Cocktails & Capitalism

In this episode, we’re joined by Rathbone – an anticapitalist musician, producer, and multimedia artist living in New Orleans. Rathbone writes songs with political lyrics that highlight American war crimes and the evils of imperialism and capitalism. We discuss his music and the process of his evolution into an anarcho-syndicalist.

Rathbone describes some of the fundamental values that constitute his anarchist perspective, including the belief that communities should be allowed to govern themselves. Our discussion touches on the difference between legitimate and illegitimate power and the dream of someday achieving a reality without states or bord...

With Palestine Action racking up the victories, it was high time that I spoke with veteran actionist Shibby about the network’s mind blowing direct  action successes. We discuss the recent shutdown of a facility in Tamworth, the viral action that just took place in Scotland, and the high-level, low-level, and covert strategies that have been used by these brave activists.


We also touch on the ongoing efforts to ban Palestine Action in the UK, and why such a ban will fail to prevent this network from continuing its righteous work.


In addition to...

Too few understand the genocide that is raging in the Congo. Human rights activist Gaëtan-Dauphin Nzowo of Friends of the Congo joins me to examine the country's economic & geopolitical significance and how this genocide has been driven by extractive capitalism. 

As Gaëtan points out, “most Congolese don’t have a smartphone to document the atrocities” committed against them, but the labor and blood of the Congolese people continues to supply the materials needed for our smartphones, laptops, and electric vehicles.

We honor the legacy of independe...

I spoke with activist and veteran Greg Stoker about the recent campus protests in solidarity with Palestine, police repression, and imperialism. We explore the concept of the “imperialist boomerang” and how it relates to the brutal crackdowns we’re seeing on college campuses.

“APD, KKK, IOF, they’re all the same!” and “There’s no riot here. Why are you in riot gear?” were among the chants heard at the UT Austin Gaza Solidarity encampment. Greg witnessed droves of state troopers in riot gear cracking down on Palestine supporters and arresting over 100. In the face of state repr...

This exclusive interview with an A15 comrade explores the historic global economic blockade that took place on April 15th in solidarity with Palestine. Recognizing the global economy’s complicity in genocide, folks in 82 cities across 19 countries took action to block the arteries of capitalism. These protestors targeted major economic choke points to maximize impact, resulting in millions if not billions of dollars in lost profits for the capitalist class.

As forces mobilized to attack Rafah, the A15 call to escalate resonated with so many people. This global coordinated economic blockade was a complete departure from symbolic acts of...

“Beautiful Trouble was birthed by seasoned organizers who really wanted to document not only social movement successes…but really dig into what makes an action work.”

In this episode, I speak with trainer and organizer Rae Abileah about Beautiful Trouble – a global network of organizers, artists, and trainers helping to equip activists and social movements with the strategic tools to become more effective and irresistible. 

Rae explains the diverse ways that Beautiful Trouble has been helping activists in the field, from mentoring and trainings to offering hands-on campaign strategy and direct action planning. We discus...

“For me, dismantling the fossil fuel industry is a form of mental healthcare” – Tori Tsui  This week on Cocktails & Capitalism, I speak with the UK-based climate justice activist, researcher, speaker, and writer Tori Tsui. We discuss the relationship between mental health and the climate crisis, breaking down some of the core concepts that are illuminated in Tori's recent book, It's Not Just You: How to Navigate Eco-Anxiety and the Climate Crisis.

The episode explores common misperceptions about eco-anxiety, the Eurocentric nature of the concept, and why it’s so problematic to call eco-anxiety a mental illness. 

Osage scholar Jimmy Lee Beason II offers an Indigenous perspective on Killers of the Flower Moon and the history of the Osage murders that the book and film depict. In this Cocktails & Capitalism interview, we discuss the true history of the Reign of Terror–a horrific string of murders of Osage committed by white settlers pillaging Osage oil wealth. In addition to providing deeper context for the recent Martin Scorsese film, our conversation highlights some of the impact of this dark chapter on the lives of the Osage people.

A member of the Os...

Students at UC Davis just won an historic victory by passing a bill that divests all student funds from apartheid Israel. I spoke with three of the women who were instrumental in making this happen, including the political director, the president, and the social media coordinator for the UC Davis chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). We discussed the magic moment when the bill passed, the work that went into this success, and how they are helping to empower students at other universities to achieve similar victories.

Already, students at many other UCs have followed...

Jewish organizer and activist Max Geller joins me to talk about the birth of new Palestine Action chapters around the world in response to the intensified genocide that has been raging for 4 straight months.

