Art of Citizenry

Manpreet Kaur Kalra

With a sharp focus on culture, economics, and politics, Art of Citizenry explores how historic oppression persists and evolves, confronting the colonial legacies that shape our systems today. With an emphasis on intersectional justice, this podcast challenges listeners to unlearn and consider more restorative, community-centered approaches. Join us as we critically explore, challenge, and unravel mainstream narratives with nuanced perspectives. Support our work: https://www.artofcitizenry.com/support

  1. Patagonia and the Commodification of Nature

    19h ago

    Patagonia and the Commodification of Nature

    Patagonia is a vast region spanning southern Chile and Argentina. It is also the name of a multibillion-dollar outdoors company that has spent more than 50 years turning the region’s landscapes and mythology into a symbol of wilderness and adventure. Now, Patagonia Inc. is suing drag queen and climate activist Pattie Gonia for trademark infringement and dilution. But beneath all the legal questions lies a more complicated one: How did a U.S. corporation acquire the power to control the commercial meaning of a geographical area in the first place? This episode is an invitation to think beyond whether Pattie Gonia’s name is too similar to Patagonia’s trademark and to instead delve deeper into who defines the meaning of a place and what happens when that power becomes privately owned. In this episode of Art of Citizenry Podcast, host Manpreet Kaur Kalra is joined by Professor Alexandra Roberts, a scholar of trademark law at Northeastern University, to unpack the legal questions at the center of the case and the deeper ethical questions hiding beneath them. Together, they examine the mechanisms that underpin trademark law, the colonial logic of commodification, corporate personhood and what it would mean if nature were to be granted similar rights.  In this episode, we explore: What Patagonia must prove in its trademark infringement and dilution claims against Pattie Gonia Why the “duty to police” argument is often overstated in trademark disputes How a company can acquire trademark rights in a geographic name and reshape public meaning The colonial mythology of Patagonia as an empty wilderness and the Indigenous histories obscured by that narrative What Rights of Nature and corporate personhood reveal about whose interests the law recognizes Potential reforms to better protect geographic, cultural, and Indigenous terms 📌 Support the Podcast: Art of Citizenry is proudly independent. Support us as we critically explore, challenge, and unravel mainstream narratives through accessible, nuanced perspectives. Contribute via PayPal: https://visit.artofcitizenry.com/paypal Become a paid subscriber on Substack: https://artofcitizenry.substack.com/ Follow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artofcitizenry Follow Manpreet on Instagram: https://instagram.com/manpreetkalra For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

    48 min
  2. The Private Equity Playbook: Instant Pot

    May 28

    The Private Equity Playbook: Instant Pot

    Instant Pot didn’t just go bankrupt, it became another casualty of private equity’s complex financial maneuvers. In this episode of our series The Private Equity Playbook, host Manpreet Kaur Kalra and collaborator Anna Canning trace how one of the most beloved kitchen gadgets of the 2010s became a textbook case of everything private equity does to the things we own, the places we live, and the communities we call home. From its origins as an internet phenomenon to its collapse under millions in manufactured debt, the Instant Pot story hits every ingredient of the private equity recipe: roll-ups, debt-loading, dividend recaps, antitrust, factory closures, and even a bizarre MAGA branding scheme. We connect Instant Pot’s story to the shuttering of the Pyrex factory in Charleroi, Pennsylvania, anti-immigrant scapegoating during the 2024 election, and the increasingly surreal overlap between political influence, lobbying, and consumer brands. In this episode, we explore: What a dividend recapitalization actually is, and how private equity firms extract money from companies while offloading any financial risk. The use of private equity roll-ups – raising major questions about monopoly power and market concentration. How the closure of the historic Pyrex factory in Charleroi, Pennsylvania became a case study in capitalist scapegoating and racist political rhetoric. Why antitrust law often fails to stop private equity consolidation. The bizarre story of the MAGA Instant Pot, including the attempted launch of Trump-branded home goods, the role of lobbying firms amid looming antitrust scrutiny, and how an effort to curry political favor reportedly backfired into an intellectual property dispute with the Trump Organization. How public pension funds help finance private equity takeovers. 📌 Support the Podcast: Art of Citizenry is proudly independent. Support us as we critically explore, challenge, and unravel mainstream narratives by empowering listeners with accessible, nuanced perspectives. Contribute via PayPal: https://visit.artofcitizenry.com/paypal Become a Paid Subscriber on Substack: https://artofcitizenry.substack.com/ Follow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artofcitizenry Follow Manpreet on Instagram: https://instagram.com/manpreetkalra For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

