Right of Resistance

Episode 7 - Empire Comes Home (w/ Heba Gowayed)

Empires don’t just project violence outward. They bring it home. In this episode of Right of Resistance, sociologist Heba Gowayed discusses how the tools of occupation, surveillance, and repression developed in Palestine are not staying overseas. They’re reshaping life inside the United States. We examine the rise of ICE and the Department of Homeland Security after 9/11, the bipartisan expansion of the border-security apparatus, and the quiet normalization of for-profit detention centers operating under a “civil” immigration system with fewer protections than criminal law. From children inside ICE detention to the erosion of due process, this system is not about isolated abuses. It’s about design. When borders expand, freedom contracts. And if we believe the people already detained are equal to us, then the atrocity isn’t coming—it’s already here. Subscribe to Right of Resistance on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@RightofResistance] for videos of our episodes.Become a Patreon member [http://patreon.com/rightofresistance] to support our work.Follow us on:• Substack [http://kuroscharney.substack.com/right-of-resistance]• Twitter/X: @KurosCharney [https://x.com/KurosCharney] and @RightofResist [https://x.com/RightofResist]• Instagram: @KurosCharney [https://www.instagram.com/kuroscharney/] and @RightofResistance [https://www.instagram.com/rightofresistance/] Theme music by Josh Charney [http://joshcharney.com/]. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kuroscharney.substack.com [https://kuroscharney.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Episode 6 - Media and Empire (w/ Chenjerai Kumanyika)

Do the mainstream media need history lessons—or do they understand America’s past and choose not to tell the truth? In this episode of Right of Resistance, host Kuros Charney is joined by scholar, journalist, artist, and organizer Chenjerai Kumanyika for a wide-ranging conversation about media and empire—and why mainstream journalism so often fails to explain the world it claims to cover. Drawing on his work as a Peabody Award–winning podcaster (Uncivil, Empire City) and editor of Hammer & Hope, Kumanyika explores mainstream media institutions as terrains of struggle, where political education is often absent and official narratives crowd out structural truths. He breaks down what journalists actually need to understand in order to report the daily news, how “public safety” is weaponized to scare voters, and how capitalism and empire produce a fictional understanding of the world—one that too often leads to violence. The conversation also covers Palestine solidarity on campuses that suppress dissent, Zohran Mamdani’s shifting positions on policing, the hard realities of coalition-building on the left, and why you shouldn’t look to tech bros for insight into masculinity. Don’t miss this urgent, incisive conversation with one of the sharpest media critics working today. Subscribe to Right of Resistance on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@RightofResistance] for videos of our episodes.Become a Patreon member [http://patreon.com/rightofresistance] to support our work.Follow us on:• Substack [http://kuroscharney.substack.com/right-of-resistance]• Twitter/X: @KurosCharney [https://x.com/KurosCharney] and @RightofResist [https://x.com/RightofResist]• Instagram: @KurosCharney [https://www.instagram.com/kuroscharney/] and @RightofResistance [https://www.instagram.com/rightofresistance/] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kuroscharney.substack.com [https://kuroscharney.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Episode 5 - Art of Resistance (w/ Najla Said)

At a time when global solidarity with Palestine has never been stronger yet the situation on the ground remains brutally urgent, where does art fit into the struggle for Palestinian liberation? Writer, actor, and public speaker Najla Said joins host Kuros Charney to explore that question and much more. Drawing on her work in theater and memoir, Najla speaks candidly about the political pressures placed on Palestinian artists, the increasing censorship on U.S. college campuses, and why she no longer feels obligated to make Zionists “comfortable” in her storytelling. She also reflects on the rapid evolution of Palestine solidarity among young people, the significance of Hollywood’s boycott letter, and how generational shifts—cultural and political—are reshaping the narrative landscape. And yes, she offers her take on what her father, Edward Said, would think of Zohran Mamdani’s election as mayor of New York City. It’s a conversation about art, courage, and the power of telling the truth when institutions fail to. Catch Najla onstage in DC in her show Imperfect Allies: Children of Opposite Sides [https://www.voicesfestivalproductions.com/imperfect-allies], December 11–14, and follow her on Instagram @kittybubble [https://www.instagram.com/kittybubble/] Subscribe to Right of Resistance on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@RightofResistance] for videos of our episodes.Become a Patreon member [http://patreon.com/rightofresistance] to support our work.Follow us on:• Substack [http://kuroscharney.substack.com/right-of-resistance]• Twitter/X: @KurosCharney [https://x.com/KurosCharney] and @RightofResist [https://x.com/RightofResist]• Instagram: @KurosCharney [https://www.instagram.com/kuroscharney/] and @RightofResistance [https://www.instagram.com/rightofresistance/] Theme music by Josh Charney [http://joshcharney.com/]. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kuroscharney.substack.com [https://kuroscharney.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Episode 4 - The War on Speech (w/ Jenin Younes)

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kuroscharney.substack.com [https://kuroscharney.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Episode 3 - Decolonize Your Mind (w/ Dr. Sabreena Ghaffar-Siddiqui)

Nearly two years after being forced out of her academic posts for speaking up for Palestine, Dr. Sabreena Ghaffar-Siddiqui [https://drsabreena.com/] remains one of the most fearless voices challenging the empire’s narrative. In this episode of Right of Resistance, Dr. Sabreena joins host Kuros Charney [https://substack.com/profile/167303694-kuros-charney] to explain why being pro-Palestine isn’t enough—and why liberation begins with naming the forces that stand in its way. She connects the struggle for Palestine to the global fight against systems of oppression that reach deep into our own institutions and minds. A scholar of criminology and sociology and a leading DEI expert, Dr. Sabreena brings both academic rigor and activist insight to expose the crimes of empire and the social conditioning that lets them endure. Together, we examine how colonial logic continues to shape Western thought—and what it truly means to decolonize your mind. As we confront the ideologies we’ve inherited from centuries of empire, this conversation calls on all of us to unlearn, resist, and imagine freedom beyond the colonial world. Subscribe to Right of Resistance on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@RightofResistance] for video of this episode and become a member on Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/rightofresistance] to support our work. Find Right of Resistance on X/Twitter (@RightofResist [https://x.com/RightofResist]) and Instagram (@RightofResistance [https://www.instagram.com/rightofresistance/]). Theme music by Josh Charney [https://www.joshcharney.com/] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kuroscharney.substack.com [https://kuroscharney.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]