Two urgent struggles for justice:

Haitian residents demand an extension of Temporary Protected Status and an end to deportations, while peace activists stand trial after blocking weapons shipments bound for Israel’s war in Gaza.

Building Bridges commemorates Black August with a special program honoring Mumia Abu-Jamal—journalist, scholar, author, and one of America’s great moral voices. Joined by Noelle Hanrahan, attorney and co-founder of Prison Radio, and Dr. Ricardo Alvarez, we discuss Mumia’s reflections on Black August and Frantz Fanon, his health, and the new international campaign appealing to the United Nations to secure his freedom after 44 years of imprisonment.

Educate, agitate, and organize!

As Haitian families face the threat of deportation, we examine the urgent fight to protect TPS recipients and the legislation that could keep families together. We also hear from home health aides on hunger strike demanding an end to abusive 24-hour work shifts—100 years after the struggle for the eight-hour day. Two movements. One call for dignity, justice, and human rights.

As calls grow for an international boycott of Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey over its filming in occupied Western Sahara, Building Bridges welcomes renowned foreign policy scholar Professor Stephen Zunes for a timely discussion of one of the world’s longest-running occupations. We examine Morocco’s occupation of Western Sahara, the Sahrawi people’s struggle for self-determination, the role of the Polisario Front, and U.S. support for the occupation.

In the second half of the program, we turn to Iran and the escalating dangers of war. What are the real strategic and economic interests driving U.S. and Israeli policy? Can diplomacy replace endless war, sanctions, and regime-change politics? And what would a just and peaceful alternative look like?

Join us for a critical conversation on war, empire, international law, and the global movements for peace and self-determination.

📻 Tune in LIVE — Monday, July 27 · 7 PM EST
WBAI 99.5 FM (NY & Tri-State) & WPFW 89.3 FM (DC)
🔗 Stream anywhere at wbai.org

Equal Rights & Justice examines two critical fronts in the struggle for democracy, political freedom, and economic justice.

Part 1 – The Uhuru 3 Fight Back: Defending Political Dissent
The Uhuru 3 have filed a federal lawsuit challenging what they contend was a politically motivated prosecution intended to harass, intimidate, and silence anti-imperialist dissent. Joined by Penny Hess and attorney Leonard Goodman, we examine why this landmark case reaches far beyond the three defendants, raising profound First Amendment questions about political expression, government retaliation, and whether the legal system can be used to criminalize dissent against U.S. government policy.

Part 2 – Wednesdays We Boycott Amazon
Every Wednesday, consumers across the country are urged to strike with their wallets by refusing to shop at Amazon. Organizer Ron Ashford discusses the growing boycott campaign to challenge Amazon’s anti-worker labor practices, union-busting, attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion, surveillance technologies, and corporate policies that concentrate wealth and power while undermining workers and communities. The campaign calls on people to transform their purchasing power into collective action for economic and social justice.

This week on Building Bridges Radio, we bring you two urgent stories of resistance that demand the world’s attention.

First, the international campaign to free Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the heroic director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza, who refused to abandon his patients as bombs fell around them and now endures imprisonment after months of reported torture and detention without charge. Hear why doctors, human rights advocates, and people across the globe are demanding his immediate release.

Then, we take you to the streets as communities across the United States rise up to demand the abolition of ICE following the latest deadly encounters involving immigration enforcement. We remember Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero and ask what justice requires in the face of escalating raids, racial profiling, and fear.

Truth cannot be imprisoned. Silence is not an option. Join us.

This week on Equal Rights & Justice, a special report on the abduction, imprisonment, torture, and life-threatening condition of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza, now held in an Israeli prison. We examine the campaign demanding his immediate release and ask what his case reveals about the assault on Gaza’s medical system. Free Dr. Abu Safiya—now.

Then, filmmaker Rico Speight joins us to discuss Rediscovering Frantz Fanon, his remarkable film more than 20 years in the making. As colonial wars, occupation, racism, and resistance once again dominate the global landscape—from Gaza to the wider world—Fanon’s profound insights into colonialism, liberation, and human dignity have never been more urgent. Why does Fanon still matter today? Join us for this timely and essential conversation.

