Media Cyphers Kalamazoo

We look at some funding from the state of Michigan that will bolster affordable housing options for workers at Bronson hospital. We also give some updates on the AI data center being proposed in Saline.

 

Lawrence joins us to talk again about the year that was, and how last year's media consolidation, unmasked federal fascism, the genocide in Gaza, and the Epstein scandal played out in the context of the murder of Renee Good at the hands of ICE.

 

02:40- 14:10 Housing Program For Bronson Workers Gets State Funding

14:45- 22:40 Michiganders vs. AI Update

23:00- 1:53:00 Damage Report Pt. II- 2025 and the Murder of Renee Good

 

SOURCES/ FURTHER READING

 

Michigan helps employers build housing in Detroit, Kalamazoo as fund runs dry 
https://bridgemi.com/michigan-government/michigan-helps-employers-build-housing-in-detroit-kalamazoo-as-fund-runs-dry/

 

Nessel and advocates seek rehearing on conditional approval of DTE data center contracts
https://michiganadvance.com/2026/01/09/nessel-and-advocates-seek-rehearing-on-conditional-approval-of-dte-data-center-contracts

 

Renee Good’s Killing Has Unleashed MAGA’s Misogyny
https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/renee-good-jd-vance-sexism-maga/

 

ICE Is on a Violent, Illegal, Immoral Rampage
https://jacobin.com/2026/01/ice-violence-illegal-immigration-protests

 

The holidays are still special, and we talk about the importance of going into the new year with hope.

 

We look at some local stories about how the cuts in HUD funding will impact housing in Kalamazoo and the shortage of workers in Michigan nursing homes.

 

Sarah from Kalamazoo Non-Violent Opponents of War joins us to discuss the kidnapping of President Maduro from Venezuela. We break down the imperial ambitions of the Trump administration and the importance of popular resistance.

 

We then look back and assess the damage of 2025.

 

0:00- 8:20 I Believe That We Will Win

 

8:35- 19:25 How HUD Funding Gap is Impacting Kzoo

 

19:55- 29:50 Worker Shortage in Michigan Nursing Homes

 

30:31- 58:30 Hands Off Venezuela w/ Sarah from KNOW

 

59:25- 1:30:46 Damage Report: Looking Back at 2025

 

SOURCES/ FURTHER READING

 

Housed – but for how long?
https://nowkalamazoo.org/2025/12/housed-but-for-how-long/?

 

Michigan nursing homes have few staff, little training. Misery can follow 
https://bridgemi.com/michigan-health-watch/michigan-nursing-homes-have-few-staff-little-training-misery-can-follow/

 

“Venezuela Is Not Going to Be a U.S. Colony”: Report from Caracas on U.S. Attack & Maduro Abduction
https://www.democracynow.org/2026/1/5/us_venezuela_trump_maduro

 

Kalamazoo braces for large turnout as it considers rezoning land near Asylum Lake
https://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/2026/01/kalamazoo-braces-for-large-turnout-as-it-considers-rezoning-land-near-asylum-lake.html

 

We look at a story from ProPublica about how tariffs are impacting a small business here in SW Michigan, how local conservative politicians have done a 180 on their views on free market economics under Trump 2.0, and how it has effected our state's trade relationship with Canada.

 

Lawrence joins us to break down the eerily familiar beating of the wars drums towards a conflict with Venezuela. We talk about the implications of a new gambling gimmick around betting on current events, and look at the implications of the pending Warner Bros. merger.

 

We close out bookending our conversation on broken clocks talking about Marjorie Taylor Greene.

