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Movement Memos

Movement Memos

Truthout 169 Episodes Aug 20, 2026

An ongoing call to action for movement work and mutual aid efforts around the country. Kelly Hayes connects with activists, journalists and others on the front lines to break down what’s happening in various struggles and what listeners can do to help.

Episodes

Silicon Valley’s Billionaire Cults Are Coming for Democracy
Silicon Valley’s Billionaire Cults Are Coming for Democracy Aug 20, 2026 3393 “We can have billionaires or we can have democracy. We cannot have both,” Gil Durán says. In this episode, Gil and Kelly discuss the bizarre fixations and political fantasies of tech billionaires like Peter Thiel, and how those ideas are being translated into real-world governance. Durán and Hayes also discuss Silicon Valley’s Christian cosplay, and how traditional Christian ideas are being used a
You Can’t Drink Data: Native Communities Are Resisting the AI Death Cycle
You Can’t Drink Data: Native Communities Are Resisting the AI Death Cycle Aug 6, 2026 4597 “It comes down to the stealing of everything that is and the taking of everything that is,” says Joseph White Eyes. In this episode, Kelly talks with Native organizers Joseph White Eyes and Krystal Two Bulls about the struggle against data centers in Native communities. The conversation explores how the AI boom is advancing a new era of colonial extraction, and how Native communities are resisting
The AI Boom Is a Corporate Project. It Can Be Disrupted.
The AI Boom Is a Corporate Project. It Can Be Disrupted. Jul 23, 2026 5279 A lot of AI technology may not work very well, but providing consumers with reliable information was never its major commercial promise. Investors have poured billions into generative AI because of the promise that it will eliminate jobs on a massive scale. Tech journalist Brian Merchant joins Kelly to discuss how the AI boom is being used to displace workers, degrade information, expand surveilla
No Abandonment, No Bunkers: Preparing for Disaster Together
No Abandonment, No Bunkers: Preparing for Disaster Together Jun 11, 2026 4407 As climate disasters intensify and authoritarian threats escalate, most of us are underprepared for moments when systems fail or are weaponized against us. In this episode, Kelly talks with Chris Begley and Amy Edelman, authors of The Emergency Playbook: A Bunker-Free Guide to Disaster Preparation, about how preparedness can move us away from fear, isolation and bunker fantasies, and toward commun
ICE Camps Are Not Untouchable. Here’s How Communities Can Push Back.
ICE Camps Are Not Untouchable. Here’s How Communities Can Push Back. May 28, 2026 4625 “The immigration camp, it really depends on a lot of local infrastructure. It is not this untouchable federal abstraction. It is up to us, neighbors, community members, and we have the actual power to shut them down,” says journalist John Washington. In this episode, John and Kelly Hayes discuss his book How to Close a Camp: Dispatches from the Fight Against Immigrant Detention, the rapid expansio
What Trump’s “Whenever Wars” Reveal About U.S. Empire
What Trump’s “Whenever Wars” Reveal About U.S. Empire May 14, 2026 4778 “Trump is banking on the idea that the entire U.S. population is as cynical and hateful as he is. And evidently, it's not true,” says Khury Petersen-Smith. In this episode, Kelly and Khury discuss Trump’s “whenever wars,” the spectacle of militarized violence, and the anti-war movement this moment demands. From ICE raids in U.S. cities to military violence abroad, Kelly and Khury explore how fasci
Hope Is Not Naive: Rebecca Solnit on Backlash, Power, and Political Memory
Hope Is Not Naive: Rebecca Solnit on Backlash, Power, and Political Memory Apr 30, 2026 4230 “One of the greatest cures for despair and depression is to do something, and to do something with the people who care,” says Rebecca Solnit. In this episode, Kelly talks with Rebecca about hope, backlash, political memory, and why history can help us understand our own power. Their conversation explores feminism, climate grief, authoritarianism, misogyny, interdependence, and why the right’s push
Repair Is a Survival Skill Under Fascism
Repair Is a Survival Skill Under Fascism Apr 15, 2026 4802 In the second part of a two-part conversation, Kelly and Tanuja Jagernauth discuss why conflict transformation can be so difficult, what happens when efforts at repair break down, and why conflict resolution skills are survival skills in fascist times. Music: Son Monarcas, Katori Walker, and David Celeste You can find a transcript and show notes (including links to resources) here: truthout.org/
Rupture and Repair Under Fascist Conditions
Rupture and Repair Under Fascist Conditions Apr 2, 2026 4998 “We have a great opportunity in our movements to learn how to be opponents without being enemies,” says Tanuja Jagernauth. In this first of a two-part conversation, Tanuja and Kelly discuss the language people use to describe harm and conflict, the difference between disagreement and abuse, and how organizers can move through conflict with more clarity and care under fascist conditions. Music: S
Why Libraries Matter in a Fascist Moment
Why Libraries Matter in a Fascist Moment Mar 19, 2026 4494 “A lot of people in power view knowledge as dangerous,” says organizer Mariame Kaba. In this episode, Kelly speaks with Maraime and organizers Alison Macrina and Katie Clark about why public libraries matter, not just as places to borrow books, but as vital public infrastructure. They discuss libraries as spaces where people can gather without spending money, learn together, and build the kind of
The Science of Unlearning And Why Organizers Need It
The Science of Unlearning And Why Organizers Need It Mar 5, 2026 3793 Why do some people change, while others double down? In this episode of Movement Memos, Kelly talks with journalist and author Lewis Raven Wallace about the deeper mechanics of political transformation. Drawing on neuroscience, trauma research, and stories of people who have broken with deeply held ideologies, Wallace argues that real change rarely happens through debate or persuasion. Instead, tr
Living Under a Concentration Camp Regime — and Fighting Back
Living Under a Concentration Camp Regime — and Fighting Back Feb 19, 2026 4003 In this episode, Kelly talks with journalist Andrea Pitzer, author of One Long Night: A Global History of Concentration Camps, about what it means to live under a concentration camp regime — and how people can fight back. Pitzer explains how mass detention systems are built through “end runs” around the law, how they become normalized, and why the rapid expansion of U.S. detention infrastructure s

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