TROUBLEMAKERS

E15: Organizing Strategies that Scale with Zakia Soman

How do we build numbers? How do we organize at a colossal scale? How do we build mass cooperation amidst our cultural, linguistic, generational, religious diversity? How do we unite around issues affecting us all?
 
Zakia Soman guides us through how she and other Indian women's rights activists established Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, the largest nationwide Muslim women’s mass organization. Their network, coordinated through a massive dispersed network, was also able to displace Muslim male leaders as the national voice for Muslim issues.
 
We speak with Zakia on how she and others were able to mobilize to resist triple talaq (instant divorce) and inhumane acts carried out against Muslim women—and women of other faiths across India.
 
Read more about Use Organizing Strategies that Scale. Read more about the BMMA’s work at their website.
 
Anyone can use this podcast for free, with attribution to Troublemakers (the podcast). It is held under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. It can be used for radio or any other media.
Our podcast is inspired by the Beautiful Trouble toolbox.

E14: Joy is a Revolutionary Force – Joséphina Bouden

We explore with Tunisian trans activist Joséphina Bouden (Jouda) how joy becomes a powerful form of resistance in the face of oppression. We discuss how cultural disobedience transforms everyday acts into powerful protests.
We dive with Josephine into the historical and modern significance of joy as an act of defiance. From enslaved communities creating moments of celebration to the concept of Black Joy reclaiming humanity and dignity, we unpack how joyful resistance has shaped movements around the world.
Read more about Joy is a revolutionary force.
Anyone is allowed to use this podcast for free, with attribution to Troublemakers (the podcast). It is held under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. It can be used for radio or any other media.
Our podcast is inspired by the Beautiful Trouble toolbox.

E13: Why Palestine Matters to Africa – with Wesam and a live audience

In this powerful episode recorded with a live audience at MS TCDC in Arusha, Tanzania (a centre established by the administration of Pan-African socialist Julius Nyerere, who famously said “We will stand with Palestine, as we stood against apartheid and colonialism in South Africa”), we sit down with Wesam to learn about the history of Palestinian resistance.
We explore the deep-rooted connections between Africa and Palestine. From shared histories of colonization and liberation struggles to the solidarity that continues today, we discuss why Palestine resonates so strongly for Africans. We unpack the political, cultural, and humanitarian dimensions of this bond and ask why the African continent presents a vital voice in the Palestinian cause.
Anyone is allowed to use or circulate this podcast for free, with attribution to Troublemakers (the podcast). It is held under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.Our podcast is inspired by the Beautiful Trouble toolbox.

E12: Fees Must Fall (Pt 2)—With Walter Rodney Library organizer Phethani Madzivhandila

Phethani Madzivhandila is an organizer, theorist, and unionist based in Azania (South Africa). He’s a member of The Pan Africanist Congress of Azania and one of the Walter Rodney Library founders. He’s also a member of MS TCDC’s 2023 Activist-in-Residence cohort.
 
In this episode, we dive into one of South Africa's most powerful social movements: Fees Must Fall. Starting in 2015, this student-led protest against tuition fees quickly transformed into a nationwide call for affordable, accessible higher education — and socialist objectives more broadly. Phethani puts on his Trotsky hat to discuss the importance of permanent revolution, inter-movement solidarities, and intersectional organizing across issues and communities that may not so intuitively struggle together.
 
Read more about Fees Must Fall. Our podcast is inspired by the Beautiful Trouble toolbox!

E11: Fees Must Fall (Pt 1)—With David Musiri, a Ugandan political activist

We explore Uganda's generational discontent as young people challenge the ideological, political, and moral contradictions of the government. Fueled by economic struggles and social injustice at Makerere University and other higher learning institutions across Africa, students demand a freeze to tuition hikes (at the very least, in pursuit of free education ideally).
 
Read more about Fees Must Fall. Our podcast is inspired by the Beautiful Trouble toolbox!

E10: General Strike—with a Myanmar comrade on their evolving revolution

“Win or lose, mass strikes reveal the truth.” —Jeremy Brecher
 
In this episode, we dive deep into how general strikes are happening in Myanmar (also known as Burma). Our guest explains how as a collective, the citizens are conducting their strikes in demand for an end to the military coup and the release of their leaders. We consider how the people of Myanmar have been able to outlast repression and maintain momentum for more than three years since the coup was initiated.
 
Check out the General Strike Tactic and learn how you can use general strikes to effectively achieve political demands. Our podcast is inspired by the Beautiful Trouble toolbox!

E9: Take risks, but take care—with Nafula Wafula on the Kenyan uprising against the finance bill and feminizing movement culture

“Martyrdom is a fascist tendency.” —Gopal Dayanenni
 
A lot is happening under the rug in Kenya. In this episode, we speak with Nafula Wafula, a Kenyan protester, organizer, feminist, and Pan-African.Kenya’s uprising against the IMF and World Bank-sponsored Finance Bill recently marked 100 days since its beginning. Repression against the uprising was characterized by sexual violence. We explore machismo in movement culture and how to counter it with a culture of care while still maintaining the courage and militancy needed to defeat powerful and violent opponents.
 
Check out the Principle: Take risks but take care and read more about how to set your priorities right within your revolutionary organizing. Our podcast is inspired by the Beautiful Trouble toolbox!