 

3:35- 23:30 Broken Clocks- Tariffs and Their Impact in SW Michigan

 

26:00- 52:50 "It's Like Poetry, It Rhymes" The War Drums Beating for Venezuela

 

53:30- 1:03:00 Hedging Our Bets- The Dangers of Gambling on the News

 

1:03:30- 1:20:15 When Media Consolidates Warn a Brother- The Warner Bros. Merger

 

1:20:30- 1:32:00 The Notorious MTG or She is Still NOT Invited to the Cook Out

 

SOURCES/ FURTHER READING

 

Tariffs take hold in west Michigan, home of former critic turned champion 
https://bridgemi.com/business-watch/tariffs-take-hold-in-west-michigan-home-of-former-critic-turned-champion

 

A Short History of the Long War on Drugs in Latin America
https://www.thenation.com/article/world/war-on-drugs-latin-america/#

 

Building the Commune: Radical Democracy in Venezuela
https://www.versobooks.com/products/147-building-the-commune

 

Stop the Merger Madness
https://pressingissues.org/stop-the-merger-madness/

 

Jane Fonda Op-Ed: The WBD Deal Puts Hollywood, and Democracy, at Risk
https://theankler.com/p/jane-fonda-op-ed-the-wbd-deal-puts

 

We begin our show with an interview with Pinehurst Tenants Union organizer April Ailes. We discuss the challenges around organizing a tenants union, setbacks, victories, and how public pressure gets the goods.

 

Speaking of public pressure small communities all over Michigan are standing against the construction of AI Data Centers in their backyard- protecting their environment and their wallets.

 

Lawrence joins us and we talk about a recent march of bigots in the mostly Arab- American community of Dearborn, the particularly egregious "both sides" coverage by MSM, and the emotional projection implied in white Christian nationalists protesting "Sharia Law."

 

Everyone has a take about Mamdani meeting Trump and we didn't want to be left out. Congress also wants the left out, signing on to a resolution denouncing socialism.

 

0:00- 21:25 Interview w/ Pine Tenants Union Organizer April Ailes

 

22:45- 37:00 Rage Against the Machine- Michiganders Vs. AI Data Centers

 

37:15- 50:50 Dipsh-ts in Dearborn- Racists March in Michigan Town

 

51:10- 57:30 MAGA and Off-Shore Astroturfing

 

57:30- 1:10:30 Mamdani Meets Trump and DSA Politics

 

1:10:30- 1:26:00 Red Scared- Congress Votes to Denounce Socialism

 

1:26:00- 1:29:59 Hip-Hop and the Grammys

 

SOURCES/ FURTHER READING

 

Pinehurst Tenants Union
dtenant7@gmail.com

 

Local governments should serve residents, not corporations. Data centers do the opposite.
https://michiganadvance.com/2025/11/20/local-governments-should-serve-residents-not-corporations-data-centers-do-the-opposite/

 

Chicago’s Left Experiment
https://thedigradio.com/podcast/chicagos-left-experiment/

 

Denouncing Socialism Can’t Stop a Generation That’s Embracing It
https://www.leftvoice.org/denouncing-socialism-cant-stop-a-generation-thats-embracing-it

 

We start by talking a bit about the Kalamazoo election results, the low turn out, and how the Foundation For Excellence hollows out democracy in our humble town.

 

An art installation at the University of Michigan has been moved around out of view in a dubious fashion, and Michigan's own Rashida Tlaib is leading the charge to recognize the genocide in Gaza and legislate accordingly.

 

We give a brief update on Asylum Lake and look at a story about the Michigan Department of Education revising sex ed with gender identity and sexual orientation.

 

Lawrence joins us to talk about the election results earlier this month on a national level, Dems caving in over the shut down, and we give a full-throated response to recent revelations about Trump's connection to Epstein and Epstein's connection to Israeli intelligence.

