TROUBLEMAKERS
TROUBLEMAKERS is a podcast about rebelling in an era when a small elite holds immense control. It features conversations with inspiring people worldwide about the tools they use to subvert power and transform society. The show serves as a space for mutual learning about how to create change. It is a transcontinental production by Beautiful Trouble, MOVE the Global Social Movement Centre, MS TCDC, and Global Platforms.
Episodes
Ep 58: Messaging That Moves People with Brian Roberts
Strategic communications expert Brian Roberts on how activists can get their message right: verify before you share, match the message to the audience, and break dense policy into language people actually understand. Hosted by Monicah Kamandau, they talk about misinformation, AI, and knowing your rights before you demand them.
Guest: Brian Roberts, strategic communications expert. EU Youth Soundin
Ep 57: Seek Safety in Support Networks with Paul Musyimi
Paul Musyimi on what social movements really are, why peaceful organizing wins, and how activists keep each other safe when the work gets dangerous. With Malemi, Paul talks about the principle "Seek Safety in Support Networks": when activists are threatened, national and international networks can provide support and deter violence.
Guest: Paul Musyimi, who works with social movements through Glob
Ep 56: Claim that Seat! With Nancy Siatwiko
Youth activist Nancy Siatwiko on why young Zambians are done waiting for permission to lead. Host Malemi talks with her about locked-out candidates, young women in politics, and using social media to organize.
Guest: Nancy Siatwiko, Movement Manager for Youth for Parliament and the first female student president of Cavendish University Zambia. Twice locked out of party adoption for being young and
Ep 55: Youth, Power & Political Spaces with Tilvas Ngosa
Ep 55: Youth, Power & Political Spaces with Tilvas Ngosa
Recorded at the Global Platform studio in Zambia, this episode asks why youth political participation across Africa stays so low, and what it takes to change that. Host Malemi talks with activist Tilvas Ngosa about systemic barriers, youth leadership, and the real cost of getting into African politics.
Guest: Tilvas Ngosa, Program Office
Ep 54: The Battle of Ideas, with Sefu Sanni
Politicians pass laws, but culture shapes belief, and belief shapes everything else. In this episode, Thompson Luzendi sits with Sefu Sanni to unpack the battle of ideas: how culture becomes the real terrain of power, and how the creative arts can move people where speeches and laws cannot.
About the guest
Sefu Sanni is a Kenyan musician, poet, and self-described communication strategist and propa
TM Smoke Signals: Given's Feminist Utopia, With Given Kapolyo
What does an ideal world look like? Given Kapolyo answers without hesitation: one where inequality does not exist, and leadership is not a male sport. In this Smoke Signals, she lays out her feminist utopia, then grounds it in the everyday realities that prove the fight is far from over. It doubles as a passing of the mic, recorded as Given steps in to host the seasons ahead.
What you'll hear
Her
Ep 53: No One Is Coming to Save You, with Nalishebo Sinyama
What makes someone walk to the utility company with a placard instead of posting complaints online? Nalishebo Sinyama has been answering that since 2019, when a load shedding protest in her Lusaka suburb turned her into an organizer overnight. She sits with Given Kapolyo to trace her path from a grassroots ward organizer to national work, and now to feminist organizing in Somaliland. With Zambia's
TM Smoke Signals: Silence! A poem by Sylvie Baziga
TM Smoke Signals: Silence, by Sylvie Baziga
A spoken word piece by Sylvie Baziga on the slow deaths that leave no bullet holes: the swallowed cry, the smothered dream, the word never spoken because speaking means disappearing.
Here, pencils forget. But stones remember.
This poem is a warning and a promise. The silence is not empty. It is boiling. It is preparing. And when it finally breaks, it wil
Ep52: The Moral Political Economy, with Joe Kobuthi
Host: Thompson Luzendi (Zambia)
Guest: Joe Kobuthi - philosopher, public theologian, political analyst, and curator of The Elephant Pan-African magazine.
