Native America Calling - Tuesday, August 26, 2025 — Santa Ana Pueblo works to recover cultural items from 40-year-old burglaries

Santa Ana Pueblo is celebrating the return of a clay bowl that was stolen in 1984, but it’s only one out of nearly 150 irreplaceable items taken during a series of burglaries and never recovered. Investigators believe the items were eventually sold to collectors around the world and authorities never tracked them down. We’ll check in on the tribe’s renewed efforts to find and bring the items back home.

We’ll also get updates on other repatriation efforts, including tribes and lawmakers putting renewed pressure on the University of California over its failure to return remains and artifacts required by law.

GUESTS

Shannon O’Loughlin (Choctaw), chief executive and attorney of the Association on American Indian Affairs

Jack Potter Jr. (Redding Rancheria), chairman of the Redding Rancheria

Myron Armijo (Santa Ana Pueblo), Santa Ana Pueblo governor

Monica Murrell, tribal historic preservation officer and director of the Santa Ana Historic Preservation Department

Edward Halealoha Ayau (Native Hawaiian), executive director of Hui Iwi Kuamo’o

The Allusionist - 215. Two-Letter Words

Listener Erica commented: "Perhaps an idea for a bonus ep of Four Letter Word season would be one on two-letter words: there’s an established list that Scrabble nerds end up memorizing, and it’s full of weirdness." In fact, there are TWO established lists, NASPA, the North American Scrabble Players Association, which has currently 107 two-letter words, and Collins Scrabble Words, formerly known as SOWPODS, used by the rest of the world and contains at present 127 two-letter words.

And this episode, we're going to hear all those two-letter words. If you don't agree with their Scrabbular validity, don't blame me! Some of the inclusions were a surprise!

Visit theallusionist.org/two for more information about today's two-letter words, plus a transcript of the episode.

Support the show at theallusionist.org/donate and as well as keeping this independent podcast going, you also get behind-the-scenes info about every episode, livestreams where I read from my ever-growing collection of dictionaries, and the charming and nurturing Allusioverse Discord community, where we're watching the current season of Great British Sewing Bee and soon the new season of Great British Bake Off.

This episode was produced by me, Helen Zaltzman, on the unceded ancestral and traditional territory of xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. The music is by Martin Austwick; download his songs at palebirdmusic.com and on Bandcamp, and listen to his podcasts Song By Song and Neutrino Watch.

Find the Allusionist at youtube.com/allusionistshow, instagram.com/allusionistshow, facebook.com/allusionistshow, @allusionistshow.bsky.social… If I’m there, I’m there as @allusionistshow. 

Our ad partner is Multitude. If you want me to talk compellingly about your product, sponsor an episode: contact Multitude at multitude.productions/ads. This episode is sponsored by:

• Squarespace, your one-stop shop for building and running your online forever home. Go to squarespace.com/allusionist for a free 2-week trial, and get 10 percent off your first purchase of a website or domain with the code allusionist.

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It Could Happen Here - Palestine and the American University feat. Dana El Kurd

Dana El Kurd outlines what is happening in higher education, how and why the Trump administration is attacking universities, and the role Palestine plays in all of this.

Sources:

Clifford Ando – The Crisis of the University Started Long Before Trump - https://www.compactmag.com/article/the-crisis-of-the-university-started-long-before-trump/

Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism - https://jerusalemdeclaration.org/

Ken Stern on IHRA definition - https://www.npr.org/2025/03/20/nx-s1-5326047/kenneth-stern-antimsietim-executive-order-free-speech

2023 Pew Research Center Poll on Black Lives Matter - https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2023/06/14/views-on-the-black-lives-matter-movement/

Marc Bousquet – How the University Works - https://nyupress.org/9780814799758/how-the-university-works/

PBS Reporting on Harvard University negotiations with Trump administration - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/harvard-nearing-settlement-with-trump-to-pay-500-million-and-regain-federal-funding

The Intercept’s reporting on Columbia University settlement with the Trump administration - https://theintercept.com/2025/04/16/columbia-middle-eastern-studies-trump-attacks/

Middle East Studies Association statement on Columbia University settlement - https://mesana.org/advocacy/letters-from-the-board/2025/03/28/joint-statement-regarding-columbia-university-and-the-department-of-education

Results of the Middle East Scholar Barometer - https://criticalissues.umd.edu/sites/criticalissues.umd.edu/files/November%202023%20MESB%20Results.pdf

Human Rights Watch statement on the IHRA definition - https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/04/04/human-rights-and-other-civil-society-groups-urge-united-nations-respect-human

Axios reporting on The Nexus Project and Trump’s use of antisemitism investigations - https://www.axios.com/2025/03/31/college-campus-antisemitism-trump-nexus-project

American Association of University Professors – Academic Freedom - https://www.aaup.org/issues-higher-education/academic-freedom/faqs-academic-freedom

2024 Announcement of 40 new AAUP chapters - https://www.aaup.org/academe/issues/winter-2025/warm-welcome-new-or-reestablished-aaup-chapters

Executive Order on Combatting Antisemitism - https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-combating-anti-semitism/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Stuff They Don't Want You To Know - Strange News: New Statues on Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Plane Heists, Allegations of Brain Rot in English Dictionaries

Chinese scientists construct a robot capable of carrying a human fetus to term -- will the government allow this in the public sphere? A California man finds his recreational Cessna repeatedly stolen. Dictionary boffins are criticized for canonizing recent phrases and words. All this and more in this week's strange news segment.

