Naptown People’s Radio

New Fiscal Year, New Reactionary Laws, New Battles Ahead

Activist Lindsey Holtgrave pulled up to this week's show to tell us about several recently-enacted laws attacking the people of Indiana and our most basic democratic rights—and how we can fight back.

Unity in Purpose, Diversity in Practice: The First Six Months In Our New Liberated Territory

This week we're excited to bring you a special episode that 1) analyzes the 250 years of oppression and resistance as we prepare for the "Independence Day"celebrations and 2) discusses how we are and can strategize based on that legacy of resistance.
Today we are also celebrating the the halfway point in our first year at our new home: a visible storefront in downtown Indianapolis. With a nod to Douglass and his famous speech, we ask "What is the Fourth of July to New Afrikan/Black people, undocumented workers and immigrants, to the millions of incarcerated workers, to queer, trans, and sexual/gender minorities, and all exploited and oppressed people globally?
Co-hosts Dani Abdullah and Derek Ford engage in a discussion about reforms, reformism, and revolution. While we fight tooth and nail for all reforms that make people’s lives more livable, tolerable, and even enjoyable, reformism is when we view achieving those reforms as the means and ends of the struggle. For each reform won, the oppressors launch a virulent attack to roll it back and, whenever possible eliminate it. Ultimately, this comes down to the question of the nature of the capitalist state. The state, a very recent phenomenon in human history, emerges along with class society. So perhaps the fundamental line between revolutionaries and reformists is that the former recognize that the world we want is possible only if we smash the existing state and build up a new entity that works in the interests of and is governed by the formerly oppressed, exploited, marginalized, and dispossessed. Reforms have a key role to play in building revolutionary struggles, for they can not only make organizing easier but they most importantly demonstrate to the people that we do have the power to change society.
They also have an important and timely dialogue about “burnout” and its real roots. The Indianapolis Liberation Center organized or hosted almost 230 events over the last six months, but none of our volunteers got burned out. We got tired, frustrated, and felt all the emotions humans do, but we didn’t burn out. Burnout comes from forgetting our political horizon or because that horizon is too narrow. Burnout happens when we don’t operate collectively, leaning on each other for support and caring for each other as we build community.
Finally, burnout results from not keeping the very real sacrifices we make in historical perspective. To illustrate this, Derek relays part of Hosea Hudson’s autobiography. A Black worker in the deep south, it would take his multinational unit hours to enter the same building for a two-hour meeting. In addition to the regular agenda at those meetings, however, they would read the Party’s newspaper for the Black Belt and dream about how they would deal with certain issues after taking power. How would white small farmers be represented? How would and distribution take place and at what pace?
Fortunately, the groups at the Liberation Center and their members and volunteers make the voluntary decision to make the struggle part of the fabric of their being; not just something they do when they want to or “have time.” None of us “have time “for the struggle; we make time for it. That means that you can, too!
Show Notes:
Indiana Black Librarians NetworkIndy Liberation StoreEducation and the Production of Space: Political Pedagogy, Geography, and Urban RevolutionsFighting for Real Independence: Collective Discussion of "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?"Support Naptown People’s Radio Indianapolis Liberation CenterParty for Socialism and Liberation - Indianapolis

Dispatches from Behind the Wire

Comrade Shaka A. Shakur joins the show for an extended segment of Dispatches from Behind the Wire, providing an in depth description of his case, current situation, and future prospects. Shaka has served 25 years of a 60-year plus sentence for an incident in which no one was deprived of life and the “injured” party said he would not oppose any sentence modification or early release. The Shaka Shakur Freedom Campaign is working to bring Shaka home before his 60th birthday in August. Co-hosts Dani Abdullah and Derek Ford talk to Shaka about how we can utilize our platforms and start build coalitions to illuminate not only his situation, but those of all Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War, to bring them home.
Before talking with Shaka, Derek and Dani hit two related points in the Naptown Breakdown. The first is the blatant corruption that continues to permeate Indianapolis’ government from the Hogsett administration. They also explain and contextualize the June 22 Library Board of Trustees meeting where, after a long round of public comments opposing the nearly 30% increase in anointed CEO Greg Hill’s salary, the Board immediately voted 5-1 against the public.
Finally, this week’s Circle City Shout Out goes to the Hovey St. Church of Christ. While Denell Howard, the Church’s Pastor, has been a featured guest in a prior episode, we want to shout out the entire congregation for consistently standing up for justice regardless of whether or not it directly impacts them. We play a clip from this past weekend’s Father’s Day service that featured Vernon T. Bateman who was wrongfully incarcerated in 1998—at the age of 18—and released in 2023 on intense parole stipulations that prevent him from seeing his own grandson. Meanwhile, Vernon continues to be an exemplary father and community member.
Show Notes:
Shaka Shakur Freedom CampaignHovey Street Church of ChristCoalition to Free Vernon T. BatemanIndyPL Board dismisses public, gives CEO 60k raiseSupport Naptown People’s RadioIndy Liberation StoreIndianapolis Liberation CenterParty for Socialism and Liberation - Indianapolis

