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Laura Flanders & Friends

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THE LAURA FLANDERS SHOW is back with more award-winning interviews and investigative reporting on the people and movements driving positive systemic change in our world today. Hosted by multi-media reporter and author Laura Flanders, the series features smart, solutions-driven conversations with forward-thinking people, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Indian writer Arundhati Roy, actress Sheryl Lee Ralph, and actress/activist Laverne Cox. Laura and her team also report from the field on cutting-edge innovations and topics such as collective ownership and ways that organizations across the country are addressing disparity in the housing market. Every month, contributors S. Mitra Kalita and Sara Lomax, co-founders of the URL Media network, join Laura for "Meet the BIPOC Press," a monthly feature of the show highlighting reporters of color from minority-owned and operated media outlets from around the country. THE LAURA FLANDERS SHOW Season 5 is independently-produced and recorded in a small cabin in rural Sullivan County, New York.

Episodes:

• Genesis Be & Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis: Building Collective Freedom with a Poet & Preacher

  In a time of division, how do we create a sense of collective freedom? It's a question that peace activist, artist and poet Genesis Be grapples with in all her work. Genesis Be has a new book out, People Not Things: Love Poems & Paintings for Humanity, and recently curated the Freedom Rising art show in Brooklyn, New York featuring work by incarcerated artists currently held by the Georgia Department of Corrections. She is the subject of the upcoming film "Mississippi Turning" about the successful years-long effort to remove the Confederate symbol from the state's flag. In this episode taped at the CUNY studios in NYC, we turn to a poet and a preacher. Genesis Be joins Laura Flanders and co-host Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis, the Senior Minister for Public Theology and Transformation at Middle Church, to discuss how to reject stigmas and advance liberation. Genesis Be painted in the studio - for her and us it was a first. "I did my protest about the confederate flag that went viral, I hung a noose around my neck and draped myself in a confederate flag . . . It was a very scary time for me because I got thrown into the fight to change the Mississippi State flag. There were a lot of death threats, but a lot of support during that time." - Genesis Be "The word freedom is hijacked often by folks: freedom from having to change, freedom from having to admit the humanity of others, freedom from having to widen the tent, freedom from having to let go of their sense of exceptionalism . . . This [conference] was a gathering of like-minded folks sharing a dream of all of us belonging and all of us saving this democracy, interfaith, intergenerational." - Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis Guests: Genesis Be: Poet, Peace Activist, Artist; Author, People Not Things: Love Poems & Paintings for Humanity Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis (Co-host): Senior Minister of Public Theology & Transformation, Middle Church, NYC

  Next Airing:	Thu, Dec 26th, 2024 at 10:00 PM on UEN-TV
  Length:	00:26:46
  Usage rights:	4/5/2024 to 4/4/2025

• Solving Economic Inequality: An Occupy Movement for this Moment?

  Were you one of the hundreds of thousands of people on the streets during the Occupy movement? For many the movement was a political awakening, as people rallied to end economic inequality and support democracy in response to the 2008 global financial crisis. On this 13th anniversary, how does the spirit of Occupy live on? And what progress - if any - has been made when it comes to the wealth gap? Joining us for that conversation is Marisa Holmes, author of the recently released book "Organizing Occupy Wall Street: This Is Just Practice" and director of "All Day All Week: An Occupy Wall Street Story" which looks at the takeover of Zuccotti Park in New York City in September 2011. Also joining us is Taifa Smith Butler, President of Demos, a public policy organization working to build a multiracial democracy and economy. Previously she was a leader at the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute. Award-winning journalist Amir Khafagy returns to co-host this episode. Our guests explore the links between economic inequality and authoritarianism and ask how far we've come as a nation to create structural, policy and practice-based changes on the economic front. How can we create a people-led economy that will lead to collective power? All that, plus a commentary from Laura. "During Occupy, we really rejected representative politics because it seemed not responsive to people's needs . . . So we just thought, 'We're going to do this ourselves'. We have to build alternatives ourselves from the bottom up through mutual aid networks . . . That's what I think is going to transform the economy . . ." - Marisa Holmes "Demos has always talked about the inextricable links of economic power and political power. As I think about where we are historically with the retraction of resources, with the threat of authoritarianism and fascism and this demographic shift that is happening in our nation and the inequality that continues to proliferate, if we do nothing, we'll be looking at apartheid in America." - Taifa Smith Butler Guests: Taifa Smith Butler: President, Demos; Marisa Holmes: Author, Organizing Occupy Wall Street; Amir Khafagy: Journalist, Report for America Member, Documented.