The rules of the house were written by someone who was never supposed to stay. Thompson sits down with Joe to unpack the moral political economy — what it is, how colonialism broke it, and what Gen Z across Africa needs to understand before 2027.
TM Smoke Signals: From Protest to Power, with Boniface Mwangi
Human rights defender, activist, and presidential candidate for the Republic of Kenya, Boniface Mwangi joins Smoke Signals for a direct, unfiltered conversation on what it will actually take for Kenya's Gen Z movement to convert street energy into political power by 2027.
This is not a motivational talk. It is a strategic briefing.
What We Cover
From occupation to ballot revolution. Boniface break
TM Smoke Signals: Même Bêtise, by Frank Amani
A spoken word piece by Frank Amani on the cycles we inherit and refuse to break.
Same Stupidity confronts the ways human beings repeat patterns across generations, dressing up the same vicious circle in new clothes, chasing happiness while performing it, and calling it progress. The poem moves through denial, social conformity, collective forgetting, inequality, and the quiet violence of indiffere
Troublemakers Ep51: Put your target in a decision dilemma, with Willy Nkya
Guest: Wilson (Willynkya), film & TV producer, content creator, and influencer based in Tanzania
Rodgers sits down with Willynkya to unpack "Put Your Target in a Decision Dilemma" (Andrew Boyd & Joshua Kahn Russell) through the lens of content creation and film and what it means for activists and organisers trying to move audiences toward action.
About Willynkya
Five years in film and TV b
TM Smoke Signals: Africa will be saved: A poem by Opolot Emmanuel Solomon
In this powerful spoken-word piece, poet Opolot Emmanuel Solomon paints a vision of an Africa that has moved beyond division, dependency, conflict, and limitation. Through repetition, imagination, and conviction, he challenges listeners to picture a continent where dreams become reality, borders no longer divide people, and Africans take ownership of their shared future.
Meet the Poet
Opolot Emman
Ep 50: The Stop EACOP Project with Ziada
What does “development” really mean—and who is forced to pay for it?
Meet the Guest
Ziada is a climate and gender justice advocate working at the frontlines of renewable energy and community resistance. Trained in medicine, her activism was shaped by real encounters with inequality, environmental breakdown, and lives lost to preventable conditions.
What We Unpack in This Episode
What is EACOP, rea
Smoke Signals: "Vous Allez-vous" A poem by Franck Amani & Sylvie Baziga.
What happens when poetry becomes testimony?
What happens when a voice carries the grief, rage, memory, and survival of an entire people?
In this deeply emotional and politically charged episode of Troublemakers, we journey through “Vous allez où?”, a haunting spoken-word piece that confronts war, displacement, colonial violence, exile, and the persistence of hope in places the world often chooses
Ep 49: Why do stories matter in social change work? With ActionAid Global Staff.
How do we move from gathering stories to creating impact? How can we be more strategic about story gathering? And who truly owns the narrative - organisations or the communities themselves?
In this episode of Troublemakers, we explore the role of storytelling in activism and development, featuring insights from practitioners working across Brazil and Nepal within ActionAid. This conversation unpac
Ep 48: Truth, Power, and Human Rights in the Age of Social Media with Josué Mutanava
How do we defend rights in a world full of misinformation?
In this episode, guest host Jesué Mutanava speaks with Steward Muhindo, a human rights activist from the Democratic Republic of Congo and member of Lutte pour le Changement (LUCHA).
They explore how social media shapes activism, the dangers of disinformation, and how young people can push for change through peaceful action. Steward also sh
TM Smoke Signals: Superhero. A poem by Phindu Banda
In Super Hero, Phindu Banda honors the quiet courage of everyday people who rise, endure, and keep going. From childhood dreams to life’s hardest moments, this piece reminds us that survival, resilience, and showing up are acts of heroism.
You didn’t wait to be saved. You became the hero.
About the Poet
Phindu Banda is a Malawian poet, performer, and activist whose work explores identity, feminism
Ep47: Practice What You Preach: Why Movements Fail From Within with Dale McKinley
Why do movements that aim to transform the world so often fall apart from within? And what happens when the gap between our values and our actions becomes too wide to ignore?
