The Malcolm Effect

#120 Our role within the imperial core - Dr. Nina Farnia Oct 29, 2024

What does our present moment require from us? Listen in as Dr. Nina Farnia and I discuss the responsibility of those who live in the imperial core, particularly the US.

Nina Farnia is a law professor and legal historian whose research focuses on US imperialism and anti-imperialist dissidents. Her forthcoming book is entitled Imperialism: An American Story (Stanford University Press).

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@NinaFarnia

#119 The Problem with Western Marxism - Professor Gabriel Rockhill Oct 22, 2024

Why is it the case that so many leftists in the West fail on the question of imperialism? Listen in as Professor Rockhill takes us through the problems with Western Marxism

Dr. Gabriel Rockhill is the Founding Director of the Critical Theory Workshop / Atelier de Théorie Critique, Professor of Philosophy and Global Interdisciplinary Studies at Villanova University, and the author or editor of ten books, as well as numerous scholarly and general public articles. He is also the Associate Director of Cultural Studies at Villanova University, Research Associate at the Laboratoire d’anthropologie politique – LAP (EHESS, Paris), one of the editors-in-chief of the World Marxist Review, and co-editor of the book series AIM–Anti-Imperialist Marxism.

He has made numerous media appearance related to his scholarship and interventions in public debates. Click here to contact Dr. Rockhill for speaking engagements or interviews.

Twitter

@GabrielRockhill

@CTayJ

@MomodouTaal

#118 Marx's Methodology - Colin Bodayle Oct 15, 2024

Listen in to this super informative episode on Marx's methodology and place within the western philosophical canon

Colin Bodayle teaches philosophy at Villanova University. His main research areas are Marxism, Classical German Philosophy, and anti-colonial philosophy. You can find him on social media on Twitter

@colinbodayle

or on Substack.

@momodoutaal

@ctayj

#117 An Introduction to Khalil Gibran - Nicolas-Bilal Urick Sep 16, 2024

In this episode we take a look at the life and work of Khalil Gibran

#116 The Neoliberal Subject - Arun Kundnani Aug 02, 2024

Listen in as we discuss how we build socialism whilst our subjectivities have been constituted under neoliberalism.

Arun Kundnani is a writer interested in race, Islamophobia, surveillance, political violence, and radicalism.

Born in London, he moved to New York in 2010 and now lives in Philadelphia. The Guardian has described him as “one of Britain’s best political writers.”

Kundnani is the author of What is Antiracism? (Verso, 2023), The Muslims are Coming! (Verso, 2014) and The End of Tolerance (Pluto, 2007), which was selected as a New Statesman book of the year. He has written for the Nation, the Guardian, the Washington Post, Vice, and The Intercept. A former editor of the journal Race & Class, he was educated at Cambridge University, and holds a PhD from London Metropolitan University. He has been an Open Society fellow and a scholar-in-residence at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York Public Library.

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@FanonIsCanon

@CTayJ

#115 French Elections, The Left and Palestinian Organising - Dr. Myriam François Jul 17, 2024

Listen in as Dr Myriam Francois and I discuss the recent elections in France.

Myriam François is a British journalist, filmmaker and writer. Her work has appeared on the BBC, Channel 4 and Al Jazeera. She is the founder and CEO of production company mpwr Productions, which specialises in documentary films centred on minority voices.

I.G. @TheGambian

@Myzfrancois

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@MyriamFrancoisC

Political Education for Liberation - BLMUK's Project Timbuktu Jul 04, 2024

Listen in as we discuss BLMUK's political education program: Project Timbuktu

The full programme for the festival of collective liberation: https://ukblm.org/festival-2024

#114 Iran, women's rights and external disruptions to sovereignty - Dr. Helyeh Doutaghi Jun 27, 2024

What does a principled stance toward Iran sound like? With increasing US imperialist aggression toward Iran, folks often focus on the internal contradictions within Islam rather than focusing on the role of US imperialism. Listen in as Dr. Helyeh Doutaghi and I discuss Iran's history and struggle for sovereignty.

Helyeh Doutaghi is the Deputy Director of the Law and Political Economy Project and an Associate Research Scholar at Yale Law School. Her research explores the intersections of the Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL), encompassing Marxian and postcolonial critiques of law, sanctions, and international political economy. Helyeh's doctoral dissertation draws on the mechanisms, harms, and beneficiaries of the sanctions regime imposed on Iran, centering questions of value transfer and wealth drain. Additionally, she is interested in International Humanitarian Law (IHL), having written about its history, practice, and the production of knowledge (and ignorance), particularly in the context of the U.S. military.

Twitter:

@Helyeh_Doutaghi

@MomodouTaal

What is BLMUK's Festival of Collective Liberation? Jun 17, 2024

BLMUK’s Festival of Collective Liberation will be centring Black women elders and developing solidarity with anti-colonial/anti-imperialist struggles across the world.

The one-day festival will be comprised of panel discussions, strategy debates, keynote speeches, workshops, trainings and art and music. As well as international solidarity, it will explore Black resistance in the labour movement, police and prison abolition, migration and climate justice, bodily autonomy, cultural and artistic resistance and Black radical education. It will also launch Project Timbuktu, BLM's inaugural political education course.

Register for tickets here: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/blacklivesmatteruk/1267185

Email hello@ukblm.org for any questions

#113 The Agrarian Question - Dr. Max Ajl Jun 07, 2024

What is the agrarian question? How are struggles over land connected to global anti-imperialism? Listen in as we discuss 'The Agrarian question' with Dr. Max Ajl

Max Ajl is a fellow at MECAM/University of Tunis, a Senior Fellow at University of Ghent and an associated researcher at the Tunisian Observatory for Food Sovereignty and the Environment. He is an associate editor at Agrarian South and Journal of Labor and Society, and has written for The Journal of Peasant Studies and the Review of African Political Economy. His book, A People’s Green New Deal, was published in 2021 with Pluto Press.

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@maxajl

@MomodouTaal

@CTayJ

@Khamis_AC

#112 An Analysis of Palestinian Resistance - Dr. Bikrum Gill May 23, 2024

Listen in as Dr. Bikrum Gill discusses an analysis of Palestinian resistance; historically and contemporarily. We also discuss the Palestinian struggle in relation to wider struggles against imperialism and for global struggle of liberation.

Dr. Gill is currently working on a book manuscript titled “Race, Nature, and Accumulation: A Decolonial Political Ecological Analysis of Land Grabbing.” This book examines the motives and consequences of the post financial crisis phenomenon of large-scale agricultural land grabbing, with a particular focus on the “South-South” case of Indian agricultural companies expanding into the Gambella province of Ethiopia. Combining political ecology, political economy, and decolonial theory, this work situates the land grab within the longue duree of colonial-capitalist modernity, and advances the argument that the land grab, as a distinctive post-crisis phenomenon, signifies an attempt to re-constitute the racialized social-ecology of global capitalist development.

#111 Structures, Agency and the role of political economy - Professor Naeem Inayatullah May 01, 2024

Listen in as we discuss structures, agency and the role of political economy.

Naeem Inayatullah is professor of politics at Ithaca College. He has taught at the University of Denver, University of Colorado, Syracuse University, and for a short period in Brazil. He is associate editor of the Journal of Narrative Politic

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@CTayJ

#110 A Marxist analysis of Iran's retaliation - Dr. Matteo Capasso Apr 23, 2024

Listen in as Dr. Matteo Capasso offers a marxist analysis of Iran's retaliation to Israel's attack on their consulate.

Matteo Capasso is @mscactions research fellow at @cafoscari and @columbia, whose work focuses on imperialism and the Global South. He is the author of 'Everyday Politics in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya' and co-editor of @mideastcritique. His work has appeared in @ripe, @roap and @journalPolitics. He is also a rapporteur at in the International Tribunal on U.S. Imperialism: Sanctions Blockades, and Unilateral Coercive Measures @sanctionstrib

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@capassomat

@MomodouTaal

@CTayJ

@Khamis_AC

#109 An organisers perspective on Haiti - Kweku Lumumba Mar 30, 2024

As the US gears up for yet another intervention in Haiti, what do those who are plugged into movements on the ground make of the current situation? Listen in as Kweku Lumumba takes us through his perspective on contemporary Haiti

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@CTayj

@Aldanmarki

#108 What is happening in Senegal? - Fatima & Florian Mar 19, 2024

[This episode was recorded February 27th]

Many of us have heard what is happening in Senegal listen in as Fatima and Florian take us through what has led to this current moment.

