The Project Censored Show

In the first part of the program we welcome back Dr. Shir Hever to talk about what’s really going on behind the media veil of an infallible Israel. Dr. Hever debunks Israel’s claims that they can become militarily independent, and the effect of both military embargoes and continued BDS pressure.… The post Ghosts in the Machine: Israel’s Military Myths and the Private Equity State appeared first on Project Censored.

In the first half of the show Italian philosopher and author Federico Campagna joins the show to discuss his most recent book, Otherworlds: Mediterranean Lessons on Escaping History. Federico outlines the role of imagination in shaping our reality, the censored histories of those who refused an oppressive reality not because they denied its existence but because they denied its acceptability, and built worlds to shield, shelter, survive and in some cases thrive in some of history's most difficult times. Federico also discusses how myths and nostalgia work for and against us, the nuance missing in an ever-narrowing world view which buries and censors the possibilities of both the past and the present. Next up, Mickey sits down with media professor and author Bill Yousman to talk about disinformation, looking back on his essay for the State of the Free Press 2025 to contextualize where we are now, and where we could be headed with some prescriptive actions. Bill outlines the importance of not falling back on the lazy but easy path of censorship in combating disinformation, and the importance of well-funded public media and education in bolstering ourselves against the tsunamis of nonsense. The post History, Myth, and Media in an Age of Disinformation appeared first on Project Censored.

This week, a special roundtable discussion with your Project Censored cohosts and the Freedom of the Press Foundation. Director of Advocacy Seth Stern and Daniel Ellsberg Chair on Government Secrecy Lauren Harper come back on the show to dive into the viscous morass of rights violations, including those of ICE, and the complicit courts and judges that could do more to rein them in, SLAPP suits as a weapon to silence truth-tellers, the issue of over-classification that serves to paper over the publics right to know what our government is doing in our name, and much more. The post A Viscous Morass: SLAPP Suits, Secrecy, and Complicit Courts appeared first on Project Censored.

In the first half of the show, we welcome back the editor-in-chief of Jewish Currents Arielle Angel to talk about the need for new Jewish institutions that reflect not only antizionist Judaism but the myriad traditions of Judaism which zionism has always tried to negate and erase. Arielle also highlights the connections between zionism and American exceptionalism, ideologies that fuel and feed off one another, the power of a grassroots leftist Jewish memory culture, and the pitfalls of self-denial on the Jewish left. Next up, editor for Workday Magazine, Sarah Lazare comes on the show to discuss the purposefully obfuscated connection between labor organizing and immigrants rights. Sarah outlines ways in which workers are building solidarity in the face of violent raids and harassment, and how shallow and extractive corporate media practices perpetuate misinformation and violence. The post Antizionist Futures and Immigrant Rights in Labor Organizing appeared first on Project Censored.

This week we are rejoined by media scholar Nolan Higdon to discuss his latest work, “Unmasking Epstein: Power, Blackmail, and the Press’s Failures.” We also delve into the increasingly problematic world of Artificial Intelligence, the challenges and threats AI poses, and the importance of critical AI literacy. Next, Mickey speaks to Brown University first year student James Libresco about his latest Dispatch on Media and Politics for Project Censored titled, “A Direct Attack on Freedom of Speech: Trump Takes on Higher Ed.” Libresco addresses media freedom and the student press, as well as the massive pushback to Trump’s so-called “Compact for Excellence in Higher Education,” which actually poses major threats to academic freedom. The post Scrutinizing Power: Epstein Coverage, AI Threats, and Higher Ed Under Pressure appeared first on Project Censored.

In the first part of the program, Palestinian-American journalist, translator, photographer, and media analyst Laura Albast joins the show to discuss journalism as memory work, and the narrative as a battlefield upon which ever more advanced technology takes aim at Palestinian voices and lived experiences. Laura frames journalism as a commitment - to people and their stories, and talks about how the chasing of headlines and by-lines in the 24-hour news cycle leads to extractive journalism, and how and why movement media can be the antidote. Next up, Economics PHD students Shakked Noy and Aakaash Rao discuss their recent report: The Business of the Culture War which links the contemporary “culture wars” to changes in media technologies as well as economic incentives for cable news. Shakked and Aakaash discuss how their research shows that the economic drive for viewership has incentivized corporate media to turn away from actual political news and towards sensational infotainment, and how the commodification of legitimate rage leaves us dumber and more divided than ever before. The post Memory Work & Culture Wars: From Palestine to Corporate Media appeared first on Project Censored.

We start this week off with news that didn’t make the news from Sudan. Researcher and analyst Mosaab Baba joins us to contextualize the recent atrocities in El-Fasher, Sudan, highlighting decades-long power struggles not only inside the country but internationally as well. Mosaab explains the goals of these new imperialists and their genocidal beneficiaries, the importance of Sudan’s rich mineral and agricultural assets, and how the guns and money always lead to the familiar players of the UAE, Egypt, the US, and Israel. Next up, John Collins of Weave News comes back on the program to discuss news abuse, using a specific example in upstate New York to highlight how even regional media that did previously stand up to power falls in line behind the fallacy conflating antizioinism with antisemitism. John also discusses the Palestinization of the globe, and prescriptions for both media and media consumers on how to stay critically media literate in these critical times. The post News that Didn’t Make the News: Atrocities in Sudan and Regional New Abuse appeared first on Project Censored.

