#111: Become an Anarchist or Forever Hold Your Peace
The Ex-Worker
This episode offers an audio version of “,” arguing that neither courts nor laws will halt the descent into autocracy. Massive numbers of people will have to take it upon themselves to organize concrete acts of resistance, to take direct action on a horizontal and participatory basis—in other words, to become anarchists. -------SHOW NOTES------ Table of Contents Introduction {0:36} Tyranny Is the Opposite of Anarchism {1:12} A Three-Sided Conflict {3:45} No Law Will Give You Freedom {8:32} Remember How We Got Here {12:02} Become an Anarchist or Forever Hold Your Peace...
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#110: It’s Safer in the Front
The Ex-Worker
This episode offers an audio version of “,” making the case that seeking safety by avoiding confrontation is not likely to be an effective strategy in a time of escalating political conflict. {February 25, 2025} -------SHOW NOTES------ Table of Contents Introduction {0:30} My Friend’s Grandfather {1:11} “Summit of the Americas,” Québec City, April 20, 2001 {3:41} George W. Bush’s Second Inauguration, Washington, DC, January 20, 2005 {5:10} Democratic National Convention, Denver, August 25, 2008 {6:34} Donald Trump’s First Inauguration, Washington, DC, January 20, 2017...
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#109: Sacrificial Violence and Retribution
The Ex-Worker
This episode offers an audio version of “,” exploring the responses to two different extrajudicial killings as a way to understand the different forms of violence that are contending in our society today. {November 22, 2024} -------SHOW NOTES------ Table of Contents Introduction {0:30} Sacrificial Violence {3:18} Retribution? {8:35} Beyond Martyrdom {14:11} This episode offers an audio version of “,” published by CrimethInc. on December 23, 2024. The article version includes a variety of hyperlinks providing citations for the claims made herein. To get deeper into René...
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#108: The Case for Resistance
The Ex-Worker
This episode offers an audio version of “,” laying out an analysis of what we can expect from Donald Trump’s second term and how we can prepare to confront it. “This is a pivotal moment, and everyone who isn’t cynically detached is sounding the alarm. Those of us who recognize the necessity of fighting had better find each other, identify the strengths and weaknesses of all the parties involved, recall the lessons of the past eight years, and strategize.” {November 22, 2024} -------SHOW NOTES------ Table of Contents Introduction {0:30} The Balance of Forces {2:44} How...
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#107: The Eye of Every Storm
The Ex-Worker
At a time when misinformation, rising authoritarianism, and disasters exacerbated by industrially-produced climate change are creating a feedback loop of escalating crisis, it’s crucial to understand disaster response as an integral part of community defense and strategize about how this can play a part in movements for liberation. In this reflection, a local anarchist involved in longstanding disaster response efforts in Appalachia recounts the lessons that they have learned in the course of dealing with the consequences of Hurricane Helene over the past six weeks and offers advice about...
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#106: First as Farce, Then as Tragedy
The Ex-Worker
Donald Trump has won the 2024 election. In order to understand what we’re up against, let’s look at how we got here. In many ways, the Democrats are responsible for Donald Trump’s return to power. Over the past four years, the Democrats have beefed up the institutions through which the fascists will enact their policies, normalized violence against the people that the fascists intend to target, turned over the communications platforms via which people share information, and discouraged people from the kind of tactics one needs to fight against a fascist regime is complicity. {November 6,...
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#105: Don't Stop: Continuing the Fight Against Cop City
The Ex-Worker
This episode offers an audio version of “”, published on December 12th. It traces the activities of the movement to Stop Cop City and defend the Weelaunee Forest from June through December 2023, including accounts of the campaign for an Atlanta voter’s referendum on Cop City, the Sixth Week of Action, the relationship between clandestine direct action and public organizing, local Black organizing against the project, the Block Cop City march in November, and potential strategic pathways forward. Tune in for an in-depth evaluation of the latest phase in one of the most critical social...
