CounterPunch Radio

Industrial robotics company, FANUC, was the only Japanese company named in the Albanese report on Israel’s “economy of genocide.” This week on CounterPunch Radio, we speak with members of BDS Japan Bulletin and Detroit-based Engineers Against Apartheid to understand the role that FANUC robots play in the production of 155mm shells, one of the primary weapons used in the genocide in Gaza, and the complicated nature of robots as “dual-use” products — with both civilian and military application. BDS Japan discusses automation and how AI fits into Japan’s current right-wing political climate, while EAA addresses the militarization of Michigan’s manufacturing sector and how workers in the automotive industry are organizing against it. The post Battling Killer Robots w/ BDS Japan Bulletin & Engineers Against Apartheid appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

On this episode of CounterPunch Radio, Eric Draitser talks with Yassamine Mather about the Israel/US war on Iran, its geopolitical ramifications, Iranian resistance, and what it means for the future of the region. Yassamine Mather is an Iranian scholar and political activist. She is the acting editor of Critique: Journal of Socialist Theory. Her research on Iran is within the framework of the Middle East Centre, University of Oxford, where she works. She is the chair of Hands Off the People of Iran. The post The Illegal War on Iran w/ Yassamine Mather appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

This week on CounterPunch Radio, Erik Wallenberg and Joshua Frank talk to journalist Sam Kimball about Israel’s illegal occupation of Syria, Zionist expansion in Lebanon, and the US/Israel war on Iran. Read Sam Kimball’s piece, Zionist Expansion: A First-Hand Account of Israel’s Illegal Occupation of Southwestern Syria. Support the CounterPunch Investigative Fund. The post Zionist Expansion w/ Sam Kimball appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

In this episode of Counterpunch Radio, Rebecca Maria Goldschmidt speaks with Emanuel Ovadia, a researcher and educator on radical Jewish traditions in the Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA) region. Emanuel shares stories of Muslim-Jewish relations, the politics of language, and the Jewish radical traditions outside of the typical “Ashkenormative” European or American Jewish left. We discuss how the multi-lingual, transnational, and transcultural history of the region debunks zionist myths of Jewish supremacy, and the importance of uplifting the cultural memory of ancestors who may have been assimilated into “Israeli” or other colonial identities across the SWANA region. You can find Emanuel’s quarterly zine, Gazoz De Frambuaz, and his Instagram at https://linktr.ee/gdframbuaz. The post Jewish Radical Traditions of the SWANA Region w/ Emanuel Ovadia appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

On this episode of CounterPunch Radio, Joshua Frank and Erik Wallenberg are joined by Brian Jones to discuss his new book, Black History Is for Everyone, out now with Haymarket Books. In Black History Is for Everyone, Brian Jones offers a meditation on the power of Black history, using his own experiences as a lifelong learner and classroom teacher to question everything—from the radicalism of the American Revolution to the meaning of “race” and “nation.” Brian Jones has taught many ages and grades in New York City’s public schools and the City University of New York. He served as the inaugural director of the Center for Educators and Schools at the New York Public Library and was the associate director of education at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. He is also the author of The Tuskegee Student Uprising: A History. Catch Brian Jones on tour. Buy a copy of Black History Is for Everyone. The post Black History Is for Everyone w/ Brian Jones appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

In this episode, CounterPunch shares voices from participants in the Zapatistas’ most recent gathering of activists, the “Semillero de Piramides, de historias, amores, y claro desamores,” in CIDECI, Universidad de la Tierra, Zapatista territory in San Cristóbal de las Casas, México. The 5 day event featured seminars and discussions with over 1000 attendees from 30 countries, to address resistance to this era of fascism. Roberto Hernandez, from San Isidro, CA, is a Chicano professor at San Diego State University, who discusses the parallelism between the ethnic cleansing of Zapatistas, Chicanxs and Palestinians. We speak with Bruno from the Comité Argentino con el Pueblo Argentino, and Ana Vázquez, a professor at the Universidad Iberoamericana in Chiapas, and other messages of solidarity with Palestine direct from Zapatista territory. The post Voices from the Semillero Zapatista w/ Roberto Hernandez, Ana Vázquez & More appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

On this episode of CounterPunch Radio, Erik Wallenberg and Joshua Frank welcome Sean J Partick Carney to discuss his 10-part series, Time Zero, on the nuclearized world. Sean J Patrick Carney is a visual artist, composer, and writer. His essays, criticism, and interviews appear frequently in publications including Artforum, Art in America, VICE, Southwest Contemporary, Artnet News, Harvard Urban Review, Glasstire, High Country News, and Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. In 2019, Carney received the Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant for short-form writing. This episode is sponsored by Pilsen Community Books. The post The Nuclearized World w/ Sean J Patrick Carney appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

In this special episode of CounterPunch Radio, Bill Ayers, friend of Pilsen Community Books and fellow podcaster at Under the Tree, introduces Amos Kennedy and fellow artists and activists Monica Trinidad and Chi Nwosu. This evening at Pilsen Community Books in Chicago included a packed-house crowd for a celebration for the release of Citizen Printer by renowned letterpress printer Amos P. Kennedy, Jr. A self-described “humble negro printer,” Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr., is internationally recognized for his type-driven messages of social justice and Black power, emblazoned in rhythmically layered and boldly inked prints made for the masses. Borrowing words from civil rights heroes such as Rosa Parks, Fannie Lou Hamer, Frederick Douglass, and Sojourner Truth, Kennedy issues fearless statements on race, capitalism, history, and politics—along with plenty of witty truisms—in his exuberant, colorful, and one-of-a-kind posters and handbills. Amos P. Kennedy, Jr. was working a corporate job when, at nearly forty, he discovered the art of letterpress printing on a tour of Colonial Williamsburg. Kennedy then devoted himself to the craft, earning an MFA in graphic design at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He now operates Kennedy Prints!, a letterpress printshop in Detroit. He has exhibited in dozens of museums and galleries across the United States, including the Library of Congress, and the libraries of the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Monica Trinidad (she/they) is a queer Latine visual artist, communicator, and cultural strategist. A lifelong Chicagoan, Monica has created zines, graphics, mixed media posters, communication strategies, and plans highlighting youth-led, intergenerational, and intersectional grassroots organizing work in Chicago and nationally. Chi Nwosu is a Black, non-binary, queer, Nigerian artist based in Chicago. Their work is an alchemy of cultural narratives that centres marginalised experiences and utilises potent cultural, political, and spiritual symbols. Chi’s art invites viewers to imagine collective liberation, envisioning communities rooted in kindness, compassion, and care. Please, head over to Pilsen Community Books and pick up some books! The post Citizen Printer, Bill Ayers w/ Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr., Monica Trinidad, and Chi Nwosu appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

On this episode of CounterPunch Radio, Erik Wallenberg and Joshua Frank welcome Ellen Schrecker to discuss the legacy of McCarthyism and the current right-wing attack on academic freedom in the U.S., and why the situation is even worse today than it was in the 1950s. Ellen Schrecker is an American historian and author who has written extensively about McCarthyism and American higher education. She is the author of many books, including The Lost Promise: American Universities in the 1960s, published by the University of Chicago Press, which provides the first comprehensive analysis of American higher education’s most turbulent decade. She holds a Ph.D. from Harvard, taught there and at NYU and Princeton, and later joined Yeshiva University, from which she retired as a full professor. Head over and grab some books from the best shop, Pilsen Community Books. The post Resisting Attacks on Academic Freedom w/ Ellen Schrecker appeared first on CounterPunch.org.