The Bitchuation Room

Lindsey Graham will haunt the United States for years to come. Or come back as a ladybug. *shudders*

This week, Lance of SerfsTV joined to talk about Senate democrats fawning over the death of Lady Gray, and what it says about how seriously they take Trump’s fascism. Then, ICE claims another life in less than a week in Maine. Joan Sebastian Guerrero was 26, Colombian, had a social security number, and could legally work in the US. ICE shot him at least four times while he was in his car and accompanied by his toddler. His last words were reportedly "I tried to stop." According to Senator Angus King, they were looking for someone else. Shut it down.

Plus, more Platner post-mortem as Lance explains why he was always dubious of the candidate. We also discuss the Rep. Ro Khanna’s trip to the West Bank, where he was detained by groups of armed settlers who then called in the IDF. Now Benjamin Netanyahu is calling Khanna a liar, claiming that 99.9% of the settlers are not violent. The illegal settlers, taking land by force, are not violent. Mmmhmm. 

Then author and artist Molly Crabapple joins to discuss her new book Here Where We Live Is Our Country, an illustrated look at the Jewish Labor Bund — the secular, socialist, anti-Zionist movement that Zionism has tried to erase.

We discuss how Zionism eclipsed Bundism, how the Bundists were always against the creation of the state of Israel on ethical grounds but also resisted nationalism and the idea that Jews did not belong where they lived.

Featuring:

Lance, founder and host of SerfsTV, https://www.youtube.com/theserftimes
https://www.instagram.com/theserftimes/

Molly Crabapple, artist, writer, and author, https://www.mollycrabapple.com

Buy Molly's book: https://bookshop.org/p/books/here-where-we-live-is-our-country-the-story-of-the-jewish-bund-molly-crabapple/2d1023a8b6a838ab

Live Shows!

Minneapolis August 20th: The Bitchuation Room will be LIVE! at The Parkway Theater. Get tickets here: https://theparkwaytheater.com/all-events/bitchuation-room

Seattle Friday Sept 4th & Saturday Sept. 5th
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/comedy-show-francesca-fiorentini-and-matt-lieb-laughs-comedy-club-tickets-1989424855296

Portland, OR September 7th: The Bitchuation Room LIVE! At Helium Comedy

https://portland.heliumcomedy.com/shows/373712

Portland, OR September 8th: Francesca Fiorentini & Matt Lieb, co-headline Helium Comedy
https://portland.heliumcomedy.com/shows/372818

Watch The Bitchuation Room LIVE on Tuesdays 1pm PT/4pmET on YouTube
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Graham Platner undermined a movement with his recklessness. Centrists, Republicans are using this moment to dunk on the left, while the left itself is obsessing over "I Told you so"s. Emma Vigeland, who advocated tirelessly for Platner before the recent allegations, joins Francesca to explain why recent SA allegations against are unlike his scandals from before.

It's a tough conversation but an important one. What do we expect of progressive candidates and do we have the time to only elevate those who have been tested inside the party apparatus? Especially when the other side spawns unqualified weirdos like rabbitts.  

The two talk about how Jenny Racicot really represents a change in how women will no longer remain silent about powerful men, the gall of Graham Platner coming out with yet another apology video instead of choosing to just say nothing, and why he might have the biggest chance at a redemption arc now...just not one that involves the U.S. Senate.

Then, the war on Iran is back on, costing lives, the economy and likely Republicans in the midterms. Maybe that's why Trump is firing election commissioners? Emma and Francesca talk about why it's so critical to get Zionist warhawk Democrats like Chuck Schumer and Cory Booker out of office in order to finally extract our country from needless wars abroad.

LIVE SHOWS:

Pasadena Saturday July 11th, New World Disorder at The Ice House. Get tickets here: https://events.leapevents.com/event/New-World-Disorder-07-11-26-8-pm

Minneapolis August 20th: The Bitchuation Room will be LIVE! at The Parkway Theater. Get tickets here: https://theparkwaytheater.com/all-events/bitchuation-room

Seattle Friday Sept 4th & Saturday Sept. 5th
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/comedy-show-francesca-fiorentini-and-matt-lieb-laughs-comedy-club-tickets-1989424855296

Portland, OR September 7th: The Bitchuation Room LIVE! At Helium Comedy

https://portland.heliumcomedy.com/shows/373712

Portland, OR September 8th: Francesca Fiorentini & Matt Lieb, co-headline Helium Comedy
https://portland.heliumcomedy.com/shows/372818

