Batman: Caped Crusader with Leslie Lee III of Struggle Session

The need for solidarity with Palestinians and Jewish Americans reconning with the historical myths we've been fed–– James Gunn's new Superman movie really went there and did it superbly. Who better to process it with than Rafael Shimoff and Shoshana Brown, the hosts of Beyond the  Pale, radio's home for NY's Jewish left! But first an update from Project Fulcrum, Get Free's Star Wars fan organizing campaign striking a blow against censorship.  Listen to Beyond the Pale on WBAI or online https://wbai.org/program.php?program=461  I co-wrote about Project Fulcrum and the Disney campaign for WagingNonViolence.org : Why fandom organizing is a powerful strategy for movement building Read Zach Rabiroff on DC pulling Red Hood. https://www.tcj.com/horror-it-girl-gretchen-felker-martin-on-dc-pulling-red-hood-after-charlie-kirk-comments-i-had-no-regrets/ Catch up Project Fulcrum Andor coverage here Part 1 https://bit.ly/AndorInOurWorld  Part 2 https://bit.ly/AndorFinale  Join Project Fulcrum https://www.getfreetogether.org/project-fulcrum    

Murderbot is a queer space opera with a sense of humor and a bone to pick with corporate power. You can stream it on Apple TV Join myself and Sarah Daniel Rasher, who co-hosts our Deep Space Nine podcast, for a look at the new TV series based on a series of novelas by Martha Wells. The first 13 minutes of our show are fully spoiler-free. Audiobook of All Systems Red on Everand: https://www.everand.com/audiobook/633755086/All-Systems-Red Realizing Sanctuary Moon is a soap opera Follow Elana on Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/levin.bsky.social  Sarah Daniel Rasher on Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/rasher.bsky.social 

Daredevil returns to tangle with Mayor Fisk, a villain with shocking parallels to Andrew Cuomo: the real life disgraced former Governor of NY who is now running to be Mayor of NYC! Our real election ends June 24 and New Yorkers need a better outcome than the election in the Disney+ TV Series.  I'm joined by Janos Martin, a former candidate for Manhattan District Attorney and an expert on criminal justice reform. We discuss how the show depicts the criminal justice system, the political culture of NYC and what lessons we can learn from Kingpin's appeal to voters that can help us dissuade voters from supporting Cuomo.  I even explain Ranked Choice Voting. Rank ANYONE but Cuomo!  Find my ballot guide jfrej.org/ballot  Find your polling place and election details: https://vote.nyc/  Subscribe to Janos' newsletter https://janosmarton.substack.com/ 

"No one can do this alone” Cassian Andor Season 2 That’s why we’ve got Project Fulcrum, where Star Wars fans are uniting with movement organizers to connect the stories on screen with the real history and theory of antifascist movements.  In this episode we cover the second half of Andor season 2, with returning guests Anthony Vidal Torres from Project Fulcrum at Get Free, and Charles Lencher of Organizing 2.0.  Join Project Fulcrum: a Star Wars fan activism campaign fighting for freedom and equality in a country not so far away: https://www.getfreetogether.org/project-fulcrum Listen to Andor Season 2 part 1 https://bit.ly/andoractivismpod  Follow Elana  https://bsky.app/profile/levin.bsky.social  Follow Get Free https://www.instagram.com/getfree_mvmt FULL SPOILERS to follow. 

“The Empire cannot win. You’ll never feel right unless you are doing what you can to stop them.” Andor season 2. Bridging the gap between Star Wars’ Andor and the real life history and theory of antifascist movements, organizer Anthony Vidal Torres from the Get Free movement and critic Klaudia Amenábar join me to cover the first two arcs of Andor season 2.  Join Project Fulcrum: a Star Wars fan activism campaign fighting for freedom and equality in a country not so far away: https://www.getfreetogether.org/project-fulcrum Read issue 2 of Nemik’s Weekly Manifesto https://bit.ly/NemiksManifestoApril24 Take Action: Protect our freedom to protest and free Mahmoud Khalil: https://bit.ly/Free_Khalil Stop the New York mask ban: https://covidadvocacyny.org/stopmaskbanny Know Your Rights guide for immigrants & allies: https://unitedwedream.org/resources/know-your-rights/ Keep up with us: https://www.instagram.com/getfree_mvmt/  https://bsky.app/profile/getfree-mvmt.bsky.social https://bsky.app/profile/avtorres4.bsky.social https://bsky.app/profile/kaludiasays.bsky.social https://bsky.app/profile/levin.bsky.social    Listen to Andor Season 1 Podcasts Part 1 https://bit.ly/ComradeAndor Part 2 https://bit.ly/AndorInternationale