"Cutting the Umbilical Cord:" Kwame Beans Shakur on Practicing Theory

This week's episode features New Afrikan Political Prisoner Kwame Beans Shakur discussing not only the need to test theory through practice but providing concrete examples of how to do so successfully. "Revolution is based on land," as Malcolm X said, but that's not enough: cutting the umbilical cord with U.S. imperialism requires the knowledge of cultivating the land and, more generally, utilizing our capacities collectively for a common purpose.
For the Naptown Breakdown, hosts Dani Abdullah and Derek Ford each bring two recent, ongoing instances of the local ruling-class' negligence and disregard for the people of Indianapolis. They examine the Indy Public Library's Board's upcoming vote to increase CEO Greg Hill's salary by almost 25%, up from $205,000 to $265,000. If Hill, who never applied or interviewed for the job, gets the raise, it will amount to more than the median salary of librarians. Next they turn to the recent audit of the Office of Public Health and Safety, which found $45 million of taxpayer money is "missing."
New Afrikan Political Prisoner Kwame Beans Shakur, who is also the National Director of the Prison Lives Matter Movement and, along with Shaka A. Shakur, Co-Founder of the New Afrikan Liberation Collective, joins Derek for a politically incisive and timely discussion about the state of the New Afrikan/Black liberation movement and the struggle to free Political Prisoners, the Republic of New Afrika, and all oppressed and exploited people.
Serving a 110-year sentence for a crime he didn't commit, Beans is currently captive at Miami "Correctional" Facility. Even years of solitary confinement couldn't stop his organizing or his development as a musician. Learn about his unconscious and then conscious politicization, the concrete projects he's facilitated that put theory to the test, his upcoming single release party and video shoot at the Indy Liberation Center next month, and more! Most importantly, see the show notes to join the struggle to free Beans, Political Prisoners, Prisoners of War, and all of our people behind enemy lines!
Show Notes:
Kwame Shakur Defense Campaign (IG, FB)Kwame Beans Shakur Music (Apple, Spotify)"Contradictions on Organizing in Post-Neo-Colonial north amerikkka"Spirit of MandelaSupport Naptown People’s RadioIndy Liberation StoreIndianapolis Liberation CenterParty for Socialism and Liberation - Indianapolis
Events:
Thurs, 6/18: Reading with Comrades: Teaching to TransgressFri, 6/19: "Radical Roots:" Anti-ICE Juneteenth Open MicSat, 6/20: Circle City Sangha Mindfulness MeetupSat, 6/20: Trans Pride "Brick" PartySun, 6/21: Emancipatory Motions: Yoga for LiberationMon, 6/22: Pack the Library Board: Raises for Workers, Not the CEO!

