Movement Memos

Republicans are waging a nationwide attack on voting rights and the right to protest. Kelly compares these efforts with the laws and conventions that ushered in the Jim Crow era, and talks with voting rights organizer Toni Watkins about how targeted communities are fighting back. For a transcript, audio and show notes, you can check out our website: https://truthout.org/series/movement-memos/

After a year of upheaval and pandemic, and the unlikely conviction of a police officer, Minneapolis organizers Jonathan Stegall and D.A. Bullock talk with Kelly about what they have built and learned in the last year, what Derek Chauvin’s conviction does not accomplish, and what they hope people will do now as the struggle against policing continues. For a transcript, audio and show notes, you can...

“There are so many ways the system robs people of life, and police are out there daily, enacting that theft.” Kelly talks about the Chauvin verdict and the murder of Adam Toledo, and discusses the history and current state of policing with Alex Vitale, author of the book, The End of Policing. You can find a transcript, audio and show notes on our website: truthout.org/series/movement-memos/

Our pre-pandemic "normal" was a deathtrap. So what should we be building instead? And how should we talk about it? In this episode, Kelly talks with artist and organizer Jayeesha Dutta about letting normalcy die and creating something new. You can find a transcript, audio and show notes on our website.

Capitalism is a death march, but it’s one we’re told we should find fulfilling. In this episode of Movement Memos, Kelly talks with author Sarah Jaffe about the manipulation, surveillance and criminalization of workers under capitalism, and what we can do about it. You can find a transcript, audio and show notes on our website.

As we navigate the wreckage of the Trump administration, how can we respond to crisis from a place of power? In the season finale of Movement Memos, Kelly Hayes and Ejeris Dixon talk about the dangers we still face, the relationships we need, and how we can help each other do more than simply survive these times. For a transcript, audio and show notes, you can check out our website.

“Now that Donald Trump is going to be out of the office, and the narrative is that he is out of office illegitimately, it gives them a defining cause. They now live in a stolen country, a failed state where they're the renegade truth tellers. And that's the kind of bonding that can last for years." Kelly talks with Shane Burley about confronting far-right violence in the Biden era. For a transcrip...

As Trump’s reality TV presidency comes to an end, Kelly Hayes and author Sarah Kendzior talk about what to expect in these final days, and what the future might hold. You can find audio, a transcript and show notes on our website.

2020 was a year of catastrophe and collective struggle. Now, we have a new era of organizing and action to gear up for. In this special New Year's episode of Movement Memos, Kelly revisits some of the lessons we learned this year from guests like Mariame Kaba, Shane Burley, Brant Rosen and L.A. Kauffman.  You can find audio, a transcript and show notes on our website.

The second wave is killing 130 people per day in Illinois. So why are Chicago Public Schools reopening on January 11? Kelly talks with Chicago public school teacher Silvia Gonzalez about the perils of Chicago’s hybrid reopening plan and why “simultaneous instruction” simply doesn’t make sense. You can find a transcript audio and show notes on our website.

It’s easy to forget in the fog of Trumpism that mass privatization, the dismantling of this country’s social safety net, escalating corporate welfare and the mass expansion of prisons are all bipartisan projects. Kelly talks about the neoliberal policies we can expect from the Biden administration and how we can fight them. You can find a transcript, audio and show notes on our website.

The Senate runoffs in Georgia could change everything. Here’s what you need to know, what you can do to help, and what you absolutely should not do. For a transcript, audio and show notes, you can check out our website.

"Our society created the framework for this atrocity just like the trenches of World War I created perfect incubation zones for the 1918 flu." Kelly talks with Eric, an organizer with Oakland Abolition and Solidarity about the escalating COVID-19 outbreak at the California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility, where some imprisoned people have launched a hunger strike over unsafe, unlivable conditio...

Now that the Trump administration has an expiration date, some have argued that Trump's refusal to concede and his retaliatory governance will be of no consequence. But Trump is a showman rebelling against a narrative of loss and humiliation. Kelly talks about what's at stake and why downplaying the risks we face is irresponsible. For a transcript with audio and show notes, you can check out our w...

Need a break from doom scrolling? Kelly Hayes and Tanuja Jagernauth interrupt the aggravating suspense of Election Day with a grounding conversation about learning to inhabit uncertainty. You can find a transcript, audio and show notes on our website.

What will protest look like during a fascist power grab? Kelly talks with Shane Burley, author of Fascism Today: What It is and How to End It, about what protesters will be up against in the coming days and what it will take to win. For a transcript, audio and show notes, you can check out our website. You won't want to miss the training and action resources in the show notes of this week's episod...

Fear can crowd out our imaginations and dampen our compassion. What does it take to hold onto hope in these times? Kelly reflects on the worldbuilding poetics of organizing. You can find a transcript, audio and show notes on our website.

What will the next week be like? Kelly talks with journalist Sarah Kendzior about what to expect in the final days of the 2020 presidential race. You can find a transcript, audio and show notes on our website.

What does it take to survive a crisis? Kelly explains how you can begin to create your own personal safety plan. For a transcript and show notes, you can check out our website.

With the threat of right-wing violence and other chaos hanging over the election, what does personal and community safety look like? In this episode of Movement Memos, Kelly talks about nonviolence, self defense and the relationships we will need to survive. For a transcript, audio and show notes, including organizing resources, you can listen on our website.

Trump holds up his recovery as evidence that the time for fear has passed. But migrant children and others caged in the path of COVID-19 will not be flown to Walter Reed Hospital. In this episode, Kelly Hayes explains why “don't fear the virus” is genocidal rhetoric. Like to read while you listen? You can find audio, a transcript and show notes on our website. In recognition of the National Week o...

Under fascism, mass displacement often means mass death. With a catastrophic eviction crisis looming, Kelly talks with longtime activist Cheri Honkala about housing reclamation and the solidarity we will need to navigate an era of collapse. For a transcript and show notes, you can check out our website.

Trump knows the full expression of our collective grief would be the end of his presidency. Can we generate enough empathy to save each other from fascism? You can find a transcript and show notes on our website.

Trump’s attacks on Black protesters and Black people are inextricably bound to the arguments he will make to try to invalidate the election. In this episode, Kelly talks with voting rights activist Anoa Changa about how you can defend voting rights in the homestretch of the presidential race. If would like a transcript, you can listen on our website.

As Trump continues his attacks on the post office and issues another round of illegal edicts, Kelly talks with author and researcher Sarah Kendzior about the ascent of authoritarianism in the U.S. and the potential collapse of democracy as we know it. If you need a transcript, you can listen on our website.