 

01:55- 14:25 Kalamazoo Election Results and Kalamazoo's Oligarchy

 

15:10- 23:00 U of M Censors Pro Palestine Quilt

 

23:30- 27:30 Rashida Tlaib Introduces Resolution to Recognize Gaza Genocide

 

28:50- 32:45 Update on Asylum Lake

 

32:50- 40:10 MI Dept of Ed Updates Sex Ed Curriculum to be Inclusive of Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation

 

41:20- 47:20  You Don't Mess With the Zohran

 

47:20- 1:01:00 Dems Cave on Shutdown After Election Night

 

1:01:00- 1:37:15 The Truth is a Mouthful: The Epstein Files

 

SOURCES/ FURTHER READING

 

Kalamazoo County Election Results
https://app.enhancedvoting.com/results/public/kalamazoo-county-mi/elections/Nov-4th-2025

 

The University of Michigan is censoring a quilt?
https://michiganadvance.com/2025/11/12/the-university-of-michigan-is-censoring-a-quilt/

 

Tlaib Introduces Resolution to Recognize Gaza Genocide, Call for Arms Embargo
https://truthout.org/articles/tlaib-introduces-resolution-to-recognize-gaza-genocide-call-for-arms-embargo

 

Michigan adopts updated sex education standards after contentious meeting
https://bridgemi.com/talent-education/michigan-adopts-updated-sex-education-standards-after-contentious-meeting/

 

Kalamazoo Planning Commission unanimously rejects rezoning land near Asylum Lake
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/kalamazoo-planning-commission-unanimously-rejects-rezoning-land-near-asylum-lake

 

Democrats Caved in the Shutdown Because of the Filibuster
https://jacobin.com/2025/11/democrats-shutdown-filibuster-party-radicals

 

Israeli Spy Stayed for Weeks at a Time With Jeffrey Epstein in Manhattan
https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/israeli-spy-yoni-koren-stayed-jeffrey-epstein-apartment-ehud-barak

 

 

We begin our show talking about push back from residents in Pavilion Township against a new data center.

 

Lawrence joins us to talk a bit about election day and we spend time talking about the SNAP freeze, potential Michigan solutions and the politicians in its way, and an alarming development from Fox News who recently boosted AI generated videos- presenting them as real- that echoed racist welfare dog-whistles from the 80s.

 

Dick Cheney has died and as a couple of elder millennials who came of age in the Bush years we have a few things to say about it.

 

We spend the next part of our show in discussion with Josh Keiser of the Asylum Lake Preservation Association about the most recent efforts of an developer to rezone some adjacent land commercial and develop it. We talk about the existential threat this poses to the preserve and about why Kalamazoo residents have to had to keep pushing on this issue for the better part of a decade.

 

Lawrence and I discuss a Michigan Republican representative becoming hysterical over some sidewalk chalk outside their office, and close with a short discussion about Erika Kirk and JD Vance.*

 

*Due to connection issues this conversation was cut off and the audio was unable to be recovered.

 

03:55- 9:45 Pavilion Township Says No to New Data Center

 

10:00- 15:00 Election Day Chat

 

15:00- 27:25  EBT/ SNAP Updates

 

27:25- 37:00 CBS and Teen Vogue Have Journalism Departments Gutted By Conservative Owners

 

37:00- 48:30 Dick in a Box: The Legacy of Former VP Dick Cheney

 

49:00- 1:18:40 Protecting Asylum Lake Preserve w/ Josh Keiser

 

1:20:30- 1:25:20 Michigan Rep Calls Sidewalk Chalk and Cute Pumpkins "Vandalism"

 

1:25:20- 1:26:51 Erika Kirk and JD Vance

SOURCES/ FURTHER READING

 

Community concerns halt proposed data center project in Kalamazoo County
https://wwmt.com/news/local/data-center-indistrial-hub-pavilion-township-community-concerns-halt-project-kalamazoo-county-franklin-partners-llc

 

Michigan Senate approves $71M for food aid ahead of SNAP benefits pause 
https://www.mlive.com/politics/2025/10/michigan-senate-approves-71m-for-food-aid-ahead-of-snap-benefits-pause.html

 

Michigan House speaker rejects Senate’s $71M food aid bill ahead of SNAP pause
https://www.mlive.com/politics/2025/10/michigan-house-speaker-rejects-senates-71m-food-aid-bill-ahead-of-snap-pause.html