  Next Airing:	Thu, Jan 2nd, 2025 at 10:02 PM on UEN-TV
  Length:	00:26:46
  Usage rights:	4/5/2024 to 4/4/2025

• Some residents had no food, electricity, or cell service after Hurricane Helene ravaged the western part of North Carolina in October. Amidst misinformation and no information, local media had to step in to inform desperate people fast. This month on "Meet the BIPOC Press", we explore what media outlets did to serve their people in that moment. Laura and co-host Amir Khafagy, a journalist with the New York City-based publication Documented, speak with two local BIPOC media projects that saved lives and expanded their relationship with their communities. Our guests are Brooklyn Brown, Reporter for Cherokee One Feather, the local newspaper of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; and Magaly Urdiales, co-founder of JMPRO Community Media ("Justice Media Project"), a grassroots nonprofit that shares essential news and information with immigrant communities in Spanish, English and Mayan Indigenous languages. As they found themselves at the frontlines of relief efforts, how did these local outlets redefine journalism? ". . . Objectivity doesn't have to be cold. Reporting the facts doesn't have to be without passion. That's something I see a lot in community journalism, is that we are able to practice good journalism while also having a heart for the community that we're covering." - Brooklyn Brown "I think many barriers and many problems of the corporate media came in place. We were called for people that were looking for a story, that were looking for somebody that was crying because their loved one wasn't found yet. And for us it was frustrated . . . in a moment like this, that can be transactional." - Magaly Urdiales Guests: Brooklyn Brown (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians): Reporter, Cherokee One Feather; Magaly Urdiales: Co-founder, JMPRO Community Media; Amir Khafagy (Co-host): Journalist, Report for America Member, Documented

  Length:	00:26:46
  Usage rights:	4/5/2024 to 4/4/2025

• Amanda Seales Takes the Heat: Speaking Out About Gaza & Hollywood

  What does it take to be politically outspoken in Hollywood? You may know Amanda Seales from her role on HBO's "Insecure", her stand-up comedy, her podcast and radio show or her viral videos on social media. She's lost agents, her publicist, and had speaking gigs retracted for her commitment to social justice. From Black women to Palestinians in Gaza, Seales uses her platform to speak honestly about harm done to others. She talks powerfully about her experiences with the dangers of fame and celebrity in Hollywood, neurodivergence, white supremacy and a whole lot more. In this conversation, Laura Flanders asks Amanda Seales about our progress as a country, what it means to be an "artistic intellectual" and about the educators who've helped her along the way. Hear why Seales is "divesting from celebrity" and taking backlash from her support for Palestinians as "a badge of honor". Plus, go behind the scenes with Seales with the full, uncut conversation from this week's show. Laura will tell you more. ". . . You are definitely expected to just take whatever gossip is said about you. You have to take it all on the chin because you've made this somehow unspoken exchange that having monetary gain and visibility means that you have to allow harm. And what I've decided is I am divesting from celebrity." - Amanda Seales "I lost my agents, I lost my publicist, and I have definitely had speaking engagements and different gigs retracted because of my support of Palestine and my outward support of the ending of apartheid in Palestine. I got to tell you, I take it as a badge of honor. I do. It's good trouble, rest in peace to John Lewis. I am so honored for all those people." - Amanda Seales Guest: Amanda Seales: Artistic Intellectual.

