How are activists shutting down radicalized militia training facilities in defense of community safety?
"Veteran activists organizing across this state [North Carolina], are concerned about a seemingly unmonitored flow of military grade weapons, training, and white warrior ideology out of the state’s privatized military and into civilian lives."
Article in the Nation by Laura Flanders on Militia Training Camps:
https://www.thenation.com/article/society/oak-grove-militia-training/

Listen and Download the Podcast/Radio Show and/or watch the TV Show Related to this commentary:
https://lauraflanders.org/2021/10/community-safety-north-carolina/

The F-Word features timely commentaries by Laura Flanders and guests. 

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A Paramilitary Industrial Complex is Growing in Americans' Backyards

"A Free Press is vital if we are to have any chance at a functioning democracy.  On that, you’d think, Right and Left might agree...."

The F-Word is released bi-weekly featuring timely commentaries by Laura Flanders and guests.

The Laura Flanders Show

F-Word:  Federal Action for Media Could Undo Some Federal Damage

Another World is Possible. Fascism Too, Is Breathing:  Listening to Arundhati Roy. 

Related episode to check out-  Arundhati Roy: Freedom, Fascism, Fiction and the Pandemic Portal

The F-Word is released bi-weekly featuring timely commentaries by Laura Flanders and guests.  Flex your media muscles, become a monthly sustaining member for $3, $5, $12 at http://Patreon.com/theLFShow

F-Word:  A Fascist World is Breathing

"Justice Breyer has announced his resignation from the Supreme Court and a Biden/Harris pick is expected to win confirmation. The Democrats’ choice is unlikely to shift the court’s balance, we’re told, but the media’s milquetoast reassurance misses the point that when it comes to balance  it’s not just the court, it’s also the public debate that’s shfted dramatically to the right.  And nomination fights have a nasty habit of playing a big role in that....  "

Related episode to check out- "Freedom for Women Requires Abolition Feminism: Suzanne Pharr & Beth Richie" .  

The F-Word is released bi-weekly featuring timely commentaries by Laura Flanders and guests. Flex your media muscles, become a monthly sustaining member for $3, $5, $12 at http://Patreon.com/theLFShow

F-Word:  Win or Lose, Nominations Debates are Dangerous

Related episode to check out- "Your Neighborhood in your Hands: A Model from the South Bronx"   

"Carter, who has gone from fighting developers in the Bronx to becoming one herself, lost her family's home after her parents died when her siblings couldn't see the value in their property beyond the pittance they could get from speculators. She lost the home place, but determined to stay in the neighborhood space, and became what she became "an urban revitalization specialist."

The F-Word is released bi-weekly featuring timely commentaries by Laura Flanders and guests. Flex your media muscles, become a monthly sustaining member for $3, $5, $12 at http://Patreon.com/theLFShow

F-Word:  Capital Not Charity

"Stocks in renewables are out performing oil and gas right now. Tipping points tip and this could be one of those...."

The F-Word is released bi-weekly featuring timely commentaries by Laura Flanders and guests. Flex your media muscles, become a monthly sustaining member for $3, $5, $12 at http://Patreon.com/theLFShow  Independent Media! Advertising free!

F-Word:  Prices Spiking, Options Shrinking. We're at a Tipping Point for Oil & Gas

"Prison abolitionist Mariam Kaba says of struggle, “We do this 'til we free us.” Likewise, it seems to me, war is 'til we stop it.  We need to stop it."

The F-Word is released bi-weekly featuring timely commentaries by Laura Flanders and guests. Flex your media muscles, become a monthly sustaining member for $3, $5, $12 at http://Patreon.com/theLFShow  Independent Media! Advertising free!

F-Word: War is Til We Stop it for Maria and Manar

Civil society must demand peace and diplomacy over war and killing as a global community. 

The F-Word is released bi-weekly featuring timely commentaries by Laura Flanders and guests.

F-Word:  Win the War. Invest in Peace. The Conversation we need to be having now

A culture of snitches? '...We describe it as horrifying when its happening in Putin's Russia, but just how different, really, is Texas?'

The F-Word is released bi-weekly featuring timely commentaries by Laura Flanders and guests.  Member supported, become a member today for early access to full conversations, online exclusives and more https://Patreon.com/theLFShow

F-Word - Russia: A Nation of Informers. Texas too?