Today on this special episode of the Project Censored show, we look back at 50 years of the Project with a roundtable conversation about the forthcoming State of the Free Press 2026. Joined by associate director Shealeigh Voitl and editor-at-large Andy Lee Roth, Mickey Huff and Eleanor Goldfield dig into some of that 50 year history, the echoes of systemic problems within our media and also therefore within our society. They discuss and dissect what critical media literacy really is, solutions and citizen journalism, journalistic ethics and what a press of and for by the people really means, and why we need it now more than ever. The post Fifty Years of Project Censored: The Fight for a Free Press appeared first on Project Censored.

In the first half of the show, Eleanor Goldfield sits down with Dr. Abdalhadi Alijila to talk about his forthcoming book Fearful in Gaza, an autobiographical work that details the lived realities, emotions, connections and contradictions of growing up in Gaza. Dr. Alijila remarks on the changing of academia, once the vanguard of progressive thought and action becoming ever more muted and intellectually impoverished. He speaks on the unending question of humanity, including how social media distorts our view, and the problem of dehumanizing by pedestaling what the occupation has buried beneath subhuman propaganda. The post The Weight of Humanity: Gaza, Academia, and Acts of Solidarity appeared first on Project Censored.

This week, we welcome back the esteemed historian, professor at American University, and co-author with Oliver Stone of The Untold History of the United States, Peter Kuznick. Mickey Huff recently had a chance to catch up with one of America’s most in-demand historians around the world to discuss the state of the Sate under Trump 2.0. They talk about ongoing tensions from the Middle East to Russia, and rising authoritarianism right here at home. This week, for the full hour, history matters as context for the present, with Peter Kuznick. The post The State of the State: A Historical Lens on Trump 2.0 appeared first on Project Censored.

In the first part of the program Eleanor Goldfield speaks with Maurice Carney, co-founder and Executive Director of Friends of the Congo for this year’s Congo Week. Maurice talks about the situation in the DRC, a vastly underreported human rights crisis perpetrated by Rwanda that incorporates junk food news, media framing, mis and disinformation, and the power of entertaining propaganda to shift the focus from war crimes to basketball, concerts, and even green energy. Maurice highlights the interconnected webs of propaganda from Israel to Rwanda, the billionaire push for Congo’s minerals, and more. Next up, Campaign and Communications Director at the National Homelessness Law Center Jesse Rabinowitz joins the show to discuss the escalating attacks on the unhoused. Jesse points out that homelessness is the result of many failed systems, and how the targeting of the unhoused, much like the targeting of incarcerated, is a test - how much pain and suffering can the system mete out on those who have the least political power? Jesse also notes the dearth of coverage on the criminalization of homelessness, an issue that not only harms everyone in society but could BE anyone in a society where everything from food to housing to healthcare is largely unaffordable. The post Crisis without Coverage: Rwanda, the Congo, and the Unhoused appeared first on Project Censored.

In the first part of the program, cohost Eleanor Goldfield welcomes back to the show US marine veteran Matthew Hoh to talk about the realities vs. the stories of the US military. How much does the oath to defend the Constitution really mean in practice? They look at Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s recent performance and how this relates to the hierarchy of complicity within the higher ranking military brass. Matt and Eleanor also give some historical context to the use of the US military as a domestic police force, and how Hollywood and the stories we consume as Americans bolster these ideas of a top-down restorative violence, affecting how we think about the idea of the world’s largest military taking over our streets. Next up, author Danny Goldberg joins the show to talk about his most recent book, Liberals with Attitude: The Rodney King Beating and the Fight for the Soul of Los Angeles. Danny discusses how this history can serve us in the present, how building coalitions with those we disagree with is critical work, and how using the media - even legacy media - can support our grassroots goals. The post US Military Power, Media Messaging, and Grassroots Strategies appeared first on Project Censored.

Today on the program, we celebrate Banned Books Week: Censorship Is So 1984, Read For Your Rights! Today we’ll speak with several people involved in Banned Books Week, starting with this year’s Youth Honorary Chair for the Banned Books Week Coalition, Iris Mogul. Later in the show we’ll be joined by the president of the American Library Association, Sam Helmick. And we’ll conclude the hour by speaking with the Executive Director of the National Coalition Against Censorship, Lee Rowland. Today on the Project Censored Show, we’ll spend the hour celebrating the right to read and the right to know. It’s Banned Books Week! The post Banned Books Week: Censorship Is So 1984, Read For Your Rights! appeared first on Project Censored.

In the first half of the program, cohost Mickey Huff welcomes back to the show journalist and author Kevin Gosztola to talk about several stories threatening free speech and a free press, from the local to the global. Kevin discusses the dearth of local independent media in this country and how his efforts to fill that gap in his community have resulted in escalated threats to his free press and free speech rights. Kevin also highlights a new policy at the Pentagon that essentially demands reporters not be reporters if they want to report from the Pentagon, and how one reporter in Atlanta is facing deportation for being a journalist. Next up, Eleanor Goldfield sits down with Kashmiri filmmaker Arfat Sheikh to talk about his film, Saffron Kingdom. Arfat discusses the myriad threats from the Indian government aimed at Kashmir’s storytellers. He talks about the framing of Bollywood to always portray Kashmiris as terrorists and why Kashmiris need to reclaim the narrative in telling their own stories, in his case tapping into the power of film to humanize the dehumanized. The post Journalism and Free Expression from the US to Kashmir appeared first on Project Censored.

