Fight Back! Radio

On May 14th, 2026, Virginia Democratic Governor, Abigail Spanberger, betrayed the labor movement by vetoing legislation that would have legalized and modernized the labor rights of public workers in the state. To discuss this shameful decision, and the relationship between organized labor and electoral politics, we are joined by Chris Townsend. Chris has been a union member for 47, currently serve...

The U.S. is ramping up it's aggression towards Cuba, and the Trump administration, especially Marco Rubio, are throwing out threats of a possible U.S. invasion of the socialist country. Our guest today, Jessica Plichta ,had the chance to visit Cuba in May of 2026, and she sheds some light on what life is like in Cuba, and provides an analysis on how we should view the U.S. aggressive posture towar...

Public schools are under attack in the U.S., and to discuss the role charter schools are playing, we had the honor of talking to Chris Baehrend. Chris Baehrend served as the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Local 4343 and the Charter School Chair for the Chicago Teacher's Union (CTU), and is current an organizer in CTU. You can reach us by email at richard.fightbackradio@gmail.com Fight B...

While the U.S. continues it's war on Iran, it's simultaneously targeting protesters at home, especially those standing in Palestine. To cover the onslaught of attacks on the Palestine Solidarity Movement in the U.S., we talk to multiple guests: Alan Chavoya from the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repressions tells us about Salah Sarsour, president of the Islamic Society of...

A happy International Workers' Day from Fight Back! Radio to all whole celebrate, which should be all working people. To commemorate this significant holiday, we have on the political secretary of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization and editor of Fight Back! News , Mick Kelly. Mick is a veteran of the movement, and brings us a communist analysis of May Day, the state of the US, and the int...

In the 1970s, in response to the lack of rank-and-file power in the Teamsters union, the Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU) reform caucus was formed with the goal of, as Ken Paff puts it, "building power from below". Ken Paff was the national organizer of TDU for most of its existence, and in this interview he discloses the history of TDU's forming, the power struggles they had w...

There's currently no shortage of struggle across the peoples' movements, many of which are dominating the mainstream news outlets. We want to highlight a critical struggle that is not making the headlines, and that is the fight for Black Liberation. This movement is alive and well in the US, and leaders like Kobi Guillory are on the front lines of resisting the racist Trump agenda, killers cops, a...

On behalf of the Fight Back! Radio team, we want to thank all of our listeners for tuning in to 100 episodes of the news and views of the Peoples' Struggles. For this special episode, we decided to flip the mic around to Richard Berg. You have heard Richard speak to countless fighters from the various Peoples' Movements, but Richard has been a lifelong fighter himself. In today's episo...

The Fight Back! Radio team categorically condemns the shameful attacks on Iran, its people, and its sovereignty by the US and Israel. We recommend that our listeners hit the streets and join the other people of conscious calling for hands off Iran, the U.S. out of the Middle East, and an end to the Zionist project. We would also like to wish everyone a happy International Women's Day (IWD). Ou...

Struggle is intensifying across the US against ICE and for immigrant rights. Our guest today, Lyla Salinas, an organizer with the Community Service Organization (CSO) San José, is on the front lines of this struggle. From protesting ICE at Super Bowl LX, to on the ground community outreach, Lyrla gives us their first-hand account and a strategy for winning rights and legalization for all. You can...

Since the ceasefire agreement in October of 2025, we've seen Israel commit daily bombings, blocking of aid, the withholding of hostages and bodies of martyrs, and no sign of giving up their genocidal agenda. We're honored to be joined by Husam Marajda, co-chair of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN) , to unpack the current situation. Husam provides us with his analysis of the so...

The Fight Back! Radio production team sends our condolences to the family, friends, and loved ones of Renee Nicole Good, and we extend them to all those who have been taken from us by ICE. We wholeheartedly condemn Jonathan Ross for his brutal murder of Renee, and we extend that condemnation to all federal agents wreaking terror across the US, and the Trump administration for orchestrating this te...

