Paul Jacob, of ThisIsCommonSense.org and Citizens in Charge, discusses one of the biggest problems we face: politicians who won't obey direct orders of citizens.

What's Wrong With Democracy in . . . ?

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AfricaNow! January 8, 2025 Reflections on Autonomy, Direct Democracy & Marronage with Modibo Kadalie Pt. I

Topic and Guest: In his publication Intimate Direct Democracy: Fort Mose, The Great Dismal Swamp and The Human Quest for Freedom Modibo Kadalie aptly points out, younger people “are convinced that the nation-state is not offering them a future. Newer generations of researchers are now beginning to look for evidence of community and collectivity.”  A collectivity that lies in the very fabric of Africana forms of knowing and ways of being, fully articulated in the various forms of resistance found throughout the Americas expressed as maroon communities.  In defining, mapping, and attempting to find the most articulate application of ‘democracy’ Modibo Kadalie presents an important intervention into the questions that move in and throughout discourses on democracy.  

Kadalie engages interdependent themes such as Black autonomy, radical public and social history, intimate direct democracy, social intimacy, Black geographies, and radical ecology, while centering a Pan Africanism that strengthens conceptual lens through which continuities in Africana sociopolitical thought and resistance can be further identified. Kadalie’s perspective on Black autonomy, grounded in social intimacy as being the operative mechanism for a functional democratic society, is undoubtedly rooted in his own background. Kadalie grew up in Riceboro, a Gullah-Geechee community on the Georgia coast, where he often points to African ways of being and forms of knowledge that were transmitted from generation to generation and deeply ingrained in his worldview throughout his early development.   

Today, we will listen to part one of a four-part series where we explore direct democracy, autonomy, marronage, Black anarchism, and atheism with Modibo Kadalie.  Dr. Modibo Kadalie is a social ecologist, academic and lifelong radical activist within the Civil Rights, Black Power and Pan-Africanist movements and the Founding Convener of the Autonomous Research Institute for Direct Democracy and Social Ecology (ARIDDSE). He is the author of Pan-African Social Ecology: Speeches, Conversations and Essays (2019); Internationalism, Pan-Africanism and the Struggle of Social Classes; Intimate Direct Democracy: Fort Mose, the Great Dismal Swamp, and the Human Quest for Freedom (2022) and a number of other articles.

MUSIC ON THE SHOW: intro--"ALL AFRICA” BY MAX ROACH remembering the legendary ancestor drummer, composer, musician’s birthday (January 10, 1924—August 16, 2007); break--“BRIDGE THROUGH TIME” BY LONNIE LISTON SMITH commemorating his birthday (December 28, 1940—); sign-off--“INSOMNIA” BY MELBA LISTON remembering her birthday (January 13, 1926—April 23, 1999); closing--“THE PURPLE CONDOR” BY DANILO PÉREZ commemorating his birthday (December 29, 1966—).

Support AfricaNow! and your community station WPFW.  Donate online: visit https://pledge.wpfwfm.org/index.php and then on Step 1: Contribution scroll down to AfricaNow! to make your donation to the show. Or on our CashApp, which is $WPFWFM write it is for AfricaNow! and include your email address. Thank you.

Originally broadcast on WPFW 89.3FM, Washington, DC. Tune into AfricaNow! live on WPFW 89.3 FM in the Washington, DC Metropolitan area or visit www.wpfwfm.org on Wednesdays from 1:00 to 2:00PM (U.S. Eastern).

