Advertise on podcast: The Real News Podcast

In this episode of Rattling the Bars, Mansa Musa speaks with independent journalist Victoria Valenzuela, who reports for a wide range of news outlets on incarceration in California and Louisiana. Victoria’s recent articles shed light on the inhumane conditions at California City Detention Center—specifically its no-contact visitation policy, making it the only detention center in California to enact such a rule. CCDC is operated by the for-profit corporation CoreCivic (formerly Corrections Corporation of America), an organization with a history marred by systemic violence that is currently capitalizing on Trump's mass deportation policies to expand its detention contracts. In the second half of the conversation, Mansa and Victoria discuss the circumstances of incarcerated women domestic violence survivors in California and the potential for prison abolition. They note that the state's incarcerated women population has decreased from roughly 11,000 to 3,700 over two decades. Related link: Families Are Fighting Draconian No-Contact-Visit Policy at California ICE Jail via TruthoutVictoria Valenzuela’s SubstackCredits: Production/Post-production: Cameron Granadino Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support. Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer. Follow us on: Bluesky: @therealnews.com Facebook: The Real News Network Twitter: @TheRealNews YouTube: @therealnews Instagram: @therealnewsnetwork Become a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

For the past month—led by students and joined by parents, teachers, labor unions, and more—France has been gripped by one of the largest protest waves in modern history. Protestors have faced violent police repression, a recalcitrant government, and rampant misinformation or skewed coverage from rightwing and corporate media. In this special international edition of Working People, we speak directly with a broad range of students and union members across France who are on the front lines of the current protest movement, and we put them in conversation with union workers and leaders in the US. Editor’s Note: This episode contains an edited-down version of a Zoom webinar panel discussion recorded on Sunday, October 25, organized in partnership with The Real News Network, the Chicago Teachers Union, Haymarket Books, and the French labor union Force Ouvrière. Unless expressed by elected organization leaders, all views shared in this conversation are those of the speakers alone. Additional links/info: Chicago Teachers Union website, Facebook page, Bluesky page, and InstagramForce Ouvrière website, Facebook page, and InstagramHaymarket Books website, YouTube channel, Bluesky page, and InstagramAngelique Chrisafis, The Guardian, “Hundreds of thousands march across France in protests over schools and policing”Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme SongCredits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support. Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer. Follow us on: Bluesky: @therealnews.com Facebook: The Real News Network Twitter: @TheRealNews YouTube: @therealnews Instagram: @therealnewsnetwork Become a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

With a global capitalist system that is wreaking havoc on the planet, pushing most of humanity into poverty, and enabling a small number of billionaire and trillionaire oligarchs to accumulate more money and power than nation-states, more people around the US and beyond are asking: “Could socialism be the solution?” But can socialism actually work in the real world? Can it actually help create a better world than the one capitalism has created? In this live-event discussion, hosted at Red Emma’s Cooperative Bookstore and Coffeehouse in Baltimore, Maryland, TRNN Editor-in-Chief Maximillian Alvarez speaks with Ben Burgis and Mike Beggs about their new book, co-authored with Bhaskar Sankara, The Blueprint: How Socialism Can Work in the Real World. Credits: Production/Post-production: Cameron Granadino Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support. Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer. Follow us on: Bluesky: @therealnews.com Facebook: The Real News Network Twitter: @TheRealNews YouTube: @therealnews Instagram: @therealnewsnetwork Become a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

In this episode of Rattling the Bars, Mansa Musa speaks with Dr. Kimberly Dawn Miller, Co-Coordinator of the Haiti/Americas Team for the Black Alliance for Peace. They examine geopolitical relations and the unfiltered history of U.S. imperialism in the Caribbean—including economic warfare against Cuba, the state of Florida’s recent arrest warrant for former Cuban leader Raúl Castro, Trump and JD Vance’s racist criminalization of Haitians, and over a century of capitalist resource extraction and regime change in Haiti. The Black Alliance for Peace in Miami, organizing alongside the Miami Coalition, seeks to end the blockade against Cuba. October 24–31 marks the Cuba Week of Action against the U.S. chokehold on Cuba, leading up to the International and National Day of Action on October 28. This aligns with the United Nations’ annual vote, where the international community will once again vote on the U.S. embargo on Cuba.  Credits: Production/Post-production: Cameron Granadino Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support. Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer. Follow us on: Bluesky: @therealnews.com Facebook: The Real News Network Twitter: @TheRealNews YouTube: @therealnews Instagram: @therealnewsnetwork Become a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

