Cocktails & Capitalism
Cocktails & Capitalism is a podcast that pairs crafted beverages with stories distilled from our capitalist hellscape. This is more than a true corporate crime show — our episodes uplift the activists and organizers who are working to oppose the destructive forces of capitalism and begin creating a better reality..Our crafted cocktails help us tap into the gallows humor necessary for surviving late stage capitalism. Some of these stories can get pretty dark, so get ready and grab a drink! You can even make the custom cocktail or mocktail crafted by our resident bartender, Jesse Torres. (Find the recipes in our ep...
Target's Mass Surveillance Police Partnership: A Deep Dive with Marjaan Sirdar
Don’t miss this deep dive into Target's dystopian mass surveillance police partnership. I spoke with South Minneapolis activist and freelance journalist Marjaan Sirdar about his astounding findings after completing a 12-part investigative series titled 21st Century Jim Crow in the North Star City: How Target Corp., the City of Minneapolis, and Hennepin County Created a Domestic Spy Program that Rolled Back Civil Rights on its Black Population.
We discuss Target’s high-tech forensics labs, its broad surveillance of anyone who even enters its stores or parking lots, and its partnership with law enforcement to surveil and poli...
Jenan Matari: Palestinian Roots & the Power of Social Media
I had the honor of speaking with award-winning Palestinian-American producer, content creator, and storyteller Jenan Matari back in June. Jenan has been harnessing the power of her voice and her social media platform to shine light on Palestine’s history and present reality amidst this genocide.
We spoke about the ways that social media has been used for Palestine -- from combating propaganda to raising funds for evacuations to mobilizing students and protestors across the world.
In Jenan's words, "Palestine is proof that when we connect with each other through applications like this, it can mov...
Holding Apple Accountable with Palestinian Writer Tariq Ra’ouf
I’m joined by Tariq Ra’ouf, a Palestinian freelance journalist and advocate for diversity and inclusion who was recently fired by Apple after speaking out about the company’s complicity in and silence about the genocide in Gaza.
After losing over a dozen family members, Tariq has been working with Palestinian and Congolese activists to organize an international day of action to demand that Apple break its silence about the genocides in Palestine and the Congo.
TAKE PART IN THE DAY OF ACTION DEMANDING AN END TO APPLE'S SILENCE ABOUT PALESTINE AND THE CONGO...
Music, Empire, and Anarchism with Rathbone (& the Old Chomsky Cocktail)
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...
Rack ‘Em Up! Palestine Action Victories with Actionist Shibby of Revolutionary Lumpen Radio
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...
The Congo, Cobalt, and Capitalism with Gaëtan-Dauphin Nzowo / Friends of the Congo
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...
Greg Stoker: Protests, Policing, and the Imperial Boomerang
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...
A15: The Coordinated Economic Blockade to Free Palestine
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 with Rae Abileah
“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...
Tori Tsui on Eco-Anxiety & Why It's Not Just You
“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.
