Laura Flanders & Friends

The business of media is in danger — but it sure isn’t dead. There have been layoffs across the industry and many newsrooms have cut back on the resources available to journalists. But workers have also organized unions, including high-profile campaigns at Condé Nast and The New Yorker, and started worker-owned media like Hell Gate and Defector.

Political violence is on the rise and has reached just about every corner of the country, whether it's confrontations on social media, at school board meetings or the chambers of Congress. While most Americans oppose political violence, it remains a growing threat to our democracy. We convene an expert panel to define political violence and discuss how to protect one another and democracy itself.

Both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have serious problems. How do we square the contradictions when casting our vote, and how should we think about elections altogether? As National Director of the Working Families Party, what is Maurice Mitchell’s advice in this critical election year? For starters, he says “supporting a candidate is a chess move.”

It is a cliché to say that the richest corporate media operate inside a bubble of their own making, but it's largely true. Today’s guests are breathing new life into the world of journalism by covering people, places and perspectives beyond the conventional enclaves of power. How do we break media bubbles? Join us for that conversation.

Women make up 35% of California’s homeless population, and domestic violence is a leading reason why women lose their housing. Organizations across California are coming together to address this issue, break down silos and bring survivors into decision-making. But their work is in danger because of a 45% budget cut. What can be done?

Just in time for election season, Laura invites her sister Stephanie back to the program. Stephanie is the head of Economics and Government at Bloomberg News and head of Bloomberg Economics. Sixty-four countries (plus the European Union) — nearly half of the world’s population — are facing an election this year. Some are calling 2024 “The Ultimate Election Year”, but what should we look out for?

When it comes to crime and migration, all sorts of politicians have justified mass detention and incarceration in the name of confronting a dangerous crisis. But what's real and what's fear mongering, and how can reformers counter the rhetoric to advance alternatives? Activists can do their best to call out abuses, but what is really needed is an entirely new approach.

In “ZODIAC: A Graphic Memoir”, the renowned artist Ai Weiwei writes that artists should “ignite stories”, “fight for freedom” and “help us hope.” Over his long and defiant career, he has used his art in a wide variety of media to do just that. In this wide-ranging conversation with Laura Flanders, they discuss the role of the artist and ask why is “Power so afraid of art and poets?”

: Corporate greenwashing has hijacked Earth Day, but the ideas behind the holiday are more urgent than ever. There are environmental issues all around us, even within new stories like the Baltimore bridge collapse and the ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. On Meet the BIPOC Press, journalists of color discuss how the idea of the environment has been siloed and how the media can undo that.

Is 2024 the year of trust-busting? This bipartisan issue of small versus big is a fight taking place on the streets and in the federal and state courts; led by grassroots movements and consumer protest. How have people power and government action together brought about a shift? Is it real? The Biden administration has stepped up anti-trust action, but the number of merger filings is also up.

In this first episode of Laura Flanders & Friends (formerly The Laura Flanders Show), Laura is joined by Angela Davis, a leading voice in the movement for abolition and feminism who has lots to share about her evolution and how decades of activism are coming together. From Palestine to elections, to our carceral state and collective liberation, this kickoff conversation is packed with her insight.