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@Nestawane

@FloTok

#107 They are the Ansarullah not 'Houthis' - Rune Mar 04, 2024

The Ansarullah in Yemen continues their blockade of the red sea of all ships headed toward Israel. Who are they?

Listen in as Rune discusses the history of Ansarullah and their place within Yemen's society.

Rune Agerhus

Political Commentator & Member of the Organization of Solidarity with the Yemeni Struggle (OSYS

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@CTayj

@Aldanmarki

#106 This did not start on October 7th -Tara Alami Feb 22, 2024

History did not start on October 7th. Listen in as Tara contextualizes October 7th and gives a long history of Palestinian resistance.

Tara Alami is a Palestinian writer and organiser from occupied Jerusalem and occupied Yafa, based in Tiohtià:ke (Montreal).

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@taraxrh

#105 What is the Axis of Resistance? - Dr. Matteo Capasso Feb 12, 2024

What is the axis of resisance? How did they emerge?

In this episode, Dr. Matteo Capasso gives us an introduction to the axis of resistance.

Matteo Capasso is @mscactions research fellow at @cafoscari and @columbia, whose work focuses on imperialism and the Global South. He is the author of 'Everyday Politics in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya' and co-editor of @mideastcritique. His work has appeared in @ripe, @roap and @journalPolitics. He is also a rapporteur at in the International Tribunal on U.S. Imperialism: Sanctions Blockades, and Unilateral Coercive Measures @sanctionstrib

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@capassomat

@MomodouTaal

@CTayJ

#104 What is happening in Sudan? - Azhaar Sholgami Feb 05, 2024

In this episode, I speak with Azhaar, a PhD student at Cornell, on what is happening in Sudan.

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

AzhaarSholgami

#103 What is happening in Congo? - Kambale Musavuli Jan 10, 2024

An in-depth look into what is currently taking place in DRC.

Kambale Musavuli, a native of the Democratic Republic of Congo and one of the leading political and cultural Congolese voices, is a social entrepreneur and an international human rights advocate working with youth groups across the African continent. He writes on issues affecting the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and has served for the past decade as the national spokesperson for the Friends of the Congo, a group that raises global consciousness about the situation in Congo and provides support to local institutions in Congo. He is currently an analyst at the Center for Research on Congo with a focus on Kwame Nkrumah’s legacy in the development of Ghana through a Pan-African lens.

My current organization’s website is https://www.cereck.org

Twitter

@Kambale

@MomodouTaal

Instagram

@TheGambian

#102 ’Love’ in James Baldwin’s archive - Quincy Diallo Jan 02, 2024

Starting the new year with a special episode on 'Love' in James Baldwin's archive.

Quincy Diallo is a double major in African-American studies and English at Yale University.

I.G. @TheGambian

@Quincy.Diallo

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

#101 Organizing for Palestine in our contemporary moment - Arun Kundnani Dec 20, 2023

Palestine remains the litmus test. As our movements continue to gain momentum, Arun and I discuss what are the stakes when organizing for Palestine in the west.

Arun Kundnani has been active in antiracist movements in Britain and the United States for three decades. He is a former editor of the journal Race & Class and was a scholar-in-residence at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture at the New York Public Library.

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@ArunKundnani

#100 Israel, Zionism and Settler Colonialism - Professor Ronit Lentin Dec 03, 2023

Support The Malcolm Effect:

https://www.patreon.com/TheMalcolmEffect

A historical overview of the creation of the Zionist state of Israel.

Professor Lentin's bio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronit_Lentin

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

#99 The Palestinian Condition - Yara Shoufani Nov 21, 2023

Support The Malcolm Effect:

https://www.patreon.com/TheMalcolmEffect

In this episode, Yara Shoufani details what this current iteration of the Palestinian resistance represents for Palestinians specifically and the world more broadly.

Yara Shoufani is an organizer with the Palestinian Youth Movement in Toronto. She holds a master's in political science, with a research focus on colonisation and gentrification in Occupied Palestine.

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@Yaraxsh

#98 Zionism, Antisemitism and The Western Left - Barnaby Raine Nov 11, 2023

Support The Malcolm Effect:

https://www.patreon.com/TheMalcolmEffect

In this episode, Barnaby Raine succinctly details a history of Zionism whilst speaking to our current moment.

Barnaby Raine is an intellectual historian writing his PhD at Columbia University. His doctoral research seeks to explain the decline of thinking about the end of capitalism from Marx through to debates in twentieth century Britain, amid the end of formal empire. He holds a Masters in History from Columbia and a BA in History and Politics from Oxford. He has broad interests in the history of social theory and modern political thought, the history of the political left and methodological questions in intellectual history, as well as theories of contemporary antisemitism. His writing has appeared in The Guardian, n+1, and numerous other venues.

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@CTayJ

[Call to action] Professor Russell Rickford’s address on Palestine Oct 19, 2023

Professor Russell Rickford, whom I have had the fortunate experience of studying with, is under malicious attack from Zionists. His commitment to justice has been unwavering and there is a vicious campaign calling for his resignation. This baseless campaign is based on a 2 minuted doctored audio without context. Please find attached a petition that seeks to protect Professor Rickford and those who have the courage to affirm the basic humanity of Palestinians. Please share with others.

This audio is his speech in full, any well-meaning person listening will be able to understand how they have twisted his words.

Transcript to full speech found here

Petition: https://www.change.org/p/save-professor-russell-rickford-a-stand-for-academic-freedom-and-free-speech?recruiter=1319666233&recruited_by_id=c7672730-6ebb-11ee-ba2a-bfb0a48ef6e9&utm_source=share_petition&utm_campaign=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_content=cl_sharecopy_37702492_en-US%3Acv_489296

#97 Coups in West Africa - Professor Siba Grovogui Sep 19, 2023

Listen in to this important analysis of the recent coups in the West. Professor Siba Grovogui situates today's events in history

Support The Malcolm Effect:

https://www.patreon.com/TheMalcolmEffect

Professor Grovogui is a professor of international relations theory and law at Cornell University.

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

#96 The Life of Omar Blondin Diop - Florian Bobin Sep 18, 2023

This episode is in honour of Omar Blondin Diop, as today marks his birthday. Listen in as we talk about this inspiring radical figure

Support The Malcolm Effect:

https://www.patreon.com/TheMalcolmEffect

Florian Bobin is a Dakar-based researcher in history who studies liberation struggles and state violence in 1960s-1970s Senegal, author of a forthcoming biography of revolutionary philosopher Omar Blondin Dio.

@flotok

#95 History of the word ’woke’ and the modern war on it - Dr. Alana Lentin Sep 06, 2023

In this episode, Deej and I discuss with Professor Alana Lentin the current war on "wokeism"

Support The Malcolm Effect:

https://www.patreon.com/TheMalcolmEffect

Alana Lentin is Professor of Cultural and Social Analysis at Western Sydney University. She is a Jewish European woman who is a settler on Gadigal land (Sydney, Australia). She works on the critical theorization of race, racism and antiracism. Her latest book is Why Race Still Matters (Polity 2020) and she previously published The Crises of Multiculturalism: Racism in a neoliberal age with Gavan Titley (Zed, 2011). She co-edits the Rowman & Littlefield ‘Challenging Migration Studies’ books series and the ‘Decolonization and Social Worlds’ series at Bristol University Press. She is an editorial board member of Ethnic and Racial Studies and Identities among other journals. Her academic and media articles as well as videos, podcasts, and teaching materials can be found at www.alanalentin.net

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@AlanaLentin

@FanonIsCanon

#94 A sober analysis of Africa’s relationship with China and Russia - Zubairu Wai Aug 09, 2023

We often hear that China is colonising Africa. Or that Russia's actions are imperialist in Africa. Christian and I spoke to one of my favorite thinkers, about all things Africa vis-a-vis China & Russia

Zubairu Wai is Associate Professor of Political Science and Global Development Studies. He is the author of Epistemologies of African Conflicts: Violence, Evolutionism, and the War in Sierra Leone (2012), which won the ATWS Toyin Falola Africa Book Award for 2013, and co-editor (with Marta Iñiguez de Heredia) of Recentering Africa in International Relations: Beyond Lack, Peripherality, and Failure (2018). His research takes up epistemological questions regarding the nature, conditions, and limits of disciplinary knowledge and practices in International Relations, Development Studies, Conflict and Security Studies, and African Studies. Specifically, he focuses on how the intersections of power and coloniality frame the discourses and political economy of knowledge, violence, conflict, development, and state formation in Africa, and the Global South more broadly. His most recent manuscript, Thinking the Colonial Library: Mudimbe, Gnosis, and the Predicament of Africanist Knowledge, which interrogates the contaminating vectors of the colonial archive and its implications for epistemic decolonisation, will be published by Routledge early next year.

