Revolutions Per Minute - Radio from the New York City Democratic Socialists of America

New York State Assembly Members and Senators headed back to Albany last week for the start of the 2023 legislative session. We caught up with Queens Assembly Member and socialist Zohran Mamdani the night before the session began to learn how he’s feeling about this year's prospects to pass legislation that will help the working class and the addition of two new socialist legislators. We also talke...

The strikewave within higher education came ashore in New York last month, as more than 1600 part-time faculty members at The New School, represented by ACT-UAW Local 7902, went on strike, hitting the picket line for higher pay, benefits, and greater security for their work. After a 25-day long strike in what some have called the longest strike by adjuncts in US history and a brutal battle with Ne...

In this episode of Revolutions Per Minute, we will taking you first to Brooklyn and then to Puerto Rico, to explore how neoliberal austerity is wreaking havoc on the lives of ordinary people. I’ll be talking to New York City Council Member Alexa Aviles, of District 38 her first year in office.   Alexa is a proud DSA member and was endorsed by the movement prior to her election. She doesnt take rea...

While a “Red Wave” of victories did not materialize for Republicans earlier this month on election day in most parts of the country, conservatives won big here in New York gaining congressional seats as well as seats in the New York State Assembly and Senate. Republican Lee Zeldin centered his gubernatorial campaign around a false and racist narrative on crime, that dominated media coverage, and i...

Strikes are erupting across the country, from railroads to the New School and your local Starbucks. Reminder from your comrades at RPM - never cross a picket line, just grab a sign and walk alongside them. Workers   Today we will hear from rank and file organizers about the Labor Notes troublemakers school, speak to Shep Whanon of Gays Against Guns on Trans Day of Remembrance and close out the sho...

It’s election season again! That means that citizens will soon exercise their right to vote for their political leaders, but for workers in a union, or for those trying to organize one themselves, democracy does not end on election day. It is in the everyday struggle for a democracy worthy of the name not only in our politics, but in our workplaces and our unions. Tonight, we hear from Brandon Man...

The yearly NYC DSA convention is back, with about 100 delegates from every corner of the city gathering to discuss the path forward for our organizing community. After taking some serious losses in electoral organizing and membership enrollment, socialists in the city seek to find their place in the movement, to re-engage in the work and to bring our neighbors into our vision of a socialist future...

For over a month, protests and strikes have rocked the country of Iran in the wake of the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22 year-old Kurdish Iranian woman who was arrested while visiting Tehran by the Guidance Patrol for violating Iran’s mandatory hijab law. Despite fierce crackdowns from the Iranian state, these protests, led by women, students, and workers, have made clear the demands for women’s right...

RPM takes you to Brazil and Florida, two places on the frontlines of climate chaos. We are joined by Benjamin Fogel from Jacobin and Richie Floyd from St Petersburg City Council. We will be talking about the elections in Brazil and the impact of Hurricane Ian on the Gulf Coast of Florida.

In the early hours of the morning on the 15th of September, the Biden Administration announced that a tentative agreement had been reached by the railroad companies and the railroad unions, delaying a potential nationwide strike. Now, the decision to accept this tentative agreement, or reject it and potentially go on strike rests with the railroad workers themselves. Tonight, we talked to Ross, a...

Let's go inside the RPM producers' studio. In this episode, Jack and Amy discuss the founding of Revolutions per Minute, our approach to making socialist radio, and what we think other DSA chapters or political groups could learn from our four years of experience in broadcasting. We pay tribute to our comrade Lee Ziesche who is leaving NYC after many years of living and organizing in our community...

In 1997 nearly 200,000 Teamsters went on strike against UPS. They fought for a better contract and they won. Will the American Labor Movement experience another massive strike at UPS led by the Teamsters in 2023? Matt, a member of the Teamsters, joins us to discuss that and much more.

