Laura Flanders and Friends: Solutions-Focused Progressive Perspectives on Politics, News, and Culture

Laura Flanders, Curious Communications

Uncensored history meets bold voices with Laura Flanders, award winning journalist and author. The show explores actionable models for creating a better world by reporting on the people and movements driving systemic change. We spotlight the solutions of tomorrow, today. The show airs on PBS stations in over 300 US markets, and airs on 60+ community radio stations via PRX Exchange and Pacifica, and is available on YouTube and here as a podcast. Subscribers receive lots of video and audio web exclusives in addition to the weekly episode. Recent field reports and specials include: Jimmy Carter; 60th Anniversary of Selma Bloody Sunday March; Bernie Sanders' Fighting Oligarchy; Labor Movement vs. Fascism: Worker Organizers & Teachers Under Attack; And interviewee highlights include Award Winning Actor, Director, Writer, Liev Schreiber on his documentary "Meeting Zelensky"; Award winning journalists Maria Hinojosa (Award Winning Suave Podcast and host of Latino USA) & Chenjerai Kumanyika (Award Winning Podcast Series Empire City) on Forced Removals, Foreign Detention, the War on Education & Free Speech; Democracy & Capitalism: A Failed Experiment? with Bloomberg Economist & host of Truponomics, Stephanie Flanders; Masha Gessen & Jason Stanley on fascism then and now; Naomi Klein & Astra Taylor on the arc of history and “End Times Fascism”; Congressman Jamie Raskin on Donald Trump, Elon Musk, DOGE, and congressional oversight of the executive branch."

  1. 4h ago

    [episode cut] The ADA: A Civil Rights Milestone With Miles To Go

    This month on Laura Flanders & Friends we’re lifting up the people, the stories, and the ideas driving disability justice forward.  This week, a candid conversation with two leading disability rights organizers on the ongoing fight for recognition, respect, and full inclusion for the largest minority in the country—these stories push us to rethink what justice really looks like. This show is made possible by you!  To become a sustaining member go to LauraFlanders.org/donate  Thank you for your continued support! Description:  The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed in 1990, a significant milestone in the fight for civil rights, with a vision of inclusion and respect for people with disabilities. But ableism, or discrimination in favor of able-bodied people, persists, affecting the one in four Americans with a disability. What does ableism mean and why is it still a prominent problem? Anita Cameron and Keith Jones, leaders in the disability rights and disability justice movements, have answers. Cameron, who has been arrested nearly 150 times, participated in the "Capitol Crawl" for the passage of the ADA in 1990 and, later in 2017, she was part of the widely-publicized Rotunda Takeover with the disability advocacy group, ADAPT, to protest proposed Medicaid cuts. Her influential writings shed light on topics like ableism in media and the intersection of ableism and mental health. She currently heads the Minority Outreach at "Not Dead Yet", an organization committed to fighting ableism, or discrimination veiled as physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia of persons with disabilities. As an African-American activist, entrepreneur, and father living with cerebral palsy, Keith Jones advocates for quality independent living for persons with disabilities. He also strives for equal access to housing, education, and voting rights - for all. In addition to his human rights work, Jones is the founder of SoulTouchin’ Experiences and has earned an Emmy award for his song "Rising Phoenix," a documentary about the Paralympic Games. This far-ranging feature, timed to coincide with the signing of the ADA on July 25, 1990, concludes with a commentary by Flanders. “The lives of people with disabilities are so regulated, we don't have true autonomy. I can guarantee you that the access to healthcare, reproductive rights and all of that, we disabled women have to fight for that access anyway.” - Anita Cameron “They like to either say, you're disabled or you’re a woman, you're disabled or you're queer, you're disabled or you're Black. That's not the case. We are an intricate mosaic of identities.” - Keith Jones Guests: Keith Jones, Human Rights & Disability Justice Activist, President, Soul Touchin’ Experiences Anita Cameron,  Disability Justice Activist, Director of Minority Outreach, Not Dead Yet   Watch the episode released on YouTube; PBS World Channel 11:30am ET Sundays and on over 300 public stations across the country (check your listings, or search here via zipcode). Listen: Episode airing on community radio (check here to see if your station airs the show) & available as a podcast. Full Conversation Release: While our weekly shows are edited to time for broadcast on Public TV and community radio, we offer to our members and podcast subscribers the full uncut conversation.  Full Episode Notes are located HERE.  They include related episodes, articles, and more. Music In the Middle:   “So Hip Hop” by Fezo de Mad One featuring Toni Kickman courtesy of the artist and Soul Touchin’ Experiences.  And additional music included- "In and Out" and "Steppin" by Podington Bear ACCESSIBILITY - This episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel   RESOURCES: *Recommended books: “Voices of a People's History of the United States in the 21st Century: Documents of Hope and Resistance,  Learn more here (*Bookshop is an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. The LF Show is an affiliate of bookshop.org and will receive a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.)   Related Laura Flanders Show Episodes: •  Did a Summer Camp Help Spark a Disability Revolution?  Watch / Listen-Download Podcast •  Ableism Out, Independent Living Now!  Watch  /  Listen-Download Podcast •  The Future is Disabled”: Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha  Watch / Listen-Download Podcast •  Laura’s Commentary aka The F-Word:  The Disability Revolution Listen-Download Podcast •  Playlist of LFShow Disability Justice Episodes - Watch Here Related Articles and Resources: •  Highlighting Disability / Poverty Connection, NCD Urges Congress to Alter Federal Policies that Disadvantage People with Disabilities  Read Here •  Dobbs Is a Disaster for Disability Justice (from the series After Roe) by Liz Bowen, Society for Cultural Anthropology  Read Here •  EndAssistedSuicide.org •  State laws legalizing assisted suicide violate the Americans with Disabilities Act, by Matt Valliére, Opinion Contributor, The Hill,  Read Here   Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders-Executive Producer, Writer;  Sabrina Artel-Supervising Producer; Jeremiah Cothren-Senior Producer; Veronica Delgado-Video Editor, Janet Hernandez-Communications Director; Jeannie Hopper-Audio Director, Podcast & Radio Producer, Audio Editor, Sound Design, Narrator; Sarah Miller-Development Director, Nat Needham-Editor, Graphic Design emeritus; David Neuman-Senior Video Editor, and Rory O’Conner-Senior Consulting Producer.   FOLLOW Laura Flanders and Friends Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/ Blueky:  https://bsky.app/profile/lfandfriends.bsky.social Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraFlandersAndFriends/ Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lauraflandersandfriends YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lg Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lauraflandersandfriends Patreon:   https://www.patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends ACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

