The Final Straw Radio is a terrestrial radio show and podcast started in 2009 featuring information by, for and about anarchists and other anti-authoritarians. The show airs weekly on Sundays from 2-3pm EST out of Asheville, NC, USA.
This week, Ian talks with cartoonist Mattie Lubchansky about her new book, Simplicity, out July 29 from Pantheon Graphic Library. The conversation touches on Mattie’s work as Associate Editor for The Nib, her history with comics, and her ambitions beyond the printed page, but mostly focuses on the role of art in organizing and living our politics amid all the compromises required of life in the Real World.
This week, we’re sharing this a chat with my friend, Dani Burlson on her recent book, Red Flag Warning: Mutual Aid and Survival in California’s Fire Country! We speak about fire ecology, housing pressures and mutual aid in the wake of natural (and human caused) disaster. Check the show notes for links to a few projects mentioned. You can find more of Dani’s writings at DaniBurlison.com/, books listed here, and more by Caw at CawShinyThings.com
This week, we’re sharing a recent interview with Kennedy Block and Josh MacPhee, editors of Strike While The Needle Is Hot: A Discography of Workers Revolt from Common Notions. We speak about audio strike records, their role, what they tell us about the struggles they cover or were produced to amplify, and a bit about where music and popular resistance stand today.
Until the end of the month, the book is available from CommonNotions.org with a 15% discount if you check out using the code: strike15 .
This week on the podcast, we’re featuring three segments. First up, A member of DFW Support Committee, then organizers of the A Better World Bookfair in Waynesboro, VA and finally, organizers working to save the UNCA woods
First up, you’ll hear a member of the DFW Support Committee supporting the defendants arrested on and around July 4th in relation to a solidarity noise demonstration outside the Prairieland ICE Detention Facility in Alvarado, Texas, in which a local police officer was injured. We speak about the case, the expanding web of repression against leftists in the area, what’s at stake in the case and how to support the 11 defendants.
You can reach them at dfwsupportcommittee@hacari.com and you can donate at https://www.givesendgo.com/supportdfwprotestors and here’s a zine of info put out thus far by DFW Support Committee [00:01:40 – 00:35:19]
MAILING INSTRUCTIONS
Guidelines for writing (important!)
All mail is monitored by state and federal law enforcement. Be extremely mindful of what you are writing. Do not under any circumstance discuss the facts of the case, and do not include overtly political commentary. Consider writing about fun things you’ve done, telling stories, or sending poetry!
All addresses must be formatted as follows and should include a return address if possible.
Full name
Johnson County Detention Center 1800 Ridgemar Drive
Cleburne, TX 76031
NAMES AND BOOKING NUMBERS
Savanna Batten 202502020
Ines Soto 202502008
Elizabeth Soto 202502014
Seth Sikes 202502010
Maricela Rueda 202502018
Meagan Morris 202502011
Joy Gibson 202502016
Nathan Baumann 202502009
Autumn Hill 202502023
Zachary Evetts 202502013
Daniel Sanchez Estrada 202502039
A Better World Book Fair
Next, you’ll hear Beet and Mad Dog, two anarchists organizing the upcoming A Better World Bookfair in Waynesboro, VA on Saturday, July 26th. We talk about the bookfair and taking space in rural locales as leftists and strengthening our bonds amidst the rise of the right under Trump 2.0. [00:35:56 – 01:02:11]
Then, you’ll hear Callie and Heather of Friends of the Woods talking about their campaign to save the UNCA woods, 45 acres in Asheville’s Five Points neighborhood from destruction by the university in a scheme to build a 5,000 seat soccer stadium, market rate housing and retail spaces. You can learn more at www.SaveUNCAWoods.org. [ 01:02:58 – 01:42:44 ]
Finally, Sean Swain speaks about the ODRC’s war on art… his art… [ 01:42:44 – 01:51:10 ]
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Featured Track:
Mercy, Mercy, Mercy by Cannonball Adderly from The Best of Cannonball Adderly The Capitol Years
This week, we’re sharing an interview with Heatscore and Nuke of sub.Media about their new documentary series, InterRebellium. The first episode, entitled El Estallido Social about the social uprising that flared up in 2019 in lands controlled by the state of Chile featuring anarchist and Mapuche voices on the conditions in which the uprising developed, experiences of it and its aftermath. You can view the film for free at sub.Media/InterRebellium alongside materials for discussion. We also speak about the role of film and media production in radical organizing and critique and upcoming episodes of the series.
This week, we’re sharing an interview with Talia Lavin, author of Culture Warlords: My Journey into the Dark Web of White Supremacy. In this chat, we speak about her more recent book, Wild Faith: How the Christian Right is Taking Over America. There’s a lot in the book, most of it pretty disturbing (especially, I’m sure, for anyone who is ex-vangelical) and there is discussion of hateful ideology and child abuse and corporal punishment, though not in lurid detail, so listener discretion is advised. We hope to cover related topics in the future.