  Length:	00:26:46
  Usage rights:	4/5/2024 to 4/4/2025

• Another January 6 Insurrection?: 'War Game' Film Asks if We're Ready

  What if January 6 happened again? Are we prepared for another post-election insurrection? "War Game" is a riveting political thriller that tackles this question head-on in what Rolling Stone calls, "the scariest documentary you'll see this year." "War Game" features a cast of senior officials war-gaming a constitutional crisis, including former North Dakota Senator Heidi Heitkamp, playing a senior advisor to a newly elected President, Retired US Army Lieutenant General Jeffrey Buchanan and Janessa Goldbeck, a Marine Corps veteran and the CEO of Vet Voice Foundation. This time on Laura Flanders & Friends, Laura's joined by Goldbeck who also produced the war game that is at the center of the film as well as the film's directors, Tony Gerber and Jesse Moss, both of whom are award-winning filmmakers. Together they discuss why many Americans - disproportionately military veterans - have joined domestic extremist groups, and what can be done. What reforms to the Insurrection Act are necessary at this moment? All that, plus a commentary from Laura on Donald Trump's appearance at New York's Madison Square Garden. ". . . Domestic extremist groups, particularly on the far Right, have been targeting veterans and military family members for recruitment . . . We've seen veterans and active duty military disproportionately represented in places like the January 6 insurrection in 2021, where one in five of the people who were charged in the insurrection were actually military veterans." - Janessa Goldbeck "The notion that democracy is this sort of idyllic perfect thing that was once great and will be great again is a complete fabrication. Democracy has always been flawed, it's always been in process . . . There's got to be certain issues that we can all agree on, like the peaceful transfer of power." - Tony Gerber "[In the war game], we see a healthy politics model, people who probably disagree on a lot of things politically, but actually agree on one important thing, which is safeguarding our democracy . . . I think modeling healthy politics is really valuable today. It's hard to look around and see how people are working together across partisan divides to get work done on Capitol Hill or in state houses. " - Jesse Moss Guests: Tony Gerber: Co-Director & Writer, War Game; Janessa Goldbeck: CEO, Vet Voice Foundation; Game Producer, War Game; Jesse Moss: Co-Director, Writer & Producer, War Game

  Length:	00:26:46
  Usage rights:	4/5/2024 to 4/4/2025

• Barbara Lee & Lateefah Simon: The Trailblazing Congresswomen of CA's 12th District

  If anyone can inspire the public about the role of the minority in Congress, the women of California's 12th district can. In this charming conversation, newly-elected Democrat, Lateefah Simon, joins the indomitable veteran Barbara Lee, whose congressional seat Simon will be taking when the new Congress convenes. Republicans will control the House and Senate, the White House, and dominate the Supreme Court, but Simon says she's fired up to "fight for what we've fought for" in the areas of reproductive rights, low and middle-income housing, public safety, immigration and more. And that's no wonder. Simon's following Lee - whose historic 26-year career in the legislature included often being in the minority, and once standing alone against granting the president unlimited war powers after 9/11. Like Lee, Simon began her activism as a single mother at Mills College, and that's not all they have in common. Lee says Simon's already made her proud. This episode will delight everyone interested in the role of African American women in politics, or how legacies are built and power is passed on. All that, plus a commentary from Laura on how not to stay tired. "Being a Black woman in America really gives us the experience and the lens to not be daunted with being a minority. We've been a minority in this country forever . . . I don't buy this fear. I don't buy into the fact that a lot of people talk about they're exhausted Black women. We always keep going and Lateefah keeps going. " - Barbara Lee "We know what racism looks like. We know what the threats of deportation looks like. We have been here before, but I am so honored to be able to take on again, the ongoing journey that was led by Shirley Chisholm, Kamala D. Harris, and my mentor, professor and friend Barbara Lee. We are weary, clearly, but we're not weak." - Lateefah Simon