📻 Tune in LIVE — Thursday, July 16 · 9 AM EST
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This week, Building Bridges examines two unfolding human rights catastrophes. We mark 1,000 days of Israel's assault on Gaza, the continuing devastation, and the imprisonment of Palestinian physician Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya. We also examine the Supreme Court decision allowing the Trump administration to revoke TPS protections for Haitians, placing hundreds of thousands at risk of deportation into an ongoing humanitarian crisis.

Guests: Aline Gué, Director, Haitian Women for Haitian Refugees, and Zeiad Abbas Shamrouch, Middle East Children’s Alliance.

From Gaza to Haiti, we explore the human consequences of U.S. policy and the urgent need for international solidarity, justice, and human rights.

📻 Tune in LIVE — Monday, July 13 · 7 PM EST
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🔗 Stream anywhere at wbai.org

Educate, agitate, and organize.

Housing Is a Human Right, Not a Commodity for Profit. Public Land Is Not for Sale to Profiteers.

The housing crisis is not inevitable—it’s political. As public land is handed over to private developers, speculators, and the real estate industry, millions are denied the fundamental human right to safe, decent housing—regardless of income.

Join Mimi Rosenberg for a provocative discussion with three extraordinary leaders in the struggle for housing justice: Renee Keitt, longtime public housing resident leader from the Chelsea-Fulton Houses and a tireless advocate for preserving and strengthening public housing; John Leyva, housing and land-use organizer advancing the Public Land for Public Good agenda to keep public land in public hands and expand permanently affordable housing; and Ron Shiffman, nationally renowned urban planner, Co-founder of the Pratt Center for Community Development, and Professor Emeritus at Pratt Institute, whose more than five decades of work have helped shape the movement for equitable, community-based development and housing as a human right.

Together they challenge New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and all elected officials to move beyond rhetoric and embrace a bold agenda: housing in the public domain, public land for the public good, and housing as a guaranteed human right—not a commodity for developers, landlords, and real estate interests to profit from.

A timely conversation to educate, agitate, and organize around a real housing agenda—one that advances the struggle for decent housing for all and the public policies needed to make that vision a reality.

Listen Live:
TODAY · 9 AM EST · Equal Rights & Justice Radio
WBAI 99.5 FM & streaming online
🔗 https://wbai.org/listen-live/

Whether exploited in the workplace or tracked by the digital eye of empire, people are rising to reclaim their humanity.

The United Nations has condemned the 24-hour work shifts imposed on home health aides—overwhelmingly immigrant women and women of color—as a human rights violation. Yet thousands of workers are still being forced to endure grueling around-the-clock shifts. The demand is clear: Pass Intro 303 and end 24-hour shifts now. No More 24.

And from the care economy to the surveillance economy, the fight continues. Protesters are taking on billionaire Peter Thiel’s Palantir, the digital Frankenstein helping power mass surveillance, militarization, and deadly systems of control. No genocide in our name. No surveillance state in our name. Palantir Out of New York.

Two struggles. One demand: Human dignity over profit. People over exploitation. Justice over repression.

📻 Tune in LIVE — Thursday, July 2 · 9 AM EST
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This week on Building Bridges, two frontlines in one struggle for justice and liberation.

First, a historic breakthrough in the labor movement: members of UAW Local 2325 take a historic vote to divest from Israel Bonds — declaring that workers’ money should fund jobs, not war, apartheid, or genocide. We’re joined by Shelly Pires, Marcus Hyde, and Nvruz Baum of UAW Local 2325 on labor’s solidarity with Palestine and the call to sanction Israel over the genocide in Gaza, ethnic cleansing, and its wars against its neighbors.

Then, a special report from Accra: updates and outcomes from the Pan-African Reparations Conference in Ghana. Omowale Clay and Jahi Johnson of the December 12th Movement, and actress, playwright, and poet Nzingha, join us on the global mobilization to make reparations real — to reclaim the stolen wealth, land, and resources of African peoples. Reparations is repair. Reparations is justice. Reparations is our right.