In this episode of Trouble Makers, we sit down with Dale McKinley, a veteran activist with over 35 years of experience across South Africa’s most influential social movements. From the Communist Party to the Anti-Privatisat
Ep 46: Kenya’s Gen Z Voter Movement: How "Tukokadi" Is Changing the 2027 Elections
“The secret is numbers.”
What happens when ordinary citizens decide to take democracy into their own hands?
In this episode of the Trouble Makers Podcast, host Tatiana Gicheru sits down with Kenyan journalist and civic mobilizer Ademba Alanns, the mind behind the fast-growing Tukokadi movement, an initiative pushing millions of young Kenyans to register as voters ahead of the 2027 general election
Ep 45: Misinformation in Conflict Zones: Voices from Eastern Congo.
How does misinformation spread in conflict zones, and what are the consequences for communities and human rights defenders?
In this episode, journalist Josué Mutanava speaks with Espoir Hamoni, a human rights defender based in Uvira, South Kivu, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. They discuss how disinformation, rumors, and fake news in eastern DRC can fuel hate speech, community tension
TM Smoke Signals: The Workspaces That Shape Us
What makes a workplace meaningful? Is it the salary? The office setup? The title on the door? Or is it something quieter? Something human?
In this episode of Troublemakers: Smoke Signals, we step into the everyday spaces where we spend so much of our lives. From the vibrant grounds of MS TCDC, home to the Samora Machel Studio where The Troublemakers is produced, to offices, clinics and creative co
Ep 44: The Spectrum of Allies with Sungu Oyoo
How do movements shift people from neutrality or even opposition into active allies for justice struggles?
In this episode of the Troublemakers podcast, Monica hosts Sungu Oyoo, a writer, educator, activist, and Pan-Africanist. Sungu works with MWAMKO (Pan-African Popular Pedagogy Collective) as Director of Special Programs and Organisational Development and is also part of Kongamano Lamapinduzi,
TM Smoke Signals: Building The Nation. A read by Monica Kamandau
What does it really mean to “build the nation,” and who pays the price for that work?
In this Smoke Signals episode, Monica Kamandau reads Building the Nation by Ugandan poet Henry Barlow, a biting and darkly humorous poem that exposes the everyday hypocrisies of power, privilege, and sacrifice in postcolonial African states.
This reading lands powerfully in our current moment, where ordinary peop
Ep43: Fail Forward with Njuki Githethwa
What does it mean to fail forward in organising, and how do movements survive across generations?
In this episode, recorded at Mashujaa Heritage Archives in Kibichuku, Monica Kamandau sits down with veteran Kenyan organiser and scholar Njuki Githethwa. With nearly three decades in resistance and movement building, Dr. Njuki reflects on the evolution of Kenya’s struggles, from the Mau Mau movement
Ep42: Civil Disobedience with Faith Kasina
Ep42: Civil Disobedience with Faith Kasina
When does breaking the law become the only way to survive?
In this episode, we sit down at the Kayole Social Justice Centre with organizer Faith Kasina and members of the Centre to explore civil disobedience in moments when the state fails its people. Faith walks us through protest organizing during COVID, the realities of living under Article 43 violatio
TM Smoke Signals: Gun Violence and the American Myth with Phil and Rodgers
What is the true story behind America’s gun culture beyond Hollywood’s dramatised scenes?
In this Smoke Signal, we unpack the myths, realities, and politics behind gun violence in the United States through lived experience, global perception, and the unchecked power of the gun industry.
Growing up outside the U.S., many of us see America through movies: chaotic streets, armed civilians, danger at
Ep41: Don’t fall in love with your tactics with Njoki Gachanja
What happens when a movement falls in love with one tactic?
In this episode, we visit Githurai Social Justice Centre to explore how Kenyan organisers can move beyond protest fatigue and rethink the power of people-centred strategies.
