Leena Khan speaks about her first novel 'Flames of the Cherry Tree'
Release Date: 01/10/2026
The Path to Abolition: Coming of Age in the Era of Mass Incarceration Part Three
DARAJA PRESS PODCASTS
In the final part, James describes the long legal battle for his freedom and his eventual release. Following three traumatic parole denials, his luck began to turn in 2001 when a Supreme Court ruling allowed him to appeal his deportation order. Despite the anxiety of 9/11 occurring while he was still incarcerated, he successfully won a 212C waiver hearing in 2002, effectively stopping his deportation. In 2003, after nearly a decade behind bars, he was transferred to Arthur Kill, where he finally encountered a parole board that recognized his humanity rather than just his crime. James concludes...
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Mentorship and the Political Mind: Coming of Age in the Era of Mass Incarceration: Part 2
DARAJA PRESS PODCASTS
This second part of a three-part podcast focuses on James's time at Coxsackie (the "Cat") and Greene Correctional Facility, where he began to "decolonize his mind" through the guidance of mentors. At Coxsackie, he met an elder named Pops, a former Black Panther who introduced him to revolutionary thinkers like George Jackson, Frantz Fanon, and Amílcar Cabral. Pops taught him the vital philosophy of "doing time" rather than letting "time do you," encouraging him to use his incarceration as an opportunity to build his mind and body. This period marked James's first "doctorate," as he...
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Branded by the State: Coming of Age in the Era of Mass Incarceration: Part 1
DARAJA PRESS PODCASTS
In the first part of the interview, Dr. Kirk J. James discusses his arrest in 1994 as an 18-year-old college freshman with no prior record. He explains that his book title, 94A6325, represents his transition from a human being into "state property": 94 is the year of his arrest, A refers to the maximum security processing track, and 6325 identifies him as the 6,325th person processed that year at the Downstate Correctional Facility. James describes the era of the 1990s as a "carceral genocide," noting that the prison population in New York exploded from 200,000 in the 1970s to over 2 million...
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Voices From Gaza: We Are Still Here
DARAJA PRESS PODCASTS
Since the catastrophic destruction in Gaza began over two years ago, the world has witnessed an unimaginable assault not only on human life but on the future itself. Every university in Gaza lies in ruins. Students and scholars have been killed, displaced, and cut off from their dreams. This systematic erasure of education and hope is what we call scholasticide. Yet, amidst the rubble and the grief, a powerful act of resistance persists: the act of writing. We Are Still Here: An Anthology of Resilience, Grief, and Unshattered Hope is a collection of raw, urgent testimonies from Gaza’s...
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Leena Khan speaks about her first novel 'Flames of the Cherry Tree'
DARAJA PRESS PODCASTS
Today I have the honour of speaking to the author of this extraordinary novel, Flames of the Cherry Tree. It's a sweeping, intimate portrait of a young woman's coming of age against the backdrop of colonialism, rebellion, and indeed the birth of today's occupied Kashmir—at once tender and unflinching. It traces the story of one family through oppression, repression, and resistance, illuminating the forgotten histories that have shaped Kashmir today and the hope that survives in its people. Leena Khan is an extraordinary woman. She's currently a Juris Doctor at Harvard Law School with an...
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Unsilenced: Poems for Palestine - Book Launch
DARAJA PRESS PODCASTS
Unsilenced: Poems for Palestine Book Launch On May 20, 2025, Daraja Press marked a significant literary and political moment with the launch of Unsilenced: Poems for Palestine, a stirring anthology edited by John P. Portelli. Bringing together the voices of 50 poets from across the globe, this collection weaves together art and activism, offering a lyrical testament to Palestinian resistance, resilience, and the enduring call for justice. This special podcast episode presents a lightly edited recording of the powerful launch event in Ottawa, hosted by Adrian Harewood—award-winning...
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Alliance of Sahel States Forges Ahead
DARAJA PRESS PODCASTS
Between 2021 and 2023 West Africa saw three popular military coups. Assimi Goïta became the president of Mali in 2021, Ibrahim Traoré became the president of Burkina Faso in 2022, and Abdourahamane Tchiani, became the president of Niger in 2023. The three former French colonies expelled French and US military. They withdrew from ECOWAS, the Economic Community of West African States, and confederated, forming the Alliance of Sahel States. In French, that’s the Alliance des États du Sahel (AES). They announced their intention to cooperate on regional security, integration, sovereignty, and...
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The threats to Mother Earth from the Trump Regime
DARAJA PRESS PODCASTS
Firoze Manji and Nnimmo Bassey discuss the environmental threats posed by the Trump administration's policies, particularly the withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and the prioritization of oil and gas drilling. Bassey highlights the severe environmental degradation in the Niger Delta, including contaminated water and soil, and the health impacts on local communities. He emphasizes the need for African unity and transformative leadership to combat these issues. Bassey also notes the broader implications for Africa, including potential environmental genocide in other regions like Senegal and...
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Threats to the Black Women's movement of the new Trump regime
DARAJA PRESS PODCASTS
Thandisizwe Chimurenga talks about the threats to the Black Women's movement of the new Trump regime A society born of white supremacy and patriarchy must, by definition, ignore the voices of Black women. We know that unfortunately, such an attitude will also naturally seep into every stratum of that society. With the ascent of the Trump regime, a whole range of policies and practices are being implemented and more to be planned on both on the USA domestic scene as well as on the international arena. Thandisizwe Chimurenga is an award winning, Los Angeles-based freelance journalist and writer....
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Prospects for movements in the new Trump regime
DARAJA PRESS PODCASTS
Kali, of course, hardly needs an introduction, but for those of you who have not been fortune to hear and engage with Kali, let me say a few words about him: Kali Akuno is the co-founder of Cooperation Jackson in Jackson, Mississippi. He is the co-editor of Jackson Rising: The Struggle for Economic Democracy and Black Self-Determination in Jackson, Mississippi and of Jackson Rising Redux: Lessons On Building The Future In The Present. As many of you will know, we have had the pleasure of interviewing Kali on several occasions here on Daraja Press Podcasts. In our last podcast, Kali discussed...
info_outlineToday I have the honour of speaking to the author of this extraordinary novel, Flames of the Cherry Tree. It's a sweeping, intimate portrait of a young woman's coming of age against the backdrop of colonialism, rebellion, and indeed the birth of today's occupied Kashmir—at once tender and unflinching. It traces the story of one family through oppression, repression, and resistance, illuminating the forgotten histories that have shaped Kashmir today and the hope that survives in its people.
Leena Khan is an extraordinary woman. She's currently a Juris Doctor at Harvard Law School with an interest in international human rights law, and she has a long history of studying at Georgetown University with many prizes and awards, including work on Arab studies, and has published on that herself.