Who’s Afraid of Chris Smalls?

Toxic Avengers: America’s Poisoned and Abandoned Communities Must Stand Together or Die

From the explosion of AI data centers to the increasing number of toxic spills, explosions, and industrial disasters happening across the country, corporations and the government are turning the USA into one giant “sacrifice zone.” In “red” states and “blue” states, in rural areas and urban areas, poor and working people are suffering the toxic effects of a crisis that has resulted from decades of deregulation, corporate-capture of government, and the protection of private profits over the lives and health of the public. No one is coming to save us, and nothing is going to change unless residents of different sacrifice zones and poisoned communities, workers and unions on the frontlines of the industries poisoning us, environmental justice groups, community and faith organizations, scientists, journalists, and all others who have a stake in this fight start coming together, working together, and fighting back together. In this special panel discussion, recorded at the 2026 Railroad Workers United convention in Chicago, Illinois, we speak with a panel of guests who are part of a new coalition that is doing just that. Panelists include: Jeff Kurtz, a retired locomotive engineer, union officer, and Railroad Workers United member who also served as a state representative in the Iowa House of Representatives; Jami Wallace, a displaced resident of East Palestine, Ohio, and founder of the Chemically Impacted Communities Coalition (CICC); Dr. Nicole Fabricant, a professor of anthropology at Towson University and scholar-activist who has been working with chemically impacted communities in South Baltimore, Maryland, for 15 years; Scott Smith, independent testing expert and founder of the Blue Shirt Justice League; and Lesley Pacey, Senior Environmental Officer at the Government Accountability Project. Additional links/info: * Railroad Workers United website [https://www.railroadworkersunited.org/], Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/railroadworkers] page, and X page [https://twitter.com/railroadworkers] * Chemically Impacted Communities Coalition (CICC) Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/groups/1076305207484310] page * Blue Shirt Justice League website [https://goblueshirtjustice.org/] and Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/groups/541396761947002/] page * Government Accountability Project website [https://whistleblower.org/], Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/GovernmentAccountabilityProject] page, X page [https://twitter.com/GovAcctProj], Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/govacctproj.bsky.social] page, and Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/govacctproj/] * Coal-Free Curtis Bay Facebook [https://m.facebook.com/CoalFreeCurtisBay] page and Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/coalfree_curtisbay/] * South Baltimore Community Land Trust website [https://www.sbclt.org/], X page [https://twitter.com/BaltimoreSouth], Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/southbaltimoreCLT] page, and Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/southbaltimoreclt/] * Nicole Fabricant, University of California Press, Fighting to Breathe: Race, Toxicity, and the Rise of Youth Activism in Baltimore [https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520379329/fighting-to-breathe] * Maximillian Alvarez, TRNN, “America’s toxic future looks like East Palestine, Ohio, today [https://therealnews.com/americas-toxic-future-looks-like-east-palestine-oh-today]” * Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, “‘Let’s unite!’: Poisoned residents of America’s sacrifice zones are banding together [https://therealnews.com/lets-unite-poisoned-residents-of-americas-sacrifice-zones-are-banding-together]” * Maximilian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, “Corporations and the government are turning the USA into one giant ‘sacrifice zone’ [https://therealnews.com/corporations-and-the-government-are-turning-the-usa-into-one-giant-sacrifice-zone]” Featured Music: * Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: * Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support [https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss]. Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer. [https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support] Follow us on: Bluesky: @therealnews.com [https://bsky.app/profile/therealnews.com] Facebook: The Real News Network [https://facebook.com/therealnews] Twitter: @TheRealNews [https://twitter.com/therealnews] YouTube: @therealnews [https://www.youtube.com/therealnews] Instagram: @therealnewsnetwork [https://www.instagram.com/therealnewsnetwork/] https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support Become a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today! [https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support]

What Would the Black Panthers Say About DSA Today?

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Black Panther Party, founded in Oakland, California, in 1966. On this episode of Rattling the Bars, host Mansa Musa speaks with Dr. Joy James and Dr. K. Kim Holder about the legacy of the Panthers today, and about the important differences and intersections between democratic socialism and the Black Panther model of communalism. This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation. Subscribe to TRNN [https://www.youtube.com/@therealnews] and stay tuned for Part 2 next week… Guests: * Dr. Joy James is Ebenezer Fitch Professor of Humanities at Williams College. She is the author of numerous books, including: In Pursuit of Revolutionary Love [https://divided.online/all-books/in-pursuit-of-revolutionary-love]; Resisting State Violence [https://www.upress.umn.edu/9780816628131/resisting-state-violence/]; and Shadowboxing: Representations of Black Feminist Politics [https://www.amazon.com/Shadowboxing-Representations-Black-Feminist-Politics/dp/0312294492]. Creator of the digital Harriet Tubman Literary Circle at UT Austin [https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/handle/2152/7828], James is also editor of The New Abolitionists: (Neo)Slave Narratives and Contemporary Prison Writings; Imprisoned Intellectuals; Warfare in the American Homeland; The Angela Y. Davis Reader; and co-editor of the Black Feminist Reader. * Dr. K. Kim Holder is an assistant professor of educational foundations and Africana studies at Rowan University. Dr. Holder earned his doctorate from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in Multicultural Education and African American Studies, his masters in Early Childhood Education from Bank Street College of Education, and B.A. in History from Hampshire College. Credits: * Producer / Videographer / Editor: Cameron Granadino Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support [https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss]. Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer. [https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support] Follow us on: Bluesky: @therealnews.com [https://bsky.app/profile/therealnews.com] Facebook: The Real News Network [https://facebook.com/therealnews] Twitter: @TheRealNews [https://twitter.com/therealnews] YouTube: @therealnews [https://www.youtube.com/therealnews] Instagram: @therealnewsnetwork [https://www.instagram.com/therealnewsnetwork/] https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support Become a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today! [https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support]