In the first half of the show, co-host Eleanor Goldfield speaks with Professor Richard Wolff about the state of our economy as a record number of Americans polled cant pay for everyday necessities, speaking to a rising and chronic crisis-level economic anxiety. Professor Wolff outlines the extreme economic inequality, how ICE raids and anti-immigrant violence only fuel the economic downward spiral, and how a healthy dose of imagination and knowledge of history could cure what ails us. Next, cohosts Eleanor Goldfield and Mickey Huff dig into some of the weeks latest news with a critical media literacy lens, dissecting political violence, free speech, the co-opting of language and more. The post Economic Inequality, Immigration, and Media Spin appeared first on Project Censored.

This week we’re talking about getting comfortable with uncomfortable ideas. First up, Thea Abu al-Haj joins the program to discuss the unprecedented censorship she and other academic authors experienced when the Harvard Educational Review pulled the plug on an entire issue of their journal dedicated to Palestine. Thea discusses this new level of censorship as a deep and targeted blow to the very core mission of places of higher education: namely to be places of open debate, open minds and where we can all confront uncomfortable ideas with curiosity, reflection, and exploration. Next up, Dr. Robert Talisse joins the show to talk about what he calls civic solitude - the need, indeed the responsibility to remove ourselves from the ever widening divisions in US politics for the sake of our collective benefit. Robert and Eleanor tease out how this relates to a loneliness endemic to the United States, the need to engage with people and ideas that are unknown and even uncomfortable to us, and the problems of an overly mediated world that interrupts our ability to reflect even when we are physically alone. The post Palestine, Censorship, and the Responsibility to Reflect appeared first on Project Censored.

In the first part of the program, Mickey Huff sits down with author and professor Omar Zahzah to talk about his upcoming book: Terms of Servitude: Zionism, Silicon Valley, and Digital Settler Colonialism in the Palestinian Liberation Struggle. Omar discusses the impetus for the book which predates October 7th and how the book grew not only to encompass the current genocide but indeed to look at how Palestine and Palestinian resistance serves as a window into a broad system and practice of digital censorship globally. Omar outlines his struggles in refusing the language of silence, and talks about how corporate media enforces censorship, dehumanization and the overall actions of the military industrial complex despite public dissent. In the second half of the program, Eleanor Goldfield welcomes back to the show organizer, lawyer, and author Kamau Franklin to talk about the book he co-edited called No Cop City, No Cop World. Kamau discusses the diversity of tactics used by the diverse movement to stop cop city, the derision by local politicians and indeed media, highlighting the important fact that a local media isn’t enough - it’s got to be local AND independent media. Kamau talks about the importance of the people creating their own narrative for these fights for justice, as well as the importance of reframing the fight against cop city as one of global proportions that isn’t over, it’s just entered a new phase. The post Resisting Silence: From Palestine to Cop City appeared first on Project Censored.

In the first part of the program, we welcome back to the show Leonardo Flores, co-founder of the Venezuela Solidarity Network, to talk about the US’ dangerous and honestly stupid escalation against Venezuela. Leo debunks the US’ absurd claims of drug trafficking, contextualizing them in a longer history of using drugs as a cover for violent escalation against nations in Latin America. Leo also talks about the remarkable critical media literacy of the Venezuelan people - something that the government has nurtured for almost 30 years via a varied and healthy media landscape that promotes independent and local media rather than a centralized corporate system. Next up, Nolan Higdon comes back on the show to talk about AI through the lens of critical media literacy. Nolan highlights the importance of not leaning on AI for foundational skills such as reading comprehension and critical media literacy, that AI is not some superior intellect but rather a system built by vehemently anti-democratic and indeed anti-human minds. Nolan explains that while the point isn’t to be afraid of technology, we must understand what the technology really is, what it can do for us and perhaps more importantly what it can do to us. The post Venezuela, Propaganda, and the Promise (and Peril) of AI appeared first on Project Censored.

In the first part of the program, DC organizer Natacia Knapper joins Eleanor Goldfield to discuss Trump’s takeover of DC, what makes DC particularly vulnerable to such federal overreach, and what the situation is really like on the ground. Natacia highlights the problematic ways in which corporate media have framed the situation, and why people outside of DC need to be hyper-aware and vigilant because this overreach will not stop in DC. Next up, Mickey Huff sits down with one of Project Censored’s summer interns Jayden Henry to talk about his recent dispatch: Blood, Sweat, and Stitches: How Overconsumption Pushes Garment Workers to the Brink. Jayden discusses his research on this rarely covered topic and draws connections between the consumerist paradigm in the so-called imperial core and the extreme exploitation of workers in so-called periphery nations. The post Power & Exploitation: DC Overreach & Global Labor Injustice appeared first on Project Censored.

In the first part of the program, we’re joined by Dr. Ramzy Baroud, a journalist, author, and editor of the Palestine Chronicle. Dr. Baroud discusses cultural hegemony, the insidious tool of colonization that distorts an Indigenous people into submission. Dr. Baroud explains how the Palestinians have resisted this tactic which is why Israel has been forced to leverage ever more horrific violence, particularly in Gaza. Dr. Baroud also outlines the myriad problems in how corporate media portrays Palestinians, and how journalists in Gaza have changed the global understanding of where truth comes from - that truth isn’t shared unless those on the frontlines are also producers of the media. Next up, activist and educator Nikki Morse comes back on the show, this time to talk about their time in the West Bank with the International Solidarity Movement. Nikki describes the accelerated pace of ethnic cleansing, explaining the often intersecting web of oppression vis a vis settlers, police, the army, and Israel’s legal system. Nikki also talks about the importance of how we discuss and frame the West Bank, uplifting voices on the ground, and bringing more people to the frontlines to be in solidarity with Palestinians. The post From the Frontlines: Media, Colonization, and Resistance in Palestine appeared first on Project Censored.

