Sumud Podcast

"An incredibly powerful way to justify genocide and mass murder" 🎙️In this episode of the Sumud Podcast, historian and author Dr. Ibram X. Kendi explains how “genocide theory” operates at both individual and state levels, showing how framing an oppressed group as an existential threat can be used to justify mass violence, war, and collective punishment. 🌍 Dr. Ibram X. Kendi is one of the world’s foremost historians of racism and a leading antiracist scholar. He is the Carter G. Woodson Endowed Chair at Howard University and the founding director of the Howard University Institute for Advanced Study, an interdisciplinary research enterprise examining global racism. Dr. Kendi is the author of numerous critically acclaimed and bestselling books, including Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, which won the National Book Award for Nonfiction, and the international bestseller How to Be an Antiracist. His newest book, Chain of Ideas: The Origins of Our Authoritarian Age, examines how modern authoritarian movements are connected through shared ideologies rooted in historical racism. His work has been translated across the Americas, Africa, Europe, and Asia, and Time Magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world. He is also the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, widely known as the “Genius Grant.” 🔑 In this conversation, we explore  → What Great Replacement Theory is and how it became a dominant political narrative  → How racist ideologies evolve and adapt across different countries and movements  → The concept of “genocide theory” and how it can be used to justify mass violence  → The connections between propaganda, politics, and global authoritarian movements  → How narratives of demographic fear are used to mobilize political power  → Why Palestine appears prominently in Dr. Kendi’s research on modern political propaganda  → The role of scholars and journalists in confronting misinformation and propaganda  → The global networks of politicians, financiers, and influencers spreading these ideas  → How solidarity across communities can challenge racism and authoritarianism Sponsored by The Karate Attorney (@karateattorney) fighting for justice inside and outside the courtroom. Visit KarateAttorney.com  🎬 Full episode on sumudpod.com  📲 Follow @dredhasan | @sumudpod | @ibramxk

“I'm like 24/7 stuck in Gaza. Like mentally.” 🎙️In this clip from the Sumud Podcast, Nurse Lana reflects on the emotional toll of returning home after volunteering in Gaza. She describes how memories of the war linger, how sounds like helicopters can trigger memories of drones overhead, and how staying busy with activism and telling these stories has become her way of coping. 🌍In February of 2024 and again in 2025, Nurse Lana entered Gaza not just as a nurse, but as a witness to humanity’s breaking point. She worked in hospitals running on more hope than supplies. Each moment carved a scar into her heart, each life lost became a weight she still carries. In nursing, they say “if it wasn’t documented, it wasn’t done”. And with a heart forever scarred by genocide, she documented the cries, the chaos, and the courage, not in medical charts, but in a book. Her recently released book, "Healing Under Fire" is her testimony to what it felt like to work at the bedside of a genocide as a privileged American nurse. 🔑 In this conversation, we explore → The moment Nurse Lana decided to volunteer in Gaza → Preparing for the possibility of death before leaving home → Entering Gaza and witnessing the reality of life under siege → Treating patients in hospitals with almost no supplies → The emotional weight of losing patients who could have survived elsewhere → The resilience, generosity, and humanity of Palestinians in Gaza → Witnessing the release of Palestinian detainees and signs of torture → The psychological toll of returning home and learning how to cope Sponsored by The Karate Attorney (@karateattorney) fighting for justice inside and outside the courtroom. Visit KarateAttorney.com  🎬 Full episode on sumudpod.com 📲 Follow @dredhasan | @sumudpod | @Nurse_Lana

