Ep 355 - Lester Spence, Hustle-Knocker And Scholar Of Black Neoliberalism

The guys lock in with Prof. Lester Spence, whose decades of scholarship about Black politic-building, hip-hop, and the sociopolitical turn toward neoliberalism help all of us make sense of the contradictions our culture, political system, and economy pretend don't exist. He's the author of Stare In the Darkness: The Limits of Hip-hop and Black Politics (2011), and Knocking the Hustle: Against the Neoliberal Turn in Black Politics (2015). A longtime professor at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Lester breaks down how the turn toward neoliberalism affects all of us, the ways hip hop is still a battlefield for transformation of our culture, and much more. SHOW NOTES Get in tune with Lester - https://www.lesterspence.com/ Follow AirGo - instagram.com/airgoradio Find One Million Experiments on tour! - www.respairmedia.com/events Bring us to your community by hitting us up - [email protected] CREDITS Hosts & Exec. Producers - Damon Williams and Daniel Kisslinger Associate Producer - Rocío Santos Engagement Producer - Rivka Yeker Digital Media Producer - Troi Valles

On this episode, the guys welcome writer John Perkins. Best known for his politically and socially significant text Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, in which he describes playing a role in a process of economic colonization of Third World countries on behalf of what he portrays as a cabal of corporations, banks, and the United States government, John discusses how we can forge new systems of being and creating that prioritize long-term benefits for all life on the planet. He also breaks down the five questions that can help each of us as we figure out how to take action to transform our world. SHOW NOTES Get Confessions of an Economic Hitman - https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/726382/confessions-of-an-economic-hit-man-3rd-edition-by-john-perkins/ Follow AirGo - instagram.com/airgoradio Find One Million Experiments on tour! - www.respairmedia.com/events Bring us to your community by hitting us up - [email protected] CREDITS Hosts & Exec. Producers - Damon Williams and Daniel Kisslinger Associate Producer - Rocío Santos Engagement Producer - Rivka Yeker Digital Media Producer - Troi Valles

Sometimes a simple title doesn't even come close to encapsulating who someone is or why they are important to the fabric of our city. This episode's guest Eric Williams is definitely one of those people. He is the owner of The Silver Room, a Chicago institution and brand whose mission is to create a global community through art and culture, as well as the owner of delicious South Side restaurant Bronzeville Winery. He talks with the guys about creating the iconic Silver Room Block Party (one of the most remarkable cultural gatherings in Chicago history), his long path from sidewalk salesman to space-builder and curator, and the tenuous relationship between building for his people and participating in capitalism. SHOW NOTES Swing by the Silver Room - https://thesilverroom.com/pages/about-us Feast at the Bronzeville Winery - https://www.bronzevillewinery.com/ Follow AirGo - instagram.com/airgoradio Find One Million Experiments on tour! - www.respairmedia.com/events Bring us to your community by hitting us up - [email protected] CREDITS Hosts & Exec. Producers - Damon Williams and Daniel Kisslinger Associate Producer - Rocío Santos Engagement Producer - Rivka Yeker Digital Media Producer - Troi Valles

This episode's guest is Rev. Tanya Lozano Washington, the co-founder of community health and care organization Healthy Hood Chicago. Tanya talks about how she came to understand the links between personal and communal health, the lineages she stewards as a member of one of Chicago's most impactful movement families, and the complicated relationships that generations of sacrifice to liberation create. SHOW NOTES Get in tune with Healthy Hood - https://www.healthyhoodchi.com/ Come to a Sunday Session - https://www.healthyhoodchi.com/sunday-sessionz Follow AirGo - instagram.com/airgoradio Find One Million Experiments on tour! - www.respairmedia.com/events Bring us to your community by hitting us up - [email protected] CREDITS Hosts & Exec. Producers - Damon Williams and Daniel Kisslinger Associate Producer - Rocío Santos Engagement Producer - Rivka Yeker Digital Media Producer - Troi Valles

As Chicago gears up for the 2024 Democratic National Convention, we get in tune with movement lawyer and professor Sheila Bedi, who breaks down some of the changes in CPD policy that Chicagoans engaging in direct action should know about. We also talk about the beautiful, challenging, and important ways Sheila has provided care and protection for both organizers facing state repression and the family members of those who have been murdered by the police. Plus, some laughs through it all! SHOW NOTES NLG HOTLINE for DNC protest legal support - (872) 465 4244 Thread of support materials from NLG - https://x.com/NLGChicago/status/1823723532783886702 Get in tune with Sheila -https://www.law.northwestern.edu/faculty/profiles/sheilabedi/ Follow AirGo - instagram.com/airgoradio Find One Million Experiments on tour! - www.respairmedia.com/events Bring us to your community by hitting us up - [email protected] CREDITS Hosts & Exec. Producers - Damon Williams and Daniel Kisslinger Associate Producer - Rocío Santos Engagement Producer - Rivka Yeker Digital Media Producer - Troi Valles