Watch The Bitchuation Room LIVE on Tuesdays 1pm PT/4pmET on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/franifio or Twitch https://www.twitch.tv/franifio.
Listen to the show on:
iTunes: http://bit.ly/iTunesbitchuation
Google Music: http://bit.ly/GoogleBitchuation
Spotify: http://bit.ly/spotifybitchuation
Follow the show on:
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/bitchuationroom.bsky.social
IG: https://www.instagram.com/bitchuationroom/
Twitter: https://x.com/BitchuationPod
Follow Francesca on:
IG:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/franifio/⁠
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Big yikes — a monster Graham Platner bombshell dropped this week. We talk about the grim news, along with the less-grim news of Mallory McMorrow dropping out of her race against hunky M4A doctor Abdul El-Sayed. Comedian and actor Janesh Rahlan joins for a roundup of the World Cup, and why the Trump Curse has struck again! Also, is Christian Pulisic doing the Trump dance, in support?  

Then, Cayden Mak — publisher of Convergence Magazine and host of Block & Build — joins to discuss what the DSA surge means for left organizing strategy, how movements operate when electoralism feels like the only safe terrain. Plus, what should the left actually be doing about media in an era of total consolidation? 

Featuring:

Janesh Rahlan, comedian, actor, and writer
https://www.instagram.com/janeshrahlan/
https://www.janeshrahlan.com

Cayden Mak, publisher of Convergence Magazine and host of Block & Build
https://convergencemag.com
https://www.instagram.com/convergencemag/

LIVE SHOWS:

Pasadena Saturday July 11th, New World Disorder at The Ice House. Get tickets here: https://events.leapevents.com/event/New-World-Disorder-07-11-26-8-pm

Minneapolis August 20th: The Bitchuation Room will be LIVE! at The Parkway Theater. Get tickets here: https://theparkwaytheater.com/all-events/bitchuation-room

Seattle Friday Sept 4th & Saturday Sept. 5th
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/comedy-show-francesca-fiorentini-and-matt-lieb-laughs-comedy-club-tickets-1989424855296

Portland, OR September 7th: The Bitchuation Room LIVE! At Helium Comedy

https://portland.heliumcomedy.com/shows/373712

Portland, OR September 8th: Francesca Fiorentini & Matt Lieb, co-headline Helium Comedy
https://portland.heliumcomedy.com/shows/372818

Watch The Bitchuation Room LIVE on Tuesdays 1pm PT/4pmET on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/franifio or Twitch https://www.twitch.tv/franifio.
Listen to the show on:
iTunes: http://bit.ly/iTunesbitchuation
Google Music: http://bit.ly/GoogleBitchuation
Spotify: http://bit.ly/spotifybitchuation
Follow the show on:
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/bitchuationroom.bsky.social
IG: https://www.instagram.com/bitchuationroom/
Twitter: https://x.com/BitchuationPod
Follow Francesca on:
IG:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/franifio/⁠
Twitter: https://twitter.com/franifio
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Threads: https://www.threads.com/@franifio
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/Franifio

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The Bill of Rights is the ultimate receipt. The Founding Fathers did not mean to create such a banger of a document that helped enshrine equality and justice for all, they really only meant for landowning white men. Then social movements, wars, and freedom happened and Americans are still trying to live up to this document. Francesca sits down with acclaimed author and Professor Robin DG Kelley, a black radical historian whose work has been instructive for thinkers, organizers and activists.

They dive into how democracy in America has never truly existed, save for a brief moment in the Reconstruction; why fascism and capitalism work so well under one another, and how nationalism and nation-states in and of themselves lead to fascism.

They then discuss Kelley’s forthcoming book Making a Killing: Capitalism, Cops, and the War on Black Life” and how the police decide whose lives are disposable and whose lives matter. Kelley argues that organizing against police violence is part and parcel of the class struggle against the capitalists, and we’d be well served to see it as such. They also discuss the failures of black neoliberalism, from Obama to the many Black politicians in Atlanta who somehow support projects like Cop City. 

00:01:09 Robin’s Fourth of July Message

00:08:49 Black Neoliberals and Cop City  

00:13:32 Why Capitalism Loves Fascism  

00:22:56 How Black Radicals Always Saw Fascism on The Horizon 

00:29:27 All Goes Back to The Reconstruction 00:42:29 Robin’s New Book on Police Violence

00:50:05 The Limits of Identity Politics

00:54:14 What We Must Learn From Jesse Jackson’s Legacy  

01:02:00 Why Robin is Quitting Academia

01:07:49 Hot Button Question?

