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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
Sunday Aug 13, 2023
Sunday Aug 13, 2023
We talk with Dr. Joshua Morris about their recent book "The Many Worlds of American Communism," a sprawling and essential historical text that looks at the history of both grassroots and political institutions of the communist and pan-Socialist left from the early 20th century through the post-war years and McCarthyism.
We unearth lost grassroots histories, closely examine the victories and contradictions of American communism, chart the party and the American left's decline through both its internal contradictions and the onslaught of anti-communism and McCarthyism, and spend some time talking about some important organizing and events that are Pure Michigan.
SOURCES/ FURTHER READING
The Many Worlds of American Communism
By Dr. Joshua Morris
https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781793631961/The-Many-Worlds-of-American-Communism
Ideas They Cannot Jail
The Autobiography of Eugene Dennis
General Secretary of the Communist Party of the United States
https://archive.org/details/ideastheycannotj0000euge/page/n3/mode/2up
Communist Councilman from Harlem
Autobiographical Notes Written in a Federal Penitentiary
By Benjamin J. Davis
https://www.amazon.com/Communist-Councilman-Harlem-Autobiographical-Penitentiary/dp/0717806804
Trotskyists on Trial
Free Speech and Political Persecution Since the Age of FDR
By Donna T. Haverty-Stacke
https://nyupress.org/9781479851942/trotskyists-on-trial/
The Narrative of Hosea Hudson
His Life as a Negro Communist in the South
By Nell Irvin Painter
https://archive.org/details/narrativeofhosea0000huds
Red Feminism
American Communism and the Making of Women's Liberation
By Kate Weigand
https://press.jhu.edu/books/title/2245/red-feminism
Joy in the Struggle
My Life and Love
By Beatrice Lumpkin
https://www.intpubnyc.com/browse/joy-in-the-struggle/
Thursday Aug 03, 2023
Thursday Aug 03, 2023
We are joined by Ben Lando, a reporter with NowKalamazoo, to discuss his recent articles detailing the concerns of KPS workers in a survey they conducted, as well as looking at burnout of local mental health workers and other associated issues.
SOURCES
KPS educators and administration at odds on solving teacher shortage
The people helping you avoid burnout are burnt out. That’s not good for anyone.
Saturday Jul 29, 2023
Saturday Jul 29, 2023
We begin with a round-up of local stories affecting the city of Kalamazoo and the state of Michigan- how new enforcement of ordinances is putting pressure on houseless residents, how young people in Kalamazoo are responding to the climate crisis, legal fallout for individuals who pushed the "Stop the Steal" narrative in 2020, and more.
Norah then joins the conversation to look at how Ottawa has voted to become a "constitutional" county. We look at the movement behind this vote and how it often uses the fig-leaf of the constitution to grow a broader right-wing anti-government coalition and ask, constitutional rights for whom, exactly?
As commissioners in Ottawa crow about the tyrannical government we look at the tyrannical government in action and the violations of human rights occurring in ICE detention centers.
We talk about an important story from The Nation that sketches out how the Western Media has largely used their platform to rehabilitate the Neo-Nazi Azov Battalion in Ukraine- even many outlets that had highlighted their fascist bonafides over the course of the last decade. We talk about what this means from a media scrutiny lens and the deeper implications for U.S. imperialism.
We close out with a brief discussion about several bills that could further censor and deter freedom of movement on the internet.