    29 min
  2. [Full uncut conversation] The ADA: A Civil Rights Milestone With Miles To Go

    2d ago ·  Bonus

    [Full uncut conversation] The ADA: A Civil Rights Milestone With Miles To Go

    This month on Laura Flanders & Friends we’re lifting up the people, the stories, and the ideas driving disability justice forward.  This week, a candid conversation with two leading disability rights organizers on the ongoing fight for recognition, respect, and full inclusion for the largest minority in the country—these stories push us to rethink what justice really looks like. This show is made possible by you!  To become a sustaining member go to LauraFlanders.org/donate  Thank you for your continued support! Description:  The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed in 1990, a significant milestone in the fight for civil rights, with a vision of inclusion and respect for people with disabilities. But ableism, or discrimination in favor of able-bodied people, persists, affecting the one in four Americans with a disability. What does ableism mean and why is it still a prominent problem? Anita Cameron and Keith Jones, leaders in the disability rights and disability justice movements, have answers. Cameron, who has been arrested nearly 150 times, participated in the "Capitol Crawl" for the passage of the ADA in 1990 and, later in 2017, she was part of the widely-publicized Rotunda Takeover with the disability advocacy group, ADAPT, to protest proposed Medicaid cuts. Her influential writings shed light on topics like ableism in media and the intersection of ableism and mental health. She currently heads the Minority Outreach at "Not Dead Yet", an organization committed to fighting ableism, or discrimination veiled as physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia of persons with disabilities. As an African-American activist, entrepreneur, and father living with cerebral palsy, Keith Jones advocates for quality independent living for persons with disabilities. He also strives for equal access to housing, education, and voting rights - for all. In addition to his human rights work, Jones is the founder of SoulTouchin’ Experiences and has earned an Emmy award for his song "Rising Phoenix," a documentary about the Paralympic Games. This far-ranging feature, timed to coincide with the signing of the ADA on July 25, 1990, concludes with a commentary by Flanders. Guests: Keith Jones, Human Rights & Disability Justice Activist, President, Soul Touchin’ Experiences Anita Cameron,  Disability Justice Activist, Director of Minority Outreach, Not Dead Yet   Full Episode Notes are located HERE.  They include related episodes, articles, and more. Music In the Middle:   “So Hip Hop” by Fezo de Mad One featuring Toni Kickman courtesy of the artist and Soul Touchin’ Experiences.  And additional music included- "In and Out" and "Steppin" by Podington Bear ACCESSIBILITY - This episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel   RESOURCES: *Recommended books: “Voices of a People's History of the United States in the 21st Century: Documents of Hope and Resistance,  Learn more here (*Bookshop is an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. The LF Show is an affiliate of bookshop.org and will receive a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.)   Related Laura Flanders Show Episodes: •  Did a Summer Camp Help Spark a Disability Revolution?  Watch / Listen-Download Podcast •  Ableism Out, Independent Living Now!  Watch  /  Listen-Download Podcast •  The Future is Disabled”: Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha  Watch / Listen-Download Podcast •  Laura’s Commentary aka The F-Word:  The Disability Revolution Listen-Download Podcast •  Playlist of LFShow Disability Justice Episodes - Watch Here Related Articles and Resources: •  Highlighting Disability / Poverty Connection, NCD Urges Congress to Alter Federal Policies that Disadvantage People with Disabilities  Read Here •  Dobbs Is a Disaster for Disability Justice (from the series After Roe) by Liz Bowen, Society for Cultural Anthropology  Read Here •  EndAssistedSuicide.org •  State laws legalizing assisted suicide violate the Americans with Disabilities Act, by Matt Valliére, Opinion Contributor, The Hill,  Read Here     Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders-Executive Producer, Writer;  Sabrina Artel-Supervising Producer; Jeremiah Cothren-Senior Producer; Veronica Delgado-Video Editor, Janet Hernandez-Communications Director; Jeannie Hopper-Audio Director, Podcast & Radio Producer, Audio Editor, Sound Design, Narrator; Sarah Miller-Development Director, Nat Needham-Editor, Graphic Design emeritus; David Neuman-Senior Video Editor, and Rory O’Conner-Senior Consulting Producer.   FOLLOW Laura Flanders and Friends Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/ Blueky:  https://bsky.app/profile/lfandfriends.bsky.social Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraFlandersAndFriends/ Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lauraflandersandfriends YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lg Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lauraflandersandfriends Patreon:   https://www.patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends ACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

