Coffee with Comrades

Today, I'm sharing an interview I did with my homie, Steven, who's running for city council in Minneapolis. Steven and I chat about the George Floyd uprising, the abolitionist struggle in the city, Steven's platform and politics, and I also ask him some tough questions from the left about political struggle and the limitations of the ballot box.  Follow Steven on Twitter , visit his website , and...

This week marks the one year anniversary of the so-called U.S. being placed under lockdown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. One year ago, I was in New York city visiting childhood friends and the comrades in Dumb & Awful . I was literally in the middle of making plans to chill with Amy and Liz from Rebel Steps when the coronavirus was officially declared a national emergency. In the time that...

I recently sat down with Harsha Walia , author of the new book Border & Rule: Global Migration, Capitalism, and the Rise of Racist Nationalism , to discuss the displacement crisis, the struggle for migrant justice, the resurgence of far-right ethnonationalism across the planet, and the internationalist framework necessary to confront the specific sort of violence conjured by borders.  Follow Harsh...

I sat down with the comrades in the South New England Socialist Rifle Association to discuss their efforts to create the first explicitly leftist gun range. Stick around 'til the very end for possibly the goofiest blooper reel in  Coffee with Comrades  history.  Support the SNE SRA's fund-raising efforts ! Follow the SNE SRA on Twitter and Instagram .  Check out It's Going Down 's coverage of the...

In this episode of Coffee with Comrades , I am joined by Nic, host of our Channel Zero Network sister-show, Pynk Spots , to chat about managing shyness and introversion in media work, teaching, and community-organizing.   This wide-ranging conversation covers it all: prepping for public speaking, decentering yourself at rallies and demonstrations, figuring out how to cope with introversion, mitiga...

This week, my friend George stopped by to talk about the intersections of straight-edge and radical politics. We talked about being sober, punk and hardcore, and the how revolutionaries might benefit from the clarity and focus of being drug-free. But, fear not--neither of us are here trying to provide some prescriptive dogma. Honestly, it was just fun to catch up and shoot the shit. George also ta...

After we put out our three-part series introducing socialism , communism , and anarchism , I had a flood of folks message me on Twitter or shoot me an email and ask, "What happened to the social ecology episode?" As I've said before, sadly, it got lost to the eldritch gods of audio-editing. Rest assured that we'll do a deep-dive into social ecology at some point in the near future as it's a branch...

On January 15, in Tallahassee, FL, the FBI arrested Daniel Baker, a local leftist, veteran, and a former combat medic with the YPG, on trumped-up charges meant to silence dissent and criminalize community armed defense.  FBI agents bullrushed Dan's apartment, guns drawn, broken open the front door, and threw a flash bang grenade before making the arrest. Dan, who has been described by various news...

Honestly, this is probably one of my Top 5 favorite Coffee with Comrades episodes so you should probably stop reading this description and just listen.  No, seriously.  You sure?  Okay, then.  This week, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Carla Bergman, one of the authors of Joyful Militancy and co-host of Silver Threads and Grounded Futures, to discuss militant joy. This conversation lead us...

On this week's edition of  Coffee with Comrades , Pearson sits down with James, a member of the Oglala Lakota nation, co-host of the  Voices of the Resurgence  podcast, and an activist with the Creek Patrol to talk about Camp Mniluzahan, an encampment on indigenous land in the Black Hills providing food, shelter, mutual aid, and even DIY COVID-19 tests to houseless relatives in need.  Donate to Ca...

In light of current events, we're bringing you the program a little early this week and, in case you haven't already guessed it, yes, this is yet another lefty podcast about the far-right insurgency and attempted coup at the U.S. Capitol Building earlier this week. We at the CZN are definitely interested in the possibility of doing more of these roundtable discussions with different members of the...

Happy New Year!  Episode 114 of Coffee with Comrades features our conversation with John, one of the folks behind the Working Class History project. In this edition of the program, we discuss WCH's new book, Working Class History: Everyday Acts of Resistance and Rebellion , WCH's unique approach to historical records and story-telling, how to use WCH's new book to enrich historical education, the...

I recently got the chance to sit down with my friends in ABC w/Danny and Jim for a collaborative episode to interview Ruth Kinna about her book, The Government of No One . The resulting discussion was an absolute blast and I can't wait to share it with you all. But, first, a couple quick announcements. Pick up a copy of Ruth's book, The Government of No One Follow ABC w/Danny & Jim on Twitter Our...