“I can’t believe I asked my sister to do that.” 🎙️In this episode of the Sumud Podcast, Palestinian-American nurse and humanitarian volunteer Nurse Lana shares her firsthand experiences working inside Gaza during the war. Through powerful testimony, she recounts what she witnessed in hospitals overwhelmed with casualties, and reflects on the emotional weight of hearing the stories of those who survived unimaginable violence, torture, and displacement. She also discusses the personal toll of returning home after witnessing war, the responsibility she believes healthcare workers have to “bear witness,” and how those experiences led her to help create Peace Med, a network of medical professionals advocating for humanitarian aid and a ceasefire. 🌍In February of 2024 and again in 2025, Nurse Lana entered Gaza not just as a nurse, but as a witness to humanity’s breaking point. She worked in hospitals running on more hope than supplies. Each moment carved a scar into her heart, each life lost became a weight she still carries. In nursing, they say “if it wasn’t documented, it wasn’t done”. And with a heart forever scarred by genocide, she documented the cries, the chaos, and the courage, not in medical charts, but in a book. Her recently released book, "Healing Under Fire" is her testimony to what it felt like to work at the bedside of a genocide as a privileged American nurse. 🔑 In this conversation, we explore → The moment Nurse Lana decided to volunteer in Gaza → Preparing for the possibility of death before leaving home → Entering Gaza and witnessing the reality of life under siege → Treating patients in hospitals with almost no supplies → The emotional weight of losing patients who could have survived elsewhere → The resilience, generosity, and humanity of Palestinians in Gaza → Witnessing the release of Palestinian detainees and signs of torture → The psychological toll of returning home and learning how to cope Sponsored by The Karate Attorney (@karateattorney) fighting for justice inside and outside the courtroom. Visit KarateAttorney.com  🎬 Full episode on sumudpod.com 📲 Follow @dredhasan | @sumudpod | @Nurse_Lana

“The Israelis have to be liberated from their own system.” 🎙️In this clip from the Sumud Podcast, Palestinian activist and Columbia University graduate Mohsen Mahdawi reflects on the systems shaping Israeli and Palestinian realities. Drawing from his Buddhist practice, he distinguishes between empathy and justification, arguing that while Palestinian liberation must come first, lasting peace also requires liberating Israelis from the systems that fuel fear, dehumanization, and ongoing conflict. 🌍Mohsen Mahdawi was born and raised in Al-Far’a refugee camp in the West Bank of Palestine. Mohsen's early years were defined by Israeli military occupation. At twenty four, he moved to the United States and experienced freedom and safety for the first time in his life, finding in Vermont a true home rooted in belonging and the strength of a supportive community. At Columbia University, he became a leading voice for Palestinian rights through dialogue and coalition-building, including with Jewish and Israeli communities. In April 2025 when Mohsen walked into an immigration office for his citizenship interview and was handcuffed and detained by ICE in retaliation for his pro-Palestinian activism. Mohsen continues his graduate studies in Diplomacy while defending his rights in courts and building an organization dedicated to human rights and nonviolent conflict resolution. 🔑 In this conversation, we explore → Growing up in a West Bank refugee camp → The loss of family members and the trauma of occupation → Childhood grief and the path toward healing → Discovering freedom after arriving in the United States → Building community and mentorship in Vermont → Campus activism and confronting the Israeli narrative → His framework for Palestinian liberation and justice → Being arrested during his U.S. citizenship interview Sponsored by The Karate Attorney (@karateattorney) fighting for justice inside and outside the courtroom. Visit KarateAttorney.com 🎬 Full episode on sumudpod.com 📲 Follow @dredhasan | @sumudpod | @mohsen.of.palestine