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@CTayJ

#93 How we lost our class analysis - Gary Wilder Aug 03, 2023

Listen in as I speak to Gary Wilder on his generation of scholars and their disavowal of class analysis.

Gary Wilder is a Professor in the Ph.D. Program of Anthropology, with cross-appointments in History and French, at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, where he is also Director of the Committee on Globalization and Social Change.
Wilder’s work on the French empire, Francophone West Africa and the Caribbean, and Black Atlantic social thought is located at the intersection of historical anthropology, intellectual history, and critical theory (with special emphasis on Marxism, postcolonialism, and poststructuralism).

#92 Sex, Gender & Biology - Micah Valentine Jul 28, 2023

You’d be hard-pressed to scroll through social media without seeing a discussion on gender. Listen in as I discuss with Micah Valentine.

Micah Valentine is a stem cell researcher who has an interest in Radical Black politics and labour history.

I.G. @TheGambian

@_micahvalentine

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

TikTok:

Micahvalentine

@Afroconfetti

#91 What is Afropessimism? - Professor Frank Wilderson Jul 24, 2023

Listen in as Deej, Christian, and I discuss AfroPessimism with Professor Frank Wilderson

Frank B. Wilderson III is an American writer, dramatist, filmmaker, and critic. He is a Professor of African American Studies at the University of California, Irvine.

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@FanonIsCanon

@CTayJ

#90 The Little Known Radical History of The Gambia - Uncle Bai-Mass Taal Jul 15, 2023

In this episode, I sat with my Uncle as we discussed the radical history of The Gambia and its connection to movements beyond its borders.

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

#89 Sexuality & The Making of Race - Sita Balani Jul 02, 2023

Listen in as Sita, Deej and I discuss Sita's book "Deadly and Slick:Sexual Modernity and the Making of Race"

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@FanonIsCanon

#88 Gender Troubles Today - Judith Butler Jun 15, 2023

Listen in as we discuss with Judith Butler on their assessment of discussions surrounding gender today.

Judith Pamela Butler[3] (born February 24, 1956) is an American philosopher and gender studies writer whose work has influenced political philosophy, ethics, and the fields of third-wave feminism,[4] queer theory,[5] and literary theory.[6] In 1993, Butler began teaching at the University of California, Berkeley, where they[a] have served, beginning in 1998, as the Maxine Elliot Professor in the Department of Comparative Literature and the Program of Critical Theory. They are also the Hannah Arendt Chair at the European Graduate School (EGS).[9]

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@FanonIsCanon

@CTayJ

#87 Pan African activism in the US - Obi Egbuna jr Jun 08, 2023

Listen in as Obi Egbuna jr, Deej and I discuss what Pan African organising in the US should focus on today.

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@FanonIsCanon

#86 Sanctions, U.S Imperialism and The case of Libya - Dr. Matteo Capasso May 31, 2023

In this episode, we discuss with Dr. Matteo Campasso the history and mechanism of sanctions.

Matteo Capasso is @mscactions research fellow at @cafoscari and @columbia, whose work focuses on imperialism and the Global South. He is the author of 'Everyday Politics in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya' and co-editor of @mideastcritique. His work has appeared in @ripe, @roap and @journalPolitics. He is also a rapporteur at in the International Tribunal on U.S. Imperialism: Sanctions Blockades, and Unilateral Coercive Measures @sanctionstrib

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@capassomat

@MomodouTaal

@CTayJ

#85 Liberal identity politics & The class struggle today - Dr. Norman Finkelstein May 04, 2023

In this episode Dr. Norman Finkelstein talk to Annie, Christian, and Momodou about how he sees the class struggle today.

Norman Gary Finkelstein is an American political scientist, activist, former professor, and author. His primary fields of research are the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and the politics of the Holocaust. He is a graduate of Binghamton University and received his Ph.D. in political science at Princeton University.

#84 Imperialism, Multipolarity & De-dollarisation - Radhika Desai Apr 20, 2023

In this episode, Professor Radhika Desai gives us a masterclass on our geopolitical situation.

Dr. Radhika Desai is Professor at the Department of Political Studies, and Director, Geopolitical Economy Research Group, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada. She is the author of Geopolitical Economy: After US Hegemony, Globalization and Empire (2013), Slouching Towards Ayodhya: From Congress to Hindutva in Indian Politics (2nd rev ed, 2004) and Intellectuals and Socialism: ‘Social Democrats’ and the Labour Party (1994), a New Statesman and Society Book of the Month, and editor or co-editor of Russia, Ukraine and Contemporary Imperialism, a special issue of International Critical Thought (2016), Theoretical Engagements in Geopolitical Economy (2015), Analytical Gains from Geopolitical Economy (2015), Revitalizing Marxist Theory for Today’s Capitalism (2010) and Developmental and Cultural Nationalisms (2009).

She is also the author of numerous articles in Economic and Political Weekly, International Critical Thought, New Left Review, Third World Quarterly, World Review of Political Economy and other journals and in edited collections on parties, political economy, culture and nationalism.

With Alan Freeman, she co-edits the Geopolitical Economy book series with Manchester University Press and the Future of Capitalism book series with Pluto Press.

She serves on the Editorial Boards of many journals including Canadian Political Science Review, Critique of Political Economy, E-Social Sciences, Pacific Affairs, Global Faultlines, Research in Political Economy, Revista de Economía Crítica, World Review of Political Economy and International Critical Thought

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@CTayJ

#83 Let’s talk about Borders - Harsha Walia Apr 09, 2023

Borders are not just lines on a map. Listen in as Harsha Walia, Deej and I discuss bordering regimes

Harsha Walia is a Canadian activist and writer based in Vancouver, British Columbia. She has been involved with No one is illegal, the February 14 Women's Memorial March Committee, the Downtown Eastside Women's Centre, and several Downtown Eastside housing justice coalitions.[2][3] Walia has been active in migrant justice, Indigenous solidarity, feminist, anti-racist, and anti-capitalist movements for over a decade.[4]

Walia is the author of Undoing Border Imperialism (2013) and Border and Rule: Global Migration, Capitalism, and the Rise of Racist Nationalism (2021), co-author of Never Home: Legislating Discrimination in Canadian Immigration (2015), and Red Women Rising: Indigenous Women Survivors in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside (2019).[9] She has also contributed to over thirty academic journals, anthologies, magazines, and newspapers.[4] She is a frequent guest speaker at campuses and conferences across North America.[10]

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@FanonIsCanon

#82 An Introduction to Walter Rodney - Musa Springer Mar 31, 2023

Musa Springer joined me for an introduction to Walter Rodney.

Musa Springer is a cultural worker and community organizer, host of the Grounding podcast, and a volunteer with the Walter Rodney Foundation.

I.G. @TheGambian

@Paranoid_Alive

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@HalfAtlanta

#81 Some Questions for the African Intellectual - Professor Siba Grovogui Mar 14, 2023

In this episode, we discuss what are the some of questions the African intellectual should be considering in our current moment.

Grovogui is a professor at Cornell university of international relations theory and law.

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@FanonIsCanon

#80 Islam, Muslims & Modernity - Shaykh Khaled Abou El Fadl Mar 02, 2023

In this episode, I discuss with Shaykh Khaled Abou El Fadl about his current activities and how we can re-engage Islam in our time.

Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl is one of the world’s leading authorities on Shari'ah, Islamic law and Islam, and a prominent scholar in the field of human rights. He is the Omar and Azmeralda Alfi Distinguished Professor of Law at the UCLA School of Law where he teaches International Human Rights; Islamic Jurisprudence; Political Asylum and Refugee Law; The Trafficking of Human Beings: Law and Policy; Political Crimes and Legal Systems; and Muslims, Race and Law. He was also formerly the Chair of the Islamic Studies Interdepartmental Program at UCLA. He is the founder of the Institute of Advanced Usuli Studies ("The Usuli Institute"), a non-profit educational institute dedicated to ethics, beauty and critical thinking in the Islamic intellectual tradition.

If you wish to support the Shaykh's work:

www.LaunchGood.com/projectilluminesirah

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

#79 In Pursuit of Revolutionary Love - Dr. Joy James & Deej Feb 14, 2023

In this episode, we discuss Dr. Joy James' latest publication: In pursuit of revolutionary love with.

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@FanonIsCanon

Book Talk: White Enclosure: Racial Capitalism and Coloniality along the Balkan Route - Adem Ferizaj & Piro Rexhepi Feb 09, 2023

A crossover episode discussing the Balkans from a decolonial perspective.

Piro Rexhepi is a researcher based in London. He holds a PhD in politics and writes about borders, racism, religion, and sexuality. He is the author of “White Enclosures Racial Capitalism and Coloniality along the Balkan Route.” It was published by Duke University Press in December 2022 and is discussed in today’s episode.

Adem Ferizaj is a PhD student at the Centre for Gender Studies at SOAS University of London. His dissertation is an epistemological study of the roles of Muslim-majority populations from the Balkans in the global hierarchies of whiteness. He has previously worked as a graduate teaching assistant at SOAS.

@ademfer

@Pirorexhepi

#78 Challenges for Feminism today - Dr. Alison Phipps & Deej Feb 03, 2023

In this episode, we speak to Dr. Alison Phipps regarding some of the challenges for feminism in our current moment.

Alison Phipps is a UK-based scholar, writer, and teacher working in the area of gender, with a specific focus on sexual violence. She is currently a Professor of Sociology at Newcastle University. Her most recent book is called Me, Not You: the trouble with mainstream feminism and is published by Manchester University Press.

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@Too_Black_

@FanonIsCanon

#77 What is Monopsony Capitalism - Dr. Ashok Kumar & Christian Joseph Jan 24, 2023

We spoke to Ashok Kumar around the themes in his book “Monopsony Capitalism”

Ashok Kumar is a Senior Lecturer of Political Economy Birkbeck University.

His most recent book Monopsony Capitalism: Power and Production in the Twilight of the Sweatshop Age (Cambridge University Press) was the winner of the American Sociological Association's 2021 Paul Sweezy Outstanding Book Prize and the 2022 Immanuel Wallerstein Memorial Book Award.

The book demonstrates that the production process under global capitalism is governed by a universal logic that shapes the structural bargaining power of workers.

He’s a member of the editorial collective of the journal Historical Materialism.

Twitter:

@broseph_stalin

@momodoutaal

@ctayj

Instagram:

TheGambian

Broseph_stalingram

Ctayj

#76 Why is Marxism still relevant? - Professor Stephan Hammel & Christian Joseph Jan 11, 2023

In this episode we discuss why Marxism in our current moment has a new lease on life?

Stephan Hammel’s work is focused on developing a historical materialist framework for the study of music. His research encompasses the history of Marxist approaches to the subject—both “Western” and “Eastern” variants—as well as the role of music in the communist movement. In addition, he harbors an interest in musical modernism in Latin America, especially as it relates to Left politics. Both agitator and educator, he frequently gives talks on political education. He has delivered papers at Left Forum, Historical Materialism, the American Society for Aesthetics, and the American Musicological Society.

I.G. @TheGambian

@CtayJ

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@Ctayj

#75 How do we build Socialism in the US? - Dr. Jodi Dean & Annie Teriba Dec 31, 2022

In this episode, we spoke to Professor Jodi Dean regarding what a socialist future would look like. And how we can make steps in advancing to a socialist project in the United States

#74 The Legacy of Sekou Toure - Professor Siba Grovogui Dec 10, 2022

In this episode, we discuss the legacy of Guinean's first president and Pan-Africanist Ahmed Sekou Toure.

Grovogui is a professor at Cornell university of international relations theory and law.

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

#73 Introduction to Islamic Liberation Theology - Professor Farid Esack Dec 03, 2022

What is Islamic Liberation Theology? Listen in as we speak to Professor Farid Esack on how we may utilise Islamic liberation theology in our fight for justice

Farid Esack (born 1955 in Wynberg, Cape Town) is a South African Muslim scholar, writer, and political activist known for his opposition to apartheid, his appointment by Nelson Mandela as a gender equity commissioner, and his work for inter-religious dialogue.

I.G. @TheGambian

@MetalMaoMustafa

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@AshaariML

#72 Elections, Solidarity & Understanding US History - Dr. Gerald Horne Nov 21, 2022

In this episode we speak to Dr. Gerald Horne on all things elections. He gives us his post-midterm election analysis whilst delving into the utility of elections and much more!

Gerald Horne, is an American historian who currently holds the John J. and Rebecca Moores Chair of History and African American Studies at the University of Houston.

I.G. @TheGambian

@CtayJ

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@Ctayj

#71 Let’s talk Film! - Comrade Yami Nov 12, 2022

We're talking film, arts and politics with Comrade Yami

Xtian Osagiede is a Nigerian American artists and filmmaker. He's committed to creating Transgressive Cinema that depicts visceral, emotionally intense experiences.

“Christian, also known as comradeyami on IG”

“Check out HUNTED his debut short film here:

https://vimeo.com/704682201

#70 A look at Cedric Robinson’s ’Black Marxism’ - Annie Olaloku-Teriba Oct 27, 2022

In this episode Annie and I discuss Cedric Robinson's Black Marxism. Its rise to prominence, the position it occupies within the academy and what are some critiques?

Annie Olaloku-Teriba is a PhD student based in London, working on legacies of empire and the complex histories of race.

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@Annie_etc_

#69 The Western Muslim Scholarly class and Their Right Wing Obsession -Yahya Birt Oct 17, 2022

I spoke to Yahya Birt regarding his article. We cover why so many Muslim scholars in the West have decided to align themselves with right wing ideologies.

Yahya Birt has published over a dozen peer-reviewed articles on Islam in Britain and co-edited British Secularism and Religion (2016), Islam in Victorian Liverpool (2021) and The Collected Poems of Abdullah Quilliam (2021). In 2022, he published his first poetry collection, Pandemic Pilgrimage. As a research director at the Ayaan Institute in London, he published Ummah at the Margins: The Past, Present, and Future of Muslim Minorities (2022). He is a co-editor of the Oxford British Muslim Studies series for the Oxford University Press. He lives in West Yorkshire with his family and cat. He likes walking and being grumpy about the state of the world.

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@YBirt

#68 Laundering Black Rage Part 2 -Too Black & Deej Oct 08, 2022

In this episode, Deej takes over The Malcolm Effect for part 2 of the discussion with Too Black on his essay, ' Laundering Black Rage'

Article can be found here

Too Black is a poet, traveling and teaching artist, and author fusing historical content, current events, creative practice, and interpersonal interaction on international stages. He is currently the host of the Black Myths Podcast: a podcast debunking the BS said about Black people while also the producer for The Last Dope Intellectual: an unapologetically radical Black web show hosted by Dr. Charisse Burden-Stelly and Dr. Layla Brown.

Too Black blends critical analysis with biting sarcasm. He has headlined various stages and events including the historic Nuyorican Poets Café in New York City, Princeton University, and Johannesburg Theater in South Africa. His words have been published in online publications such as Black Agenda Report, Left Voice, Blavity, and Hood Communist.

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@Too_Black_

@FanonIsCanon

#67 Laundering Black Rage Part 1 - Too Black Sep 28, 2022

In this 2 part episode, we unpack Too Black's recent article, titled 'Laundering Black Rage'.

Too Black is a poet, traveling and teaching artist, and author fusing historical content, current events, creative practice, and interpersonal interaction on international stages. He is currently the host of the Black Myths Podcast: a podcast debunking the BS said about Black people while also the producer for The Last Dope Intellectual: an unapologetically radical Black web show hosted by Dr. Charisse Burden-Stelly and Dr. Layla Brown.

