Episode 177: “Kin-Making in Disaster’s Wake” ft. Jimmy Dunson

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I recently sat down with my dear friend and comrade, Jimmy Dunson, who put together an anthology on mutual aid, disaster relief, and building dual-power called Building Power While the Lights Are Out. The anthology is gripping and brilliant and the two of us have a wide-ranging conversation on a number of the essays contained within the anthology. We talk about mutual aid as the process of making kin, the ways mutual aid is becoming less of a niche thing that just anarchists dressed all in black do, and the ways we can build dual-power both before and after a natural disaster.

Episode 176: “The Power of Story” ft. Margaret Killjoy

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Today, we’re sharing an interview with the all-around-badass Margaret Killjoy. Margaret is a writer of fiction, a musician in multiple bands, and she is also the host of two great podcasts: Live Like the World is Dying and Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff.
And that’s an inexhaustive list.
Margaret joined me to talk about her new book, We Won’t Be Here Tomorrow, which is a delightful anthology of short stories collected for the first time together in this brand new edition for AK Press.

BONUS: “Free Dan Baker!”

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In this special bonus edition of Coffee with Comrades, I sit down with Tallahassee, FL-based artist and community-organizer, Eric Champagne, to talk about the life and plight of Dan Baker.

Dan Baker is a YPG veteran, yoga instructor, and anarchist who was arrested for posts he made on social media in the wake of the January 6th insurrection.

Stay tuned to the end of the episode to hear Dan talk in his own words about his experiences on the inside.

Special thanks to Eric and Adrien, who helped acquire the audio from Dan for this episode. Additional thanks to Running Down the Walls, the Certain Days Calendar, the Anarchist Black Cross, Antifa International, and the Burning Books Collective.

Dan’s birthday is on September 17th. If you’d like to send him a letter or a birthday card, you can do so at the following address:

Dan Baker – #25765-509

FCI Memphis

P.O. Box 34550

Memphis, TN 38184

You can also donate directly to Dan’s commissary/reentry fund by sending donations to DanBakerDonations@gmail.com on PayPal.  

Episode 175: “Deathways” ft. Nash Flynn

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This week, I am sharing a dialogue I recently had with my new friend Nash Flynn. Nash is a comedian, historian, and host of the podcast Death and Friends. In our dialogue, we talk about death. A lot. Like, a whole helluva lot. So keep that in mind as you wade into this discussion. We chat about the death of non-human animals, climate change, the inevitable heat-death of the universe…but the majority of the dialogue focuses on Nash’s area of expertise: the deathways of so-called New England in the fifteenth century. We talk a lot about settler colonialism, the way history is whitewashed and sanitized, and get into the details of death in all their nitty, gritty, gory glory.

Episode 174: “Children’s Liberation, Now!” ft. Srsly Wrong

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Shawn of Srsly Wrong joins me for a discussion inspired by two books: Escape from Childhood by John C. Holt, and Raising Free People by Akilah S. Richards.  In our expansive dialogue, we talk about climate anxiety, raising kids, studenthood, the abolition of family, and the process of teaching yourself how to treat children with respect.

Episode 173: “Anarchists Care About Books” ft. Firestorm Books

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Today, we’re sharing an interview with an Ashville-based collective called Firestorm Books. For those not already acquainted with our Appalachian comrades’ work, Firestorm Books is a queer, feminist, anarchist collective operating a co-op bookstore and social movement space. Esmé, Ash, and Libertie sat down with me this past week to talk about starting up their cooperative business, the tensions and dynamics of running a horizontal, collaborative workplace, how they thwart hierarchy interpersonally, and–perhaps most importantly–their ongoing fundraiser to purchase a new storefront just up the road from their current location.

Episode 172: “What Are the Rules in Hell?” ft. Overcritical

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In this week’s special, collaborative episode of Coffee with Comrades, Parker from Overcritical joins me to discuss the “most watched” television phenomenon of all time: Squid Game (2021). 

Episode 171: “This Card is an Abortion” ft. Dr. Mixæl Laufer

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In this edition of Coffee with Comrades, we talk with Dr. Mixæl Laufer about Four Thieves Vinegar Collective’s most recent DIY, autonomous medicine shenanigans. Mixæl walks us through abortion pills that’ve been transposed to business cards. We talk about 4TVC’s revamp of the Microlab Suite, which now features an intuitive system for researching medicines and helping you diagnose your own symptoms. Together, we discuss abortion access and why DIY medicine shouldn’t be necessary in the first place. The episode is jam-packed and I sincerely hope you’ll enjoy our dialogue as much as we did. 

Episode 170: “Preparing the Soil” ft. Adrien of L.O.R.E.

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Today, we’re sharing an interview with Tallahassee-based poet, essayist, and social ecology community organizer, Adrien. You might know Adrien better by their pen-name, Cybele. Recently, Adrien put out a new essay called (Re)Growing Communal Life: Preparing the Soil for Revolution. I’d recommend checking it out, if you got a sec. The essay is pretty short and a brisk, lovely read. I’ve appreciated Adrien’s writing ever since we were roommates swapping poetry. I know you’ll dig their work, too. I hope you enjoy this dialogue as much as we did!

Episode 169: “We Will Overcome” ft. Tom Wetzel

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Today, I’m joined by labor organizer Tom Wetzel, author of the new book Overcoming Capitalism: Strategy for the Working Class in the Twenty-First Century.