Last Tuesday New York State held its second primary of the summer and New York City voters are sending another socialist senator to Albany. DSA endorsed candidate Kristen Gonzalez trounced Elizabeth Crowley winning the democratic primary in the newly formed Senate District 59, which includes portions of Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan. We were at Kristen’s victory party in Long Island City and will...

Earlier this month, voters in the state of Kansas roundly rejected the so-called “Value them Both” measure, a proposed constitutional amendment that would have laid the groundwork for a complete abortion ban in the future. This measure, pushed by extremist anti-abortion lobbies, was defeated in a 59-41% result by the voters of Kansas. Tonight, we’re speaking to Melinda, an organizer with Lawrence...

Tonight we’re joined LIVE by Jia Lee, an educator and organizer here in New York City.

Tonight we're joined live by the NewsGuild of New York's Chris Brooks and Stephanie Basile, two labor organizers on the front lines of some of today’s most exciting worker-led campaigns. We’ll be discussing trends in labor organizing, as seen in groundbreaking victories from workers at Amazon, Starbucks, Apple Stores, Trader Joe’s, and many more. What in labor history can help us understand this c...

From New York to Los Angeles and everywhere in between socialists have been winning in local, state, and federal elections. Daniel and Mike from the National Electoral Committee join us to discuss recent victories, upcoming campaigns, and the challenges faced by the ascendent socialist movement in the years to come.

Tonight we’re joined live by Michaelangelo Pomarico, an organizer with Mid Hudson Valley DSA and the Public Power New York Coalition who has devoted a lot of time over the last several months organizing to elect Sarahana Shrestha, a DSA endorsed candidate for the New York Assembly. Michaelaneglo will share how Sarahana’s insurgent campaign in the Hudson Valley succeeded to unseat longtime incumben...

We’re coming to the end of Pride Month amidst an environment of escalating attacks from the right on queer and trans people.  Tonight, we speak to two grassroots organizers working on self-defense programs for queer, trans, and people of color in NYC and the Bay Area. We hear from Kenji of Soar Over Hate and DJ Guerrilla Pump of We Are The Ones We’ve Been Waiting For on how they are protecting the...

For the first time in the nation’s history, the Colombian people have elected a leftist to the presidency. Gustavo Petro defeated far-right populist, Rodolfo Hernández. The former guerilla has pledged to challenge economic inequality and fight climate change by transforming the country’s energy system. What does this victory mean for socialism in Latin America? DSA National Political Committee Mem...

The elected officials of New York State ended their legislative session in Albany on June 2nd. They are headed home for the summer after failing to secure the rights of tenants or meeting New York state’s climate goals, refusing to pass Good Cause Eviction and the Build Public Renewables Act. What happened? To try and answer this and more, we bring on socialist organizers  to break down what happe...

This week marks both the 13th anniversary of the assassination of beloved abortion provider and patients’ rights advocate Dr. George Tiller by an anti-abortion extremist, and the second anniversary of the peoples’ uprising against NYPD sparked by the police murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and many many more.   Although the official Supreme Court decision that will overturn Roe v. Wade has...

On June 2, the legislative session will end in New York State and elected officials will head home for the summer. And in typical Albany fashion, the fight to pass the most transformational bills is coming down to the wire. Tonight, we continue our series of interviews with the DSA for the Many slate of candidates with Vanessa Agudelo, who is joining us live on RPM from Peekskill, New York. Vaness...

Amazon Labor Union scored a big victory for the labor movement last month when organized workers overwhelmingly won an NLRB election at a Staten Island Amazon facility. Yet most of Amazon and the private sector in general remains unorganized. Despite a valiant effort, ALU’s next attempt at a different Amazon facility failed. What is to be done? Brian, a former Amazon worker and member of DSA Labor...

Tonight we’re continuing our series of interviews with the DSA For the Many Slate and are joined live by Kristen Gonzalez, a tech worker and community organizer running for State Senate District 17. District 17 might be a new district spanning from Woodside, Queens to Greenpoint, Brooklyn - but that depends on the courts. We’ll talk to Kristen about the Senate redistricting debacle and much more....