 

CBS News Guts Climate Team as New Conservative Management Takes Charge
https://truthout.org/articles/cbs-news-guts-climate-team-as-new-conservative-management-takes-charge

 

Fox News criticized for publishing AI-generated videos of SNAP recipients
https://www.msn.com/en-us/technology/artificial-intelligence/fox-news-criticized-for-publishing-ai-generated-videos-of-snap-recipients/ar-AA1PK70L

 

Asylum Lake Preservation Association
https://www.asylumlakepreservationassociation.org/

 

No Tom, sidewalk chalk is not ‘vandalism’ or even a crime. But gutting Medicaid and SNAP funding is
https://michiganadvance.com/2025/11/03/no-tom-sidewalk-chalk-is-not-vandalism-or-even-a-crime-but-gutting-medicaid-and-snap-funding-is

 

We spend the first part of our show running down the candidates running for mayor and city commission here in Kalamazoo. 

 

A local hero returns after participating in the Freedom Flotilla and FEMA is refusing funds to help northern Michiganders rebuild after a devastating ice storm last March.

 

In Maple Grove, Michigan an elected official is in hot water for being married to a Neo-Nazi YouTuber.

 

And we close with coverage on the withholding of EBT/ SNAP benefits across the country, the devastation it with have on the working class as a whole, and why it may be the Trump administration's "Let them eat cake" moment.

 

01:30- 32:25 Local Election Rundown- The Candidates, the Policies, and the Money

 

33:25- 37:25 Local Hero Khalid Jamal Returns from The Freedom Flotilla

 

37:40- 43:35 Feds Say No Aid for Northern Michiganders Hit by Ice Storm in March

 

44:10- 59:25 I Did Nazi That Coming, Or False Neutrality Bias Run Amok in Maple Grove, Michigan

 

1:00:00- 1:17:20 When the Poor Have Nothing Left to Eat They Will Eat the Rich: The SNAP/ EBT Crisis

 

SOURCES/ FURTHER READING

 

Watch and read the Kalamazoo mayoral and commission forum
https://nowkalamazoo.org/2025/10/watch-and-read-the-kalamazoo-mayoral-and-commission-forum/

 

Look Up Candidate Finance Reports
https://kalamazoo.mi.campaignfinance.us/

 

Interview w/ Chris Glasser
https://youtu.be/RJq1yuML01Q?si=RrJ64wUin2QOFwB4&t=1140

 

Kalamazoo area man returns home after flotilla to Gaza intercepted
https://www.fox17online.com/news/local-news/kzoo-bc/kalamazoo/kalamazoo-area-man-returns-home-after-flotilla-to-gaza-intercepted

 

Feds deny Michigan request for homeowner aid following ice storm 
https://bridgemi.com/michigan-government/feds-deny-michigan-request-for-homeowner-aid-following-ice-storm

 

A Michigan elected official is married to a neo-Nazi. Some constituents have a problem with that. 
https://www.mlive.com/news/2025/10/a-michigan-elected-official-is-married-to-a-neo-nazi-some-constituents-have-a-problem-with-that.html

 

Veterans, rural residents, older adults may lose food stamps due to Trump work requirements
https://michiganadvance.com/2025/10/21/repub/veterans-rural-residents-older-adults-may-lose-food-stamps-due-to-trump-work-requirements

 

Trump prepared to starve tens of millions of Americans by allowing food stamp funding to run out Saturday
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2025/10/27/dvyg-o27.html

 

Feeding Broncos
https://feedingbroncos.org/

 

Kalamazoo Loaves & Fishes
https://kzoolf.org/

 

We briefly comment on Kalamazoo's new city manager and look at legislation that would penalize the houseless for sleeping in their cars at highway rest areas in Michigan.