    49 min

  3. May 7

    Decolonizing Economics

    We're taught to think of economics as an objective truth. But what if economics isn't neutral at all? What if it's a story shaped by power and by a history that has been carefully edited? A story that celebrates innovation and progress while quietly erasing extraction, exploitation, and the violence behind how wealth became concentrated geographically. In this episode of Art of Citizenry Podcast, Manpreet Kaur Kalra speaks with economist Carolina Alves about colonialism, capitalism, development economics, and the Eurocentric foundations that continue to shape global economic policy today. Together, they unpack how mainstream economics often separates markets from history, obscuring the role colonial extraction, slavery, and unequal trade played in building modern wealth. From informal labor markets to communal economic models rooted in reciprocity, this conversation challenges the idea that Eurocentric economic systems represent a universal path toward prosperity. 📌 Note: Due to some audio quality challenges during the recording, we’ve included transcript excerpts to help listeners follow the conversation and engage with the ideas discussed in the episode — visit: artofcitizenry.com/podcast/decolonizing-economics We explore: What it means to challenge the Eurocentric assumptions embedded within mainstream economic theory Why GDP and economic growth became dominant measures of success How development economics emerged during the decolonization era Why many Global South economies remain structurally dependent within the global economic system The tension between economic growth and inequality under capitalism and whether inequality is a flaw within capitalism or structurally embedded within it "Decolonizing economics is about something more foundational than representation. It’s about repositioning the vantage point entirely.” – Carolina Alves Carolina Alves is Associate Professor in Economics at the Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP) at University College London, and a Fellow in Economics at Girton College, University of Cambridge.  Read: “Decolonizing Economics: An Introduction” by Devika Dutt, Carolina Alves, Surbhi Kesar, and Ingrid Harvold Kvangraven,  📌 Support the Podcast: Art of Citizenry is proudly independent. Support us as we critically explore, challenge, and unravel mainstream narratives by empowering listeners with accessible, nuanced perspectives. Contribute via Paypal: https://visit.artofcitizenry.com/paypal Substack: https://artofcitizenry.substack.com Follow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artofcitizenry Follow Manpreet on Instagram: https://instagram.com/manpreetkalra Explore past episodes of Art of Citizenry Podcast: https://www.artofcitizenry.com/podcast For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

    37 min
  4. The Private Equity Playbook: College Sports and the University of Utah

    Apr 16

    The Private Equity Playbook: College Sports and the University of Utah

    In December 2025, the University of Utah became the first major college athletic program to take private equity investment, spinning off its commercial operations into a for-profit company. Half a billion dollars and a public university now answering to Wall Street. In this episode of our series The Private Equity Playbook, host Manpreet Kaur Kalra is joined by collaborator Anna Canning to trace how college athletics went from extracurricular programs serving educational missions to financialized assets in a private equity portfolio. This is a story about what happens when the logic of investor returns takes the wheel at a public university, and ultimately, who gets left behind. Spoiler: it's not the programs already generating millions. It's women's sports and all those other sports that may no longer make financial sense to a firm looking to make quick returns on their investment. For decades, the NCAA built a billion-dollar industry on the backs of athletes classified as "amateurs," barring them from receiving fair compensation while coaches pocketed millions and broadcast deals soared. That system only cracked when courts forced it to. NCAA v. Alston. The House v. NCAA settlement. We trace how a wave of legal pressure cracked open the system and how private equity arrived right on cue to profit from the chaos. In this episode, we explore: How Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) rights, and a slew of legal cases set the stage for private equity to swoop in and why this deal is unlikely to remain unique.  How the University of Utah's deal is structured – what moved to the new for-profit entity, what stayed with the athletic department, and why the "we retain control" narrative deserves scrutiny. Who is behind Otro Capital and what their investment thesis tells us about what comes next for college sports. Why women's sports, Title IX protections, and non-revenue generating athletic programs are at particular risk when investor returns become the driving metric for decisions. The ongoing legal fight over athlete employee status. 📌 Support the Podcast: Art of Citizenry is proudly independent. Support us as we critically explore, challenge, and unravel mainstream narratives by empowering listeners with accessible, nuanced perspectives. Contribute via PayPal: https://visit.artofcitizenry.com/paypal Become a Paid Subscriber on Substack: https://artofcitizenry.substack.com/ Follow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artofcitizenry Follow Manpreet on Instagram: https://instagram.com/manpreetkalra For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