“It is darkness, and I’ve been through much worse.” 🎙️ In this clip, Mohsen Mahdawi reflects on surviving what he describes as the cruelty of Israeli occupation and the healing he found through trauma therapy in the United States. Drawing on both Palestinian resilience and his Buddhist practice, he says these experiences help him remain calm, clear, and confident he can endure whatever hardships come. 🌍Mohsen Mahdawi was born and raised in Al-Far’a refugee camp in the West Bank of Palestine. Mohsen's early years were defined by Israeli military occupation. At twenty four, he moved to the United States and experienced freedom and safety for the first time in his life, finding in Vermont a true home rooted in belonging and the strength of a supportive community. At Columbia University, he became a leading voice for Palestinian rights through dialogue and coalition-building, including with Jewish and Israeli communities. In April 2025 when Mohsen walked into an immigration office for his citizenship interview and was handcuffed and detained by ICE in retaliation for his pro-Palestinian activism. Mohsen continues his graduate studies in Diplomacy while defending his rights in courts and building an organization dedicated to human rights and nonviolent conflict resolution. 🔑 In this conversation, we explore → Growing up in a West Bank refugee camp → The loss of family members and the trauma of occupation → Childhood grief and the path toward healing → Discovering freedom after arriving in the United States → Building community and mentorship in Vermont → Campus activism and confronting the Israeli narrative → His framework for Palestinian liberation and justice → Being arrested during his U.S. citizenship interview Sponsored by The Karate Attorney (@karateattorney) fighting for justice inside and outside the courtroom. Visit KarateAttorney.com 🎬 Full episode on sumudpod.com 📲 Follow @dredhasan | @sumudpod | @mohsen.of.palestine

“What I needed to focus on was the racism.” 🎙️ In this clip from the Sumud Podcast, Dr. Lara Sheehi shares how a well-meaning therapist failed to grasp the racial and political realities at the core of her distress. What she needed was space to process racism and Zionism in real time, but that conversation never happened. 🌍Dr. Lara Sheehi is a Research Fellow at the University of South Africa's Institute for Social and Health Sciences, a licensed clinical psychologist, and the host of the Psychic Militancy podcast. Lara’s work focuses on psychoanalysis, the psychic refusals central to liberation struggles and life-making in the Global South, the psychic dimensions of resistance and revolution, and critical Zionism studies. She is co-author with Stephen Sheehi of Psychoanalysis Under Occupation: Practicing Resistance in Palestine (Routledge, 2022) which won the 2022 Palestine Book Award for Best Academic Book. Lara is a member of the founding collective for the Institute for the Critical Study of Zionism and is on the advisory board for Forensic Architecture. Her new book, From the Clinic to the Streets: Psychoanalysis for Revolutionary Futures will be released by Pluto Press in May 2026. 🔑 In this conversation, we explore → Growing up in Lebanon during civil war → Racism inside Western psychology classrooms → The Zionist disruption at a Palestine panel → Psychic intrusion and reality bending → Edward Bernays, propaganda, and psychological warfare → Frantz Fanon and liberation psychology → De-specializing knowledge and reclaiming theory → Why neutrality protects power → What psychic militancy actually demands Sponsored by The Karate Attorney (@karateattorney) fighting for justice inside and outside the courtroom. Visit KarateAttorney.com 🎬 Full episode on sumudpod.com 📲 Follow @dredhasan | @sumudpod | @psychoanalystactivist | @psychicmilitancypod

“There’s a global rise of fascism.” 🎙️ In this clip from the Sumud Podcast, Dr. Lara Sheehi explains why publishing her book in this political moment feels urgent. As she describes a global rise of fascism and what she calls a culture of despair, she argues that knowledge carries responsibility. For her, the book is not about provoking outrage, it’s about offering something concrete in a time that demands clarity, courage, and action. 🌍Dr. Lara Sheehi is a Research Fellow at the University of South Africa's Institute for Social and Health Sciences, a licensed clinical psychologist, and the host of the Psychic Militancy podcast. Lara’s work focuses on psychoanalysis, the psychic refusals central to liberation struggles and life-making in the Global South, the psychic dimensions of resistance and revolution, and critical Zionism studies. She is co-author with Stephen Sheehi of Psychoanalysis Under Occupation: Practicing Resistance in Palestine (Routledge, 2022) which won the 2022 Palestine Book Award for Best Academic Book. Lara is a member of the founding collective for the Institute for the Critical Study of Zionism and is on the advisory board for Forensic Architecture. Her new book, From the Clinic to the Streets: Psychoanalysis for Revolutionary Futures will be released by Pluto Press in May 2026. 🔑 In this conversation, we explore → Growing up in Lebanon during civil war → Racism inside Western psychology classrooms → The Zionist disruption at a Palestine panel → Psychic intrusion and reality bending → Edward Bernays, propaganda, and psychological warfare → Frantz Fanon and liberation psychology → De-specializing knowledge and reclaiming theory → Why neutrality protects power → What psychic militancy actually demands Sponsored by The Karate Attorney (@karateattorney) fighting for justice inside and outside the courtroom. Visit KarateAttorney.com 🎬 Full episode on sumudpod.com 📲 Follow @dredhasan | @sumudpod | @psychoanalystactivist | @psychicmilitancypod