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#104: Living in an Earthquake—The Fight against Cop City Confronts Unprecedented Repression
The Ex-Worker
At first, it appeared to be an ordinary forest defense campaign aimed at discouraging Atlanta city government from pouring money into an unpopular police training facility. But over the past two years, the fight against Cop City has escalated into one of the fiercest struggles of the Biden era, pitting a wide range of courageous people against a united front of politicians, prosecutors, and police. In their desperate efforts to deflect popular resistance and force through the project, police and prosecutors have pressed trumped-up domestic terrorism charges against almost every defendant...
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#103: The Return of the Ultraliberal Right in Argentina
The Ex-Worker
A so-called “” has just been elected president in Argentina. What does this mean for anarchists and the prospects for revolutionary change in South America? Spoiler alert: it’s not looking good. In this episode, we share an account from analyzing the recent rise to power of Javier Milei, an extreme neoliberal economist, in the context of the global turn towards fascist and reactionary populist leaders like Trump and Bolsonaro. You’ll get an in-depth look at the history of center-left rule, military dictatorship, and neoliberal austerity that resulting in the powerful popular uprising...
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#102: How They Stopped Work at Raytheon
The Ex-Worker
On November 13, 2023, demonstrators in southern California blockaded a facility of Raytheon, a defense contractor, in solidarity with the Palestinians on the receiving end of the bombs that it produces. They managed to block the facility for more than seven hours, supported by waves of hundreds of activists joining the action, and succeeded in shutting down operations for the day. This episode offers an audio version of , published on November 15th. Participants summarize how the action was organized and unfolded, police responses, the background of direct actions against the war machine and...
info_outlineIn November, CrimethInc. was banned from Twitter by Elon Musk, part of a concerted campaign by right wing trolls and the world’s richest man to shift global political discourse to the right. Why is this happening now, and what should we do about it? This episode collects three months of our writings and coverage of developments with social media as it enters a new phase of consolidation and cooptation. We open with an article published in October—before our ban—tracing the evolution of Twitter from a protest tool developed by anarchists for use at mass mobilizations into a corporate platform controlled by a right-wing billionaire. Next, we share the statement we issued when Twitter banned CrimethInc. from the platform, as well as a poster developed to take our response offline and into the streets. The episode concludes with Canary in the Coal Mine: Twitter and the End of Social Media, an in-depth analysis of how communications in movements for social transformation have evolved within the shifting landscape of technology, politics, and resistance in the past decades, concluding with suggestions for ways to take action beyond the nightmare of corporate social media. {January 30, 2023}
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- Table of Contents:
- Ex-Worker Introduction {0:01}
- Episode Introduction {0:36}
- The Billionaire and the Anarchists: Tracing Twitter from Its Roots as a Protest Tool to Elon Musk’s Acquisition {1:49}
- Elon Musk Bans CrimethInc. from Twitter at the Urging of Far-Right Troll {14:55}
- Whose Tweets? Our Streets: A New Poster and Zine for an Offline Media Offensive {19:08}
- Canary in the Coal Mine: Twitter and the End of Social Media {23:14}
- Conclusion {46:06}
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The episode opens with The Billionaire and the Anarchists: Tracing Twitter from Its Roots as a Protest Tool to Elon Musk’s Acquisition.
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Next, we shared our report on the ban: Elon Musk Bans CrimethInc. from Twitter at the Urging of Far-Right Troll.
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We went on to share a short article introducing a new poster, Whose Tweets? Our Streets: A New Poster and Zine for an Offline Media Offensive. You can find a direct link to the poster here. Want to put some up around your town? Consult our Field Guide to Wheatpasting for how-to tips.
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Finally, the episode wraps up with Canary in the Coal Mine: Twitter and the End of Social Media
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CrimethInc. wasn’t the only radical account banned from Twitter, of course. As The Intercept, Jacobin, and others have reported, other radical outlets who’ve gotten the chop include It’s Going Down and many other anarchist, anti-fascist, and critical journalist accounts.
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Want to stay connected without Twitter? Follow us on Mastodon and Telegram and subscribe to our RSS feed. You can even find us on YouTube, Tumblr, and Reddit. If you want to help us continue to reach people offline, order stickers and others materials to distribute here.