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Media Cyphers is a weekly radio show out of Kalamazoo, MI where we discuss local issues, analyze and critique local and national media, cover important organizing in the SW Michigan region, and call out the establishment on its B.S. Listen to us live every Tuesday from 12PM-2PM on 89.1 WIDR or online at widrfm.org.
Episodes
Wednesday Jul 20, 2022
Wednesday Jul 20, 2022
We start our show by shouting out Kalamazoo Non-Violent Opponents of War who recently co-sponsored a Palestinian Culture Festival at Bronson Park over the weekend. We talk about the importance of these fun, family events in a backdrop where the news we hear from the nation, under apartheid from Israel, is often dire and distressing.
We spend some time talking about recent media fallout from a viral story down in Ohio where a 10 year old had to cross state lines to seek an abortion after being assaulted. We look at the stages of grief exhibited by right-wing media outlets- denial, anger, acceptance, and deflection. Not wanting to engage with the brutal reality of what outlawing abortion really means right wing media was quick to call it a lie- and when it became impossible to do so pivot and hyper-focus on the immigration status of the attacker.
In Michigan labor news, we look at nurses at the University of Michigan fighting for better working conditions and quality of care for their patients. Also, just to the eastward in Detroit, employees at Great Lakes Coffee Roasters are uniting under the "Comrades in Coffee" banner to fight for a union.
We briefly talk about Herschel Walker, senate candidate in Georgia, and his "unique" observations on how he thinks air pollution works- and a bit more broadly about what it says about the hardcore "anti-intellectual" strain in American right-wing politics.
Joe Biden goes to Saudi Arabia and MBS basically points out that the U.S. is "the pot calling the kettle black" when it comes to human rights abuses. And we finish our show by talking about the tape from Uvalde and just what police were (and were not) doing while the active shooter was murdering kids.
1:45- 9:50 K.N.O.W. Organizes Palestine Cultural Festival at Bronson Park
10:00- 30:00 Media Coverage & Politics of a 10 Year Old Needing an Abortion
31:00- 43:50 Nurses Organize For Better Working Conditions & Quality of Care at University of Michigan
44:35- 56:00 "Comrades in Coffee" Organizing Baristas in Detroit
56:00- 1:04:15 Herschel Walker's Goofy Ideas on Air Pollution
1:04:30- 1:27:10 Biden Goes to Saudi Arabia
1:27:20- 1:46:20 Uvalde Video Leaks- The Sound of Cops Doing Nothing Has Not Been Removed
Thursday Jul 07, 2022
Thursday Jul 07, 2022
Recently the Media Cyphers host was invited on the Social Priority Podcast hosted by StarPandaTV. Andy talks about their own personal history and activism then spends some time with the host drawing out a class analysis of the recent overturning of Roe v. Wade and what people can do about it.
StarPandaTV on Twitter and Facebook:
https://twitter.com/StarPandaTV
Wednesday Jun 29, 2022
Wednesday Jun 29, 2022
We spend the first part of our episode responding to the overturning of Roe v. Wade. We look at what the mainstream media is leaving out of the conversation, the concerted and strategic effort of conservative plutocrats to bring us to where we are today, and the links between christian nationalism, white supremacy, and policies that work to further dis-empower the working class. Special guest commentator Emily joins us with their insight, including personal reflections on conservative Christian culture in America.
We talk about Juneteenth, its significance, and its the commercialization of the holiday that has seemingly occurred at warp speed after becoming a federal holiday last year.
In Michigan, we look at the peculiar situation in our newly created congressional district (District 4). A Democrat may have a better chance in the new district with Fred Upton retiring, Bill Huizenga representing a more radical and Trumpist part of the Republican Party, and more historically liberal areas being included on the map- but the Democrats may not have a candidate. Joseph Alfonso failed to get the necessary number of signatures and is now depending on a long-shot write-in campaign to get on November's ballot. We ask, how does something like that happen? Also, the Michigan Republican Party is trying to restrict voting access and mail-in ballots in our state despite a wide bipartisan support expanding such measures in 2018.
We briefly give you a spoonful of sugar to go with today's bad medicine with some good news about election results from Columbia- and its international significance in a nascent left-wing backlash to rising right-wing authoritarian governments.
