Coffee with Comrades

Holy shit, y'all. We made it. 100 Episodes. Kinda mind-boggling.  This week, we're joined by Abdul Y. Malik to talk about the NBA Wildcat Strike. We also answer questions sent in by comrades who listen to the show! Stick around 'til the very end for bloopers.  Read Abdul's piece on the NBA Wildcat Strike and follow him on Twitter.  Check out  Kino Lefter wherever you get your podcasts.  Support  C...

This week, Ruth Kinna joins Pearson to talk about her forthcoming book,  Great Anarchists . Ruth is an anarchist and professor at Loughborough University where she teaches Political Theory. Ruth is also the editor of Anarchist Studies, a biannual academic journal on anarchism.  Check out Dog Section Press and Anarchist Studies . Read issues of Great Anarchists  online right now!  Support  Coffee w...

This week, we share a special collaborative edition of  Coffee with Comrades  brought to you in collaboration with the Center for Participant Education and Florida State University's Graduate Assistants United by presenting a brief primer on U.S. Labor History. We explore the Haymarket Affair, discuss the I.W.W., examine the death of the labor movement at the hands of neoliberalism, and discuss ne...

This week, we're joined by Ozy from Xozypedia to discuss their open-source, all access hub for information! As their website reads, "Xozypedia is a site that houses it all. We firmly believe that information of all kinds can and should be spread and shared amongst us all, as it helps humanity grow and learn." We also talk about the hegemony of academia, the legacy of Aaron Swartz, and the explore...

This week, our friend Chris--better known as the hip-hop artist, Time--joins us to talk about revolutionary hip-hop and hardcore music. Chris and I create a mixtape of ten songs: 5 hip-hop tracks, 5 hardcore singles. We push them all together and create a meditation on sonic revolution, DIY practice and ethos, and reflect on the assembled songs' themes and ideas. This episode was a blast to record...

On this special bonus edition of Coffee with Comrades , I sit down with journalist Shane Burley, author of Fascism Today: What It Is and How to End It , to talk about his recent coverage of the Portland Uprisings. Check out Shane's coverage of the PDX Rebellion below!  Inside the battle for Portland with the independent journalists on the streets.  Portland is Trump's testing ground for authoritar...

In this week's program, I sit down with some former employees of No Evil Foods—a company in Asheville that brands itself as a progressive vegan plant-based meat-maker—and talk about their efforts to unionize their workplace and the brand's crackdown on organized labor. We talk about performative wokeness, vegan lifestylism, intersectionality, and so much more. Resources: No Evil Foods, a Faux-Left...

Hey, y'all!  We're back at it again with the second half of our two-part series on  The Last of Us, Pt. II .  If you haven't already, I definitely recommend checking out Ep. 93 of Coffee with Comrades, "Endure and Survive," before listening to this episode. Otherwise, ya might be a bit lost. Also, spoilers are pretty damn pervasive in this episode, so if you wanna go into the game without any prio...

This week, we're sharing the first half of a two-part series on Naughty Dog's magnum opus , The Last of Us, Pt. II . I've been looking forward to this game for, like, 7 years now and, since it finally arrived, the most auspicious way I could think to celebrate was by inviting a couple buds on the program to talk about its politics, its motifs, and its heart. Probably goes without saying, but there...

We are back on our bullshit today with yet another edition of Coffee with Comrades . This week, we're sharing another collaboration with Capital City Mutual Aid and the Center for Participant Education. I facilitated a class on operational security and it was…well, it was a bit of a mess if I'm being perfectly honest. But, hey, it was fun, nonetheless, and I sincerely hope you get something out of...

This week, we celebrate Pride Month by sharing a special collaborative episode we recorded with our pals in  Kino Lefter , a socialist movie podcast. In this edition of the program, we discuss  Portrait of a Lady on Fire , the ravishing, queer, period drama directed by Céline Sciamma .  Follow  Kino Lefter  on  Twitter  and support them on  Patreon . Support  Coffee with Comrades  on  Patreon , fo...

This episode is dedicated to the memory of Oluwatoyin Salau and Victoria "Vicki" Sims. Rest in power. May you be avenged. *** This week on Coffee with Comrades , we celebrate our two-year anniversary by sharing a conversation with two community-organizers on the ground in the Twin Cities, Jessica and Cameron. We talk about Jessica and Cameron's experiences in the recent uprising that has swept acr...

