At TROUBLEMAKERS, we explore how to rebel in an age when a few elite have so much control. We speak with inspiring people from all walks of life across the planet on the tools they use to subvert and seize power for the transformation of our world. TROUBLEMAKERS is a place to learn from each other about how to make change. This podcast is a transcontinental operation brought to you by Beautiful Trouble, the Global Social Movement Centre, MS TCDC, and Global Platforms.
TROUBLEMAKERS
At TROUBLEMAKERS, we explore how to rebel in an age when a few elite have so much control. We speak with inspiring people from all walks of life across the planet on the tools they use to subvert and seize power for the transformation of our world. TROUBLEMAKERS is a place to learn from each other about how to make change. This podcast is a transcontinental operation brought to you by Beautiful Trouble, MOVE the Global Social Movement Centre, MS TCDC, and Global Platforms.
Episodes

Tuesday Aug 12, 2025
Ep36: By Any Means Necessary with Magdalene Moonsamy.
Tuesday Aug 12, 2025
Tuesday Aug 12, 2025
Is nonviolence truly the higher ground, or is that just a myth handed to the oppressed by those in power? In this fiercely honest and far-reaching conversation, South African lawyer, activist, and former parliamentarian Magdalene Moonsamy returns to the mic to confront the moral binaries surrounding resistance, liberation, and the cost of freedom.
Key Ideas and Highlights
The Violence–Nonviolence TrapMagdalene unpacks the deep flaws in framing Malcolm X vs Gandhi as a binary. “It’s as if there are only two options,” she says, “but human beings have all kinds of contextual conditions.” This isn’t just theory — it’s about lived realities and who gets to define justice.
Calling Out GandhiIn one of the episode’s most personal and confrontational moments, Magdalene critiques Gandhi’s legacy in South Africa, including the classism, the quiet partnerships with colonial powers, and the privileges enjoyed by some at the expense of the poor.
Beyond Strategy: What Is Liberation?Whether through armed resistance or strategic negotiation, Magdalene argues, the focus must return to the people, their suffering, their agency, and their right to decide how they are to be fought. “The idea that we can police what kind of seed someone else should plant... where does that attitude come from?”
LicensingAnyone can use this podcast for free, with attribution to Troublemakers (the podcast). It is held under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License and can be used for radio or any other media.
AcknowledgmentOur podcast is inspired by the Beautiful Trouble toolbox.
Resources & Show Links
Beautiful Trouble: beautifultrouble.org
Credits
Host: Phil WilmotGuest: Magdalene MoonsamyProducer & Editor: Rodgers GeorgeRecording: Samora Machel Studio, MS TCDCMusic: Beautiful Trouble & Mwaduga Salum

Wednesday Jul 23, 2025
Ep35: Make New Folks Feel Welcome (Pt 2) with Lennart Dose
Wednesday Jul 23, 2025
Wednesday Jul 23, 2025
Ep35: Make New Folks Feel Welcome – Part 2
What does it really mean to feel welcome?In this second part of Make New Folks Feel Welcome, we flip the mic and pass it to the people. Real voices share real stories that made them feel like they mattered.
These are stories of kindness, comfort, and quiet inclusion.
Then, we sit down with Lennart Dose, an architect deeply engaged in restoration and spatial design, to reflect on what it takes to create physical and social spaces where people can truly belong. Lennart shares lessons from his architectural practice and cross-cultural experiences, drawing striking connections between building structures and building community.
Key Ideas and Highlights
Fragments of WelcomeBelonging by DesignThe Fear of ChangeCulture vs. Moment
Licensing
Anyone can use this podcast for free, with attribution to Troublemakers (the podcast). It is held under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License and can be used for radio or any other media.Our podcast is inspired by the Beautiful Trouble toolbox.
Make New Folks Feel Welcome is a principle from Jonathan Matthew featured in the Beautiful Trouble Toolkit.
Resources & Show Links
🌐 Guest Website: https://lennartdose.com
Credits
Host: Rodgers George
Guest: Lennart Dose
Producer & Editor: Rodgers George
Recording: Samora Machel Studio
Music: Original Troublemakers Theme & Mwaduga Salum.