As discussed in last year's episode featuring Jodie Jones, Palestine Action is a UK-based network of activists that has permanently shut down 2 arms factories and caused millions in damages to Israel’s arms dealers. The main target of this network is Elbit Systems, which Max describes as the “most evil company in the entire world." 

Calls to Action:

In this episode, I speak with Francisco Pérez about Economics for Emancipation, a free online and in-person course on "capitalism, solidarity, and how we get free.” Francisco is an Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Utah and senior economist at the Center for Economic Democracy. He’s the former director of the Center for Popular Economics, a nonprofit collective of political economists whose programs and publications demystify the economy and put useful economic tools in the hands of people fighting for social and economic justice. 

Follow at  Francisco Pérez (@Platanomics) on Instagram and Twitter<...

This week, I speak with Sara Bannoura, a Palestinian organizer, artist, and journalist who has been fighting for a ceasefire from her home in St. Louis, Missouri. The daughter of a Christian pastor, Sara was born in Bethlehem, Palestine. We talk about the childhood experiences that exposed the violent and dehumanizing reality of Israel’s occupation, including some of Sara’s early encounters with IOF soldiers.

As an organizer, Sara works with the St. Louis Palestine Solidarity Committee (STLPSC), a group that was instrumental in pushing the city to pass a resolution calling for a ce...

I had the honor of speaking with the brilliant Palestinian journalist and activist, Hebh Jamal. We talked about the heartbreaking reality of this ongoing genocide, “the politics of condemnation,” and Israel’s targeting of the brightest Palestinian minds, including the beloved poet and professor Refaat Alareer.

Hebh got involved in activism as a teen around the issues of school segregation and education inequality in the New York education system. She helped to organize a large student walkout in response to Trump’s racist Muslim travel ban. 

Currently based in Germany, Hebh has writt...

In this Cocktails & Capitalism conversation, I speak with Egyptian activist, entrepreneur, model, and feminist Merhan Keller. We connected between her recent trips to volunteer with the Egyptian Red Crescent where she has helped provide emergency supplies to displaced Palestinians fleeing Israel’s genocidal bombardment.

Merhan explains how her work as a model led to her vital involvement in the Egyptian #MeToo movement. We also discuss her personal connection to the Palestinian struggle and the tragic loss of her uncle in Egypt to an Israeli airstrike on a school during th...

We’re joined by Jewish comedian, activist, and cohost of the Palestine Pod, Michael Schirtzer, who explains why and how he became so deeply committed to the cause of Palestinian justice and liberation. 

Speaking just days after congress approved a resolution equating anti-Zionism with antisemitism, we discuss how the term “antisemitism” has been used to shut down valid criticisms of Israel.


LINKS:

—The Palestine Pod

—Speech by Palestinian lawyer Lara Elborno at the Stop The War Coalition rally in London on 12.2.24 http://tinyurl.com/583ys8pe

—Follo...

This week, I speak with organizer, writer, and podcaster Jamie Peck about the mass action that shut down the construction of Cop City last week. We talk about the ridiculous and extreme police response to this nonviolent direct action and the creative tactics employed by protestors to keep each other safe.

We also discuss:

-how a Georgia State Police officer endangered protestors and risked starting a fire by throwing a tear gas canister into the forest

-why the movement chose to engage in this form of nonviolent...

A mass action is about to take place in the Weelaunee Forest to stop the construction of Cop City in Atlanta. In this episode, I speak with Barry (they/them) who describes this upcoming event that will take place November 10th to 13th. 

We talk about the rich ecosystem of tactics folks have used to halt this project and how the movement has decided to engage in mass nonviolent direct action.

To learn and get involved, go to BLOCKCOPCITY.ORG

Topics discussed in this episode:

-The “spokescouncil” model for o...

Sixty-one people were just indicted for their alleged involvement in the movement to Stop Cop City. These folks were slapped with RICO charges, which were designed to go after the mob. Some were charged for crimes as small as handing out fliers, serving as a legal observer during a protest, and organizing a bail fund.

Our guest is abolitionist organizer Micah Herskind, who has been involved with and written extensively about the movement to Stop Cop City. You can read his Primer on Cop City in Scalawag here. Follow Micah Herskind on Twitter: @micahinATL

As...

The Hot Labor Summer Tour is about to  begin! Human rights lawyer Steven Donziger and ALU President Chris Smalls  have joined forces to share their stories in cities across the country. 