In this episode of AirGo, we sit down with State Senator Robert Peters for a deep dive into the current political landscape and the transformative initiatives he's championing. Senator Peters explores how he contributed to the abolition of cash bond in IL, his commitment to getting tangible policy passed in contribution to movement, and the approach of transformative incrementalism that can make participating in legislative process fruitful and worthwhile for those fighting for liberation. SHOW NOTES Get in tune with Robert - https://www.instagram.com/robertjamespeters Follow AirGo - instagram.com/airgoradio Find One Million Experiments on tour! - www.respairmedia.com/events Bring us to your community by hitting us up - [email protected] CREDITS Hosts & Exec. Producers - Damon Williams and Daniel Kisslinger Associate Producer - Rocío Santos Engagement Producer - Rivka Yeker Digital Media Producer - Troi Valles

Singer, songwriter, and dreamweaver Manasseh joins Dame and Kiss for this freewheeling kickback of an interview. A heartfelt vocalist with pipes that pierce through, Manasseh shares some vulnerable experiences that deromanticize the artist's life and show the day-to-day challenges of pursuing a life built around your craft. SHOW NOTES Get in tune with Manasseh - https://linktr.ee/yomanasseh Follow AirGo - instagram.com/airgoradio Find One Million Experiments on tour! - www.respairmedia.com/events Bring us to your community by hitting us up - [email protected] CREDITS Hosts & Exec. Producers - Damon Williams and Daniel Kisslinger Associate Producer - Rocío Santos Engagement Producer - Rivka Yeker Digital Media Producer - Troi Valles

This episode we dig in the AirGo crates back to fall of 2019, when we had the joy of hosting a live episode of AirGo with the brilliant organizer Page May and multihyphenate musical superstar Akenya, who will be performing this weekend at the always chill and fun Pitchfork Festival right here in Chicago. Enjoy this goofy and wonderful live episode (featuring a cameo from a newborn kitten) and come through both Pitchfork and Akenya's official aftershow 7/18 at Constellation. SHOW NOTES Akenya's Pitchfork After-Show - https://www.instagram.com/p/C8uIwakg-No/?img_index=1 Lock in with Akenya - https://www.instagram.com/akenyamusic Follow AirGo - instagram.com/airgoradio Find One Million Experiments on tour! - www.respairmedia.com/events Bring us to your community by hitting us up - [email protected] CREDITS Hosts & Exec. Producers - Damon Williams and Daniel Kisslinger Associate Producer - Rocío Santos Engagement Producer - Rivka Yeker Digital Media Producer - Troi Valles

Grounded visionary and dope filmmaker Ashley O'Shay joins Dame and Kiss on this episode of AirGo. Ashley is the director of Unapologetic, an impactful and loving feature documentary capturing two fierce abolitionists whose upbringing and experiences shape their activism and views on Black liberation. The film premiered at the BlackStar Film Festival, broadcast on PBS POV, and was shortlisted for the International Documentary Association Awards. She's currently working on Southmont Drive, a film reflecting on the legacy of her family from Tuskegee, Alabama that's centered on her late grandfather and the 17 children he raised. She talks about the process of building trust with the folks she films, the learning curve of making a film in the midst of movement, and the fight to save her family home in Tuskegee. SHOW NOTES Watch Unapologetic - https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B09P5R5JQD/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_r Support Southmont Drive - https://www.instagram.com/southmontdrivefilm/ Get in tune w/ Ashley - https://www.instagram.com/ashley.oshay/ Follow AirGo - instagram.com/airgoradio Find One Million Experiments on tour! - www.respairmedia.com/events Bring us to your community by hitting us up - [email protected] CREDITS Hosts & Exec. Producers - Damon Williams and Daniel Kisslinger Associate Producer - Ari Mejia Engagement Producer - Rivka Yeker Digital Media Producer - Troi Valles

The guys head over to The.BlkRoom, a Chicago-based organization and co-creation studio facilitating opportunities for BIPOC artists and creatives across the city, to chat with the effervescent and protagonistic Senite! The vocalist, songwriter, and co-founder of this transformative community space talks about the grief rituals she's been moving through, the ways that exploitation in the music scene pushed her to step away for a while, and how she's finding her way back to the joy of creating. SHOW NOTES Tap in with The.BlkRoom - https://www.theblkroom.org/ Follow Senite - https://instagram.com/_senite Follow AirGo - instagram.com/airgoradio Find One Million Experiments on tour! - www.respairmedia.com/events Bring us to your community by hitting us up - [email protected] CREDITS Hosts & Exec. Producers - Damon Williams and Daniel Kisslinger Associate Producer - Rocío Santos Engagement Producer - Rivka Yeker Digital Media Producer - Troi Valles