The Ex-Worker

This week's episode is packed with resistance news from across Turtle Island and beyond. Struggles led by water protectors against gas and oil infrastructure are happening, seemingly, everywhere. This past week, students have been busy , while prisoners have not. We have a brief update on the work stoppage and Holman Prison . We also have interviews with a comrade at the anti-fracking blockade in...

Today is the beginning of the J20 inauguration protester trials in DC. There are some important developments in the case, so we interview Sam from DC Legal Posse about what's going on and how to support the defendants . We also interview a Polish anti-fascist from Warsaw about this weekend's 60,000 person far-right march that was littered with Nazi slogans. The folks at the IRL squat in Chicago ca...

In this episode, we share the first-person stories of three comrades on the frontlines of grand jury resistance. As the state escalates repression through a new grand jury investigation in North Carolina against longtime anarchist Katie Yow, this episode offers perspectives from those who have successfully fought a grand jury summons. Tune in to demystify the process of how and why to resist testi...

This week we have a greater amount of animal liberation actions to report on than usual. We interview Sam from DC Legal Posse about the first J20 trials beginning next week, and what people can do to support the defendants . After the mass shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas on Sunday, we explore whether it makes sense to designate white men as the "real terrorists." We also interview an anarchi...

This week we bring you two interviews: one with a southern anarchist who went to Tennessee to oppose the failed "white lives matter" rally on Saturday, and another with an anarchist in Catalonia about developments and reflections on the independence process there. Our headlines and repression roundup take us around the world, from anti-capitalist queer and trans action in DC to general revolt in H...

In this Hotwire we have three different interviews about the alt-right's defeat in Gainesville . As democratic confederalist Kurdish forces in Rojava are beating back ISIS, the nationalist, capitalist Kurdish Regional Government in Iraq is threatening civil war with the Iraqi military. In response, Kurdish anarchists speak out against war and the state . The discovery of Santiago Maldonado's body...

In this Hotwire we share the anti-fascist call from Florida to oppose Richard Spencer in Gainesville on October 19 . We discuss the upcoming J20 trials in which nearly 200 protesters are charged with conspiracy for protesting the inauguration, as well as the outcome of the burning cop car case that just concluded in Paris. Considering the bullshit repression and liberal lawsuits in the wake of #Ch...

This week we bring you a slew of reports from anti-Columbus Day actions across so-called North America. We also fill you in on an inspiring prison uprising that took over McCormick prison in South Carolina. Prisoners even got on the roof! The political crisis in Catalonia continues, this week with violent fascist and pro-Spanish reaction. White supremacists descended on Charlottesville again this...

This week we go on a bunch of rants. We rant about why no state is better than a new state in Catalonia. We rant about why anti-fascists should not allow the state to position itself as the principal force protecting people from Nazi violence. We rant about how mutual aid and community relief must mean opposition to capitalism and a redistribution of wealth. Rant rant rant! Rah rah rah! {October 4...

This week we have a ton of headlines about rebellion and cooperation, resistance and mutual aid, from all over the world. Protests in St. Louis continue into their second week after the not guilty verdict for a white cop who viciously murdered Anthony Lamar Smith, a young black father. We weigh in on the chatter about whether the NFL #TakeAKnee protests are about white supremacy or the first amend...

This week we speak with two folks who've been active on the street of St. Louis since white ex-cop Jason Stockley was let off for the murder of black father Anthony Lamar Smith. We also remember Scout Schultz, a 21-year-old queer student organizer killed on Saturday by Georgia Tech police. There's lots of reports from anti-fascist actions, with a particularly woop-worthy one from the Juggalo March...

This week we speak with Dezeray, an anarchist involved in Mutual Aid Disaster Relief organizing in the wake of Hurricane Irma. Next, we interview Sam, an anarchist DACA recipient, about undocumented youth resistance . A number of political prisoners are in urgent need of support. Victorious striking workers show that direct action gets the goods. We remember Attica, the September 11 military coup...

In episode #56 , we covered the repercussions of the violent showdown that took place between fascists and counter-demonstrators in Charlottesville, Virginia on August 12. The month since then has seen massive anti-fascist demonstrations around the US and a backlash in which liberal "centrists" have joined the far right in attempting to portray those who resist fascism as being no better than the...

