Category Archives: AK Press

AK Press, Anarchist, Author, Autonomy, Burma, Catalunya, General, Myanmar, Quebec, Rojava, Spanish Civil War, Syria, Transcribed, war, zine

Anarchists At War in Spain, Myanmar and Rojava (with James Stout)

book cover of "Anarchists At War" featuring a photo of a barricade in Myanmar with a black flag raised high plus "TFSR 1-11-26 | Anarchists At War in Spain, Myanmar and Rojava (with James Stout)"
Download This Episode

This week, an interview with James Stout on his upcoming AK Press book: Against The State: Anarchists and Comrades at War in Spain, Myanmar, and Rojava, due out early January. You may recognize James as a contributor to the Cool Zone podcast It Could Happen Here (including the recent four parter, “Darién Gap: One Year Later” December 1-4th episodes, 2025), distributed by IheartMedia. For this episode, we talk about the idea of anarchist armies, discuss those three conflicts, left libertarian approaches to formalized armed resistance beyond a guerrilla unit, some of the novel technologies and international solidarities that have developed and a lot more.

Other podcasts James has worked on

Reports Related To Child Soldiers and Conscription among the SDF

. … . ..

Featured Track:

  • Canción de Soldados by Chicho Sanchez Ferlosio from Canciones De La Resistencia Española Año 1963

Continue reading Anarchists At War in Spain, Myanmar and Rojava (with James Stout) →

AK Press, Anarchist, Author, California, Climate Change, Disaster Relief, Housing, Mutual Aid, Transcribed, United States, zine

Mutual Aid in CA’s Fire Country (with Dani Burlison)

cover of "Red Flag Warning: Mutual Aid and Survival in California’s Fire Country" + TFSR 7-27-25 | Mutual Aid in CA's Fire Country (with Dani Burlison)"
Download This Episode

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

Northern CA projects mentioned:

Southern CA projects mentioned:

. … . ..

Featured Track:

Be Yourself by Air Power from Be Yourself 12″

Continue reading Mutual Aid in CA’s Fire Country (with Dani Burlison) →

AK Press, Anarchist, Author, General, History, Law, Prisons, Protest, Transcribed, zine

The Lives and Legacy of Martin Sostre (with Garrett Felber)

Book cover of “A Continuous Struggle: The Revolutionary Life of Martin Sostre” featuring a picture of Martin Sostre in many parts
Download This Episode

This week, we’re sharing an interview with Garret Felber, author of the book A Continuous Struggle: The Revolutionary Life of Martin Sostre, which is due out May 5 from AK Press. Garret speaks about the life of Martin Soster, famed jailhouse lawyer who successfully won cases related to the constitutional rights of prisoners, was politicized in prison by the Nation of Islam in the 1950’s, ran radical Afro-centric bookstores in Buffalo NY to radicalize the youth, embracing anarchism during his time imprisoned on a frame up during which he was a celebrated political prisoner resisting cavity searches through the courts, went on to organize after his release for tenants rights and rehabilitating disused buildings for community centers and helping run a childcare. Sostre was a mentor to Lorenzo Komb’oa-Ervin and Ashanti Alston and laid important foundations for modern Black Anarchism in the US.

There’s a lot in here and we hope you enjoy the book and that the story inspires complex, creative and combative resistance to all forms of domination. The transcript for this chat is currently on the post and soon we’ll have a zine and pdf up on our zines page.

Some past episodes touching on Black anarchism:

Announcement

Kevin Rashid Johnson

From the SFBayView Newspaper:

Rashid was “compacted” on May 1 to the Perry Correctional Institution in South Carolina, 430 Oaklawn Rd., Pelzer, SC 29669. His ID number in South Carolina is 397279.

In the transit van, he was severely injured – probably a broken bone – in his left leg. He has not been given any treatment for it.

He is in solitary confinement, with only a concrete slab to sleep on. He can make only one phone call per week. A comrade is helping him get onto the “GTL Getting Out” app so that he can communicate with everyone.

Meanwhile, he has been on hunger strike since he got there. He lost 17 pounds during the first week.