    41 min
  5. No Contract, No Coffee: Starbucks, Union Busting, and the Fight for Labor Rights

    Mar 26

    No Contract, No Coffee: Starbucks, Union Busting, and the Fight for Labor Rights

    Starbucks built its brand on the idea of the “third place.” But over the past decade, the company has quietly unraveled the very conditions that made that promise possible. In this episode of Art of Citizenry Podcast, Manpreet Kaur Kalra speaks with Megan Erickson, a Philadelphia-based barista and member of Starbucks Workers United, about the growing labor movement inside Starbucks. Together, they examine the widening gap between the company’s “third place” narrative and the working conditions faced by baristas across the United States. From unpredictable scheduling and low wages to stalled union contract negotiations and ongoing allegations of union busting, this conversation examines how Starbucks became one of the most prolific labor law violators in modern U.S. history and how organizing by Starbucks Workers United has helped reignite the labor movement across the United States. This podcast episode breaks down what union organizing looks like in practice, what “good faith bargaining” requires under U.S. labor law, and why thousands of Starbucks workers have gone on strike demanding fair pay, reliable hours, and workplace protections. In this episode, we explore: Starbucks union movement: the rapid rise of Starbucks Workers United and coordinated organizing across hundreds of U.S. stores Labor law violations and union busting: over 1,100 unfair labor practice charges filed with the NLRB, including allegations of retaliation, store closures, and bad-faith tactics Contract negotiations and corporate leadership: how union bargaining shifted following the arrival of CEO Brian Niccol Working conditions at Starbucks: low wages, unpredictable scheduling, chronic understaffing, and barriers to accessing benefits Good faith bargaining under U.S. labor law: what the National Labor Relations Act requires and how delays, cancellations, and surface bargaining undermine negotiations Solidarity and community care in labor organizing: how striking workers built mutual aid networks, including a community-run strike kitchen, demonstrating how worker solidarity extends beyond the picket line “When the systems in place fail to care for the people who make them run, solidarity gives us the power to build our own systems of care.” – Megan Erickson How to take action: Delete the Starbucks app Find your local union store at sbworkersunited.org/map Sign the pledge at nocontractnocoffee.org Follow and support Starbucks Workers United at sbworkersunited.org 📌Support the Podcast: Art of Citizenry is proudly independent. Support us as we critically explore, challenge, and unravel mainstream narratives by empowering listeners with accessible, nuanced perspectives.  Contribute via Paypal: https://visit.artofcitizenry.com/paypal Substack: https://artofcitizenry.substack.com Follow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artofcitizenry Follow Manpreet on Instagram: https://instagram.com/manpreetkalra Explore Past Episodes of the Art of Citizenry Podcast with Manpreet Kalra: https://www.artofcitizenry.com/podcast For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

