Zohran Mamdani to Kick Off Our Monday Radio Special
The Indypendent and WBAI-99.5 FM have a lot in common. Just as we have been funded by our readers since we began publishing in 2000, WBAI has relied on listener supporters since it first went on the air in 1960. Because both The Indy and WBAI don’t rely on corporate funding, we can be fiercely independent. And we use that independence to amplify the voices of people and movements here in New York and around the world that are working for peace and justice for all.
It makes sense for us to collaborate. In 2018, we launched a weekly half-hour news and public affairs show on WBAI. It later became a one-hour show that airs Tuesdays 5–6 p.m. during peak drive-time hours. As The Indypendent News Hour continues to grow in popularity, co-hosts John Tarleton and Ariana Orozco will be hosting a special two-hour edition this Monday from 5–7 p.m. in addition to our regular Tuesday show which will be hosted by The Indy’s Amba Guerguerian. You can find us at 99.5 FM or streaming online at wbai.org. Here’s the lineup for this evening’s special edition.
First Segment: Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani
Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani is one of the rising stars of the democratic-socialist movement. Since knocking off a five-term incumbent to win a seat in the State Assembly in 2020, Mamdani has fought for immigrant taxi workers, MTA bus riders, rent-stabilized tenants and many others. On Wednesday, Oct. 23, he announced he was running for mayor in next year’s Democratic primary, the first high-profile leftist to do so since the 1940s. He received more first-day campaign contributions than any other candidate in the race.
Second Segment: Nicole Noble of New York-10 Neighbors for Peace
New York’s 10th congressional district in Lower Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn is represented by Dan Goldman, an ardent Zionist and one of Congress’ wealthiest members. Goldman has voted to send many billions of dollars of weapons to Israel and has routinely denied the atrocities the Israelis are committing in Gaza. New York-10 Neighbors for Peace has been protesting Goldman’s warmongering ways for the past year. And now they are organizing a write-in campaign calling on voters to write in the name of Hind Rajab, a six-year-old Palestinian child who was murdered by Israeli soldiers after being trapped in a car with other dead family members for hours. Nicole Noble of NY-10 Neighbors for Peace will update us on the group’s campaign.
Third Segment: Investigative Journalist Tom Robbins
Tom Robbins was a legendary staff writer and columnist at The Village Voice for decades. He is now an investigative journalist in residence at the CUNY School of Journalism and host of Deadline NYC, a news and public affairs show on WBAI. We will be talking with Tom about corrupt New York City mayors past and present as well as his thoughts about Donald Trump as the former Manhattan real-estate mogul tries to win a second term in the White House.
Fourth Guest: Councilmember Shahana Hanif
The presidential race is dominating the headlines. However, New York City residents will also be voting on six ballot initiatives that have not been getting much attention. The first is a statewide equal-rights amendment that would further guarantee the rights of women and LGBTQ+ people. The other five ballot initiatives were placed on the ballot at the behest of Eric Adams, and critics have denounced them as a “mayoral power grab.” City Councilmember Shahana Hanif will be joining us to discuss these ballot initiatives.
Fifth Guest: Danny Valdes, Co-Chair of the DSA Cuba Working Group
Hundreds of New Yorkers attended a “Let Cuba Live” rally Sunday afternoon at Grand Central. The rally was held at a time when Cuba’s economic crisis continues to worsen amid the withering effects of U.S. economic sanctions that were tightened under former President Donald Trump and have been continued by President Joe Biden. For more on what’s happening in Cuba, why the U.S. sanctions are so devastating for Cuba and the solidarity campaign to end them, we will speak with Danny Valdes, co-chair of the Democratic Socialists of America’s Cuba Solidarity Working Group.
Sixth Guest: Eli Smith, Founder of the Brooklyn Folk Festival
The 15th annual Brooklyn Folk Festival will be held Nov. 8–10 featuring dozens of bands and the infamous banjo tossing contest on the final day of the event. Brooklyn Folk Festival founder Eli Smith will catch us on what to expect at this year’s folk festival and he will play some live songs in our WBAI Studio!
You can also catch our regular Indypendent News Hour this Tuesday from 5–6 p.m. Indy Managing Editor Amba Guerguerian will be hosting the show. She will speak with New York City Taxi Workers’ Alliance President Bhairavi Desai about New York City’s Uber/Lyft drivers’ new campaign against rideshare companies. She will also talk about how media workers here in the United States are responding to some of the darkest days of the Gaza genocide. To check out the full schedule of shows airing on WBAI, click here. To check out the full schedule of shows airing on WBAI, click here.
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WBAI Update
WBAI is beginning a crucial one-week fund drive today. If you like what you hear, please make a one-time contribution or become a WBAI Buddy in the name of The Indypendent News Hour. The station has a new leadership that has ended past fundraising practices that relied on hawking merchandise to entice listeners to contribute. This approach hurt the station’s reputation and was not financially effective. Under new General Manager Bob Henelley and Program Director Keziah Glow, the station is banking its future on the belief that listeners will support the station because of the content it delivers. “The program is the premium,” as the saying goes.