  Length:	00:26:46
  Usage rights:	4/5/2024 to 4/4/2025

• Election 2024 Lies: Money Media Misses The Mark

  Election 2024 is happening in a media environment unlike any other. With legacy papers closing and digital media in crisis, too, election ads are filling the news vacuum with misinformation and lies. What is to be done? In this episode of "Meet the BIPOC Press", co-hosts Laura Flanders and Kadia Tubman of the Scripps News Network examine the state of election media and ask, could this be a moment of opportunity for others to transform the news and build power? Our guest Lara Witt is the editor-in-chief of Prism and co-founder of the new Movement Media Alliance and Media Against Apartheid & Displacement. Joining us again is Emmy and Peabody award-winning journalist Imara Jones, creator of TransLash Media, a cross-platform journalism project created to save trans lives and expose threats to democracy. The gripping new season of "The Anti-Trans Hate Machine" podcast dives into the extremist groups using transphobia to stoke political violence. Find out how BIPOC media are meeting this moment and working to cover the issues that mainstream media have largely ignored. "There's not one single trans analyst or contributor on any of the cable networks, even though trans issues are front and center as a mainstream political issue, not as a marginal political issue." - Imara Jones ". . . People are getting their political information from [campaign] ads because they're likely not getting it from a reliable source. Since August, we know it's been reported that Republicans have invested over $65 million in anti-trans TV ads alone, and some of those talking points in those ads are actually coming from dubious sources . . ." - Kadia Tubman "We very much are invested in ensuring that our communities are safe, that folks can live their lives as fully autonomous beings and mainstream media often just misses that or doesn't care . . ." - Lara Witt Guests: Imara Jones: CEO, TransLash Media; Lara Witt: Editor-in-Chief, Prism; Kadia Tubman (Co-host): Disinformation Correspondent, Scripps News

  Length:	00:26:46
  Usage rights:	4/5/2024 to 4/4/2025

• Patrick & Claud Cockburn: A Legacy of Guerilla Journalism Against Media Complacency

  Mainstream media has a lot to account for in 2024, but go back 90 years, and prestigious publications have often failed to see when things were so clearly wrong. In 1930s Germany, many journalists downplayed Adolf Hitler's ascension to power, with the New York Times writing "There is no warrant for immediate alarm...The more violent parts of his alleged program he has himself in recent months been softening down or abandoning." But one young British journalist who, seeing what was happening, quit his job with The London Times and founded The Week, a newsletter that became famous for its opposition to fascism and the Western powers that were enabling it. His name was Claud Cockburn, and he's the subject of a newly-released biography by his son, Patrick Cockburn, "Believe Nothing Until It Is Officially Denied: Claud Cockburn and the Invention of Guerrilla Journalism," out now via Verso Books. Patrick is an award-winning journalist himself, with a long expertise in the Middle East. And Patrick is Laura Flanders' uncle; Claud is her grandfather. How did mainstream media miss what Claud knew about the rise of Nazis, and how did his guerilla journalism make an impact? And why is Claud's story so relevant now? All that, plus a commentary from Laura. "It's often said, that horrible phrase, 'You're talking truth to power.' Well, dear old power certainly doesn't want to hear the truth . . . What everybody ought to do is tell the truth to the powerless . . ." - Patrick Cockburn ". . . It was pretty obvious that things were going to get worse. Yet those who were meant to be in charge kept on announcing that peace was just around the corner, that things weren't as bad as they looked. I think that the parallel is all too strong . . . these crises got worse and the same thing seems to be happening today." - Patrick Cockburn

  Length:	00:26:46
  Usage rights:	4/5/2024 to 4/4/2025

• Where Do We Go From Here? Frontline Activists Talk Election '24 Takeaways

  Tens of millions of Americans cast their ballots in one of the most divisive elections in our lifetime, but what happens next? What are the teachings and takeaways from this historic presidential race, as well as critical local races and ballot initiatives? Laura Flanders & Friends presents an exclusive post-election roundtable discussion, featuring analysts and perspectives you won't find in the money media. They include Guerline Jozef, a Haitian-American human rights advocate and Founder & Executive Director of The Haitian Bridge Alliance, called one of the "Most Influential People on Race, Politics, and Policy in the United States"; Judith LeBlanc, a citizen of the Caddo Nation and Executive Director of the Native Organizers Alliance; and Serena Sebring, Executive Director of Blueprint NC, a progressive ecosystem of nearly 60 groups working to build inclusive democracy in North Carolina. Join Laura and her guests as they examine what lies ahead for people, the planet and democracy. Where do we go from here? This conversation was recorded the morning of November 6, 2024. Guests: Guerline Jozef: Founder & Executive Director, The Haitian Bridge Alliance; Judith LeBlanc (Caddo Nation): Executive Director, Native Organizers Alliance; Serena Sebring: Executive Director, Blueprint NC

  Length:	00:26:46
  Usage rights:	4/5/2024 to 4/4/2025

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