Unelected "special government employee" Elon Musk continues to lead an unprecedented flurry of changes and cuts to US institutions - supporters call it good budgeting; critics call it an attack on democracy. Rising egg prices lead to a massive heist, and Waffle House is charging a per-egg fee to diners. The Pentagon changes its media stance, Google lifts its long-standing ban on AI weaponry. Oh, and Zombie Spiders. All this and more in this week's strange news segment.
The National Congress of American Indians annual winter conference comes as the federal government is actively dismantling the diversity initiatives that help establish Native representation in the workplace and in the public sphere. The nation’s oldest and largest Native advocacy group is shaping its strategy for carrying a unified voice to a fractured government and public on issues that matter most: sovereignty, consultation, environmental sustainability, the Trust Responsibility, and economic development. We’ll hear NCAI President Mark Macarro’s 2025 State of Indian Nations address and get perspectives on the organization’s coming year.
Mia and James discuss Trump's imperialist drive to take Canada, the Panama Canal, Gaza and Greenland and how it differs from previous versions of free trade American imperialism.
Jathan sits down with Sunaura Taylor—author of Disabled Ecologies—in her lab at UC Berkeley to discuss her excellent work which brings together critical disability studies with enironmental justice. Against the backdrop of her research on toxic waste dumps, military industires, racial capitalism, injured communities, and social movements in Tuscon, AZ, we explore the “expansive webs of injury” that now entrap everybody, giving rise to what Sunaura calls the Age of Disability.
••• Disabled Ecologies: Lessons from a Wounded Desert | Sunaura Taylor https://www.ucpress.edu/books/disabled-ecologies
••• Beasts of Burden: Animal and Disability Liberation | Sunaura Taylor https://thenewpress.com/books/beasts-of-burden
Standing Plugs:
••• Order Jathan’s new book: https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520398078/the-mechanic-and-the-luddite
••• Subscribe to Ed’s substack: https://substack.com/@thetechbubble
••• Subscribe to TMK on patreon for premium episodes: https://www.patreon.com/thismachinekills
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (bsky.app/profile/jathansadowski.com) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (www.x.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (bsky.app/profile/jebr.bsky.social)
Quickie With Bob: Using Nukes to Deflect Asteroids; News Items: Near Earth Asteroid Threat, Does the Internet Affect Our Memory, Growing City Rat Problem, Do Apes Have a Theory of Mind, NASA Astronauts Harassed by Aliens; Who's That Noisy; Science or Fiction
All of this week's episodes of It Could Happen Here put together in one large file.
The Internationalists Fighting Fascism in Burma
(Maybe Don't) Read Siege
How Trump is Killing Science (And You)
Greenwashing Genocide In Artsakh
Executive Disorder: White House Weekly #2
You can now listen to all Cool Zone Media shows, 100% ad-free through the Cooler Zone Media subscription, available exclusively on Apple Podcasts. So, open your Apple Podcasts app, search for “Cooler Zone Media” and subscribe today!
VOMA https://www.voma.center/en VOMA is a non-governmental movement that aims to strengthen the defenses of the Republic of Armenia through preparing Armenians and Diaspora to face the immanent threat of invasion by Azerbaijan and Turkey. A defensive organization only.
Kooyrigs https://kooyrigs.org Kooyrigs is a women-led organization and NGO. Focused on supporting Armenia and Artsakh refugees through various humanitarian projects, especially in the areas of education, healthcare, and emergency relief efforts.
Pahapan Development Foundation: http://www.pahapan.org/en/ Donations go toward supporting and developing Tavush: there are about 10000 children who live under regular shootings by Azeri troops in 23 borderline villages of Tavush region. This organization helps their safety as well as implementing social, cultural and educational programs.
Hayastan All-Armenian Fund https://www.himnadram.org This fund is one of the main sources of support for Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, focusing on community development, health, education, and infrastructure.
Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) https://www.agbu.org AGBU is one of the largest Armenian-American organizations that provides support for educational, cultural, and social welfare initiatives in Armenia and globally.
Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR) https://www.farusa.org FAR focuses on providing relief to vulnerable populations in Armenia, supporting programs in health, education, and economic development.
Paros Foundation http://parosfoundation.org/available-projects/ Donations can contribute to a number of humanitarian missions they have in Armenia. You can choose to support individual projects or donate to the foundation in general.
Armenia Fund https://www.armeniafund.org A wide ranging charity for infrastructure projects, educational scholarships, and providing aid to vulnerable populations.
Armenian Wounded Heroes Fund https://armenianwoundedheroes.com This fund provides direct support to Armenian soldiers who have been injured in the line of duty, offering medical assistance and helping them reintegrate into society.
Tumo Center for Creative Technologies https://www.tumo.org Tumo is an innovative educational program that provides free tech and creative skills to young people in Armenia. Donations help support the growth of this pioneering center and its ability to empower youth with skills in areas such as animation, coding, game development, and design.
Armenian Volunteer Corps (AVC) https://www.avc.am AVC connects volunteers with opportunities in Armenia to support a variety of causes, from community development to disaster relief. Donations help fund the ongoing programs and volunteer recruitment.
The Children of Armenia Fund (COAF) https://coaf.org COAF supports rural communities in Armenia with educational, healthcare, and technological programs.
Armenian Red Cross Society https://www.redcross.am/en/home.html The Armenian Red Cross provides critical humanitarian assistance in Armenia, offering emergency relief, health services, and disaster response.
IMAST https://imast.am/ IMAST helps Armenian non-profits with micro-donations for individual projects from wildlife to health to community building.
Other: One Armenia https://www.onearmenia.org A travel group that features local travel opportunities with local people. Promoting responsible travel.
Learn4Artsakh https://learn4artsakh.org Instagram: @learn4artsakh Learn4Artsakh is a leftist platform dedicated to providing educational resources about Artsakh’s history, culture, and people.
Books: The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide by Peter Balakian
The Caucasian Knot: The History and Geo-politics of Nagorno-Karabagh, by Patrick Donabedian & Claude Mutafian Available on learn4artsakh.com
My Brother’s Struggle: A great book by the brother of a complicated Armenian revolutionary who grew up in California. Available on learn4artsakh.com
Azeri War Crimes https://azeriwarcrimes.org/ An archive of evidence of war crimes, ethnic cleansing and human rights violations committed by Azerbaijan. Not for the faint of heart.
What's the longest amount of time you've spent away from social media? For many of us, the answer is "not long." Across the planet, billions of people are caught in an endless cycle of posting, reposting, commenting, liking, and reacting to a constant stream of ephemera -- a never-ending barrage of news, updates, hot takes, memes and viral videos inundating our brains with one shiny thing after another. Most people consider these pursuits harmless... but, as Ben, Matt and Noel discover in tonight's episode, a growing number of experts are concerned that this continual short-form theatre may have serious consequences for the human brain. Tune in to learn more about how the age of social media may be affecting your brain in dangerous, often-unacknowledged, and lasting ways.
Tatanka Means (Lakota/Diné) maintains a busy schedule as a stand-up comedian, all while portraying serious on-screen roles in Killers of the Flower Moon, Echo, and Reservation Dogs. He carries the name of his notable Lakota father, has close ties to his Navajo roots in Chinle, Ariz., and is fully embracing his role as a basketball dad. We’ll hear about his life and creative drive as our February Native in the Spotlight.
The gang discuss Elon Musk's cyber coup of the federal government, trade wars with Mexico and Canada over immigration, and we follow up on Trump's order to require misgendering and detransition in schools.