From Gaza to Ghana, from the union hall to the diaspora: one struggle, many frontlines — united for justice and liberation.

📻 Tune in LIVE — Monday, June 29 · 7 PM EST
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🔗 Stream anywhere at wbai.org

The last several weeks of Building Bridges and Equal Rights & Justice have told a single, urgent story. From the blockade starving Gaza, to the more-than-sixty-year blockade strangling Cuba, to the budget axe falling on working people here in New York, we have followed one thread: the siege imposed from above — and the ordinary people rising to break it.

If you missed any of these conversations the first time, here they are, all in one place. Just click the play button on any show to listen whenever you like.

In solidarity - Mimi

Educate. Agitate. Organize.

On Gaza: The Fight to Break the Siege

Let Cuba Live: The Other Blockade

History, Culture & the Home Front

Listen live every week!

MONDAYS · 7 PM EST · Building Bridges — WBAI 99.5 FM (NY) & WPFW 89.3 FM (DC)
THURSDAYS · 9 AM EST · Equal Rights & Justice — WBAI 99.5 FM (NY & Tri-State)
🔗 WBAI Live Stream

This week on Equal Rights & Justice Radio, host Mimi Rosenberg takes listeners to Harlem’s historic Hotel Theresa—where Malcolm X welcomed Fidel Castro in 1960—and joins a powerful march down 125th Street celebrating Cuba’s enduring legacy of international solidarity.

From the liberation struggles of Angola, Namibia, and South Africa to the ongoing fight against colonialism, racism, and imperial domination, we explore why Cuba became a beacon of hope for oppressed peoples throughout the world.

As sanctions, blockades, and threats continue to target the Cuban Revolution, we ask: What can Cuba’s resilience teach us today about sovereignty, justice, and resistance?

Featuring live sounds from the rally, “Africa Called. Cuba Answered,” this is a passionate tribute to internationalism, liberation, and the enduring struggle for human dignity.

Equal Rights & Justice Radio with Mimi Rosenberg
Solidarity Knows No Borders.

📻 Tune in LIVE — Thursday, June 25 · 9 AM EST
WBAI 99.5 FM (NY & Tri-State)
🔗 Stream anywhere at wbai.org

As the United States marches toward its 250th anniversary amid rising militarism, nuclear brinkmanship, and a renewed doctrine of gunboat diplomacy, Building Bridges turns to a different American tradition — the courage to say No.

From Vietnam to Iraq, from occupied territories abroad to struggles for democracy at home, generations of active-duty service members and veterans have confronted a profound moral question: What is our responsibility when orders violate conscience, humanity, and international law?

Join us for a powerful conversation with Susan Schnall, President of Veterans For Peace; veterans Trevor Hoover and Joy Metzler; acclaimed filmmaker Pam Sporn, creator of Disobeying Orders; and William Hartung, author of The Trillion Dollar War Machine.

Together, we explore the legacy of soldiers who refused to become instruments of empire, challenged racism and militarism within the ranks, and risked everything to stand on the side of justice.

At a moment when the drums of war beat louder and dissent is increasingly under attack, we remember those who understood that patriotism is not obedience to power—it is fidelity to humanity.

Building Bridges presents: “Disobeying Orders” — a tribute to the soldiers, veterans, and resisters who chose conscience over command.

📻 Tune in LIVE — Monday, June 22 · 7 PM EST
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Juneteenth: Freedom Delayed, Freedom Denied? — A Conversation with Dr. Gerald Horne

Join Equal Rights & Justice host Mimi Rosenberg for a timely Juneteenth conversation with renowned historian Gerald Horne. Together, they will explore the real history behind Juneteenth, challenge popular myths surrounding emancipation, and examine the long struggle for Black freedom, voting rights, equality, and self-determination.

From the unfinished promises of Reconstruction to today’s battles over voting rights, DEI, racial justice, and democracy itself, this discussion asks: What does Juneteenth mean in our time, and how should it inspire the continuing struggle for liberation?