"Something exciting is happening in McDowell County, West Virginia. There, in what used to be coal country, the American Federation of Teachers is leading a project called Reconnecting McDowell.  It's a program initiated over a decade ago by Gayle Manchin, wife of now Senator (then Governor) Joe, and it makes you think long and hard about her husband."

The F-Word is released bi-weekly featuring timely commentaries by Laura Flanders and guests. Flex your media muscles, become a monthly sustaining member for $3, $5, $12 at http://Patreon.com/theLFShow  Independent Media! Advertising free!

F-Word:   Inflating Hopes & Dreams in Manchin Country?

"A Supreme Court assault on reproductive equity, another racist slaughter, and more Palestinian death. It’s a lot."

The F-Word is released bi-weekly featuring timely commentaries by Laura Flanders and guests. Flex your media muscles, become a monthly sustaining member for $3, $5, $12 at http://Patreon.com/theLFShow  Independent Media! Advertising free!

From SCOTUS to Shireen: Linda Sarsour: Same Extremism. Same Threat.

"Birth, earth, indigenous rule, even the “demos” of government itself… Kavanaugh and his crew seem to have something against bodies they can’t control, be they human or governmental."

The F-Word is released bi-weekly featuring timely commentaries by Laura Flanders and guests. Flex your media muscles, become a monthly sustaining member for $3, $5, $12 at http://Patreon.com/theLFShow  Independent Media!

F-Word:  Extreme Supremes Have Something Against Bodies

"'It would be easier for people to understand what could have happened on January 6th in DC, if they knew what actually happened on November 10th,  in 1898, in Wilmington,' Cedric Harrison told me"

The F-Word is released bi-weekly featuring timely commentaries by Laura Flanders and guests. Flex your media muscles, become a monthly sustaining member for $3, $5, $12 at https://Patreon.com/theLFShow  Independent Media! Advertising free!

F-Word:  Democracy is under Seige in Small Town USA

You can catch my interview with award-winning reporter Soledad OBrien about how she recommends reporting on liars, through subscribing to the free Laura Flanders Show Podcast feed, or catch the program on hundreds of PBS stations and on YouTube. Go to https://LauraFlanders.org for more information.

The F-Word is released bi-weekly featuring timely commentaries by Laura Flanders and guests. Flex your media muscles, become a monthly sustaining member for $3, $5, $12 at https://Patreon.com/theLFShow  Independent Media! Advertising free!

F-Word: Election Deniers Aren't Born, They're Bred

"What makes the obsession with polling so problematic is that it ignores the way that polls, even when they're right, are bad for our politics. Polls shrink our options, over-determine policy, and distract us from real life."

The F-Word is released bi-weekly featuring timely commentaries by Laura Flanders and guests. Flex your media muscles, become a monthly sustaining member for $3, $5, $12 at https://Patreon.com/theLFShow  Independent Media! Advertising free!

F-Word:  Right or Wrong Polls Aren't Good

As a monthly sustaining supporter you are receiving early access to listen and download the full uncut conversation from our episode "Johann Hari: Get Your Mind Back / Save Democracy?"

Description: Are we too distracted to think? The answer is worse than you’d expect. In his latest book, New York Times bestselling author Johann Hari says we’re all the victims of attention theft and the consequences are catastrophic, for our personal lives and our democracy. Adults in the workplace focus on a task for 3 minutes on average, and that number is declining. “We've got so many crises we need to deal with that require sustained focus and attention on the part of the citizenry,” Hari tells Laura, but our focus has been stolen by companies out to make a profit. “Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention and How to Think Deeply Again” was named one of the best books of 2022 by many publications and is out in paperback this month. In this wide-ranging conversation, Johann and Laura discuss how we got here, what structural changes we need, and how we need to stop beating ourselves up. It's not our fault we can't focus, says Hari, but we do need our minds back if we want society to function. All that and a commentary from Laura on Luddites.

Guest:  Johann Hari- Bestselling Author, “Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention and How to Think Deeply Again”

Full research and reading list to further delve into the conversation is posted at https://Patreon.com/theLFShow

Full Conversation- Johann Hari: Get Your Mind Back / Save Democracy?