Monday Jul 14, 2025
Ep 34: Fostering Safer Spaces with Ally Baharoon
Monday Jul 14, 2025
Monday Jul 14, 2025
What happens when we don’t just imagine a better world, but practice it right now?
Our host Monica Kamandau speaks with Ally, a creative writer, author-activist, and community organizer from Zanzibar about building truly inclusive communities.
Ally relates his experience with stuttering and how embracing his voice gave him a thirst for storytelling, organising, and helping others reclaim their power through words.
Key Ideas and Highlights
The power of the written word
Ally's stutter led him to discover creative writing as self-expression. His stories—fiction and nonfiction “slices of life”—blend humour and observation. They subvert traditional storytelling “beginning, middle, end” norms.
Building spaces for listening
Ally shares three common mistakes that silence people with speech differences—and how we can instead create supportive, humanizing environments.
Challenging the status quo
Fluency is often wrongly tied to intelligence or trustworthiness. Ally deconstructs this presumption. In civic spaces—especially during an election year—Ally calls for re-evaluating the harmful narratives that entrench social and political exclusion. Reassessing our blind spots helps us further democratize our societies.
Licensing
Anyone can use this podcast free of charge, with attribution to Troublemakers (the podcast). It is held under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License and can be used for radio or any other media. Our podcast is inspired by the Beautiful Trouble toolbox.
Credits
Host: Monica Kamandau
Guest: Ally Baharoon
Producer: Rodgers George
Recording: Troublemakers Team
Music: Beautiful Trouble & Mwaduga Salum.

Tuesday Jul 01, 2025
Ep33 Consider your audience with Minentle Luthuli
Tuesday Jul 01, 2025
Tuesday Jul 01, 2025
"Every single time, I’m the first audience I have to think about." – Minentle Luthuli
Can you stay true to your story and still move others to act? Should you even try?
In this deep and dynamic episode of Trouble Makers, South African filmmaker Minentle Luthuli challenges the idea that artists—or activists—should start by considering their audience. Drawing from personal experience, she speaks about creating stories from the heart first, then trusting that the right people will find them.
And yet, she acknowledges a deeper truth: while authenticity gives a story its power, strategy gives it reach. Borrowing from the Beautiful Trouble toolbox, we reflect on this central tension in activism and art: “It doesn’t matter what you think about your poster, film, or protest. All that matters is what your audience thinks.”
This episode features Luthuli’s raw reflections on her debut film Heart Attack, how Sarafina! taught her about relatability in storytelling, and why platforms like Netflix often change their stories to target the largest audience possible, and end up not reaching audiences that actually care about the content of the film.
Anyone can use this podcast for free, with attribution to Trouble Makers (the podcast). It is held under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License and can be used for radio or any other media. Our podcast is inspired by the Beautiful Trouble toolbox.
Resources & Show Links
Heart Attack by Minentle Luthuli
Consider Your Audience by Beautiful Trouble
Credits
Host: Phil Wilmot
Producer: Rodgers George
Editor: Monica Kamandau
Guest: Minentle Luthuli
Recording: Samora Machel Studio
Music: Mwaduga Salum & Beautiful Trouble