    45 min
  3. Jul 1

    [episode cut] The Art of Difference: Disability, Neurodiversity and the ADA Legacy

    This month on Laura Flanders & Friends we’re lifting up the people, the stories, and the ideas driving disability justice forward.  This week, two artists expand our ideas about beauty, mobility and inclusion. This show is made possible by you! To become a sustaining member go to LauraFlanders.org/donate Description:  As the nation marks another anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), disability advocates are calling attention to the work still left undone—from expanding accessibility and representation in public life to protecting disability rights and ensuring equitable access to the arts. In this episode, Laura Flanders speaks with two groundbreaking performance artists whose work challenges assumptions about disability, creativity, and who gets to belong in our cultural spaces. Alice Sheppard, acclaimed wheelchair dancer, choreographer, and artistic director of Kinetic Light, and Jess Thom, performer, comedian, and founder of Touretteshero, explore how disability and neurodiversity expand artistic possibility rather than limit it. Through their work, they invite audiences to rethink conventional ideas of beauty, access, productivity, and "normalcy." In conversation with Laura, they examine the role of art in advancing social change, the importance of disabled leadership in cultural institutions, and why accessibility should be understood not as an accommodation for a few, but as a creative and democratic practice that benefits everyone. At a moment when disability rights, inclusive design, and authentic representation remain pressing civic issues, Sheppard and Thom offer a vision of a richer, more imaginative society—one that recognizes difference as a source of collective strength, innovation, and cultural vitality. Guests:  Alice Sheppard: wheelchair dancer and choreographer, artistic director, Kinetic Light. Jess Thom: performer, comedian and founder of Touretteshero.   Watch the episode released on our YouTube channel; PBS World Channel 11:30am ET Sundays and on over 300 public stations across the country (check your listings, or search here via zipcode); and airing on community radio (check here to see if your station airs the show) & available as a podcast. Related Laura Flanders Show Episodes: •Design for Justice: Disabled Hackers are Leading the Way •Special Report: Ableism Out, Independent Living Now! •F-Word: Inclusive Design and Me Related Articles and Resources: • “I Dance Because I can.” by Sheppard, Alice, The New York Times, February 27th, 2019.  • “Road Map for Inclusion: Changing the Face of Disability in Media” by Heumann E, Judith, The Ford Foundation, April 2019.  •Risk Pool. Triple Canopy, Issue #24. Published from January 17, 2018 to April 25, 2019. •“When it come to sex, are your Sins Invalid?” by Silverberg, Cory. Interview with  Sins Invalid founders Leroy Moore and Patricia Berne. •Touretteshero Welcome to Biscuit Land: A Year in the Life of Touretteshero by Jess Thom Bios: Alice Sheppard is the Artistic Director of Kinetic Light, as well as a choreographer and dancer in the company.  Read More Jess Thom, British performer, comedian and activist. Thom created Touretteshero to increase awareness of and expand perceptions of what is possible with Tourette’s Syndrome. Read More     Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders-Executive Producer, Writer;  Sabrina Artel-Supervising Producer; Jeremiah Cothren-Senior Producer; Veronica Delgado-Video Editor, Janet Hernandez-Communications Director; Jeannie Hopper-Audio Director, Podcast & Radio Producer, Audio Editor, Sound Design, Narrator; Sarah Miller-Development Director, Nat Needham-Editor, Graphic Design emeritus; David Neuman-Senior Video Editor, and Rory O’Conner-Senior Consulting Producer.   FOLLOW Laura Flanders and Friends Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/ Blueky:  https://bsky.app/profile/lfandfriends.bsky.social Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraFlandersAndFriends/ Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lauraflandersandfriends YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lg Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lauraflandersandfriends Patreon:   https://www.patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends ACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

