In this conversation, we speak with two recent International Solidarity Movement (ISM) volunteers about their experiences accompanying Palestinians in the West Bank. International Solidarity Movement is an initiative based in Palestine that enables international volunteers to physically accompany Palestinians facing harassment and attacks from the Israeli occupation. We discuss what everyday resistance — both large and small — looks like for Palestinians in the West Bank. Among many other topics, we explore the ways that ISM volunteers move between what they call “protective presence” and “solidarity” in their accompaniment work, how their experience has shifted or impacted the way they understand anti-colonial resistance more broadly, and what they see on the horizon for Palestine. 

This interview was originally conducted immediately following the agreement to a ceasefire between the IDF and Hamas, on January 16th, 2025. Israel violated the ceasefire numerous times from January 19 to March 17, killing at least 170 people in Gaza, averaging nearly three deaths a day. On March 18th, Israel officially broke the ceasefire agreement, and continues to bombard Gaza with air strikes and ground offensives. Gaza is on the verge of famine and a total collapse of healthcare infrastructure, as Israel continues to bar the entry of much-needed medical supplies, fuel, and other humanitarian aid including food and clean water to the region. 

As of May 19th, 2025, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, at least 53,339 people — including at least 17,400 children — have been confirmed killed in Gaza.

Last month, we published an interview with a friend and comrade of Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi, a 26-year-old who was killed by the Israeli Defense Forces on September 6th, 2024, while accompanying Palestinians in the West Bank as an ISM volunteer. 

That interview, called “The Murder of Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi and the Future of International Solidarity” is available on our feed and at this link: https://thebeautifulidea.show/the-murder-of-aysenur-ezgi-eygi-and-the-future-of-international-solidarity-2/. 

For more information about the work of ISM, visit their website at: https://palsolidarity.org/

An Interview with International Solidarity Movement Volunteers

Join us as we sit down with members of the subMedia Collective to discuss their upcoming series InterRebellium. In this conversation we run down the history of subMedia, beginning in the 90s rave scene, the development of anarchist media in the first 25 years of this century, and what the future holds.

Finally we discuss their upcoming series, InterRebellium, which traces a trajectory of insurgent and autonomous action through struggles around the world. The trailer for InterRebellium can be found at https://sub.media/interrebellium-trailer/

subMedia's work can be found on their site https://sub.media

You can also follow them on Kolektiva platforms at https://kolektiva.social/@subMedia and https://kolektiva.media/a/submedia/video-channels

subMedia has also released a series with recent podcast guest Peter Gelderloos, It's Revolution or Death, which can be found here: https://sub.media/its-revolution-or-death-part-one-short-term-investments/

InterRebellium: A Discussion with subMedia

Dean Spade is the author of "Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During this Crisis and the Next", and "Normal Life: Administrative Violence, Critical Trans Politics, and the Limits of Law". Well known for highlighting the ways that mutual aid can be a direct response to societal needs as well as a transformative practice that shifts our reliance away from the state and toward each other, Spade has just published a new book called "Love in a Fucked Up World: How to Build relationships, hook up, and raise hell together". Informed by over two decades of experience pushing for trans liberation and racial and economic justice, Spade's new book discusses the urgency of building sustainable, accountable, and truly abolitionist interpersonal relationships that empower us to resist state violence over the long haul. In a time of increasing despair, he urges us to move beyond symbolic actions and embrace riskier, more meaningful forms of action that require trust, deep solidarity, and real vulnerability. We touch on Spade's personal journey of radicalization, think about some of the potential of this moment, and unpack some concrete tools for self-reflection and expression.

In addition to Spade's books, check out the "Five Questions for Cultivating Solidarity When Responding to Political Repression", downloadable in English & Spanish here: https://www.communityjusticeexchange.org/en/resources-all/five-questions-for-cultivating-solidarity

Follow Dean Spade:

Twitter – https://x.com/deanspade

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/spade.dean

Personal website – https://www.deanspade.net/

A Discussion With Dean Spade

Welcome back to The Beautiful Idea! We're excited to bring you a jam-packed show today and we have some amazing content planned, so be sure to subscribe to the show [https://thebeautifulidea.show/] and follow us on Mastodon [https://kolektiva.social/@igd_news] and BlueSky [https://bsky.app/profile/igd.bsky.social].