This week, my pal Kevin from Turnip Greens Radio and Open Source Farms joins me to talk about mutual aid and why it is good and we should do more of it. We also talk about the forthcoming Biden presidency, Obama being in the news again, and much more. Support  Turnip Greens Radio  on Patreon , follow them on Twitter , and buy some tea from Open Source Farms !  Support Coffee with Comrades  on  Pat...

This week, we're sharing a recent collaboration we did with our friends over at  Dumb & Awful , discussing Florida in all its weirdness and excess.  Follow Dumb & Awful on Twitter , pick up their merch , and support them on Patreon . Follow Rob and Brett on Twitter, too! Support  Coffee with Comrades  on  Patreon , follow us on  Twitter  and  Instagram , and visit our  website . Coffee with Comrad...

In this week's edition of Coffee with Comrades , I'm pleased to be joined by some intrepid comrades from Tallahassee collaborating on community gardening, building autonomy, and generating dual-power in our neighborhood. Live Oak Radical Ecology are on Twitter and Instagram . Donate to L.O.R.E.'s PayPal ! Check out Ep. 39 and Ep. 40 of Coffee with Comrades for more context on Tallahassee's food sy...

This week, I sat down with Brandon, Jaiden, and Koi from the K'é Infoshop to talk about indigenous mutual aid, moving beyond anarchism, and kinship. Visit the K'é Infoshop's website , follow them on Twitter and Instagram and Facebook , and donate to their mutual aid efforts "In the Navajo Nation, anarchism has indigenous roots," The Nation , by Cecilia Nowell Election Spotify playlist put together...

This week, we share a special collaborative edition of  Coffee with Comrades  hosted by my friend, Jordan, who coordinates the programming for the Student Life Cinema at the ASLC. My colleague, Liz, and I sat down for a chat about queer horror, transphobia in the music industry, LGBTQ+ representation on the silverscreen, and the future of queer cinema.  Support  Coffee with Comrades  on  Patreon ,...

We're back again with another episode of  Coffee with Comrades . This week, we feature a collaborative episode with  the Green & Red  podcast on the history of street demonstrations. Plus, we talk about how you can do a street demo of your own!  Follow  Black & Green  on Twitter .  Support  Coffee with Comrades  on  Patreon , follow us on  Twitter  and  Instagram , and visit our  website . Coffee...

This week, Margaret Killjoy joins us for the hour to discuss her podcasts, fiction, and music. We spoke about Margaret's visionary fiction, how to write anarchist characters without being a polemic ideologue, the tension between survival and the creative work that makes life worth living, the dialectical nature of art and reality, and why death makes life precious. Follow Margaret on Twitter , vis...

This week, we're wrapping up the third installment of our mini-series on lefty ideologies by closing with what I suspect is the most radical, uncompromising horizon of revolutionary politics: anarchism. As I've said on every single episode of this three part mini-series, don't take my word on what you're about to hear. I'm biased. I am an anarchist because I reckon that anarchy is the most dangero...

In this week's edition of Coffee with Comrades , we continue our exploration of the three prevailing leftist tendencies with a discussion of the big, scary c-word: communism. I said this last week and, doubtless, I'll say it again next Tuesday, but I wanna provide a quick caveat before we launch into today's edition of the program. A lot of people have a lot of different feelings and perspectives...

So, a lot of listeners who're new to left politics have asked us in the past to do introductions to the major theoretical and ideological positions on the broad left. The good news is we've done just that! Last year, I sat down with some friends and comrades in the Center for Participant Education to outline, in broad strokes, the differences between socialism, communism, and anarchism. What you'l...

This week, I am joined by two lovely guests: Soph and Izzy. I wanted to check in with two of the coolest kids I know to get a new perspective on the world. While I obviously think it's valuable to listen to authors and journalists, musicians and community-organizers, or chat with other podcasters, I think it's equally important to elevate the imaginations, passions, and perceptions of younger gene...

This week, I'm pleased to be joined by the lovely Vicky Osterweil , author of the new book In Defense of Looting: A Riotous History of Uncivil Action . In this wide-ranging conversation, we talk about the inextricable nature of class and race, the abolition of whiteness as a necessary step for police and prison abolition, the efficacy of riots, and why joy is what scares cops and politicians the m...