They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Native America Calling - Monday, August 25, 2025 – Tribal concerns help derail fast-track for ‘Alligator Alcatraz’

Miccosukee Tribe of Florida scored at least a temporary legal victory when a federal judge halted construction and ordered parts of the facility dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” removed. The decision comes in the lawsuit by the tribe and environmental groups claiming work on the abandoned airport turned emergency immigrant detention center in Florida violates environmental and national preservation laws. The facility is on traditional Miccosukee land. The Department of Homeland Security and Immigrations and Customs Enforcement along with the state of Florida see the compound as part of ramped-up immigrant deportation efforts. We’ll speak with Chairman Talbert Cypress (Miccosukee).

We’ll also hear from Lakota artist Danielle SeeWalker, who settled a lawsuit with the city of Vail, Colo. after officials cancelled a summer artist residency. The cancellation came after she posted a picture of a work criticizing Israel’s actions against the citizens of Gaza.

 

It Could Happen Here - Newsom’s Posting Through It

James and Robert sit down to discuss Gavin Newsom’s tweets and what they tell us about the DNC’s inability to stand up to Trump.

Sources:

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/20/us/newsom-trump-social-media.html

https://calmatters.org/economy/technology/2025/06/california-police-sharing-license-plate-reader-data/

https://calmatters.org/commentary/2025/03/gavin-newsom-podcast-judgment-problem/ 

https://x.com/GovPressOffice 

https://bsky.app/profile/grahamformaine.bsky.social/post/3lwqwj3rdgk27

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DNl79l0SdMb/?igsh=bXphd3E2N3Y2N20w

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/2qJw7xQfqh0

https://www.kpbs.org/news/racial-justice-social-equity/2025/03/11/san-diego-sheriff-says-disputed-ice-transfer-was-legal

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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It Could Happen Here - CZM Book Club : Hermetica, by Alan Lea, Part Four

Margaret brings you further along into the tale of Hermetica, the generation ship.

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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It Could Happen Here - It Could Happen Here Weekly 196

All of this week's episodes of It Could Happen Here put together in one large file. 

- The Federalization of DC Police feat. Bridget Todd

- Elon Musk and the Rebirth of Company Towns feat. Steven Monacelli & Dr. Michael Phillips

- Alienation and AI feat. Andrew

- Objectivity in Journalism

- Executive Disorder: White House Weekly #30

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!

http://apple.co/coolerzone 

Sources/Links:

Elon Musk and the Rebirth of Company Towns feat. Steven Monacelli & Dr. Michael Phillips

Margaret Crawford, Building the Workingman's Paradise: The Design of American Company Towns

Alan Dawley, Struggles for Justice: Social Responsibility and the Liberal State

Hardy Green, The Company Town: The Industrial Edens and Satanic Mills That Shaped the American Economy

Chad Pearson, Capitalism’s Terrorists: Klansmen, Lawmen, and Employers in the Long Nineteenth Century

Objectivity in Journalism

https://www.poynter.org/ethics-trust/2021/a-widely-shared-video-shows-a-deputy-overdosing-on-fentanyl-experts-say-its-impossible/

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/23/opinion/objectivity-black-journalists-coronavirus.html

Executive Disorder: White House Weekly #30

https://www.972mag.com/israel-gaza-journalists-hamas-hasbara/

https://x.com/IDF/status/1954652255199887516 

https://www.idf.il/en/mini-sites/idf-press-releases-israel-at-war/august-24-pr/eliminated-ismail-al-ghoul-a-hamas-military-wing-operative-and-nukhba-terrorist/ 

https://cpj.org/2025/07/cpj-calls-for-anas-al-sharifs-protection-in-face-of-israeli-smears/ 

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/16tQckcrui/ 

https://www.icrc.org/en/article/international-humanitarian-law-protect-journalists-armed-conflict 

https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/policy-manual-updates/20250819-DiscretionaryFactors.pdf

https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title8-section1424&num=0&edition=prelim

https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/policy-alerts/08.15.2025-Restoring_a_Good_Moral_Character_Evaluation_Standard_for_Aliens_Applying_for_Naturalization-Policy_Memorandum_FINAL.pdf

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/26054451-20-1/#document/p17/a2667744

https://www.wmtw.com/article/old-orchard-beach-maine-officer-voluntary-departure/65807962?utm_campaign=snd-autopilot

https://edsource.org/updates/immigration-agents-alleged-to-have-boasted-of-1500-for-l-a-student-arrest 

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/05/us/politics/ice-bonuses-immigrants-deportations.html

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Stuff They Don't Want You To Know - Introducing: Law & Order: Criminal Justice System S2

Law & Order: Criminal Justice System is back with Season Two, turning its focus to a threat that hides in plain sight, harder to predict and even harder to stop: terrorism. Hear the real stories from those who lived it, worked it, and risked everything to confront it.

Listen here and subscribe to Law & Order: Criminal Justice System S2 on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts!

They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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