Far from all the political bluster about police being “defunded,” six years after the earth-shaking George Floyd protests swept the US and public approval for law enforcement plummeted, police have never been more politically and monetarily supported than they are now. But when veteran labor reporters and union activists Hamilton Nolan and Jacob Morrison attended the 23rd Quadrennial Convention of the International Union of Police Associations in Las Vegas, Nevada, they found a different kind of union, and a different kind of convention, than they were expecting… In this special episode of Working People, we speak with Nolan and Morrison about their August reporting trip to the IUPA Convention in Las Vegas. Additional links/info: Hamilton Nolan Substack (How Things Work) and Bluesky pageJacob Morrison’s Twitter/X pageThe Valley Labor Report website, YouTube channel, Facebook page, Bluesky page, and Twitter/X pageHamilton Nolan & Jacob Morrison, The Real News Network, “Beards and loathing: A cop union convention comes to Las Vegas”Hamilton Nolan, How Things Work, “We infiltrated a police union convention in Las Vegas” Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support. Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer. Follow us on: Bluesky: @therealnews.com Facebook: The Real News Network Twitter: @TheRealNews YouTube: @therealnews Instagram: @therealnewsnetwork Become a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

In the first round of voting on October 4, Trump-ally, far-right presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro came in two points ahead of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silvia.  Lula supporters have been responding both in the streets and online. And they have been closing the gap, but it’s an uphill battle. Big Tech—and in particular Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp—have been helping to lift Bolsonaro’s presence online over that of President Lula. Meta temporarily suspended Lula’s campaign page on Facebook, blocked more than 1,000 pro-Lula accounts, and allowed its algorithm to benefit Bolsonaro while hindering Lula’s campaign. Meta admits that there has not been parity in its treatment of the candidates but it blames mechanical glitches. Meanwhile, a Meta AI chatbot admitted to one graduate student that “Meta indeed has a clear political and economic interest in the election of Flávio Bolsonaro.”  Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is a close political ally of US President Donald Trump. Flávio Bolsonaro has promised that if he is elected, he will join Trump’s Counter Cartel Coalition and open up Brazil’s rare earth minerals to the United States. That is something that Big Tech companies are interested in, because those minerals are necessary for their hardware, AI, and data centers. Brazilians have protested at Meta’s headquarters in São Paulo. And they have turned to creativity to try to break the bubble of the algorithm and spread their message to precious undecided voters, who can make or break this election. Meta and its secret algorithm have become the latest tool of US intervention in Latin America. It is not a branch of the US government. But it’s working in tandem.  In this episode, host Michael Fox speaks with Brazil-based journalist Brian Mier. They discuss where things are now, what’s at stake, and in particular look at the role that Meta is playing ahead of the second round of the Brazilian elections on Sunday. Brian Mier has master’s degrees from Loyola University Chicago and the University of London. He’s lived in Brazil for more than 30 years and he co-hosts a weekly Portuguese-language web TV program called Globalistas on Brasil 247. Mier is an editor of Panamerican Dispatch, which was launched ahead of the Brazilian vote. Guests:  Brian MierJoao Feres Junior Resources About Meta in Brazil:  Meta Censors Over 1,080 Accounts Supporting Lula During Brazilian ElectionsWhistleblower Exposes Meta, Bolsonaro, and Cerimedo Election Meddling PartnershipMeta Acknowledges the Reduced Reach of Lula’s ProfilesBeyond Meta AI, Other AI Platforms Steer Content Against LulaMeta Discovers New Tool to Sabotage Lula’s CampaignMeta AI Admits and Explains Pro-Bolsonaro ManipulationReport Reveals Flávio Bolsonaro’s Campaign Paid AI Company to Manipulate ElectionsMeta Reaps Highest Corporate Earnings in Brazil’s 2026 ElectionsMeta Ignores Brazilian Court Order to End Bolsonaro FavoritismComplaint filed to disqualify Bolsonaro ticket over Meta ‘algorithmic manipulation’Hundreds Protest at Meta Headquarters in Brazil Against Far-Right BiasUN Presses Meta Over Manipulation in Brazil’s ElectionBrian Mier’s Substack, Delinking Brazil Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support. Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer. Follow us on: Bluesky: @therealnews.com Facebook: The Real News Network Twitter: @TheRealNews YouTube: @therealnews Instagram: @therealnewsnetwork Become a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