Too Black blends critical analysis with biting sarcasm. He has headlined various stages and events including the historic Nuyorican Poets Café in New York City, Princeton University, and Johannesburg Theater in South Africa. His words have been published in online publications such as Black Agenda Report, Left Voice, Blavity and Hood Communist.

Article can be found here: Laundering Black Rage

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@Too_Black_

#66 In Conversation - Dr. Cornel West Sep 19, 2022

In this episode we speak to Dr. Cornel West about our current moment and his assessment of where we are today.

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@FanonIsCanon

@CtayJ

@CornelWest

#65 The Case Against the Sex Trade - Isa Sep 02, 2022

In this episode, Isa puts forwards arguments against the sex trade using a materialist analysis.

Isa is a 20 year old trans woman with a background in socialist organising. Isa is an avid reader who is able to teach complex theory in a digestible manner. Isa was recently involved a worldwide missing persons case that resulted in their abduction.

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@EndSanctions

#2 The Crisis Update Jun 27, 2022

This segment is a new addition to The Malcolm Effect in which we aim to release a weekly news update in line with the spirit of internationalism

(This episode was recorded on the 26th June 2022)

#64 The Story of Imperialism in Puerto Rico - Dana López Jun 21, 2022

In this episode, Dana takes us through the history and legacy of imperialism in Puerto Rico

Dana López (she, her, ella) 39 years old lives in Aguadilla Puerto Rico with her daughter, partner, and 2 cats. Studying Master of Social Work remotely at Columbia University School of Social Work (Clinical Social Work and Social Welfare Policy)

Dana grew up in several places across what is currently known as the United States racialized and socialized as a "middle class" white woman.

She returned to university as an adult to complete undergraduate work in Psychology, Social Science and Writing. Then went on to graduate school at Columbia and through the process of education and returning to Puerto Rico during the pandemic to live closer to her partners family, became deeply interested- if not obsessed with the ways that oppressive US imperialist policy is enacted and impacts the people of Puerto Rico. She discusses the throughlines from invasion to current issues of "status" of Puerto Rico. The ongoing displacement and gentrification of Puerto Ricans and the ways that the US obscures the colonial and imperialist "relationship" between Puerto Rico and the US.

Only some of many books, articles and names for further learning about this issue:

-War Against All Puerto Ricans, Nelson A. Denis

-How to Hide an Empire, Daniel Immerwahr

-La Mordaza (The Gag Law), Ivonne Acosta Lespier

-Free Puerto Rico, Pedro Albizu Campos (anything about Albizu Campos)

-Disaster Capitalism, Naomi Klein

-For those who like Marx and poetry... Read Lo Terciario/The Tertiary by Raquel Salas Rivera

-Centro Archives at Hunter College CUNY

https://centropr.hunter.cuny.edu/library/#archivesSection

-Boricua College Archives

-University of Puerto Rico Archives

Policy list and key points mentioned for further research:
El Grito de Lares

Carta de Autonomia

The Jones Act

The Gag Law

US Public Law 136 (forced sterilization of women in Puerto Rico)

Cornelius Rhoades

Ponce Massacre

Nationality Act

Act 20/22/60

PROMESA/ La Junta

Vieques bombings

History of pharmaceutical business, contraception testing

UN Decisions on decolonization of Puerto Rico

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@DLopezsocialwrk

#1 The Crisis Update Jun 13, 2022

This segment is a new addition to The Malcolm Effect in which we aim to release a weekly news update in line with the spirit of internationalism

(This episode was recorded on the 10th June 2022)

#63 A Historical Analysis of Gun Laws in the USA - Dr. Gerald Horne & Christian Joseph Jun 04, 2022

In light of recent mass shootings, Professor Gerald Horne takes us through a historical analysis of US gun laws.

Gerald Horne, is an American historian who currently holds the John J. and Rebecca Moores Chair of History and African American Studies at the University of Houston.

I.G. @TheGambian

@CtayJ

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@Ctayj

#62 The Current Culture War and How The Left Should Respond - Dr. Aurelien Mondon May 20, 2022

In this episode I spoke to Aurelien Mondon regarding how those on the left should, if at all, respond to the current iteration of 'the culture war'

Aurelien Mondon is a Senior Lecturer in politics at the University of Bath. His research focuses predominantly on the impact of racism and populism on liberal democracies and the mainstreaming of far right politics through elite discourse. His first book, The Mainstreaming of the Extreme Right in France and Australia: A Populist Hegemony?, was published in 2013 and he recently co-edited After Charlie Hebdo: Terror, racism and free speechpublished with Zed. His new book Reactionary democracy: How racism and the populist far right became mainstream, co-written with Aaron Winter, is now out with Verso.

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@AurelMondon

#61 What is Materialism? And What Does a Black Materialist Politic Sound Like? - Aaron Booe May 14, 2022

In this episode, I spoke to Aaron as they broke down what is materialism and why they choose to adopt a materialist politic when thinking about Black liberation.

Aaron Booe is an organizer with the Claudia Jones School for Political Education in Washington, D.C. Currently, they are studying Political Science and Economics at Howard University.

I.G. @TheGambian

@aaron_bo02

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@Afromaterialism

#60 Not All Blacks Have Your Back -Too Black May 01, 2022

In this episode, I spoke to the dope Too Black regarding how we should organise and build politically, particularly focusing on what our approach should be towards the Black bourgeoisie

Too Black is a poet, traveling and teaching artist, and author fusing historical content, current events, creative practice, and interpersonal interaction on international stages. He is currently the host of the Black Myths Podcast: a podcast debunking the BS said about Black people while also the producer for The Last Dope Intellectual: an unapologetically radical Black web show hosted by Dr. Charisse Burden-Stelly and Dr. Layla Brown.

Too Black blends critical analysis with biting sarcasm. He has headlined various stages and events including the historic Nuyorican Poets Café in New York City, Princeton University, and Johannesburg Theater in South Africa. His words have been published in online publications such as Black Agenda Report, Left Voice, Blavity and Hood Communist.

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@Too_Black_

#59 ”What is Race?” - Professor Alana Lentin Apr 20, 2022

We often hear that race is a social construct, however that doesn't actually tell us what race is doing. In this episode Alana Lentin calls us to think of race as a technology of power. Listen in for another amazing episode.

Alana Lentin is Professor of Cultural and Social Analysis at Western Sydney University. She is a Jewish European woman who is a settler on Gadigal land (Sydney, Australia). She works on the critical theorization of race, racism and antiracism. Her latest book is Why Race Still Matters (Polity 2020) and she previously published The Crises of Multiculturalism: Racism in a neoliberal age with Gavan Titley (Zed, 2011). She co-edits the Rowman & Littlefield ‘Challenging Migration Studies’ books series and the ‘Decolonization and Social Worlds’ series at Bristol University Press. She is an editorial board member of Ethnic and Racial Studies and Identities among other journals. Her academic and media articles as well as videos, podcasts, and teaching materials can be found at www.alanalentin.net

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@AlanaLentin

#58 A Material Analysis Of Space and Borders - Gregk Foley Apr 07, 2022

Borders are imaginary however, their maintenance requires a series of material policies. Listen in as Gregk unpacks the nature of bordering and what a Marxist analysis of borders and space sounds like

Gregk Foley is an independent researcher based in the UK. His research interests concern the political geographies of border/ing regimes, policing, security and war.

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@Gregkfoley

#57 A Look At Now - Dr. Gerald Horne & Christian Joseph Mar 16, 2022

In this episode I was joined by Dr. Gerald Horne & Christian, as we speak about Black politics today.

Gerald Horne, is an American historian who currently holds the John J. and Rebecca Moores Chair of History and African American Studies at the University of Houston.

I.G. @TheGambian

@CtayJ

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@Ctayj

#56 An Introduction to Decolonial Theory - Dr. Jairo I. Fúnez Feb 18, 2022

Listen in as Dr. Jairo I. Fúnez breakdowns what exactly is decolonial theory and decolonisation.

Jairo I. Fúnez-Flores, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Curriculum Studies at Texas Tech University. His research works at the intersections of sociocultural studies of education, curriculum studies, decolonial theory, and qualitative methodology. He has a particular interest in the ways in which Latin American student movements create alternative pedagogical spaces within and beyond educational institutions. Through critical ethnography his work interprets how student activists construct political identities, knowledges, pedagogies, and practices of resistance that unsettle neoliberal education reform. Jairo’s research also theorizes the geopolitics of curriculum and examines how curriculum reform perpetuates coloniality within the context of neoliberal globalization. His most recent work advances transgressive decolonial hermeneutics in activist education research and examines the conceptual and methodological points of convergence between the decolonial and ontological turn in social theory.

