The Beautiful Idea

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The Murder of Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi and the Future of International Solidarity Apr 05, 2025

Show notes

On September 6th of last year, 26 year old University of Washington graduate Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi was shot and killed by IDF soldiers while doing accompaniment in the West Bank of Palestine with International Solidarity Movement (ISM). In this episode, we speak with a friend of Ayşenur's who had travelled to the West Bank to do accompaniment with ISM alongside her, and was present during the days leading up to and immediately after her murder.

We discuss what happened to Ayşenur, settler violence against Palestinians and IDF complicity, grief, remembrance, and ways in which anarchist movements internationally can effectively support people facing violence from the state and occupying forces.

During the discussion a number of pieces are referenced:

"Theses On Palestine Solidarity" (anonymous): https://haters.noblogs.org/files/2024/01/Theses-on-Palestine-Solidarity.pdf

"The Gaza Ghetto Uprising" (Adi Callai*): https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Pt_1k7nSv1M&pp=ygUUZ2F6YSBnaGV0dG8gdXByaXNpbmc%3D

"The Gaza ceasefire will not cure the wounds of genocide" (Roaa Shamallakh): https://mondoweiss.net/2025/01/the-gaza-ceasefire-will-not-cure-the-wounds-of-genocide/

For more information about Ayşenur and her murder at the hands of the IDF, please see https://www.realchangenews.org/news/2024/10/02/remembering-ay-enur-activist-s-death-felt-deeply-seattle-and-beyond and https://southseattleemerald.org/voices/2024/09/10/aysenurs-legacy-the-tragic-loss-of-an-activist-a-friend-and-a-fighter-for-international-solidarity

The speaker interviewed on this episode does not represent the views of International Solidarity Movement. For more about the work of ISM, visit their website at:https://palsolidarity.org/

This interview was originally conducted immediately following the agreement to a ceasefire between the IDF and Hamas, on January 16th, 2025. We apologize for the delayed release.

*Adi Callai has previously been interviewed by contributors to this show. Shortly following the October 7th attacks, they appeared on "This is America" (with Tom Nomad) to discuss IDF strategy (https://itsgoingdown.org/counter-insurgency-israel-podcast/).

Trump, the Tech-Right, and the Post-Neoliberal Order Mar 12, 2025

Show notes

In this episode of The Beautiful Idea, we present an interview with author Jamie Merchant, author of Engame: Economic Nationalism and Global Declineand numerous articles at The Brooklyn Rail. Merchant argues that we have entered a post-neoliberal age, with both Trump and Biden abandoning many of the touch-stones of corporate globalization that defined the past several decades.

But what comes next? During our discussion we talk about how and why Bidenism failed following the upheavals of 2020 and the rise of the Tech-Right as a bloc within the Trump administration. We map out what this formation wants and how it connects to the State's push to expand the American tech industry and in particular, Artificial Intelligence (AI).

We also unpack what it would mean to create new forms of autonomous class based street politics, as demonstrations against ICE and Tesla continue to grow.

Abolish Rent: A Discussion With The LA Tenants' Union Mar 06, 2025

Show notes

In this episode of The Beautiful Idea, we speak with Tracy Rosenthal and Leonardo Vilchis, two tenant organizers in Los Angeles, CA, involved in the Los Angeles Tenant Union (LATU), and co-authors of the new book, Abolish Rent: How Tenants Can End the Housing Crisis.

From the publisher:

"Rent drives millions into debt, despair, and onto the streets. The social cost of rent is too damn high. Written for anyone fed up with the permanent housing crisis, complicit politicians, and real estate greed, Abolish Rent dissects our housing system from the perspective of those it immiserates. Through unsparing analysis and striking stories of resistance, it shows us how tenants can, through organizing and collective action, harness our power and win the housing we deserve.
From two co-founders of the largest tenants union in the country, this deeply reported account of the resurgent tenant movement centers poor and working-class people who are fighting back, staying put, and remaking the city in the process. Authors Tracy Rosenthal and Leonardo Vilchis take us to trilingual strategy meetings, raucous marches against gentrification, and daring eviction defenses where immigrants put their lives on the line. These are the seeds of the revolutionary movement we need to make our housing, our cities, and the world our home."

During our discussion, we cover the growing crisis around rent and housing and how landlords and politicians have attempted to shift the discussion onto attacks on migrants and the houseless. We cover how the Los Angeles Tenant Union and the wider Autonomous Tenant Union Network have grown to build a grassroots, tenant led autonomous movement, aimed at building power on a neighborhood level.

The Long Emergency: A Discussion With Adam Greenfield Feb 26, 2025

Show notes

Welcome back to The Beautiful Idea, a new project from a collective of several anarchist and autonomous media producers scattered around the world. We’re bringing you interviews and stories from the front-lines of autonomous social movements and struggles, as well as original commentary and analysis.