Why and How to Assert Our 4th Amendment Rights with Abby Morgan

Abby Morgan, an organizer with Action Neighbors—a subgroup of the Indy Action Coalition— joins the show, which released its first episode one-year ago today, to discuss their new 4th Amendment Campaign to fight against ICE terror.
This week's Naptown Breakdown starts with the rise of China and the U.S. war against Iran and quickly moves to Indiana, as co-hosts Dani Abdullah and Derek Ford discuss how over 800 workers at the BP refinery in Whiting, Indiana have been locked out since March 19 after contract negotiations between USW Local 7-1 and BP broke down. Before it was BP, or British Petroleum, it was the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (or Anglo-Persian Oil Company), and without unionized workers they're losing millions of barrels of oil. Meanwhile, Indiana's race for data centers no one wants incurred losses far exceeding the $1 million AES President Brandi Davis-Handy told us they would a few months ago. Reporting by WTHR reveals we're losing out on at least $655 million in tax revenue. Is it a coincidence that the AES President is a member of Joe Hogsett's Indianapolis Economic Development Inc., which has reportedly been lobbying City-County Counselors to support tax breaks for data centers? We're currently on pace to lose around $1 billion in tax revenue to data centers per year.
Next, they turn to the latest developments in the firestorm that is Indiana State Prison, where dozens of inmates have been burned to death or severely injured in recent years. Gov. Mike Braun ordered the new head of the Indiana Department of "Corrections" he appointed this year, Lloyd Arnold, to take action. Unfortunately, all of the impending steps, including shutting off the electricity in some cell blocks, will only further confine our people behind bars. And remember, we were told the $1.2 billion prison under construction in Westfield would replace the existing prison and ISP. Until, that is, they said they would keep ISP operational for years to come.
For our main segment, Dani sits down with Abby Morgan, an organizer with Action Neighbors, a subgroup of the Indy Action Coalition. They discuss Action Neighbors' 4th Amendment campaign, which aims to defend our communities from ICE terror by informing businesses about their constitutional rights against warantless and unreasonable search and seizure.
Show Notes:
Action NeighborsSupport Naptown People’s RadioContact us about potential stories and interviewsShop the Indy Liberation StoreIndianapolis Liberation CenterParty for Socialism and Liberation - Indianapolis
Events:
Woodburning Workshop with Nasreen KhanCircle City Sangha Mindfulness MeetupVisit the Indy Liberation Center and Store at Indy PrideEmancipatory Motions: Sunday Yoga

Eyewitness Delaney Hall: Revolutionary Rehearsals

Rania Hatab of the Lower Hudson Valley DSA and Rockland Coalition to End the New Jim Crow and Jasmine Moody of the Liberation Center tell us first-hand about the battle to dismantle Delaney Hall.
Both Hatab and Moody were about an hour away finishing a screening and panel of the new documentary, "Across Enemy Lines: Shaka A. Shakur," when Hatab got word the main organizer inside Delaney Hall was potentially being moved. Working with those who had been on the ground since the illegal detention facility opened, both everyday supporters and organizations, the group hightailed it to defend those on the outside and amplify the demands of those on the inside. Those demands are:
Meeting with Gov. Mikie Sherrill
Release of the young, elderly, pregnant, and medically vulnerable
Allow doctors to examine everyone in unit 2A/2B
Freedom and an end to practices designed to coerce detainees from "voluntarily" signing self-deportation papers.
The mainstream media is focusing on the "violence" outside, perpetuated by the cops and the state, and we need to amplify the demands of those fighting the real violence on the inside.
You can read the letters to which Rania Hatab refers here.

The Hampton Institute and Independent Media with Devon Bowers

This week, Founding Member of the Hampton Institute and Host of A Different Lens podcast, Devon Bowers, joins the show to discuss the origins, trajectory, and needs of independent left political organizations and media outlets.
The Hampton Institute is a proletarian (working-class) think tank founded by Colin Jenkins in 2013 to counter right-wing so-called "think" tanks. Their writers, contributors, and editors come from Korea, Japan, Palestine, Syria, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, South Africa, UK, Spain, Germany, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Brazil, and Iceland, among other places. The name is an homage to revolutionary martyr Fred Hampton, but its primary objective is influenced by Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci and his notion of the "organic intellectual," everyday working and poor people with a wealth of knowledge not recognized by the institutions that grant pedigrees. For over a decade, the Institute has provided a platform for organic intellectuals to theorize, debate, discuss, and promote the issues that matter to our class through articles, books, and podcasts.
Show Notes:
The Hampton InstituteA Different Lens PodcastFrom the Academy to the Streets: Notes from a Working-Class Think Tank (book)The 2017 Hampton Reader: Notes from a Working-Class Think Tank (book)Support Naptown People’s RadioSupport the Indianapolis Liberation CenterShop the Indy Liberation StoreIndianapolis Liberation Center

The Rights of the Earth and Bring Shaka Home!