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@Jairo_I_Funez

#55 Imperialism, Revolution & Our Current Moment -Vijay Prashad & Christian Joseph Jan 31, 2022

What is Imperialism? Is revolution feasible in our current moment? Listen in as Vijay Prashad, Christian Joseph and I think through these questions and more,

Vijay Prashad is an Indian historian, journalist, commentator, and a Marxist intellectual. He is an executive-director of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research and the Chief Editor of LeftWord Books.

I.G. @TheGambian

@PossibleHistory

@CtayJ

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@VijayPrashad

@Ctayj

#54 What is Black Male Studies? - Professor Tommy J. Curry & Annie Teriba Jan 20, 2022

*Trigger Warning* Some of the topics discussed here cover sexual violence

Super excited to share this conversation with you all. Listen in as Professor Curry, Annie and I discuss the project of Black Male Studies

Tommy J. Curry is an African American scholar, author and professor of philosophy. As of 2019, he holds a Personal Chair in Africana philosophy and Black male studies at the University of Edinburgh. In 2018, he won an American Book Award for The Man-Not: Race, Class, Genre, and the Dilemmas of Black Manhood

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@Annie_etc_

@DrTJC

#53 Black Men, Privilege & Patriarchy - Deej Jan 12, 2022

First episode of the new year and there’s no better way than to be in conversation with Deej on Black Men, Black Feminism(s), and Gender.

Khadijah Diskin is a PhD Researcher in Psychology. Her research explores the psychosocial dimension of Black students experiences in British higher education, using Lacanian discourse analysis to interrogate the intersubjective convergences of race, coloniality and neoliberalisation.

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@FanonIsCanon

#52 A material analysis of Palestine - Yara Shoufani Nov 17, 2021

Yara joins me again on The Malcolm Effect to discuss what a material analysis of Palestine sounds like.

Yara Shoufani is an organizer with the Palestinian Youth Movement in Toronto. She holds a master's in political science, with a research focus on colonisation and gentrification in Occupied Palestine.

Super dope episode! Listen in and share!

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@Yaraxsh

#51 An Introduction to Gender Studies - Dr. Melyssa Haffaf Nov 03, 2021

All things gender! Listen in as Dr. Haffaf takes us through an introduction to gender studies and an explanation of the current debates

Dr. Melyssa Haffaf is the Program Director of the Georgetown University Gender+ Justice Initiative, where she also teaches Women's and Gender Studies courses. She holds a Bachelor Degree in Sociology and Philosophy from the University of Paris IV – La Sorbonne, and a Doctorate in Literary, Cultural and Linguistic Studies with a focus on Gender from the University of Miami. Her dissertation entitled Shifting Masculinities from North Africa examined discourse and literary representations of masculinity in post-colonial Algeria, Egypt and Morocco.

Dr. Haffaf’s research interests include North African cultural productions, Islamic studies, gender studies, feminist theory and praxis, and decolonial and racial theory.

#50 An Introduction to Political Economy - Dr. Bikrum Gill Oct 25, 2021

All things political economy! An introduction to Political Economy with Dr. Gill

This episode gives an introduction to political economy and Marxian economies, we define key terms that we often hear in our circles.

Dr. Gill is currently working on a book manuscript titled “Race, Nature, and Accumulation: A Decolonial Political Ecological Analysis of Land Grabbing.” This book examines the motives and consequences of the post financial crisis phenomenon of large-scale agricultural land grabbing, with a particular focus on the “South-South” case of Indian agricultural companies expanding into the Gambella province of Ethiopia. Combining political ecology, political economy, and decolonial theory, this work situates the land grab within the longue duree of colonial-capitalist modernity, and advances the argument that the land grab, as a distinctive post-crisis phenomenon, signifies an attempt to re-constitute the racialized social-ecology of global capitalist development.

Dr. Gill’s subsequent work will build off from some of the larger implications of the book project, and will seek to intervene in particular into the emergent “epoch” debates which are centered upon locating the social-ecological crisis of climate change within a distinctive geological epoch defined by the rise of the human as geological agent. Specifically, he is concerned with the Eurocentric premise of the major approaches, whether identified as Anthropocene or Capitalocene, as they are all united in granting historical priority to the generative agency of the European human. His approach aims to extend the debate beyond such Eurocentrism, by foregrounding instead how the structuring relations defining the epoch of the climate crisis are born out of the European settler/master’s racialized response to the social-ecological world-making knowledge and agency of non-European peoples. This project thus engages a deeper global history and broader geography of social-ecological co-constitution in order to emphasize first how non-Europeans have been involved in landscape formation for millennia prior to the colonial-capitalist era, and, second, how such knowledge and practice have been both appropriated and erased by colonizing forces.

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@realDrcabbie

#49 Is Islam an anti black religion? - Mustafa Briggs Oct 14, 2021

I believe that the discourse that Islam is an anti black religion, is a disingenuous engagement and routinely attempts to remove the revolutionary possibilities that have been found in Islam by figures such as Malcolm. Listen in as my bro Mustafa Briggs responds to the question.

Mustafa Briggs, is a graduate of Arabic and International Relations from the University of Westminster whose dissertation focused on Arabic Literature and Literacy in West Africa. Mustafa started an MA in Translation at SOAS, University of London with a specialisation in Arabic and Islamic Texts, before going onto al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt where he is currently doing another degree in Islamic Studies and Arabic.

Mustafa rose to international acclaim for his ‘Beyond Bilal: Black History in Islam’ lecture series which saw him explore and uncover the deep routed relationship between Islam and Black History; and the legacy of contemporary African Islamic Scholarship and its role in the International Relations of the Muslim World as well as the vital role Female Scholarship plays in the West African Islamic Tradition, which he presented at over 30 Universities across 3 continents, including Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard and Yale.

Mustafa has also been featured on international media such as AlJazeera and Islam Channel to discuss themes such as Islamic History and Blackness and Islam and is currently working on forthcoming translations of Traditional West African Islamic Texts.

I.G. @TheGambian

@MustafaBriggs

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

#48 Cuba, Revolution and The Act of Solidarity - Manolo De La Santos Sep 14, 2021

In this episode, I speak to Manolo about the reality on the ground in Cuba, how we can truly be in solidarity with those who are victims of imperial violence amongst many other topics.

Manolo De Los Santos is Co-Executive Director of The People’s Forum and researcher at Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research. He co-edited, most recently, Viviremos: Venezuela vs Hybrid War (LeftWord 2020).

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@manolo_realengo

#47 A Material Analysis of Race -Annie Teriba Sep 06, 2021

What is material analysis? And why is it important to take a material analysis to race and understanding blackness? A masterclass on why we must take a material analysis when thinking about the dispossession of black people.

Annie Olaloku-Teriba is an independent researcher based in London, working on legacies of empire and the complex histories of race.

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@Annie_etc_

#46 Afghanistan; past and present - Justin Podur Aug 23, 2021

I was joined by anti-imperialist author, Justin Podur, as he breaks down the situation in Afghanistan today whilst highlighting key historical events that have contributed to the present moment.

Justin Podur is the author (with Joe Emersberger) of Extraordinary Threat: The US Empire, the Media, and 20 Years of Coup Attempts in Venezuela (Monthly Review 2021), of America’s Wars on Democracy in Rwanda and the DR Congo (Palgrave Macmillan 2020) and Haiti’s New Dictatorship (Pluto Press 2012). He has contributed chapters to Empire’s Ally: Canada and the War in Afghanistan (University of Toronto Press 2013) and Real Utopia (AK Press 2008). He is an Associate Professor at York University’s Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change.

In fiction Justin is the author of three novels: The Path of the Unarmed (self-published on Wattpad 2020), Siegebreakers (Roseway 2019) and the Demands of the Dead (self-published 2014).

A fellow of the Independent Media Institute’s Globetrotter project, he has previously reported from India (Kashmir, Chhattisgarh), Afghanistan, Pakistan, Haiti, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico (Chiapas), and Israel/Palestine for ZNet, TeleSUR, rabble.ca, Ricochet, and other publications.

