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

Eyewitness Delaney Hall: Revolutionary Rehearsals

Rania Hatab of the Lower Hudson Valley DSA [https://www.lhvdsa.org/] and Rockland Coalition to End the New Jim Crow [https://www.rocklandcoalition.org/] 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: 1. Meeting with Gov. Mikie Sherrill 2. Release of the young, elderly, pregnant, and medically vulnerable 3. Allow doctors to examine everyone in unit 2A/2B 4. 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 [https://indyliberationcenter.org/letters-from-delaney-hall/].

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 Institute [http://www.hamptonthink.org] A Different Lens Podcast [https://adifferentlens.libsyn.com/] From the Academy to the Streets: Notes from a Working-Class Think Tank [https://www.iskrabooks.org/books/p/hampton-reader] (book) The 2017 Hampton Reader: Notes from a Working-Class Think Tank [https://www.indyliberationstore.com/product/2017-hampton-reader-hardcover/SNO6AALRZQH3QDU3F42G6TJL] (book) Support Naptown People’s Radio [https://support.naptownpeoplesradio.com] Support the Indianapolis Liberation Center [https://www.indyliberationcenter.org/support]Shop the Indy Liberation Store [https://www.indyliberationstore.org] https://www.shakashakur.org/storeIndianapolis Liberation Center [http://www.indyliberationcenter.org]

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 [https://mirrorindy.org/indianapolis-office-public-health-safety-ophs-audit-city-county-council/], 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 [https://indyliberationcenter.org/cfac-starts/]. 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 [https://www.wrtv.com/news/local-news/community-food-access-coalition-forms-to-advise-city-on-how-to-address-food-insecurity]. Kristopher Nelson, aka FTF KD, who brought us up to speed on the reality of Data Centers during Season 1 [https://www.naptownpeoplesradio.com/ep-16-indy-vs-google-if-we-unite-we-win/], 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 [https://www.instagram.com/j.hefe24/] 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 [http://www.shakashakur.org] 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 [https://www.shakashakur.org/welcome-to-free-shaka-adiyia-shakur/]! Our Circle City Shout Out is back after a few weeks and it goes to Nasreen Kahn [https://nasreen-khan.com/]. 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. [https://indyliberationcenter.org/botanical-bodies/] Show Notes: OH-HighYo! [https://linktr.ee/Ohhytv] FTF KD [https://linktr.ee/ftfkd_content] Support Naptown People’s Radio [https://support.naptownpeoplesradio.com] Support the Indianapolis Liberation Center [https://www.indyliberationcenter.org/support]Shop the Indy Liberation Store [https://www.indyliberationstore.org] https://www.shakashakur.org/storeIndianapolis Liberation Center [http://www.indyliberationcenter.org]

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 [http://www.pslindianapolis.org] of the Party for Socialism and Liberation [http://www.pslweb.org]. 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 [http://www.pslweb.org/join]! Events: Class 2: The Artist Must Take Sides [https://indyliberationcenter.org/artist-must-take-sides/] Extras Needed for Movie Exposing Indiana Court Corruption [https://indyliberationcenter.org/extras-needed-for-movie/] May Mindfulness Meetups with Circle City Sangha [https://indyliberationcenter.org/ccs-26-05-09/] Reading with Comrades: Comrade of the Revolution: Selected Speeches of Fidel Castro (pt. 1) [https://indyliberationcenter.org/fidel-speeches1/] Sign the Petition: Justice for Jamar and Lamonte Thomas! [https://indyliberationcenter.org/jamar-lamonte-thomas/] Show Notes: Support Naptown People’s Radio [https://support.naptownpeoplesradio.com] Support the Indianapolis Liberation Center [https://www.indyliberationcenter.org/support]Shop the Indy Liberation Store [https://www.indyliberationstore.org] https://www.shakashakur.org/storeIndianapolis Liberation Center [http://www.indyliberationcenter.org]

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 Campaign [https://www.instagram.com/newafrikanfreedomcampaign] Shaka Shakur Freedom Campaign [http://www.shakashakur.org] Haki Shakur (X [https://x.com/Haki_Shakur], FB [https://www.facebook.com/HakiKShakur/], IG [https://www.instagram.com/haki_kweli_shakur/]) Support Naptown People’s Radio [https://support.naptownpeoplesradio.com] Support the Indianapolis Liberation Center [https://www.indyliberationcenter.org/support]Shop the Indy Liberation Store [https://www.indyliberationstore.org] https://www.shakashakur.org/storeIndianapolis Liberation Center [http://www.indyliberationcenter.org]