Episode 28: How Iran's Environmental Movement is Navigating Repression and War with Dr. Maziar Samiee Podcast Episode · The Rift · March 15 · 50m

the recording of today's episode of THE RIFT, a conversation about the iranian environmental movement with dr. maziar samiee, is now online: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...

maziar was thoughtful and generous with his time and expertise; i’m looking forward to airing this one. he has a great book chapter on iranian environmental imaginaries and developmentalism that you can read here d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/116334875/En...

sunday’s episode of THE RIFT: i talk with dr maziar samiee, political economist + scholar of iranian environmental movements, about enviro activists’ struggle within iran, contextualized by imperialist intervention from without. listen live or later: linktr.ee/theriftradio

City & TEP Reach Milestone on Proposed Energy Collaboration Agreement The City of Tucson and Tucson Electric Power (TEP) have reached a major milestone in efforts to advance Tucson’s clean energy and climate goals with the development of a proposed Energy Collaboration ...

In Tucson, where there is a fierce fight for public ownership of the electricity system, the private corporation is promising to make $2 million annual "contributions" contingent on the city dropping any pursuit of Public Power.

Lmao

the new paper in question: emilygrubert.org/wp-content/u...

Episode 27: Managing the Decline of Fossil Fuels with Emily Grubert and Joshua Lappen Podcast Episode · The Rift · 02/15/2026 · 55m

the recording of today's episode of THE RIFT is now online, in which @gruberte.bsky.social and @jlappen1.bsky.social deliver a fascinating conversation on their new paper, what getting off of fossil fuels actually entails, and the hard work of energy transition: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...

Rashida Tlaib on pro-Palestine students facing discipline: ‘Who needs ICE when you have U of M?’ • Michigan Advance A black drone hovered over passersby on the campus of the University of Michigan Thursday as several pro-Palestine student activists huddled in freezing temperatures outside the Ruthven Administration...

i don't think there's a better (or really even comparable) congressional ally to the left than rashida tlaib. she and her office make themselves available to + support activists around metro detroit to an extent that a lot of MI *state* reps wouldn't dream of. michiganadvance.com/2026/01/30/r...

Mac Randolph RIP Alex Pretti, he was my Dads ICU nurse, he read my dad's final salut at the VA after he passed away. Never wanted to share this video but his speech is very on point. Also my Fathers final words to me was continue to fight the good fight. He would be honored in Alex' sacrifice, and ashamed of this current administration. In my Dads words I encourage you all to continue to "fight the good fight"

Text of the video posted by Mac Randolph “Never wanted to share this video but his speech is very on point.”

the abolitionists + BLM were right btw. always were. philando castile, same damn city, 10 fucking years ago. it’s the same shit.

Episode 25: Eco-Tourism in Ohio Coal Country with Kellye Blosser and Tyler McDaniel Podcast Episode · The Rift · 01/18/2026 · 52m

the recording of today's episode of THE RIFT, a conversation with Tyler McDaniel and Kellye Blosser of the Little Cities of Black Diamonds Council about community building and eco-tourism in ohio coal country, is now online: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...

it’s pretty wild to me that a lot of people in that thread are saying that acknowledging this forecloses engagement w the political system, when in reality it’s basically a prerequisite for understanding just how much engagement is needed.

not only that, but to the extent that popular influence of politicians exists, it works both ways: politicians and their attendant media ecosystems are more than capable of shifting public opinion on things. immigration might be the most obvious example of this

that policy is entirely divorced from what wide swaths of the country actually want is one of the defining features of modern american politics!

this is demonstrably not true, is the thing

The more money, resources, and power you give to ICE, the more folks they're going to harm and kill. It's as simple as that.

Could an empire in decline do THIS? *launches deeply unpopular invasion cementing status as lunatic-led pariah state, its not clear what kind of move i was trying to do*

one of the best illustrations of the bipartisan imperialist consensus is that whenever trump does something psychotic on foreign policy you immediately get national democrats putting out completely incoherent statements about how the result was awesome but the process was bad.

Episode 24: The History and Politics of Refrigeration with Nicola Twilley Podcast Episode · The Rift · 12/21/2025 · 53m

the recording of today's episode of THE RIFT on WEFT, a conversation with author and journalist Nicola Twilley about her book FROSTBITE on the history, geopolitics, and ecology of refrigeration, is now online: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...

my day job involves a fair amount of interaction with people at IL state agencies and it’s the same stories over and over: programs managed by one person that would take an entire department to run effectively; agencies w expanding responsibilities but no extra $; lack of interagency communication

we’re going on like 75 years of the myth of a bloated incompetent bureaucratic government when overwhelmingly the opposite is true: these agencies do not have the staff, money, or mandate to do what they are ostensibly supposed to do

there are already lots of exceedingly competent and dedicated bureaucrats at every level of government. the problem is that they are working within a system that ever since the neoliberal purging of the public sector has been designed to fail

Episode 23: Caste, Labor, and Climate Politics with Malini Ranganathan Podcast Episode · The Rift · 12/07/2025 · 47m

the recording of today's episode of THE RIFT, a conversation with @maliniranga.bsky.social about caste-labor-climate politics in india and beyond, is now online: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...

Episode 22: Class Struggle and Climate Change in the Rail Industry with Railroad Workers United Podcast Episode · The Rift · 11/16/2025 · 56m

the recording of today's episode of THE RIFT, a conversation with Ron Kaminkow and Nick Wurst from @rwu-org.bsky.social about their fight for good jobs and against monopolized railroads- and what that might mean for climate change- is now online: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...

was really happy to work on this with isaac and am excited that it’s finally out in the world. hopeful that it can be a useful tool for organizers in the public power and utility justice movements

Overcharged: The Rules Of The Electricity Affordability Crisis Nearly a quarter of adults in the US—or over 52 million people—cannot pay their power bills.

In this new report from me & @rhymeswithocean.bsky.social for @cplusc.bsky.social & @publicgrids.org, we argue the current electricity affordability crisis is caused by the rules of private ownership. To solve the crisis, we recommend banning shutoffs now and using many tools to expand public power!

i see you're doing something online that you have effortlessly done 100,000 times. would you like to use this ai tool? would you like to use this ai tool? would you like to use this ai tool? would you like to use this ai tool? would you like to use this ai tool? would you like to use this ai tool? w

Episode 21: Conservation and Violence in Kenya's Maasai Mara with Bilal Butt Podcast Episode · The Rift · 10/20/2025 · 51m

the recording of yesterday’s episode of THE RIFT, a conversation with @criticalpoleco.bsky.social about the political ecology of conservation in kenya’s maasai mara, is now online: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

(full disclosure, he was my grad school advisor, is always a great conversation, and delivered an absolute heater which i am excited to air!)

this sunday on THE RIFT on WEFT: i speak with @criticalpoleco.bsky.social, professor at the University of Michigan, about conservation and colonialism in Kenya’s Maasai Mara and the politics of knowledge production. 3pm CT, listen live or later: linktr.ee/theriftradio