01:30- 10:00 KDPS Ticketing of Houseless Residents Escalates
10:10- 16:25 Megan Maddock Resigns From KPS Board
17:15- 23:30 Local Climate March in Kzoo
23:35- 27:50 WWMT Frames UPS Strike as Hurting Local Businesses
28:10- 37:30 False Trump Electors Face Felony Charges in Michigan
38:40- 51:10 Ottawa Becomes "Constitutional" County
51:20- 1:05:20 Humans Rights Abuses on Immigrants by ICE
1:05:30- 1:26:30 The Whitewashing of the Neo-Nazi Azov Battalion by Western Media
1:26:40- 1:31:30 Internet Censorship and Control
SOURCES/ FURTHER READING
More homeless people ticketed in parks as Kalamazoo ramps up enforcement
https://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/2023/07/more-homeless-people-ticketed-in-parks-as-kalamazoo-ramps-up-enforcement.html
Kalamazoo school board member resigns; 2nd departure in 6 weeks
https://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/2023/07/kalamazoo-school-board-member-resigns-2nd-departure-in-6-weeks.html
‘Right now’: masked marchers demand climate crisis action
https://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/2023/07/right-now-masked-marchers-demand-climate-crisis-action.html
Potential UPS strike threatens small businesses in Kalamazoo
https://wwmt.com/news/local/ups-union-workers-strike-delaying-package-deliveries-new-contract-agreement-lanas-boutique-industry-employees
16 false Trump electors face felony charges in Michigan
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/michigan/2023/07/18/michigan-donald-trump-fake-electors-charged-felonies-attorney-general-dana-nessel/70427042007/
Ottawa County becomes ‘constitutional county’
https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2023/05/ottawa-county-becomes-constitutional-county.html
Chicago police officers investigated for abusing migrant youth forced to sleep in police stations
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/07/15/dhir-j15.html
“Immensely Invisible”: Immigrant Women in ICE Jails Face Sexual Abuse Despite Reforms, Report Reveals
https://www.democracynow.org/2023/7/21/maria_hinojosa_immensely_invisible_ice_detention
DOJ Threatens to Sue Texas Gov. Abbott for Installing Barrels Wrapped in Razor Wire in Rio Grande
https://www.democracynow.org/2023/7/24/texas_border_abbott
The Western Media Is Whitewashing the Azov Battalion
https://www.thenation.com/article/world/azov-battalion-neo-nazi/
You Can Help Stop These Bad Internet Bills
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/07/you-can-help-stop-these-bad-internet-bills
Background Music by Quantum Fleek
Friday Jul 21, 2023
Friday Jul 21, 2023
On today's program we begin with a couple of important articles that provide serious analysis to issues around the state.
NowKalamazoo recently published a special report on the challenges facing Kalamazoo teachers in our school system. LeftVoice provides us with a critical update on the striking grad students at the University of Michigan, and looks at how the administration is engaging in some deceptive propaganda around the concept of a 'living wage.'
We are joined by our co-hosts Lawrence and Norah and talk about some important local environmental issues. Last week there was a massive dumping of duplicitous doo-doo into the Kalamazoo River, and the lawsuit against Graphic Packaging for polluting the Northside neighborhood will be moving forward.
Pivoting to national news we look at the big story around SAG-AFTRA joining the writer's guild in one of the most monumental strike actions in the entertainment industry in 60 years. We talk about the conditions that lead to the strike, break down the reductive propaganda about the actor's union being an exclusive providence for residents of the Hollywood hills, and how the larger points around AI factor into broader worker's struggles.
The Biden administration has unveiled its newest student debt relief plan. While maneuvering around the legal hurdles imposed by the Supreme Court, it is another exercise in lowered expectations addressing a problem that is unique to American capitalism.
We close the show by looking at transphobia in Traverse City and Hamtramck. The Traverse City story highlights the aftermath of the disastrous Supreme Court decision, and in Hamtramck we talk about how municipalities can weaponize the decision- and how the Hamtramck city council is making a fundamental error in the necessity of solidarity (the same people who are coming after the LGBTQ+ community are similarly prejudiced against the all-Muslim city council).
We then talk about the transphobic rhetoric coming from progressive news outlet "The Young Turks"- where they lost their way and how it emboldens transphobes on the right.
01:30- 13:20 NowKalamazoo Article Highlights Struggles of KPS Teachers
13:21- 26:00 Update on Grad Student Strike at University of Michigan
27:55- 34:50 A Crappy Week For the Kalamazoo River
34:50- 49:30 Graphic Packaging Lawsuit Moves Forward
49:30- 54:20 A Brief Discussion on Billionaires and Submarines
54:30- 1:14:20 Lights! Camera! Strike Action! Writers & Actors Unite
1:14:50- 1:30:00 Student Debt- Biden's New Plan and Neoliberalism in Action
--1:30:00- Student Debt and the Supreme Court
1:32:00- 1:50:20 Transphobia in Michigan and "The Young Terfs"
SOURCES/ FURTHER READING
KPS educators and administration at odds on solving teacher shortage
The University of Michigan Exploits Graduate Workers, Refuses to Pay a Living Wage
No-contact order for Kalamazoo river lifted after wastewater discharge
Federal judge rules lawsuit against Graphic Packaging can move forward
Thousands of actors join picket lines in Los Angeles and New York
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/07/15/jslr-j15.html
How Biden's latest student loan forgiveness differs from debt relief blocked by Supreme Court
A Michigan Hair Salon Is Refusing Trans Clients, Citing Pronouns and Pedophiles
https://www.them.us/story/michigan-hair-salon-refusing-trans-clients
Detroit-area human relations commissioners ousted after flying LGBTQ+ flag in violation of new ban
Wednesday Jul 12, 2023
Wednesday Jul 12, 2023
We begin today's show by paying respects to a member of Kalamazoo's activist community who tragically passed away last month. Boudicca Marie was a prolific volunteer, medic, and friend to many. We honor their memory and talk about what social justice issues were close to their heart.