    29 min
  4. Jun 24

    [episode cut] Embracing A World Beyond Binary Thinking with Donna Haraway

    This month on Laura Flanders and Friends, we’re revisiting conversations around solidarity, kinship and what it means to be human.  This week we learn from the feminist philosopher Donna Haraway about  thinking beyond binaries, cultivating community and taking risks. This show is made possible by you! To become a sustaining member go to LauraFlanders.org/donate Description: “Thinking requires action and passion,” says feminist philosopher and scholar, Donna Haraway in this unique conversation. In her 1985 essay “A Cyborg Manifesto” and 2003 work, “The Companion Species Manifesto”, Haraway challenged patriarchal, capitalist, binary, species-ist ways of looking at the world. It’s no surprise that people are looking to her work again now. Generative thinking, she tells Laura, requires “taking the risk to try a new pattern; to invent something that may very well fall apart in your collective hands but leaves threads to be picked up again.” In this episode, Haraway and Flanders sit down for an expansive conversation about what it means to be human in an age of AI and resisting what she calls authoritarian “mono-thought.” Plus, a commentary from Laura on staying in the present and “staying with the trouble.” “An individual is embedded deeply in worlds with other people, with other organisms, with living and non-living parts of the world. To be a self is to come to a thicker appreciation and accountability for the way we're embedded in the world and act in the world. That's what I mean by being a proper self.” - Donna Haraway Guests:  Donna Haraway, Distinguished Professor Emerita, University of California Santa Cruz, History of Consciousness Department; Author, A Cyborg Manifesto, When Species Meet, Staying with the Trouble: Making Kin in the Chthulucene Watch the episode released on YouTube; PBS World Channel 11:30am ET Sundays and on over 300 public stations across the country (check your listings, or search here via zipcode). Listen: Episode cut airing on community radio (check here to see if your station airs the show) & available as a podcast. Full Episode Notes are located HERE. Music Credit: Opolopo's 'No More Lies remix' of “We Rise” by Groove Junkies, Opolopo and Solara courtesy of More House Music;  'Steppin' by Podington Bear, and original sound design by Jeannie Hopper' Additional Credits:  Audio Clip- Donna Haraway lecturing at the Next Nature Museum for Friday Next, organized in collaboration with the Premium Erasmium Foundation, and recorded by Emily Cohen Ibañez Support Laura Flanders and Friends by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/c/lauraflandersandfriends RESOURCES: *Recommended book: “The Companion Species Manifesto: Dogs, People, and Significant Otherness” by Donna Haraway: *Get the book (*Bookshop is an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. The LF Show is an affiliate of bookshop.org and will receive a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.) Related Laura Flanders Show Episodes: •  Pride Pioneers Holly Hughes & Esther Newton: How Queer Kinship Ties Help Us Survive: Watch / Listen:  Episode Cut •  Survival Guide for Humans Learned from Marine Mammals with Alexis Pauline Gumbs:  Watch / Listen:  Episode Cut and Full Uncut Conversation •  “Powerlands”: Indigenous Youth Fight Big Oil & Gas Worldwide:  Watch / Listen:  Episode Cut and Full Uncut Conversation   Related Articles and Resources: •  Donna Haraway:  Story Telling for Earthly Survival by Fabrizo Terranova - Watch •  Making Oddkin:  Story Telling for Earthly Survival lecture at Yale - Watch •  You Are Cyborg by Hair Kunzru, February 1, 1997, WIRED •  Donna Haraway, Erasmus laureate 2025 at the Next Nature Museum, November 21, 2025, by Next Nature •  Rethinking Humanity with Donna Haraway:  A Cyborg Manifesto for the AI Age, August 18, 2025, Philosopheasy   Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders-Executive Producer, Writer;  Sabrina Artel-Supervising Producer; Jeremiah Cothren-Senior Producer; Veronica Delgado-Video Editor, Janet Hernandez-Communications Director; Jeannie Hopper-Audio Director, Podcast & Radio Producer, Audio Editor, Sound Design, Narrator; Sarah Miller-Development Director, Nat Needham-Editor, Graphic Design emeritus; David Neuman-Senior Video Editor, and Rory O’Conner-Senior Consulting Producer.   FOLLOW Laura Flanders and Friends Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/ Blueky:  https://bsky.app/profile/lfandfriends.bsky.social Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraFlandersAndFriends/ Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lauraflandersandfriends YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lg Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lauraflandersandfriends Patreon:   https://www.patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends ACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