Helping thread together the many struggles facing the people and planet today, FTF KD joins this week's episode. He lets us know about a new podcast, "In the YO!," he's releasing soon (that will also be coming to you from the Indy Liberation Center).
China stands tall while Trump walks away with scraps. This week's Naptown Breakdown begins with Trump's recent visit with Chinese President Xi Jinping and the re-assertion of independence by the masses in Mali (and the broader Alliance of Sahel States) after numerous foreign-backed terrorist attacks. Closer to home, while the Indianapolis Office of Public Health and Safety is under the microscope, Co-hosts Dani Abdullah and Derek Ford recall how it was just two years ago that someone walked into the Liberation Center looking for help launching the Community Food Access Coalition. Although CFAC was enacted in 2021 by legislation as a grassroots-led group, until 2024 it operated as a way for Julie Burns to get grant funding for her own foundation. WIth the Liberation Center serving as a hub to form CFAC in May, the people formed CFAC on their own and forced the city to recognize it just months later.
Kristopher Nelson, aka FTF KD, who brought us up to speed on the reality of Data Centers during Season 1, is back. The many struggles Nelson's been involved in since moving to Indianapolis have pushed him to advocate for the rights of and to the Earth. Toward that end, he and J Hefe are launching a new podcast through the Liberation Center's studio. Learn more about the project's origins, goals, and how they align with those of the Center—and stay tuned for the first episode to drop!
In our latest installment of Dispatches from Behind the Wire, Shaka A. Shakur gives a brief overview of his case and current situation. The reality is that Shaka's served over 20 years of a 60-year plus sentence for an incident in which only an inanimate object was "injured." It's time to bring him home. Repeat. It's time to bring Shaka home!
Our Circle City Shout Out is back after a few weeks and it goes to Nasreen Kahn. Nasreen is a Martindale-Brightwood resident and an immigrant artist whose collaborative effort, Botanical Bodies, is currently on display at the Fonseca-Du Bois Gallery at the Liberation Center.
Show Notes:
OH-HighYo!FTF KDSupport Naptown People’s RadioSupport the Indianapolis Liberation CenterShop the Indy Liberation StoreIndianapolis Liberation Center

Why Are We Building a New, Genuine Communist Party?

Our 50th episode features two PSL organizers, one who founded the Indianapolis branch and another who joined two years ago.
As we worked out ideas for our 50th episode, we realized we hadn't spoken much about the organization behind the podcast: the Indianapolis branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation. On this week's episode, hear co-host Derek Ford dialogue with Sam James, who co-founded the Indianapolis branch in 2018, and Honesty Gleaves, who joined in 2024. James gives insight into their decision to join the Party and the struggle that made them realize it was the right political home for them
While telling listeners about how she found out about the PSL, why she decided to join, how she became a member, the struggles she's led and supported over the last two years, Honesty and Derek examine some of the reasons why the Party is perhaps the most difficult kind of organization to build—and why it is absolutely necessary to serve as a vessel for eliminating capitalist imperialism, white supremacy, national chauvinism, and the forms of bigotry it promotes and reinforces.
If you're interested in learning more about the PSL, join us for our next public info session on Friday, May 22 from 6-8 pm at the Indianapolis Liberation Center. You can also apply to join now!
Events:Class 2: The Artist Must Take SidesExtras Needed for Movie Exposing Indiana Court CorruptionMay Mindfulness Meetups with Circle City SanghaReading with Comrades: Comrade of the Revolution: Selected Speeches of Fidel Castro (pt. 1)Sign the Petition: Justice for Jamar and Lamonte Thomas!
Show Notes:Support Naptown People’s RadioSupport the Indianapolis Liberation CenterShop the Indy Liberation StoreIndianapolis Liberation Center

What We Mean by "The System" and Why it Matters

This week we hear from Haki Shakur, National Spokesperson for the Provisional Government of the Republic of Afrika, on the state of the struggle for New Afrikan independence.
Before we get to the Naptown Breakdown, co-host Dani Abdullah makes plain why we at the Indy Liberation Center always keep the fight for Black Liberation center-stage and work to move it forward. We mean something specific when we refer to "the system:" it is an interlocking network of capitalist imperialism, national chauvinism, and national oppression/white supremacy.
Co-host Derek Ford starts the Naptown Breakdown with the latest major progressive development on the international stage: China breaking the US Naval Blockade on the Strait of Hormuz and refusal to recognize any US sanctions on Iranian oil. 
As the City-County Council imposes a stricter curfew for youth, stoking fears of a “violent summer,” Dani and Derek contend that, based on recent events, the IMPD needs to diminish their presence and we should prepare for a summer of police terror and lies.
Haki Shakur, National Spokesperson for the Provisional Government of the Republic of New Afrika and the August 3rd Collective, as well as a leading member of the New Afrikan Freedom Campaign and the Shaka Shakur Freedom Campaign, discusses his involvement in the struggle, why all Political Prisoners--but especially Black/New Afrikan Political Prisoners--must be central to liberation struggles, the origins of the New Afrikan nation and identity, and the ultimate goal: statehood. Throughout, Haki addresses common misconceptions about the broad-based movement that is increasingly attracting the younger generations.
Show Notes:
New Afrikan Freedom CampaignShaka Shakur Freedom CampaignHaki Shakur (X, FB, IG)
Support Naptown People’s RadioSupport the Indianapolis Liberation CenterShop the Indy Liberation StoreIndianapolis Liberation Center

