Interdependent Study

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! Instagram ,  Twitter ,  Facebook ,  Website ,  Leave us a voice message ,  Merc...

The persistence of police violence in this country necessitates the need for abolition and the fight for real community safety. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss a report written by Andrea Ritchie for Interrupting Criminalization called “The Struggle Continues”, which analyzes the state of the organizing work of the #DefundPolice movement in this country, and how we need to fight for and invest i...

The homeless sweeps that are happening around the country are incredibly violent and traumatizing for unhoused people. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss two pieces, including “Homeless ‘Sweeps’ Increase Mortality Rates of Unhoused People, Research Finds” by Zane McNeill in Truthout and a report called “Homelessness and Racial Disparities” by the National Alliance to End Homelessness, and what we...

The FBI and U.S. government labeled Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as “the most dangerous man in America”. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss the book The Radical King by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., which is a collection of essays and speeches by Dr. King that showcase his revolutionary and radical vision for social justice in America and around the globe, his beliefs about nonviolent movement and o...

The rise is fascism in the United States will only enable and perpetuate white supremacy and nationalism. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss a piece in Truthout called “ US Fascism Is Spreading Under the Guise of ‘Patriotic Education’ ” by Henry A. Giroux, which examines and analyzes the history and connections between the state-sponsored attacks on Black people and marginalized communities and th...

It is vitally important that we have conversations with children and young people to help them learn and unlearn the conditioning of policing and carceral punishment in our society. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss the In Our Own Hands toolkit , which is a resource designed by Rania El Mugammar to help people engage in conversations about policing, prisons, and transformative justice in the live...

Across the country, 44 states have proposed over 380 anti-trans bills so far in 2023. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss two articles, including “Florida GOP’s New Anti-Trans Bill Is So Extreme It Could Ban Treatment for Breast Cancer” by Tori Otten in The New Republic and “The anti-drag bills sweeping the U.S. are straight from history's playbook” by Manuela López Restrepo in NPR, and what we...

The Stop Cop City movement in Atlanta is important and necessary social justice work. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss two articles, including “The fight to Stop Cop City has decades-old roots” by Micah Herskind in Prism and “The Forest for the Trees” by David Peisner in The Bitter Southerner, and what we learn and can do about the Stop Cop City movement and its connections to exploitation, raci...

Black radical resistance in response to the prison industrial complex, white supremacy, racism, violence, intolerance, oppression, and more continues to be necessary work for the liberation for all people. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss the book As Black as Resistance: Finding the Conditions for Liberation by Zoé Samudzi and William C. Anderson, which calls for a new form of transformative pol...

We all deserve to find and move towards our north star. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss The Freedom Papers by The Dream Defenders, which is a tremendous resource and collection of dreams grounded in collective liberation that outlines a vision for a world that we all deserve, and how we can use these papers and wisdom in our daily lives and continued work for social justice. Follow us on social...

We have to be committed to the work and to building movements, strategies, and our capacity in order to achieve our freedom dreams and collective liberation. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss a piece in Hammer & Hope called “After the Uprising, What Is To Be Done?”, featuring a conversation between Derecka Purnell, Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò, and Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor about the legacy of the protests a...

Our freedom dreams for the world we need and want to see are dependent on healthy, strong, and resilient movements and organizations. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss an article called Building Resilient Organizations by Maurice Mitchell in The Forge, which identifies and analyzes some of the difficulties faced by social justice organizations and movements, and what organizers (and all of us) ca...

We must do all we can to organize and fight against racism and fascism in our society. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss an op-ed piece called “Ron DeSantis’ Attack on Black Studies Is Textbook Proto-Fascism” by Barbara Ransby in Truthout, which calls out and examines Governor DeSantis’ recent and ongoing racist and fascist efforts, and what we should do in Florida and beyond to combat these dang...

We should all be free to imagine, dream, and build the kind of world we deserve. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss the book Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination (Twentieth Anniversary Edition) by Robin D.G. Kelley, and what we learn from this brilliant, wide-ranging exploration of the history of Black radicalism and movements around the world that we can apply to our continued work for s...

Police violence in this country is out of control and a real danger to all of us. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss a piece called “There Were Only 12 Days Last Year When Police Didn’t Kill Someone” by Sharon Zhang and another piece titled “After a Record Year for Police Violence, Is It Finally Time to Defund the Police?” by Sonali Kolhatkar in In These Times magazine, and what we need to do as a...

There are so many incredible lessons to learn from the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss a documentary called “King in the Wilderness”, which features interviews of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s friends, family, and comrades and explores the final years of his life and work, and the impact that Dr. King’s life and legacy continue to have on our prese...

The criminalization of people of color and the prevalence of anti-Blackness in this country have deep roots. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss a report called “Criminalizing Blackness: An analysis of the impacts of the 1994 Crime Bill and 1996 Immigration Bill on Black people and Policy Recommendations to Address the Harms Caused” produced by the Movement for Black Lives alongside UndocuBlack, th...

2022 is coming to a close and it’s our last episode of the year! Listen as Aaron and Damien reflect on the past year of our podcast, and each of us share our top 5 moments from the show. Thank you for listening to Interdependent Study! We’ll see you in 2023!  Follow us on social media and visit our website! Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , Website , Leave us a voice message , Merch store

With the World Cup now over, the story of wealth, power, and corruption in soccer is worth knowing and understanding. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss a piece called “How the Story of Soccer Became the Story of Everything” by Tim Murphy in Mother Jones, which explores how extreme wealth, power, and corruption have played a role in soccer and had significant economic, social, and political implic...

There is still much work to be done post midterm elections to secure the best possible future for our democracy and society. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss an article titled “Democrats Can’t Be Counted On to Stop the MAGA Right, So Socialists Are Stepping Up” by Kristian Hernandez in In These Times magazine, which explores some of the victories during the midterm elections by Democrats and soc...

It is vitally important to continue to learn about and reckon with our history. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss an essay titled “Monuments to the Unthinkable” by Clint Smith in The Atlantic, which explores how Germany has accounted for and memorialized the history and horrors of the Holocaust, and what lessons America can learn from this example of responsible public memory to reckon with its h...

The rise in the use of anti-transgender rhetoric in our society is troubling and dangerous to all of us. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss an article called “Republicans in midterm races are embracing anti-trans rhetoric like never before” by Orion Rummler in The 19th*, which examines how Republicans and Republican candidates used this incendiary and dangerous language during the 2022 midterm ele...

There is so much to learn from the life, work, and legacy of Rosa Parks beyond her involvement in that historic bus boycott. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss the new documentary “The Rebellious Life of Rosa Parks'', which explores her incredible life, work, radical politics, and activism efforts, and the impact that Rosa Parks’ legacy continues to have on organizers today and our present day fig...

Young voters—especially young voters of color—have undeniable power in upcoming midterm elections (and beyond) in this country. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss an article titled “What Will Happen in Georgia? Millennial and Gen Z voters have serious power in the South” by Ronald Brownstein in The Atlantic, and what we learn and take away from how crucial these populations are to our elections, o...

The history and evolution of socialism in this country is connected to the history of social injustices and Black radicalism. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss a lecture by Robin D.G. Kelley at Haymarket Books’ Socialism 2022 Conference titled “Freedom Dreams and the Socialist Project”, and what we learn about the history, power, and impact of socialism as a philosophy and movement that can help...