    29 min
  5. [full uncut conversation]  Embracing A World Beyond Binary Thinking with Donna Haraway

    Jun 22 ·  Bonus

    [full uncut conversation] Embracing A World Beyond Binary Thinking with Donna Haraway

    This month on Laura Flanders and Friends, we’re revisiting conversations around solidarity, kinship and what it means to be human.  This week we learn from the feminist philosopher Donna Haraway about  thinking beyond binaries, cultivating community and taking risks. This show is made possible by you! To become a sustaining member go to LauraFlanders.org/donate Description: “Thinking requires action and passion,” says feminist philosopher and scholar, Donna Haraway in this unique conversation. In her 1985 essay “A Cyborg Manifesto” and 2003 work, “The Companion Species Manifesto”, Haraway challenged patriarchal, capitalist, binary, species-ist ways of looking at the world. It’s no surprise that people are looking to her work again now. Generative thinking, she tells Laura, requires “taking the risk to try a new pattern; to invent something that may very well fall apart in your collective hands but leaves threads to be picked up again.” In this episode, Haraway and Flanders sit down for an expansive conversation about what it means to be human in an age of AI and resisting what she calls authoritarian “mono-thought.” Plus, a commentary from Laura on staying in the present and “staying with the trouble.” “An individual is embedded deeply in worlds with other people, with other organisms, with living and non-living parts of the world. To be a self is to come to a thicker appreciation and accountability for the way we're embedded in the world and act in the world. That's what I mean by being a proper self.” - Donna Haraway Guest:  Donna Haraway, Distinguished Professor Emerita, University of California Santa Cruz, History of Consciousness Department; Author, A Cyborg Manifesto, When Species Meet, Staying with the Trouble: Making Kin in the Chthulucene Watch the episode released on YouTube; PBS World Channel 11:30am ET Sundays and on over 300 public stations across the country (check your listings, or search here via zipcode). Listen: Episode airing on community radio (check here to see if your station airs the show) & available as a podcast. Full Episode Notes are located HERE. Full Conversation Release: While our weekly shows are edited to time for broadcast on Public TV and community radio, we offer to our members and podcast subscribers the full uncut conversation.  Music Credit:  'Thrum of Soil' by Bluedot Sessions, 'Steppin' by Podington Bear, and original sound design by Jeannie Hopper Support Laura Flanders and Friends by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/c/lauraflandersandfriends RESOURCES: *Recommended book: “The Companion Species Manifesto: Dogs, People, and Significant Otherness” by Donna Haraway: *Get the book (*Bookshop is an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. The LF Show is an affiliate of bookshop.org and will receive a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.) Related Laura Flanders Show Episodes: •  Pride Pioneers Holly Hughes & Esther Newton: How Queer Kinship Ties Help Us Survive: Watch / Listen:  Episode Cut •  Survival Guide for Humans Learned from Marine Mammals with Alexis Pauline Gumbs:  Watch / Listen:  Episode Cut and Full Uncut Conversation •  “Powerlands”: Indigenous Youth Fight Big Oil & Gas Worldwide:  Watch / Listen:  Episode Cut and Full Uncut Conversation   Related Articles and Resources: •  Donna Haraway:  Story Telling for Earthly Survival by Fabrizo Terranova - Watch •  Making Oddkin:  Story Telling for Earthly Survival lecture at Yale - Watch •  You Are Cyborg by Hair Kunzru, February 1, 1997, WIRED •  Donna Haraway, Erasmus laureate 2025 at the Next Nature Museum, November 21, 2025, by Next Nature •  Rethinking Humanity with Donna Haraway:  A Cyborg Manifesto for the AI Age, August 18, 2025, Philosopheasy   Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders-Executive Producer, Writer;  Sabrina Artel-Supervising Producer; Jeremiah Cothren-Senior Producer; Veronica Delgado-Video Editor, Janet Hernandez-Communications Director; Jeannie Hopper-Audio Director, Podcast & Radio Producer, Audio Editor, Sound Design, Narrator; Sarah Miller-Development Director, Nat Needham-Editor, Graphic Design emeritus; David Neuman-Senior Video Editor, and Rory O’Conner-Senior Consulting Producer.   FOLLOW Laura Flanders and Friends Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/ Blueky:  https://bsky.app/profile/lfandfriends.bsky.social Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraFlandersAndFriends/ Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lauraflandersandfriends YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lg Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lauraflandersandfriends Patreon:   https://www.patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends ACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

    55 min
  6. Jun 17

    [episode cut] Reframing Media Narratives for Queer and Trans Liberation with Marsha P Johnson's Story