“Do you think this Eric Frankenstein is into crypto?” “This Frankenstein probably invented crypto” “Frank-coin?” National security journalist Nicholas Slayton joins me to talk about James Gunn's DC animated series for HBO, Creature Commandoes. We've got gothic horror, geopolitics and an impressive soundtrack. This episode opens with a spoiler-free conversation on whether the show is worth your time before diving in for a conversation about those who the law does not protect, disability metaphors and more. Nicholas Slayton is a Los Angeles-based journalist covering the "panic beat" --- inequality, war, climate change and protests. He's currently a Contributing Editor at Task & Purpose and has bylines in the New Republic, American Prospect and Motherboard. Follow Nicholas on Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/nslayton.bsky.social Subscribe to his newsletter; Let's Do The Panic Again Follow ME on bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/levin.bsky.social  

A Team-Up with Referential Podcast's Dr. Khaliden Nas to talk through our feelings about the state of X-Men comics. The first half, taped in September covers the Fall of X and the end of the X-Men's 'First Krakoan Age'. In December we met again to talk about the state of the X-Office and relaunched slate of X-Men comics under the 'From The Ashes' banner.  Follow me on Bluesky - @Levin In This Episode: Fall of X (also hear my earlier coverage of here) * From the Ashes (Spoilers starts at 47:46) * Kieron Gillen & Lucas Werneck Immortal X-Men, X-Men: Forever & Rise of the Powers of X * Gerry Duggan and Russel Daughterman's Fall of the House of X, Hellfire Gala 3 Invincible Iron Man & Uncanny Avengers * Al Ewing & Luciano Vecchio Resurrection of Magneto & X-Men: Red * Si Spurrier’s X-Men Blue: Origins * Jonathan Hickman * Gail Simone & David Marquez Uncanny X-Men * Jed McKay & Ryan Stegman X-Men * Jackson Lanzing / Collin Kelly & Francesco Mortarino NYX * Eve L. Ewing and Carmen Carnero Exceptional X-Men * Solos! * No, we will NOT call Ide "Temper" * Democracy in the 2nd Krakoan Age * The End of Hope [Summers] * Kate Pryde and the gates as bi metaphor revisited Reading Warden Ellis * Remembering Dr. Moira MacTaggart * Assimilation Or Unity Marvel not understanding why Hydra!Cap failed but Gerry Duggan makes the best of it * #XSpoilers and fandom meta One more time, Krakoans. For the children!  

Is Tony Stark a comrade? Spencer Ackerman, award winning national security journalist and author of the book "Reign of Terror: How the 9/11 Era Destabilized America and Produced Trump”, brings his knowledge of geopolitics, corporate power, and deep Iron Man lore to writing the new Iron Man series.    This podcast is for folks new to the character as well as long time fans. We open with an overview of why I loved this series and a discussion of Spencer’s inspirations before delving into spoilers of the first three outstanding issues. We’ve got:  Busting anti-union thugs Boardroom Warfare Feats of engineering Survivor guilt    And some amazing pulls for bad guys that will please Iron fans and X-Men fans alike.    Follow Spencer on Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/attackerman.bsky.social Spencer’s Newsletter: https://www.forever-wars.com/  Elana Levin https://bsky.app/profile/levin.bsky.social   

“I love that Star Trek continues to change and adapt. And that includes an animated comedy show,” John Arminio.  Film critic and lifelong Trekkie John Arminio joins me to say farewell to Lower Decks, the animated Star Trek series we've grown to love.   We open with a spoiler-free conversation about how this show won us over. You’ll have plenty of warning before we enter a full spoilers, in depth conversation about the series’ final season.  Listen to John speaking about Voyager on Mission Log, the Official Podcast of the Roddenberry Foundation.https://www.missionlogpodcast.com/1159-2/  Listen to his film podcast Popcorn Eschaton https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/zebras-in-america/id1220264878  Read his comics reviews and metal memes at https://www.instagram.com/quasarsniffer/  Join me on Bluesky @ Levin https://bsky.app/profile/levin.bsky.social And stay tuned for an upcoming episode of Deep Space Dive where cohost Sarah Daniel Rasher and I will discuss the Lower Decks/Deep Space Nine crossover episode. 

"Batman spends more time fighting the cops than helping them" - Leslie Lee III "The most corrupt Gotham Police Department of any Batman media" -- Me...and I am here for that!  Animated Batman is some of the best Batman. Does this new series from legends like Paul Dini, Ed Brubaker & Greg Rucka deliver? Leslie Lee III of the leftist culture podcast Sruggle Session returns to talk about Batman Caped Crusader's aesthetics, politics and reinventions.  Looking for ways to volunteer this election? There's https://keyboards.forkamala.fyi/  for keyboard warrior and I'm happy to connect folks to virtual phone banking or text banking opportunities --especialy ones supporting grassroots orgs, fighting voter suppression or working on local races. You an ping me https://bsky.app/profile/levin.bsky.social or even (for this purpose) https://x.com/Elana_Brooklyn  We all can do something to fight facism (even if you're reading this after the election).