LUMPENPROLETARIAT—Covid, Race & Democracy is a radio podcast series, which critically analyzes the intersections between the police state response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the belligerent police state attitude toward people of color, and the profiteering of vaccines in a time when the world is clamoring for medical relief from the coronavirus.

This is a welcome time capsule, documenting a lot of the real life and times of working class people during the COVID-19 pandemic, police state lockdown, and economic crash. Listening to this broadcast, one gets a more intimate sense of what the nation is going through than we tend to get from watching corporate media.  The full series is accessible as part of Pacifica Radio’s Covid-19 Taskforce.  Listen and/or download audio here.

Messina

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KPFA > AREA 941—[22 DEC 2020] Seattle City Council member Kshama Sawant represents a socialist grassroots movement that managed to pass a city tax on corporations towards COVID relief.  Her campaign is now under attack by billionaires like Jeff Bezos, companies such as Amazon, as well as the Democratic and Republican establishment in a recall effort. From producer Elliot Avila. Kshama Sawant Solidarity Fund – Socialist Alternative.org

What is now known as the Pfizer vaccine was originally developed by the German company BioNTech, started by two Turkish refugees in Germany. Pacifica producer Mehmet Bayram brings us this story.

University of California San Francisco epidemiologist Dr. George Rutherford worked to develop treatment options for HIV/AIDs, and is now working to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

The transportation of the vaccines is being done by Teamsters who work for UPS. Steve Zeltzer spoke to Richard Hooker, president of Philadelphia IBT Local 623.

Opponents of US wars are expressing alarm at reports that President-elect Biden is considering former UN Ambassador Samantha Power to head the US Agency for International Development (USAID). Pacifica’s Ann Garrison reports.

Music credits:

Vaccine, Vaccine, a parody of Dolly Parton’s Jolene, performed by Northeastern University Professor Ryan Cordell, written by Internet Linguist Gretchen McCulloch.

We Shall Overcome by the Aeolians.

Cops of the World by Phil Ochs.

Production:

This program was hosted by Esther Iverem and co-produced by Steve Zeltzer and Polina Vasiliev, with contributing producers Elliot Avila, Ann Garrison and Esther Iverem. The executive producers of “Covid, Race and Democracy” are Akua Holt, Polina Vasiliev, and Steve Zeltzer.

Learn more at AREA 941.

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[4 JAN 2021]

[Last modified on 4 JAN 2021 at 16:04 PST]