This week on the show we feature an interview with two anarchists activists in southern California about the recent resistance to Federal-led immigration raids in Los Angeles and the wider region. Both guests speak about their experiences working in rapid response structures to immigration raids, to anti-homeless sweeps and other community needs over the years and how they’ve changed as conditions and technologies have changed. We talk about inviting and engaging new activists and some strategies that showed success.
This week, we spoke with Richard Amm, a member of the Disability Action Research Kollective, or DARK, which they describe as a disabled-led group working to make disability perspectives, history, and research more accessible to a general audience. Amar and Richard speak about disability, eugenics, radical history the Corona virus and other topics. You can learn more about the project at linktr.ee/disabilityark
First up, A-Radio Berlin shared a conversation about the political motivated arrests and harassment of members of the Labor Desk Confederation of Trade Unions in Azerbaijan, which is calling for international solidarity.
The Labor Desk Confederation of Trade Unions in Azerbaijan is calling for international solidarity following the politically motivated arrests of its chairman Afiaddin Mammadov and fellow unionists Aykhan Israfilov, Elvin Mustafayev, and Mohyaddin Orujov. These arrests are part of a systematic crackdown on independent labor organizing in Azerbaijan..
Next, Črna Luknja from Ljubljana conducted an interview with OLTA (Open Leftist Assembly of Antifascist, Carinthia) from south-west of austria.They are mobilizing against the so-called “Burschentag” of the Austrian Pennaler Ring ,which is the association of the conservative fraternities.The austrian Pennaler Ring is connected with the ruling, fascist party FPÖ and extra-parliamentary extreme right.
This week on the Final Straw Radio, we’re sharing an interview with Matt Hart of the Los Angeles Anarchist Black Cross chapter of the ABC Federation. We talk about the book Matt just released via PM Press, an expanded edition of Boris Yelensky’s history of anarchist prisoner support “Shadows In The Struggle For Equality”, illustrated by NO Bonzo. Matt talks about the work of the LA-ABCF, ABC’s pre-history with the Narodnik movement in mid-19th century Russia, prisoner defense under the nihilist movement, some moments in resistance and mutual aid through the following hundred and fifty years or so, some colorful moments and comrades up into the 21st century. We hope you enjoy! [ 00:01:16 – 01:19:36 ]
Then, we’ll share a reading of the 2025 June 11th statement since this week is the day of Solidarity with Long Term Anarchist Prisoners. More info on that initiative at June11.noblogs.org and the original text can be found there [ 01:19:41 – 01:30.51 ]
This week we spoke with Moira Meltzer-Cohen, an anarchist and lawyer with the National Lawyers Guild who practices mostly in New York City. For the hour, Mo talks about knowing ones rights and risks during interactions with law enforcement in the US during Trump 2.0, why even scofflaws should know some basic Bill of Rights trivia, info on warrants and house visits, airports and borders, and the importance of face-to-face practice with local lawyers who know the legal precedents on the ground in your jurisdiction.
We’re a week and a half out from the annual June 11th Day of Solidarity with Long Term Anarchist Prisoners. If you’re in the Asheville area, Wednesday, June 11, 2025 at The Odd (1045 Haywood Rd near Firestorm in West AVL) . $10 door, opens at 7pm, music at 8pm
If you’re elsewhere, you can check out announced local events in your area by checking out the social media accounts for June11.Noblogs.Org, particularly their mastodon account on @june11@kolektiva.social
Fire Ant Movement call to action
Finally, the Fire Ant Movement released the following statement concerning June 11, 2025:
“Fire ant movement defense, an organization that works to gather mass opposition to the political prosecutions of the stop cop city movement in atlanta, is calling for a “movement defense day of action” on June 11 to support stop cop city defendants and long term anarchist political prisoners. Their statement reads: This year, June 11th arrives amid growing repression: Pro-palestine protesters are facing indefinite detention in ice facilities, and in Georgia, the state continues its aggressive persecution of the stop cop city movement, with 61 activists currently facing RICO charges.
In response, we call for a united front, to link the defense of the stop cop city struggle with the june 11th tradition of solidarity with long-term anarchist political prisoners.
We invite people to learn about Marius Mason and other long-term anarchist prisoners, host public events, drop banners, throw fundraisers, and take action to defend our movements for total liberation.”
Fire ant movement defense says that this will be the first of many movement defense days of action, drawing connections and lines of solidarity between movements fighting for liberation. You can find more information at fireantmovement.org and follow them on instagram, twitter or bluesky.”
We’re a week and a half out from the annual June 11th Day of Solidarity with Long Term Anarchist Prisoners. If you’re in the Asheville area, Wednesday, June 11, 2025 at