    This month on Laura Flanders and Friends, we’re revisiting conversations around solidarity, kinship and what it means to be human.  This week we celebrate Marsha P Johnson's life and legacy with two trans activists who are carrying on her work.  This show is made possible by you!  Make a one off donation or make it monthly at LauraFlanders.org/donate.  Episode Description: Activist and artist Marsha P. Johnson was one of the key founders of the gay liberation movement after the 1969 Stonewall Uprising, but it’s taken years for her to receive recognition. On this special Pride Month edition of “Meet the BIPOC Press”, we’re celebrating Marsha’s life and legacy with two activists carrying her story forward. A new biography from Penguin House, “Marsha: The Joy and Defiance of Marsha P. Johnson” by our guest, Tourmaline traces Marsha’s working-class beginnings to her work with sex workers and street activists, to her death in 1992. Qween Jean is a self-described “spiritual daughter” of Marsha and the founder of Black Trans Liberation. Explore how mainstream media coverage once excluded Marsha, and what’s changed since then. We also unpack the media’s coverage of transphobia and the recent ruling from Tennessee that restricts gender-affirming care for minors. In the face of extreme backlash and repression, how are artists and activists reframing media narratives for queer and trans liberation? “A lot of trans and queer people, especially here in New York City, that are asylum seekers that have had to leave other countries from persecution now find themselves in a place of purgatory . . . They can't even go to get a hormone shot because they're afraid. What if ICE is literally outside waiting for us?” - Qween Jean “Marsha knew that these conditions didn't get to determine how she felt about herself. No court, no Supreme Court, no police officer, no governor, no president . . . She was creating the conditions to remind herself and each other that we too get to feel beautiful and know our value firmly.” - Tourmaline Guests: •  Qween Jean: Founder, Black Trans Liberation; Human Rights Activist & Costume Designer  including 'CATS: The Jellicle Ball' on Broadway •  Tourmaline: Artist; Author, MARSHA: The Joy and Defiance of Marsha P. Johnson   Watch the episode released on YouTube; PBS World Channel 11:30am ET Sundays, and on over 300 public stations across the country (check your listings, or search here via zipcode). Listen: Episode airing on community radio (check here to see if your station airs the show) & available as a podcast.   Full Episode Notes are located HERE.   RESOURCES: *Recommended books: •  “Marsha: The Joy and Defiance of Marsha P. Johnson” by Tourmaline: Get the Book* •  “Revolution is Love: A Year of Black Trans Liberation”: Get the Book* (*Bookshop is an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. The LF Show is an affiliate of bookshop.org and will receive a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.)   Related Laura Flanders Show Episodes: •  Full Uncut Conversation:  Marsha P. Johnson’s Queer Legacy Lives On: Tourmaline & Qween Jean on Trans Liberation  LISTEN •  Special Report- Power Grids Under Attack: The Threat is Domestic Terrorism – Not Drag Artists. Watch / Listen-Download •  Imara Jones: Countering The Anti-Trans Hate Machine:  Watch / Listen: Episode •  Holly Hughes & Esther Newton: How Queer Kinship Ties Help Us Survive: Watch / Listen:  Episode •  Beyond Disability Rights;  Disability Justice:  Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha Watch   Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders-Executive Producer, Writer;  Sabrina Artel-Supervising Producer; Jeremiah Cothren-Senior Producer; Veronica Delgado-Video Editor, Janet Hernandez-Communications Director; Jeannie Hopper-Audio Director, Podcast & Radio Producer, Audio Editor, Sound Design, Narrator; Sarah Miller-Development Director, Nat Needham-Editor, Graphic Design emeritus; David Neuman-Senior Video Editor, and Rory O’Conner-Senior Consulting Producer.   FOLLOW Laura Flanders and Friends Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/ Blueky:  https://bsky.app/profile/lfandfriends.bsky.social Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraFlandersAndFriends/ Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lauraflandersandfriends YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lg Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lauraflandersandfriends Patreon:   https://www.patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends ACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

    29 min
  7. [full uncut conversation] Reframing Media Narratives for Queer and Trans Liberation with Marsha P Johnson's Story

    Jun 15 ·  Bonus

    [full uncut conversation] Reframing Media Narratives for Queer and Trans Liberation with Marsha P Johnson's Story

