Ironweeds

61 - Fight For Your Right to Party feat. Dara of 2nd Street Farm

This week we are #blessed to be joined by Troy’s own Dara of 2nd Street Farm. We talk about recent protests in Troy against police brutality, continued organizing around Barker Park and the community that utilizes that space, the events in Kenosha this week following the police shooting of Jacob Blake and the MAGA teen who murdered two protesters. On the sunny side of life, we chat about Montreal’s enormous rooftop greenhouse and the promise of urban gardening. 

 

2nd Street Farm on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/2ndStreetFarm/ 

 

And Instagram!: https://www.instagram.com/2ndstreetfarm/ 

 

Shooting of Jacob Blake: https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/27/us/jacob-blake-wisconsin-thursday/index.html 

 

Kyle Rittenhouse kills two and wounds one protestor: https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/28/us/kyle-rittenhouse-kenosha-shooting/index.html 

 

 Facebook Event Asking Attendees To Bring Weapons Was Reported 455 Times: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanmac/kenosha-militia-facebook-reported-455-times-moderators 

 

World’s biggest rooftop greenhouse: https://phys.org/news/2020-08-world-biggest-rooftop-greenhouse-montreal.html

60 - Driven to Vape

This week we dive into the case of College Suites giving HVCC students the boot in favor of an exclusive contract with RPI. In other local news, Troy PD beat up a person asking for a complaint form. Donald Trump is driving poor Sean Hannity to vape. In Canada, doctors are harnessing the power of psilocybin to combat existential dread. 

 

College Suites kicks out students: https://www.news10.com/news/local-news/college-suites-releases-statement-in-response-to-abrupt-decision-to-move-tenants-out/

 

Housing developer wields power of university reopening: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/08/07/housing-developer-reminded-universities-about-project-debt-they-mulled-fall-plans 

 

Hannity says Trump is a crazy person: https://www.businessinsider.com/sean-hannity-trump-crazy-vaping-stelter-fox-news-book-2020-8=

 

Magic Mushrooms give life new meaning: https://www.thegrowthop.com/cannabis-news/the-first-canadian-to-legally-consume-psilocybin-for-medical-purposes-shares-his-experience

59 - I Wish a Lotta People Well!

This week we begin by tuning in to some Brexit conversations across the pond. Then we take a somewhat painful deep dive into the Trump axios interview. For our wildflower, we discuss the centralized approach to HVAC that Singapore is pursuing, in an effort to be energy efficient for their AC needs.

 

Modi / Xi Fight animation: https://youtu.be/BHJpJ4uCyuc?t=75

 

Singapore seeks high-efficiency cooling: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2020-06-08/singapore-finds-a-way-to-make-air-conditioners-greener

58 - UNLOCKED: Our Special Relationship

This week we take a deep dive into the world of Christian Zionists and America's "special relationship" with Israel. From the Puritans to the Continental Congress and modern-day Evangelists, Christian eschatology has looked to the Holy Land as a sign of the (end) times.

57 - MckOWNED

“Do I have tits?” and other questions elicited by the state’s enforcement of nipple repression. A cop from Cohoes gets a nice early retirement after getting black out drunk and shooting at some black kids. Trump comes for TikTok because, hey! That’s American data! Only we get to sell it! And Troy DSA gets its FOIL on to uncover records of police misconduct and other issues of transparency. 

 

Cohoes cop fires gun: https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Off-duty-Cohoes-cop-fired-shots-in-disputed-15437876.php 

 

TikTok divests from USA operations: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-tiktok-bytedance-exclusive-idUSKBN24X3SK 

 

Monitoring Russian military sites: https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/academic-project-used-marketing-data-to-monitor-russian-military-sites-11595073601 

 

Troy DSA seeks transparency: https://www.troyrecord.com/news/national/judge-lifts-ban-on-nyclu-releasing-police-discipline-records/article_7a6a4b49-8056-5264-a8ef-c6d19d2f3235.html 

56 - Notorious

David tells us about some tenant organizing in Troy, and the gang discusses the possibilities of collectively owned housing projects and the virtues of adverse possession, or squatting. The Sinclair Broadcasting Group, which owns many local news stations in the US, is planning on pushing a piece of conspiratorial disinformation propaganda blaming Dr. Anthony Fauci for creating COVID-19. We discuss the life and legacy of Civil Rights legend John Lewis, the modern voting rights struggle, and the politics of memorialization. For our wildflower this week, new rapid transit bus lines are coming soon to the capital region! 

 

Do Not Eat public housing episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqJbE1bvdgo

 

Sinclair’s “plandemic” disinformation propaganda: 

https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/24/media/sinclair-fauci-conspiracy-bolling/index.html

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/25/sinclair-to-delay-segment-on-plandemic-conspiracy-theories-381454

 

Intercept article on John Lewis and the modern struggle for voting rights:

https://theintercept.com/2020/07/20/honor-john-lewis-voting-rights-act/

 

New Bus Lines for the Capital Region!:

https://www.masstransitmag.com/bus/news/21147414/ny-stations-go-up-along-blue-line-route-in-troy

55 - ¡Expropiado!

This week we dig into the disturbing activities of federal officers in Portland as uprisings continue across the country. Of course, all of this is happening in the midst of the covid crisis, and all-time lows in our trust in institutions is making it difficult to find a path toward meaningful political change. But in Barcelona, city officials have a grave warning for landlords: fill your units or expropiado! 

 

Federal Officers In Portland Face Rising Opposition: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/18/us/portland-protests.html 

 

CBP snatching people up:

https://www.thenation.com/article/society/border-patrol-portland-arrest/

 

Fill the units or they’re public housing:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-16/to-fill-vacant-units-barcelona-seizes-apartments

54 - What if Your Boss Was an Algorithm?

The gang inspects our dystopic reality and asks some probing questions - Why does Elon Musk want backsies on his Ye endorsement? What if gig workers’ pay reflected their effort? What if your smart fridge ratted you out to your insurance company? What the hell is a democratic task force? This episode features a deep dive into David’s most recent essay for Real Life Magazine, which is now out in podcast form, narrated lovingly by Ironweeds’ own Britney Gil! And stick around for our first installment of Lenin’s State and Revolution. 

 

New Orleans gorilla is expecting! https://abc3340.com/news/offbeat/endangered-gorilla-in-new-orleans-expecting-1st-baby 

 

David’s Essay on robot bosses:

https://reallifemag.com/automatic-for-the-bosses/ 

 

Real Life Magazine Podcast RSS Feed: https://feed.podbean.com/reallifemag/feed.xml 

 

Target's Gig Workers Will Strike to Protest Switch to Algorithmic Pay Model:

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/v7gzd8/targets-gig-workers-will-strike-to-protest-switch-to-algorithmic-pay-model 

53 - Independence Ye

Britney gets Chris to sign up to volunteer for #Vision2020. Meanwhile, insurrection and subsequent blowback continue to break out across the country as tensions between radicals and reactionaries increase. In this world the problems are getting bigger and scarier but there are wildflowers in a nearby star system that is lookin’ pretty interesting to astronomists.

 

https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/news/close-and-tranquil-solar-system-has-astronomers-excited/

52 - Birthday Q&A

What a year it's been for the pod! This week we answer some listener questions about cops, desserts, boycotts, Stalin, and so much more! Thanks to everyone for your support. Here's to many more years.