The Mutual Aid Podcast

6. The Politics of Borders, Relationships, & Mutual Aid w/ Angustia Celeste

In this episode, Angustia Celeste joins israa’ for a rich conversation ranging from the politics of borders, relationships, harm reduction, and mutual aid. We would like to offer a trigger warning for the last 20 minutes of the conversation as we discuss addiction, loss, and harm reduction. Angustia Celeste is an anarchist writer and parent. They have been in different epochs a sex worker, a healthcare worker and a humanitarian aid volunteer. Mentioned in this Episode: * The Insurgent Southwest by Angustia Celeste https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/fatima-insolacion-the-insurgent-southwest [https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/fatima-insolacion-the-insurgent-southwest] * It was not an Unexpected Death by Angustia Celeste https://crimethinc.com/2024/03/14/it-was-not-an-unexpected-death-an-account-from-the-opioid-epidemic [https://crimethinc.com/2024/03/14/it-was-not-an-unexpected-death-an-account-from-the-opioid-epidemic] * They will Beat the Memory Out of Us by Peter Gelderloos https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745349770/they-will-beat-the-memory-out-of-us/ [https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745349770/they-will-beat-the-memory-out-of-us/] Additional Resources * Shifting Trends in Policing Dissent with Kristian Williams & Garrett https://open.spotify.com/episode/2MaHW5oSfL32SKab4TdJdT [https://open.spotify.com/episode/2MaHW5oSfL32SKab4TdJdT] https://sites.libsyn.com/572680/then-now-how-movements-are-policed-with-kristian-williams-garrett [https://sites.libsyn.com/572680/then-now-how-movements-are-policed-with-kristian-williams-garrett] * Life During Wartime: Resisting Counterinsurgency Edited by: Kristian Williams, Lara Messersmith-Glavin, William Munger https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16057163-life-during-wartime [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16057163-life-during-wartime] For More: * Angustia Celeste can be reached at thebrokenteapot@riseup.net [thebrokenteapot@riseup.net] * israa’ is on Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/essssraaa.bsky.social] and IG [https://www.instagram.com/essssraaa/] * Ayman is on Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/aymanmak.bsky.social] and IG [https://www.instagram.com/politically_depressed/] * The Mutual Aid Podcast is on IG, [https://www.instagram.com/themutualaidpodcast/] YouTube [https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmDN0QYn68jdvn_z90D5O0k6Awrs_FOLF&feature=shared], and BlueSky [https://bsky.app/profile/mutualaidpod.bsky.social]. You can email us at mutualaidpodcast@protonmail.com [mutualaidpodcast@protonmail.com]⁠ [https://twitter.com/FireTheseTimes/] * From The Periphery is on ⁠Patreon⁠ [https://www.patreon.com/fromtheperiphery], YouTube⁠ [https://www.youtube.com/@thefirethesetimes], Instagram [https://instagram.com/fromtheperipherymedia], and has a website⁠ [https://fromtheperiphery.com/] Credits: Hosts - israa and Ayman Artwork - Hisham Rifai Music - Beit Youssef and Ramsey Khudairi The Mutual Aid Podcast is a proud member of ⁠⁠⁠⁠From The Periphery (FTP) Media Collective [https://fromtheperiphery.com/]⁠⁠⁠⁠. How to Support: Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/fromtheperiphery]⁠⁠⁠⁠: You’ll get early access to all podcasts, exclusive audio and video episodes, an invitation to join ⁠⁠⁠⁠our monthly hangouts [https://fromtheperiphery.com/hangout/]⁠⁠⁠⁠, and more. Leave reviews wherever you get your podcasts.

5. A Conversation with Mx.Yaffa

In this episode of The Mutual Aid Podcast israa’ and Ayman speak with Yaffa. Their conversation weaves theory and practice as they tease out defining characteristics of mutual aid and clarify how mutual aid, resource distribution, and community care differ and interact with each other. Yaffa’s expansive experience as an organizer and writer helps us dig into the technicalities of language and how that manifests in our practice. As the conversation progresses, we turn to the role of strategy and tactics in our movements and organizing spaces and how clarity in language helps us gain clarity in our strategy and tactics. Mx. Yaffa (They/Them) is a disabled, autistic, trans, queer, Muslim, and Indigenous Palestinian. As Executive Director of the Muslim Alliance for Sexual and Gender Diversity (MASGD), they have earned multiple awards for their transformative work on displacement, decolonization, and equity. Yaffa is also an engineer, peer support specialist, death doula, birthing doula, and yoga teacher. They are the author of Blood Orange, a poetry collection on displacement and colonization; editor of Inara: Light of Utopia, an anthology by queer and trans-Palestinians; and author of Desecrated Poppies, a poetry and essay collection about the connections between anti-trans and anti-Palestinian politics. Their new book, Living to 99, will be released Feb 14th and Letters from a Living Utopia will be released in May 14th. Yaffa is also a visual artist, showcasing their work worldwide at festivals and art galleries. Yaffa debuted their one-person show, Harvesting Olives, created with support from Rad Pereira, in NYC, October 2024. Mentioned in this Episode: Whispers Beneath the Orange Grove by Yaffa As A Conversation with Dean Spade by The Mutual Aid Podcast Support QT Palestinians & the first QTM helpline by MASGD SAD MUTUAL AID FUND FOR Queer and trans Palestinians and front line organizers For More: Yaffa is on Bluesky, TikTok, and IG. israa’ is on Bluesky and IG. Ayman is on Bluesky and IG. The Mutual Aid Podcast is on IG, YouTube, and BlueSky.⁠ From The Periphery is on ⁠Patreon⁠, YouTube⁠, Instagram, and has a website⁠ Credits:  Hosts - israa and Ayman Artwork - Hisham Rifai Music - Beit Youssef and Ramsey Khudairi The Mutual Aid Podcast is a proud member of ⁠⁠⁠⁠From The Periphery (FTP) Media Collective⁠⁠⁠⁠. How to Support: Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠: You’ll get early access to all podcasts, exclusive audio and video episodes, an invitation to join ⁠⁠⁠⁠our monthly hangouts⁠⁠⁠⁠, and more. Ko-Fi: If you’d like to give a tip directly to the hosts of the Mutual Aid Podcast.