Wednesday Jun 18, 2025
Ep32: Enable, Don’t Command with Juma Erassy
Wednesday Jun 18, 2025
Wednesday Jun 18, 2025
There’s one style of leadership in which a charismatic, commanding figure sets the agenda, builds a vertical hierarchy, and pulls everyone else along for the ride. But what happens when leadership flips the script?
In this episode of Trouble Makers, we explore the power of supportive, enabling leadership through the work of Juma Erassy, coordinator of the Youth Hub at MSTCDC in Arusha, Tanzania.
Key Ideas and Highlights:
Beyond the Classroom: Many university students believe their future begins after graduation. The Youth Hub challenges this, opening up career pathways in climate justice, feminism, and civic engagement, often intersecting across disciplines.
Not a One-Man Show: The Youth Hub avoids the trap of ego-driven leadership by formalizing partnerships with youth organizations through MOUs. This ensures it's not just Juma leading — it's an ecosystem of shared responsibility based on expertise.
Why Enabling Leadership Works: According to the Beautiful Trouble toolbox, a bottom-up, enabling leadership style unlocks the creativity, ingenuity, and innovation of everyone involved. It invites participants to learn new skills, take on challenges, and ultimately become leaders themselves — sustaining the movement long after one individual steps away.
Anyone can use this podcast for free, with attribution to Trouble Makers (the podcast). It is held under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License and can be used for radio or any other media.
Our podcast is inspired by the Beautiful Trouble toolbox.
Resources & Show Links:
Youth Hub Arusha: https://mstcdc.or.tz/latest/youth-hub-open
Youlead Africa: https://youlead.africa/
Read more about the Enable, don't command principle here.
Credits:
Host: Phil Wilmot
Producer: Rodgers George
Guest: Juma Erassy
Recording: MSTCDC Studios
Music: Beautiful Trouble & Mwaduga Salum

Wednesday Jun 11, 2025
Ep31: Make New Folks Welcome with Rebecka Blomqvist
Wednesday Jun 11, 2025
Wednesday Jun 11, 2025
“You are invited. By anyone, to do anything. You are invited, for all time. You are so needed, by everyone, to do everything. You are invited, for all time.— The Dismemberment Plan, “You Are Invited”
Bringing in new people is essential to any activist group that wants to grow in size and capacity, but recruiting is only the first step. Integrating people into an established group can be an even bigger challenge. In this episode, architect Rebecka Blomqvist shares insights on how both organisational and physical architecture can help create spaces where newcomers feel truly at home.
We explore:
Why some groups struggle to retain new members and how deliberate attention and intentional design can make the difference.
Surprising tactics like removing signage to spark authentic interactions, and the power of cozy spaces that calm the nervous system.
The importance of one-on-one relationship building to help new folks feel seen and valued — and why this upfront investment can help people plug in faster and stick around longer.
Rebecka also invites us to imagine: what if activist groups and architects collaborated to co-create spaces that embody community, activism, and hospitality?
Connect with us:
Instagram: Troublemakers Podcast
Email: troublemakerspodcast@gmail.com
Connect with Rebecka: Blomqvist Architecture
Licensing:
Anyone can use this podcast for free, with attribution to Troublemakers Podcast. It is held under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License and can be used for radio or any other media.
Our podcast is inspired by the Beautiful Trouble toolbox.

Wednesday May 28, 2025
Ep30: Postcolonialism with Somdeep Sen
Wednesday May 28, 2025
Wednesday May 28, 2025
“Imperialism leaves behind germs of rot which we must clinically detect and remove from our land but from our minds as well.” — Frantz Fanon
What does liberation mean when the very language of freedom is shaped by empire?
In this episode, we speak with Somdeep Sen, political scientist and author of Decolonizing Palestine: Hamas Between the Anticolonial and the Postcolonial, about what it means to struggle for freedom in a postcolonial world. Drawing from personal experience and deep theoretical work, Sen challenges the universalist narratives of human rights, democracy, and justice that often underpin activist discourse.
We ask hard questions:
Can we be liberated within systems that define what liberation should look like?
What happens when activism reuses the same symbolic frameworks as the powers it resists?
How can we hear subaltern voices outside the scripts we've written for them?
Postcolonial theory complicates easy binaries of oppressor and oppressed. It insists that resistance must also question its own assumptions, ideologies, and categories. It urges us to find what Homi Bhabha calls the “third space” — an ambiguous, non-deterministic zone where new forms of struggle, identity, and solidarity can emerge.
Sen challenges us to move beyond performative politics and imagine a liberation that is not defined by the coloniser’s table, but by shared values, radical imagination, and transnational solidarity.
Resources & Show Links:
Decolonizing Palestine – by Somdeep Sen (Book)
Beautiful Trouble Toolbox - Postcolonialism
Host: Phil WilmotGuest: Somdeep SenProducer & Audio Production: Rodgers GeorgeIntro/Outro Jingles: Mwaduga Salum & Beautiful Trouble