AfricaNow! Jan. 8, 2025 Reflections on Autonomy, Direct Democracy & Marronage w Modibo Kadalie Pt. I

AfricaNow! January 15, 2025 Reflections on Autonomy, Direct Democracy & Marronage with Modibo Kadalie Pt. II

Topic and Guest: Follwing up from our show last week, today we will listen to part two of a four-part series where we explore direct democracy, autonomy, marronage, Black anarchism, and atheism with Modibo Kadalie.  Dr. Modibo Kadalie is a social ecologist, academic and lifelong radical activist within the Civil Rights, Black Power and Pan-Africanist movements and the Founding Convener of the Autonomous Research Institute for Direct Democracy and Social Ecology (ARIDDSE). He is the author of Pan-African Social Ecology: Speeches, Conversations and Essays (2019); Internationalism, Pan-Africanism and the Struggle of Social Classes; Intimate Direct Democracy: Fort Mose, the Great Dismal Swamp, and the Human Quest for Freedom (2022) and a number of other articles.

MUSIC ON THE SHOW: intro--“UHURU” BY OSIBISA as we remember Osibisa’s founder/leader Teddy Osei who joined the ancestors yesterday January 14, 2025 (December 1, 1937—January 14, 2025); break--“KURIMA” BY CHIWONISO MARAIRE; sign-off--“WE WILL WIN” BY EZRA NGCUKANA; closing--“FLYING BIRD (ANOMA)” BY OSIBISA as we remember Osibisa’s founder/leader Teddy Osei who joined the ancestors yesterday January 14, 2025 (December 1, 1937—January 14, 2025).

Support AfricaNow! and your community station WPFW.  Donate online: visit https://pledge.wpfwfm.org/index.php and then on Step 1: Contribution scroll down to AfricaNow! to make your donation to the show. Or on our CashApp, which is $WPFWFM write it is for AfricaNow! and include your email address. Thank you.

Originally broadcast on WPFW 89.3FM, Washington, DC. Tune into AfricaNow! live on WPFW 89.3 FM in the Washington, DC Metropolitan area or visit www.wpfwfm.org on Wednesdays from 1:00 to 2:00PM (U.S. Eastern).

AfricaNow! Jan. 15, 2025 Reflections on Autonomy, Direct Democ. & Marronage w Modibo Kadalie Pt. II

AfricaNow! January 22, 2025 Reflections on Autonomy, Direct Democracy & Marronage with Modibo Kadalie Pt. III & Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Internationalism

Topics and Guests: Following up from our show last week, today, we will listen to Pt. III of a four-part series where we explore direct democracy, autonomy, marronage, Black anarchism, and atheism with Modibo Kadalie. Dr. Modibo Kadalie is a social ecologist, academic and lifelong radical activist within the Civil Rights, Black Power and Pan-Africanist movements and the Founding Convener of the Autonomous Research Institute for Direct Democracy and Social Ecology (ARIDDSE). He is the author of Pan-African Social Ecology: Speeches, Conversations and Essays (2019); Internationalism, Pan-Africanism and the Struggle of Social Classes; Intimate Direct Democracy: Fort Mose, the Great Dismal Swamp, and the Human Quest for Freedom (2022) and a number of other articles.

January 20 was Martin Luther King Day commemorating the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.—he would have turned 96 on January 15.  AfricaNow! goes into its archives with a program in which we explored Dr. King's internationalism—its historical and contemporary impact. That program featured Dr. Clayborne Carson, who was then the Martin Luther King, Jr., Centennial Professor of History and Ronnie Lott Founding Director of the Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute at Stanford University. Currently Dr. Clayborne Carson is Martin Luther King, Jr., Centennial Professor Emeritus of History at Stanford University. Dr. Carson has devoted his professional life to the study of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the human rights movements inspired by King. His numerous publications include his award-winning book, In Struggle: SNCC and the Black Awakening of the 1960s. Full bio is available at fsi.stanford.edu/people/clayborne-carson.  We join the original archived show (from https://soundcloud.com/africanowonline/africanow-jan-17-2024-dr-kings-internationalismhistorical-contemporary-impact) after the presentation of a portion of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s speech of April 7, 1957, entitled Birth of a New Nation presented soon after attending Ghana’s Independence Day celebration on March 6, 1957.

MUSIC ON THE SHOW: intro--“THE MESSAGE CONTINUES” BY NUBYA GARCIA; break--“FREEDOM SOUNDS” BY THE SKATALITES; sign-off--“HYMN TO FREEDOM” BY OSCAR PETERSON; closing--“FREE” BY STEVIE WONDER.