0:00- 1:06:50 Roe v. Wade Overturned
1:06:50- 1:29:45 Juneteenth
1:29:45- 1:46:00 CD4 Dems Drop the Ball- Republican Bill Huizenga May Run Unopposed
1:46:00- 1:53:00 Michigan Republicans Trying to Restrict Voting Via Ballot Initiative
1:56:30- 2:01:40 Progressive President Elected in Columbia
Wednesday Jun 15, 2022
Wednesday Jun 15, 2022
We open by discussing the much anticipated hearings on the January 6th insurrection and spend most of our time reading between the lines. While we haven't learned much that we didn't already know, we look at local Michiganders who are charged with participating in the insurrection and take a broader view at what the hearings will and likely will not do. We talk about an increasingly fascistic Republican Party, a corporate centered Democratic Party that is complicit and willfully ignorant about that radicalization, and why the hearings leaves out one of the key pillars of accountability in the J6 mess.
Per our mandate we also look at how the media is talking about the hearings, from how local news is presenting it to the Kalamazoo area to why this is unlikely to be a national "watergate moment."
Speaking of fascist rot, we talk about a failed plot by Patriot Front to attack a Pride event in Idaho. We then pivot to some international coverage looking at the epic failure that was the Summit of the Americas- more than half the hemisphere refused to show up after the U.S. tried to dictate who could and could not come. We look at a decision from the Supreme Court that hands sweeping power to Border Patrol to immunize them from lawsuits AND to basically enter wherever they want without a warrant (and in Michigan, the entire state is a Border Patrol zone).
We close with an update about gun control legislation currently working its way through congress.
0:00- 44:25 January 6th Hearings
44:30- 1:00:30 Patriot Front Plots Terrorist Attack on Pride Event in Idaho
1:02:00- 1:15:00 Summit of the Americas
1:15:00- 1:23:30 Supreme Court Gives Border Patrol Immunity & Power to Do Warrantless Entries/ Searches
1:23:50- Congress Moving Forward on Doing SOMETHING About Gun Law Reforms
Wednesday Jun 08, 2022
Wednesday Jun 08, 2022
We spend most of the episode focused on two particular topics- first is the epidemic of mass shootings in America, the politicization of these constant tragedies, the history (and historical erasure) around reactionary talking points on guns, and speak to just what kind of culture we have that continues to generate mass shooters.
Secondly we look at the corporatization of Pride at both the national level and right here in Kalamazoo. We look at which companies were sponsoring our local Pride festival and call them to account for their actions outside of Pride- from remaining silent on their homophobic partners in SouthWest Michigan First to the outright bankrolling of anti-LGBTQ politicians.
We close out the show with some good news about progress California is making to make reparations a reality.
SOURCES
"Corporate Pride Sponsors Have Given Over $1.5 Million to Anti-LGBTQ Politicians"
"NWLC Files Equal Pay Lawsuit Against Zoetis Alleging Company Maintained Stark Gender-Based Pay Disparity"
Campaign Finance Information Sourced from www.opensecrets.org.
Wednesday May 18, 2022
Wednesday May 18, 2022
We are joined by local artist and journalist Casey Grooten to talk about the space Radiant Church has taken up on the downtown walking mall. Following the shuttering of several Kalamazoo Mall businesses following the COVID-19 pandemic, Radiant Church seized on the opportunity by buying up several properties in the area (with aims to continue gaining more properties and expanding).
Grooten talks about the incentives Radiant has to buy up properties, and we dive into the theological stance of the church that is decidedly at odds with the Kalamazoo community when it comes to being welcoming to LGBTQ residents. Describing homosexuality as a "spiritual illness" we look at how the church obfuscates these bigoted views at their businesses and what their goals of perpetual expansion mean for Kalamazoo and spaces in the downtown area.
Thursday May 12, 2022
Thursday May 12, 2022
We are joined by WMU (and 89.1WIDR) alumni Bob Piellusch to get his first hand account of some critical national and local history around the killing of several Kent State students by the Ohio National Guard on May 4th, 1970. Bob tells us about his experiences as a high schooler during these years, and his time in WMU student government and role in organizing protests later that decade to prevent Kent State from building a gym on the site of the murders.
After we are joined by Lawrence to discuss some critical issues of the day. We talk about a push to expand affordable housing in Michigan, some of the potential pratfalls such a measure may be up against, and why local news media (such as WWMT) does not draw the connection between the lack of affordable housing and homelessness.