Description: “THE GREAT ESCAPE: A True Story of Forced Labor and Immigrant Dreams in America” tells the story of one of the largest human trafficking schemes in modern American history and how the traffickers were finally held to account. Saket Soni was the co-founder of The New Orleans Workers Center for Racial Justice in the post-Katrina years. Today he’s the founder and director of Resilience Force, a project that comes directly out of his experience working with the men in this book. The U.S. is experiencing a labor shortage, and climate catastrophe will increase the need for disaster recovery workers. How can we build the resilient workforce we need, with the rights and equity workers deserve? Join Laura and Saket for this urgent conversation on the future of labor.

Guest:  Saket Soni, Author, THE GREAT ESCAPE: A True Story of Forced Labor and Immigrant Dreams in America; Founder & Director, Resilience Force
Full research and reading list to further delve into the conversation is available here on at https://Patreon.com/theLFShow

Saket Soni: How Trafficked Workers Pulled Off “The Great Escape”

"V (formerly Eve Ensler): Reckoning with Our Past, Transforming the Future."
Original Release Date- February 19, 2023

Description:  “Reckoning” is the new best-selling book from V (formerly Eve Ensler), author of “The Vagina Monologues” and founder of V-Day/One Billion Rising, the global movement to end violence against all women, gender-expansive people, girls, and the earth. Reckoning, writes V, is “the antidote to fascism”. In this Women’s History Month special, which includes performances by V and Laurence Olivier Award-winning actress and Tony nominee, Noma Dumezweni, Laura speaks with V about why she changed her name, her long history working for peace, the current pushback against teaching African American history, and the abortion she had at the age of 23 when she was living in a halfway home. What is the reckoning we need, and where can it lead us? What happens if we do NOT reckon?

Guest: 
V (formerly Eve Ensler): Award-winning Playwright, Author & Founder V-Day & One Billion Rising; Best-selling Author, Reckoning, The Apology

Full research and reading list to further delve into the conversation is available at Patreon here =>  https://tinyurl.com/y7xasnny

Full Conversation-  V (formerly Eve Ensler): Reckoning with Our Past, Transforming the Futur

-excerpt from the latest commentary by Laura Flanders...

"It has often been said that the US South is the testing ground for American democracy, which makes it frustrating how little attention national Democrats and their media pals give to Southern politics.  

A case in point is the decision by the North Carolina Supreme Court on April 28th, to reverse a series of election-related rulings that were handed down just months ago by the same court when it was dominated by Democrats."  

The F-Word is released bi-weekly featuring timely commentaries by Laura Flanders and guests.

You can hear that special report in our series on The War on Democracy HERE=>  https://lauraflanders.simplecast.com/episodes/deciding-the-fate-of-democracy-in-north-carolina


And take a listen/watch our prior special reports in the series via the YouTube Playlist  => https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOWumRv2zO8YCHuaVqDD-FPcY5pU4cim7

• The Forgotten Coup, January 6th & the Small Town Americans on the Frontlines of Democracy 

• Community Safety in a Time of Insurrection 

• North Carolina: Courageous Conversations in a Climate of Fear

F-Word:  Moore v Harper and the War on Democracy in North Carolina

Pharmaceutical prices in the US are astronomically high and many vulnerable people can’t afford the drugs they need. Public ownership of drug manufacturing can break the private monopolies and save lives, but it’s going to take a lot of public pressure to make change. Today, we look at the progress that’s being made to tackle America’s killer drug price problem at the state, national and global level. The Biden administration’s agreement with manufacturer Eli Lilly to cap insulin prices at $35/dose is a step, but what would really make a difference would be to get private profit and monopoly patents out of the health business altogether. In the US, California is taking the lead. Advocates Dana Brown, Luis Gil Abinader and Kevin Wren join Laura to bring us an update –  and in her closing, Laura shares some news about the impact of our investigative series from North Carolina.

Guests:
•Dana Brown: Director, Health & Economy, The Democracy Collaborative
•Luis Gil Abinader: Legal Scholar; Fellow, Georgetown University Law O'Neill Institute; Board Member, Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM)
•Kevin Wren: Queer Activist & Patient Advocate Chapter Leader, California #insulin4all; T1 International; Queer Activist & Patient Advocate, MA Evans School of Public Policy & Governance, University of Washington

Full Conversation-  America's Drug Price Nightmare: Public Production Can Save Lives

"It’s being called the Minnesota miracle, but  Minnesota’s historic legislative session was no act of god."

The F-Word is released bi-weekly featuring timely commentaries by Laura Flanders and guests.  