Support AfricaNow! and your community station WPFW.  Donate online: visit https://pledge.wpfwfm.org/index.php and then on Step 1: Contribution scroll down to AfricaNow! to make your donation to the show. Or on our CashApp, which is $WPFWFM write it is for AfricaNow! and include your email address. Thank you.

Originally broadcast on WPFW 89.3FM, Washington, DC. Tune into AfricaNow! live on WPFW 89.3 FM in the Washington, DC Metropolitan area or visit www.wpfwfm.org on Wednesdays from 1:00 to 2:00PM (U.S. Eastern).

AfricaNow! Jan. 22, 2025 Reflections on Autonomy, Direct Democ. & Marronage w Modibo Kadalie Pt. III

The True Representation Movement (TRM) is a proposed political system where elected officials, rather than voting based on their own judgement, party lines, or the influence of donors, cast their votes according to the will of a randomly selected sample of their constituents. This sample is statistically designed to accurately represent the demographics and political diversity of the district. The aim of the TRM is to ensure that the collective voice of the people directly guides the legislative process.

The True Representation Model_ A Primer

AfricaNow! January 29, 2025 Reflections on Autonomy, Direct Democracy & Marronage with Modibo Kadalie Pt. IV & Update on the Situation in Goma, DRC

Topics and Guests: The show begins with an update on the attack on the city of Goma in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) by Rwandan-backed M23 rebels.  Featured in the conversation is   Congolese journalist Akilimali Chomachoma and Nils Kinuani, Board Director, and Immigration Coordinator for the Congolese Community of Washington Metropolitan (CCWM).

Following up from our show last week, today, we will listen to Pt. IV of a four-part series where we explore direct democracy, autonomy, marronage, Black anarchism, and atheism with Modibo Kadalie. 

Dr. Modibo Kadalie is a social ecologist, academic and lifelong radical activist within the Civil Rights, Black Power and Pan-Africanist movements and the Founding Convener of the Autonomous Research Institute for Direct Democracy and Social Ecology (ARIDDSE). He is the author of Pan-African Social Ecology: Speeches, Conversations and Essays (2019); Internationalism, Pan-Africanism and the Struggle of Social Classes; Intimate Direct Democracy: Fort Mose, the Great Dismal Swamp, and the Human Quest for Freedom (2022) and a number of other articles.  

MUSIC ON THE SHOW: intro--“TRÈS IMPOLI” BY FRANCO & T.P.O.K. JAZZ; intro segment two--“ELMINA” BY KOFI; break--“KURIMA” BY CHIWONISO MARAIRE;  sign-off--“JARABI” BY SONA JOBARTEH; closing--“FOUR” BY SONNY STITT remembering his birthday which February 2 (February 2, 1924–July 22, 1982).

Support AfricaNow! and your community station WPFW.  Donate online: visit https://pledge.wpfwfm.org/index.php and then on Step 1: Contribution scroll down to AfricaNow! to make your donation to the show. Or on our CashApp, which is $WPFWFM write it is for AfricaNow! and include your email address. Thank you.

Originally broadcast on WPFW 89.3FM, Washington, DC. Tune into AfricaNow! live on WPFW 89.3 FM in the Washington, DC Metropolitan area or visit www.wpfwfm.org on Wednesdays from 1:00 to 2:00PM (U.S. Eastern).


AfricaNow! Jan. 29, 2025 Reflections on Autonomy, Direct Democracy & Marronage with Modibo Kadalie Pt. IV, & Update on the Situation in Goma, DRC

This is the fourth episode of Overcoming Polarisation: Paths to Common Ground, a podcast series from Debating Europe, Friends of Europe’s citizen engagement unit. In this episode, we’re discussing how citizens can influence climate policy. 