In today's episode, we feature:

 * An interview with an organizer for the recent Florida Abolitionist Gathering [https://crimethinc.com/2025/03/15/they-cant-beat-all-of-us-a-reportback-from-the-florida-abolitionist-gathering].
 * A participant in the Imaginary Crimes Tour [https://cryptpad.fr/pad/#/2/pad/view/g6H3S1Zum45tRJPwAP9t--jD2CyBQFq-rY5g6YOQB8A/embed/] which is already underway, about how people are fighting back against state repression against the Stop Cop City Movement.
 * Present an audio version of a call for events and gatherings on May Day [https://crimethinc.com/2025/04/08/may-day-means-resistance-a-call-to-take-action-on-may-first].
 * Unpack Trump's escalating trade war.

Extended show notes can be found at https://thebeautifulidea.show/people-hit-the-streets-as-trumps-trade-war-heats-up/

People Hit the Streets As Trump's Trade War Heats Up

On September 6th of last year, 26 year old University of Washington graduate Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi was shot and killed by IDF soldiers while doing accompaniment in the West Bank of Palestine with International Solidarity Movement (ISM). In this episode, we speak with a friend of Ayşenur's who had travelled to the West Bank to do accompaniment with ISM alongside her, and was present during the days leading up to and immediately after her murder. 

We discuss what happened to Ayşenur, settler violence against Palestinians and IDF complicity, grief, remembrance, and ways in which anarchist movements internationally can effectively support people facing violence from the state and occupying forces. 

During the discussion a number of pieces are referenced:

"Theses On Palestine Solidarity" (anonymous): https://haters.noblogs.org/files/2024/01/Theses-on-Palestine-Solidarity.pdf

"The Gaza Ghetto Uprising" (Adi Callai*): https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Pt_1k7nSv1M&pp=ygUUZ2F6YSBnaGV0dG8gdXByaXNpbmc%3D

"The Gaza ceasefire will not cure the wounds of genocide" (Roaa Shamallakh): https://mondoweiss.net/2025/01/the-gaza-ceasefire-will-not-cure-the-wounds-of-genocide/

For more information about Ayşenur and her murder at the hands of the IDF, please see https://www.realchangenews.org/news/2024/10/02/remembering-ay-enur-activist-s-death-felt-deeply-seattle-and-beyond and https://southseattleemerald.org/voices/2024/09/10/aysenurs-legacy-the-tragic-loss-of-an-activist-a-friend-and-a-fighter-for-international-solidarity

The speaker interviewed on this episode does not represent the views of International Solidarity Movement. For more about the work of ISM, visit their website at:https://palsolidarity.org/

This interview was originally conducted immediately following the agreement to a ceasefire between the IDF and Hamas, on January 16th, 2025. We apologize for the delayed release.

*Adi Callai has previously been interviewed by contributors to this show. Shortly following the October 7th attacks, they appeared on "This is America" (with Tom Nomad) to discuss IDF strategy (https://itsgoingdown.org/counter-insurgency-israel-podcast/).

The Murder of Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi and the Future of International Solidarity 

In this episode of The Beautiful Idea, we present an interview with author Jamie Merchant, author of Engame: Economic Nationalism and Global Decline [https://reaktionbooks.co.uk/work/endgame] and numerous articles at The Brooklyn Rail [https://brooklynrail.org/contributor/Jamie-Merchant/]. Merchant argues that we have entered a post-neoliberal age, with both Trump and Biden abandoning many of the touch-stones of corporate globalization that defined the past several decades.

But what comes next? During our discussion we talk about how and why Bidenism failed following the upheavals of 2020 and the rise of the Tech-Right as a bloc within the Trump administration. We map out what this formation wants and how it connects to the State's push to expand the American tech industry and in particular, Artificial Intelligence (AI).

We also unpack what it would mean to create new forms of autonomous class based street politics, as demonstrations against ICE and Tesla continue to grow.

Trump, the Tech-Right, and the Post-Neoliberal Order

In this episode of The Beautiful Idea, we speak with Tracy Rosenthal [https://www.haymarketbooks.org/authors/1596-tracy-rosenthal] and Leonardo Vilchis [https://www.haymarketbooks.org/authors/1597-leonardo-vilchis], two tenant organizers in Los Angeles, CA, involved in the Los Angeles Tenant Union (LATU) [https://latenantsunion.org/en/], and co-authors of the new book, Abolish Rent: How Tenants Can End the Housing Crisis [https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/2496-abolish-rent].

