
In the Belly of the Beast
By American Culture & Difference


Global Vaccine Apartheid & Beyond: A Conversation with Tinashe Goronga

Anti-Racism and Higher Education: A Critical Look

Abolition Democracy Today
Following Du Bois, Angela Y. Davis and Ruth Wilson Gilmore, among many others, have written about the urgent necessity of 'abolition democracy' as a framework and praxis through which to work for 'non-reformist reforms' on the way toward radically re-making the world. In the wake of the murder of George Floyd, people all over the globe have called for 'abolishing' and 'defunding' the police. Reflecting on the work of Du Bois, Davis, and Gilmore, and with our contemporary moment in view, we discuss the question: what does abolition democracy look like as a concrete praxis – not merely about the absence of carceral institutions but about the presence of an entirely new social order?
Hosts: Ry Siggelkow, Amy Finnegan, Kanishka Chowdhury, and Todd Lawrence. Intro Music: Lord Jordan X.

"It's What You Do In The World": Faith Seeking Praxis

Caretaking as Activism: An Interview With Jeanelle Austin
In this episode Todd Lawrence interviews Jeanelle Austin, the lead caretaker at George Floyd Square in Minneapolis, MN – a spontaneous memorial, communally constructed on the site of a lynching, an ever-changing space of pain, anger and mourning, but also of protest, resistance, community, love, liberation, and healing. Todd spends time talking with Jeanelle about the transformative power of caretaking, memorialization, and the work of building communities of love in the struggle for social justice.

When They Blew the Levee
In this episode we discuss Todd's book, When They Blew the Levee: Race, Politics, and Community in Pinhook, Missouri, co-authored with Elaine Lawless and published by University Press of Mississippi in 2018. Winner of the 2019 Chicago Folklore Prize, the book examines the story of the people of Pinhook, Missouri who were displaced from their homes in 2011 when the US Army Corps of Engineers activated the Birds Point-New Madrid Floodway, which diverted water to save the town of Cairo, Illinois but completely destroyed the African American town of Pinhook.
We talk to Todd about the challenges and dangers of ethnography, his experiences getting to know the people of Pinhook, the power of their faith in God and love for one another and the land, and the way the flooding of Pinhook exemplifies "how racism takes place" (G. Lipsitz).
Hosts: Ry Siggelkow, Amy Finnegan, Kanishka Chowdhury, and Todd Lawrence. Intro Music: Lord Jordan X.

Imagining a World Without Borders
Hosts: Ry Siggelkow, Amy Finnegan, Kanishka Chowdhury, and Todd Lawrence.
Intro Music: Lord Jordan X. Recorded on November 12, 2021

In Conversation with Gaagigeyaashiik (Dawn Goodwin)
In this episode of In the Belly of the Beast, resident host Amy Finnegan sits down with local advocate, water protector, and co-founder of RISE Coalition: Gaagigeyaashiik (Dawn Goodwin).
Intro Music:
Lord Jordan X

Water is Life
Read the article here:
www.minnpost.com/community-voices/2021/08/as-line-3-construction-proceeds-what-does-protection-mean-for-us/
Hosts:
Ry Siggelkow, Amy Finnegan, Kanishka Chowdhury, and Todd Lawrence.
Intro Music:
Lord Jordan X

Humble Beginnings
In this episode, we start things off with introductions and a few interesting questions. Hosts:
Ry Siggelkow, Kanishka Chowdhury, Todd Lawrence, and Amy Finnegan.
Intro Music:
Lord Jordan X