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

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 speech published 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

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

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Too Black is a poet, traveling and teaching artist, and author fusing historical content, current events, creative practice, and interpersonal interaction on international stages.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.

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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.

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I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@Too_Black_

#59 ”What is Race?” - Professor Alana Lentin

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

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

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

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

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

*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.

I.G. @TheGambian

Twitter:

@MomodouTaal

@Annie_etc_

@DrTJC

#53 Black Men, Privilege & Patriarchy - Deej

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