The Laura Flanders Show

Award-winning poet, performer, novelist, and activist Staceyann Chin has just published her first anthology of poems. She has been featured on Broadway, HBO, and Russell Simmons’ Def Poetry Jam and her latest one woman show, MotherStruck, was adapted for film and premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2019. In this episode, Laura interviews Chin about the anthology, Crossfire, and her relationship to a cannon dominated by white men. Despite her success, Chin says that until recently she...

"Given a choice between covering tit-for-tat tweets and reporting on voting rights or publicly-owned generic drugs, the brought-to-you-by-Big-Pharma News Networks will always go where it’s easiest. " The F-Word, Laura Flanders' bi-weekly commentary. For as little as $3 a month support, be a part of our crowd, by becoming a member. Sign up today! https://Patreon.com/theLFShow

What most Americans know about Puerto Rico is based on a colonial fantasy, says journalist and Columbia University professor, Ed Morales. This fantasy, and the reality it obscures, is the subject of his new book, Fantasy Island. In this episode, Laura interviews Morales and scholar/activist Rosa Clemente about the personal and political implications of the island's ongoing debt crisis, recovering from Hurricane Maria, and #RickyRenuncia, the intersectional protest movement that led to the...

This year at the Progressive Strategy Summit members of Congress and progressive change makers came together to build a movement that won’t only win back the White House in 2020 but also create long term systemic change. Laura interviewed activists and congresswomen to understand how they see this critical moment when business-as-usual politics simply won’t cut it. Will a movement led by women of color—inside and outside Congress—transform the government so that it truly serves the diverse...

In her latest film, The Edge of Democracy, director Petra Costa tells the story of how Brazil went from a rising star among free nations to a democracy on the verge of collapse. With unprecedented access, Costa documents the rise and fall of Brazil’s Workers Party and its charismatic leader Lula da Silva, the impeachment of Brazil’s first female president, Dilma Rousseff, and the rise of President Jair Bolsonaro who has ushered in, as Costa puts it, a new era of rule by the bible, the...

As 2019 comes to a close, Laura speaks with Rev. Dr. Jacqueline Lewis of Middle Collegiate Church in New York City's East Village. Rev. Jacqui's public theology focuses on social and environmental justice, community engagement, and the practice of what she calls "Revolutionary Love." In their conversation, Laura asks if love really can sustain our movements for justice in an era characterized by protest, social unrest, and political strife. When we are at our wits’ end, can love renew us so...

In the wake of the 25th UN Climate Change Summit known as the Conference of Partners or COP, scientists and activists are warning that governments are failing to act as quickly as the climate crisis requires. Taking matters into their own hands, youth organizers with Extinction Rebellion have led marches, school walkouts, and hunger strikes around the world. Though digital organizing plays a major role in their movement, non-violent civil disobedience is their primary tactic. How does a new...

In this episode of The Laura Flanders Show, author and scholar Dr. Priyamvada Gopal discusses her latest book, Insurgent Empire, which examines a history of abolition and rebellion under colonial rule to demonstrate how these resistance movements served as active participants in their own liberation, while reshaping ideas around freedom and self-determination during the expansion of capitalism and empire. Liberty can mean many things, not just, for example, the freedom to earn a meager wage....

This week, in her first appearance since fleeing Brazil, women’s rights advocate Debora Diniz joins fellow activists and philanthropists to discuss what works and what doesn’t in stopping violence against women and girls. Music featured:“Cause I’m a Woman” by Muted Soul Featuring Jess King courtesy of Muted Records. Guests: Debora Diniz,Deputy Director of Rights and Justice; Terry McGovern,Chair of Population and Family Health, Columbia University Medical Center; Kavita N. Ramdas, Director...

The following minicast features excerpts from Laurie Anderson’s lecture “The Size of the Con”, addressing how to prepare for the 2020 election cycle and the tumultuous year ahead in the United States. Anderson's lecture was commissioned by the Brooklyn Public Library as part of a series “Message from the Library” providing a forum for great minds as they reflect on the most pressing issues of our time. Laurie Anderson’s entire 30minute lecture is available to patrons of the Laura Flanders...

