The February Indypendent
Since Donald Trump’s inauguration, the barrage of events has been overwhelming. More than 1,500 January 6th insurrectionists pardoned. Tariffs threatened and withdrawn. Musings about invading allied nations. Illegal firings of apolitical civil servants. Planes falling out of the sky. Reality TV-style immigration raids. Sensitive computer systems that dispense trillions of dollars in payments hacked by the world’s richest man and his acolytes. And so much more.
Amid the day-to-day onslaught of norm-busting power grabs, the cover story for our February print edition helps us parse out the signals from the noise coming out of the White House by taking the long view of what "big government" has accomplished over the past century and why Trump and the right wing are so intent on dismantling it.
“To keep track of what’s going on,” writes Indypendent Editor-in-Chief John Tarleton, “I organize the daily news into four categories: repealing the 20th century, controlling the security forces, pirates & their plunder and where is the opposition.”
The Right-Wing’s’ Goal of Repealing the 20th Century Is Now Within Reach. Who Will Stop Them?
By John Tarleton
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New York City
‘People Are Speaking in Whispers’ by Amba Guerguerian
Student suspensions, faculty purges and an all-encompassing surveillance state have become the norm as Columbia falls silent after last spring’s anti-genocide protests.
Who Killed Maria Hernandez? by Theodore Hamm
The 1989 drive-by shooting of neighborhood anti-drug activist Maria Hernandez in her own home shocked New York City. New evidence has recently emerged that prosecutors in their haste to win a conviction may have cut corners to put away an innocent man.
Daniel Penny and the Rise of MAGA Long Island by John Teufel
I grew up in West Islip, NY, the hometown of Daniel Penny. There’s a reason it’s known as “White Islip.”
The Indypendent Is a Labor of Love, But We Can’t Do It Alone by Amba Guerguerian
Our managing editor explains her dedication to independent media.
Culture
Black Psychedelic Revolution: Healing the Hood by Nicholas Powers
An excerpt from Nicholas Powers’ new book, which explores how using psychedelics could transform Black trauma and alienation.
Interview: How the Indie Amazon Labor Documentary “Union” Self-Distributed by Nicky Yeager
Mars Verrone is the producer of an award-winning documentary film on the first-ever winning campaign to unionize an Amazon warehouse.
When Teaching the Past Becomes a ‘Truthcrime’ by Eleanor J. Bader
Radical educator Jesse Hagopian’s latest book looks back on past waves of classroom repression and the resistance movements that overcame ignorance and prejudice.
Reverend Billy’s Revelations by Reverend Billy Talen
'We have to look away and start anew. If we do it together, it will become dancing.'
Indy Radio Update
On this week’s edition of The Indypendent News Hour on WBAI-99.5 FM, we spoke with labor organizer and researcher Eric Dirnbach about how the labor movement could fight back amid Donald Trump’s return to power. We also got an update on how the Starbucks Workers United campaign was faring from worker-organizer Kai Fritz. More than 530 stores have unionized nationwide, and the union and the company have been negotiating a first contract since last year. Our co-hosts John Tarleton and Amba Guerguerian also discussed the latest news from scandal-marred Mayor Eric Adams and took calls from listeners who shared their thoughts on the mayor and his actions. To listen to the whole show, click here.
The Indypendent News Hour airs Tuesdays 5–6 pm on WBAI-99.5 and streams on wbai.org. See you next week! To visit our vast archive of past shows, click here.
