Naptown People’s Radio

Building on George Jackon's Legacy Today

Now that Black August 2025 is over, Naptown People's Radio starts September with a special episode to ensure we use the additional knowledge, discipline, and commitment we cultivated last month to advance the struggles ahead.
 
On August 27, Derek Ford, one of the show's co-hosts, gave a presentation that provided the historical context for George Jackson, explaining why he remains an iconic figure today, talking about his political evolution, and detailing his relationship to the different factions of the Black/New Afrikan movement at the time (including within the Black Panther Party that Jackson joined at the end of his life).
 
They demonstrate the key lessons of Jackson's politics and break down how we can continue building on them today.
 
You can watch some of the other presentations from the event at the show notes below.
 
Show Notes:
Haki Kweli Shakur: "The Origins, Development, and Future of the Republic of New Afrika:" https://indyliberationcenter.org/haki-kweli-shakur-rna/
 
Cecilia Gomez: "The World-Historic Significance of the Haitian Revolution: Lessons for Today:" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZN1mdi23zI
 
Pictured: Derek meeting former political prisoner Eddie Conway as a free man the first time in 2015 in Philadelphia, after working for his freedom campaign years earlier.

Black August and Multinational Unity

Nino Brown of Jericho Chicago joins the show for the last episode of Black August to discuss the prison movement and his recent essay, "The Case for Proletarian Multinational Unity," published recently in From the Academy to the Streets by Iskra Books.
The Naptown Breakdown spotlights how the rich might use charter schools as an avenue to steal more of our public resources before delving into the battle over DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion). Co-hosts Dani Abdullah and Derek Ford place Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita's attacks in their historical context to question whether or not it is even worth trying to "save" DEI.
This week's Circle City Shout Out goes to Circle City Sangha, a group of mindfulness practitioners in the Plum Village tradition of Buddhism founded in 2021. Created by Zen Master Thích Nhất Hạnh during the Vietnam War a response to violence, colonialism, and oppression, Plum Village practices Engaged Buddhism in an effort to encourage practitioners to apply Buddhist ethics to our communities and the world around us.
Show Notes:
From the Academy to the Streets: Notes from a Working-Class Think Tank (book): https://www.iskrabooks.org/hampton-reader
Bootleg Rehab: Still Laundering Black Rage: https://www.blackagendareport.com/bootleg-rehab-still-laundering-black-rage
Circle City Sangha: https://indyliberationcenter.org/ccsangha/
Chicago Jericho Chapter: https://www.thejerichomovement.com/chapters/chicago-jericho
State Targets "Discriminatory" DEI Practices: https://indianacapitalchronicle.com/2025/08/25/attorney-general-governor-target-discriminatory-dei-practices-as-state-cancels-minority-business-conference/
Events
Until Victory: Black August from the U.S. to the Sahel: https://indyliberationcenter.org/2025-08-forum/
Black August Film Screening: "Free Angela and All Political Prisoners:" https://indyliberationcenter.org/black-august-film-2025/
Summer School for Socialism: What is to be Done? https://indyliberationcenter.org/summer-school-for-socialism-what-is-to-be-done/

No Camp Atterschwitz!