He appeals for maximum publicity and pressure.

The phone numbers listed for the prison are: 864-243-4700 and 803-737-1752.

Make calls and spread the word. Kevin “Rashid” Johnson, ID number 397279, must be treated humanely, given good medical care and a decent place to sleep and allowed full access to communicate with his lawyers and supporters. Tell the authorities to meet his demands so he can end his hunger strike.

. … . ..

Featured Track

  • Standing At The Crossroad by Eddie and Ernie from Lost Friends

Continue reading The Lives and Legacy of Martin Sostre (with Garrett Felber) →

AK Press, Anarchist, Author, Autonomy, Capitalism, community, General, Gentrification, Housing, Transcribed, United States, zine

Andrew Lee on Defying Displacement

Andrew Lee on Defying Displacement

"TFSR 2-11-2 | Andrew Lee on Defying Displacement" plus the book cover for Defying Displacement
Download This Episode

We’re sharing a recent chat with Andrew Lee (instagram / tiktok), author of the book Defying Displacement: Urban Recomposition and Social War, released by AK Press on February 6th 2024. Andrew and I talk about gentrification, speculation and financialization of houses, the destruction of communities by racial capitalism and the state, and some methods used to fight back and stay put. Andrew shouts out Decolonize Philly as a project to pay attention to.

Housecleaning

Weekly, we work to bring you and our wider audience, including over the radio waves, conversations that you won’t hear many other places. And we operate at a minimal cost, paying for transcription, printing, mailing, web hosting to make sure that information is easier translatable and accessible, including to our comrades behind bars. The most regular way that we fund that is from the patreon.

Our patreon is currently below supporting our monthly operating costs of around $500, so we’re asking folks on the fence of supporting this project who have a patreon account to kick in and help at $3 or more a month. If you don’t have a patreon, we do have a liberapay you can psuedonymously kick us money from or set up a recurring payment from paypal and we also can take money via venmo or stripe.

If you haven’t supported us before or haven’t for a while now and can afford to, we’d really appreciate the help. And if you’re already supporting us or have in the past in various ways, thank you.

. … . ..

Featured Track:

  • Doin It (instrumental) by LL Cool J

Continue reading Andrew Lee on Defying Displacement →

A-Radio Network, AK Press, B(A)D News, Josh Davidson, Political Prisoner, Prisons, Radio, St-Imier, Transcribed, United States, zine

Oral Histories of Political Prisoners + The Role of Anarchist Radio

Oral Histories of Political Prisoners + The Role of Anarchist Radio

book cover of "Rattling The Cages" featuring the drawing of a hand reaching from the dark to pull a string and turn on a bare, hanging light bulbThis week, we’re sharing 3 segments.

First up, Josh Davidson from the Certain Days: Freedom For Political Prisoners Calendar talks about the upcoming book that he co-edited with political prisoner Eric King from AK Press entitled  RATTLING THE CAGES: Oral Histories of North American Political Prisoners, containing over 450 pages of first hand experiences of resisting from within the belly of the beast across generations and movements in Turtle Island. And you can find out more about the Running Down The Walls events at ABCF.Net/WarChest [00:01:22 – 00:28:15]

Then, we’re sharing Sean Swain’s segment on Goyaałé, aka Geronimo. [00:29:14 – 00:38:27]

Finally, we’ll be sharing a panel discussion by members of the A-Radio Network recorded on Saturday, July 22nd 2023 at the International Anarchist Gathering at St-Imier, Jura, Switzerland on the history and role of radio in anarchist and anti-authoritarian resistance, mostly in Europe. If you’re listening to the live radio edition, you’ll hear about 1/3 of that segment, but can hear the whole thing at our website, TheFinalStrawRadio.NoBlogs.Org or at A-Radio-Network.Org [00:38:27 – 01:36:45]

. … . ..