In the first part of the show, Mickey welcomes back award-winning investigative reporter, Will Potter, author of Green is the New Red. They talk about his latest book, Little Red Barns: Hiding the Truth, From Farm to Fable. Behind the little red barns dotting the landscape and decorating the products we consume is a dangerous threat. In this groundbreaking investigation, Potter exposes the powerful forces at work to hide the harms of industrial agriculture, its outsize role in the climate crisis, and its links to the global rise of fascism. Later in the program, Project Censored managing editor Mischa Geracoulis guest hosts, speaking with Heidi Boghosian about her new book, Cyber Citizens: Saving Democracy With Digital Literacy. The electronic age compels us to confront the delicate balance between the convenience of constant connectivity and the protection of personal privacy, security, and democracy itself. The post From Factory Farms to Firewalls: Resisting Corporate Power appeared first on Project Censored.

In the first part of the program, Dr. Shir Hever joins us to discuss Israel’s disinformation economy, the zombie economy that is held together by nothing more than lies and deception, and how the ongoing genocide in Gaza has made clear that for most Israelis, the need to oppress is greater than the need to make ends meet. Dr. Hever also highlights the journalistic malpractice of Israel’s propaganda machine, the impressive and vital progress of the BDS movement and how politicians are now leveraging Palestine for personal political gain. Next up, Dr. Margaret Flowers comes back on the show to outline the difference between sanctions and unilateral coercive economic measures. We discuss the recent Lancet report showing that US unilateral measures are responsible for more than half a million deaths a year worldwide. Dr. Flowers outlines the shift to a multipolar world, how nations are side-stepping US hegemony and violence, and how we can engage with these interconnected issues. The post Oppression as Policy: Israel, Sanctions, and the Global Cost of Control appeared first on Project Censored.

In the first part of the program, Andrew Crespo, professor of law at Harvard University joins us to discuss the mass incarceration system, a system that’s upheld by lawyers and promoted in our institutions of higher learning. Andrew outlines plea bargaining as a bolster and boost to mass incarceration, prisons as sponges for people in poverty, the death of social programs that would legitimately counter crime, and the need to shift our thinking about how our justice system works and for whom, recognizing that our paradigms allow this remarkably harmful system to perpetuate. Later in the show, I’m joined by Dr. Roy Casagranda, a professor of government and the Middle East Affairs expert at Austin Community College. Dr. Casagranda outlines the bloodied red thread that connects the first crusades to the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the creation of Israel, and the war on terror. He also uplifts a purposefully obscured history of cultural vibrancy in the Muslim world where not only did Jews, Muslims, and Christians thrive but where the foundations of our modern world were forged centuries before the European mathematical, scientific, and philosophical advancements we learn about. The post Systems of Control, Histories of Resistance appeared first on Project Censored.

In the first part of the program, Mickey sits down with Jeff Cohen, founder of Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting, founding director of the Park Center for Independent Media and author to talk about the passing of independent media great Bill Moyers. Jeff shares stories of Moyers intrepid reporting and his behind-the-scenes organizing and fundraising that allowed truly independent media to flourish. His death is a loss for the alternative independent media world, and a sobering reminder of the need for outspoken voices such as Bill’s in times like these. In the second part of the show, co hosts Mickey Huff and Eleanor Goldfield dig into some of the news that didn’t make the news, and why, as well as asking, is this the best we can do? They kick off with what corporate media won’t tell you about the so-called Big Beautiful Bill, and then dig into some historical context of the insidious Project Esther, the latest in a long line of threats to our civil liberties, going back to COINTELPRO. Sprinkle in some investigative comedy, defense of metal heads, and more - coming up now on Project Censored. The post Bill Moyers’ Legacy, Censored News, and Civil Liberties at Risk appeared first on Project Censored.

In the first part of the program, we’re joined by board-certified psychiatrist and writer Dr. Samaiya Mushtaq who details how empathy as a skill requires attention, a commodity in short supply these days. Dr. Mushtaq outlines how the framework of social media allows us to not only dehumanize others but indeed ourselves, to avoid discomfort through a simple scroll, and to become ever more intolerant of those we perceive as insurmountably different than ourselves. She also discusses how this connects to the rise of anxiety, depression, and isolation in our society. Later in the program, journalist, researcher and policy director at Defending Rights and Dissent Chip Gibbons comes back on the show to help us wade through the morass of courts and legal proceedings that create a whiplash of headaches for those trying to negotiate access to supposed rights such as the first amendment. Chip gives historical context to today’s free speech battles and outlines nefarious tactics such as blacklists and their role in legal cases. The post Short Supply: Empathy, Attention, and America’s Legal Labyrinth appeared first on Project Censored.

