activist and musician Tef Poe's barbershop, Frontline Stylez, a project spurred by the Ferguson uprising. Then, journalist Salaam Green on #BlackVotersMatter in Alabama, a movement led by grassroots coalition organizing, led by black women. Plus, Jerry Hebron and Bryce Detroit join us from...

The American with Disabilities Act turned 28 this July.Traditionally, Capitol Hill marks the day. The first two years of the Trump administration are the first, that the anniversary’s passed without official anything. Our goal is to thrive, not just survive. By becoming a member, you sustain our independent, and grassroots-driven content!

This week Laura speaks to Edgar Villanueva, about being one of the very few indigenous people working in grant-making, and ask what he thinks Native American traditions have to teach philanthropy. His latest book is "Decolonizing Wealth". Then, a special report from the ‘United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues’ this past spring that included voices from the Rosa Luxemberg Stiftung and MADRE’s delegation of Indigenous Women Leaders from around the world. Music Spotlight:...

Socialism is as close as your closest coop. Our goal is to thrive, not just survive. By becoming a member, you sustain our independent, and grassroots-driven content!

What difference does a Party make? We talk about what's happening in the UK where one of the two main parties is picking up many of the radical demands coming out of movement groups seeking to transform the economy and society. In 2017, mainstream media predicted that the Labour Party​ would be crushed in the general election. Instead, it won its best result in 20 years, getting more than 40% of the vote under the leadership of life long socialist and anti-war campaigner Jeremy Corbyn....

Our wars abroad and our wars at home. This week on the show, acclaimed graphic artist Molly Crabapple and Syrian journalist Marwan Hisham join Laura to talk about their collaborative book “Brothers of the Gun.” Then, a report by Jonathan Klett on a community in Wisconsin that mobilized to greet Republicans attending a Trump fundraiser: Voces de La Frontera. Music Spotlight: “No State Solution” by Free Radicals featuring Marcos, remixed by Lacandon. Support theLFShow

Pay no attention to what the media say about how undermined Jeff Sessions is. POTUS may bait him publicly via tweet. In private, at the DOJ, Sessions is a man on a mission to roll back civil rights and that’s just what he’s doing. Our goal is to thrive, not just survive. By becoming a member, you sustain our independent, and grassroots-driven content!

Families torn apart at the border and through our prison system. Can we use this moment of public awareness to create change? Emani Davis, a long-standing advocate for children of incarcerated parents and Color Of Change's Rashad Robinson are this week's guests, plus an explainer on the Bail Bond System with Molly Crabapple and John Legend from Color of Change. Music: "Memory Lane" by Tomasia Got Flows & Stef-I. Support theLFShow

The following minicast features highlights from an Election special on Young Voters Hosted by Laura Flanders. The event took place a couple weeks prior to the NY Democratic Congressional primary election where Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez defeated 19 year-incumbent Joseph Crowley. Produced by Globalvision, and a co-production of theLFShow, Free Speech TV, and Manhattan Neighborhood Network. Guests: Alexandria Ocasio Cortez- District NY-14 Congressional Candidate, Nathan Rubin- Millennial...

India in the throes of a fascism that echoes what we have in America. The country is undergoing a political upheaval with PM Modi at its front, and fueled by increased violence towards Muslims, queers, Dalits, women, and more. Our guest, Arundhati Roy, covers this vast breadth of ground in her second novel in 20 years, ‘The Ministry of Utmost Happiness', is now out in paperback. Music selection: “Into the Sun” by Grupal featuring Thenmozhi Soundararajan, from Grupal’s album Migration...

"Smash society and you create craven people. Craven, from the early English word meaning crushed, defeated, overwhelmed." Our goal is to thrive, not just survive. By becoming a member, you sustain our independent, and grassroots-driven content!