    This month on Laura Flanders and Friends, we’re revisiting conversations around solidarity, kinship and what it means to be human.  This week we celebrate Marsha P Johnson's life and legacy with two trans activists who are carrying on her work.  This show is made possible by you!  Make a one off donation or make it monthly at LauraFlanders.org/donate.  Description: Activist and artist Marsha P. Johnson was one of the key founders of the gay liberation movement after the 1969 Stonewall Uprising, but it’s taken years for her to receive recognition. On this special Pride Month edition of “Meet the BIPOC Press”, we’re celebrating Marsha’s life and legacy with two activists carrying her story forward. A new biography from Penguin House, “Marsha: The Joy and Defiance of Marsha P. Johnson” by our guest, Tourmaline traces Marsha’s working-class beginnings to her work with sex workers and street activists, to her death in 1992. Qween Jean is a self-described “spiritual daughter” of Marsha and the founder of Black Trans Liberation. Explore how mainstream media coverage once excluded Marsha, and what’s changed since then. We also unpack the media’s coverage of transphobia and the recent ruling from Tennessee that restricts gender-affirming care for minors. In the face of extreme backlash and repression, how are artists and activists reframing media narratives for queer and trans liberation? “A lot of trans and queer people, especially here in New York City, that are asylum seekers that have had to leave other countries from persecution now find themselves in a place of purgatory . . . They can't even go to get a hormone shot because they're afraid. What if ICE is literally outside waiting for us?” - Qween Jean “Marsha knew that these conditions didn't get to determine how she felt about herself. No court, no Supreme Court, no police officer, no governor, no president . . . She was creating the conditions to remind herself and each other that we too get to feel beautiful and know our value firmly.” - Tourmaline Guests: •  Qween Jean: Founder, Black Trans Liberation; Human Rights Activist & Costume Designer •  Tourmaline: Artist; Author, MARSHA: The Joy and Defiance of Marsha P. Johnson   Watch the episode released on YouTube; PBS World Channel 11:30am ET Sundays, and on over 300 public stations across the country (check your listings, or search here via zipcode). Listen: Episode airing on community radio (check here to see if your station airs the show) & available as a podcast.   Full Conversation Release: While our weekly shows are edited to time for broadcast on Public TV and community radio, we offer to our members and podcast subscribers the full uncut conversation. These audio exclusives are made possible thanks to our member supporters.   RESOURCES: Full Episode Notes are located HERE. *Recommended books: •  “Marsha: The Joy and Defiance of Marsha P. Johnson” by Tourmaline: Get the Book* •  “Revolution is Love: A Year of Black Trans Liberation”: Get the Book* (*Bookshop is an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. The LF Show is an affiliate of bookshop.org and will receive a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.)   Related Laura Flanders Show Episodes: •  Special Report- Power Grids Under Attack: The Threat is Domestic Terrorism – Not Drag Artists. Watch / Listen-Download •  Imara Jones: Countering The Anti-Trans Hate Machine:  Watch / Listen: Episode •  Holly Hughes & Esther Newton: How Queer Kinship Ties Help Us Survive: Watch / Listen:  Episode •  Beyond Disability Rights;  Disability Justice:  Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha Watch Related Articles and Resources: •  Trans power is my sword and my shield:  Qween Jean at trans rights conference in Chennai, by Video Sigamany, November 10, 2024, The News Minute •  Thanks to Tourmaline, the Long-Awaited Biography of Marsha P. Johnson Is Here, by Journey Streams, May 20, 2025, Interview Magazine •  Stonewall 1979:  The Drag of Politics, by Steve Watson, Originally published:  June 15, 1979, The Village Voice   Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders-Executive Producer, Writer;  Sabrina Artel-Supervising Producer; Jeremiah Cothren-Senior Producer; Veronica Delgado-Video Editor, Janet Hernandez-Communications Director; Jeannie Hopper-Audio Director, Podcast & Radio Producer, Audio Editor, Sound Design, Narrator; Sarah Miller-Development Director, Nat Needham-Editor, Graphic Design emeritus; David Neuman-Senior Video Editor, and Rory O’Conner-Senior Consulting Producer.   FOLLOW Laura Flanders and Friends Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/ Blueky:  https://bsky.app/profile/lfandfriends.bsky.social Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraFlandersAndFriends/ Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lauraflandersandfriends YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lg Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lauraflandersandfriends Patreon:   https://www.patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends ACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

