"Remembering the Freedom Rides" feat. Max Pavesic

A first-hand account of protest & imprisonment

In 1961, bus stations in much of the South were still segregated by race, in spite of a 1960 Supreme Court case that had declared the practice illegal. The Freedom Rides were a campaign in which whites and Blacks rode the buses together to defy the Southerners and force them to change. Many activists were beaten by locals, often while law enforcement looked on and did nothing. Many were also arrested.

Max Pavesic was a 21 year old student in Los Angeles when he decided to become a Freedom Rider. He rode from New Orleans, Louisiana, to Jackson, Mississippi, where he was arrested along with others, and imprisoned at Parchman Farms.

Segregation on the buses was ended in November of that year, and ended soon afterwards, in a clear victory for the activists. This was a campaign that worked.

I spoke with Max on July 30th, 2020, which happened to be the 59th anniversary of his arrest. In this episode, he tells his story.

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Solidarity in Portland feat. Cammie Pavesic

Cammie Pavesic is an actor, director, producer, activist and union thug. She has been attending the Black Lives Matter protests in Portland, Oregon, as a participant with the "Wall of Moms." She was born in Denver, grew up in Idaho, earned a Bachelors degree at Boise State University and attended the National Shakespeare Conservatory in NYC. She is married with one step daughter and two grandchildren. She directed the documentary, "Add the Words," about the campaign to add sexual orientation as a protected class to the Idaho constitution. You can find her on IMDB.

On July 25th, Cammie and I conversed on the phone, and started off about her 30 years of union organizing around the country. Regarding the protests in Portland, our discussion specifically focused on the efforts there to center people of color and Black Lives Matter (despite what the media might do). We ended by talking about her documentary.

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Ep. 25: "Portland vs. The Feds" feat. Blank

First-hand report from the tear-gas filled streets

Federal officers have been in Portland, Oregon, for the last few days, on Trump's orders. They have been abducting people off the streets into unmarked vehicles and attacking protesters with a variety of "less than lethal" weapons including tear gas, pepper pellets and flash-bang grenades. George Floyd protests in Portland have been active downtown there for over fifty days, but numbers had dwindled to a few hundred a night. But with the arrival of the Feds, crowds have swollen into the thousands again, and last night (July 22nd) the mayor himself was tear-gassed.

Blank is an Indymedia comrade of mine from back in the day, and we logged a lot of hours on the streets together covering protests during the Bush regime. In his second appearance on this show, he gives us the low down on what he's been seeing, including what happened to the mayor. Blank is a life long Portland resident and has been providing streaming reports from Portland on a regular basis during the recent uprising.

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Ep. 24: "How Trump Stole 2020" feat. Greg Palast

"Voter suppression is simply class war by other means."

Greg Palast is an investigative journalist who has written for the Guardian, BBC Television, Democracy Now!, Rolling Stone, and more. In 2001, he exposed how Florida was stolen from Al Gore, and since then, one of his main focuses has been voter suppression in the US. On this topic, he has few peers and has unearthed numerous scandals that deserve greater attention.

Mr. Palast's new book, "How Trump Stole 2020: The hunt for America’s Vanished Voters," was released this week, and is available at gregpalast.com. I was fortunate enough to receive an advance copy from Seven Stories Press so I had a chance to read it before this interview. As with Palast's writing in general, it achieves that all too rare combination of being both informative and entertaining.

We discussed the moneyed interests behind voter suppression, including the Koch brothers, Paul "the Vulture" Singer, Georgia Pacific (the logging company), Georgia Power (the utility); the gutting of the Voting Rights Act in 2013; how exit polls show widespread voter suppression in 2016; the problems with mail-in voting; and how voter suppression is class war. At the end of our conversation, he extends an offer for how to get the audio book for free if you purchase the hard copy during this first week of release.

(One clarifying note: Mr. Palast talks to me here as though I'm an official staff member of Counterpunch, even though I'm merely an unpaid contributor. I didn't intend for him to get that impression, but that explains how he talks to me in a couple places.)

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Episode 23: "A View from France of US Collapse" feat. Alley Valkyrie

Alley Valkyrie is a social activist, writer, artist, spirit-worker and co-founder of GODS & RADICALS Press. Though she is a US American citizen, she has been living in France for the last few years. We spoke on July 6th, mostly about the many ways in which French and European culture differs from the US. Specifically: ideas of freedom, responses to COVID, the social safety net, education and cultural memory. I really enjoyed our conversation. It was refreshing to be reminded that the way things are in the US is not the way things are everywhere.

Gods & Radicals Press: https://abeautifulresistance.org/

RADIO FREE SUNROOT: Podcasting by Kollibri terre Sonnenblume https://radiofreesunroot.com

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"The Necessity of Creating a Political Crisis" feat. Margaret Kimberley

Margaret Kimberley is an Editor and Senior Columnist at the Black Agenda Report, which publishes news, commentary and analysis from the black left. She is author of the book, “Prejudential: Black America and the Presidents,” which is an eye-opening and very well researched volume published by Steerforth Press in February 2020. (Read my review.) She contributed to the anthology, “In Defense of Julian Assange,” which includes essays by over three dozen other well-known figures including Noam Chomsky, Daniel Ellsberg and Matt Taibbi. Margaret is also on the coordinating committee of the Black Alliance for Peace, which seeks to recapture and redevelop the historic anti-war, anti-imperialist, and pro-peace positions of the radical black movement.