The people take the fight against ICE to the military-industrial complex and Citizens Action Coalition leads the struggle to prioritize energy for the people and planet, not for profit.
Our hosts start this week by breaking down the successful struggle that culminated in the first Pride event in Decatur, Indiana. Despite a month of opposition and threats, the organizers stood tall and around 1,000 people came out over the weekend. Next they turn to the ongoing struggle led by Citizens Action Coalition (CAC) against AES Indiana and the steep rate hikes they’re proposing to compensate for their new Google data center, covering a recent CAC organizing meeting.
After a workshop the night before, dozens of people drove to Camp Atterbury for a protest outside the military camp on the morning of August 15. The protest against the collaboration between ICE and Camp Atterbury took place the last day of the T-REX (Technology Readiness Experimentation) war exercises and exhibition. William Wagner, an organizer with the Indianapolis Liberation Center and one of the main leaders of the demonstration, joins the show to speak about the demonstration and upping the fight against ICE.
Our Circle City shout out goes to our friends at Indiana AID (Assistance to Immigrants in Detention) who, for years, have been doing critical work—against immense challenges—to build lasting infrastructure to support our immigrant neighbors.
Show Notes:
Indiana AID: https://www.indianaaid.org/
Citizens Action Coalition: https://www.citact.org/
CAC Campaign: https://www.citact.org/aes-rate-hike-2025
Behind Bars, Beyond Borders: Political Prisoners and Global Solidarity: https://indyliberationcenter.org/global-prisoner-solidarity/
Indianapolis Speaks out: Confronting Police Terror: https://indyliberationcenter.org/indianapolis-speaks-out-confronting-police-terror/
Socialism in the U.S. Study Group: https://indyliberationcenter.org/socialism-in-the-u-s-study-group-part-2/
Electric Bills and Data Centers: Who Pays for Corporate Greed? https://indyliberationcenter.org/electric-bills-data-centers-corporate-greed/ 
Until Victory: Black August from the U.S. to the Sahel: https://indyliberationcenter.org/2025-08-forum/
Haki Kweli Shakur: https://linktr.ee/HakiShakur 
Top Gun for Drones: https://breakingdefense.com/2025/07/top-gun-for-drones-pentagon-plans-august-exercise-with-fpv-drone-units/
 

The Present and Future of Black August

The struggles for socialism and national liberation cannot be separated. There is no possibility of organizing a socialist revolution in the U.S.—the modern-day prison house of nations—without organizing for the independence, autonomy, and self-determination of all oppressed peoples within and beyond its borders. Black August is a time to double-down on our collective commitment to freeing political prisoners and all Black/New Afrikan and oppressed peoples. In this week’s episode, our co-hosts Dani Abdullah and Derek Ford engage in a conversation about the past, present, and future of Black August.
Black August was first celebrated in California’s San Quentin prison in 1979 to commemorate the assassination of Black Panther Party Field Marshal George Jackson by San Quentin Prison guards on August 21, 1971 and to celebrate another decade in the fight. While we celebrate Black August every day of the year, during this month we focus particularly on the Black/New Afrikan Liberation struggle.
Tune in to learn about George Jackson, his political ideology and organizing efforts (plus what books they retrieved from his cell), the historical weight August carries for the Black struggle in the U.S., and what you can do to free them all!
Show Notes:
A Common Enemy of the Sun: George Jackson and Samih Al-Qasim: https://indyliberationcenter.org/george-jackson-samih-al-qasim-enemy-of-sun/
Exclusive: Official Inventory of George Jackson’s Prison Cell Library: https://liberationnews.org/09-08-21-exclusive-official-inventory-ge-html/
Black August: Study, Fast, Train, Fight, edited by PSL Indianapolis: https://indylibcenter-shop.square.site/product/black-august-study-fast-train-fight/225
Black August 2025 Bundles to Study, Fast, Train, and Fight: https://indyliberationcenter.org/black-august-2025-bundles-to-study-fast-train-and-fight/
Shaka Shakur Freedom Campaign: https://www.shakashakur.org/