Featured Tracks:

  • Let The Music Play by Arpeggio from Disco Boogie Funk Italo Rare 1970 – 1980

Continue reading Oral Histories of Political Prisoners + The Role of Anarchist Radio →

AK Press, Antifa, Asia, Author, Colonialism, gender, History, Immigration, India, Politics, Racism, Transcribed, United States, zine

Maia Ramnath on Resisting Hindutva

Maia Ramnath on Resisting Hindutva

book covers of "Decolonizing Anarchism" & "Art For Life" and the text "TFSR 2-19-23 | Maia Ramnath on Resisting Hindutva"
Download This Episode

This week, we spoke with Maia Ramnath about her essay contribution to ¡No Pasarán!: Antifascist Dispatches From a World in Crisis. The essay was entitled “The Other Aryan Supremacy: Fighting Hindu Fascism in the South Asia Diaspora”.

 

For the hour, we talk about about Hindutva, a brand of Indian ethno-religious-nationalism some have called fascism, the organizations that carry it in India and in the sub-continental or Desi diaspora around the world, some of the ideas and actions attributed to it, Islamophobia, Hindutva’s connections with the project of Israel, also it’s overlaps with far right, Nazi-inspired ideologies and how non-Desi anti-fascists can stand in solidarity against it.

Some publications by or including Maia Ramnath:

Other interviews on related topics:

Bursts also recommends Azadi by Arundhati Roy, which includes lots of thoughts on these topics. And you can hear our 2020 interview with Pranav Jeevan P. in Karela state in India which covers many of these same topics, which is also transcribed.

Phone Zap for #StopCopCity Arrestee, Emily Murphy

#StopCopCity protestor Emily Murphy has been in jail for almost a month since being arrested 1/22 following the protest against the police killing of Tortuguita. Emily has been vegan for many years, but the Atlanta City Dentention Center has not been giving them food they can eat. They describe being emaciated and having physical problems after a month of starvation. We are asking that you listen to Emily’s statement, participate in our call in campaign, and show up at Atlanta City Dentention Center at 7pm this Friday (2/24/23) to voice your discontent. We present Emily in their own words

You can find info on this in Blue Ridge ABC’s mastodon post on the subject.

Continue reading Maia Ramnath on Resisting Hindutva →

AK Press, Anarchist, Author, History, Kristian Williams, Philosophy, Prisons, Queer, Rebroadcast

Resist Everything Except Temptation (Rebroadcast)

Resist Everything Except Temptation (Rebroadcast)

book cover of "Resist Everything Except Temptation" with a cartoon of Oscar Wilde + a text bar on the right "TFSR, Rebroadcast, 02-12-2023"
Download This Episode

We’re re-airing Scott’s 2020 interview with Kristian Williams about his book, Resist Everything Except Temptation: The Anarchist Philosophy of Oscar Wilde.

From the original post:

I found this interview extremely illuminating, perhaps like many other people who might not have strong ties to either academia or popular education models of learning, I had sort of written Oscar Wilde off as this kind of white dead rich guy who carried little to no relevance apart from a model of queerness that we could look back on. This interview very much proved that this isn’t the case, and that he and the circumstances around him very much influence how we as queers and as anarchists can sense historical threads that pull on our lives very tangibly today. Thanks a million to Scott for researching and conducting this interview!

You can learn more about the author, Kristian Williams, who is most known for his book Our Enemies in Blue, which is a critical history of American policing and police, at his website kristianwilliams.com.

You can hear our past interviews with Kristian on:

Continue reading Resist Everything Except Temptation (Rebroadcast) →

AK Press, Anarchist, Anarcho-Syndicalism, Author, Capitalism, Communism, Environment, General, Labor, Philosophy, Transcribed, United States, zine

Libertarian Syndicalism with Tom Wetzel

Libertarian Syndicalism with Tom Wetzel

book cover of "Overcoming Capitalism" featuring a red fish swimming away under distress from a school of smaller white fishes shaped like a large fish, "TFSR 1-29-23"
Download This Episode

This week, we share our chat with Tom Wetzel on his recently published book Overcoming Capitalism: Strategy for the Working Class in the 21st Century (AK Press, 2022). Tom is an organizer with Worker’s Solidarity Alliance, an anarcho-syndicalist group relaunching in the SF Bay Area, which publishes to Ideas & Action journal online and is affiliated with the International Worker’s Association IWA/AIT.