October 22nd marks the National Day to Stop Police Brutality. Free DC and Pan-African Community Action (PACA) are two organizations in the nation’s capital engaged in building community and direct action against the various entities that form the policing apparatus in DC: police, FBI, HSI, National Guard, etc. While Trump boosts their funding—much like giving a steroid to the carceral machine—Free DC and PACA are heightening the contradictions of the Trump administration’s fascist agenda by providing vulnerable communities with the resources that the government withholds and refuses to fund. Trump’s deployment of the National Guard costs upwards of $3M daily and will total $2.9B by the end of his term. How would you spend $3M a day? On this episode of Rattling the Bars, former political prisoner and Black Panther Mansa Musa speaks with organizers pushing back against the National Guard occupation of DC on the eve of the Black Panther Party’s 60th Anniversary.  Production/Post-production: Cameron Granadino Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support. Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer. Follow us on: Bluesky: @therealnews.com Facebook: The Real News Network Twitter: @TheRealNews YouTube: @therealnews Instagram: @therealnewsnetwork Become a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

As part of our ongoing midterm election coverage we are reporting from districts that could change the balance of power in Washington. In this episode our Capitol HIl team Taya Graham and Stephen Janis spent time in the critical swing district of Pennsylvania's 7th.  What they encountered was electorate ready for change, how that will impact the vote remains to be seen. Credits: Producers: Taya Graham and Stephen Janis Writer: Stephen Janis E diting/Post-Production: Stephen Janis Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support. Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer. Follow us on: Bluesky: @therealnews.com Facebook: The Real News Network Twitter: @TheRealNews YouTube: @therealnews Instagram: @therealnewsnetwork Become a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

With elections just week's away, Maryland's gubernatorial debate between Democratic incumbent Governor Wes Moore and Republican challenger Dan Cox took place on Oct. 6. In a special, post-debate Town Hall—hosted on Oct. 7 at the The Real News Network studio in Baltimore and co-organized by Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle—TRNN Editor-in-Chief Maximillian Alvarez moderates a panel discussion about the bankruptcy of politics-as-usual and the need for building "grassroots governing power" today. Panelists include: Charly Carter, political strategist and founder of Step Up Maryland and Step Up to Lead; Dayvon Love, LBS Director of Public Policy; and Andy Ellis, Green Party candidate for Governor of Maryland. Studio Production / Post-Production: Cameron Granadino, David Hebden Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support. Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer. Follow us on: Bluesky: @therealnews.com Facebook: The Real News Network Twitter: @TheRealNews YouTube: @therealnews Instagram: @therealnewsnetwork Become a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

The Trump administration continues to weaponize the federal government to attack President Trump’s critics and enact his authoritarian agenda, which includes waging war against the world of progressive philanthropy and the many civil- and human-rights-supporting movements, media organizations, and nonprofit institutions that depend on it. Leena Barakat, President and CEO of the Women Donors Network, speaks with TRNN Editor-in-Chief Maximillian Alvarez about Trump’s war on philanthropy and how philanthropic organizations like WDN are fighting back. Credits:Post-production: Cameron Granadino Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support. Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer. Follow us on: Bluesky: @therealnews.com Facebook: The Real News Network Twitter: @TheRealNews YouTube: @therealnews Instagram: @therealnewsnetwork Become a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

In the second half of this insightful conversation, former political prisoner Mansa Musa joins Black Panther Party archivist and photographer Billy X Jennings to examine the pivotal 1971 FBI office break-in by antiwar activists. The stolen documents exposed COINTELPRO—the federal government's covert operation to surveil, infiltrate, and dismantle radical political movements. Despite state-sponsored efforts to suppress the organization, the Panthers’ legacy survives through modern social movements, culture, politics, and communal socialism. Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee, who worked closely alongside the Panthers on their early survival programs, brings deep personal insight into their lasting community impact. Published in conjunction with the 60th anniversary of the Black Panther Party, this feature continues our series on the BPP's enduring role in social justice. Credits: Production/Post-production: Cameron Granadino Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support. Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer. Follow us on: Bluesky: @therealnews.com Facebook: The Real News Network Twitter: @TheRealNews YouTube: @therealnews Instagram: @therealnewsnetwork Become a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