Black August: Prisons, Police, and Food Production

Every Black August, we re-dedicate ourselves to the struggle to free political prisoners, prisoners of war, and to finish the struggle for Black/New Afrikan liberation. In our first episode, co-hosts Dani Abdullah and Derek Ford touch on contemporary struggles against prison and police repression in Indiana, as well as the role that the production of food plays in the movement for Black Freedom.
Adrian Jamal Shelman of Bodi Buzz joins Dani Abdullah to discuss self-reliance and self-determination as key aspects of Black liberation, focusing particularly on Food. Bodi Buzz, a catalyst for getting into farming, originated during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic when Adrian couldn’t get food from regular grocery stores. Like the Indianapolis Liberation Center, Bodi Buzz operates without grant funding yet still manages to contribute to the community by providing food, educational classes, field trips, each of which are acts of resistance to transform our local food ecosystem and eliminate food apartheid in the city.
This week’s Naptown Breakdown starts with two ways Indiana’s prison-industrial complex, which includes individuals and entities pretending to “help” inmates.” First, although GTL/ViaPath were supposed to cap phone rates at 6 cents/minute as of July 1, 2025, they have not yet done so. Calls within Indiana are still 15 cents/minute and calls out of state are 19 cents/minute. Moreover, as of July 1, 2025, they’ve reduced free phone calls from 2 5-minute calls/week to one 5-minute call/month. Second, individuals like Brandon Harper and his organization “Post-Conviction Relief Associates” continue preying on political prisoners and all incarcerated people. Derek discusses a new struggle to get Brandon Harper, who falsely represented himself as an attorney, to fulfill his agreement to refund the Shaka Shakur Freedom Campaign $7,500. Finally, they discuss Mike Braun’s recent embrace of federal and local law-enforcement partnerships to ramp up the war on immigrants before highlighting how one small town in Illinois successfully defeated these attempts.
This week’s Circle City Shout Out goes to our United Food and Commercial Workers Local 700, which represents our local Kroger Union Workers, supporting their struggle for a fair contract.
You can learn more and get involved in these struggles by visiting the show notes below!
Show Notes:
Bodi Buzz: https://www.bodibuzz.com/
New ICE "partnerships" Latest Tactic in War on Immigrants: https://indyliberationcenter.org/indiana-ice-partnerships/
ICE and Local Cops Join Forces: How to Fight Back against the 287(g) Program: https://liberationnews.org/ice-and-local-cops-join-forces-how-to-fight-back-against-the-287g-program/
Hamilton County: Prosecute Rapist Dorothy Nicole Scales! https://indyliberationcenter.org/hamilton-county-prosecute-rapist-dorothy-nicole-scales/
Phone/Email Zap: Demand Necessary Medical Treatment for Royal Amos: https://indyliberationcenter.org/royal-amos-zap/

Indiana's Democrats Walk the Plank on their Own Accord

It turns out the local Democratic Party's strategy of systematically abusing women, rallying around their abusers, and trying to bury the truth in dark is not paying off. How could the "best and the brightest" think that following a playbook written 75 years ago could possibly breed success in 2025? In this episode, we'll get to some of the apparent "thinking" behind their strategy.
Jesse Brown, our City-County Councilor representing District 13 joins the show to try to untangle the corrupt and undemocratic nature of the Democratic Party establishment. Brown, who beat Zach Adamson, the third highest-ranking Democrat in the city in the last primaries as an open socialist, has used his seat on the Council as a tribune for the people. He was the first to call for Hogsett's resignation after survivors' revealed the culture of misogyny he created and, after a failed attempt, was also the first to be kicked out of the Democratic Party Caucus.
Jesse joins co-host Derek Ford for the latest on this one aspect of the collapsing Democratic Party establishment. He also gives his take on the new punitive curfews his "colleagues" are placing on young people and their guardians/parents, showing the easy and effective solutions to youth violence that could easily be implemented here immediately. The two also touch on the bi-partisan effort to continue privatizing public education through charter schools and "school choice," a movement that emerged as a racist response to the 1954 "Brown v. Board of Education" ruling, and highlight that the fight is not over.
Co-host Dani Abdullah dedicates this week's Circle City Shout Out to Bryce Gustafson, an organizer with the Citizens Action Coalition, which has helped Hoosiers save $10 billion on utility bills through organizing. One can also find Bryce wherever the power of the people is needed, like the year-long struggle to implement the people's choice for Library CEO: Nichelle M. Hayes.
At the end of the show, find out about upcoming events, including the July 30 Liberation Forum, "The Power of Organizing Together," the August 1 First Friday with Vernon T. Bateman that closes out his two-week long "Art for Exoneration" experience at Gallery Forty-Two, and encourage listeners to stop by the Indianapolis Liberation Center to check out the phenomenal exhibit at the Center's Fonseca-Du Bois Gallery, "Frida by Colors," a group show of artworks inspired by Frida by local Black, indigenous, Mexican, and artists of color and oppressed identities.
Lastly, Dani and Derek issue a call to action to demand the arrest of Dorothy Nicole Scales, an Aramark worker for IDOC who raped Vernon T. Bateman in 2017. You can learn more about that and take action in the show notes below.
Show Notes:
Hamilton County: Prosecute Rapist Dorothy N. Scales! https://indyliberationcenter.org/hamilton-county-prosecute-rapist-dorothy-nicole-scales/
Citizens Action Coalition: https://www.citact.org/
Frida by Colors: https://indyliberationcenter.org/frida-by-colors-annual-art-open/
Liberation Forum: The Power of Organizing Together: https://indyliberationcenter.org/july-25-forum/ 
Indy's "Epstein Island" by Jesse Brown: https://www.jesseforindy.com/emailarchives/071325indys-epstein-island
Central Indiana DSA: https://www.centralindsa.org
First Friday: A History of Resilience with Vernon T. Bateman: https://www.freevernon.org/first-friday-the-history-of-human-resilience/
 

