U.S. COVID Cases Rise; Climate Geopolitics; Organizing for Electoral Change

Political Misfits

Darren Thompson, reporter for Native News Online and Unicorn Riot and a contributor to the Associated Press, talks to us about the Biden administration efforts to connect with native communities around the country, including Congresswoman Deb Haaland becoming Secretary of the Interior and funding through the American Rescue Plan, and how these signals and actions could have a significant impact. We also talk about the fragility of these victories, as well as what it would take to sustain and build upon them within the context of white supremacy in this country.
Christian Parenti, associate professor of economics at John Jay College, City University of New York, journalist, and author of "Radical Hamilton: Economic Lessons from a Misunderstood Founder,"joins us to talk about the geopolitics of climate change and climate action, and the relationship between US imperialism, climate change, and the rise of gangs and strongmen across Latin America. We also talk about the connection between resource exploitation and disease outbreaks, and how institutional and structural change can happen despite a presidential administration’s ideological leanings through grassroots pressure.
Kaitlin Sopoci-Belknap, member of the Advisory Council for the Movement for a People's Party, joins us in a conversation about takeaways from President Biden’s first press conference, how a different movement in power would have responded to the reporters’ questions, and what questions should have been given greater priority in the press conference. We also talk about new voting restrictions passed by the Georgia legislature, the process of building a people’s movement for a people’s party, and how to balance coalition building with maintaining principles.
The Misfits also talk about rising COVID cases in the U.S. and vaccine distribution inequality in Washington, DC, as well as the University of Southern California’s $852 million settlement to resolve lawsuits over sexual assault at their student health center.