“I felt like I was the only person who could do it.” 🎙️ In this clip from the Sumud Podcast, Rob Bliss responds to a pointed question: Why is a white man telling this story? He explains the boundaries he deliberately set for himself, refusing to speak for Black Americans and focusing only on his lived experience of walking across the country in a Black Lives Matter shirt. For Bliss, the film isn’t about claiming authority over race in America, but about documenting what he alone could risk and endure. 🎬 Rob’s documentary White Man Walking is now available on Apple TV, Amazon, Fandango, Google Play, and streaming on Watermelon+. 🌍 Rob Bliss launched his career by creating free and unique community events through Facebook. These events, from flash mobs to music festivals, totaled for an attendance of 100,000 people in his hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan. His career took off further after creating YouTube videos and short form documentaries, amassing over a billion organic views. His bold, socially charged works, including "10 Hours of Walking in NYC as a Woman" and "Holding a BLM Sign in America's Most Racist Town", cemented his reputation for daring work with global resonance. These successes led to a Hulu television series entitled, “Blissful Thinking". In May 2025, he premiered his first feature film documentary, "White Man Walking", on BBC and Arte (Germany/France), chronicling his 1,500-mile walk completed in just 2.5 months. 🔑 In this conversation, we explore → Holding a BLM sign in Harrison, Arkansas → Walking 25 miles a day for 2.5 months → Armed confrontations and threats in rural America → Fear as the root of hostility → The racist memorabilia store encounter → Unexpected kindness and emotional breakdowns → Privilege, access, and why he could take that risk → Sensory deprivation and mental endurance → What “loud” social justice actually means Sponsored by The Karate Attorney (@karateattorney) fighting for justice inside and outside the courtroom. Visit KarateAttorney.com 🎬 Full episode on sumudpod.com 📲 Follow @dredhasan | @sumudpod | @robblissgr | @watermelonpictures | @watermelonplusco

“He has a truck. I only have my feet.” 🎙️ In this clip from the Sumud Podcast, Rob Bliss describes one of the most dangerous moments of his 1,500-mile walk, stranded on a rural highway as a man in a truck threatened to return with “something.” Already beaten down physically, Rob reflects on what it means to keep walking when there’s no real escape. 🎬 Rob’s documentary White Man Walking is now available on Apple TV, Amazon, Fandango, Google Play, and streaming on Watermelon+. 🌍 Rob Bliss launched his career by creating free and unique community events through Facebook. These events, from flash mobs to music festivals, totaled for an attendance of 100,000 people in his hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan. His career took off further after creating YouTube videos and short form documentaries, amassing over a billion organic views. His bold, socially charged works, including "10 Hours of Walking in NYC as a Woman" and "Holding a BLM Sign in America's Most Racist Town", cemented his reputation for daring work with global resonance. These successes led to a Hulu television series entitled, “Blissful Thinking". In May 2025, he premiered his first feature film documentary, "White Man Walking", on BBC and Arte (Germany/France), chronicling his 1,500-mile walk completed in just 2.5 months. 🔑 In this conversation, we explore → Holding a BLM sign in Harrison, Arkansas → Walking 25 miles a day for 2.5 months → Armed confrontations and threats in rural America → Fear as the root of hostility → The racist memorabilia store encounter → Unexpected kindness and emotional breakdowns → Privilege, access, and why he could take that risk → Sensory deprivation and mental endurance → What “loud” social justice actually means Sponsored by The Karate Attorney (@karateattorney) fighting for justice inside and outside the courtroom. Visit KarateAttorney.com 🎬 Full episode on sumudpod.com 📲 Follow @dredhasan | @sumudpod | @robblissgr | @watermelonpictures | @watermelonplusco