We then look at a spate of anti-homeless ordinances that have been popping up across the state- from here in Kalamazoo to Hillsdale and Grand Rapids. We talk about how NIMBYism filters into public policy and the real solutions that need to be looked at to address houselessness in our communities.
The far-right PAC "Grand New Party" is bringing the notorious fascist murderer Kyle Rittenhouse to Michigan for a fundraiser event in Grand Haven. We deep dive into exactly who Grand New Party is as a political PAC and the incendiary rhetoric and propaganda they push.
We share a piece from The Intercept detailing the way the FBI hired out private companies to spy on Black Lives Matter organizers on social media.
We then ask the question, what to a Socialist is the Fourth of July?
02:30- 7:50 R.I.P. Boudicca
09:30- 22:20 Anti-Homeless Ordinances in Kzoo & Michigan
24:20- 1:01:30 Brunch with a Murderer: Far-Right Michigan PAC Fundraises With Kyle Rittenhouse
1:02:50- 1:06:00 Ann Arbor to Launch Universal Basic Income Pilot
1:06:10- 1:14:30 FBI Surveils Black Lives Matter Activists on Social Media
1:14:40- 1:19:20 What to a Socialist is the Fourth of July?
SOURCES
Cities call it public safety, but new rules put Michigan’s homeless in the crosshairs
Michigan lawmaker launches 'Grand New Party' PAC, says GOP was 'too passive'
Ann Arbor is launching a guaranteed income program. What that means
https://www.bridgemi.com/business-watch/ann-arbor-launching-guaranteed-income-program-what-means
FBI Hired Social Media Surveillance Firm That Labeled Black Lives Matter Organizers “Threat Actors”
https://theintercept.com/2023/07/06/fbi-social-media-surveillance-zerofox/
Recorded live on 89.1 WIDR July 11th, 2023
Background music by Quantum Fleek
Wednesday May 31, 2023
Wednesday May 31, 2023
In this episode we talk about the attempted disruption of two separate drag events in the Kalamazoo area by fascist elements- how the community responded, what happened at the site, the role of a firmly mask-off Kalamazoo GOP spreading anti-LGBTQ propaganda, the response from local media, and more.
In our second part we update you on the latest in Ottawa County where the commission is moving forward to make Ottawa a "constitutional county." A piece from the Holland Sentinel sheds light on what this all means and the extremist ideology behind it.
0:30- 34:00 Drag The Fash- Reactionaries Mobilize Against Local Drag Events
34:40- Ottawa Impact Update
SOURCES
Is Ottawa County becoming a 'blueprint for America'? What happens next? (hollandsentinel.com)
Wednesday May 03, 2023
Wednesday May 03, 2023
Just in time for International Worker's Day we begin our show with an interview with local community organizer and playwright Daniel Smith to discuss his play "Slipping" which will be going up this weekend with the Open House theater company. The play follows a group of young people as they struggle with late-stage capitalism and their efforts to start a union at their work place.
We give you some details about what is on the ballot on the May 2nd election and give you some good news about the status of the potential car wash at Asylum Lake
We discuss a wide range of stories as we're joined by our full team of commentators- the late, great Harry Belafonte, Nancy Pelosi accepting an award from corporate health care lobbyists, Tucker Carlson and Don Lemon's respective firings from their mainstream news networks, Joe Biden's decision to run again and the decision to forgo primaries and debates, and how the state legislatures in Tennessee and Montana have gone out of their way to silence progressive politicians from the black and LGBTQ+ communities.
