Radio Inquilab

After a hiatus, Radio Inquilab is back. Here is part 2 of the interview with Yasmin Nair. For part 1, please see here . Recommended Resources: 1.      https://yasminnair.com/ 2.     Free section of the Financial Times 3.     Talk to people in real life 

Radio Inquilab speaks with Yasmin Nair a fierce activist, media and cultural critic, and academic. We talk about the November 2024 election looking into the principal reasons why Kamala Harris lost despite raising the most amount of money ever raised for a Presidential race. Yasmin delves into how Harris was never a good candidate and had no experience to run such a competitive and important race....

Dr. Nora Jaber joins Radio Inquilab to talk about her research and work as it pertains to the question of international law. As a Palestinian with Saudi nationality, Dr. Jaber has focused her research on the rights of Islamic women in Saudi and the framework they have used -- barring Western ideas and concepts -- to achieve freedom. She explains how when Saudi women were fighting for the right to...

In this episode, Tehzeeb Bano joins the podcast to explore the glaciers of Gilgit-Baltistan. She sheds light on the region’s 7,000 glaciers and how climate change is rapidly accelerating their decline, threatening both the local environment and Pakistan’s fresh water supply. Tehzeeb introduces the concept of glacier grafting —a practice long known to the indigenous communities in the area. She emp...

In this episode, Prof Clint Carroll from UC Boulder talks about the connection Natives have to their land and how despite overwhelming change in the world, have been able to maintain it. He specifically refers to how Cherokee people have developed material, spiritual, and political ties with the lands they have inhabited since removal from their homelands in the southeastern United States despite...

Rangineh joins Radio Inquilab to talk about her childhood experiences in Tehran that inevitably shaped the rest of her life. She talks about how the Iran/Iraq war left deep impressions on her and led to the formation of Solh Resolutions International, an organization that guides and empowers us to expand our awareness and understanding of ourselves and others through human-centered facilitation, c...

Colonialism is a major driver of gender-based violence (GBV) today. Former colonies often experience higher rates of intimate partner violence. Research increasingly links political conflict and GBV, indicating that colonial and imperialist interventions contribute directly to systemic violence against marginalized communities like Palestine, Haiti, the DRC, Kashmir, West Papua, Nagorno-Karabakh,...

Abubaker Abed, a 22-year old war correspondent from Palestine, currently living in Gaza joins Radio Inquilab to talk about the ceasefire deal. Due to a lack of stable internet connection, Abubaker called me from the Al-Aqsa hospital and despite audio challenges, background noises we were able to talk. Abubaker describes the situation on the ground as total annihilation of Gaza, Rafah and the surro...

Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Colorado, Ather Zia talks about Kashmir and the fraught nature of life there. Ather explains the deep, long, fraught history of Kashmir - how the many rulers exploited Kashmir through the ages with little to no regard for the people, how indigenous knowledge and people were harmed to make Kashmir a part of India and how the government of Ind...

This episode features Corrina Gould, the Co-Director for  The Sogorea Te’ Land Trust , a women-led organization within the urban setting of her ancestral territory of the Bay Area that works to return Indigenous land to Indigenous people. Corrina talks about rematriation, why it is important and how someone can be a good guest on land that does not belong to them/they are not native to. She d...

In this episode, Ayed Eqtaish joins the podcast to talk about the state of children in Palestine. While it is impossible to get any kind of estimates in Gaza, Ayed talks about how the situation in the West Bank is also precarious with many children being imprisoned by Israel. Ayed talks about the harm the occupation has been doing to children's mental, physical and psychological state including ho...

In this episode, Rupande discusses the upcoming Presidential election with former Green Party candidate, Madelyn Hoffman. They talk about the genocide taking place in Gaza, as well as the Democratic party's changing policies and platforms. Madelyn talks about how "voting for lesser evil is still evil" and how if we want systemic change - free healthcare, cut in defense spending, end to genocides a...

In this episode, Rupande speaks with members of Global Development for Palestine about their tireless work to raise awareness about the ongoing conflict. Bringing in their extensive experience, the group talks about Palestine in context with decolonization, how global assistance organizations need to show up vs. their total lack of concern, the double standard & sense of white saviorism in the...