Indeed, as our first amendment rights continue to be gravely threatened, real, independent frontline journalists are more than truth-tellers, they are the keepers of ideals we as Americans are taught to revere. so, this week, a special program: excerpts from the 17th annual Izzy Awards Show which took place at the Park Center for Independent Media at Ithaca College in Ithaca New York in early May of this year. The Izzy awards are named after the famous and indeed infamous and intrepid muckraker I.F. ‘Izzy’ Stone… So this week, we’re featuring remarks by presenters, journalists and media scholars as well as remarks by this year’s winners. Project Censored director and radio show host Mickey Huff was the host of the awards show. He is also the distinguished director of the Park Center for Independent Media. The post The Right to Criticize: Honoring Independent Journalism at the Izzy Awards appeared first on Project Censored.

Today on the program in the first segment: Marketing Mars. Zara Zimbardo deconstructs the mythologies of American Exceptionalism and Manifest Destiny as they apply to settler colonialism in space, and the billionaire tech bro infatuation with our closest planetary neighbor, Mars. Looking through several analytical frames, Zimbardo debunks any notion that there is a Planet B to escape to, remarking “we’re encouraged to believe that human ingenuity and industry can turn uninhabitable Mars into a habitable Earth. This fantasy is a distraction from the reality that Earth is being rapidly turned into Mars.” In the second segment today, we are rejoined by investigative journalist Peter Byrne. We look at his latest installments for Military AI Watch. We’ll look at the Stargate Fiasco, World War 3 will be fought inside data centers, and his most recent, AI Battle Space: Weaponizing the 5G Internet of Things. The post Marketing Mars and AI Battle Space appeared first on Project Censored.

In this episode of the Project Censored Show, guest host Mischa Geracoulis, Project Censored’s managing editor, speaks with legendary photographer, Glen E. Friedman, about his latest book of Bad Brains photographs, Fearless Vampire Killers (Akashic Books, 2025), Glen’s work in photography and music, punk rock’s place in history, and the parallels between independent media and independent music. One of the more enduring attributes of Friedman’s work is its unspoken message of championing freedom, especially apropos when civil liberties and human rights are under fire. Friedman’s iconic Burning Flags travelling exhibition that launched in Barcelona in 2022 will be making its US debut at the Woody Guthrie Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma on September 18, 2025 through February 15, 2026. The post Glen E. Friedman on His Photography, Bad Brains, and Rebellious American Music appeared first on Project Censored.

In the first segment of this week's Project Censored Show, Mickey welcomes back media scholar Nolan Higdon. They discuss his new podcast Disinfo Detox and recurring special feature “The Gaslight Gazette" that analyzes current events and media coverage of them through a critical media literacy lens aiming to deconstruct deceptive media messaging. They also discuss legacy media's failure to adequately cover Joe Biden’s physical and cognitive decline in the last election, which a new book co-authored by CNN’s Jake Tapper addresses, though the authors shift blame from corporate media to the Democratic Party without noting their own role in lack of in-depth coverage even though there were stories published at the time in the independent press. Later in the show Eleanor Goldfield and Mickey present another installment in their "Is This the Best We Can Do" segment that analyzes the competency of current government appointees for the positions they fulfill. They provide examples regarding the current heads of FEMA, the Department of Homeland Security, the former spokesperson for Biden’s Secretary of State, and more. The post Disinfo, Decline, and Dysfunction appeared first on Project Censored.

This week, Eleanor Goldfield begins by doing what corporate media rarely do, and that is check in on people beyond the 24-hour news cycle and disaster reporting frenzy. Chelsea White-Hoglen, organizer and resident of Western North Carolina comes back on the program to tell us about the compounding crises that have… The post Out of the Frame: Hurricane Helene Aftermath and the Weaponization of Antisemitism appeared first on Project Censored.

Today in the first segment, Mickey welcomes back Lauren Harper and Seth Stern from the Freedom of the Press Foundation. They discuss several matters including their latest FOIA work on how the Trump administration has been treating immigrants, students and other vulnerable groups across the country. They provide an update… The post Press Freedoms and Civil Rights Under Attack; and Practicing Civic Self-respect appeared first on Project Censored.

Two places of extreme oppression and turmoil that you won’t hear about on corporate media: Kashmir and Armenia. Today on the program, we’re first joined by professor Ather Zia to talk about Kashmir as a psychic border between India and Pakistan, a stage on which these powers battle out their whims while Kashmir is doing the dying. Ather outlines the insidious great disappearance of Kashmiri writing due to Indian censorship laws and violent retaliation against journalists. She also dissects the nation-state system as one that necessarily requires such violence, the post-colonial myth, deep and disturbing connections to Israel, and more. Next up, Armenian human rights lawyer Karnig Kerkonian comes back on the show to discuss the situation in Armenia, and the Armenian quarter in East Jerusalem. Karnig outlines the absurd peace talks with Azerbaijan as comparable to trying to appease Hitler with Sudetenland, a lesson he feels we should’ve learned well enough 80 years ago. Karnig also discusses the settler violence in the Armenian quarter in East Jerusalem, a place that Armenian Christians have called home for more than a thousand years. The fight to remain goes well beyond East Jerusalem, Karnig says, and betrays the deeper settler colonial reality of what media often portrays as Muslims vs. Jews in the Promised Land. The post Kashmir and Armenia: Voices from the Margins appeared first on Project Censored.

