Iran War Week 11: Media Ignores Israel’s Attacks on Lebanon, West Bank and Gaza; Trump’s Social Security Administration Downsizing Demolishes Customer Service; Opposition to Resource Hungry Artificial Intelligence Data Centers Spreads Across the U.S. Like Wildfire.

On the anniversary of his passing, in May, 2025, we present an hour-long conversation with Kenyan author Ngugi wa Thiong'o about the first volume of his memoirs, “Dreams in a Time of War." A rare and moving insight into all that went into shaping one of the most beloved progressive writers in the world today, a testament to the power of storytelling and dreams in human life and the striving to birth a new and better world. Plus a brief musical tribute to the great jazz vocalist Abbey Lincoln.

If you haven’t yet personally witnessed the very odd feeling of driving up to a four-way stop sign only to realize that the vehicle across the street from you has no driver behind the wheel, chances are you will soon enough. Like it or not, autonomous vehicles are coming, and this week on Sea Change Radio we are speaking with Samuel Abuelsamid, an expert on self-driving technology. We take a look back at the evolution of autonomous vehicles, examine the purported “full self-driving mode” offered by Tesla, and discuss some of the sustainability issues surrounding this technology.

This episode The Hundred Years' War on Palestine: An Afternoon with Rashid Khalidi. Professor Khalidi is a Palestinian-American historian of the Middle East, and the Edward Said Professor Emeritus of Modern Arab Studies at Colombia University. The event was recorded on March 29, 2026 at the First Unitarian Congregational Society of Brooklyn. and was co-sponsored by First Unitarian Brooklyn’s chapter of Unitarian Universalists for Justice in the Middle East, New York City DSA Anti-war Working Group, and Brooklyn for Peace. The talk is a conversation between Professor Khalidi and Reverend Meagan [MEE-gan] Henry from the Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Shelter Rock, followed by a Q&A session.

The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit Show - A musical mid-life crisis -- a late-night search for meaning and happiness airs on WRIR LP Monday nights from 9 PM to 11 PM. Stream the show @ www.wrir.org

Willie Jolley is a man on a mission! He is a Hall of Fame speaker, singer, best-selling author, and popular media personality. In January 2023, he received the Joseph R. Biden Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award. In July 2023, he was the recipient of The National Speakers Association’s highest and most cherished award, The Cavett. His new book “Rich is Good Wealthy is Better” seeks to bring the historically disenfranchised into conversations about wealth building and understanding generational economics.

As Trump War on Iran enters 11th Week, US Media Ignores Israel's Ongoing Attacks on Lebanon, West Bank and Gaza; Trump, Musk, DOGE Downsizing of Social Security Administration Demolishes Agency Customer Service; 36 Mental Health Professionals Call for Trump's Immediate, Lawful Removal from Office; New Documentary Film Captures ICE Violent Targeting of Workers, and Impact on their Families

NewsWrap: Botswana amends penal code removing anti-LGBTQ+ provisions which previously criminalized same-sex relationships, United States Trump Administration release 2026 Counterterrorism Strategy defining major terror groups including “violent secular political groups” with ideologies that are “anti-American, radically pro-transgender,” Zambian RightsCon is abruptly cancelled with officials claiming the event does not align with the country’s “national values,” Pennsylvania legislators amend Pennsylvania Human Relations Act prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, Isaac Ranson, a transgender man, joins Minnesota Aurora FC soccer team as the first openly trans player, but must play with women’s team because of his gender assigned at birth— and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by John Dyer the 5th and RET (News Writers Ebony Joseph and Jeb Backe, News Producer Brian DeShazor). Author Armistead Maupin reads from Tales of the City from September 10, 1990 on This Way Out in the Rainbow Rewind. In part two of her series on the global rise of anti-LGBTQ laws, This Way Out’s Ebony Joseph explores how criminalization and political hostility are creating a growing public health crisis for queer communities worldwide. Advocates say laws targeting LGBTQ people not only fuel stigma and violence, but also discourage people from seeking HIV prevention, mental health care, and other essential services. The report highlights countries where fear of arrest or public exposure keeps people from accessing clinics, while anti-LGBTQ rhetoric increasingly spreads from government policy into everyday life. The story also examines the impact of the Trump administration’s cuts to U.S. foreign aid programs, including the dismantling of USAID and restrictions on funding tied to “gender ideology.” Former USAID officials and global health advocates warn that the loss of support for LGBTQ-focused HIV outreach programs could have devastating consequences, especially in countries where queer people already face criminalization. Despite growing hostility, organizers and activists continue building local networks of care and resistance, insisting that queer and trans lives deserve dignity, safety, and access to healthcare.

Golden oldies (60s, 70s, 80s, 90s)

If the right to vote is taken as a measure of a vibrant democracy, the United States came off to a bad start. Dr. Michael Parenti says that the most interesting list from the period of 1787 is the rather long one of people who were not allowed to vote - and he names all of them. Also, in Part TWO, the many ways in which votes have been stolen during the Bush administration. This archival recording is a primer on the history of voting and the day to day efforts to make democracy come alive that shows Parenti at his best as historian and engaged political thinker. Parenti (1933-2026) was one of the nation’s leading progressive political analysts. After receiving his Ph.D. in political science from Yale Parenti/ taught at colleges and universities, in the United States and abroad. Parenti risked and ended his academic career when he openly opposed the war on Vietnam.  He was a prolific author and an engaging speaker. He served on the board of judges for Project Censored and authored 22 books, among them: Democracy for the Few, Superpatriotism, History as Mystery, and God and His Demons. Recorded by Contra Costa TV at the Pleasant Hill Library in Contra Costa, California 1-24-07.