TW: violence, rape Kifaya Khraim, the International Advocacy Coordinator at Women's Center for Legal Aid and Counselling talks to Rupande about the unrealistic situation in Palestine for women and girls. She shares the unbelievably harrowing stories of women documented first hand by WCLAC, as well as the unprecedented level of trauma experienced by women living under occupation. She explains how v...

Farah Mahesri sits down with Rupande to talk about the very important nuance of decolonizing communication - what does it mean, why is it so important and what place it holds in our world as we move to a more awakened society that seeks to place diversity, equality and decolonization. Farah explains how aid organizations can decolonize communication and shift the balance of power, furthering devel...

On April 5, 2024 to commemorate Palestine Children's Day, Kalpvraksh teamed up with Global Development For Palestine to host Defense for Children International Palestine, along with some of the youth they support. This episode is a recording of the live conversation that took place that day. Defense for Children International - Palestine (DCIP) is an independent, local Palestinian child rights org...

In this episode, Rupande speaks with Zee Lilani, the founder of Kula Nursery. Zee talks about her career trajectory - starting as a food researcher and how COVID changed her life plans to turn her into a full-time farmer growing ancestral and heritage foods that her mother and grandmother ate in Pakistan. Zee talks about her hopes and dreams with Kula and the importance of food sovereignty for com...

Rupande speaks with the labor & immigrant leader, Dr. Patricia Campos-Medina about her immigrant story and her lifelong fight for workers rights. They talk about the affirmative action decision by SCOTUS in the United States, and what the harmful effects of that can be for immigrants and children of color. Dr. Campos-Medina sheds light on the real "immigrant" problem and how decades of interfe...

Rupande speaks with Eimear Burke, the the Chosen Chief of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids about the meaning of druidry and what it means to be a druid. They talk about how druidry can help in this time of conflict and despair and how nature can help lessen the burden that our everyday life places on us. Eimear explains her work - her day time job as a psychologist - and how it closely aligns...

Rupande speaks with Kirthi Jayakumar, founder of Gender Security Project, about her reasons for getting involved in this work, how her past has shaped her outlook towards healing justice and the forms of work GSP undertakes. They discuss how the justice system needs to evolve from incarceration and retributive justice to healing justice for all. Kirthi discusses her paper: Redrawing the Galtung Tr...

In this episode, Rupande speaks with Felicia Cocotzin Ruiz, the owner of Kitchen Curandera. They talk about her work, what it means to be a curandera and the healing power of plants. Rupande asks Felicia about her book, Earth Medicines and how we can all start small by incorporating meaningful doses of ancestral wisdom in our daily lives. They talk about corn, how the sacred plant came to be vilif...

In this episode, Rupande speaks with Vasudha Viswanath, author of The Vegetarian Reset. They talk about Vasudha's journey with food - how despite being a vegetarian all her life, Vasudha was shocked when she received a pre-diabetes diagnosis. That led her to study and research more about the food we eat and how to eat more healthy everyday. They talk about the food movement, how to make healthy su...

In this episode, Rupande speaks with Michelle Harris from Colibri Ecological Consulting and Amaroq Weiss from the Center for Biological Diversity about the return of wolves in Tulare County, CA. Michelle and her colleague, Samantha Winiecki-Love, first spotted a gray wolf in Sequoia National Forest in August 2023. Michelle talks about her experience spotting the wolf and her work in Sequoia Nation...

In this episode, Rupande talks to Dr. Sofia Rehman about the beauty of Islam. They talk about the unflinching faith of the Palestinians, strengthened during these trying times, and how so much of the world is turning to Islam to understand its true nature. Sofia sheds light on the meaning of the hijab and what the West gets so terribly wrong about Islam. Resources suggested by Sofia: The Clear Qur...

TW: violence In this episode, Rupande speaks with Prof. Nahed Habiballah from the Arab American University of Palestine about the current humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza. Prof. Habiballah gives context on the conflict, including the history of Palestine and how Israel came into existence. They discuss the formation of Hamas and the acute double standards shown by the West while dealing with...