In the first part of the program, Nikki Morse, Noam Brown and Prince Jooveh talk about the album Bending the Bars, a project created via makeshift jail phone setups in order to uplift and amplify the voices of incarcerated musicians. Our guests discuss the myriad powers of music, from therapy to frontline reporting to bridges between rival gangs and political perspectives. They dive into the barriers and indeed the freedom in creating an album without the support or collaboration of the carceral system, and how their work can be, and indeed should be repeated by others across the prison industrial complex. Next up, journalist and organizer Jen Deerinwater joins the show again, this time to talk about indigiqueer identities, how colonization violently imposed the binary, missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, two spirits and relatives, and how this violence is inextricably linked to ecocide. Jen also uplifts the upcoming decolonized beatz, Indigenous world pride, a global event celebrating the powerful creativity of 2SLGBTQIA+ Indigenous artists, performers, and storytellers coming up in late may in Washington DC. The post Behind Bars and Binaries: Music, Identity, and the Fight for Liberation appeared first on Project Censored.

In the first segment of today’s program Mickey talks with Laurel Krause, Emily Kunstler, and Kelley Lane 55 years after the Ohio National Guard killed four students and wounded nine others at Kent State University as they protested the illegal expansion of the disastrous Vietnam War. There are many lessons… The post Lessons from Kent State 55 Years Later, and the Power of Truth-telling and Resisting Censorship appeared first on Project Censored.

This week, campus life in the crosshairs. First up, Eleanor Goldfield speaks with Kei Pritsker, the co-director of “The Encampments” and journalist with Breakthrough News. Kei talks about colleges as extensions of the national security state where, at the request of a foreign nation committing genocide, students are brutalized. Kei also shares his experiences creating the film as press and as a part of the community that the encampments built. Next up, Professor Nick Wolfinger talks about his latest book, Professors Speak Out: The Truth About Campus Investigations. Nick and Eleanor discuss the problematic way in which universities are handling complaints about faculty while also debating the difficulty in umbrella guidelines regarding a faculty member’s ability to do their job based on their opinions and prejudices. It’s a slippery slope and when academic freedom is at stake, it’s easy to let our own political leanings push us to the bottom. Can we all embrace discomfort for the sake of academic freedom? The post Campus Life in the Crosshairs appeared first on Project Censored.

The Park Center for Independent Media at Ithaca College is honored to announce this year’s Izzy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Independent Media. The Izzy Award is named after legendary muckraking journalist I.F. “Izzy” Stone. It’s the 17th Annual Award from the Park Center that honors the best reporting from the independent press. Today on the program, we’ll talk to some of the Izzy winners and an Izzy judge. We’ll start with Professor Victor Pickard, a long time Izzy judge, speaking about the state of our free press. Then we’ll talk to Max Alvarez of the Real News Network and Chris Albright, a resident of East Palestine, Ohio. They’ll talk about Alvarez’s coverage of the great train derailment there from 2023. Later in the program, we’re also joined by Arielle Angel of Jewish Currents to talk about their important work. The post Independent and Unafraid: Inside the 17th Annual Izzy Awards appeared first on Project Censored.

This week we’re looking at the insidious and nefarious sides of tech - starting off, a conversation with Esra’a Al Shafei discussing her new site Surveillance Watch, an incredible trove of data formulated into an easily searchable and interactive site that exposes the vast interconnected web of global authoritarian surveillance systems. Esra’a discusses the impunity with which these corporations and financial institutions operate, with no care for borders, side-stepping sanctions, and using genocide as a marketing tool. She highlights the importance of bringing this information to light, of acting to protect ourselves and each other and never normalizing the Orwellian panopticon. Next up, cohost Mickey Huff sits down with investigative journalist Peter Byrne to unveil a new 10-part series titled Military AI Watch: the dangerous militarization of AI and the profiteering behind it. Peter and Mickey discuss the first piece in the series, One Ring to Rule them All where Peter names the cast of characters in this dark fantasy turned reality, their terrifying aims, the monopoly on murder, and more. The post Eyes Everywhere: Tech Tyranny and the Profiteers of Control appeared first on Project Censored.

In the first part of the program, author and Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund’s education director Ben Price joins the program to talk about his new book, Wouldn’t You Say, A Collection of Essays on Environment and Community. In the book and in our conversation, Ben explains that what we’re seeing today is not a perversion of the promise of America, it’s actually a proof of concept, a continuation of foundational ideologies never meant to protect we, the people, and certainly not to protect the ecosystems of which we are a part. Ben discusses rights of nature not as a legal north star but as a need to shift our thinking about relationships, between ourselves, the law, and empirical reality. Next up, Dr. Kim Wilson and Maya Schenwar join the show to discuss the book which they co-edited, We Grow the World Together: Parenting Toward Abolition. Maya and Kim discuss this multi-generational project which also combines voices from the inside and outside, highlighting the contrasts and connections between the carceral systems of literal and figurative cages, and how prisons are and have been the canaries in the coal mine for the restrictions on our basic rights. They discuss abolition as a tearing down but perhaps even more so of a building up, how kids are integral to the creative imagination necessary for building new worlds, and the emergent possibilities outside of our current death-making system. The post Conversations on Environmental Justice, Abolition, and the Future We Build appeared first on Project Censored.

In the first part of the program, journalist, researcher and policy director of Defending Rights and Dissent, Chip Gibbons comes back on the show to talk about attacks on journalists in Gaza, attacks on free press here at home, the links between them, and the long history of our shaky and fragile access to first amendment rights. Chip places the targeting of students like Mahmoud Khalil in a timeline of authoritarian moves to protect US political interests over basic freedoms, and how our ignorance of the past is wrecking our present and predetermining a dark future. In the second half of the show, labor activist and co-founder of the National Labor Network for Ceasefire Gene Bruskin joins the show to connect the dots on US foreign and domestic policy, on how chronic injustices here at home make us blind to the fact that we don’t have to live this way, not here, and not over there. Gene talks about the importance of bringing our demands together, of thinking globally, of tactics that work and tactics that don’t, and of reclaiming OUR radical labor history. The post Challenging Injustice and Reclaiming Radical Labor History appeared first on Project Censored.