On December 9, 2025, organizers from the US touched down in Venezuela to participate in the International Peoples' Assembly for Sovereignty and Peace conference. This was in an effort to show solidarity and support the people of Venezuela and their fight for the sovereignty of their country. Jae Franklin was one of these organizers. As a Black Queer organizer in Chicago, Jae serves as a co-cha...

From the government shutdown, to DOGE initiatives, to classic union busting tactics, federal workers in the US are under attack by the Trump administration. Colin Smalley joins us today to talk us through these attacks, the fights federal workers are waging to defend their rights, and the true motives of the Trump administration to sew chaos among the federal labor force. Colin serves as the presi...

This is a rebroadcast of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization's online event: No War Against Venezuela! The speakers at this event were Meredith Aby of the Anti-War Action Network ; Tom Burke, FRSO Organizational Secretary; Jim Byrne, FRSO member & anti-war activist; and Carlos Montes of the FRSO Central Committee. The speakers provided their analysis on the revolutionary state of Venez...

Chicago, IL – 500 organizers convened at the Chicago Teacher’s Union Hall from Friday, November 14 through Sunday, November 16 for the 52nd anniversary national conference of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (NAARPR). The conference was the fourth of its kind since the refounding of NAARPR in 2019. It showcased the tremendous growth of the organization and its fighting...

After bombing multiple boats that Trump claimed to be smuggling drugs, the US, under the leadership of Trump, has deployed its military, including the world’s largest warship, aircraft carrier USS Gerald R Ford, towards the Venezuelan coast. Tom Burke joins us today to talk about the possible US invasion of Venezuela that looms ahead, and the response we can expect from the steadfast Venezuelan pe...

In an egregious attempt to build power through fear, Donald Trump has sicced his thugs from ICE (as well as DHS) upon the city of Chicago. These federal agents are indiscriminately grabbing people off the street, including documented civilians, resorting to violence, and even deadly force. Omar Flores, chair of the Immigrant Rights Work Team of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Rep...

Assata Shakur was a fighter for freedom and an icon of the Black liberation movement. She came of age during the struggles of the 1960s and 70s, and everything that was good and powerful about that time, Assata embodied. The deep understanding that a better world is possible, and most importantly, the conviction to never give up. Never surrender. In today's episode, we look back on the legacy...

On Sept. 24, 2010, more than 70 FBI agents took part in a series of coordinated raids that were aimed at activists of the anti-war and international solidarity movements, and also members of Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) . In a bogus investigation of “material support of terrorism” charges, seven houses and an office in Minneapolis and Chicago were raided. One of those houses was the...

As Trump's occupation of DC continues on, so does the fight against his repression. The people of DC are rising up, taking the streets, and making it clear who their city belongs to. KB is one of the leaders of this resistance, and we're honored to sit down with them and discuss how the repression they are facing in DC, and how the DC Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression standi...

Colombian revolutionary Simón Trinidad has lived 75 years on this earth and his last 21 have been spent as a prisoner of the U.S. Empire. Once a valuable thinker and peace negotiator for the FARC-EP, four sham trials based on bogus charges saw a U.S. federal court eventually sentence Trinidad to 60 years in the Federal Supermax prison in Florence, CO. The terms of his imprisonment included the psy...

Sydney Loving is a long time activist that got her start in student activism, took part in the Black Lives Matter movement, was a founding member of the North Texas Action Committee and the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (NAARPR). Sydney now serves on the central committee of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), and in serving this role, she visited China to g...

Whether we're fighting in the streets, or fighting at the ballot box, Fight Back! Radio believes in winning all that can be won. Few people could speak truth to that more than Byron Sigcho Lopez, who is currently serving as the alderman of Chicago's 25th ward, and who truly represents the people and the people's movements. Read about Byron's involvement in Chicago telling local off...

We're 645 days in to a genocide, and Israel, with the US's support, isn't letting up. Furthermore, in an attempt to maintain US imperialist hegemony in the region, both Israel and the US have attacked Iran, all while Donald Trump is at the helm. Sara Mahmoud has been organizing for Palestinian liberation for nearly a decade. As a member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization , and as chair of...