The Real News Podcast

From Mussolini to Mass Incarceration: Why Gramsci Matters Today

Imprisoned by fascist dictator Benito Mussolini in 1926, the prison writings of Italian Marxist theorist Antonio Gramsci remain essential 100 years later for understanding how fascism, policing, and incarceration function to suppress political dissent and preserve unequal systems of power. In this episode of Rattling the Bars, former Black Panther and political prisoner Mansa Musa speaks with renowned scholar Alberto Toscano about the importance and terrifying relevance of Gramsci today. Guests: * Alberto Toscano is a renowned Italian cultural critic, social theorist, philosopher, translator, and adjunct professor at the Simon Fraser University School of Communication. Toscano is a columnist at In These Times [https://inthesetimes.com/authors/alberto-toscano] and the (co-)author of numerous books, including: Late Fascism: Race, Capitalism and the Politics of Crisis [https://www.versobooks.com/products/2627-late-fascism]; and Fanaticism: On the Uses of an Idea [https://www.versobooks.com/products/2134-fanaticism]. 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]

Who’s Afraid of Chris Smalls?

At a live event hosted at Red Emma’s Cooperative Bookstore and Coffeehouse in Baltimore, MD, TRNN Editor-in-Chief Maximillian Alvarez got to sit down for a deep and wide-ranging conversation with Chris Smalls, co-founder and former president of the Amazon Labor Union. Alvarez and Smalls discuss Smalls’ new book, When the Revolution Comes: A Fight for the Future of the Working Class; they recount the incredible story of the formation of the Amazon Labor Union and the unionization of the first Amazon warehouse in the US; and they talk about Smalls’ journey from warehouse worker and labor organizer to becoming an internationally recognized public figure and a human rights activist who has sailed with humanitarian flotilla missions to Gaza and Cuba.  Additional links/info:  * Chris Smalls X page [https://www.instagram.com/chris.smalls_/?hl=en] and Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/chris.smalls_/?hl=en] * Chris Smalls, Penguin Random House, When the Revolution Comes: A Fight for the Future of the Working Class [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/724036/when-the-revolution-comes-by-chris-smalls/] * Maximillian Alvarez, TRNN, “Chris Smalls: Sabotage attempts and death threats won’t stop Gaza Freedom Flotilla [https://therealnews.com/chris-smalls-sabotage-attempts-death-threats-gaza-freedom-flotilla]” 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]

The Election Interference Evidence No One Is Talking About

Are President Trump and MAGA Republicans publicly signaling that they plan to interfere in—and potentially rig—the 2026 midterm elections? If so, why is the media not taking the threat seriously? In this episode of Inequality Watch, Taya Graham and Stephen Janis investigate the connections between wealth inequality, political power, ICE funding, the influence of Super PACs on elections, and growing concerns about democratic accountability in Trump’s America. Credits:  * Pre-Production: Taya Graham, Stephen Janis * Studio Production / Post-Production: Cameron Granadino, 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]

Fired & Jailed: Attacks on Free Speech Under Trump

Mahmoud Khalil was detained and arrested at his Manhattan apartment. The video is chilling. Plainclothes agents are there. They refuse to give their names. He’s handcuffed and shoved into the back of a car. His wife — eight months pregnant — watches and tries to understand what’s happening. This is not a scene from some dark chapter of a distant past filled with black-and-white photos of bygone dictatorships. This happened here, in the United States of America, in 2025. In this podcast series, in the lead-up to the country’s 250th anniversary, journalists Michael Fox and Marc Steiner look at the battle for our free speech rights today, and attacks on people speaking out in the United States. Hosted by Michael Fox and Marc Steiner. Theme music by Michael Fox, Jordan Klein, and Daniel Nuñez. Other music from Blue Dot Sessions and Epidemic Sound. Production and Sound Design by Michael Fox and Stephen Frank.  Editorial support by: Kayla Rivara and Heather Gies.  Research by Ben Schweiger. Guests:  * Lisa Femia [https://www.eff.org/about/staff/elizabeth-lisa-femia], Staff Attorney, Electronic Frontier Foundation * Corinna Mullin [https://x.com/MullinCorinna], CUNY professor * David Rubin, Staff Attorney, Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression [https://www.fire.org/college-free-speech-rankings?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21678461646&gbraid=0AAAAADvDJ5VIWfRfSuADc5j2gI3cTjyC0&gclid=Cj0KCQjwof_QBhCgARIsADaMzOeiCSmoZOCFSt6KVJa4H1TSE0gE9uXWoCd7-lmFX6F_FO1wwcTFZpgaAgZmEALw_wcB] * Allen Chaney, Legal Director, ACLU - South Carolina [https://www.aclu.org/affiliates/south-carolina] Resources:  * The Charlie Kirk purge: How 600 Americans were punished in a pro-Trump crackdown [https://www.reuters.com/investigations/charlie-kirk-purge-how-600-americans-were-punished-pro-trump-crackdown-2025-11-19/]   * Clemson Settles With Professor Fired for Kirk Comments [https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2026/01/13/clemson-settles-professor-fired-kirk-comments] * Retired police officer jailed over Charlie Kirk post settles lawsuit for more than $800K [https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg7pyjxjxrvo]  * The war on our sight [https://therealnews.com/the-war-on-our-sight] 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]

Abby Martin: The US military machine is destroying our planet

We sit down for an hour-long discussion with legendary independent journalist and filmmaker Abby Martin to discuss her new blockbuster documentary, Earth’s Greatest Enemy, and the existential threat that US empire in general—and the US military specifically—poses to humanity and to our planet. Editor’s Note: This conversation was recorded on Jan. 29, 2026, before the beginning of the illegal US-Israeli War in Iran.  Guests: * Abby Martin [https://www.instagram.com/fababs/?hl=en] is an Izzy-Award-winning [https://www.parkindymedia.org/winners-of-the-18th-annual-izzy-award/] independent journalist, filmmaker, and host of The Empire Files [https://www.youtube.com/empirefiles]. She is the director of the 2019 documentary Gaza Fights for Freedom [https://gazafightsforfreedom.com/] and the 2026 documentary Earth’s Greatest Enemy [https://earthsgreatestenemy.com/]. Additional links/info: * Watch Earth’s Greatest Enemy on The Empire Files YouTube channel [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cc7bzUVtqX8].  Credits: * Studio Production / 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]