In an era when algorithms are reshaping how news is gathered, produced, distributed, and consumed, every journalist, regardless of specialty, needs some degree of algorithmic literacy. We’re joined by 2024-25 RJI fellow Andy Lee Roth, who led a team to create a website about Algorithmic Literacy for Journalists. It provides a practical toolkit to help journalists and the general public better understand the functions, impacts, and ethics of algorithms, including shadowbanning and other forms of censorship. In the second half of the show, we present Frame Check, a new monthly series that will be available on social media and podcast platforms. This new segment on The Project Censored Show is hosted by Reagan Haynie, Kate Horgan, and Shealeigh Voitl. Frame Check explores pop culture, news, and feminism through a critical media literacy lens, helping audiences deconstruct dominant news frames. In the debut segment, the hosts examine how corporate media sensationalizes the manufactured spectacle of Elon Musk and Donald Trump’s relationship—amplifying their antics while failing to critically assess their influence—turning even significant political developments into junk food news. The post Algorithmic Literacy for Journalists & Frame Checking the News appeared first on Project Censored.

Coming up first on the program, we welcome back Dr. Khalil Khalidy, an orthopedic doctor in Deir al-Balah, Gaza to give us what you’ll never hear on corporate media: updates on the situation in Gaza from Gazans since the end of phase one of the so-called ceasefire. Dr. Khalidy also discusses the insidious Israeli propaganda machine, the psychological effects of colonialism, and some vital history many in the US likely don’t know, including the divide-and-conquer strategy to pull Palestinians from each other, geographically and culturally, from the West Bank to Gaza to the diaspora. Later in the program, cohosts Mickey Huff and Eleanor Goldfield dig into some of the most recent news that didn’t make the news, in particular the abduction of Columbia grad student Mahmoud Khalil, the history of who the US deems a terrorist, and the importance of critical media literacy and independent media in these - to put it mildly, turbulent times. The post The News That Didn’t Make the News: Gaza’s Reality, Propaganda, and the Fight for Justice appeared first on Project Censored.

This week, a special Project Censored episode: “What To Us Is International Women’s Day?,” a variation on the question asked by Frederick Douglass: What to the Slave is the 4th of July? March 8th is International Women’s Day, and while many will and do celebrate this day in revolutionary ways, the truth is that IWD like so many other holidays is often used to serve the vehemently anti-feminist goals of the architects of our oppression. So-called white feminism perpetuates the evils of white supremacy, colonialism, capitalism, patriarchy, and imperialism - but with a femme facade, pushing us to ask what to us is an international women’s day which doesn’t seek to dismantle the very systems that use, abuse & torment women across the US and the globe? Award-winning journalist Mnar Adley and organizer Afeni Evans will join Eleanor Goldfield for this special hour-long dive into the insidious machinations of white feminism, who gets violently othered and why, the internationalist demands of a revolutionary feminism, and what really to us, is - or could be - International Women’s Day? The post What To Us Is International Women’s Day? appeared first on Project Censored.

In the first part of the program, author and organizer Harsha Walia joins the show to talk about the convergence of racist nationalism and border imperialism, and how the attacks on migrants are inextricably linked to the attacks on Indigenous peoples. Harsha also discusses the globalization of border violence, and offers a class analysis that contextualizes the border as a spatial fix for capital accumulation. Later in the show, community organizer Kamau Franklin comes back on the show to talk about the very real fears taking hold of people in these times, how these are different from manufactured fears, and how real leftist media is needed to push through the cacophonous propaganda of empire. Kamau also discusses the importance of the build and fight, imagining and actually creating alternatives to our current system that can scale and provide in the here and now. The post Borders, Empire, and Resistance: Confronting Racism, Nationalism, and the Fight for Alternatives appeared first on Project Censored.

This week, Mickey speaks with filmmaker Allyson Rice and researcher Dorri C. Scott about the growing number of books challenged and banned in US schools and libraries, something the Trump administration has called a hoax. We hear about the soon-to-be-released documentary, Banned Together, that looks at efforts by local school boards and state-level politicians to restrict student access to books while highlighting the very students who are protesting and fighting back for the right to read. Then, Seth Stern, director of advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, and Lauren Harper, the first Daniel Ellsberg Chair on Government Secrecy there, warn that the Trump Administration is engaged in unprecedented, and possibly illegal, efforts to reshuffle how federal agencies’ records are kept. They also survey Trump’s multiple attacks on journalists and press in his first month back in office and caution that more assaults on the First Amendment and the public’s right to know will be forthcoming, which, they argue, should be vigorously resisted. The post Debunking the Book Ban “Hoax” and Resisting Trump Administration Attacks on the First Amendment appeared first on Project Censored.