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@JustinPodur

#45 "From Conservatism to Nkrumah" - Tristan Graham Aug 16, 2021

An engaging conversation with Tristan, a thinker and activist from Jamaica as we speak about the things he is thinking through politically.

Tristan Graham was born on January 15, 2001, in Kingston, Jamaica. He is a Revolutionary Pan-Africanist and young author who specializes in African/African Diaspora history, Philosophy, Gender Studies, and Political Science.

Tristan is a well-read young scholar who has an insatiable yearning for knowledge. He currently divides his time amongst, reading articles/books, university, and his love of sports.

The words of Malcolm X’s - You Can’t Hate The Roots of A Tree And Not Hate That Tree speech ignited a flame in his heart and mind at the age of 18. Since then, he has dedicated himself to rigid philosophical, historical, and political studies via his library of approximately 60 books.

Among his main influences are Malcolm X, Kwame Nkrumah, Ahmed Sekou Toure, Julius Nyerere, Kwame Ture, Marcus Garvey, Thomas Sankara, Dr Yosef Ben Jochannan, Cheikh Anta Diop, Mumia Abu-Jamal, Clenora Hudson-Weems, Dr. Cornel West, Karl Marx, Socrates, and Lao Tzu.

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@TristanG300

#44 The Global Imprint of Imperialism - Yara Shoufani Aug 02, 2021

What is imperialism? Which countries are imperialist? Listen in as I discuss with all things imperialism with Yara

Yara Shoufani is an organizer with the Palestinian Youth Movement in Toronto. She holds a master's in political science, with a research focus on colonisation and gentrification in Occupied Palestine.

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@Yaraxsh

#43 An Intro to Claudia Jones - Zifeng Liu Jul 25, 2021

Listen in as Zifeng eloquently and succinctly introduces us to the life of the revolutionary Claudia Jones.

Zifeng Liu is an intellectual historian of the 20th-century Africana world with specializations in Black internationalism, anticolonial thought, and Afro-Asian solidarity. His current project "Redrawing the Balance of Power: Black Left Feminists, Mao’s China, and the Making of an Afro-Asian Political Imaginary" explores how Black leftist women’s understandings of race, class, gender, sexuality, and empire evolved as they sought Afro-Chinese solidarity within often difficult geopolitical contexts. His research has been featured in The Economist and CGTN. And his essays and reviews in English and Chinese on Black radicalism and African American political culture have been published in the Journal of Intersectionality, Journal of African American History, Journal of Beihang University, The Paper, Initium Media, and SINA News. Zifeng Liu is currently a doctoral candidate in Africana Studies at Cornell University.

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@Zifeng_Liu

#42 "The Clever Blacks" - Nkazimulo Moyeni Jul 21, 2021

In this weeks episode, I am joined by Nkazi from South Africa in which we discuss the all too often familiar phenomena of the black bourgeoisie/middle class, with a particular focus on the South African post apartheid context.

Nkazimulo Moyeni is a Zulu storyteller who has been blessed with the opportunity to use corporate law, photography and writing as mediums of expressing his narrative. A father and a husband to a loving wife, who ensured that the whole house was silent while we did the podcast, ( it’s important that your listeners know this, or else that will be the last silence I experience)

I.G. @TheGambian

Nkosi_nkazi

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

#41 Let's talk all things politics - Asad Dandia Jul 13, 2021

Got to catch up with none other than Asad as we talk all things politics as it pertains to our current moment

Asad Dandia is a Brooklyn-born writer, organizer, and teacher. He recently graduated Columbia University with an MA in Islamic Studies and holds a BS in social work from NYU. He was a co-plaintiff in the historic 'Raza vs City of NY' lawsuit which challenged NYPD surveillance on behalf of Muslim communities and organizations. He writes on modern Islamic thought, radical/labor politics, and post/de-colonial theory. He is co-host of the New Books in Middle East Studies podcast on the New Books Network and his writing has been featured in Al-Jazeera English, the LA Review of Books, the Washington Post, among other publications. His MA Thesis at Columbia was entitled, “Rethinking Islamic Studies: Muhammad Iqbal’s Philosophy as Decolonial Critique.”

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@DandiaAsad

@MomodouTaal

#40 Let's talk Pan-Africanism - Dr. Layla Brown Jul 06, 2021

Dr. Layla Brown joins me for another discussion on all things Pan-Africanism. Listen in as we discuss the pan Africanism as defined by Sékou Toure and Kwame Nkrumah, as well the problems with ADOS, Neo-colonialism and much more!

Layla Brown is a member of the All African People’s Revolutionary Party-GC and currently works as an Assistant Professor of Africana Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

Layla earned a PhD in Cultural Anthropology from Duke University in her home state of North Carolina where her research focused on Black racial identity formation in Latin America and the US and its impact on Black Radical Organising in the era of Black Lives Matter. She is currently working on her first book manuscript Return to the Source: The Dialectics of 21st Century Pan-African Liberation based largely on her dissertation research.

Layla spent all of 2020 as a Visiting Research Fellow at the Johannesburg Institute for Advanced Study where her research expanded to examine the crisis of racial capitalism and the COVID-19 pandemic. In the fall of 2021 she will be a Senior Research Fellow at the Käte Hamburger Kolleg / Centre for Global Cooperation Research. Her most recent scholarly work “The Pandemic of Racial Capitalism: Another World Is Possible” can be found in From the European South: A Transdisciplinary Journal of Postcolonial Humanities.

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@PanAfrikFem_Phd

@MomodouTaal

#39 What Are Our Sources for Struggle? - Dr. Joy James & Khadijah Diskin Jun 20, 2021

In this episode I speak with Dr. Joy James and Khadijah Diskin in which we talk all things liberation. We spoke on black feminism today, sources of our struggle, how we can develop a language that speaks to the race, class and function dynamics and so much more

Joy James is the Ebenezer Fitch Professor of the Humanities at Williams College.

James is author of: Shadowboxing: Representations of Black Feminist Politics; Transcending the Talented Tenth: Black Leaders and American Intellectuals; Resisting State Violence: Radicalism, Gender and Race in U.S. Culture. Her edited books include: Warfare in the American Homeland; The New Abolitionists: (Neo) Slave Narratives and Contemporary Prison Writings; Imprisoned Intellectuals; States of Confinement; The Black Feminist Reader (co-edited with TD Sharpley-Whiting); and The Angela Y. Davis Reader. James is completing a book on the prosecution of 20th-century interracial rape cases, tentatively titled “Memory, Shame & Rage.” She has contributed articles and book chapters to journals and anthologies addressing feminist and critical race theory, democracy, and social justice.

She is the recipient of grants, fellowships or awards from: the Fletcher Foundation; the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities; the Rockefeller Foundation; the Bellagio Fellowship; the Aaron Diamond Foundation/Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture; the Ford Foundation; and the Gustavus Myers Human Rights Award.

Khadijah Diskin is a PhD Researcher in Psychology. Her research explores the psychosocial dimension of Black students experiences in British higher education, using Lacanian discourse analysis to interrogate the intersubjective convergences of race, coloniality and neoliberalisation.

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@FanonIsCanon

#38 How Can The Left Win? -Dr. Aurelien Mondon Jun 11, 2021

In this episode, Aurelien and I discuss what the left needs to do to win.

Aurelien Mondon is a Senior Lecturer in politics at the University of Bath. His research focuses predominantly on the impact of racism and populism on liberal democracies and the mainstreaming of far right politics through elite discourse. His first book, The Mainstreaming of the Extreme Right in France and Australia: A Populist Hegemony?, was published in 2013 and he recently co-edited After Charlie Hebdo: Terror, racism and free speechpublished with Zed. His new book Reactionary democracy: How racism and the populist far right became mainstream, co-written with Aaron Winter, is now out with Verso.

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@AurelMondon

#37 Our Present Moment - Professor D. G. Kelley May 30, 2021

A 3 way conversation with the legendary Robin Kelley. In this episode Christian and I discuss with Robin Kelley on matters related to our present moment and his works.