Njoki Gachanja is a community organizer, political and social justice activist, and community lawyer. She coordinates the Githurai Social Justice Centre, where she wo
TM Smoke Signals: The Clash of the Generations with Phil and Rodgers
How do millennials and Gen Z work together in social movements when their values, experiences, and approaches often clash? In this episode of Troublemakers (TM) Smoke Signals, we explore intergenerational dynamics in activism, examining the tensions and opportunities that arise when younger and older generations collaborate or collide.
Key Ideas and Highlights:
Different Values, Shared Goals: Mi
Ep40: Storytelling with Mette Olwig
Why Are We Obsessed with Being the Hero?
In this episode, Dr Mette Fog Olwig, a geographer, author, and storyteller, examines how “hero narratives” shape global climate, sustainability and development responses. Her new book, A Bit Too Simple: Narratives of Development, Sustainability and Climate Change (Cambridge University Press, 2025, open access), looks at the origin and current iteration of t
Ep 39: Pedagogy of the Oppressed with Patience Nitumwesiga
How do we unlearn the colonial logic of “good development”?
In this episode, Ugandan filmmaker and theatremaker Patience Nitumwesiga reflects on Paulo Freire’s and Augusto Boal’s ideas, exploring how art, story, and imagination can awaken critical consciousness and challenge imposed notions of progress.
Key Ideas
Unlearning the “banking model” — Knowledge already lives within communities; tr
TM Smoke Signals: The African Jail- A Reading by Sungu Oyoo
What does it mean to seek justice in a system that thrives on injustice?
In this powerful reading, Sungu Oyoo, a Kenyan writer, activist, and pan-Africanist affiliated with Kongamano La Mapinduzi and Mwamko, revisits the words of Sam Mugumya, author of We Refuse to Be Victims.
Key Ideas and Highlights
Injustice as Everyday Life
Sungu’s reading reminds us how injustice is normalised, becoming the a
TM Smoke Signals: We Refuse to Be Victims by Njuki Githethwa
In this Smoke Signal, Njuki Githethwa reads from the newly published collection ‘We Refuse to Be Victims' by Ugandan activist and poet Sam Mugumya. His words remind us that courage, dignity, and resistance are possible even under the harshest conditions.
Sam visited Nairobi in August 2025, where he met with grassroots collectives from informal settlements, inspiring hope and solidarity. Days later
Ep38: Choose Your Target Wisely with Nawa Villy Sitali
“Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did, and it never will,” Frederick Douglass
What does it mean to choose your battles wisely? In this episode, host Phil Wilmot sits down with Zambian activist Villy Nawa to unpack the strategy of isolating targets and forcing institutions to account for their failures.
From his first protest as a boarding school student demanding decent food to sp
TM Smoke Signals: Is the Rising Obsession with Digital Security Paralysing People Power?
In this episode of Troublemakers (TM) Smoke Signals, we revisit an article written just before the Covid pandemic: Is the rising obsession with digital security paralyzing people power? What started as a reflection on the flood of digital security trainings resurfaces today with new urgency, amid accelerating AI, techno-feudalism, and state and corporate espionage.
The internet once felt like a co
Ep37: By Any Means Necessary with Magdalene Moonsamy II
Is nonviolence truly the higher ground, or is that just a myth handed to the oppressed by those in power? In this fiercely honest conversation, South African lawyer, activist, and former parliamentarian Magdalene Moonsamy returns to the mic to confront the moral binaries surrounding resistance, liberation, and the cost of freedom.
Key Ideas and Highlights;
The Violence – Nonviolence Trap
Magdale
Ep36: By Any Means Necessary with Magdalene Moonsamy.
Is nonviolence truly the higher ground, or is that just a myth handed to the oppressed by those in power? In this fiercely honest and far-reaching conversation, South African lawyer, activist, and former parliamentarian Magdalene Moonsamy returns to the mic to confront the moral binaries surrounding resistance, liberation, and the cost of freedom.
Key Ideas and Highlights
The Violence–Nonviolence
Ep35: Make New Folks Feel Welcome (Pt 2) with Lennart Dose
Ep35: Make New Folks Feel Welcome – Part 2
What does it really mean to feel welcome?