In this episode we sit down with Adam Greenfield, author of the book Lifehouse, out on Verso. In this discussion we talk about technology and the internet, the occurrence of disaster, the long emergency, the concept of lifehouses, prepperism, and the complexities of organizing in communities.

You can find Lifehouse: Taking Care of Ourselves In A World On Fire here:

https://www.versobooks.com/products/2536-lifehouse

Resistance Forms as Trump Takes Power Feb 14, 2025

Show notes

In our following episode, we speak with folks around the country about this unfolding reality. First, we catch up with Mia Wong, a journalist at It Could Happen Here, a daily podcast on Cool Zone Media about everyday resistance and the current crisis, then we speak with a participant in the publishing collective CrimethInc, about the emerging cracks in the current crisis and what this means about how we can respond, and finally we speak to folks in Olympia, WA and North Carolina about recent "Festival of Resistance" events that were organized in the lead up to Trump's inauguration.

Thanks for listening, let's get into it.

Music:

Intros: Breakaway and Seaside Tryst
Transition: Filastine, Soundswarm Compostion and E.T., Sword That’s Bending

Rattling the Cage of Repression with Eric King and Josh Davidson Feb 12, 2025

Show notes

On this episode of The Beautiful Idea, we speak with former political prisoner Eric King and Josh Davidson from the Certain Days political prisoner calendar project. Eric and Josh discuss their recent round of discussions with Firestorm Books around their recent collection, Rattling the Cages, featuring former political prisoners and abolitionist organizers. These discussions have also been recently formatted into a new zine series, found here.

During our discussion we cover the shifting terrain of anti-repression and prison support organizing, how things swill change under Trump, and the need for building a broad abolitionist movement that can win campaigns and shift public perception.

Permanent Ecological Conflict: A Conversation With Xander Dunlap Jan 22, 2025

Show notes

On today's show we have a conversation with Xander Dunlap, author of the recent book The System Is Killing Us, out with Pluto Press. In this conversation we discuss the current state of ecological resistance movements, the problems introduced by eco-Leninism, the concept of permanent ecological conflict, and the notion of home and connection to place in land struggles.

You can find Xander on the Twitter at https://x.com/DrX_ADunlap and on Bluesky at https://bsky.app/profile/drxdunlap.bsky.social. Xander is also involved in a new and exciting publishing project called Rupture Press, check it out at https://www.rupturepress.org/

The Beautiful Idea: Mass Deportations Loom as Trump Moves to Amass Power; LA Mutual Aid Groups Organize as Fires Burn Jan 15, 2025

Show notes

Welcome back to The Beautiful Idea, a new project from a collective of several anarchist and autonomous media producers scattered around the world. We’re bringing you interviews and stories from the front-lines of autonomous social movements and struggles, as well as original commentary and analysis.

On today’s show we feature our Behind the Barricades roundup of movement news, events, and updates. We then speak with Autumn from Nor Cal Resist, about the looming threat of mass deportations and then look at the attempt by the incoming Trump administration to consolidate executive power. We then sit down with a member of the Black Rose Anarchist Federation in Los Angeles, to talk about the unfolding ecological disaster in Southern California and how mutual aid groups are mobilizing.

Music: Seaside Tryst, Breakaway, Evolve "Reality Guerilla" and "Nightmares/Dreams," and David Sandström "1968."

Episode 2: Peter Gelderloos and Prince Shakur Dec 30, 2024

Show notes

On this episode of The Beautiful Idea, with the second Trump administration only weeks away, we sit down to speak with two anarchist authors and thinkers, Peter Gelderloos and Prince Shakur.

Peter is the author of such classics as How Non-Violence Protects the State and Worshiping Power, and also has recently published two new books, They Will Beat the Memory Out of Us and Organization, Continuity, Community. Peter is also currently publishing on substack.

Prince Shakur is an organizer, author, and one of two hosts who run The Dugout, a Black anarchist podcast which you can check out here and follow on Instagram. Shakur is also the author of When They Tell You To Be Good.

During our episode we speak with both Peter and Prince about their thoughts on the coming Trump administration and how people involved in social movements and struggles should ready themselves and their communities. Is it fair to call Trump a fascist and what can we expect from the incoming administration? What cracks can we see forming within the ruling order going forward, and what opportunities and challenges do autonomous rebels face in this new terrain?

Episode 1 Dec 16, 2024

Show notes

On today's show we feature our Behind the Barricades roundup of movement news, events, and updates, along with a look at the recent media explosion following the shooting of a United Healthcare CEO in New York.

We then speak with someone involved in a new campaign to support Stop Cop City defendants facing both RICO and domestic terrorism charges.

Finally, we speak with a long-time anarchist to look back on the historic mobilization against the World Trade Organization in Seattle in 1999.

Music featuring:
Seaside Tryst @ https://seasidetryst.bandcamp.com/album/different-places
Gary Lamaar, "Freedom Rap" (garylamaar.bandcamp.com)

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