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The Puerto Rican people are in a growing crisis. We sit with proud Boricua, Democratic Socialist City Councilmember Alexa Avilés to understand what is happening in Puerto Rico right now, how we got here and what we can do to stand in solidarity with the Puerto Rican people. This conversation illuminates how debt slavery is an integral play in the neo-colonial playbook. Author Karen Malpede graces us with her presence this week. She talks about her new play 'Epstein Oratorio Or A Modern Hymn to Demeter'. We talk about the Epstein Class, how they obscure the horrors of their actions in language and how Malpede uses excerpts from the files directly. As in all her work, she asks how we can imagine the possibility for healing when we ask the right questions. Expect a satirical, hilarious and poignant work - go watch it this Thursday or Friday at LaMama ETC. Tune into the interview to learn more about the play and how radical art has been the pulse of the leftist movement for decades.

The Puerto Rican people are in a growing crisis. We sit with proud Boricua, Democratic Socialist City Councilmember Alexa Avilés to understand what is happening in Puerto Rico right now, how we got here and what we can do to stand in solidarity with the Puerto Rican people. This conversation illuminates how debt slavery is an integral play in the neo-colonial playbook.

Author Karen Malpede graces us with her presence this week. She talks about her new play 'Epstein Oratorio Or A Modern Hymn to Demeter'. We talk about the Epstein Class, how they obscure the horrors of their actions in language and how Malpede uses excerpts from the files directly. As in all her work, she asks how we can imagine the possibility for healing when we ask the right questions. Expect a satirical, hilarious and poignant work - go watch it this Thursday at LaMama ETC. Tune into the interview to learn more about the play and how radical art has been the pulse of the leftist movement for decades.

In our first segment, we speak to Matt Maresca of the DSA and Jerome Sloss on the horrifying conditions Amazon's delivery workers face. Jerome is one of the leaders of the Amazon Teamsters Unions. He speaks to the challenges of unionizing, and what kind of support would make life safer for delivery workers. Matt Maresca educates us on the The Delivery Protection Act which is designed to protect workers against exactly these conditions. A lot can change in Mamdanistan.  In our second segment, hosts John Tarleton and Alie Tutich give listeners a preview of what is in the latest issue of the Indypendent. Go pick it up from your closest library or one of our red and white boxes around the city.  In our final segment we speak to Aber Kawas, a 34 year old Palestinian American community organizer and Democratic Socialist. She is on track to be the first Palestinian American to serve in New York State Legislature. She talks to us about what she envisions for the future as a legislator, the campaigns she supports and how charities help launder money to settler movements, the future she sees for the Palestinian people. As world leaders travel to New York for UN week, protestors have gathered in huge numbers to speak up against Israeli genocide and manufactured narratives.

Amazon's exploitative business model is a hellscape for delivery drivers. The brutal delivery routes are dictated by the corporation and all health, safety and training responsibilities are shirked off. We speak with one of the leaders of the Amazon Teamsters Union on the working conditions and the challenges faced when trying to unionize. Matt Maresca of the NYC DSA educates us on The Delivery Protection Act that is designed to protect workers from exactly these horrifying conditions. We are played out by Jerome Sloss who also happens to be an accomplished professional saxophonist.

It's UN week so you might spot world leaders on New York Streets on your way to work. Protestors have gathered in huge numbers to resist Israeli genocide and manufactured narratives. Aber Kawas is a 34 year old Palestinian American community organizer and Democratic Socialist. She is on track to be the first Palestinian American to serve in New York State Legislature. She talks to us about what she envisions for the future as a legislator, the campaigns she supports and how charities help launder money to settler movements, the future she sees for the Palestinian people and much more.