Up first on the program, associate editor and producer of the weekly livestream at Electronic Intifada, Tamara Nassar discusses the Gaza-like situation unfolding in the West Bank, violence that has been escalating since the start of, and indeed before, the genocide. Tamara outlines the myriad ways in which the occupation oppresses, dehumanizes and murders Palestinians including tricks the Israelis inherited from the British colonial government, and the twisted use of the Palestinian Authority to support Israeli aims behind a Palestinian name. Next, Eleanor Goldfield sits down with journalist and founder of Payday Report, Mike Elk, to talk about corporate media’s failure to cover Day Without Immigrant strike events that happened in more than a hundred cities across 40 states, and how this also speaks to the presence of news deserts and an anemic alternative independent press. Mike also speaks about the need for a multicultural media system, and how unions can protect against raids and other violence aimed at immigrants. The post Occupied Realities & Uncovered Strikes: The Struggle for Palestinian Rights and Immigrant Justice appeared first on Project Censored.

In the first part of the program this week, Palestinian legal expert Hassan Ben Imran comes back on the show to talk about the recent formation of the Hague Group, the ongoing cases against Israel and the limitations of, and hope in international law. Later in the show, cohosts Mickey Huff and Eleanor Goldfield banter about the sad state of the 4th estate vis a vis coverage of the genocide in Gaza, and how legacy media couldn’t even be bothered to truthfully report on the carnage meted out by US tax dollars. In a new segment that we’ll come back to in many arenas of life, Mickey and Eleanor ask if this is the best we can do — be it these so-called journalists, or the latest cabinet picks. The post Is This the Best We Can Do? Hope and Limitations in International Law appeared first on Project Censored.

In the first part of the program, Mohawk journalist Isaac White speaks to Eleanor Goldfield about being guilty of journalism. Isaac was arrested last year while covering a land claim demonstration despite clearly identifying himself as press and having credentials on his person. Isaac’s story also highlights the importance of and dangers to local and Indigenous media. As we’ve covered before on Project Censored, there’s already a dearth of local media, but add to that Indigenous local media, and this forced scarcity means that reporters like Isaac who would be connecting communities and holding local leaders to account have to find a living elsewhere, a move that affects the entire local area. In the second half of the show, my cohost Mickey Huff sits down with Dr. John Collins, a founder & editorial director at Weave News, author, and professor at St. Lawrence University to talk about the power and mandate of grassroots independent media in these times. John explains that journalism is too important to be left to the powers that be and what we need right now more than ever is news of, for and by the people. John also talks about his books and years of work on Palestine, and how Palestine is in fact not only an issue unto itself but also a lens for examining colonialism, capitalism, media, the politics of representation and more. The post Defending Local & Indigenous Media in an Age of Scarcity appeared first on Project Censored.

In the first part of the program, economist Dr. Richard Wolff joins co-host Eleanor Goldfield to set the record straight on what tariffs really are, and how bizarrely hypocritical it is that the famously anti-tax republican party is now the party that wants a lot of taxes - taxes aimed at you and me. Professor Wolff also explains the wrong-headed thinking about immigration - that in fact, steady immigration into the US is and has been a sign of a healthy economy, so the fact that the nation can’t and won’t embrace immigration today is actually a big red flag that our economy is weak - as further evidenced by how well the BRICS nations are doing compared to the G7. In the second half of the show, co-host Mickey Huff speaks with journalists Maya Schenwar and Negin Owliaei about how media must NOT back down to Trump’s threats against press freedom. Maya and Negin outline the multi pronged attacks that journalists and media organizations are facing, remarking that none of us alone can surmount these problems but that real active solidarity and community building is key - along with contextualizing our today in the struggles of yesterday, and NEVER complying in advance. The post Don’t Get Distracted: Bitter Economic Pills & Threats to Free Press Hit Everyone appeared first on Project Censored.

In the first half of the program, co-host Eleanor Goldfield speaks with Leyna Quinn-Davidson, the Fire Network Director for the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources about the confluence of issues that are quite literally fueling the fires in LA County. Leyna highlights how we have to shift our thinking about not only how fires burn but their historic and vital role in bolstering healthy ecosystems. She also pinpoints some simple actions people in the area can take to protect their homes and perhaps more importantly their communities, since what your neighbor does or doesn’t do in these situations will directly affect you. In the second half of the show, experienced conflict correspondent Theia Chatelle joins the program to talk about suing Yale PD, a frustrating but enlightening process that uncovered a vast and deep web of surveillance and repressive tactics aimed at students engaging in constitutionally protected speech and protest. Theia discusses the frightening levels of coordination between campus police, local and federal law enforcement, Zionist organizations and even counter-terrorism agencies. She connects this to a larger pattern of repression across US colleges, universities, and towns and cities beyond campus borders, where the panopticon-style surveillance follows anyone and everyone who could be deemed a threat to the status quo. The post Fires, Frontlines, and Surveillance: Looking into Environmental and Civil Rights Crises appeared first on Project Censored.

This week we swing into the new year, 2025, with Mickey engaging media scholar Nolan Higdon. They discuss the incoming administration, Trump 2.0, the failures of the punditocracy and what might mean for press freedom in his second term; social media and an end to so-called fact-checking; and why we will continue to need a truly independent press to keep us informed moving forward. Later in the program, media scholar Steve Macek joins the conversation, and it’s Deja Vu all over again as they revisit previously censored news stories around significant current events (including in Gaza) and how the ongoing lack of establishment media coverage around key issues contributes to low information voters and allows myriad injustices to persist at home and around the globe. The post Pressing Issues for 2025: Trump 2.0, Media Failures, and the Fight for Press Freedom appeared first on Project Censored.