Kiko's Freethinker's Forum

Dawn Duke, professor of Spanish and Portuguese in the Department of World Languages and Cultures at the University of Tennessee, joins the Forum to comment and discuss her latest book Mayaya Rising: Black Female Icons in Latin American and Caribbean Literature and Culture. Mayaya Rising is a study about Black female heroines in Latin America. It seeks to propose a methodology of description that w...

Amira Napier joins the Forum to discuss her YouTube channel Empathic Times and two articles "Business is Business- The Capitalist Lie..." and "Journalistic Integrity, Political Pundit Hostility, and The Fractured Left" published from her Endemic Times blog. The majority of our conversation involves the future of independent media and its content creators and the post-Bernie San...

In this emergency episode, I decided not to bring on a guest; instead, I highlight the worker-led non-profit organization Worker's Dignity/Dignidad Obrera based in Nashville, TN and give an update on recent events involving WDDO. I also provide spontaneous commentary about the so-called Tennessee Three, the "gun control" narrative, the prospects of a general strike in the United Stat...

In this in-depth interview Constance Every, City of Knoxville, TN mayoral candidate, local activist and non-profit founder, is challenging incumbent Indya Kincannon in the November 7, 2023, election and shares her vision of improving Knoxville's homelessness crisis, disparate ownership of Black residents, waste reduction and environmental consciousness and gun violence. Every attacks the root...

Margaret Kimberley, a co-founder of Black Agenda Report and the author of Prejudential: Black America and The Presidents returns to Kiko's Freethinker's Forum to discuss three of her recently published articles in March 2023. They are accessible at Black Agenda Report's website (listed below in the links). She comments on recent anti-war and anti-imperialist rallies in DC, Putin, Trump...

Alex Félix, executive director of "United for East Palestine", shares the continuous developments about the environmental crisis caused by the controlled burn of railcars in the Norfolk Southern trail derailment that occurred on February 3rd, 2023. Félix describes the objectives of the United for East Palestine Independent Science Fund and underlines the lack of government urgency in this affair,...

Gavin Bonney, Independent Candidate running for President of the United States in 2024, elaborates his positions on Universal Basic Income, minimum wage, student and medical debt and provides an overall view of the military and government functions. Bonney stresses the importance of critical thinking and skepticism towards the end of our conversation. Bonney's Official Twitter Page: https://tw...

S.L. Kanthan, a geopolitical analyst based in Bangalore, India, discusses the BRICS coalition of nations with regard to reestablishing a multipolar world hegemony; in previous decades, the United States has established a unipolar hegemony, but this power is under threat due to countries returning to trade in their local currencies and not the U.S. dollar. Kanthan argues that this push to de-dollar...

Tina Landis, organizer and founding member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation and author of the book Climate Solutions Beyond Capitalism and a contributor to the book Socialist Reconstruction, joins the Forum to discuss the practicality of an eco-socialist sustainable society. Landis argues that under a planned economy that prioritizes climate and environmental life that we can reduce our c...

Mike ter Maat, Libertarian Candidate for U.S. President in 2024, Austrian economist and former police officer, joins the Forum to discuss his steps that comprise the Gold New Deal. This extensive conversation also covers issues around school choice, decentralization, police immunity, police funding, and ending the Federal Reserve System. #goldnewdeal #policereform #decentralization #politics #libe...

Jeffrey Sommers, Professor of Political Economy & Public Policy in Global Studies and African & African Diaspora Studies and Senior Fellow at Institute of World Affairs at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, joins the forum to discuss the distinct geography of Ukraine and how this plays a part in the understanding the complexities of the Russo-Ukrainian war. He provides some background abou...

Dr. Gerard Keubeung, assistant professor of World Languages, Literatures & Cultures at McDaniel College, opens up a discussion about racial and cultural othering prevalent amongst Black people globally. Additionally, he details the ongoing effects of colonialization in African subjects as a result of the imperialist Global North. Based partly on his dissertation, we discuss the relationship be...

Dr. Matthew Witt, professor of public administration at the University of Laverne and a content specialist for Systemic Frog, an online media platform, joins the Forum to discuss a variance of topics within the framework of agnotology relating to Greta Thunberg, COVID-19, human identities and corporatized narratives. Initially, we examine Witt's article "The Labyrinth of Geography in a Time of Imp...