The Resurgence of International Workers' Day in the U.S.

In our final segment in our May Day series, co-hosts Dani Abdullah and Derek Ford ask: How and why did May Day (or International Workers' Day), which originated in the U.S. in the late 19th century, only reappear in popular U.S. consciousness 20 years ago?
But first, the Naptown Breakdown follows up on several stories we've covered. The first is the IDOC settlement of roughly $1.2 million to 31 inmates who were forced to live in dark, dank cells with covered windows and no lights. Some of the cells had live wires hanging from the ceiling, resulting in electric shocks. The ACLU of Indiana filed the lawsuit around five years ago. Next, we pay tribute to two of our previous guests, Veronika Williams and Keanda Young who, at an April 2 press conference at the Indianapolis Liberation Center, broke the real story about the March 7 downtown robbery. Since then, the media has covered news of IMPD terror and brutality with at least a little bit of skepticism. Finally, we remind our listeners about who exactly VOP Osili is, the sexist regime he upheld, and his support for data centers.
Our main segment features an in-depth lesson and conversation on the history of May Day and the reasons for its resurgence in the U.S. exactly 20 years ago. We travel from the Chicago Haymarket Affair to the Founding Congress of the Second International all the way to the Sensenbrenner Bill.
Show Notes:
Support Naptown People’s RadioSupport the Indianapolis Liberation CenterShop the Indy Liberation StoreIndianapolis Liberation Center

The Recent, Hidden History of Labor Struggles in the Region

As we prepare for May Day 2026, producer Dakota Fronterhouse joins the show to discuss a recent incident in which several of his fundamental rights were defended by his union. First, co-hosts Dani and Derek turn to recent regional labor struggles, and particularly the historic 2011 battle in Madison, Wisconsin. During the early months of that year, workers occupied the Capitol Rotunda and took to the streets for 29 consecutive days to protest anti-union legislation. Along the way, they debunk some common myths about unions.
Derek interviews Dakota about his experience in the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Union. After working for several days on the floor of Lucas Oil Stadium, Dakota was questioned about his political affiliation. A union representative came to his defense almost immediately.
Next, Dani and Derek discuss just how expansive the concept of "worker" was for Marx and is for us. Contrary to the mythology that "Marx only cared about white male industrial workers," they show how, even in his book, Capital, Marx's concept of the working class includes those with or without jobs, with or without waged work, incarcerated or "free," etc.
Finally, this week's Circle City Shout Out goes to Danny Ortiz. We had Danny on the show a few episodes in which he let us know about the medical neglect taking place at Miami Correctional Facility, also known as the Speedway Slammer.
It takes guts, it takes revolutionary optimism, to speak up against the cops but even more so when you are behind enemy lines. He didn’t just speak about his own struggles–his enforced inability to get out of his bed for months, the cancelled visits–but about the other inmates, including the ICE inmates. He told us they banded together and that they were the ones who looked out for each other. Not only has he made a difference for listeners by raising our consciousness but there is now a lift in the facility.
A few days ago we received this word from Danny’s close friend, the last one to visit him: "Danny a/k/a Jose Ortiz and I want to thank everybody for calling/and or emailing the IDOC regarding the broken Hoyer Lifts as the problem has now been rectified as a new Lift came in this week at Miami for the medical unit inmates."
There are still so many changes that need to be made towards the treatment of our brothers and sisters behind enemy lines, but Danny has shown us an amazing example of what it can looks like, what it takes to be a revolutionary. And for our listeners, never forget that small acts like making calls and emailing can result in victories that are both small and significant.
Shout out to Danny Ortiz!