“Fear is actually the motivator behind a lot of their anger.” 🎙️ In this clip from the Sumud Podcast, Rob Bliss recounts a tense confrontation with a man who threatened him after feeling provoked simply by his presence and the message on his shirt. Reflecting on the moment, Bliss challenges the assumption that hostility is purely hatred, arguing instead that fear often drives the anger. 🎬 Rob’s documentary White Man Walking is now available on Apple TV, Amazon, Fandango, Google Play, and streaming on Watermelon+. 🌍 Rob Bliss launched his career by creating free and unique community events through Facebook. These events, from flash mobs to music festivals, totaled for an attendance of 100,000 people in his hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan. His career took off further after creating YouTube videos and short form documentaries, amassing over a billion organic views. His bold, socially charged works, including "10 Hours of Walking in NYC as a Woman" and "Holding a BLM Sign in America's Most Racist Town", cemented his reputation for daring work with global resonance. These successes led to a Hulu television series entitled, “Blissful Thinking". In May 2025, he premiered his first feature film documentary, "White Man Walking", on BBC and Arte (Germany/France), chronicling his 1,500-mile walk completed in just 2.5 months. 🔑 In this conversation, we explore → Holding a BLM sign in Harrison, Arkansas → Walking 25 miles a day for 2.5 months → Armed confrontations and threats in rural America → Fear as the root of hostility → The racist memorabilia store encounter → Unexpected kindness and emotional breakdowns → Privilege, access, and why he could take that risk → Sensory deprivation and mental endurance → What “loud” social justice actually means Sponsored by The Karate Attorney (@karateattorney) fighting for justice inside and outside the courtroom. Visit KarateAttorney.com 🎬 Full episode on sumudpod.com 📲 Follow @dredhasan | @sumudpod | @robblissgr

Spike, you gave Palestinians around the world hope. We thought you were standing next to us, fighting for justice. open.substack.com/pub/dredhasan/…

“You have an obligation to keep going at full throttle force.” 🎙️ In this clip from the Sumud Podcast, Mo Hamzeh pushes back on the idea that advocacy should slow down because of a so-called “ceasefire.” He urges Palestinians not to retreat now that global awareness has grown, calling on the younger generation to step up and sustain the momentum. For Mo, this is not the moment for silence, it’s the moment to push harder than ever. 🌍 Moath Hamzeh is a Palestinian-American that was born and raised in the United States. Mo's family is from Palestine through and through with his father side being from Ein Karem, which is just outside of Jerusalem, and his mother's side from Tubas. His great grandparents and grandparents among their children were displaced as a result of the Nakba of 1948 where they were forced to seek refuge, which forced many of his family to flee to Jordan. Mo has been relentless in his advocacy and activism online to the point where Meta has deleted a total of 42 of his Instagram accounts and banned him from their platform. Mo looks forward to the day that in our millions, in our billions, we will all walk hand-in-hand in a free Palestine. 🔑 In this conversation, we explore → Growing up Palestinian and navigating identity in America → Breaking the silence and embracing “psychic militancy” → The research discipline behind viral political content → 41+ Meta account removals and digital censorship → Creative alter-egos, masks, and beating the algorithm → UpScrolled and the migration away from censored platforms → Being physically targeted and protecting your family → Fatherhood, grief, and watching Gaza as a parent → The flotilla mission and his father volunteering to go Sponsored by The Karate Attorney (@karateattorney) fighting for justice inside and outside the courtroom. Visit KarateAttorney.com 🎬 Full episode on sumudpod.com 📲 Follow @dredhasan | @sumudpod | @mo_hamz

