#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_outlineThis episode offers an audio version of “It’s Safer in the Front,” 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 {8:59}
- Block Cop City, Atlanta, November 13, 2023 {13:11}
- Conclusion {18:33}
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This episode offers an audio version of “It’s Safer in the Front,” published by CrimethInc. on January 28, 2025. The article version includes a variety of hyperlinks offering more documentation about the events referred.
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To learn more about the mobilization against the “Summit of the Americas” in Québec City in 2001, read this. To learn more about the movement against capitalist globalization, of which it was a part, you could start here. You could also read David Graeber’s reflections on the movement.
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To learn more about the demonstrations against George W. Bush’s second inauguration, read this. For more background on the history of anarchist protest activity against presidential inaugurations across the decades, you could start here.
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To learn more about the mobilization against the Democratic and Republican National Conventions in 2008, read this.
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To learn more about the anarchist demonstration against Donald Trump’s first inauguration, read this. To learn about how the arrestees used solidarity to win a historic victory over the charges brought against them, start here. You could also read this text about what to do when kettled. And to get a sense of what it was like on the streets that day, don’t miss the J20 protest simulator!
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For background on the movement to stop Cop City in Atlanta, start here; to learn about the Block Cop City mobilization, read this. Finally, this article explores the trumped up charges brought against arrestees in the movement.
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For background on the anti-fascist resistance to the “Unite the Right” rally, read these reflections. To learn about the Kronstadt revolt, you could start here.
- Finally, for further reading in this category, try “We Fight because We Like It: Maintaining Our Morale against Seemingly Insurmountable Odds.”