Hard Knock Radio

300,000 Black Women Pushed Out of the U.S. Labor Force

Host Davey D convenes SEIU 1021 organizer Jennifer Esteen and Women’s Economic Agenda Project director Ethel Long-Scott to unpack a seismic—and largely ignored—economic gut punch: 300,000 Black women cut from the federal workforce in the first half of 2025. Both guests frame the layoffs as part of a broader, deliberate restructuring—legal, political, and technological—that targets … Continued


Background Briefing

September 30 Government Shutdown Looming, Do the Democrats Get Blamed or Do They Walk Away and Let the Republicans Own it?–Israel Strikes an Allied Country with the Biggest US Base in the Middle East–The US Tells the Europeans We Will No Longer Work With Them Against Russian, Chinese and Iranian Disinformation Warfare–

With a September 30 Government Shutdown Looming, Do the Democrats Get Blamed or Do They Walk Away and Let the Republicans Own it Since They Don’t Negotiate in Good Faith? We begin with the looming September 30th shutdown of the U.S. government. Democratic leadership is inclined to pursue a bipartisan budget agreement — but if … Continued


Emiliano Lemus and guest host Lizanne Deliz pick back up where they left off, talking about trees! They discuss the medicines of elder, willow, gingko, moringa, and more. Hosted and produced by Emiliano Lemus and Renée Camila. Find archived episodes of The Herbal Highway here.


U.S. imperialism has produced migration, sometimes to places you wouldn’t expect. According to Emily Mitchell-Eaton, the Marshall Islands and Arkansas are both central to the workings of empire. The perceptions of longtime residents of demographically transformed cities like Springdale, Arkansas reflect geographical imaginaries that occlude the fact of U.S. empire. Emily Mitchell-Eaton, New Destinations of Empire: Mobilities, … Continued


The Washington Post published a leaked proposal circulating in the White House to develop the so-called Gaza Riviera called the Gaza Reconstitution, Economic Acceleration and Transformation Trust – or the GREAT plan. The Electronic Intifada’s executive director, Ali Abunimah, tells us why this dystopian proposal for Gaza should remind us of plans for the Nazi … Continued


Law & Disorder

What’s Happening in Chicago? w/ Chairman Fred Hampton Jr., Aislinn Pulley and ACLU’s Kevin Fee

Donald Trump is once again leaning into strongman tactics, sharing a social media meme over the weekend that threatened to “wage war” on Chicago. The post, part of his broader crackdown rhetoric on Democratic-led cities, is mobilizing communities to fight back. In this episode, we speak with Chairman Fred Hampton, Jr., a Chicago-based community organizer, … Continued


UpFront

Israel’s Attack in Qatar and the Sumud Freedom Flotilla; ICE Access to Spyware from Israeli Company, Paragon; Plus, AI Boom Causing Evictions in San Framcisco

00:08 — Khury Peterson-Smith is Michael Ratner Middle East Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, where he researches U.S. empire, borders, and migration. 00:33 — Stephanie Kirchgaessner is a reporter and deputy head of investigations for Guardian’s US bureau. She is based in Washington DC. 00:45 — Oscar Palma writes for Mission Local from the Mission … Continued