In this second part of Make New Folks Feel Welcome, we flip the mic and pass it to the people. Real voices share real stories that made them feel like they mattered.
These are stories of kindness, comfort, and quiet inclusion.
Then, we sit down with Lennart Dose, an architect deeply engaged in restoration and spa
Ep 34: Fostering Safer Spaces with Ally Baharoon
What happens when we don’t just imagine a better world, but practice it right now?
Our host Monica Kamandau speaks with Ally, a creative writer, author-activist, and community organizer from Zanzibar about building truly inclusive communities.
Ally relates his experience with stuttering and how embracing his voice gave him a thirst for storytelling, organising, and helping others reclaim their po
Ep33 Consider your audience with Minentle Luthuli
"Every single time, I’m the first audience I have to think about." – Minentle Luthuli
Can you stay true to your story and still move others to act? Should you even try?
In this deep and dynamic episode of Trouble Makers, South African filmmaker Minentle Luthuli challenges the idea that artists—or activists—should start by considering their audience. Drawing from personal experience, she speaks abo
Ep32: Enable, Don’t Command with Juma Erassy
There’s one style of leadership in which a charismatic, commanding figure sets the agenda, builds a vertical hierarchy, and pulls everyone else along for the ride. But what happens when leadership flips the script?
In this episode of Trouble Makers, we explore the power of supportive, enabling leadership through the work of Juma Erassy, coordinator of the Youth Hub at MSTCDC in Arusha, Tanzania.
Ep31: Make New Folks Welcome with Rebecka Blomqvist
“You are invited. By anyone, to do anything. You are invited, for all time. You are so needed, by everyone, to do everything. You are invited, for all time.— The Dismemberment Plan, “You Are Invited”
Bringing in new people is essential to any activist group that wants to grow in size and capacity, but recruiting is only the first step. Integrating people into an established group can be an even bi
Ep30: Postcolonialism with Somdeep Sen
“Imperialism leaves behind germs of rot which we must clinically detect and remove from our land but from our minds as well.” — Frantz Fanon
What does liberation mean when the very language of freedom is shaped by empire?
In this episode, we speak with Somdeep Sen, political scientist and author of Decolonizing Palestine: Hamas Between the Anticolonial and the Postcolonial, about what it means to
TM Polycrisis Prep: One Drink to Rule Them All?
“As things fall apart, what’s the one drink you’d carry into the collapse?”
In this episode, we pose the critical question of our time: if we all end up in one ecological safe zone during the polycrisis and are only allowed one alcoholic beverage for the rest of our lives... what drink are we bringing with us?
We’re joined by Mia, Maggie, and Malemi, who gamely dive into this hypothetical apocalyp
TM Smoke Signals: On Pro-Palestine protestors "disrupting exam studies" at Colombia University
Phil, who was a Pro-Palestine campus activist in his university days, reflects on the recent police repression of student protesters at Columbia University and how it's part of a broader assault on pro-Palestinian solidarity movements across global campuses. But beyond the headlines, this episode dives into a deeper question: what counts as learning, and does dissent not create a stronger learning
Ep29: Follow the Lead of the Most Impacted with Lusekelo Chinyama
What does it mean to be a good ally—and not a harmful one—in movements for justice?
In this episode, we explore the difficult but essential work of following the lead of the most impacted. Our guest reflects on the dangers of “do-gooder arrogance” and the importance of showing up with humility, not solutions.
We talk about how movements led by marginalised communities challenge extractive allys
TM Polycrisis Prep: Pineapple on Pizza?
Welcome to the first-ever segment of Troublemaker’s Polycrisis Prep School, a special segment of the Troublemaker’s Podcast where we debate the most “pressing” dilemmas of our turbulent times. First on the chopping board:
🍕🍍 Is it acceptable to put pineapple on pizza?
Joining the food fight are the Three Ms—Malemi, Maggie, and Mia.
Malemi is firmly in the no camp—pizza is savory, and fruit (be
Ep28: Jail Solidarity with Céline Lebrun-Shaath
"I have the people behind me and the people are my strength."— Huey Newton.