For the hour we talk about the book, questions of economics and self-management, the ecological feasibility of Tom’s Libertarian Socialist model, recent labor struggles and other subjects. We hope you enjoy and suggest giving the book a read if this conversation tickles your fancy.

Continue reading Libertarian Syndicalism with Tom Wetzel →

AK Press, Anarchist, Author, General, History, Mexico, Prisons, Transcribed, United States, zine

The Legacy of Ricardo Flores Magón

The Legacy of Ricardo Flores Magón

A sketch of Ricardo Flores Magón at Leavenworth Prison, writing while looking out the window with the US flag flying, "Ricardo Flores Magón, TFSR, 12-4-22"
Download This Episode

We just passed the 100th anniversary of the murder by incarceration and hounding of Mexican Revolutionary anarchist communist Ricardo Flores Magón on 21st of November. For this hour or so, I spoke with Mitchell Cowen Verter, co-author of the 2005 AK Press book, Dreams of Freedom: A Ricardo Flores Magon Reader (also free from archive.org). We talk about RFM’s life, ideas and legacy.

Apologies for the sound quality, Mitchell was on wifi at a hostel in Cambodia for the conversation.

Other RFM Writings

Other pieces by Mitchell Cowen Verter

Xinachtli

Chicano anarchist communist prisoner of war Xinacthli, held by the State of Texas on some BS charges, had a support rally in Austin, Texas, on November 21st this year. There’s a link in these show notes to a recording someone passed us of him telling his story like a decade ago. You can learn more on his case at FreeAlvaro.Net.

Sean Swain’s segment on marriage starts at [ 01:15:00 – end]

Continue reading The Legacy of Ricardo Flores Magón →

AK Press, Anarchist, Anarcho-Syndicalism, Author, Capitalism, Communism, History, Labor, Marxism, Philosophy, Politics, St-Imier, Transcribed

The First International and the Birth of the Anarchist Movement (with Robert Graham)

The First International and the Birth of the Anarchist Movement (with Robert Graham)

book cover of "We Do Not Fear Anarchy, We Invoke It!" featuring a woman holding a torch and red flag in what appears to be a scene of chaos
Download This Episode

I’m happy to share this interview with anarchist author and historian, Robert Graham about the split in the historic left that led to the birth of the anarchist movement. Robert published the book We Do Not Fear Anarchy, We Invoke It!: The First International and the Origins of the Anarchist Movement with AK Press in 2015.

As I say in the interview, I was excited to have this conversation with Robert since the 150th anniversary of the first anti-authoritarian International hosted by the anarchist watchmakers in St-Imier, Switzerland. I’m definitely not a history or theory head, so I’ve been pleased to take this opportunity to broaden my horizons and areas of study. To hear about the 150th Anniversary gathering, check out the segment by comrades at A-Radio Berlin from August 2022’s Bad News podcast. And check out Anarchy2023.Org for info on next year’s gathering.

Part 1: [00:11:45 – 01:11:58]

Part 2: [01:14:32 – 02:13:22]

The interview begins at after Sean Swain’s segment on the protests in Iran [00:03:20 – 00:11:45]

The book is available from Firestorm at the above link, also from the publisher at AKPress.Org, and you can check out an online version from Archive.Org for free as well. Or now at TheAnarchistLibrary.Org for easy & free download.

Here’s a link to an archive of Open Road, the anarchist journal Robert participated in in the 1970’s

For a related historical interview we conducted in 2014 with Andrew Zonneveld of On Our Own Authority! on an anarchist historical compilation called “The Commune: Paris, 1871”, linked in our show notes. Also of note, Coffee With Comrades just conducted an interview Jim Yoeman on his recently published AK Press book, Print Culture and the Formation of the Anarchist Movement in Spain, 1890-1915

Continue reading The First International and the Birth of the Anarchist Movement (with Robert Graham) →