EVERGREEN. Contact: sean@armedia.ca The Mix Sessions is a journey through hypnotic rhythms and soulful deep house groove. Featuring slush, atmospheric textures. TRACKLIST 01. Jon Dixon, L'Renee - Feel Your Touch 02. Vincent Caira, Brock Edwards - Hold It Down 03. Sean Savage - Gordon Baker Rd 04. KVRVBO - Searching For Your Light 05. The DC - Playin' the Fool (The DC Remix) 06. Hercules & Love Affair, ANOHNI, Seth Troxler - One (Seth Troxler Remix) 07. Kapote, Kosmo Kint, Coeo - Strangers (Coeo House Mix) 08. Rampa, chuala, Keinemusik - Les Gout 09. Nick Holder - Time (Wahoo Vocal Mix) 10. Jesse Maas, Garrett David - Be My Everything (Garrett David Remix)

EVERGREEN. Contact: sean@armedia.ca Trip Hop Radio is a sonic escape into a world of dreamy beats and introspective melodies, featuring an eclectic blend of trip hop, chillout, and downtempo grooves. Updated weekly. TRACKLIST 01. Portishead-Mysterons 02. Just Friends - Avalanche 03. Floating Points - For Marmish 04. Gruve Collective - Hopeless Hope 05. Santi Sugianto - Beautiful Days 06. Tristan De Liege - Kumo 07. Sean Savage - Ball de Dick 08. DJ Shadow - Enemy Lines 09. Hidden Orchestra - Spoken 10. Gabriel Garzon - Pour Maman 11. Lal - Faithful

Madelaine Imber and Tandiwe Aebi-Moyo, participants in edition 2 of the Australian magazine Butch Is Not a Dirty Word, talk about their lives as butches in various communities and about being in the magazine created by Melbourne-based Butch activist, Esther Godoy. They were interviewed by Jiselle Hanna on the program Accent of Women, for community radio 3CR in Melbourne. ButchIsNotADirtyWord now also has a Facebook page and a website butchisnotadirtyword.com Note: trans-inclusive

1. The Boom - Tableek ft. Blak Nerd 2. No Definition - WattzSun 3. What Up? - Belzar ft. Edgar Sosa 4. Only The Real - Shing Shing Regime 5. Show Out - Bodega Brovas 6. We Performed - J Rawls feat. Talib Kweli and Makeba Mooncycle 7. The Ex - J Dilla feat. Bilal 8. Phone Sex - Tone of the Cosmos 9.. Froide poésie - Prim L'imprimeur 10..Fast wie zähneputzen - Docnest 11.Leflaur Leflah Eshkoshka - Fab 5 (Heltah Skeltah & O.G.C.) 12. Peace Phife - Black Sheep Dres ft. Chi Ali, Sadat X (opening words:Kool DJ Red Alert) 13. The Self Science - Self Scientific 14. Sometimes I Do - Crazy DJ Bazarro ft. Vvs Verbal, Guappy Ruffin, Mike Brownsville, Louie Skaggs 15. Microphone Master (41sr Side remix) - Das EFX ft. Mobb Deep 16. Indiscriminate Shots - Eff Yoo x Rediculus ft. Big Noyd 17. Redemption - Dialog

In the last El Nino in 2023, carbon from Canadas wildfires equaled total emissions from India. Wildfires are a world problem. Fire expert Michael Flannigan joins us. Then Amazon Godfather of rainforest science, Dr. Carlos Nobre: the Columbia conference to get off fossil fuels, better news on deforestation despite organized crime, and the awful Amazon tipping point. This is find-out time.

We've got many different kinds of blues on Backbeat this week, which is fitting for a show that's been named Best Blues or Similar by the National Community Radio Association. Professor Longhair gives us his quirky take on the boogie, followed by Smokey Rogers, also doing a blues boogie. We'll hear a very young LaVern Baker with the Todd Rhodes Orchestra and Robert Petway, a obscure country blues artist whose songs were very influential. All that and some new music by Trevor Tchir, an Earl King guitar classic that Jimi Hendrix also recorded and some fine harmony to mix everything together.

There are moments in history when a nation begins to tremble, not because an enemy has breached its walls, but because the truth has finally breached its story. Today, we step into one of those moments. This episode is not about predictions. It is not about wishes. It is about the unmistakable signs of a system straining under its own weight. A story of a state confronting the limits of its own contradictions. A story of what happens when the world stops nodding along and starts paying attention. But before we begin, I want to honor something deeper, the people who give themselves for what is right. The ones who stand when standing is costly. The ones who speak when silence would be easier. The ones who choose truth over comfort, justice over convenience, and humanity over fear. They are the quiet architecture of every movement, the steady pulse beneath every struggle for dignity. This episode is for them. If you have thoughts, I want to hear them. Email me at TWIPpodcasts@gmail.com and tell me how you see it. This is This Week in Palestine.