From the publisher [https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/2496-abolish-rent]:

"Rent drives millions into debt, despair, and onto the streets. The social cost of rent is too damn high. Written for anyone fed up with the permanent housing crisis, complicit politicians, and real estate greed, Abolish Rent dissects our housing system from the perspective of those it immiserates. Through unsparing analysis and striking stories of resistance, it shows us how tenants can, through organizing and collective action, harness our power and win the housing we deserve.

From two co-founders of the largest tenants union in the country, this deeply reported account of the resurgent tenant movement centers poor and working-class people who are fighting back, staying put, and remaking the city in the process. Authors Tracy Rosenthal and Leonardo Vilchis take us to trilingual strategy meetings, raucous marches against gentrification, and daring eviction defenses where immigrants put their lives on the line. These are the seeds of the revolutionary movement we need to make our housing, our cities, and the world our home."

During our discussion, we cover the growing crisis around rent and housing and how landlords and politicians have attempted to shift the discussion onto attacks on migrants and the houseless. We cover how the Los Angeles Tenant Union and the wider Autonomous Tenant Union Network have grown to build a grassroots, tenant led autonomous movement, aimed at building power on a neighborhood level.

Abolish Rent: A Discussion With The LA Tenants' Union

Welcome back to The Beautiful Idea, a new project from a collective of several anarchist and autonomous media producers scattered around the world. We’re bringing you interviews and stories from the front-lines of autonomous social movements and struggles, as well as original commentary and analysis.

In this episode we sit down with Adam Greenfield, author of the book Lifehouse, out on Verso. In this discussion we talk about technology and the internet, the occurrence of disaster, the long emergency, the concept of lifehouses, prepperism, and the complexities of organizing in communities.

You can find Lifehouse: Taking Care of Ourselves In A World On Fire here:

https://www.versobooks.com/products/2536-lifehouse

The Long Emergency: A Discussion With Adam Greenfield

In our following episode, we speak with folks around the country about this unfolding reality. First, we catch up with Mia Wong [https://bsky.app/profile/miawong.bsky.social], a journalist at It Could Happen Here [https://www.iheart.com/podcast/105-it-could-happen-here-30717896/], a daily podcast on Cool Zone Media about everyday resistance and the current crisis, then we speak with a participant in the publishing collective CrimethInc [https://crimethinc.com/], about the emerging cracks in the current crisis and what this means about how we can respond, and finally we speak to folks in Olympia, WA and North Carolina about recent "Festival of Resistance" [https://crimethinc.com/2025/01/20/reports-from-the-festivals-of-resistance-day-of-the-forest-defender] events that were organized in the lead up to Trump's inauguration.

Thanks for listening, let's get into it.

Music:

Intros: Breakaway [https://breakawaybreakaway.bandcamp.com/] and Seaside Tryst [https://seasidetryst.bandcamp.com/]
Transition: Filastine, Soundswarm Compostion [https://filastine.bandcamp.com/] and E.T., Sword That’s Bending [https://e-t-music.bandcamp.com/]

Resistance Forms as Trump Takes Power

On this episode of The Beautiful Idea, we speak with former political prisoner Eric King and Josh Davidson from the Certain Days [https://burningbooks.com/products/certain-days-the-2025-freedom-for-political-prisoners-calendar] political prisoner calendar project. Eric and Josh discuss their recent round of discussions with Firestorm Books [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCZfcB6hPv4&list=PLfp8FRTvfDTsVOAO3GuRaKqwfV_9AdqqV] around their recent collection, Rattling the Cages [https://www.akpress.org/rattling-the-cages.html], featuring former political prisoners and abolitionist organizers. These discussions have also been recently formatted into a new zine series, found here [https://archive.org/search?query=creator%3A%22Rattling+the+Cages%22].

During our discussion we cover the shifting terrain of anti-repression and prison support organizing, how things swill change under Trump, and the need for building a broad abolitionist movement that can win campaigns and shift public perception.

Rattling the Cage of Repression with Eric King and Josh Davidson

The Beautiful Idea is a media project bringing you interviews, ideas, and stories from the frontlines of social movements and struggles, from a distinctly anarchist perspective.

More information at https://thebeautifulidea.show