The Laura Flanders Show is made possible by our listeners and viewers.  Please become a sustaining member or make a one time donation at https://LauraFlanders.org/donate

F-Word:  Minnesota Democrats Codify Abortion Rights and More. It’s Not a ‘Miracle’

As a monthly sustaining supporter you are receiving early access to listen and download the full uncut conversation from our episode “Jubilee Justice Regenerative Farming: Tackling Racism with Rice.”

The following is the full conversation with Nwamaka Agbo, CEO of the Kataly Foundation and managing director of their Restorative Economics Fund. We recently featured her in our exclusive report from Central Louisiana. It’s a report on the Jubilee Justice Black Farmers Rice Project where black farmers are leading an experiment in rice, growing, regeneration and repair.  There's links to all the ways to listen and watch, along with a link to Laura's article for The Nation in the Episode Notes posted  here =>  https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-notes-s4-86055313

Full Conversation- Jubilee Justice Regenerative Farming: Tackling Racism with Rice

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed in 1990, a significant milestone in the fight for civil rights, with a vision of inclusion and respect for people with disabilities. But ableism, or discrimination in favor of able-bodied people, persists, affecting the one in four Americans with a disability. What does ableism mean and why is it still a prominent problem? Anita Cameron and Keith Jones, leaders in the disability rights and disability justice movements, have answers.

Cameron, who has been arrested nearly 150 times, participated in the "Capitol Crawl" for the passage of the ADA in 1990 and, later in 2017, she was part of the widely-publicized Rotunda Takeover with the disability advocacy group, ADAPT, to protest proposed Medicaid cuts. Her influential writings shed light on topics like ableism in media and the intersection of ableism and mental health. She currently heads the Minority Outreach at "Not Dead Yet", an organization committed to fighting ableism, or discrimination veiled as physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia of persons with disabilities.

As an African-American activist, entrepreneur, and father living with cerebral palsy, Keith Jones advocates for quality independent living for persons with disabilities. He also strives for equal access to housing, education, and voting rights - for all. In addition to his human rights work, Jones is the founder of SoulTouchin’ Experiences and has earned an Emmy award for his song "Rising Phoenix," a documentary about the Paralympic Games. This far-ranging feature, timed to coincide with the signing of the ADA on July 25, 1990, concludes with a commentary by Flanders.

Thank you for your support!

Full Conversation- The Americans with Disabilities Act: A Civil Rights Milestone With Miles To Go

In this back to school special, we look at the grassroots movement led by student activists with the support of some faculty to establish Africana Studies Departments and Puerto Rican Studies Departments at The City of New York, or CUNY’s Brooklyn College — one of the first in the country. How does this struggle relate to today’s fight for multicultural education?

Guests:
-Askia Davis: Former Superintendent of Schools, Harlem, NYC; Former Deputy Regional Superintendent, Bronx, NYC
-Sonia Nieto: Professor Emerita, Language, Literacy & Culture, College of Education UMass, Amherst; Member, National Academy of Education
-Antonio Nieves: Director of Pharmacy, Caribbean Health Outreach; Founder, Puerto Rican Institute & the Afro American Institute, Brooklyn College

Full Conversation- Africana & Puerto Rican Studies: A Student-Led Victory

This is the full conversation from the inaugural episode of Laura Flanders & Friends (formerly The Laura Flanders Show), Laura is joined by Angela Davis, a leading voice in the movement for abolition and feminism who has lots to share about her evolution and how decades of activism are coming together. From Palestine to elections, to our carceral state and collective liberation, this kickoff conversation is packed with her insight.

“When vast numbers of people come together to defend a vision of the future that they would like to see, this is how change happens. It doesn't happen because we elect a particular person to office.” - Angela Y. Davis

“[In] Birmingham, Jewish people were the very first white people to support the struggle against racism . . . Here in the US and in other parts of the world, it's actually Jewish people, young Jewish people who are inthe forefront of the struggle against Zionism.” -  Angela Y. Davis

Guest:  Angela Y. Davis: Professor, Activist, Scholar & Writer; Author, Abolition: Politics, Practices, Promises, Vol. 1.


Full Conversation- From Civil Rights to Abolition: Angela Davis Shares Her Journey

In “ZODIAC: A Graphic Memoir”, the renowned artist Ai Weiwei writes that artists should “ignite stories”, “fight for freedom” and “help us hope.” Over his long and defiant career, he has used his art in a wide variety of media to do just that. In this wide-ranging conversation with Laura Flanders, they discuss the role of the artist and ask why is “Power so afraid of art and poets?”