Welcome back to the Ex-Worker! Our topic this time is a look at the recent G20 protests in Hamburg, Germany. This summer's G20 saw some of the most pitched clashes to occur in Northern Europe in years. Despite bringing the full force of one of the world's most powerful governments to bear against the population, the authorities were unable to repress the courageous revolt of the people of Hamburg...

This episode we bring you an overview, and an interview, about the anarchist and autonomously organized relief efforts in response to Hurricane Harvey.     -------SHOW NOTES------     Table of Contents: Introduction {0:00} Headlines {1:14} Feature: Autonomous relief after Hurricane Harvey {14:15} Repression Roundup {23:29} Prisoner Birthdays {24:50} Next Week's News {25:50} Hurricane Harvey grassr...

Welcome to the first episode of The Hotwire! Our feature for this episode covers the upswing in antifascist action post-Charlottesville. We also bring you an interview from Hurricane Harvey, The Hotwire horoscope, and news of resistance and rebellion from around the world. Listen until the end for prisoner birthdays and announcements of upcoming anarchist events and bookfairs.     -------SHOW NOTE...

On August 12th, 2017, a massive alt-right and neo-Nazi rally took place in Charlottesville, Virginia. While a large counter-demonstration successfully confronted the fascists, one drove a car into a crowd of protestors, killing at least one and injuring many more. In this special report from the Ex-Worker, we hear the story of the Charlottesville demonstrations from anarchists who put their bodies...

So, this isn't quite the Ex-Worker, and I'm not Clara or Alanis. I'm here to tell you about the Ex-Worker's new anarchist news show, the Hotwire, with me, the Rebel Girl. We'll have new episodes coming out every Wednesday this fall. The last year has been one of the craziest years for anarchist struggle in our lifetime. Black blocs , prison uprisings , warrior camps and anti-pipeline sabotage, ant...

January 20th, 2017 saw perhaps the fiercest resistance to ever take place at an American presidential inauguration. Episode 55 of The Ex-Worker podcast surveys the day's momentous protests in DC and beyond, mass media reactions to anarchist resistance, and lessons for the future of radical protest. We begin with an interview with an organizer from Disrupt J20 , evaluating the blockades, marches, a...

What will resistance look like in the Trump era? What role can anarchists play? In Episode 54 of The Ex-Worker podcast we grapple with these questions as they will unfold on January 20 and beyond. It's true, we incorrectly predicted a Clinton victory —reaction has advanced faster than we'd realized, but this apocalyptic scenario has catalyzed a flurry of rebellion and defiance. We begin the episod...

Our first walking tour! Protesters descending on Washington, D.C. to #DisruptJ20 are stepping into a long history of resistance in the belly of the beast. One of the most innovative and powerful cycles of protest in the nation's capital was the movement against corporate globalization in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Most tours of D.C. take you around the monuments and museums downtown, but we w...

We know you've been on the edge of your seat, waiting for see which candidate will receive the Ex-Worker's endorsement for president this year. In Episode 52 , we offer an Ex-Voter's guide to the 2016 election, including an analysis of the risks we anticipate in its aftermath titled After the Election, the Reaction . There's lots of listener feedback to discuss, including advice for a young anarch...

Do anarchists vote? If not, how do we express our voice and participate in changing society? What's the problem with elections and representative democracy? In this special Election Day audio zine,we describe why electing representatives robs us of our power, refute common arguments made to convince us of the value of voting, explain direct action as an alternative approach for making change witho...

As we build momentum towards the September 9th national prison strike , we want to reflect on lessons learned from past generations of prison rebels, as well as how we can maintain energy on September 10th and beyond. In Episode 50 of the Ex-Worker , solidarity organizer Ben Turk fills us in on some history of prisoner organizing in recent decades, recaps some of the solidarity actions that have t...

The Ex-Worker is back! And just in time, because a potentially historic national prisoner strike is just around the corner. In our 49th episode , we discuss the upcoming September 9th strike to end prison slavery , with an interview with the Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee . You'll also hear a review of Dan Berger's book Captive Nation: Black Prison Organizing in the Civil Rights Era ; a...