Pre-order Professor Kelley’s book today: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250803078/makingakilling/

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THANK YOU SO MUCH for your support of The Bitchuation Room. Be sure to check out all the exclusive Hot Button interviews you get access to!

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Thanks to Brent Godin and Drew Spears Productions.

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Rock the pod on your bod. Get a brand new “Abolish ICE” t-shirt and a brand new mug at: www.bitchuationroom.com.

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LIVE SHOWS:

Pasadena Saturday July 11th, New World Disorder at The Ice House. Get tickets here: https://events.leapevents.com/event/New-World-Disorder-07-11-26-8-pm

Minneapolis August 20th: The Bitchuation Room will be LIVE! at The Parkway Theater. Get tickets here: https://theparkwaytheater.com/all-events/bitchuation-room

Seattle Friday Sept 4th & Saturday Sept. 5th
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/comedy-show-francesca-fiorentini-and-matt-lieb-laughs-comedy-club-tickets-1989424855296

Portland, OR September 7th: The Bitchuation Room LIVE! At Helium Comedy
https://portland.heliumcomedy.com/shows/373712

Portland, OR September 8th: Francesca Fiorentini & Matt Lieb, co-headline Helium Comedy
https://portland.heliumcomedy.com/shows/372818

Watch The Bitchuation Room LIVE on Tuesdays 1pm PT/4pmET on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/franifio or Twitch https://www.twitch.tv/franifio.
Listen to the show on:
iTunes: http://bit.ly/iTunesbitchuation
Google Music: http://bit.ly/GoogleBitchuation
Spotify: http://bit.ly/spotifybitchuation
Follow the show on:
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/bitchuationroom.bsky.social
IG: https://www.instagram.com/bitchuationroom/
Twitter: https://x.com/BitchuationPod
Follow Francesca on:
IG:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/franifio/⁠
Twitter: https://twitter.com/franifio
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Threads: https://www.threads.com/@franifio
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/Franifio

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Three DSA candidates just won their primaries in New York — and the bipartisan meltdown has been spectacular. We break down why everyone from Sean Hannity, to Bill Maher to Jon Favreau is personally offended by the likes of Darializa Chevalier, the Afro-Latina UAW member who just became the new AOC.

Then, movement-building reporter Lex McMenamin joins to talk about the Prairieland Protestors — eight activists sentenced to between 50 and 100 years in prison for providing “material support to terrorists,” plus one man who wasn't even at the protest but was convicted for moving boxes of zines! We’ll discuss what the case means for the criminalization of protest under the Trump administration as well as the Supreme Court's ruling this week upholding discrimination against transgender people in sports.

Featuring:

Lex McMenamin, reporter at the Guardian, https://www.instagram.com/leximcmenamin/

https://lexmcmenamin.com

***

LIVE SHOWS:

Pasadena Saturday July 11th, New World Disorder at The Ice House. Get tickets here: https://events.leapevents.com/event/New-World-Disorder-07-11-26-8-pm

Minneapolis August 20th: The Bitchuation Room will be LIVE! at The Parkway Theater. Get tickets here: https://theparkwaytheater.com/all-events/bitchuation-room

Portland, OR September 7th: The Bitchuation Room LIVE! At Helium Comedy

https://portland.heliumcomedy.com/shows/373712

Portland, OR September 8th: Francesca Fiorentini & Matt Lieb, co-headline Helium Comedy
https://portland.heliumcomedy.com/shows/372818

Watch The Bitchuation Room LIVE on Tuesdays 1pm PT/4pmET on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/franifio or Twitch https://www.twitch.tv/franifio.
Listen to the show on:
iTunes: http://bit.ly/iTunesbitchuation
Google Music: http://bit.ly/GoogleBitchuation
Spotify: http://bit.ly/spotifybitchuation
Follow the show on:
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/bitchuationroom.bsky.social
IG: https://www.instagram.com/bitchuationroom/
Twitter: https://x.com/BitchuationPod
Follow Francesca on:
IG:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/franifio/⁠
Twitter: https://twitter.com/franifio
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/franifio.bsky.social
Threads: https://www.threads.com/@franifio
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/Franifio

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