“Going back into hiding mode will destroy us as a people” 🎙️ In this clip from the Sumud Podcast, Mo Hamzeh responds to a professional who regrets speaking out for Palestine after facing career consequences. While acknowledging the fear, he argues that returning to silence only deepens the pattern of erasure. He calls for Palestinians and allies to go “all in,” insisting that real change requires collective courage and visible solidarity. 🌍 Moath Hamzeh is a Palestinian-American that was born and raised in the United States. Mo is a husband and father of 2 beautiful children. Mo's family is from Palestine through and through with his father side being from Ein Karem, which is just outside of Jerusalem, and his mother's side from Tubas. His great grandparents and grandparents among their children were displaced as a result of the Nakba of 1948 where they were forced to seek refuge, which forced many of his family to flee to Jordan. Mo has been relentless in his advocacy and activism online to the point where Meta has deleted a total of 42 of his Instagram accounts and banned him from their platform. Mo looks forward to the day that in our millions, in our billions, we will all walk hand-in-hand in a free Palestine. 🔑 In this conversation, we explore → Growing up Palestinian and navigating identity in America → Breaking the silence and embracing “psychic militancy” → The research discipline behind viral political content → 41+ Meta account removals and digital censorship → Creative alter-egos, masks, and beating the algorithm → UpScrolled and the migration away from censored platforms → Being physically targeted and protecting your family → Fatherhood, grief, and watching Gaza as a parent → The flotilla mission and his father volunteering to go Sponsored by The Karate Attorney (@karateattorney) fighting for justice inside and outside the courtroom. Visit KarateAttorney.com 🎬 Full episode on sumudpod.com 📲 Follow @dredhasan | @sumudpod | @mo_hamz

“You are useless to us as a people.” 🎙️In this clip from the Sumud Podcast, Mo Hamzeh answers a powerful question: What would he say to the United Nations today? His response is uncompromising. He challenges the legitimacy of Israel under international law, accuses the UN of inaction in the face of genocide, and questions how a state he believes is committing mass atrocities remains a member. A raw indictment of global institutions and their failure to act. 🌍 Moath Hamzeh is a Palestinian-American that was born and raised in the United States. Mo is a husband and father of 2 beautiful children. Mo's family is from Palestine through and through with his father side being from Ein Karem, which is just outside of Jerusalem, and his mother's side from Tubas. His great grandparents and grandparents among their children were displaced as a result of the Nakba of 1948 where they were forced to seek refuge, which forced many of his family to flee to Jordan. Mo has been relentless in his advocacy and activism online to the point where Meta has deleted a total of 42 of his Instagram accounts and banned him from their platform. Mo looks forward to the day that in our millions, in our billions, we will all walk hand-in-hand in a free Palestine. 🔑 In this conversation, we explore → Growing up Palestinian and navigating identity in America → Breaking the silence and embracing “psychic militancy” → The research discipline behind viral political content → 41+ Meta account removals and digital censorship → Creative alter-egos, masks, and beating the algorithm → UpScrolled and the migration away from censored platforms → Being physically targeted and protecting your family → Fatherhood, grief, and watching Gaza as a parent → The flotilla mission and his father volunteering to go Sponsored by The Karate Attorney (@karateattorney) fighting for justice inside and outside the courtroom. Visit KarateAttorney.com 🎬 Full episode on sumudpod.com 📲 Follow @dredhasan | @sumudpod | @mo_hamz

