Movement Memos

Big Tech is selling us a future in which workers are increasingly disposable, human expertise is devalued, and corporate power is more concentrated than ever. But is that future inevitable? In this episode, Kelly talks with Alex Hanna, co-author of The AI Con, about AI as a tool of class warfare, the hype that obscures its real-world harms, and how workers are organizing to resist Big Tech's agend...

Across the country, communities are fighting back against the construction of AI data centers and winning. In this episode, Kelly talks with Saul Levin, host of The Hum, about the growing movement against Big Tech's infrastructure boom and the strategies organizers are using to stop these projects. They discuss how unlikely coalitions are building power, sharing tactics, and challenging the politi...

In this episode, Kelly talks with organizer Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson about what it means to defend an election under authoritarianism, beyond simply telling people to “vote harder.” They discuss the “win, prove, enforce” framework, the strategic case for early voting, how ordinary people can help protect the voting process, and why relational organizing and staying in right relationship across po...

What happens when machines become easier to relate to than other people? In this episode, Kelly talks with author Sherry Turkle about artificial intimacy, the erosion of empathy and social skills, and the political dangers of replacing human connection with frictionless simulations of care. Music: Son Monarcas and Sarah the Illstrumentalist You can find a transcript and show notes (including links...

Our current infrastructure was built for a world that no longer exists. How do we build the power to survive when the systems we depend on fail us? In this episode, Kelly talks with guests Keyante Aytch, Alice Liu, and Brandon Bunt about the tools and relationships that can help make communities resilient—from mesh networks and off-grid solar to neighborhood disaster hubs.

“We can have billionaires or we can have democracy. We cannot have both,” Gil Durán says. In this episode, Gil and Kelly discuss the bizarre fixations and political fantasies of tech billionaires like Peter Thiel, and how those ideas are being translated into real-world governance. Durán and Hayes also discuss Silicon Valley’s Christian cosplay, and how traditional Christian ideas are being used a...

“It comes down to the stealing of everything that is and the taking of everything that is,” says Joseph White Eyes. In this episode, Kelly talks with Native organizers Joseph White Eyes and Krystal Two Bulls about the struggle against data centers in Native communities. The conversation explores how the AI boom is advancing a new era of colonial extraction, and how Native communities are resisting...

A lot of AI technology may not work very well, but providing consumers with reliable information was never its major commercial promise. Investors have poured billions into generative AI because of the promise that it will eliminate jobs on a massive scale. Tech journalist Brian Merchant joins Kelly to discuss how the AI boom is being used to displace workers, degrade information, expand surveilla...

As climate disasters intensify and authoritarian threats escalate, most of us are underprepared for moments when systems fail or are weaponized against us. In this episode, Kelly talks with Chris Begley and Amy Edelman, authors of The Emergency Playbook: A Bunker-Free Guide to Disaster Preparation, about how preparedness can move us away from fear, isolation and bunker fantasies, and toward commun...

“The immigration camp, it really depends on a lot of local infrastructure. It is not this untouchable federal abstraction. It is up to us, neighbors, community members, and we have the actual power to shut them down,” says journalist John Washington. In this episode, John and Kelly Hayes discuss his book How to Close a Camp: Dispatches from the Fight Against Immigrant Detention, the rapid expansio...

“Trump is banking on the idea that the entire U.S. population is as cynical and hateful as he is. And evidently, it's not true,” says Khury Petersen-Smith. In this episode, Kelly and Khury discuss Trump’s “whenever wars,” the spectacle of militarized violence, and the anti-war movement this moment demands. From ICE raids in U.S. cities to military violence abroad, Kelly and Khury explore how fasci...

“One of the greatest cures for despair and depression is to do something, and to do something with the people who care,” says Rebecca Solnit. In this episode, Kelly talks with Rebecca about hope, backlash, political memory, and why history can help us understand our own power. Their conversation explores feminism, climate grief, authoritarianism, misogyny, interdependence, and why the right’s push...

In the second part of a two-part conversation, Kelly and Tanuja Jagernauth discuss why conflict transformation can be so difficult, what happens when efforts at repair break down, and why conflict resolution skills are survival skills in fascist times. Music: Son Monarcas, Katori Walker, and David Celeste You can find a transcript and show notes (including links to resources) here: truthout.org/se...