 

Lukas Filcek joins us to discuss his work to bring Rank Choice Voting to Michigan with the Rank MI Vote organization.

 

Lawrence joins us to look back at Charlie Kirk's legacy, and we spend most of the hour talking about the No Kings protests. While they had the largest turnout in American history we also warn about the potential for that energy to be co-opted into the neoliberal status quo of the Democratic Party as well as the necessity to disrupt business as usual rather than just hold up some signs and go to brunch.

 

We look at a Supreme Court decision that could decimate the protections in the Voting Rights Act and at how Israel's firing on Gazans has failed to cease- and the western mainstream media refusing to hold them accountable.

 

01:25- 5:30 Brief Comments on Kzoo City Manager Selection

 

5:30- 17:00 Penalizing the Houseless at the Highway Rest Stop in Michigan

 

17:10- 38:30 Interview w/ Lukas Filcek on Bringing Rank Choice Voting to Michigan

 

39:00- 1:10:00 No Kings- Unprecedented Turnout, The Danger of Co-optation, and Why Disruption is the Missing Ingredient (And Some Thoughts from Lawrence on Charlie Kirk)

 

1:10:40- 1:19:15 Supreme Court Poised to Gut the Voting Rights Act

 

1:19:15- 1:30:00 Palestinians Cease, Israel Fires: Continued Carnage and Media Bias

 

SOURCES/ FURTHER READING

 

Kalamazoo City Commission votes to offer city manager position to newcomer Malcolm Hankins
https://wwmt.com/news/local/kalamazoo-city-commission-votes-city-manager-malcolm-hankins-new-laura-lam-elle-cole-government-wwmt

 

Hearings set for proposed ban on living in vehicles at Michigan rest areas, carpool lots 
https://www.mlive.com/politics/2025/10/hearings-set-for-proposed-ban-on-living-in-vehicles-at-michigan-rest-areas-carpool-lots.html

 

Bring Ranked Choice Voting to Michigan
https://rankmivote.org/

 

No Kings, No Bosses, No Billionaires: Fighting the Right in Detroit Demands Working-Class Power
https://www.leftvoice.org/no-kings-no-bosses-no-billionaires-fighting-the-right-in-detroit-demands-working-class-power

 

Israel massacres 45 Palestinians in a single day, exposing fraud of “peace” deal
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2025/10/20/dpky-o20.html

 

We open talking about a conservative turn in Japanese politics and the fallout of the big BS bill on healthcare in Michigan.

 

We spent the rest of the hour talking to Chris Glasser, a candidate for mayor here in Kalamazoo.

 

We take a critical eye to a recent story from WWMT framing housing in strictly capitalist terms from a landlord's perspective, then pivot to some international stories including the not-so-noble recipient of the Noble Peace prize and the ceasefire in Gaza.

 

03:45- 9:25 Japan to Get Their Very Own Margaret Thatcher

 

9:30- 18:30 Healthcare Fallout from the Big BS Bill in Michigan

 

19:00- 50:00 Interview w/ Chris Glasser for Kzoo Mayor

 

51:30- 57:30 Capitalist Realism in Media via a Squatting Story on WWMT

 

58:15- 1:09:00 The Not-So-Noble Nobel Prize or Who is Maria Corina Mochado?

 

1:09:40- 1:26:35 Ceasefire (?) in Gaza and Western Media Bias

 

SOURCES/ FURTHER READING

 

Japan’s ruling party elects Sanae Takaichi as new leader, likely to become first female PM
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/04/japan-takaichi-prime-minister-00594260

 

No savings for Michigan, only cuts to health care
https://michiganadvance.com/2025/10/08/no-savings-for-michigan-only-cuts-to-health-care/

 

How Michigan aims to maintain Medicaid funding amid changing U.S. landscape
https://www.mlive.com/news/2025/10/how-michigan-aims-to-maintain-medicaid-funding-amid-changing-us-landscape.html

 