From New Castle Prison to Gallery Forty-Two: Matthew Gunning & Vernon T. Bateman

"Vern, can you imagine, man, us sitting and talking in F Dorm about the art show we're going to have in downtown Indy at some point?"
After not thinking they'd ever see each other again, in this special episode of Naptown People's Radio, Matthew Gunning and Vernon T. Bateman get an opportunity to reflect on the time they spent together in New Castle "Correctional" Facility. Joined by the show's co-host Derek Ford, Matthew and Vernon talk about how they developed their relationship, their perspectives on art and prison, and how they both used art to transcend the physical barriers unjustly imposed on them.
Listen for an inside view of their story and how, as Matthew puts it, the Vernon we know on the outside is exactly who Vernon was while held captive behind prison bars.
We're releasing this special episode halfway through the two-week show, "Art for Exoneration: The Vernon T. Bateman Experience," which runs from July 21 - August 2 at Gallery Forty-Two.
Show Notes:
Vernon's Versions: https://www.vernonsversions.art
Coalition to Free Vernon T. Bateman: https://www.freevernon.org
Art for Exoneration: The Vernon T. Bateman Experience: www.vernonsversions.art/art-for-exoneration/
Capitalizing on Justice: An Art Exhibit Featuring Incarcerated Artists: https://worthrises.org/capitalizingonjustice
Sam's Square Pie: https://www.instagram.com/sams_square_pie
 

"The Power of the People is Stronger than the People in Power"