    43 min
  6. AI, Bias, and Capitalism: The Cost of Our Data

    Mar 5

    AI, Bias, and Capitalism: The Cost of Our Data

    Artificial intelligence (AI) is often framed as a technological breakthrough. But behind the headlines is a deeper question: who owns the infrastructure shaping how we communicate, create, and understand truth? In this episode of Art of Citizenry Podcast, we slow down the AI conversation to ask harder questions – not just about what these systems can do, but who built them, who profits from them, and what we give up by using them. Manpreet Kalra is joined by Vauhini Vara, author of Searches: Selfhood in the Digital Age and longtime journalist covering Big Tech, to unpack the structural forces at play behind the AI boom. Together, we explore how AI is less a neutral technology than a mirror of the economic and ideological forces that built it. A social system shaped by corporate incentives, embedded bias, and the quiet erosion of our ability to define truth for ourselves and what it means for all of us when the infrastructure shaping that truth is privately owned, profit-driven, and constantly learning from us. This isn't a conversation with easy answers. It's about sitting with complexity, and the uncomfortable reality that opting out is rarely simple. In this episode, we explore: Why AI bias is more than a technical glitch and how it reflects deeper social and economic power structures. The legal battles over AI training data, including The New York Times v. OpenAI and Bartz v. Anthropic How AI systems can reinforce confirmation bias and shape our perception of truth Why Big Tech’s incentives matter when the infrastructure of communication and tools shaping public knowledge are privately owned The relationship between users and tech companies; and why exploitation and convenience can coexist Alternative models for technology governance, from public infrastructure to nonprofit platforms AI isn’t just a technical system. It’s a social and economic one. The outputs we see reflect the data they’re trained on, the incentives of the companies building them, and the broader political economy of the internet. If we want different outcomes from AI, the conversation must expand beyond engineering fixes to include questions of ownership, accountability, and power. Vauhini Vara is the author of Searches: Selfhood in the Digital Age, named a best book of the year by Esquire, Slate, and Publisher’s Weekly and a winner of the Porchlight Business Book Award. Her previous books are This is Salvaged, which was longlisted for the Story Prize and won the High Plains Book Award, and The Immortal King Rao, a Pulitzer Prize finalist and winner of the Colorado Book Award. She is also a journalist, currently working as a contributing writer for Businessweek. 📌Support the Podcast: Art of Citizenry is proudly independent. Support us as we critically explore, challenge, and unravel mainstream narratives by empowering listeners with accessible, nuanced perspectives.  Contribute via Paypal: https://visit.artofcitizenry.com/paypal Substack: https://artofcitizenry.substack.com Follow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artofcitizenry Follow Manpreet on Instagram: https://instagram.com/manpreetkalra Explore Past Episodes of the Art of Citizenry Podcast with Manpreet Kalra: https://www.artofcitizenry.com/podcast For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

    44 min
  7. ICE Out: Minnesota Under Siege with Senator Erin Maye Quade

    Feb 12

    ICE Out: Minnesota Under Siege with Senator Erin Maye Quade

    In this episode of Art of Citizenry Podcast, Manpreet Kaur Kalra speaks with Minnesota State Senator Erin Maye Quade from the epicenter of ICE’s siege. Across Minnesota, intensified immigration operations have made daily life unsafe and unpredictable, destabilizing families and threatening people’s basic autonomy and human rights. From masked agents going door to door and idling near schools to racially profiling and arbitrarily kidnapping children and adults, the federal government has carried out an occupation marked by unlawful tactics designed to intimidate and detain.  The conversation moves beyond the headlines to unpack the lived reality on the ground. Senator Maye Quade explains why documentation and constitutional observing have become critical tools of protection, how mutual aid networks are sustaining families, and what meaningful accountability could require in the months and years ahead. We explore: What Operation Metro Surge looks like on the ground and how ICE is using racial profiling to terrorize communities.The importance of constitutional observing and documentation as tools for accountability.Community resilience in the face of state violence and how mutual aid networks are sustaining families through rent support, food distribution, childcare, and emergency response as families shelter in place.The possibilities of state-level action amid federal overreach.What other states and communities should prepare for if this playbook spreads.Meet Our Guest Minnesota State Senator Erin Maye Quade made history in 2022 as the first out lesbian, the first Black mom, and one of the first Black women elected to the Minnesota Senate. She serves as Vice Chair of both the Education Policy and State and Local Government Committees, and she is a member of the Human Services and Education Finance Committees. Senator Maye Quade has successfully led initiatives to expand reproductive freedom, protect LGBTQ+ rights, safeguard election integrity, and promote literacy, among other key priorities. Pay Attention. Stay Informed. Take Action.  Want to show up in a meaningful way? Visit StandWithMinnesota.com to contribute to mutual aid efforts and connect with trusted support resources.Know your rights and build communication networks with neighbors. Preparation and community are powerful forms of defense. Download red cards in your preferred language: ilrc.org/redcardsContent warning: This episode includes descriptions of state violence, please take care while listening.  📌Support the Podcast: Art of Citizenry is proudly independent. Support us as we critically explore, challenge, and unravel mainstream narratives by empowering listeners with accessible, nuanced perspectives.  Contribute via Paypal: https://visit.artofcitizenry.com/paypalSubstack: https://artofcitizenry.substack.com/Follow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artofcitizenry Follow Manpreet on Instagram: https://instagram.com/manpreetkalra Explore Past Episodes of the Art of Citizenry Podcast with Manpreet Kalra: https://www.artofcitizenry.com/podcast For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