“We have a great opportunity in our movements to learn how to be opponents without being enemies,” says Tanuja Jagernauth. In this first of a two-part conversation, Tanuja and Kelly discuss the language people use to describe harm and conflict, the difference between disagreement and abuse, and how organizers can move through conflict with more clarity and care under fascist conditions. Music: Son...

“A lot of people in power view knowledge as dangerous,” says organizer Mariame Kaba. In this episode, Kelly speaks with Maraime and organizers Alison Macrina and Katie Clark about why public libraries matter, not just as places to borrow books, but as vital public infrastructure. They discuss libraries as spaces where people can gather without spending money, learn together, and build the kind of...

Why do some people change, while others double down? In this episode of Movement Memos, Kelly talks with journalist and author Lewis Raven Wallace about the deeper mechanics of political transformation. Drawing on neuroscience, trauma research, and stories of people who have broken with deeply held ideologies, Wallace argues that real change rarely happens through debate or persuasion. Instead, tr...

In this episode, Kelly talks with journalist Andrea Pitzer, author of One Long Night: A Global History of Concentration Camps, about what it means to live under a concentration camp regime — and how people can fight back. Pitzer explains how mass detention systems are built through “end runs” around the law, how they become normalized, and why the rapid expansion of U.S. detention infrastructure s...

“Our days are riding on the learning edge of a whirlwind — crisis management, harm mitigation, helping everyone come to terms with new conditions and new impossible choices that they're faced with,” says Minneapolis organizer Andrew Fahlstrom. In this episode, Andrew and local organizers Jordan and Susan Raffo talk with Kelly about community defense in Minneapolis, the social fabric of collective...

“The best way to respond to fear and intimidation tactics is to just show we're not afraid. We're going to keep showing up. We're going to keep speaking out,” says musician Jocelyn Walsh, who is facing federal charges for protesting ICE activity in Chicagoland. In this episode of “Movement Memos,” Walsh and Chicago organizers Gabe Gonzalez and Rey Wences talk with host Kelly Hayes about what activ...

“We’re very aware that things are awful … That means that we’re alive, and that we want something different. That’s a really important starting point, is just to even have that kind of repulsion and to have that awful feeling about things,” says Tamara Nopper. “So, I want more of that energy, but I want more of that energy to be connected to some more skills.” In this episode, Tamara and Kelly dis...

What happens when our movements start to run on empty? In this episode, Kelly talks with organizer and WildSeed Society strategist Aaron Goggans about trauma, dysregulation, burnout, and the myth that we can just push through. They discuss why nervous system regulation is a crucial part of political strategy, how neurodivergent organizers hold essential wisdom for this moment, and why rest, ritual...

“It's all hands on deck and we have to fight. This is the only way,” says Leanne Betasamosake Simpson. In this episode, Leanne and Kelly discuss lessons from Leanne’s book Theory of Water: Nishnaabe Maps to the Times Ahead and the ongoing struggle against ICE in Chicago, where Kelly is involved in rapid response efforts. Music: Son Monarcas and Leanne Betasamosake Simpson You can find a transcript...

“We can only be brave together,” says Mariame Kaba. In this episode, Kelly talks with Maraime and writer and organizer Red Schulte about political education, collective courage, and the mistakes we’ll make along the way. Music: Son Monarcas & Sarah, the Illstrumentalist You can find a transcript and show notes (including links to resources) here: truthout.org/series/movement-memos/ If you would li...

"You're either on the side that is singing and showing up and holding other people, or you're on the side of the helicopters and the gas canisters and the guns,” says Eman Abdelhadi. In this episode, Eman, Maya Schenwar, and Kelly discuss immigration raids and the violent repression of protesters in Chicago, the administration’s war on free speech and the organized left, and lessons from the upcom...

“History shows us that repression always breeds resistance. Fear can never kill solidarity," says Chicago organizer Miguel Alvelo Rivera. In this episode, Kelly uplifts the voices of activists and organizers across Chicago as the Trump administration's "Operation Midway Blitz" terrorizes communities across the Chicagoland area. Benji Hart, Stacy Davis Gates, Arti Walker-Peddakotla, Ric Wilson, and...