Religious Socialism Podcast

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Jay Forth on the connection between capitalism, evangelicalism, and a state of indebtedness Feb 07, 2020

Show notes

Jay Forth is a graduate from Duke Divinity, a director of homeless outreach at a nonprofit in DC, previously he was the executive director of Festival Center, a faith-based space for organizing. In this wide-ranging conversation, Sarah talks with Jay about a paper he published linking the book, The Making of the Indebted Man: An Essay on the Neoliberal Condition by Maurizio Lazzarato and Jonathan Edwards’s sermon on sinners in the hands of an angry God. He also shares what it was like to grow up with black Jamaican immigrant parents, tenant organizing, and why queerness should not be just an identity, seamlessly connecting threads from racism to queerness to capitalism to the gospel.

Maxine Phillips: Leader of the DSA's Religion and Socialism Working Group Dec 30, 2019

Show notes

Maxine Phillips leads DSA’s religion and socialism working group nationally. She is a retired executive editor of Dissent, former DSA national director, and current volunteer editor of "Democratic Left." She has been part of DSA since the late 70's and oversaw the Religion & Socialism print newsletter for decades, which included articles from Cornel West, Arthur Waskow, and Dorothy Sollee. This interview captures lots of her insights on the differences between each generation of DSA, and reflections on the parallels and differences between church and socialist spaces.

Daniel Soyer on Jewish Labor Bund History in Europe and America (Part II) Oct 22, 2019

Show notes

Daniel Soyer is professor at Fordham and a scholar of American Jewish history. He is a co-editor, along with Irena Klepfisz, of The Stars Bear Witness: The Jewish Labor Bund 1897 - 2017. Our interview with him is the second of a two-part series on the Jewish Labor Bund; it covers the origins and operations of the Bund in Eastern Europe, American Bundist history, as well as how Jewish immigrant communities formed the backbone of socialist political activity in NYC and throughout America. Our music is “Made and Broken” by Hugel. Support us on https://www.patreon.com/religioussocialismpodcast

The Warsaw Uprising Anniversary, Part 1: Irena Klepfisz, Jewish Lesbian Poet and Activist Apr 19, 2019

Show notes

Today, April 19th, is the 76th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. It was the largest single revolt by Jews during WWII and it was mostly organized by the Bund, a secular Jewish socialist movement. Irena Klepfisz was born in the Warsaw Ghetto and fled with her mother to the United States when she was eight. She is now a noted poet, writer, Yiddish translator, anti-occupation activist, known for her work in lesbian, feminist and Jewish spaces. This personal interview touches on Irena's childhood, the "zeitgeist" of American Jewish bundist life, coming out in the 1970's, her activism against Israel's occupation, and how she makes sense of the contemporary resurgence of interest in Yiddish. Part 2 of this interview series will feature Daniel Soyer, who will provide a historical and academic perspective on the Jewish Labor Bund.

Lutheran climate organizer Shay O'Reilly on demonic forces, white supremacy and climate change Mar 19, 2019

Show notes

How do we fight the demonic principalities behind climate change? Shay O’Reilly is an organizer for renewable energy in NYC, a DSA member, a Lutheran, and a graduate of UnionTheological Seminary. We chat with him on why he believes in demonic powers (see: white supremacy), why fighting climate change necessarily means fighting for socialism, how he got into environmental issues through anti-poverty work, as well as his experience of converting to Christianity shortly after coming out as trans and gay. Yes, it’s a packed episode! Follow him on Twitter @shaygabriel

Storyteller Kelli Dunham on her journey from nun to nurse and queer comedian Feb 07, 2019

Show notes

This is an equal parts hilarious and insightful episode of Religious Socialism podcast. Kelli Dunham is an author, comedian and storyteller — she’s the founder of Queer Memoir, a storytelling series for the queer community and stand-up comedian. But in this podcast, she recounts her religious history — from her childhood attending drive-in churches in Florida, her time at a gay conversion camp, and seven years as a nun in the Missionaries of Charity. Between laughs, she reaches some poignant truths about similarities in the socialist ethic among churches and queer communities, and how laughter can be a healing force. See below to learn more about Kelli Dunham and the podcast: KelliDunham.com Religioussocialism.org/podcast Religious Socialism Podcast is hosted by Sarah Ngu and produced by Devin Briski. Our music is “Made and Broken” by Hugel.

Rabbi Michael Feinberg on multi-faith labor organizing and what he learned from the Catholic left Nov 06, 2018

Show notes

Rabbi Michael Feinberg is the executive director of The Greater New York Labor-Religion Coalition, whose goal is to build a long term alliance between the faith community and labor movements in New York City. He's spent decades as a multi-faith activist building diverse coalitions to advocate for workers' rights. In this interview, we discuss why he prefers the term "multi-faith" to "interfaith," what he learned from Father Daniel Berrigan's radical anti-nuclear protests, the heritage of Bundism (historical secular Jewish socialist movement), and what he thinks the role the faith community can play in the fight for worker's rights.

Julien Baker is a queer, Christian, socialist — we had to talk to her Jun 24, 2018

Show notes

Memphis-based singer-songwriter Julien Baker's star is rising in the music world. She also identifies as queer, Christian, socialist — like our host, Sarah Ngu. There have been high-profile interviews with her by the New York Times, NPR, etc. mostly focusing on her music. But we wanted to focus on religion. This far-reaching interview explores the early influence of Christian hardcore and church groups, how she thinks about Acts and makes ethical purchasing decisions for herself and her crew, and her conversations with Trump-supporting family members in Appalachia. If you're a fan of Religious Socialism, please visit our Patreon page and support our podcast. We will also be posting the full, unedited 2-hour interview as an exclusive for our patrons. For each according to their ability, or give what you can! https://www.patreon.com/religioussocialismpodcast

"If religion doesn't allow us to build bridges, it becomes a drug" —Rev. Juan Carlos Ruiz Mar 31, 2018

Show notes

Juan Carlos Ruiz is co-founder of the New Sanctuary Movement, a network of churches and synagogues that offer resources to undocumented immigrants in New York City. He began his career as a Catholic priest, but was excommunicated after getting involved with leftist politics in the Catholic Worker Movement. In this far-reaching interview, he discusses his work with immigrants in the Trump era, the effect that US intervention coupled with corporate interests have had on Mexico and Honduras, and the role that history should play in our discourse around immigrant rights. If you're interested in what Ruiz has to say, also check out his op-ed in The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/may/17/undocumented-immigration-stories-human-rights-mexico-how-i-got-here Also, if you’re a fan of Religious Socialism, please visit our Patreon page and support our podcast. From each according to their ability, or give us what you can! https://www.patreon.com/religioussocialismpodcast

Avi Garelick on Gentrification, BDS and the Jewish Concept of Redemption Jan 31, 2018

Show notes

Avi Garelick wears many hats: he runs a Hebrew school associated with the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York city, he is active in Northern Manhattan is Not For Sale, an anti-gentrification group focused on Washington Heights and Inwood, and he's a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. In this interview, Garelick describes participating in a rent strike when his landlord turned off the heat, how his socialist philosophy informs his role as a manager at his job and how the Jewish concept of redemption guides his social justice activism. Photo by Noah Benus.

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