0:00- 30:30 "Slipping" an Upcoming Play by Daniel Smith
32:00- 36:40 The May 2nd Election, What's on the Ballot
36:40- 40:30 For Now, There Will Be No Car Wash at Asylum Lake
45:15- 50:10 Rest in Power Harry Belafonte
50:25- 1:05:40 Nancy Pelosi Accepts Award for Defending For Profit Healthcare
1:08:00- 1:31:50 Tucker Carlson & Don Lemon Get Fired From Corporate Media
1:31:50- 1:49:10 The Coronation of Joe Biden
1:49:10- 2:00:30 GOP Silencing Marginalized Reps in Tennessee & Montana
"Slipping" by Daniel Smith
Background Music by Quantum Fleek
Wednesday Apr 26, 2023
Wednesday Apr 26, 2023
We begin our program by playing back some important speeches from the "No Car Wash at Asylum Lake" protest that happened over the weekend at Arcadia Park. For the second time in less than five years 'Drive N Shine' was attempting to buy up land to build a new wash at the corner of Stadium and Drake- far too close for comfort to the Asylum Lake preserve. We look at how area residents have organized in the past to protect our green spaces and at the science behind what a potential disaster a car wash near Asylum Lake could be. UPDATE: For now, the city has taken rezoning the area off the table following public outcry.
We then look at a binding agreement coming from the Allegan County GOP asking its members to pledge to a laundry list of far-right peccadilloes and rhetoric. We scrutinize the document and talk about how national fascist propaganda has local consequences.
Looking eastward we look at an article from LeftVoice about how the graduate student union at University of Michigan is striking for themselves and the community, and the various levers of repression the university is throwing- from police intervention to trying to divide the working class at the university against itself.
SOURCES/ FURTHER READING
'Our Walden Pond is Threatened': Citizens want to protect lake preserve from development
Kalamazoo pulls properties near lake preserve off rezoning list after public outcry
Allegan County GOP Document
Michigan's Clean Slate Law Goes Into Effect
University of Michigan Graduate Student Strike Continues in the Face of Increasing Retaliation
R.I.P. Harry Belafonte
https://www.democracynow.org/2023/4/25/harry_belafonte_legendary_singer_actor_activist
Recorded Live at 89.1 WIDR on April 25th, 2023
Background Music by Quantum Fleek
Monday Apr 10, 2023
Monday Apr 10, 2023
In this installment of Book Club we are joined by local professor and expert in the sociology of American militarism and imperialism Randy LaPrairie to discuss the new book from peace activist Medea Benjamin and author Benjamin J.S. Davies "War in Ukraine: Making Sense of a Senseless Conflict."
In our sprawling discussion we talk about the U.S.'s role in the conflict, the important (and often obscured) recent history in Ukraine leading up to the war, the role of far-right elements in Ukraine, the media's role in exacerbating the conflict and censoring anti-war voices, and the alarming prospect of nuclear war.
THE BOOK
War in Ukraine: Making Sense of a Senseless Conflict
By Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J.S. Davies
https://www.orbooks.com/catalog/war-in-ukraine/
Wednesday Mar 29, 2023
Wednesday Mar 29, 2023
On today's show we start by looking at the newest development in the long and storied history of a potential Kalamazoo Events Center downtown. SouthWest Michigan First is looking at moving forward with the long-discussed event center with private funds. We talk about the public response to previous attempts to fund an events center, the issues that occur when big projects like this are built in communities, and look at broader questions about control over land use and public space is in the hands of the few and not the many.
We read from an article that takes a critical look at the lack of equity in Kalamazoo Public Schools, and how the schools are falling short for students along class and racial lines.
The Michigan GOP has recently made a comparison between the legislature's recent gun control measures and the holocaust. We give you some important historical context to not only illustrate the grossness of such a comparison but how it also relies on ignorance and hypocrisy.
We close out with an article from LeftVoice about the mass protests in France.
2:20- 20:40 The Ongoing Saga of the Kalamazoo Events Center
21:00- 27:30 Racial Equity in Kalamazoo Public Schools
28:40- 42:45 Michigan GOP Compares Gun Control to Holocaust
43:00- 53:00 TikTok and the New Red Scare
53:00- The Working Class Rising Up in France
SOURCES/ FURTHER READING
Task force identifies inequitable practices in Kalamazoo Public Schools
Michigan GOP chair refuses to apologize for comparing gun control to Holocaust
Hands off My TikTok. Banning It Would Hurt the Most Marginalized
https://www.newsweek.com/hands-off-my-tiktok-banning-it-would-hurt-most-marginalized-opinion-1789597
US Congress holds anti-China witch-hunt at TikTok hearing
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/03/25/tikt-m25.html
“French March”: The Right to Revolutionary Optimism
https://www.leftvoice.org/french-march-the-right-to-revolutionary-optimism/