IN SESSION #13: Empire's problem with sovereignty with Helyeh Doutaghi, Bikrum Gill & Alex Aviña

IN SESSION #13: Empire's problem with sovereignty with Helyeh Doutaghi, Bikrum Gill & Alex Aviña

Between the so-called Middle-East and Latin America, oh my, we had a lot to talk about how this empire implodes, psychically and otherwise, in the face of sovereign nations refusing to bend to its violence. Who better to help us unpack this than three of the most fierce anti-imperialist comrades I know--all of whom have a lot to say about sovereignty, empire, and, importantly, resistance. Helyeh Doutaghi is scholar of international law and geopolitical economy. Her research explores the intersections of the Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL), encompassing postcolonial critiques of law, sanctions, and international political economy. Dr. Doutaghi's research draws on the mechanisms, harms, and beneficiaries of the sanctions regime imposed on Iran, centering questions of value transfer and wealth drain. Additionally, she is interested in International Humanitarian Law (IHL), having written about its history, practice, and the production of knowledge (and ignorance), particularly in the context of the US military. She was expelled from Yale Law School and the LPE project for speaking up for Palestinian liberation last year. She is currently a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Tehran, where she will focus on completing her manuscript on the Iranian sanctions regime and neoliberalism. Bikrum Gill is a scholar of international political economy, and author of "The Political Ecology of Colonial Capitalism: Race, Nature, and Accumulation", published by Manchester University Press. Alex Aviña is an Associate Professor of History at Arizona State University. He is a historian of Mexico and Latin America.

IN SESSION #12: Lebanon's continued resistance with Calla Walsh & Hussein Assaf

In this episode I was joined by Calla Walsh and Hussein Assaf to talk about the urgent situation in Lebanon and the ongoing resistance against Zionist violence and imperial violence. We discussed how we can continue to orient ourselves to the long struggle against empire and all textures of its violence. Calla Walsh is a freelance journalist and anti-imperialist organizer who was one of the founders of Palestine Action US and formerly co-chair of the National Network on Cuba. You can find Calla on "X", @callawalsh Hussein Assaf is a journalist from southern Lebanon based in Beirut. You can find Hussein on "X", @eyesonsouth1 Here is the fundraiser link for mutual aid, in coordination with al Tanseqeye Alshaabeye Lebanon https://www.chuffed.org/project/171933-lebanon-emergency-relief [https://www.chuffed.org/project/171933-lebanon-emergency-relief] Don't forget to subscribe to our channel on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PsychicMilitancy Make sure to follow us on IG: @psychicmilitancypod & UpScrolled: @psychicmilitancy And to keep up with all announcements and pre-releases, consider becoming a Patron: www.patreon.com/psychicmilitancy

IN SESSION #11: Psychology, complicity and the myth of neutrality with Maria Fakhouri

In this episode, I spoke with Palestinian psychotherapist, Maria Fakhouri, about the lies the field of psychology peddles in the name of so-called neutrality. She and I have quite a bit of experience being on the receiving end of accusations related to being "too political". We discussed what this means against the backdrop of an ongoing genocide, rising fascism, and imperial violence—and we also laughed at the field and our so-called colleagues, a lot. Because if any of you have heard Maria speak, well, you know she brings it! Maria Fakhouri is a Palestinian psychotherapist based in Ontario, Canada (Turtle Island). She is a public educator, speaker, and fierce advocate for Palestine through her social media and community engagements. She intertwines her therapeutic practice with anti-oppressive, cross-movement liberatory, and social justice principles. You can follow her work on her Instagram @mar._unfiltered and @mariafakhouripsychotherapy Don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@PsychicMilitancy [https://www.youtube.com/@PsychicMilitancy] and follow us on IG @psychicmilitancypod and Upscrolled @psychicmilitancy. And consider becoming a patron for pre-releases and to stay up to date with all episodes! www.patreon.com/psychicmilitancy