What does solidarity look like when comrades are behind bars? In this episode, we explore jail solidarity through the eyes of Céline Lebrun-Shaath, a committed organizer and internationalist. She speaks about the moral and political imperative to stand with those who remain imprisoned—not just by supporting their freedom,
Ep27: Use your radical fringe to shift the Overton window with Julia and Stella
It takes more than organising to shift a society's sense of what's possible.
In this episode, we travel to Moldova to explore how feminist and LGBTQ+ activists are reimagining the boundaries of public discourse and reshaping the culture of protest in a quiet, conservative society. Our guests, Julia and Stella, are part of a growing movement challenging apathy, tradition, and fear with bold, cons
Ep26: Consumer Boycott with BDS Jordan
How do you take on a corporate giant—and win?
In this episode of Troublemakers, we dive into a story from BDS Palestine organizers in Jordan. They built one of the most impactful consumer boycotts in recent memory, targeting Carrefour supermarkets. Fatima and Enas walk us through the strategy, creativity, and community power that made it possible.
They share how neighborhood committees were formed
TM Smoke Signals: Snow White & Disney Capitalism
In this episode of Trouble Makers, we dive into the spectacle surrounding Disney’s Snow White remake to explore a deeper story: how corporate media co-opts identity politics, commodifies culture, and shapes our collective imagination for profit.
We unpack how companies like Disney use outrage as marketing and brand loyalty as a form of identity, leaving us with sanitized, commercialized narrati
Ep25: Participatory Action Research with Abel Sibanda
In this episode of Troublemakers, we dive into Participatory Action Research (PAR) with Abel Sibanda, exploring how research needn't be divorced from reality but can actually foster social transformation and systems change, especially when it's not separated from our complex realities and the actions of our movements. We discuss the nuances of solidarity when carrying out research together with so
TM Smoke Signals: Crisis in Congo
In this first episode of TM Smoke Signal, we sit down with Stewart Muhindo to discuss the ongoing crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
From the root causes fueling the conflict to the devastating impacts on communities, we break down the complexities of the situation.
How can the world step in? What role do international powers and regional actors play?
Ep24: Cultural Disobedience with Phionah Kyokusiima
If you are always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be.— Maya Angelou
Phil sits with a longtime comradely fellow organizer Phionah Kyokusiima from Solidarity Uganda. Together they delve into the tactic of cultural disobedience, which has just as much subversive power—sometimes more—as civil disobedience. Kyokusiima is a seasoned organizer with the powerful Solidarity Uga
Ep23: Practice Digital Self-Defence
And when they spy on us, let them discover us loving.
— Alice Walker
Our guest helps us answer many of the questions activists have about privacy and digital security. He has chosen to remain anonymous to share his insights on protecting oneself online, avoiding surveillance, and practicing safe digital habits.
From understanding encryption to safeguarding your personal data, this conversation equ
Ep22: Use the law, don’t be afraid of it (pt 2)with Victoria Whalen
In this second part of our series on "Use the law, don't be afraid of it," we speak with climate justice lawyer Victoria Whalen, who offers a refreshingly positive perspective on what the law is and what it can do. She puts law in the hands of the people as a tool to mould new realities, and frames the history of legal rights as a living archive of movement victories.
Victoria Whalen is such a dyn
EP21: Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army with Angus Joseph
How does storytelling reshape movements? What role does humor play in activism? How can we clown a hostile moment, a climate protest, a global convening sold out to the billionaires? Do children understand political expediency better — should we all be clowns and ninjas and unashamed painters instead of activists and campaigners?
In this episode of Troublemakers, we sit down with Angus Joseph to
Ep20: Burn brightly, but don’t burn out with movement psychologist Cristel Montenegro
Pain is often treated as something to suppress, avoid, or silence. But what if true healing comes from embracing it fully—together? We sit down with Nicaraguan movement psychologist Cristel Montenegro to explore the power of collective trauma processing. We examine how communities facing deep wounds caused by violence and systemic oppression can embrace healing through storytelling and welcoming e
Ep19: Al faza’a (a surge of solidarity) with Manzur Al Matin
"Beware the level-headed person if they’re angry." — Arabic proverb
What happens when a nation reaches its breaking point?