A powerful historical and contemporary look at freedom won, freedom delayed, and freedom still being fought for.

Listen Live:
TODAY · 9 AM EST · Equal Rights & Justice Radio
WBAI 99.5 FM & streaming online
🔗 https://wbai.org/listen-live/

Tonight Building Bridges presents Doctors Against Genocide with eyewitness reports from Gaza. Hear frontline medical workers recount the catastrophic impact of siege, bombardment, and the destruction of healthcare, while discussing efforts to support the Palestinian people's struggle for liberation, survival, and the rebuilding of Gaza's medical infrastructure.

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TONIGHT · 7 PM EST · Building Bridges Radio
WBAI 99.5 FM & streaming online
🔗 https://wbai.org/listen-live/

This week, Equal Rights & Justice brings together two struggles for justice and self-determination. Members of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla discuss their efforts to challenge Israel's blockade of Gaza and why they risked detention in solidarity with the Palestinian people. We also speak with the founder and a parent from Imani House about the fight to save a vital community-based after-school program serving New York City's children and families.

Listen Live:
TOMORROW · 9 AM EST · Equal Rights & Justice Radio
WBAI 99.5 FM & streaming online
🔗 https://wbai.org/listen-live/

This week on Building Bridges:

Retired Colonel Ann Wright—former U.S. diplomat, military officer, peace activist, and participant in efforts to challenge the blockade of Gaza—shares her firsthand account of the flotilla movement and the growing global campaign for Palestinian rights.

Then, economist and labor educator Les Leopold discusses his powerful new book, A Party of Our Own, and why he believes working people need an independent political movement that can challenge corporate power and fight for economic justice.

From Gaza to the workplace, from resistance to political renewal, two compelling voices confront the crises of our time and explore how ordinary people can organize for change.

Listen Live:
MONDAY · 7 PM EST · Building Bridges Radio
WBAI 99.5 FM & streaming online
🔗 https://wbai.org/listen-live/

The Ida B. Wells Media Defense Network presents a Zoom film showing of “The Occupation of the American Mind” and a book talk with Emmaia Gelman on The Anti-Defamation League and the Racial State — exposing how propaganda, media power, and political influence are mobilized to silence dissent and manufacture support for apartheid, occupation, and war.

📆Friday, June 12, 2026

⏰8 PM ET • 7 PM CT • 5 PM PT

🎟️ Register: idabwellsmediadefense.org/voices/

💵 $15 suggested — no one turned away

In solidarity,

-Ida B. Wells Media Defense Network
action@IdaBWellsMediaDefense.org
IdaBWellsMediaDefense.org

Share this online: https://idabwellsmediadefense.org/emails/break-the-propaganda-machine/

Feature Film:
“The Occupation of the American Mind:
Israel’s Public Relations War in the United States”

Watch Trailer

More info, donate or register without a donation:

IdaBWellsMediaDefense.org/voices/

The Ida B. Wells Media Defense Network exists to defend political speech/media and its practitioners that confront repression, and to amplify voices from the margins via the media. Our mission is to protect independent journalism and safeguard the right to dissent—especially when it challenges structures of power that exploit, divide, and dominate. See: About the Ida B. Wells MDN, The Pledge

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In this edition of Building Bridges, we report from the front lines of resistance at Delaney Hall, where detained immigrant workers have launched hunger strikes demanding dignity, justice, and freedom. We examine the growing community mobilization in support of the strikers, as well as the crackdown by ICE and state police forces seeking to suppress protest and dissent.

Also featured: an exclusive message from Cuba’s Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, calling on the United States to end its decades-long blockade of Cuba and allow the Cuban people to live, develop, and flourish in peace, sovereignty, and self-determination.

Two struggles, one common demand: human rights, justice, and the right of all people to live free from repression, punishment, and collective suffering.

Listen Live:
TONIGHT · 7 PM EST · Building Bridges Radio
WBAI 99.5 FM & streaming online
🔗 https://wbai.org/listen-live/