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A radio show, podcast, and radical media hub showcasing culture workers reshaping Chicago for the more equitable and creative. Listen to longform humanizing conversations with artists, organizers, performers, comedians, scholars, and more who are reimagining Chicago and beyond toward liberation. Hosted by Damon Williams and Daniel Kisslinger.
A dialectic shows up in many settings. Turns out djing is no exception. AirGo resident DJ crossfades back and forth between the left and right, kicking and calming, lightning and rainbow. Enjoy the Both/And. photo by Barry Butler (https://twitter.com/barrybutler9/) Music in this mix: Eterna Sunshine (The Pledge) - Jay Electronica Outro - Saba x Benjamin Earl Turner Raw - Smino Buenos Aires - Nathy Peluso Big Poppa - Notorious BIG Between the sheets - Isley Brothers Juke Juke - Chance the Rapper Rebelión - Joe Arroyo Rebelión - J. Balvin untitled 07 - Kendrick Lamar Kale - Koseph Chilliams x Noname Song 33 - Noname Oprah - Rapsody x Leikeli47 Lip Gloss - Lil Mama Fight Like Ida B & Marsha P - Ric Wilson Heaven All Around Me - Saba
Each month this year, we're going to revisit an episode from the 200+ episodes in the AirGo Archives and bring that conversation back to the forefront. This month, we're revisiting our convo with vocalist, musician, and songwriter bLAck pARty (aka Malik Flint) from February 2017. Recorded on the guys' first trip to LA together, they chopped it up heavy with the Childish Gambino and Kari Faux collaborator. Since the recording, Malik has released the excellent project Endless Summer (https://open.spotify.com/album/1i1hnI5ABCJE0CbbLsuIL1). Follow bLAck pARty on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/black.party/ Recorded 2/2017 in Los Angeles, CA Music from this episode: Summerlove - bLAck pARty Bloom - bLAck pARty
AirGo introduces The Abolition Suite, a month of episodes focusing on police and prison abolition, with this episode featuring AirGo fave Asha Ransby-Sporn. Asha and the guys talk about the upcoming Defund CPD Mass Resistance Trainings over Fourth of July weekend (https://actionnetwork.org/events/defund-cpd-mass-resistance-trainings), and go through the 11 demands of the Black Abolitionist Network and the DefundCPD campaign. NOTE: The 7/4 and 7/5 trainings are for Black people only. White and non-Black POC folks can sign up for the 7/3 training. Sign up HERE: https://actionnetwork.org/events/defund-cpd-mass-resistance-trainings Can't make the training? Sign on to demand the defunding of CPD HERE: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-on-to-demand-defunding-of-the-chicago-police-department This series of trainings is hosted by the Black Abolitionist Network as apart of the campaign to Defund CPD. Feel free to contact BAN at blackabolitionistnetwork@gmail.com with any accessibility needs or other concerns. Recorded 6/25 in Chicago Music from this week's show: Song 33 - Noname I Can See It - Darksunn
Black Youth Project has joined forces with AirGo for a year-long #BYPSpotlight series, featuring our favorite Black academics and activists. This special Juneteenth #BYPSpotlight episode is with poet Danez Smith. Danez is a Minneapolis native who has been intimately involved in the uprising that began in response to the murder of George Floyd by MPD officer Derek Chauvin. They are also the author of three award-winning collections of poetry, and the cohost of VS, a Poetry Foundation podcast produced by AirGo cohost Kiss. They talk about their experience over the last three weeks in the streets, how they contributed to demanding change from the Poetry Foundation, and much more. DONATE to The Hallie Q Brown Community Center: http://www.hallieqbrown.org/site/ Support on-the-ground organizing by donating to Danez's venmo @danez-smith Music from this week's episode: Kiss – Prince
Climate Changemakers is a 5-part podcast series, showcasing and celebrating leaders in equity work and climate action across Illinois, presented in celebration of the 20th anniversary of nonprofit organization Elevate Energy. This month's Climate Changemaker is Patricia Abrams. Pat is the Executive Director of the Renaissance Collaborative, a social impact organization that has provided affordable housing, workforce development, employment, and educational services and solutions to over 1,000 individuals annually in Bronzeville and its adjacent communities for the past 27 years. She talks about how environmental sustainability became an important piece of her work, the transformation of the historic Wabash YMCA that houses the organization's office and housing, and how we can move forward in a more human direction. Learn more about the organization: www.trcwabash.org/about-us.html Learn about Elevate Energy and their 20th anniversary: www.elevateenergy.org/