We observe the grim milestone of 1,000,000 COVID deaths, the role of conservative propaganda and corporate greed in prolonging the pandemic (including vaccine profiteering from Kalamazoo's own Pfizer), and how even the Democratic Party- who largely campaigned in 2020 on dealing with the pandemic like "adults"- have largely given up on doing what is necessary to mitigate COVID.
In a story to be filed under "some of those that work forces," we look at a report from Reuters that reveals that police trainers with ties to fascist groups like the Oathkeepers, Three Percenters, and the Proud Boys have been hired by police departments across the country.
We talk about the reaction and protests to the leak about the overturning of Roe v. Wade, as well as the larger conservative agenda that would very much like to turn back the clock to pre- reconstruction America.
0:00- 36:25 WMU Alumni Bob Piellusch on the Anniversary of the Kent State Massacre
38:00- 48:10 Affordable Housing in Michigan
50:00- 1:05:10 1,000,000 COVID Deaths in the U.S.
1:05:30- 1:17:40 Fascist Organizers Are Running Police Trainings Across the Country
1:21:20- 1:33:17 Roe v. Wade- Protests and The Conservative Agenda
Wednesday May 04, 2022
Wednesday May 04, 2022
We spend the entirety of this episode responding to the breaking leak from the Supreme Court that sees them poised to fully overturn Roe v. Wade.
We pick apart the draft opinion and some of its other rather troubling implications, and talk about how the conservative game plan to overturn the landmark legislation came to fruition. We look at how this will play out in the State of Michigan, where a dormant law from 1931 will trigger after the court's decision and make abortion illegal in the state- and how a current ballot petition could put the restoration of abortion rights on our state ballot in November.
We also talk about the complicity of the Democratic Party who- while using the Republican's assault on abortion rights as a fundraising tool- have failed time and time again to codify Roe v. Wade into federal law (and could still do so at this very moment, were they willing).
At the 46 minute mark we replay some important historical context and analysis from our third podcast episode looking at the history of the anti-abortion movement and lessons current organizers can take from past struggles.
SOURCES
"The Real Origins of the Religious Right"
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/05/religious-right-real-origins-107133/
"We Need a Left Strategy For Confronting the Anti-Abortion Movement"
"Congressional Dems Are Failing to Secure Abortion Rights"
Background Music by Quantum Fleek
Friday Apr 29, 2022
Friday Apr 29, 2022
We talk about a recent happening at the Kalamazoo City Commission where a community benefits agreement was shot down with Graphic Packaging Inc. We look at how most of what GPI had on offer were very cosmetic, public-relations focused assets for the community like food trucks and job fairs that left the key problem they are creating unaddressed (pollution in the Northside neighborhood).
We talk about the police murder of Patrick Lyoya, our reactions to the video and events, and dig a little deeper into just why families like Patrick Lyoya's had to flee the Democratic Republic of Congo- a depressingly familiar series of events involving CIA backed assassinations and dictators.
Later in the program we look at how the Michigan GOP has picked its far-right, Trump endorsed candidates for secretary of state and attorney general- with goals like prosecuting Gretchen Whitmer and Jocelyn Benson for (completely made-up) election malfeasance and making critical race theory unconstitutional.
01:00- 13:55 Graphic Packaging Offers Kzoo Residents Crumbs
15:15- 27:00 Kzoo Sheriff Dept Stings Local Predators
27:40- 47:30 Patrick Lyoya, Police Brutality, and the Imperialist Legacy in the DRC
50:50- 53:50 Ron DeSantis Banning K-12 Math Books Due To... Critical Race Theory???
53:50- 1:15:50 Nina Turner Runs Again & The Progressive Caucus Gets Regressive
1:15:50- 1:35:25 Michigan GOP Picks Its Far Right SOS & Attorney General Candidates
Background Music by Quantum Fleek
Wednesday Apr 20, 2022
Wednesday Apr 20, 2022
We sit down with journalist Kathryn Joyce to discuss her series of articles at Salon spotlighting Michigan's own Hillsdale College and its role in the current right-wing push to transform and dismantle public education. We discuss the history of the college and how it ties into its current role in creating many of the right-wing strategies on education we see around the country, how this is functioning at a ground level at school board meetings and media propaganda, and how it ties into an overall goal to siphon public funds into schools that share the Hillsdale curriculum (i.e., light on harsh truths, heavy on the American exceptionalism).
"Salon investigates: The war on public schools is being fought from Hillsdale College"
"Battleground Michigan: GOP joins with militant far right in campaign against democracy"