Chris Glasser for Mayor
https://www.chrisglasser.com/

 

Michigan considers getting tougher on squatters with SHIELD Act
https://www.mlive.com/news/2025/10/how-michigan-aims-to-maintain-medicaid-funding-amid-changing-us-landscape.html

 

Nobel Prize for imperialist war and regime change goes to Washington’s Venezuelan puppet María Corina Machado
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2025/10/11/sjsy-o11.html

 

Despite Ceasefire, Netanyahu Vows Return to “Hard Way” If Hamas Isn’t Disarmed
https://truthout.org/articles/despite-ceasefire-netanyahu-vows-return-to-hard-way-if-hamas-isnt-disarmed

 

The Free Press Called Out "Incomplete" Reporting on Gaza's Starving Children. Here's the Complete Story.
https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/bari-weiss-free-press-incomplete-reporting-starvation-famine-children-palestinians-gaza

 

Communities here in Michigan, where water fluoridation began, are beginning to stop the public health measure amid misinformation and conspiracies about what fluoride does to our precious bodily fluids.

 

We look at an article from GRIID that examines how local news outlets often prioritize billionaire backed fluff stories over community organizing and stories about state violence.

 

The struggle against the genocide in Gaza continues at the University of Michigan and the recent purchase of TikTok by Larry Ellison continues an alarming trend of the mainstream corporate media being consolidated by the far-right.

 

Trump declares anti-fascists terrorists, union leaders in Italy are using the power of labor to force their government to send naval protection to the aid flotilla sailing towards Gaza, and we look at an open letter from recently departed revolutionary Assata Shakur to the U.S. media.

 

01:50- 19:20 The Tooth Hurts- Fluoride Misinformation and Oral Decay

 

20:00- 30:00 GRIID Examines How Local Media Prioritizes Billionaire Fluff Over Community Organizing

 

30:50- 41:00 The Struggle Against Gaza Genocide Continues at U of M

 

41:45- 55:20 Capitalist News Networks- Larry Ellison, TikTok, and the Consolidation of US Media

 

56:25- 1:05:45 Trump Declares Anti-Fascists Terrorists

 

1:06:30- 1:12:15 Labor Unions in Italy Force Their Gov't to Protect Gaza Aid Flotilla

 

1:12:15- 12:23:30 Assata Shakur's Open Letter to the Media (1998)

 

SOURCES/ FURTHER READING

 

Amid rise of RFK Jr., some Michigan communities ditch fluoride 
https://bridgemi.com/michigan-health-watch/amid-rise-of-rfk-jr-some-michigan-communities-ditch-fluoride

 

Local commercial news agencies prioritizes stories about new billionaire-owned soccer team name over how immigrant families are being terrorized by ICE
https://griid.org/2025/09/28/local-commercial-news-agencies-prioritizes-stories-about-new-billionaire-owned-soccer-team-name-over-how-immigrant-families-are-being-terrorized-by-ice/

 

Resistance at the University of Michigan was supposedly dead — In fact, it’s spreading
https://michiganadvance.com/2025/09/29/resistance-at-the-university-of-michigan-was-supposedly-dead-in-fact-its-spreading

 

As Ellison Buys Out TikTok, US Moves Toward One-Party Media
https://fair.org/home/as-ellison-buys-out-tiktok-us-moves-toward-one-party-media

 

Trump’s Idea of the Criminal Left Is a Fiction. A Coordinated Defense Against His Fascism Shouldn’t Be. 
https://theintercept.com/2025/09/19/trump-charlie-kirk-george-soros-antifa

 

Italian Unions Say They Are Ready to Strike After Attacks on Gaza Flotilla
https://www.leftvoice.org/italian-unions-say-they-are-ready-to-strike-after-attacks-on-gaza-flotilla

 

Assata Shakur: An open letter to the media (1998) 
https://amsterdamnews.com/news/2015/01/02/assata-shakur-open-letter-media-1998/