In this episode of Trouble Makers, we sit down with Manzur Al Matin, an Advocate in the Supreme Court of Bangladesh and Senior Presenter at Channel 24. During the Monsoon Revolution, Manzur took a bold stand—filing lawsuits against the detention of student leaders, defending t
E18: Story of Self, Us, and Now with Yomna Ahmed
"If I am not for myself, who will be? And if I am for myself alone, what am I? And if not now, when?" — Rabbi Hillel the Elder.
Yomna Ahmed, a Harvard-trained community organizer, empowers activists through Public Narrative and Community Organizing. She co-founded Athar Network, uniting activists across seven Arab countries.
In this episode, Yomna explores the Story of Self, Us, and Now framework—
E17: Build People Power, then Negotiate with Gino Govender
What does it take to challenge powerful systems and win? In this episode, we explore the power of grassroots organizing, worker solidarity, and strategic negotiations in the fight for justice.
Veteran trade unionist and activist Gino Govender reveals how people power can bring even the most oppressive systems to their knees. From building worker power to outmanoeuvring employers and governments, t
E16: Use the Law, Don’t Be Afraid of It with Meralney Bomba
"Winning this case isn’t just about us—it’s about showing people that you can demand justice and fight for your rights." —Meralney Bomba
Description:
What does it take for a small island community to stand up to a colonial power? How can the law become a weapon of change in the fight for climate justice?
In this episode, we meet Meralney Bomba, a community organizer from Bonaire, who has joined f
E15: Organizing Strategies that Scale with Zakia Soman
How do we build numbers? How do we organize at a colossal scale? How do we build mass cooperation amidst our cultural, linguistic, generational, religious diversity? How do we unite around issues affecting us all?
Zakia Soman guides us through how she and other Indian women's rights activists established Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, the largest nationwide Muslim women’s mass organization. Th
E14: Joy is a Revolutionary Force – Joséphina Bouden
We explore with Tunisian trans activist Joséphina Bouden (Jouda) how joy becomes a powerful form of resistance in the face of oppression. We discuss how cultural disobedience transforms everyday acts into powerful protests.
We dive with Josephine into the historical and modern significance of joy as an act of defiance. From enslaved communities creating moments of celebration to the concept of Bla
E13: Why Palestine Matters to Africa – with Wesam and a live audience
In this powerful episode recorded with a live audience at MS TCDC in Arusha, Tanzania (a centre established by the administration of Pan-African socialist Julius Nyerere, who famously said “We will stand with Palestine, as we stood against apartheid and colonialism in South Africa”), we sit down with Wesam to learn about the history of Palestinian resistance.
We explore the deep-rooted connections
E12: Fees Must Fall (Pt 2)—With Walter Rodney Library organizer Phethani Madzivhandila
Phethani Madzivhandila is an organizer, theorist, and unionist based in Azania (South Africa). He’s a member of The Pan Africanist Congress of Azania and one of the Walter Rodney Library founders. He’s also a member of MS TCDC’s 2023 Activist-in-Residence cohort.
In this episode, we dive into one of South Africa's most powerful social movements: Fees Must Fall. Starting in 2015, this student-led
E11: Fees Must Fall (Pt 1)—With David Musiri, a Ugandan political activist
We explore Uganda's generational discontent as young people challenge the ideological, political, and moral contradictions of the government. Fueled by economic struggles and social injustice at Makerere University and other higher learning institutions across Africa, students demand a freeze to tuition hikes (at the very least, in pursuit of free education ideally).