The US, Israel, and Latin America’s Far Right Are Plotting to Crush the Left

Leaked audio recordings between powerful right-wing figures in Latin America have revealed a massive and shocking conspiracy—involving the United States and Israel—to forge an international political network with the expressed purpose of undermining leftist leaders in the region. In this episode of The Marc Steiner Show, Marc speaks with Latin-America-based journalist and TRNN correspondent Michael Fox about “HondurasGate,” what the scandal tells us about the machinations of the international far right today, and how those machinations fit into the long, violent history of US imperialism in Latin America.  Editor's Note: This episode was recorded before the 2026 presidential elections in Colombia, which resulted in right-wing candidate and Trump ally Abelardo de la Espriella becoming the country's next president.  Additional links/info:  * Michael Fox, Under the Shadow / TRNN, “HondurasGate: Leaks reveal the far-right plan to undermine Latin America’s left [https://therealnews.com/hondurasgate-leaks-far-right-plan-to-undermine-latin-americas-left]” * José Luis Granados Ceja, DropSite, “Hondurasgate: Key leaked audio files, revealing U.S. intervention in Honduras, found authentic ‘with moderate confidence’ [https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/hondurasgate-leaked-audio-files-juan-orlando-hernandez-likely-authentic]” * Michael Fox, Under the Shadow / TRNN, “U.S.S. Honduras | Under the Shadow S1E6 [https://therealnews.com/u-s-s-honduras-under-the-shadow-episode-6]” * Michael Fox, Under the Shadow / TRNN, “Honduras, 2009. La Resistencia. | Under the Shadow S1E7 Part 1 [https://therealnews.com/2009-honduras-coup-obama-clinton-resistance-zelaya-xiomara-castro]” * Michael Fox, Under the Shadow / TRNN, “Honduras, 2009. Legacy of a coup. | Under the Shadow S1E7 Part 2 [https://therealnews.com/honduras-2009-legacy-of-a-coup-under-the-shadow-episode-7-part-2]” Credits: * Producer: Rosette Sewali * Studio Production: Cameron Granadino * Audio Post-Production: David Hebden, Stephen Frank  Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support [https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss]. Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer. [https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support] Follow us on: Bluesky: @therealnews.com [https://bsky.app/profile/therealnews.com] Facebook: The Real News Network [https://facebook.com/therealnews] Twitter: @TheRealNews [https://twitter.com/therealnews] YouTube: @therealnews [https://www.youtube.com/therealnews] Instagram: @therealnewsnetwork [https://www.instagram.com/therealnewsnetwork/] https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support Become a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today! [https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support]

‘You Can’t Serve People You Hate’: Rep. Summer Lee Breaks Down the War on the Poor

In this exclusive interview, recorded earlier this month at the Netroots conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Rep. Summer Lee explains her concerns about the Trump administration's push to interfere in the upcoming 2026 midterms, and argues that the best path to achieving public policies like "Medicare for All" is to take billionaires' money out of politics and to fight for electoral reforms.  Credits: * Production: Taya Graham, Stephen Janis * Post-Production: David Hebden, Stephen Janis Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support [https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss]. Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer. [https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support] Follow us on: Bluesky: @therealnews.com [https://bsky.app/profile/therealnews.com] Facebook: The Real News Network [https://facebook.com/therealnews] Twitter: @TheRealNews [https://twitter.com/therealnews] YouTube: @therealnews [https://www.youtube.com/therealnews] Instagram: @therealnewsnetwork [https://www.instagram.com/therealnewsnetwork/] https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support Become a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today! [https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support]

Rep. Justin Pearson: MAGA Eliminated My Congressional District. I'm Still Running.

After an April decision by the US Supreme Court gutted the 1965 Voting Rights Act, Tennessee became the first state to redraw its Congressional district maps, resulting in the 9th District—a solidly Democratic seat representing the only majority-Black district in the state—being erased. We speak with Tennessee State Representative Justin Pearson [https://www.instagram.com/justinjpearson/], who has been running to represent Tennessee’s 9th District in the US House of Representatives, about why he is still running despite Republicans’ attempts to rig the electoral process, and what is at stake for Tennessee and the country this midterm election season.  Additional links/info:  * Philip Wang, Time, “They gerrymandered away the district he’s campaigning to represent. He’s still running [https://time.com/article/2026/05/27/Tennessee-gerrymander-redistricting-Justin-Pearson-voting-midterm-elections/]” * Leigh Cuen, The Tennessean, “Photojournalist shares story behind viral TN redistricting photos [https://www.aol.com/news/photojournalist-shares-story-behind-viral-185055492.html]” Credits: * Videography: Stephen Janis, Maximillian Alvarez * Post-Production: David Hebden  Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support [https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss]. Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer. [https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support] Follow us on: Bluesky: @therealnews.com [https://bsky.app/profile/therealnews.com] Facebook: The Real News Network [https://facebook.com/therealnews] Twitter: @TheRealNews [https://twitter.com/therealnews] YouTube: @therealnews [https://www.youtube.com/therealnews] Instagram: @therealnewsnetwork [https://www.instagram.com/therealnewsnetwork/] https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support Become a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today! [https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support]