“It's slavery fast forward 400 years.” 🎙️ In this clip, Chris Smalls exposes the brutal productivity system inside Amazon warehouses, comparing it to plantation-era labor models. From 12-hour “calisthenics” shifts to workers being called “pickers,” he argues the system is designed to extract maximum output and burn people out. Smalls doesn’t mince words, calling it slavery fast forward 400 years. 🌍Christian Smalls is the founder and former president of the Amazon Labor Union, the first independent, worker-led union to organize Amazon workers in U.S. history. He also founded The Congress of Essential Workers (TCOEW), a national collective fighting for safe working conditions, fair wages, and justice for essential workers across the country. 🔑 In this conversation, we explore → Organizing Amazon workers and confronting corporate power → Warehouse labor, exploitation, and modern-day slavery → Systemic racism inside corporate America → Retaliation, walkouts, and union-busting tactics → Black liberation, trade unionism, and Palestine → Saying “Free Palestine” and the cost of solidarity → The Gaza flotilla, imprisonment, and state violence → Why people power beats billionaire money 🎬 Full episode on sumudpod.com 📲 Follow @dredhasan | @sumudpod | @shut_DownAmazon

Free speech is a lie in America. I’ve spent years intensely criticizing the American empire & its systems. Only when I criticized Zionism & Israel was I punished for my free & protected speech. Watch me on @sumudpod to hear about it in depth. Free Palestine. Down with Israel.

"How are you gonna hold billionaires accountable?" 🎙️ In this clip from the Sumud Podcast, labor organizer Chris Smalls recounts being invited to speak at the U.S. Senate, and refusing to conform to respectability politics to do it. From turning down advice to “change his appearance” from Bernie Sanders, to confronting performative pro-labor rhetoric from Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, Smalls breaks down what it means to truly represent working-class people inside elite political spaces. 🌍Christian Smalls is the founder and former president of the Amazon Labor Union, the first independent, worker-led union to organize Amazon workers in U.S. history. He also founded The Congress of Essential Workers (TCOEW), a national collective fighting for safe working conditions, fair wages, and justice for essential workers across the country. In 2025, Smalls volunteered with the Gaza Freedom Flotilla to help break the siege on Gaza and amplify global awareness of the humanitarian crisis. He is also the creator of the Labor Party USA, a grassroots political movement built to move beyond the two-party system and center the needs of working people. Before emerging as a national labor leader, Smalls spent five years as an Amazon supervisor, helping launch multiple major warehouse facilities in the Northeast. He was fired in 2020 after leading a walkout over unsafe pandemic conditions—an event that propelled him into the national spotlight and international media. 🔑 In this conversation, we explore → Organizing Amazon workers and confronting corporate power → Warehouse labor, exploitation, and modern-day slavery → Systemic racism insQide corporate America → Retaliation, walkouts, and union-busting tactics → Black liberation, trade unionism, and Palestine → Saying “Free Palestine” and the cost of solidarity → The Gaza flotilla, imprisonment, and state violence → Why people power beats billionaire money 🎬 Full episode on sumudpod.com 📲 Follow @dredhasan | @sumudpod | @shut_DownAmazon