“I'm not this kind of very active activist. I'm just being forced to act . . . But I'm proud of doing that because that is the meaning of life, to give dignity to life itself . . .” - Ai Weiwei

“The real fear for me is [if] we lost [the] ability to ask the question. We lost our memory, we lost our sense of caring compassion . . .” - Ai Weiwei

“We [do] not encourage people to have free thinking and judgment and that is the ground to produce Nazis or hypocrites. And that can come to political disaster . . . We have this kind of censorship because people cannot freely express their feelings.” - Ai Weiwei

Guest:
Ai Weiwei: Conceptual Artist, Filmmaker & Human Rights Activist; Author, ZODIAC, A Graphic Memoir

Laura Flanders and Friends

Full Conversation- Ai Weiwei: How Do We Save Our Humanity?

Laura's Commentary:  With seventeen veterans taking their lives daily in the US, a haunting question arises: can America redefine its values and reclaim its democratic principles before it's too late, or will it continue down a path of militarized politics and shattered ideals?

Subscribe to the Laura Flanders and Friends Podcast for the exclusive uncut conversation between Liev Schreiber and Laura Flanders 

For more articles by Laura subscribe to Substack:  https://substack.com/home/post/p-165868460

COMMENTARY:  Troops Need Care Not a Circus

Laura's Extended Commentary aka The F-Word: Melissa Hortman’s murder was more than a tragedy—it was a political assassination aimed at a movement. This commentary honors her legacy as a coalition-builder behind Minnesota’s progressive gains and calls for courage, organizing, and solidarity in her wake.

- The related episode featuring Sarah Schulman premieres on our YouTube channel June 20th 5pm ET where you are invited to join us to Watch the episode  live and chat with Laura in real time.  It premieres on PBS World Channel June 22nd, and on over 300 public stations across the country (check your listings, or search here via zipcode), and airing on community radio & available in the podcast feed June 25th.  The full uncut conversation is available June 20th 5pm in the podcast feed... please hit the subscribe button wherever you get your podcasts.

For more articles by Laura subscribe to Substack:  https://lauraflanders.substack.com/?utm_campaign=pub&utm_medium=web

F-WORD: Melissa Hortman's Lesson:  Woke Worked

Synopsis, Laura's Commentary:  As billionaires buy up our newsrooms and Congress defunds public media, the stakes for democracy couldn’t be higher. If we don’t reinvent and reinvest in independent media now, it may soon be too late.  

For the transcript of this commentary and more articles by Laura subscribe to Substack.

Watch Laura's interview with Documented NY's Labor Reporter Amir Khafagy and Capital B's Rural Issues Reporter Aallyah Wright on Laura Flanders & Friends on YouTube, or PBS stations and hear their take on commercial coverage of the NYC Mayor's race and anti-Black rule changes at USDA, or listen to past commentaries and full uncut interviews through subscribing to this free podcast. 

 That episode is available on YouTube July 25th 5pm ET; PBS World Channel July 27th, and on over 300 public stations across the country (check your listings, or search here via zipcode). Listen: Episode airs on community radio stations across the country (check here to see if your station airs the show) & available as a podcast July 30th.

Full Episode Notes are located HERE.

This show is made possible by you! To become a sustaining member go to LauraFlanders.org/donate

F-Word:  The Paramount Skydance Sale Makes the Case for Public Media

No matter the result of the elections, Barcelona's Ada Colau and Barcelona en Comú continue to put principles into practice. 

Subscribe to theLFShow Podcast to receive Laura Flanders' commentary.

Support theLFShow!  Help us thrive and not just survive, by becoming a member.  https://Patreon.com/theLFShow

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In Barcelona, Being a Fearless City Mayor Means Letting the People Decide

Laura Flanders is a best-selling author and the host of Laura Flanders and Friends (formerly The Laura Flanders Show), a syndicated weekly program airing on Public TV in which she talks to creative thinkers and change-makers from the worlds of politics, arts and the new economy. In her weekly commentary, The "F" Word,  she tells you what she thinks. The "F" Word is heard on the Progressive Voices Channel on Tune-In and is made available free to radio stations who appreciate an upbeat, radical perspective.  lauraflanders.org

Popular tracks by F-Word + Audio Extras: Laura Flanders & Friends