A Call for Revolutionary Intellectual Alignment with Dr. Ghassan Abu Sittah

This was a livestream collaboration with Psychic Militancy and the Adnan Hussein Show discusses an important document "Toward a Revolutionary Charter for Comprehensive Liberation" released recently that takes an adamant and uncompromising critique of contemporary Arab intelligentsias and calls for a radical realignment against colonial knowledges and with the masses. This is a critical juncture in West Asia; the convulsions of the Gaza genocide, the war on Iran, and the reshaping of its political boundaries, economies and societies in violent colonial war and resistance demand that all social groupings and classes address themselves to revolutionary anticolonial struggle. Adnan and I speak with one of the authors of this radical manifesto, Dr. Ghassan Abu Sittah, the famous Palestinian surgeon, academic, activist, and Rector of Glasgow University in Scotland. We take up the questions of why "pessimism of the intellect" has not been accompanied by "optimist of the will" among the intellectual classes, the manifestations of "defeatist" and comprador thought, and how to revive the courageous role of intellectuals organically in the people's struggle as a resource for liberation. Centered on the question of Palestine but addressed to the wider Arab peoples confronting Zionism, colonialism, and imperialism, the conversation will explore the document's six key principles and concepts like rooted knowledge, intellectual sovereignty, democratizing knowledge and how ideology can be turned into a material force for liberation. This was a fascinating discussion! Join us. You can read a translation of the document here: https://en.al-akhbar.com/news/toward-a-revolutionary-charter-for-comprehensive-liberation1 [https://en.al-akhbar.com/news/toward-a-revolutionary-charter-for-comprehensive-liberation1] Follow Dr. Ghassan Abu Sittah on X: https://x.com/GhassanAbuSitt1 [https://x.com/GhassanAbuSitt1] Subscribe to Psychic Militancy: https://www.youtube.com/@PsychicMilitancy [https://www.youtube.com/@PsychicMilitancy] Subscribe to Adnan Hussein Show: https://www.youtube.com/@adnanhusainshow [https://www.youtube.com/@adnanhusainshow]

Françoise Vergès: The world is made through struggle

In this episode, I sit down with the incredible Françoise Vergès. We had a beautiful conversation about how the politics of Réunion has animated her life's work, how she was brought up in the struggle alongside the revolutionaries in her family, about her time in Algeria and Paris, decolonial feminisms (of course!), and the centrality of psychic life to our ongoing fight against fascism and oppressive systems. We honestly talked about so so much more, so I am excited for you to hear it! It was such an honor to sit down with a sister-comrade who has shaped so much of my thinking and political orientation to scholarship. Françoise Vergès is a political theorist, curator and writer. She writes on the racist fabrication of premature death, decolonial feminism, the impossible decolonization of the western museum, climate disaster and antiracist, anticapitalist politics of vital needs. She works with artists and curates, since 2015, public performances with artists and activists. She is currently working on a film about anti colonial struggles in Reunion Island through her parents' personal archives and her own. For more information and on and links to Françoise's powerful work, see her website: https://francoiseverges.com/ [https://francoiseverges.com/] This is the passage I read from Françoise's landmark A Decolonial Feminism (Pluto, 2019): "I used a familiar fruit, the banana, to shed light on a number of analogies and elective affinities: the banana's dispersion from New Guinea to the rest of the world, the banana and slavery, the banana and US imperialism (banana republics), the banana and agribusiness (pescticides, insecticides--the chlordecone scandal in the Antilles), the banana and working conditions (the plantation regimes, sexual violence, repression), the banana and the environment (monocultures, pilluted water and land), the banana and sexuality (Josephine Baker), the banana and branding (Banana Republic), the banana and racism (when did the association of bananas and Negrophobia begin?), the banana and science (researching the 'perfect' banana), the banana and consumption (bringing bananas into the home, suggesting recipes), the banana and rituals for ancestors, and the banana and contemporary art. The method is simple: starting from one element to uncover a political, economic, cultural, and social ecosystem in order to avoid segmentation that the Western social-sciece method has imposed." p. 21-22 Make sure to like this episode and subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@PsychicMilitancy [https://www.youtube.com/@PsychicMilitancy] You can also find us on IG: @psychicmilitancypod and UpScrolled: @psychicmilitancy For exclusive pre-releases and all the announcements, consider becoming a member at: www.patreon.com/psychicmilitancy