Interdependent Study

With the 2024 election behind us, it is important to figure out where we go from here. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss the piece “Donald Trump’s Victory, the Elitism of Democrats, and the Need to Build a Hospitable Left” in Hammer & Hope, which features a conversation between Daniel Denvir and Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor analyzing the 2024 presidential election results, the concept and effects...

2024 is almost over so it’s time for our last episode of the year! Listen as Aaron and Damien reflect on the past year of our podcast, and each share our top 5 moments from the show. Thank you so much for listening to Interdependent Study! We’ll see you in 2025! Follow us on social media and visit our website! ⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ , ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Websi...

There has been much debate over the years about the actions of the United States around the globe as the world’s leading democracy. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss the book Abolition Democracy: Beyond Empire, Prisons, and Torture by Angela Davis, which is a collection of interviews of Davis discussing her critiques of democracy, the connections between the criminal punishment system and the mil...

History and everyday life have proven that the prison industrial complex and fascism are connected. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss the piece “The Punishment System and Fascism Go Hand in Hand” by Rachel Herzing, Amelia Kirby, and Jack Norton in Hammer & Hope, which analyzes the importance of understanding the role that the prison industrial complex plays in the existing and emerging threat...

We must be hypervigilant and educated consumers of our news outlets and media in order to fight fascism. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss the piece “Here Are 5 Media-Related Actions We Can All Take Before Inauguration Day” by Maya Schenwar and Lara Witt co-published in Truthout and Prism, which outlines several strategies and actions for the media and consumers to pursue leading up to and beyond...

Our movement toward a more just, humane, and liberated society begins with love. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss the book Loving Corrections by adrienne maree brown, which is a collection of essays, conversations, and poems focused on love-based corrections and reframes for ourselves, our society, and our movements for liberation in the context of our current political climate, and what we lear...

There is great hope and potential in the possibility of us truly representing ourselves through direct democracy. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss the piece “The Potential Benefits of Direct Democracy and Voting for Policies, Not Personalities” by Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò in Hammer & Hope, which analyzes the concept of direct democracy as a powerful and alternative strategy for our electoral and po...

The connections between Black and Palestinian liberation struggles are clear and present now more than ever. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss the piece “Black-Palestinian Solidarity in Moments of Crisis and Beyond” by Nashwa Bawab in In These Times, which features an interview with four incredible activists—Eman Abdelhadi, Calvin John Smiley, Sandra Tamari, and James Burch—about the importance a...

There is so much to learn about the religious underpinnings and functions of the mass criminalization of Black, Indigenous, and marginalized communities. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss the book White Property, Black Trespass: Racial Capitalism and the Religious Function of Mass Criminalization by Andrew Krinks, which analyzes the existence and history of police, prisons, and the criminal punis...

We’ve got a special episode this week! Listen as Aaron and Damien engage in a dialogue activity using The Skin Deep’s {THE AND} On Racism Edition tool and have a special conversation about their personal thoughts and reflections on a wide range of social justice issues. Follow us on social media and visit our website! Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ , ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

June Jordan’s experiences and writings about censorship and dissent still apply today. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss the piece “June Jordan on Palestine and American Delusions” in In These Times, which features an introduction by Sherell Barbee. This piece features excerpts of June Jordan’s essay “Life After Lebanon” (1984), which is a reflection on Israel’s invasion of Lebanon in 1982 and th...

The perils of fascism are a danger to our ability to reach the North Star of liberation. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss the piece “Toni Morrison on Fascism and Censorship” in In These Times, which features an introduction by Sherell Barbee. This piece features reprints of Toni Morrison’s essays “Peril” (2008) and “Racism and Fascism” (1995), which highlight the dangers of fascism to all of us...

Abolition and community-based responses to harm are critical to our collective liberation. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss the resource “Transformative Justice Knows No Borders: Learning from Community-Based Responses to Harm Around the World” by Melanie Brazzell and published by Interrupting Criminalization, which shares lessons learned from the May 2023 “Practicing for an Abolitionist World”...

The 1985 MOVE bombing in Philadelphia was a stunning and tragic incident and violation of civil and human rights. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss the documentary Let the Fire Burn: Tragedy in Philadelphia (directed and produced by Jason Osder), which is a found-footage film that chronicles the longtime feud between the city of Philadelphia and the Black liberation organization MOVE which culmin...

Abolition, #defund, and the work and fight for collective liberation are necessary in order to build a better world for all of us. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss the book Defund: Conversations toward Abolition by Calvin John Smiley, which is a collection of conversations between Smiley and several abolitionist organizers and leaders reflecting on various aspects of the defund movement and how...

As the general election approaches, what’s happening in Louisiana is a testing ground for repressive, fascist legislation and oppression. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss the piece “Louisiana is the blueprint for further fascist repression” by Gabrielle A. Perry in Scalawag, which outlines and analyzes the impact of some of the alarming fascist legislation in the state and the far-right politica...

The Uncommitted Movement is strong, committed, and not going anywhere. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss the piece “Spurned by the DNC, the Uncommitted Movement Staged a Sit-in” by Eman Abdelhadi in In These Times, which analyzes the Democratic National Convention’s decision to refuse to allow a vetted speech by a Palestinian to be given on the DNC stage, and outlines what the Uncommitted Movemen...

Protests are often an effective tool as part of any strategy for social movements. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss the pieces “Why protests work, even when not everybody likes them” and “How to make sure your disruptive protest helps your cause” by Mark Engler and Paul Engler in Waging Nonviolence, which outline how movements can understand and harness the polarizing effects of protest and use...

There are many similarities between student organizing and protests against South African apartheid in the 1980s and the student organizing and protests against the genocide in Palestine today. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss a piece in Hammer & Hope titled “My Time Organizing on Campus Against Apartheid in South Africa” by Barbara Ransby, which details her experience as a young college org...

Palestinian resistance is connected to all struggles for peace and liberation around the world. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss the book Their Borders, Our World: Building New Solidarities with Palestine, edited by Mahdi Sabbagh, which is a collection of essays that connect Palestinian resistance with global freedom struggles against settler colonialism and advances the power of the practice of...

“Building skilled, coordinated, expansive, and robust ecosystems of collective care is only becoming more and more essential to our collective survival.” Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss “Mapping Community Ecosystems of Collective Care”, an Interrupting Criminalization toolkit written by Shannon Perez-Darby and Andrea J. Ritchie, which provides resources, activities, strategies, and best practic...

“The evolution of US cities always happens on the back of Black communities.” Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss the documentary Barry Farm: Community, Land & Justice in Washington, DC, directed by Sabiyha Prince and Samuel George, which chronicles the history of the African American community known as Barry Farm, as well as the lives of its generations of residents and plans for and impact of...

The organizing and civil disobedience taking place on college campuses across the country is not going away anytime soon. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss the piece "The Crackdown on Campus Protests is Just Beginning" by Adam Federman in In These Times, which highlights and analyzes how higher education institutions across the country have changed their policies on demonstrations in re...

There’s so much to learn from history, especially Indigenous history and movements, in our present day activism and fight for collective liberation. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss the piece “Indigenous Resistance is Post-Apocalyptic”, which is a discussion between Nick Serpe and Nick Estes about Estes’ book Our History Is The Future about the connections between the history of resistance to se...

“Prison abolition is not a fad, any more than it is a distant, utopian farce. It is a practical organizing praxis that is making a difference today.” Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss the book How To Abolish Prisons: Lessons from the Movement Against Imprisonment by Rachel Herzing and Justin Piché, which examines the evolution, strategies, and work of the grassroots movement for prison abolition...