Episode

6/17 The Fight For True Solidarity w/ Astra Taylor, Leah Hunt-Hendrix

June 17, 2024

Happy Monday! Sam & Emma speak with Astra Taylor, writer, documentarian, & co-founder of the Debt Collective, and Leah Hunt-Hendrix, co-founder of Way to Win & the philanthropy network Solidaire, to discuss their recent book Solidarity: The Past, Present, and Future of a World-Changing Idea. First, they run through updates on Israel’s genocide in Gaza, skyrocketing executive pay in the US, the electoral impact of Trump’s conviction, the GOP’s $895B culture war defense bill, Maryland’s marijuana pardons, AIPAC’s $20 Million investment in George Latimer, the threat to public health that is Social Media, and Alex Jones’ legal woes, before parsing through Donald Trump’s continued insistence that he is the most mentally fit President of all time (certified by the guy that ran his presidential pill mill). Astra Taylor and Leah Hunt-Hendrix then join, diving right into the idea of “solidarity” as a material concept of social cohesion, with roots in the holding of a common debt between Roman farmers, and as a central tenant in the development of France’s welfare state during the Industrial Revolution. Expanding on this, Taylor and Hunt-Hendrix unpack the role self-interest plays alongside solidarity, painting a distinction between the strict divisions of reactionary solidarities (e.g. White Supremacy, ruling class) and the malleable identity of transformational solidarity as they demonstrated the failure of “zero-sum” thinking, and how transformational solidarity extends the benefits of social progress to all. Next, Astra, Leah, Sam, and Emma have an extensive conversation on the “Scam” of philanthropy, from how it promotes movement capture by major capitalist donors to it’s effective purpose as a tax haven for the wealthy, before they wrap up the interview with the role of the state in undermining the ability to foster solidarity, and how its power can just as well be used to promote it.

And in the Fun Half: Sam and Emma watch George Latimer do the classic liberal tap-dance around his unconditional support for Israel’s genocide, parse through Israel’s crystal-clear messaging on their goal of collective punishment, and talk with Jose from LA about the problems of Market Socialism. Michael Knowles and Colorado State Rep. Holtorf perfectly demonstrate the right’s enthusiasm for subjugating women, and a former WH Communications Director takes on the ELITIST concern that just because Trump tried to overturn one election, he might do it again, plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out Astra & Leah’s book here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/740355/solidarity-by-leah-hunt-hendrix-and-astra-taylor/

Find out more about the Debt Collective here: https://debtcollective.org/

Follow Leah on Twitter here: https://x.com/lhunthendrix?lang=en

Check out Way to Win here: https://waytowin.us/

Check out Solidaire here: https://solidairenetwork.org/

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