4. A Conversation with Dean Spade

This week we talked with Dean Spade, author of Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity in this Crisis (and the Next) [https://www.akpress.org/mutualaidbuildingsolidarity.html]. Dean Spade has been working to build queer and trans liberation based in racial and economic justice for the past 25 years. He’s the author of Normal Life: Administrative Violence, Critical Trans Politics, and the Limits of Law [https://www.dukeupress.edu/normal-life-revised], and Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next) [https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/dean-spade-mutual-aid] the director of the documentary “Pinkwashing Exposed: Seattle Fights Back! [https://pinkwashingexposed.net/].” His next book, Love in a Fucked Up World: How to Build Relationships, Hook Up and Raise Hell Together [https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/dean-spade/love-in-a-fucked-up-world/9781643756462/], is forthcoming from Algonquin Press in January, 2025. In this expansive conversation, we start with Dean’s definition of mutual aid and how mutual aid differs from charity before we jump into the problem of criteria. Dean shares why he wrote Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next) [https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/dean-spade-mutual-aid], how it was received, and what he has learned since writing the book. Throughout the conversation, we explore the many ways mutual aid is manifested. Whether through food, housing, babysitting, or post-death care, we land on how mutual aid projects contain the things that sustain and care for life. We also discuss how mutual aid is inherently political and reflects one’s political beliefs. And how engaging with mutual aid can help us deepen our political education and understanding of the world around us. We end the conversation by exploring the role of relationship building and the interpersonal and intrapersonal dynamics that make or break our groups. Books By Dean: ⁠Love in a Fucked Up World: How to Build Relationships, Hook Up and Raise Hell Together [https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/dean-spade/love-in-a-fucked-up-world/9781643756462/] Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next)⁠ [https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/dean-spade-mutual-aid] ⁠Normal Life: Administrative Violence, Critical Trans Politics, and the Limits of Law [https://www.dukeupress.edu/normal-life-revised] References: Dean’s website: https://www.deanspade.net/ [https://www.deanspade.net/] Big Door Brigade: https://bigdoorbrigade.com/ [https://bigdoorbrigade.com/] Credits: Hosts: israa' and Ayman Artwork: Hisham Rifai Music: Beit Youssef and Ramsey Khudairi The Mutual Aid Podcast is a proud member of ⁠⁠⁠⁠From The Periphery (FTP) Media Collective [https://fromtheperiphery.com/]⁠⁠⁠⁠. How to Support: Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/fromtheperiphery]⁠⁠⁠⁠: You’ll get early access to all podcasts, exclusive audio and video episodes, an invitation to join ⁠⁠⁠⁠our monthly hangouts [https://fromtheperiphery.com/hangout/]⁠⁠⁠⁠, and more.

3. What is Mutual Aid? A History

In this episode, israa & Ayman share what they know about the history of mutual aid, as a term and practice. While neither of us is a historian, we attempt to track the use of the term throughout history and the way it shows up in different societies. From Kropotkin to Omar Aziz to the Black Panthers, Sudanese Resistance Committee, and Syrian Local Councils, we share our understanding of the development of the term and how mutual aid helps us prefigure a new world in the shell of the old. References Made: Peter Kropotkin - Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution [https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/petr-kropotkin-mutual-aid-a-factor-of-evolution] The Peoples Want Manifesto [https://thepeopleswant.org/assets/the_peoples_want_manifesto_en-ec29c3d89e158d8e6340f2800816b1c6912891a9a9595e6f9855324aa6df55d1.pdf] Nina Simone: I wish I knew How it would Feel to be Free [https://youtu.be/inNBpizpZkE?si=wZg87koBTDbg6lq5] Credits: Hosts - israa and Ayman Artwork - Hisham Rifai Music - Beit Youssef and Ramsey Khudairi The Mutual Aid Podcast is a proud member of ⁠⁠⁠From The Periphery (FTP) Media Collective⁠⁠⁠ [https://fromtheperiphery.com/]. How to Support: on ⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.patreon.com/fromtheperiphery]: You’ll get early access to all podcasts, exclusive audio and video episodes, an invitation to join ⁠⁠⁠our monthly hangouts⁠⁠⁠ [https://fromtheperiphery.com/hangout/], and more.

2. What is Mutual Aid? Theory and Practice

In this episode, israa and Ayman provide an overview of what we mean we talk about mutual aid. We provide a theoretical framework with many practical and tangible examples. This expansive conversation attempts to weave our understanding and experience with mutual aid with a wider exploration that stretches time, geographies, and societies. -- -- Become a member of our Patreon to support this podcast Patreon.com/fromtheperiphery [patreon.com/fromtheperiphery]