What a good time for a 250th episode! Dame and Kiss are joined by organizer and educator Jennifer Pagán, who was attacked and arrested alongside Damon last week, to break down this moment, the beautiful transformation we're witnessing, how we got here, and what the fight looks like moving forward. Redistribute your wealth to the orgs and causes on the the Chicago Liberation Resource List: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1YwWvuScaYjqrKLdl_4AkvSKhQE0OCWHvJ-dRyZbQ_wE/edit?usp=sharing Donate to the #LetUsBreathe Collective on Cashapp: $letusbreathe or paypal: letusbreathe2015@gmail.com photo by Evonee Castillo: https://www.instagram.com/evcvstillo/ Music from this week's show: Feel - Kendrick Lamar
On this bonus episode of AirGo, we're excited to partner with the Rising Majority and the Movement for Black Lives to share the audio from Making Meaning of This Moment, an online conversation that took place this past Saturday 6/6/20. Let their wisdom direct your righteous anger to move the fight forward! Participants Angela Davis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angela_Davis Jamila Woods: https://twitter.com/jamilawoods Timmy Châu of Dissenters: https://wearedissenters.org/ Ntanya Lee of Leftroots: https://leftroots.net/ Kayla Reed of Action STL: https://actionstl.org/ Karissa Lewis from the M4BL: https://m4bl.org/ Greisa Martinez of United We Dream: https://unitedwedream.org/ The Rising Majority: https://therisingmajority.com/ Recorded 6/6/20 Music from this episode: Beautiful Death - Ab-Soul Blk Girl Soldier - Jamila Woods
On 5/31/20, a series of Black organizers and protestors were assaulted and arrested by the Chicago Police Department at a protest on 53rd street in Hyde Park. As community members mobilized to get them out, we didn't know that our comrade Chris Thoughtpoet Brown was one of the people arrested, and didn't lift up his name in the calls to release our people. A day later, Chris went live on his IG, explained what happened, and shared his perspective on the moment. He's given us permission to use that audio for an episode of AirGo. Donate to Chris on Cashapp: $thoughtpoet Follow him on IG: https://www.instagram.com/thoughtpoet77/ Redistribute your generational wealth to one of these resources in Chicago: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vREqtRHDjCg-NoJdq2a8o0R-O0DJdQjcYS5bSHap7Z66mJ1rf1ugybHAygLkMj0tn8qTzBjAlyO3LLE/pubhtml
A Note from Damon: On 5/31/20, I was assaulted by the Chicago Police Department. I was slammed on my head on 53rd street, my face pressed to the pavement and officers pressed their knee on my neck similarly to what killed George Floyd. I’m banged and bruised up, but Jennifer and I are home and okay. I love my people and am grateful for all the support. Follow AirGo for more resources and opportunities to contribute to the fight: http://instagram.com/airgoradio Redistribute your generational wealth to one of these resources in Chicago: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1YwWvuScaYjqrKLdl_4AkvSKhQE0OCWHvJ-dRyZbQ_wE/edit?usp=sharing Recorded 6/1/20 in Chicago
From the isolation of our homes, AirGo is presenting a series called On the Line, which focuses on the COVID-19 pandemic and the people putting their bodies on the line to help us all survive and heal. Since early April, we've been hopping on the line with front line workers in different spheres to talk about what their work looks like right now, and what we can do to help as we isolate our physical bodies at home. This episode's guest is Tempestt Hazel. Tempestt is the Arts Portfolio Program Officer at the Field Foundation, and the founder of art curatorial platform 60 Inches from Center. She talks about the shifts that COVID is demanding from philanthropy, how the sector is responding, how she's slowing down to take care of her people, and much more. Plus, she makes Daniel cry at the end, so stick around for that. NOTE: Tempestt mentions a few great orgs here in Chicago that you might want to learn more about through their past AirGo episodes. Check them out: LaSaia Wade of the Brave Space Alliance - https://airgoradio.com/airgo/2017/5/18/episode-90-lasaia-wade Page May of Assata's Daughters - https://airgoradio.com/airgo/2016/9/14/episode-59-page-may-returns Hoda Katebi of Blue Tin Production - https://airgoradio.com/airgo/2019/2/7/episode-174-hoda-katebi Sadia Nawab of IMAN (Inner-City Muslim Action Network) - https://airgoradio.com/airgo/2017/7/20/episode-99-sadia-nawab Anton Seals Jr. of Grow Greater Englewood - https://airgoradio.com/airgo/2020/5/21/episode-245 Music from this week's show: Park - Isaiah Rashad
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