    53 min

  8. 12/18/2025

    The Private Equity Playbook: Joann Fabrics

    JOANN (forever “Joann Fabrics” in our hearts) didn’t just “go out of business,” it was engineered to collapse. In this episode of our series The Private Equity Playbook, host Manpreet Kaur Kalra is joined by collaborator Anna Canning to trace how a beloved craft-store chain went from being a hub for makers to a debt-loaded financial instrument.  This isn’t a story about changing consumer tastes or “retail trends.” It’s actually about debt, extraction, and what happens when the logic of Wall Street collides with the fabric of daily life.  From JOANN's origins in Cleveland’s garment-manufacturing era to its pandemic boom and rapid collapse, we break down what happens when private equity enters the picture: a leveraged buyout that loads a company with debt, management fees that drain resources, and cost-cutting that hollows out the very labor and expertise the business depends on. Along the way, we connect JOANN’s downfall to the rise of fast fashion, the history of DIY economics, and the way private equity continues to enter our lives.  In this episode, we explore: How Joann Fabrics went from zero debt to total collapse after a private equity-led leveraged buyout loaded the company with over a billion dollars in obligations and ongoing management fees.What a leveraged buyout actually is, and how private equity firms use company debt, not their own money, to finance acquisitions and extract returns.The history of U.S. garment manufacturing, from unionized apparel hubs like Cleveland to offshoring, fast fashion, and the shift of sewing from necessity to hobby.How private equity hollowed out JOANN's core strengths (the expertise of its employees) while using a brief boom during the pandemic to obscure deep structural damage, and how JOANN's collapse rippled outward to destabilize adjacent industries.The bipartisan political support underpinning private equity’s takeover of our lives and why consumer choice can’t solve this.📌Support the Podcast: Art of Citizenry is proudly independent. Support us as we critically explore, challenge, and unravel mainstream narratives by empowering listeners with accessible, nuanced perspectives.  Contribute via Paypal: https://visit.artofcitizenry.com/paypal Become a Paid Subscriber on Substack: https://artofcitizenry.substack.com/ Follow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artofcitizenry Follow Manpreet on Instagram: https://instagram.com/manpreetkalra For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

    54 min
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5
out of 5
24 Ratings

About

With a sharp focus on culture, economics, and politics, Art of Citizenry explores how historic oppression persists and evolves, confronting the colonial legacies that shape our systems today. With an emphasis on intersectional justice, this podcast challenges listeners to unlearn and consider more restorative, community-centered approaches. Join us as we critically explore, challenge, and unravel mainstream narratives with nuanced perspectives. Support our work: https://www.artofcitizenry.com/support

Information

  • Creator
    Manpreet Kaur Kalra
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    51
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2020 Art of Citizenry
  • Show Website
    Art of Citizenry

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