On Oct. 3, nearly 20,000 people filled the Merriweather Post Pavillion in Maryland (while tens of thousands joined via livestream) to watch a “once in forever” lineup of musical all-stars perform at Tom Morello’s “Power to the People Festival"—from Bruce Springsteen, Joan Baez, and Jack Black to Run-D.M.C., Dave Matthews, Killer Mike, and Dropkick Murphys. In this exclusive backstage interview, legendary musician and activist Tom Morello speaks with music and labor journalist Kim Kelly about rocking out and the roles music and musicians can play in the fight against fascism. Credits: Videography: Maximillian AlvarezPost-Production: Cameron Granadino, Maximillian, Alvarez Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support. Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer. Follow us on: Bluesky: @therealnews.com Facebook: The Real News Network Twitter: @TheRealNews YouTube: @therealnews Instagram: @therealnewsnetwork Become a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

President Trump has renewed his efforts to “Build the Wall” in areas along the US-Mexico Border that don’t currently have border barriers—including the Big Bend region of West Texas. Invading people’s private properties and upending their local economies and shared ecosystem with a border wall residents say they don’t want or need, the Trump administration continues to dole out billions of taxpayer dollars to flood Texas border towns like Terlingua, Sanderson, and Marfa with troops and federal agents—and to pay construction contractors with ties to the Trump family. In this episode of Working People, we speak with a panel of residents living near Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park who have banded together with their neighbors to fight back against the federally funded destruction of their homes. Panelists include: Yolanda Alvarado, a fifth-generation cattle rancher and the regional director for Conserve Big Bend: No Big Bend Wall; Crystal Allbright, a longtime resident and bicycle shop owner in Terlingua; Sara Ryza, a longtime resident, small-business owner, and proprietor of the Desert Air Motel in Sanderson, Texas; Scott Whitener, a longtime resident of Marfa, Texas, and a former superintendent on the Big Bend Ranch State Park; and Sharron Reed Gavin, a retiree and longtime resident of Terlingua. Additional links/info: No Big Bend Wall website, Facebook page, and InstagramUriel J. Garcia & Alex Ford, The Texas Tribune, “What to know about possible border barriers in Big Bend”The Terlingua Music Bash (Oct. 15-18) website and Facebook page,Featured Music:  Jules Taylor, Working People Theme SongCredits:  Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support. Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer. Follow us on: Bluesky: @therealnews.com Facebook: The Real News Network Twitter: @TheRealNews YouTube: @therealnews Instagram: @therealnewsnetwork Become a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

In this episode of Rattling the Bars, host Mansa Musa interviews archivist, photographer, and veteran Black Panther Party member Billy X Jennings. Joining the Party at age 17 after relocating from Hobson City, Alabama, to Oakland, Jennings managed BPP offices and served as bodyguard to Huey P. Newton. During Bobby Seale’s 1973 Oakland mayoral run, Jennings helped spearhead an unprecedented electoral effort: "…an organizing event on the highest level the parties had ever been. I mean, the party is known for organizing, but to go into electoral politics and do what we did for a first time basis, it changed over. Even though Bobby lost that election, it changed openly because it opened up so many doors. Part of his job was to kick down doors because we were the Vanguard." Today, Jennings operates the official Black Panther Party Alumni website and leads political education initiatives across the Bay Area for the Party’s 60th Anniversary.  Production/Post-production: Cameron Granadino Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support. Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer. Follow us on: Bluesky: @therealnews.com Facebook: The Real News Network Twitter: @TheRealNews YouTube: @therealnews Instagram: @therealnewsnetwork Become a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

Because he was bullied in elementary school for being Native American, James Gardner’s friends lovingly call him “NDN.” His friends and family know NDN to be a fiercely loyal, loving person, and a fiercely hard worker. But as a third-generation concrete specialist, NDN was exposed to chemicals that have left him disabled, terminal, and facing foreclosure on his home. In this episode of Working People, we speak with James “NDN” Gardner and his best friend James Quigg. Additional links/info: GoFundMe: James Gardner: Terminal Liver Failure—Home at RiskMaven Navarro, Forth Worth Star-Telegram, “Terminally ill, this proud man is fighting to keep the Fort Worth home he built”Featured Music:  Jules Taylor, Working People Theme SongCredits:  Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support. Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer. Follow us on: Bluesky: @therealnews.com Facebook: The Real News Network Twitter: @TheRealNews YouTube: @therealnews Instagram: @therealnewsnetwork Become a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!