We’re joined by Chris , Steven , and Devon Young, the producer of this Little Secret tour.  Devon explains that Little Secret blends music, comedy, and talks from organizers and activists, creating events that folks really want to go to. (Having visited Little Secret LA, I can attest to that)

Get your tickets! smallsdonzigertour.com

Tune in for a preview of the subjects Chris...

In this season 3 finale, Steven Donziger describes his epic battle against oil giant Chevron, connecting the dots between his own struggle against a multinational corporation and the fight to stop Cop City. In both stories, the consequences for standing up against corporate power to protect people and the planet have been chilling. 

Steven highlights the outrageous, unprecedented forms of corporate-backed state oppression that have come in retaliation for his legal advocacy work and the civil disobedience of protestors in Atlanta: “I’ve never seen a corporate prosecution; I’ve never seen a corporation allowed to jail somebody anywher...

Fossil fuel profiteers don’t deserve a moment of peace. The youth-led group Climate Defiance is using direct action to expose the politicians most responsible for the climate crisis and compel them to act with the urgency this crisis deserves.

I spoke with Rylee Haught – the group’s student recruitment lead – just a day after Climate Defiance shut down Joe Manchin’s keynote address in protest of the Senator’s role in greenlighting the Mountain Valley Pipeline. We talk about Manchin’s fossil fuel interests, the success of this action, and the other incredible actions the gr...

In this episode, author and movement facilitator adrienne maree brown shares her desire to see our movements become welcoming sanctuaries “where we get to taste and feel this world we’re trying to co-create.” Unfortunately, this is far from the reality that many of us experience in Leftist spaces.

As adrienne explains, capitalism and other oppressive systems tend to infiltrate our movements, making us competitive, critical, and eager to punish. “It’s been breaking my heart to be inside of movements and feel how these huge systems that we’re trying to take down infiltrate our practices. We become co...

Have you heard of TigerSwan? This company profits off of the surveillance and suppression of pipeline protests. Staffed with former military personnel from the War on Terror, TigerSwan has developed a hyper-militarized counterinsurgency approach to dealing with protestors resisting fossil fuel projects. 

TigerSwan first made a name for itself by monitoring, infiltrating, and disrupting Indigenous-led protests against the development of the Dakota Access Pipeline. A recent article in The Intercept states “To TigerSwan, the emergence of Indigenous-led social movements to keep oil and gas in the ground represented a business opportunity” (Intercept).

<...

It shouldn’t be illegal to feed hungry, unhoused folks, and yet this is now the case in Houston and cities across America. 

Shere Dore is a homeless advocate in Houston who has been working to feed her unhoused neighbors since 2011. She is a devoted member of Food Not Bombs – a movement composed of volunteers who come together in cities around the world to provide food for hungry and unhoused folks. 

Shere has been rewarded for her important work with 8 TICKETS from the city of Houston since March 1st. Collec...

This week, I dive into the massive wave of strikes and protests that have surged in France over the past 3 months. At it’s peak, the protests swelled to over a million people, bringing young and old together on the streets.This is now the 12th week of action that has been underpinned by strikes and acts of civil disobedience organized by unions and workers across the country. 

We recorded this episode a couple weeks ago, and since then there have been some major developments to report. On Friday April 14th, France’s constitutional council approved President Emman...

In this episode, I speak with The Lever’s Rebecca Burns about the explosive Norfolk Southern train derailment that produced a toxic mushroom cloud over East Palestine, Ohio. We talk through the events that unfolded on February 3rd when train cars carrying over a million pounds of hazardous chemicals went off the tracks, explaining how this nightmare was a product of corporate greed. 

Rebecca outlines the regulatory failures that led to this disaster. We discuss the role that the chemical and rail lobbies have played in creating the unsafe conditions for this catastrophic der...

This conversation with Amy Westervelt and Paul Paz y Miño examines and condemns the extreme charges that have been used against Cop City protestors, Steven Donziger, and others for defending people and the planet.

In the first half of the discussion, we talk about Chevron’s brutal legal assault against those who have tried to hold the company accountable for its deliberate pollution of Ecuador, focusing on the use of the RICO Act against Steven Donziger.


We then shift our discussion to the insane domestic terrorism charges for 42 protestors involved in...

This week, I speak with Kamau Franklin about the insane charges for Stop Cop City protestors, including possible RICO indictments in the coming days. 

We discuss Sunday’s massive police raid which resulted in 35 arrests and 23 domestic terrorism charges, bringing the total number of domestic terrorism charges for #StopCopCity activists to 44. 