“I took an oath to protect all working-class people.” 🎙️ In this clip from the Sumud Podcast, labor organizer Chris Smalls reflects on the deep, often overlooked ties between Black liberation movements and the struggle for Palestine. From the Black Panthers to Nelson Mandela, he traces a shared history of solidarity, resistance, and internationalism that helped shape his own political awakening. Speaking as a trade unionist and a Black man, Smalls explains why showing up, especially in uncomfortable moments, is part of his responsibility in a broader, global fight for justice. 🌍Christian Smalls is the founder and former president of the Amazon Labor Union, the first independent, worker-led union to organize Amazon workers in U.S. history. He also founded The Congress of Essential Workers (TCOEW), a national collective fighting for safe working conditions, fair wages, and justice for essential workers across the country. In 2025, Smalls volunteered with the Gaza Freedom Flotilla to help break the siege on Gaza and amplify global awareness of the humanitarian crisis. He is also the creator of the Labor Party USA, a grassroots political movement built to move beyond the two-party system and center the needs of working people. Before emerging as a national labor leader, Smalls spent five years as an Amazon supervisor, helping launch multiple major warehouse facilities in the Northeast. He was fired in 2020 after leading a walkout over unsafe pandemic conditions—an event that propelled him into the national spotlight and international media. 🔑 In this conversation, we explore → Organizing Amazon workers and confronting corporate power → Warehouse labor, exploitation, and modern-day slavery → Systemic racism inside corporate America → Retaliation, walkouts, and union-busting tactics → Black liberation, trade unionism, and Palestine → Saying “Free Palestine” and the cost of solidarity → The Gaza flotilla, imprisonment, and state violence → Why people power beats billionaire money 🎬 Full episode on sumudpod.com 📲 Follow @DrEdHasan | @sumudpod | @chris.smalls_ | @thelaborpartyusa | @shut_DownAmazon

"My existence alone is very threatening to the status quo." 🎙️ In this clip, Rep. Rashida Tlaib reflects on why her very presence in Congress is treated as a threat, from submitting the names of the dead in Gaza, to wearing her grandfather’s kufiyah, to pushing for a Nakba Resolution. She describes how even allowing Palestinian survivors to testify was met with resistance, revealing how power reacts when lived history enters the so-called “people’s house. 🌍 Rashida Tlaib is a U.S. Congresswoman representing Michigan’s 12th Congressional District, rooted in Detroit and surrounding communities. Born and raised in Detroit to Palestinian immigrant parents, she is the oldest of 14 children and a lifelong advocate for working families. Rashida made history as the first Muslim woman elected to the Michigan Legislature and later to Congress. A former public interest attorney, she is known for centering constituent services, holding polluters and corporations accountable, and fighting for dignity, justice, and equity at the local and national level. 🔑 In this conversation, we explore → Congress and funding genocide → Palestine as the political “exception” → AIPAC pressure and intimidation → Standing alone and collective power → Sitis and Palestinian women → Southwest Detroit and being eldest of 14 → Healthcare racism and grief → Environmental justice and petcoke → Student encampments and divestment → Why outside movements move Congress 🎬 Full episode on sumudpod.com 📲 Follow @dredhasan | @sumudpod | @rashidatlaib

“The outside movement is what moves Congress.” 🎙️ In this clip from the Sumud Podcast, Rep. Rashida Tlaib explains why real political change has never started inside Congress, but is always forced by people organizing outside it. Drawing on the Civil Rights Movement, labor struggles, and the fight for justice after George Floyd’s murder, she shows how sustained public pressure compels lawmakers to act. She makes clear that shifts around Palestine, AIPAC influence, and calls for an arms embargo aren’t moral awakenings in Washington, they’re the result of constituents demanding accountability and an end to funding genocide. 🌍 Rashida Tlaib is a U.S. Congresswoman representing Michigan’s 12th Congressional District, rooted in Detroit and surrounding communities. Born and raised in Detroit to Palestinian immigrant parents, she is the oldest of 14 children and a lifelong advocate for working families. Rashida made history as the first Muslim woman elected to the Michigan Legislature and later to Congress. A former public interest attorney, she is known for centering constituent services, holding polluters and corporations accountable, and fighting for dignity, justice, and equity at the local and national level. 🔑 In this conversation, we explore → Congress and funding genocide → Palestine as the political “exception” → AIPAC pressure and intimidation → Standing alone and collective power → Sitis and Palestinian women → Southwest Detroit and being eldest of 14 → Healthcare racism and grief → Environmental justice and petcoke → Student encampments and divestment → Why outside movements move Congress 🎬 Full episode on sumudpod.com 📲 Follow @dredhasan | @sumudpod | @rashidatlaib | @RepRashida