Honesty Gleaves, one of the organizers for this past weekend's rally to support women In Indianapolis and throughout the country who have survived sexual violence, joins the show this week.
As people across the county celebrated the achievements of women like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and other groundbreaking women in basketball during the WNBA All-Star weekend, organizers spotlighted the growing epidemic of sexual assault and harassment within Mayor Hogsett’s administration, the City-County Council, and at the state level. 
When 60% of sexual assaults are not reported to the police for fear of retaliation or the police themselves this begs the question, who do you report to when your assailant is a cop? During the Naptown Breakdown, co-hosts Derek Ford and Dani Abdullah discuss the recent arrest of IMPD cop Nicholaus Cauley for stalking of his ex-wife through the use of police equipment. Cauley earned $93,823.08 in 2024 despite having 46 documented "uses of force" complaints against him, with the overwhelming majority of his victims being Black.
Ford breaks down the homelessness encampment that was broken up in preparation for the WNBA All-Star weekend. Local authorities have told organizations for homeless intervention and activists that they do not do sweeps in preparation for large events such as All-Star weekend; however we know this is a lie.
Today’s Circle City Shout Out goes to founder of Cultivate, food educationalist, and activist Sierra Nuckols. Sierra founded Cultivate in 2016. Through food justice, Sierra reminds us that everyone has a seat at the table when it comes to fighting for the abundance for everyone.
Show Notes:
"Indianapolis City-County Council Democrat Accused of Physical and Sexual Abuse:" https://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/2025/07/09/indianapolis-city-county-council-democrat-accused-of-domestic-physical-abuse/84391305007/
"Indiana Senator Greg Taylor: How the Capitalist System Shields Sexual Predators:" https://indyliberationcenter.org/indiana-dems-fail-women/
"How Hogsett's 'compliance' Keeps Abusers off the Hook and on the Payroll:" https://indyliberationcenter.org/hogsett-investigation-released/
Cultivate: https://www.cultivateindy.org
Stand with Survivors: Rally for Accountability and Justice:" https://indyliberationcenter.org/stand-with-survivors-rally/
"'Frida by Colors:' The New Indianapolis Tradition Continues:" https://indyliberationcenter.org/frida-by-colors-annual-art-open/
IMPD Abuser Nicholas Amir Cauley's Profile: https://www.maskoff12.com/officer/indianapolis/nicholas-cauley-32081/

IDOC, IMPD, and AES: Fighting State and Corporate Monopoly

Robert Taylor, the brother of Eric Taylor who was killed by the IMPD during the 2023 shooting spree, joins this week’s show to talk about who Eric was–as a brother, a father, a community member, and a human being gunned down by the cops for walking with a phone in his hand.
For the Naptown Breakdown, Co-Hosts Dani Abdullah and Derek Ford first delve into the Google Data Center being built on the city’s Southside, and discuss the history of data centers that go unchecked through backdoor deals and the energy rate increases that happen because of the corporate monopoly on our energy supply. They turn to the state’s monopoly on the use of force when they discuss the July 14 Press Conference, “Art and the Power of the People: Vernon T. Bateman’s 27-Year Long Struggle for Freedom Almost Over.” Hear from Vernon’s mother, Donna Franklyn, as well as the litany of injustices that have kept Bateman in one form of prison or another since he was 18-years-old in 1998.
This week’s Circle City Shout Out goes to someone who has been helping comrades in the PSL support Vernon, Maranda Williams of the REFORM Alliance. After working in case management for IDOC, Maranda left the system to help reform it through the REFORM Alliance. An organization and coalition that has made it their mission to work for a justice system that promotes accountability and supports people in rebuilding through work and well-being helps strengthen families and create safer communities. Instead of trapping people in a revolving door between supervision and prison.
Show Notes:
“We’ve Had Enough:” After Press Conference, Community Wants Answers Now
REFORM in Focus: Maranda Williams
REFORM Alliance
Coalition to Free Vernon T. Bateman