Occupy Wall Street began in Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan and inspired the creation of similar Occupy encampments in more than 60 cities and towns across the country. Writer Priscilla Grim was there right through the beginning, starting her career blogging, and bridging the gap between activists on the ground and journalists. 15 years later, we talk about what Occupy Wall Street was really about and how we the 99% are still fighting the good fight against the 1%. We unpack what this means, what has changed, and where hope lies. In our second segment, we speak with Assemblymember-elect Brian Romero about crafting state-level legislation to rein in the worst excesses of the AI industry. Romero spoke at the protests outside Open AI's New York Headquarters. As tech leaders speak up about how humans could go extinct within a decade, fear and rage grow strong and the time to take action falls on us, now. An enlightening conversation that sheds clarity and provides insight. In our final segment, we took listen call-ins. We had an exciting call in from Alex Vitale, Brooklyn College Professor and Author of End of Policing give us his take on AOC, language around policing, and what kind of strategies can bring the Left closer to their goal. Tune in to see what your neighbors are thinking.

Occupy Wall Street began in Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan and inspired the creation of similar Occupy encampments in more than 60 cities and towns across the country. Writer Priscilla Grim was there right through the beginning, starting her career blogging, and bridging the gap between activists on the ground and journalists. 15 years later, we talk about what Occupy Wall Street was really about and how we the 99% are still fighting the good fight against the 1%. We unpack what this means, what has changed, and where hope lies.

Protesters gathered Tuesday morning outside the New York headquarters of Open AI as concerns grow about the potential dangers posed by Artificial Super Intelligence including the extinction of humanity within the next decade. Assemblymember-elect Brian Romero from Western Queens was among the speakers. He joined us to talk about state-level legislation he is crafting to rein in the worst excesses of the AI industry.

This week's Listener Call-Ins were exciting. We had a call in from Alex Vitale, Brooklyn College Professor and Author of End of Policing who gave us his take on AOC and the language and strategy that can be used to effectively end policing. A fun one to see how your neighbors and fellow listeners think.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's administration faces a steady string of challenges from the right as his administration continues to implement his progressive agenda. In the first segment we speak with City & State Editor Peter Sterne about the new Mayor's Office of Labor Power, lawsuits challenging his rent freeze, his pied-a-terre tax on second mansions and his plan to open five city run grocery stores as well as the wave of Islamophobic attacks on Mamdani as the 25th anniversary of 9/11 approaches. In the second half of the show, we turn to Providence, Rhode Island which in today's Democratic primary could become the next city to elect a democratic socialist mayor. We speak with Keating Zelenke of the Providence Post about the race between centrist incumbent Bretty Smiley and his democratic socialist challenger David Morales. In the final segment, we took listener call-ins.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's administration faces a steady string of challenges from the right as his administration continues to implement his progressive agenda. In the first segment of today's Indypendent news Hour, we spoke with City & State Editor Peter Sterne about the new Mayor's Office of Labor Power, lawsuits challenging his rent freeze, his pied-a-terre tax on second mansions and his plan to open five city run grocery stores as well as the wave of Islamophobic attacks on Mamdani as the 25th anniversary of 9/11 approaches.

In the second segment, the Indypendent's John Tarleton turned to Providence, Rhode Island which in today's Democratic primary could become the next city to elect a democratic socialist mayor. He spoke with Keating Zelenke of the Providence Post about the race between centrist incumbent Bretty Smiley and his democratic socialist challenger David Morales.

In this segment listeners call in and speak up against Islamphobic protests that Mayor Mamdani shouldn't speak at the 9/11 Memorial this year with passion, among other poignant conversation. Tune in.

As a hot NY Summer comes to a close, and students of all ages are getting back to school next week, the City's educators are facing unexpected challenges. Expanding the city's Pre-K and 3-K programs has been one of Zohran Mamdani's signature issues since he first ran for mayor. However, the non-profit organizations that are the backbone of the city's early childhood education system are scrambling to stay afloat as the city has yet to deliver the advance payments required by law that make it possible for them to cover their initial operating expenses. We'll speak with Fariha Rahman, the City&State reporter who broke the story and the heads of two pre-K schools that are scrambling to get ready for the new school year. In our second segment, we speak to the Indy's very own contributing author, Theodore Hamm on a stunning update on a murder case he has followed for years and what it says about the Brooklyn DA's office's shady history of false convictions against innocent New Yorkers.