Europe is feeling fractured. Whether it’s politics, climate, tech, or trust in institutions, more and more people are feeling left out, unheard, and uncertain about the future. But what if we could flip the script? What if instead of fuelling division, we looked for common ground? 

In this series, we’re diving into the real issues behind polarisation. Economic inequality, climate anxiety, digital disruption, and bringing together voices from across the spectrum. From policymakers, activists, business leaders, and most importantly, citizens’ voices via our latest study “Voices for Choices”. 

In today’s show, former host Catarina Vila Nova sat down with Chloé Mikolajczak, an environmental and social justice activist bridging European policy and grassroots organising, to discuss the accessibility of a more sustainable life, inspiring figures driving a greener future, and the divide between citizens’ desires and institutions’ willingness to act. 

Host Sabina Șancu spoke with Graham Smith, professor of politics at the University of Westminster, about climate assemblies – a unique model for citizen participation in policymaking. 

If you want to comment on this episode you can send us an e-mail: press@friendsofeurope.org 

Policy Voices | Bottom-Up Pressure: Can Communities Shape the Green Future?

We're a leading think-tank that connects people, stimulates debate and triggers change. Don't forget to tune into our weekly Frankly Speaking Podcast on European and world affairs.

This Week in Common Sense is Paul Jacob's weekend wrap-up of the big stories of the week, as they appear on “This Is Common Sense with Paul Jacob,” his commentary page at thisiscommonsense.org.

Paul Jacob is president of the Liberty Initiative Fund, a national organization helping citizens place issues on the ballot to protect individual liberty and hold government accountable.

“If there’s anyone who’s been involved in more citizen initiative campaigns in the history of this country [than Paul Jacob],” said Los Angeles Times reporter Joe Mathews, “I’m not aware of them.”

For more than a decade, Paul was the term limits movement’s leading voice, running U.S. Term Limits, the nation’s largest such group. For his work to bring term limits to Congress, columnist Robert Novak good-naturedly called Jacob “the most hated man in Washington.”

Campaigning for term limits, as well as for spending caps, property rights measures and candidate ballot access, Paul has been involved in over 175 statewide petition drives.

Currently, Paul Jacob hosts Common Sense, an online and print opinion program that reaches tens of thousands of online readers and e-mail subscribers. His new podcast is an informal recap of the week's major stories as covered on thisiscommonsense.com — hence the title, This Week in Common Sense.

“The best way to assure freedom of expression, no matter where it may be threatened,” Pulitzer-prize winning columnist, Paul Greenberg, wrote recently, “would be to have an army of utterly determined Paul Jacob fighting for it.”

Paul won the “Courage Under Fire” award at the 2009 Conservative Political Action Conference. He has also been named “a rising star in politics” by Campaigns & Elections magazine, received the Society for Individual Liberty’s “Phoenix Award” for “contributions to the advancement of liberty in America,” and was dubbed one of “The Best and the Rightest” by National Journal. 

His writing has been featured in USA Today, The Washington Times, The New York Daily News, Roll Call, Human Events, The Chicago Tribune, The Washington Examiner and other publications. He has appeared on numerous television programs and is a consistent guest on talk radio.

During the late 1970s and 1980s, Jacob held a number of positions in the Libertarian Party, including serving as chairman of the Arkansas Libertarian Party, national director of the national Libertarian Party and also national ballot access coordinator. Paul also served on the Libertarian National Committee — a position he was elected to from his federal prison cell, while serving a six month sentence for refusing to register for the military draft.

Paul currently serves on the boards of Citizens in Charge, a non-partisan group working to protect and expand voter initiative rights, and the Citizens in Charge Foundation, a charitable foundation conducting research on the initiative process, educating the public and litigating to defend petition rights — both groups he founded. He also serves on the board of the Great Communicators Foundation, a charitable foundation providing communication training to pro-liberty activists, and on the board of the Taxpayers United of America.

Paul lives with his wife Rhonda in Woodbridge, Virginia. They have three children and two grandchildren.

New tracks tagged #Direct Democracy