Wednesday May 14, 2025
TM Polycrisis Prep: One Drink to Rule Them All?
Wednesday May 14, 2025
Wednesday May 14, 2025
“As things fall apart, what’s the one drink you’d carry into the collapse?”
In this episode, we pose the critical question of our time: if we all end up in one ecological safe zone during the polycrisis and are only allowed one alcoholic beverage for the rest of our lives... what drink are we bringing with us?
We’re joined by Mia, Maggie, and Malemi, who gamely dive into this hypothetical apocalypse:
Mia goes with... apple cider.
Maggie: Team Budweiser.
Malemi also sides with beer.
“We just hope the island beer doesn’t give us hangovers — especially if it’s unlimited. That would be a nightmare.”
There’s also a touching ancestral link to apple trees and cider... but the sugar content might make it unsustainable for eternal sipping.
So where did we land?
Cider: Refreshing, crisp, but high maintenance (bathroom-wise).
Beer: Reliable, social, versatile — maybe not exciting, but comforting.
Stronger stuff? A tempting shift... but we didn’t see that coming.
So now we ask you: What alcoholic beverage are YOU bringing into the polycrisis?
Tag us, write us, send a voice memo. Let’s build our apocalypse bar cart together. 🍻🌍

Friday May 09, 2025
Friday May 09, 2025
Phil, who was a Pro-Palestine campus activist in his university days, reflects on the recent police repression of student protesters at Columbia University and how it's part of a broader assault on pro-Palestinian solidarity movements across global campuses. But beyond the headlines, this episode dives into a deeper question: what counts as learning, and does dissent not create a stronger learning environment?
Phil challenges the idea that protest is a disruption to education and argues that dissent is not just compatible with learning—it is essential to it. Drawing parallels to state repression in Uganda and the weaponization of “order” against public mobilization, we rethink the role of public space, universities, education, and protest in our society.
Key Themes & Ideas:
The false dichotomy between protest and academic learning
Western pedagogies vs. action-oriented learning traditions
The politics of space: libraries, campuses, and the commons
The normalization of violence against dissent
The necessity of public discomfort for public growthGet Involved:
National SJP
Credits:Image: pbs.orgHost: Phil WilmotProducer: Rodgers George

Monday May 05, 2025
Ep29: Follow the Lead of the Most Impacted with Lusekelo Chinyama
Monday May 05, 2025
Monday May 05, 2025
What does it mean to be a good ally—and not a harmful one—in movements for justice?
In this episode, we explore the difficult but essential work of following the lead of the most impacted. Our guest reflects on the dangers of “do-gooder arrogance” and the importance of showing up with humility, not solutions.
We talk about how movements led by marginalised communities challenge extractive allyship and why strategic support must be grounded in consultation, not control. Examples from Lusaka—including the Youth for Parliament initiative—offer real-life examples of leadership from below.
This episode invites all activists, allies, and organisations to pause and ask: Are we truly supporting the people most impacted, or are we unintentionally speaking over them? Solidarity requires deep listening, humility, and the courage to be directed by others.
Anyone can use this podcast for free, with attribution to Troublemakers (the podcast). It is held under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License and can be used for radio or any other media.
Our podcast is inspired by the Beautiful Trouble toolbox, where you can read more about Principle: Follow the lead of the most impacted.
Resources & Show Links:
Beautiful Trouble Card Deck
Youth for Parliament Zambia
Troublemakers Podcast on Linktree
Credits:Host: Phil Wilmot
Guest: Lusekelo Chinyama
Produced by: Rodgers George
Jingles: Mwaduga Salum & Beautiful Trouble