Protecting Our Communities from the Real Criminals

Organizer Lexie Chaffin and artist Matthew Gunning join co-hosts Dani Abdullah and Derek Ford this week to explore efforts to expose the real criminals in our community and creative ways to protect ourselves and each other, including one that just launched today: MaskOff12.com.
Our Naptown Breakdown begins with the July 7 City-County Council meeting, before which Councilor Jesse Brown announced he would introduce a proposal to remove President Samuel Osili and Vice President Ali Brown. We salute Crista Carlino for her bold decision to step down from the Democratic Party caucus rather than bow down to the whims of Osili and Hogsett. The primary development they address is Proposal 232, introduced in response to the tragic deaths of two teenagers last weekend. They explain how the cops, politicians, and media are using the weekend as an opportunity to create strife and hysteria to justify further criminalizing and oppressing our youth (and their guardians/parents). Drawing parallels to the history of redlining in the city and the new youth curfews, increased surveillance cameras, and additional police forces they plan to roll out in Mile Square to displace certain kinds of crime.
Lexie Chaffin pulls up to the podcast to talk to Dani about the new Mask Off 12 project (www.MaskOff12.com), which removes the anonymity these racist killer cops hide behind, and promotes the people’s right to know the identities of the real criminals terrorizing our neighborhoods.
Derek chops it up with Matthew Gunning, who was wrongfully convicted and unjustly imprisoned for five years. Gunning reveals how he rekindled his love for art in prison and the role it played for him and other prisoners. Mathew also talks about his friendship with Vernon T Bateman, who gets this week’s Circle City Shout Out.
Bateman was wrongfully convicted and jailed for 26 years, despite the victim recanting her testimony three separate times. Bateman still lives in social confinement and suffers from unconstitutional and inhumane parole restrictions. But the fight for his exoneration is heating up, and you can contribute to it by attending “Art for Exoneration: The Vernon T. Bateman Experience.” If you are there opening night on Monday, July 21, you’ll also get to meet Matthew Gunning!
Show Links:
www.MaskOff12.com
Petition: Exonerate Vernon Bateman Now! https://www.freevernon.org/petition/
Art for Exoneration: The Vernon T. Bateman Experience: https://www.vernonsversions.art/art-for-exoneration/
Art for Exoneration Grand Opening: https://indyliberationcenter.org/exoneration-grand-opening
Town Hall: Youth Safety in Indy: https://indyliberationcenter.org/town-hall-youth-safety-in-indy/
 

Independence for Whom?

In 1852, Frederick Douglass delivered a speech on the 76th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence titled, “What, To The Slave, Is The Fourth Of July?” This week’s episode of “Naptown People’s Radio” asks a series of similar questions 173 years after Douglass’ speech: What, to Black/New Afrikan people, prisoners, women, immigrants, and all oppressed people is the Fourth of July?
Co-hosts Dani Abdullah and Derek Ford are joined by Stephen Lane, treasurer of the Indiana Black Librarians Network and New Afrikan political prisoner Shaka A. Shakur to answer these questions 249 years after the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.
Our Naptown Breakdown dissects the Democratic Party’s public act of misogyny against fellow Councilor Crista Carlino, the only woman to call for Mayor Joe Hogsett’s resignation and to take Councilors Samuel Osili and Ali Brown to task for their role in protecting his administration. The Republican Party, meanwhile, remains curiously silent. Why are they refusing to exploit these fractures for their own gain? The media is already looking to the 2027 Mayoral elections, identifying Osili  Prosecutor Ryan Mears as likely candidates. Mears is currently prosecuting a Black woman who was brutalized for seeking medical treatment at Eskenazi Hospital last July. His office has repeatedly dragged the ordeal out in an attempt to wear the victim, veteran and mother Jada Trainor, down.
Stephen Lane joins the show after returning from the July 1 nationwide sick-out in support of immigrant rights, as the Supreme Court denies millions of migrants due process by granting Trump the authority to deport them to third countries. Lane discusses the background to the day of action, how he and his fellow Haughville residents resisted the IMPD’s attempts to pit Black and Latino neighbors against each other and, after looking back to the 2006 immigrant rights uprising, what’s next for the struggle.
Shaka A. Shakur details the  little-known Interstate Compact—or the “modern-day Fugitive Slave Act”—that deprives prisoners of due process by allowing states to essentially kidnap inmates and transfer them across the country. Indiana used the Compact against Shakur in December 2018 in a failed attempt to hamper his organizing efforts, shipping him to Virginia where he remains captive to this day.
Dani and Derek inform listeners what they can do right now to defend Jada Trainor against bogus charges and how they can build a statewide anti-racist and anti-war struggle before Dani dedicates their Circle City Shout out to Jauston Huerta (a/k/a Jok or TheKingTrill), a founding member of the Liberation Center, Director of FOCUS Initiatives LTD., an abolitionist re-entry program, and Director of "The Pendleton 2: They Stood Up."
Show Notes:
Call Now! Demand Mears Drop Bogus Charges Against Jada Trainor: https://indyliberationcenter.org/trainor-phone-zap/
Attacked by Cops in 2024, Jada Trainor Waits for Day in Court: https://indyliberationcenter.org/trainor-interview/
ANSWER Indiana to Build New Statewide, Coordinated Anti-War Movement: https://indyliberationcenter.org/answer-statewide/
Sold Off the Plantation: The Fugitive Slave Act Today: https://www.shakashakur.org/sold-off-the-plantation-the-modern-fugitive-slave-act/
TheKingTrill: https://www.youtube.com/@thekingtrilltv6728
Indiana Black Librarians Network: https://indyliberationcenter.org/ibln/
International Potluck: https://indyliberationcenter.org/international-potluck/
Sick of ICE: https://sickofice.org/
The Indianapolis 2027 Mayoral Race has Already Started as Hogsett’s Grip Fades: https://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/2025/06/25/indianapolis-2027-mayors-race-is-open-season-as-hogsetts-grip-fades/84320101007/
Indiana AID: https://www.indianaaid.org/
The Pendleton 2 Defense Committee: https://www.pendleton2.com/