    44 min
  8. Jun 10

    [episode cut] Dean Spade's Vision: Fostering Connection in Chaotic Times

    This show is made possible thanks our members! To become a sustaining member go to https://LauraFlanders.org/donate   Thank you for your continued support! Description:  In a time of climate catastrophe, genocide, mass incarceration and political turmoil, people need to work together – better! That’s why lifelong activist Dean Spade has written “Love in a F*ed Up World: How to Build Relationships, Hook Up, and Raise Hell, Together”. Which tools can help people and social justice movements face conflict and emerge stronger (rather than weaker)? Which stories do we tell ourselves that aren’t helping us think — or act — in our best interest? In this timely conversation, Spade shares tips on how we might get our interpersonal houses in order so that we’re better equipped to show up for others and the causes we care about. Spade is a lawyer, educator, and author of “Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next)”, and “Normal Life: Administrative Violence, Critical Trans Politics and the Limits of the Law”. He’s the director of “Pinkwashing Exposed: Seattle Fights Back!”, and in 2002 he founded the Sylvia Rivera Law Project in New York City, a law collective that provides free legal services to trans and gender non-conforming people who are low income and/or people of color. He has useful things to say about romance too, which are worth bearing in mind, as the Valentine’s marketing crush hits, as Laura reflects in her commentary. “. . . Most of us are taking in all the bad news by ourselves through a screen . . . One of the best things we can do to support our own wellbeing through the overwhelm is be with others, joining any kind of project in our communities, a creative project, a mutual aid project . . .” - Dean Spade“The typical self-help genre is very focused on the individual. It doesn't contextualize the kinds of suffering that everyone's going through in a broader feminist analysis, anti-capitalist analysis, anti-racist analysis . . . If we understand that our individual suffering is a bunch of bigger scripts, . . . it can be a little bit freeing.” - Dean Spade   Guest:  Dean Spade, Author, “Love In A F*cked-Up World: How To Build Relationships, Hook Up, And Raise Hell Together”, “Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next)” and more.   Watch the broadcast episode cut for time at our YouTube channel and airing on PBS stations across the country  Subscribe to episode notes via Patreon   Music In the Middle:  “We are Rising” by activist, singer and songwriter, Taína Asili.  She created the song for One Billion Rising’s 2020 global campaign..  And additional music included- "Steppin"  and "All The Ways" by Podington Bear. RESOURCES: Recommended book: “Love In A F*cked-Up World: How To Build Relationships, Hook Up, And Raise Hell Together” by Dean Spade, *Learn more here (*Bookshop is an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. The LF Show is an affiliate of bookshop.org and will receive a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.) Related Laura Flanders Show Episodes: • The New Transgender Movement: Race, Poverty, Gender, Policing, and Pinkwashing, Watch ​​•  Emergent Strategies for Abolition: Andrea J. Ritchie’s Toolkit for Activists: Watch / Download Podcast •  Mariame Kaba: Rooting Out Our Culture of Harm: Watch / Download Podcast: Episode & Full Uncut Conversation •  adrienne maree brown: Pleasure Activism and Black Women’s Legacy of Joy, Watch (06:58) / Download Podcast:  Full Uncut Conversation (37:20)   Related Articles and Resources: •  Our Best Option for Defending Ourselves From Trump’s Second Term Is Each Other, by Dean Spade, November 12, 2024, TruthOut • Checking in with Dean Spade (ep181), December 9, 2024, Gender Reveal Podcast •. “The Mask Is Off:”  Dean Spade and Susan Stryker on Trans Resistance in Trump’s America, by Them, December 18, 2024, Them.us   Laura Flanders and Friends Crew:  Laura Flanders-Executive Producer, Writer;  Sabrina Artel-Supervising Producer; Jeremiah Cothren-Senior Producer; Veronica Delgado-Video Editor, Janet Hernandez-Communications Director; Jeannie Hopper-Audio Director, Podcast & Radio Producer, Audio Editor, Sound Design, Narrator; Sarah Miller-Development Director, Nat Needham-Editor, Graphic Design emeritus; David Neuman-Senior Video Editor, and Rory O’Conner-Senior Consulting Producer.   FOLLOW Laura Flanders and Friends Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraflandersandfriends/ Blueky:  https://bsky.app/profile/lfandfriends.bsky.social Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraFlandersAndFriends/ Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lauraflandersandfriends YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLRxVeYcB1H7DbuYZQG-lg Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lauraflandersandfriends Patreon:   https://www.patreon.com/lauraflandersandfriends ACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel

    29 min

Trailer

4.9
out of 5
143 Ratings

About

Uncensored history meets bold voices with Laura Flanders, award winning journalist and author. The show explores actionable models for creating a better world by reporting on the people and movements driving systemic change. We spotlight the solutions of tomorrow, today. The show airs on PBS stations in over 300 US markets, and airs on 60+ community radio stations via PRX Exchange and Pacifica, and is available on YouTube and here as a podcast. Subscribers receive lots of video and audio web exclusives in addition to the weekly episode. Recent field reports and specials include: Jimmy Carter; 60th Anniversary of Selma Bloody Sunday March; Bernie Sanders' Fighting Oligarchy; Labor Movement vs. Fascism: Worker Organizers & Teachers Under Attack; And interviewee highlights include Award Winning Actor, Director, Writer, Liev Schreiber on his documentary "Meeting Zelensky"; Award winning journalists Maria Hinojosa (Award Winning Suave Podcast and host of Latino USA) & Chenjerai Kumanyika (Award Winning Podcast Series Empire City) on Forced Removals, Foreign Detention, the War on Education & Free Speech; Democracy & Capitalism: A Failed Experiment? with Bloomberg Economist & host of Truponomics, Stephanie Flanders; Masha Gessen & Jason Stanley on fascism then and now; Naomi Klein & Astra Taylor on the arc of history and “End Times Fascism”; Congressman Jamie Raskin on Donald Trump, Elon Musk, DOGE, and congressional oversight of the executive branch."

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