Dr. Jack Rasmus, economist, prolific author and radio show host, breaks down the historical context of the Ukraine-Russia war in the first half-hour of this wide-ranging interview. Subsequently, we discuss his contributing chapter in the book Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks World War III and his January 2022 article "10 Reasons Why the US May Want Russia to Invade Ukrain...

Brian Tuohy, author of several books such as Larceny Games, Disaster Government, and Season in the Abyss joins the Forum to discuss his latest book The Fix Is Still In: More Corruption and Conspiracies the Pro Sports Leagues Don't Want You to Know About. It is a sequel to his book The Fix Is In: The Showbiz Manipulations of the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and NASCAR. Please support Brian and visit his offi...

Jon Stasevich, Independent Candidate running for President of the United States for the 2024 cycle, joins the Forum again to discuss several key components of his campaign including the Ballot Access Coalition. CJ Rapp, Stasevich's marketing director, discusses Jon's website, technology, flaws in our political system and ways to approach difficult topics.  Ballot Access Coalition Official Web...

Ashaki Nichols, an Independent candidate running under the Redemption Party banner, explains her 2024 U.S. Presidential campaign. In this interview Nichols offers solutions to issues regarding immigration, policing, education, cannabis legalization, fiscal responsibility and lobbying, etc.   Ashaki Nichols' official website can be found here:   https://nichols4president.org/

Brittany Jones, U.S. Presidential Candidate for 2024, is running as Unaffiliated. She hails from the state of Oregon. In this wide-ranging interview, Jones gives her stances on a plethora of issues from lobbying, separation of church and state, homelessness, sex work, education and a variety of human rights issues.  Please check out Brittany Jones' official campaign website here: https://www....

People's Party of Texas members Athena, Curtis and Osi join the forum to discuss the People’s Party of Texas’ foundation and principles. We examine the importance of community building, mutual aid and grassroots organizing and why the People’s Party of Texas is a great alternative to people who are politically disengaged.    #sociocracy #horizontalism #democracy #politics #mutualaid #community #te...

Professor Nelsen joins the forum to discuss his upcoming book The Color of Civics, which is due for a July 1st, 2023 release. We discuss the content of the manuscript and his field work in the Chicago area, detailing the racial demographics of the public school system and the need for efficient civics courses to facilitate the political engagement of youth.   Matt's official website: Matthew...

Sarah returns to the Forum to share insight into two of her articles (see links below) and highlights of Latin America's most influential theorists and writers. There is considerable spotlight on Brazil's race relations and the persistence of the false racial democracy.   #axé #brazil #usa #blackconsciousness #zumbidospalmares #krump #krumping #africa #latinoamerica Sarah's Axé-ocracy Ar...

Vinay Orekondy joins the Forum to discuss an increasingly popular voting system known as Ranked Choice Voting. He explains various ranked choice voting systems and how Australia has implemented RCV for over a century.  If you like the sounds of RCV and it is not present in your area, go to the following website below for more information on how you can help change.   Rank The Vote offici...

J. returns to the forum to have a candid conversation about Kanye West's career trajectory after the loss of his highly publicized Adidas deal. We delve into some of his comments made in interviews over the past six months. Subsequently, this leads to a passionate discussion about the condemnation of Black men and the continuous violence directed toward them.   J's Rental Car Company Group Of...

Susan, Paula, and Mike join the forum again to discuss the newest developments in Julian Assange’s extradition case. Please refer to Episode 13 to watch/listen to this panel’s first discussion of the case.   Kiko’s Freethinker’s Forum is available on most podcasting platforms! Subscribe, rate, and tell your friends and family. There is plenty of great content already available.  Links: H...

Ramón returns to the forum to discuss the 2022 Referendum in Cuba, which legalized same-sex marriage in Cuba, and some of the lead-up to the new Family Code based on the 2019 Cuban Constitution. Ramón shares some perspectives about LGBTQ experiences in day-to-day Cuban life and we conclude discussing the difficulties of obtaining a stable job in higher education (the arts and humanities especially...