I appeared on Katie Klabusich’s Katie Speak Show to discuss some of my recent writing and the challenges of political organizing and survival in the Trump era.
Listen here:
Katie and I talked about the difficulty of building a resistance against odds that can seem insurmountable using “How to survive Hurricane Donald,” the February 10 issue of Gonzo Notes, as a jumping off point. I also mentioned activist Liam Shea, the community activist who inspired me to write both “Hurricane Donald” and the following issue of Gonzo Notes, “Stay and fight fascism where you are.” Shea died tragically and unexpectedly in early February.
Local organizing is a theme I’ve been returning to frequently recently, and will probably keep talking about, because it seems so vital. Until there is another Occupy-style moment of national “rupture” — which, so far, hasn’t materialized via the Trump regime — the best we can do is strengthen our local communities and share the skills we have with each other. Katie also asked me what I do for self-care to avoid burnout, and so I briefly discussed my gardening.
Inspired by my script on “Vault 7” for Act Out! we closed with a discussion of what WikiLeaks’ latest release means for activists, and I explained why threat modeling means we can still fight back even when the government has access to terrifying mass surveillance tools.
This was my first time on Katie’s show, but hopefully not the last! I’m a big fan of Katie’s work — check out her Patreon or follow Katie on Twitter.