While RICO charges have not been issued, community organizations in Atlanta including Community Movement Builders and the Atlanta Solidarity Fund have announced that they expect these indictments in the coming weeks. 

The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organ...

Rick of the Decolonized Buffalo podcast joins me to talk about Leftist misconceptions regarding Indigenous issues. An Indigenous socialist who is a member of the Comanche Nation, Rick has spent time organizing with PLS and the Socialist Party. While he advocates for getting involved in organizing, he has had a number of problematic, often racist experiences with non-Natives in Leftist organizing spaces. Rick shares these experiences, explaining that they often stem from racist misconceptions regarding Indigenous history, issues, and social structures.

You can listen to the Decolonized Buffalo podcast on Apple , Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you...

Have you ever wondered why we tip in the US? It seems like such an American thing to do and if you’ve ever traveled abroad, you almost immediately notice that most other countries don’t participate in this system. But why is that and where did it come from? 

In this episode we explore tipping in America with our resident anti-capitalist bartender and long time service industry worker, Jesse Torres. He takes us on an in-depth look at the history of tipping, explaining how this system of payment is rooted in classism and racis...

In this episode, I speak with 3 activists working to STOP COP CITY – a highly militarized police training facility that would pave over one of the largest remaining forests in Atlanta. These 3 are part of a broad coalition of activists without centralized leadership who have come together to resist this development and defend the Atlanta Forest. 


Days after we recorded this episode, fellow activist and forest defender Tortuguita was shot and killed by the police during a massive raid. Calls for an independent investigation into this killing have been growing, as the version of events publicized by the...

Reagan and Velveeta have been working with fellow dancers to unionize the Star Garden Topless Dive Bar. While the club is contesting the results of their union vote from back in November, it looks like these ladies will succeed in forming the only stripper union in America! This will be the second unionized strip club in the history of the country, the first being the Lusty Lady in San Francisco which closed in 2013. 

We discuss the physical harassment and other unsafe working conditions that drove the Star Garden dancers to unionize. After petitioning their employer, 18 dancers were l...

This week, I speak with a Jodie of Palestine Action – a UK-based network of activists using sustained direct action to shut down businesses profiting off of the violent oppression of Palestinians. They’ve already shut down two facilities owned and operated by Elbit Systems, and their tireless work has led to the cancellation of 280 million worth of British military contracts with Israel.


 Jodie paints a vivid picture of what it looks like to engage in direct action. We break down the meaning of direct action and how it differs from participating in protests. We discuss what this...

In this episode, Jessica Burbank explains the origins of her anticapitalist views. We discuss her working class background, her family’s economic hardships during the 2008 economic crash, and the massive bank bailouts that led her to dive deep into the field of economics. 

Next, we pivot to a discussion of capitalism as an undemocratic system designed “by and for the bosses.” We explore how this for-profit system manufactures scarcity, tying this fundamental tenet of capitalism to the kind of predatory practices of the oil and gas industries. These companies have engaged in horrific price gouging as Amer...

When invited to speak at the recent Gates Foundation annual event, Mikaela Loach seized the opportunity to announce that capitalism is causing climate change and “billionaires shouldn’t exist.” 

This young climate justice activist has been fighting fossil fuel projects in the UK using a variety of tactics. She is one of three claimants who has taken the UK government to court for handing over taxpayer money to fossil fuel companies in violation of their commitments to reach net zero emissions. 

Mikaela has been heavily involved in the #StopCambo campaign...

This episode dives into the nightmarish reality of residential schools and their connection to capitalism. Here are some of the issues we discuss:

The history of the residential school systemThe connection between residential schools and the militaryHow these facilities promoted capitalist valuesHow residential school allowed for the theft of land“Outing programs” that tried to make Indigenous children into farm laborers and servantsIndigenous erasure and how it was perpetuated by these “schools”Native activism

Professor Jimmy Lee Beason II is a member of the Osage Nation. He is also a Professor in the Indigenous American Indian Studies Departme...

Join us for a fun deep dive into the history of Halloween and Día de los Muertos with Nash and Angel of the Death and Friends podcast. We talk about the ancient origins of Halloween, beginning with the Celtic bonfires, feasts, and drunken festivities that took place during Samhain. When the forces of colonialism, Catholicism, and capitalism arrive on the scene, the Pagan celebration is appropriated and severely distorted. We discuss how these communal celebrations slowly morph into the capitalist holiday that we now celebrate by purchasing candy, decorations, mass-produced costumes, and scary movies. 

An...