Juneteenth, Iran, and Our Collective Struggle for Freedom

Our theme this week is freedom: the struggle for it, the forces holding us back from achieving it, and the contradictions that groups inevitably negotiate on their path to self-determination, sovereignty, independence, and autonomy.
Last weekend, Naptown was filled with Juneteenth celebrations and commemorations. Despite attempts to “co-opt” Freedom Day, our Naptown Breakdown argues it represents a starting point to educate ourselves and others about the reality of the Civil War and the present state of Black people in the U.S. Locally, the state of Black oppression was recently on display in the IMPD’s recent and brutal assault on Devin Hunt. The cops had the audacity to respond to the assault, which was captured on several cameras, with a series of outright lies. We review some of those lies uncovered in an analysis (see show notes).
Lindsey Holtgrave, a lead organizer with ANSWER Indiana, joins the show for an interview about two emergency protests her group organized against war with Iran last week. In addition to discussing the role of the U.S. anti-war movement, we debunk some myths circulating about Iran and explain why we refuse to participate in Iran’s demonization. Along the way, we outline some points of unity between Iran’s struggle against U.S. imperialism and our own, including Iran’s support for the Black movement in the U.S.
Shaka A. Shakur joins the episode for his segment, “Dispatches from Behind the Wire.” In this segment, Shaka calls for prisoner solidarity, explaining why unity between prisoners and between our people on the outside and the inside is needed now more than ever.
Finally, Dani previews upcoming actions before giving our second Circle City Shout Out to Michael Torres, AFSCME Local 3395 Union President and longtime library worker.
 
Show Notes
Video Evidence Captures IMPD Assault on Devin Hunt: https://indyliberationcenter.org/impd-assault-devin-hunt
ANSWER Coalition - Indiana: https://www.AnswerIndiana.org
Shaka Shakur Freedom Campaign: https://www.shakashakur.org
Demonstrators Gather in Broad Ripple, Downtown Indianapolis after U.S. Executes Airstrikes in Iran: https://fox59.com/news/demonstrators-gather-in-broad-ripple-downtown-indianapolis-after-u-s-executes-airstrikes-in-iran
Trump is Failing at Everything. We Must Hope he Succeeds against Iran: https://www.indystar.com/story/opinion/columnists/2025/06/19/trump-iran-war-strike/84265811007
Shaka A. Shakur: Seizing on the Contradictions of Juneteenth: https://indyliberationcenter.org/juneteenth-contradictions
A People’s Victory: Racist CEO Jackie Nytes Resigns! https://indyliberationcenter.org/a-peoples-victory-racist-ceo-jackie-nytes-resigns
Public Forum Brings Shared Experiences and Support Together: https://www.indystar.com/picture-gallery/news/local/2021/07/22/indianapolis-public-library-systemic-racism-discussed-public-forum/7908151002