Born in New York City, Kelley earned his Bachelor's degree from California State University, Long Beach, in 1983. By 1987 he had earned a masters in African history and doctorate in US history from UCLA.[8]

After earning his doctorate, he began his career as an Assistant Professor at Southeastern Massachusetts University, then to Emory University, and the University of Michigan, where he was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure. He later moved to the Department of History at New York University, where he was promoted to the rank of Professor and taught courses on U.S. history, African-American history, and popular culture. At the age of 32, he was the youngest full professor at NYU.[8] He is a Distinguished Fellow of the Rothermere American Institute at the University of Oxford.

Kelley has spent most of his career exploring American and African-American history, with a particular emphasis on radical social movements and the political dynamics at work within African-American culture, including jazz, hip-hop, and visual arts.[9][10][11]

Although influenced by Marxism, Kelley has eschewed a doctrinaire Marxist approach to aesthetics and culture, preferring a modified surrealist approach. He has described himself in the past as a "Marxist surrealist feminist who is not just anti something but pro-emancipation, pro-liberation."[12]

Kelley has also used the concept of racial capitalism in his work

I.G. @TheGambian

@Ctayj

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@CtayJ

#36 Sham says read 'Pedagogy of The Oppressed' - Sham May 24, 2021

What is revolutionary education? Sham and I discuss the current educational system and why reading Paulo Freire's Pedagogy can provide much needed insight into developing a radical education

Sham is a Baghdad born Masters in Law graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Development. Sham so the co-founder of A is for Activism, a local grassroots bookclub that focuses on works of radical Marxists

I.G. @TheGambian

@CurlyThug

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@BitterArab

#35 Climate Justice is Racial Justice - Athian Akec May 14, 2021

Are you aware how racism plays a role in climate justice activism? Athian helps me unpack how the two are connected.

Athian Akec is an 18 year old activist, writer and speaker. His main areas of focus are climate change, youth violence and racial inequality. As a part of this he's written for the Guardian, Independent, Huffpost, I-d magazine, Huck Magazine, Hunger Mag and other national newspapers. Additionally he's spoken in the House of Commons as a part of the UK Youth Parliament. Athian also sits on the board of a youth charity and a commission in Camden focusing on economic renewal following the pandemic.

I.G. @TheGambian

@Kultural.Renaissance

Twitter:

@Athianakec_

@MomodouTaal

#34 Choppin' It Up - Christian Joseph Apr 30, 2021

A catch up with my dear friend Christian on some of the things we’re thinking about currently.

Christian Joseph is a recent college graduate, who has a keen interest in political economy and questions that concern Black liberation

I.G. @TheGambian

@Ctayj

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@CtayJ

#33 Race, Capitalism and the Myth of the Black Capitalist - Dr. CBS Apr 23, 2021

We often here that you cannot separate race from capitalism or that we can reform capitalism and make it more ethical. Listen in as I discuss with Dr. CBS on what is the link between race and capitalism, the myth of black capitalism, black liberals and advice on how we should organise

Dr. Charisse Burden-Stelly is the 2020-2021 Visiting Scholar in the Race and Capitalism Project at the University of Chicago and an Assistant Professor of Africana Studies and Political Science at Carleton College. She is the co-lead of the Black Alliance for Peace Research & Political Education Team. A scholar of critical Black studies, political theory, political economy, and intellectual history, Burden-Stelly is the co-author, with Gerald Horne, of W.E.B. Du Bois: A Life in American History. She is currently working on a book manuscript titled Black Scare/Red Scare: Antiblackness, Anticommunism, and the Rise of Capitalism in the United States. Burden-Stelly’s published work appears in journals including Small Axe, Souls, Du Bois Review, Socialism & Democracy, International Journal of Africana Studies, and the CLR James Journal. Her public scholarship can be found in venues including Monthly Review, Boston Review, and Black Perspectives. She is the host of “The Last Dope Intellectual” podcast, which is part of the Black Power Media network and the co-editor of The Black Agenda Review.

I.G. @TheGambian
Blackleftaf
Twitter:
@MomodouTaal
@Blackleftaf

#32 What Comes After The Race Report? - Khadijah Diskin Apr 16, 2021

We are still reeling from the government’s terrible race report. Listen in to my conversation with Deej about what our focuses should be in terms of organising and going forward.

Khadijah Diskin is a PhD Researcher in Psychology. Her research explores the psychosocial dimension of Black students experiences in British higher education, using Lacanian discourse analysis to interrogate the intersubjective convergences of race, coloniality and neoliberalisation.

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@FanonIsCanon

#31 Has Racism Ended In Britain? - Dr. Nick Guyatt Apr 11, 2021

The Government’s Race report has concluded that there is no institutional racism in the U.K.

Listen in as I discuss with Dr. Nick Guyatt as we unpack the report

Nick Guyatt teaches American history at the University of Cambridge in the UK. He’s written about history, race and politics for the Guardian, the New York Times, the London Review of Books and many other publications. His most recent book is Bind Us Apart: How Enlightened Americans Invented Racial Segregation (Basic Books, 2016).

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@NicholasGuyatt

#30 Marxism; Myth Busting - Vijay Prashad Apr 02, 2021

A lot of you asked me to do a breakdown of commonly used terminology that we hear in politics and economics. So I sat down with Vijay Prashad, where we talk all things Marxism.

Vijay Prashad is an Indian historian, journalist, commentator, and a Marxist intellectual. He is an executive-director of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research and the Chief Editor of LeftWord Books.

I.G. @TheGambian

@Kultural.Renaissance

@PossibleHistory

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@VijayPrashad

#29 Rest is Revolutionary - Nabila “Nebulosity” Wasi Mar 28, 2021

Loved this conversation surrounding the role of meditative practices in activism Nabila “Nebulosity” Wasi, M.A., Wellness Entrepreneur and Founder of MindBodySol Wellness, is an Educational Leader/Educator, a Program Management Professional, Certified Holistic Health Coach and Yoga Teacher, community organizer, researcher, multi-genre storyteller, and abolitionist. Her current programming and research emphasis is rooted in holistic and prophetic wellness, anti-racism education, distance learning and instructional design, social impact storytelling, transformation coaching, and women’s leadership development. For her commitment to leadership, social justice, and cultivating community, she was selected as a Champions for Change Leaders of Color Fellowship.

She holds a Master of Arts degree from California State University, Sacramento in Education Leadership, as well as a BA in Psychology and Spanish, with a minor in African/African American Studies from the University of California, Davis. As a lifelong seeker of sacred Islamic knowledge, she has studied under a variety of renowned Islamic teachers, attended courses at Zaytuna College, and traveled the world spreading and studying Islam.

I.G. @TheGambian

@Kultural.Renaissance

@NebulaNabila

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

#28 What does it mean to be a Pan-African Feminist? - Dr. Layla Brown-Vincent Mar 21, 2021

What does it mean to be a pan African feminist? In this episode I had the privilege to speak to Dr. Layla Brown-Vincent as she helped unpack these terms.

Layla Brown-Vincent is a member of the All African People’s Revolutionary Party-GC and currently works as an Assistant Professor of Africana Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

Layla earned a PhD in Cultural Anthropology from Duke University in her home state of North Carolina where her research focused on Black racial identity formation in Latin America and the US and its impact on Black Radical Organising in the era of Black Lives Matter. She is currently working on her first book manuscript Return to the Source: The Dialectics of 21st Century Pan-African Liberation based largely on her dissertation research.

Layla spent all of 2020 as a Visiting Research Fellow at the Johannesburg Institute for Advanced Study where her research expanded to examine the crisis of racial capitalism and the COVID-19 pandemic. In the fall of 2021 she will be a Senior Research Fellow at the Käte Hamburger Kolleg / Centre for Global Cooperation Research. Her most recent scholarly work “The Pandemic of Racial Capitalism: Another World Is Possible” can be found in From the European South: A Transdisciplinary Journal of Postcolonial Humanities.

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@PanAfrikFem_Phd

@MomodouTaal

#27 How to love black people (Politically) - Janine Francois Mar 14, 2021

In this episode I discuss with Janine on how we adopt a politic that is the highest form of love for black people.

Janine Francois is a Black British Feminist, Critic and Writer and her practices deconstructs whiteness (and race) within cultural and academic institutions by way of writing, curating/ producing, research and teaching. Janine is also a Ph.D candidate at University of Bedfordshire/ Tate.

I.G. @TheGambian

@Kultural.Renaissance

Twitter:

@ItsJaninebtw

@MomodouTaal

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