This week, Pearson is joined by Nichole and Callie of Bitchy Shitshow to talk about, well, a whole bunch of stuff. This is a wide-ranging conversation touching on patriarchy, racism, subcultures vs. countercultures, creation, and so much more. We hope you dig it!  CZN PSAs:  Street Action PSA   Jail Support PSA  Notes: Support Bitchy Shitshow on Patreon and follow them on Twitter and Instagram and...

With protests continuing in cities all over the world, the Channel Zero Network has some reminders on how to support those who have been arrested , and those who may be arrested in the coming days and weeks .    Arrests are one tool cops use to repress mass movements. Arrest keeps protesters off the streets during demonstrations.  They scare people with th e threat  of court cases  and potential p...

For this special bonus edition of  Coffee with Comades , Pearson is joined by Delilah of Tallahassee Community Action Committee to discuss the ongoing Tallahassee Uprising. The Florida capital has been rocked by one protest after another in the wake of state violence. All across the so-called United States, people have been crying out for justice. Delilah talks about her own experiences here in Ta...

Due to these wild times we're living in, some comrades and I in Capital City Mutual Aid wanted to put together a skill-share and teach-in on street action protests. In this episode, you'll hear me talk way too much, but hopefully it'll provide you with useful ideas/tips, and strategies. This was a digital meeting and I have done barely zero editing, so please forgive any weird sounds in the backgr...

BLACK LIVES MATTER  JUSTICE FOR TONY MCDADE  JUSTICE FOR MYCHAEL JOHNSON JUSTICE FOR GEORGE FLOYD This week, Pearson is joined by Stephen and Ted of Pixel Pushers Union 512, a worker-owned cooperative and game developer of Tonight We Riot .  In this edition of the program, Stephen and Ted chat about what it's like to be an indie developer in a market of triple-AAA game developers, how their cooper...

As protests heat up, the Channel Zero Network has some reminders on how to stay safe while out in the streets. Bring buddies and don't let them out of the range of your voice.  Write a legal aid number on your body so you can get help if you get arrested. Be sure to know your buddies legal names and birthdays. You'll need these to help find them if they're arrested. When moving around, walk don't...

Today, Tauno Biltsted joins Pearson to talk about his new book,  The Anatomist's Tale , a novel about an unwitting surgeon who gets swept up in a high seas adventure of piracy and rebellion. In this discussion, Tauno provides a history of his experience squatting, details his current residence at the Umbrella House , and talks about tools and strategies for organizers looking to squat in their own...

This week, Pearson got to sit down for a whirlwind conversation with scott crow , anarchist, author, purveyor of fine records, and long-time community-organizer. We chat about scott's radicalization, compassionate self-critique, the shortcomings of mass movement-centric forms of organizing, media and perception, and so much more.  Follow scott crow on Twitter and visit his website .  Check out Age...

This week, Pearson is joined by Matt and Johnny from Woodbine , an experimental community hub in Ridgewood, Queens, to chat about moving from mutual aid to disaster confederalism. Matt and Johnny also talk about why base-building is essential to dual-power strategies and discuss Woodbine and Hungry Monk's ongoing community-organizing in the midst of COVID-19.  Follow Woodbine on Twitter , Instagra...

Okay, so... Is this the silliest edition of Coffee with Comrades ever made? Is it the most wholesome AF content on the planet?  Or is this entire episode just one big shit-post? Maybe all of the above?? Who know!? Regardless, we made an episode about Animal Crossing: New Horizons . We hope you'll fuck with it.  Liz from Rebel Steps joined us to chat about the politics of AC:NH , the newest game fr...

We're back at it again with  Doomer vs. Bloomer , our pals on the Channel Zero Network. At times like these, we have to learn how to grieve together and mourn collectively. We must also, simultaneously, dialectically, engage in the necessary work of community-organizing. So, what do we do? Franz and Kami join Pearson to (hopefully) offer some potential ideas.  Check out  Doomer vs. Bloomer  on Twi...

This week, Cindy Milstein sits down for a conversation with Pearson about her new edited anthology, Deciding For Ourselves: The Promise of Direct Democracy. In this episode, we chat about joy, grief, organizing in an era of COVID-19, direct democrac(ies), and the beautiful messiness of participatory praxis and collaborative decision-making.  Pick up a copy of Deciding For Ourselves: The Promise of...

This week, Eamon and I wrap up our dialogue on COVID-19, specifically with an eye toward what we can do to confront this crisis. We chat about the surge of mutual aid organizing and base-building, the wave of rent strikes hitting major urban centers, and community-organizing in a time of self-quarantining. Above all else, Eamon and I talk about how we can all live our lives so fucking brilliantly...