The climate crisis is accelerating faster than expected. This November, 11,000 scientists from 153 countries declared that “We’re reaching potentially irreversible climate tipping points—climate chain reactions that could cause significant disruptions to ecosystems, society, and economies...” In this episode of the Laura Flanders Show, author and activist Naomi Klein discusses her new book, On Fire, in which she argues that addressing the climate crisis requires more than simply reducing...

Social change and systems change go hand-in-hand. Movements for democracy and human rights are most effective when they aim to transform unjust, unequitable economic systems. In this episode, Laura travels to Spain to learn how people in two of the regions most brutally repressed under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco built the worlds’ largest worker-owned co-ops. From the Basque Country to Barcelona, she speaks with co-op members who explain how humanist models of business helped their...

"I was thinking about impeachment when a bird fell out of the sky. ......Dazed, on the sidewalk, she stood perfectly still, protected by gentle cops and generous yards of yellow caution tape... It happened to be the same week, five years ago, that Tanisha Anderson died on the street in front of her home, when she was having one of her bad days." The F-Word, Laura Flanders' bi-weekly commentary. For the full transcript goto LauraFlanders.org Goal, reach 100 Patrons by end of year. You...

In her new film, The Edge of Democracy, director Petra Costa tells the story of how Brazil went from a rising star among free nations to a democracy on the verge of collapse. With unprecedented access, Costa documents the rise and fall of Brazil’s Workers Party and its charismatic leader Lula da Silva, the impeachment of Brazil’s first female president, Dilma Rousseff, and the rise of President Jair Bolsonaro who has ushered in, as Costa puts it, a new era of rule by the bible, the bullet,...

This year at the Progressive Strategy Summit members of Congress and progressive change makers came together to build a movement that won’t only win back the White House in 2020 but also create long term systemic change. Laura interviewed activists and congresswomen to understand how they see this critical moment when business-as-usual politics simply won’t cut it. Will a movement led by women of color—inside and outside Congress—transform the government so that it truly serves the diverse...

The people of Newark, New Jersey—the majority of whom are black and brown—are grappling with a lead contamination crisis that has drawn comparisons with Flint, Michigan. There, the state took control of the city’s water after municipal officials and a private management company failed to provide clean water. In Newark, local residents want to keep their water in public hands. Why? This week, Laura interviews activists working to fix their city’s water through more robust democratization...

The people of Newark, New Jersey—the majority of whom are black and brown—are grappling with a lead contamination crisis that has drawn comparisons with Flint, Michigan. There, the state took control of the city’s water after municipal officials and a private management company failed to provide clean water. In Newark, local residents want to keep their water in public hands. Why? This week, Laura interviews activists working to fix their city’s water through more robust democratization...

How do you revitalize a city without gentrifying it? In this episode of the Laura Flanders Show, Laura goes to Buffalo, New York, where years of post-industrial stagnation have recently yielded to new economic growth. She interviews grassroots activists working to make sure that this local renaissance leaves their city more inclusive and equitable—not less. She explores how progressive, intersectional organizations are helping to create affordable housing and provide job training while...

The U.S. economy, weak or strong, is the question at the heart of the election. But it doesn't get to the reality which is that, whatever else it may be, the U.S. economy is not democratic or good for the planet. But it could be. Marjorie Kelly and Ted Howard of the Democracy Collaborative say how in their new book The Making of a Democratic Economy. Music in the middle: “The Offering” by Mark de Clive-Lowe from his album Heritage courtesy of Mashi Beats. Goal, reach 100 Patrons by end of...

This week the People’s Republic of China celebrates its 70th anniversary as months of pro-democracy demonstrations continue in Hong Kong. The historic demonstrations began in June as a response to the proposal of an extradition agreement with Mainland China. Concerned that the bill would further erode the civil liberties they enjoy under the one country two systems principle, many Hong Kongers took to the streets. All these months later, the city’s chief executive Carrie Lam has withdrawn...