Read more about Fees Must Fa
E10: General Strike—with a Myanmar comrade on their evolving revolution
“Win or lose, mass strikes reveal the truth.” —Jeremy Brecher
In this episode, we dive deep into how general strikes are happening in Myanmar (also known as Burma). Our guest explains how as a collective, the citizens are conducting their strikes in demand for an end to the military coup and the release of their leaders. We consider how the people of Myanmar have been able to outlast repression
E9: Take risks, but take care—with Nafula Wafula on the Kenyan uprising against the finance bill and feminizing movement culture
“Martyrdom is a fascist tendency.” —Gopal Dayanenni
A lot is happening under the rug in Kenya. In this episode, we speak with Nafula Wafula, a Kenyan protester, organizer, feminist, and Pan-African.
Kenya’s uprising against the IMF and World Bank-sponsored Finance Bill recently marked 100 days since its beginning. Repression against the uprising was characterized by sexual violence. We explore
Episode 8: Intersectionality with Sarita Pariyar
We speak with Sarita Pariyar, a writer, social justice activist, and the founding convener of the International Darnal Award for Social Justice. She is the principal investigator of Just Futures Initiative (https://www.justfuturespahal.org/).
Sarita speaks of her activism in Nepal, learning and struggling with fellow Dalit women. From Black Lives Matter to Dalit struggles to academia, Sarita hel
Episode 7: Action Logic with Dan Glass
Actions speak louder than words.
— Ruckus Society motto
Have you ever been confused by a protest, or have you asked why activists are even angry to begin with? Perhaps the protesters’ message wasn’t clear. This confusion points to a lack of something we call “Action Logic.” With solid Action Logic, an action can speak for itself.
In this episode, we speak with activist and author Dan Glass, abou
Episode 6: The NGOization of Resistance
Bel dan pa di zanmi (Just because someone is smiling at you doesn't mean they're your friend) — Haitian proverb
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and people powered movements, resistance, revolution, it’s all a complex relationship, fraught with many challenges as well as potential! Campaigning organizations such as ActionAid have a history of engaging with movements but are now asking ho
Episode 2: Cooperation Jackson and Solidarity Economics
We speak with Sacajawea Hall, activist and co-founder of Cooperation Jackson — an emerging vehicle for sustainable community development, economic democracy, and community ownership — on solidarity economics, a tradition of radical economic organizing that strives to replace dependance on exploitative and oppressive economic relations through ‘solidarity chains’ linking community-based alternativ
Episode 5: Reframe the Issue
Reframing is a process of replacing an old story with a new one by widening the frame, narrowing the frame, or shifting the frame to another scene entirely. The powers-that-be usually go to great lengths to frame their agenda in a way that is favorable for their interests. Just think of how we’ve heard these words used: tax relief. Like a camera’s viewfinder, the frame of a narrative focuses the
Episode 4: Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions
We speak to Mahmoud Nawajaa, General Coordinator for the Palestinian-led global movement Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) National Committee. Inspired by the movement against Apartheid in South Africa, the U.S. Civil Rights Movement and more, we look at how decentralized tactics such as boycott and divestment — as used in the Palestinian struggle on a global scale — can be used to isolate a t
Episode 3: Decolonization
If Frantz Fanon woke up today he’d be like, “You guys are still talking about decolonization, I thought we addressed that in the 60’s. What the f*** happened?” We speak to Alieu Bah and Sungu Oyoo on decolonization, a set of ideas, lived experiences, and political programs that challenge imperialism through forms of bottom-up disobedience to historical and ongoing colonization.
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Episode 1: Conflict Kitchen
Amidst growing radicalization of public debate around refugees and migrants in Poland, a conscious restaurant serves dishes from regions of active conflict around the world for Warsaw locals. With Jarmila Rybicka, co-founder of Conflict Kitchen, we talk food and solidarity. We learn how preparing and sharing a delicious dish can offer many points of entry for public engagement and cultural exchan
About Troublemakers!
Learn more about the transcontinental partners behind this podcast!
Global Platforms: https://www.globalplatforms.org/
Beautiful Trouble: https://beautifultrouble.org/
MS TCDC, The MS Training Centre for Development Cooperation: https://mstcdc.or.tz/
MOVE, The Global Social Movement Centre: https://www.globalplatforms.org/move
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