Margaret and I spoke on July 2nd, 2020 and covered a lot of topics: the George Floyed protests; the "ground-breaking" movement that seems to be emerging from it; the need for organizatin and leadership to push it forward; the importance of community control of the police; the importance of removing monuments and statues, including Mt. Rushmore; how COVID has increased the intensity of Black Lives Matters protests; the COVID disaster in general; the cultural resistance to wearing masks; the indulgence of the Left in COVID conspiracy theories; the inability of US Americans to come together in solidarity; the hope provided by young people; living in a time of collapse; the unfortunate selection of Biden; the lack of free and fair elections in the US; the Green Party; how third parties DON'T "spoil" elections; how the Black Alliance for Peace connects domestic and foreign policy; and the need for radical, revolutionary change.

Margaret's book: "Prejudential: Black America & the Presidents" http://steerforth.com/titles/prejudential/written+by-margaret+kimberley?feature=cover

Margaret's weekly column at the Black Agenda Report: https://blackagendareport.com/author/Margaret%20Kimberley,%20BAR%20senior%20columnist

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Episode 21: The Corruption of the Democratic Party, featuring Ted Rall

Ted Rall is a graphic novelist, a syndicated columnist and the author of many books of art and prose, including biographies of Edward Snowden, Bernie Sanders and Pope Francis. You've probably seen his political cartoons, which are often published in urban weeklies. His newest book is called, "Political Suicide: The Fight for the Soul of the Democratic Party," which uses the graphic novel form to trace the history of the Democratic Party's rightward movement over the last few decades, and how its leadership has worked to suppress the party's progressive wing.

Ted & I talked on June 27th. We talked about how Biden is the toughest case in years as a "lesser evil" candidate; how COVID could affect voter turn-out; the history of Democrats presenting themselves as something they're not; how Jimmy Carter was not a saint; Jesse Jackson's 1988 presidential run; the lack of Democratic calls for defense cuts since Bill Clinton; the lack of Democratic proposals for anti-poverty programs since LBJ; how not only the Democratic party but the nation as a whole is just coasting on undeserved reputations at this point; the question of where a progressive or leftist can go in the electoral arena; how the corporate duopoly throttles third parties; Ranked Choice Voting; how this year's protests are really something different; and a quick preview of Greg Palast's upcoming book, for which Ted created a 48 page comic insert.

Ted Rall's books, comics, & more: rall.com

RADIO FREE SUNROOT: Podcasting by Kollibri terre Sonnenblume https://radiofreesunroot.com

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We Are All Prey, featuring Joanna Pocock

Joanna Pocock is an Irish-Canadian writer living in London. Her writing has notably appeared in the LosAngeles Times, the Nation and on the Dark Mountain blog. Her most recent book is entitled, "Surrender," and is a memoir that mostly focuses on her adventures in the western United States. There, as she experienced menopause, she explored the history and nature of the landscapes, and met various rewilders including the notorious Finisia Medrano. The book takes its name from an eco-sex convergence she attended.

Joanna and I talked on June 25, 2020. Using her book as a jumping off point, we covered a variety of topics including settler colonialism, rewilding, cultural appropriation, how sexuality changes with age, social media, the challenges for youth in today's world and finding home in a placeless society. In the background of all these subjects was the environmental crisis, which alarms us both.

[Warning: Multiple uses of the F-word by both parties]

Where to order "Surrender": https://houseofanansi.com/products/surrender

RADIO FREE SUNROOT: Podcasting by Kollibri terre Sonnenblume https://radiofreesunroot.com

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"Interview with a Tree-sitter" feat. Lupine

Episode 19: Interview with a Tree-sitter, featuring Lupine

When I first moved to Portland, Oregon, in the spring of 2001, I happened to end up living across the street from the Cascadia Forest Alliance (CFA). CFA was involved in direct action protests to stop logging in the Pacific Northwest, including tree-sits. I covered their efforts as an Indymedia reporter, and got to spend time with them in the forest, learning about ecology and resistance.

So I was thrilled to have the chance, in the second week of June, 2020, to interview Lupine, a tree-sitter who is currently participating in a Redwood Forest Defense campaign to stop logging at a site in Humboldt County, California. We spoke on the phone, and though we were disconnected several times by a weak signal, we were able to have a great conversation. Tree-sitters have always been heroes to me, and I really appreciated the chance to connect with someone from the newest generation to be out there fighting the good fight.

Redwood Forest Defense on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/redwoodforestdefense/

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/redwoodforestdefense/

RADIO FREE SUNROOT: Podcasting by Kollibri terre Sonnenblume https://radiofreesunroot.com

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The Unsustainability of Civilization Itself

Will Falk is a biophilic essayist, poet, and lawyer. He believes the intensifying destruction of the natural world is the most pressing issue confronting us today and he aims his writing at stopping this destruction. His work has been published by Earth Island Journal, the Dark Mountain Project, CounterPunch, Whole Terrain, and the San Diego Free Press, among others. He is also the author of the book, "How Dams Fall." His newest project is an ongoing multimedia project called "The Ohio River Speaks."

Will and I spoke on June 14th. We talked about the problem of civilization, about depression as a gateway to understanding that, and about the profound cultural changes required for collective, individual and ecological health.

Will's website: http://willfalk.org/

Will's current multimedia project: "The Ohio River Speaks" https://www.theohioriverspeaks.org/

RADIO FREE SUNROOT: Podcasting by Kollibri terre Sonnenblume https://radiofreesunroot.com

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