Latest News: Author Archive

Steve Duncombe interviewed about THE ART OF ACTIVISM on 11:11 Talk Radio

Thursday, February 24th, 2022

Listen to the full interview here.

 

“The Northern Ireland Peace Agreement is crumbling, but Boris Johnson does not seem to care” — THE BROKEN BOY author Patrick Cockburn writes for the i

Thursday, February 24th, 2022

“I was sitting in a cafe in heavily nationalist West Belfast three years ago when a local radio reporter came in looking for residents to interview about the effect of Brexit on Northern Ireland. She said that the impact was already massive, adding: “Stupid, stupid English for getting us into this pickle. We were doing nicely and then they surpassed themselves [in stupidity].” The pickle is about to get a lot worse.”

Read the full article here.

“The American dream of the middle class isn’t what it used to be” — THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS author Alissa Quart speaks with CNBC

Thursday, February 24th, 2022

“It was at least a secure category…there were certain kinds of assumptions around being a middle class person that have now kind of shattered”

Watch the full video here.

“Ambassador of Memory” — THE COMPENSATION BUREAU author Ariel Dorfman to be named ambassador of Chile’s Museum of Memory and Human Rights”

Thursday, February 24th, 2022

“‘La lucha es por la memoria enterrada, marginada, dejada de lado, de aquellos que hacen la historia pero que rara vez aparecen en los libros de historia. Y en el caso de Chile se vuelve cuerpo, se vuelve carne, se vuelve fotografía, se vuelve palabra y se vuelve edificio el Museo de la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos.’“

Read the full article here.

“Max powerfully reminds us that… it is our fellow human beings that this pandemic history is happening to” — THE WORK OF LIVING featured by The Real News Network

Thursday, February 24th, 2022

“The Work of Living: Working People Talk about Their Lives and the Year the World Broke, forthcoming from OR Books, brings together an incredible set of in-depth interviews with working people living and fighting their way through the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Read the full article here.

“The Cypherpunks Mobilize to Save Julian Assange” — JULIAN ASSANGE IN HIS OWN WORDS editor Karen Sharpe writes for CounterPunch

Thursday, February 24th, 2022

“It was an auction like no other. When it opened on February 7 at 2 p.m. GMT, the equivalent of more than $40 million in crypto currency had already been raised to bid on the single-edition NFT artwork titled “Clock”. When the auction closed 48 hours later, the winning bid was 16,593 ether, or more than $52 million, pooled from a group of supporters of Julian Assange.

The prized object, which is part of an NFT collection called “Censored”, is not something one can take home, like, say, one of Louis XIV’s famous clocks; rather it’s a dynamic generative artwork that exists only in a digital format, changes daily, and was created with a very specific goal: to free Julian Assange through raising funds for his legal defense and raising awareness of the free-speech implications of his case.“

Read the full article here.

“Michael Ratner handled some of the most significant cases In American history. This book tells why and how he did it” — Michael Smith and Zachary Sklar interviewed about MOVING THE BAR for The Puffin Cultural Forum

Thursday, February 24th, 2022

Listen to the full interview here.

“Chile’s Bold Adventure in Democracy” — THE COMPENSATION BUREAU author Ariel Dorfman writes for The New York Review of Books

Thursday, February 24th, 2022

“Despite challenges and disputes aplenty, my country has embarked on a remarkable project: a truly popular debate about what sort of nation it should aspire to be.”

Read the full article here.

“A tremendous amount of insight into the problems of the QAnon conspiracy… Very informative and entertaining” — OPERATION MINDFUCK author Robert Guffey interviewed on The Independent Riot

Wednesday, February 23rd, 2022

Listen to the full interview here.

“A leader in black radical thought” — THE BLACK AGENDA author Glen Ford featured on Law and Disorder

Friday, February 11th, 2022

“The book is… rich, it’s informative. College courses and syllabi should include this book.”

Listen to the full episode here.

 

Reading List: Shimrit Lee — DECOLONIZE MUSEUMS author featured in Africa Is A Country

Friday, February 11th, 2022

 
The author of DECOLONIZE MUSEUMS assembles a list of essential reading on the past, present and future of museums.

Read the full article here.

“When the MS-13 Played Possum in Guatemala” — A YEAR INSIDE MS-13 author Juan José Martínez d´Aubuisson writes for InSight Crime

Thursday, February 10th, 2022

“The MS-13 has opted for what he calls the ‘possum strategy.’ Move in silence, in the shadows, and play dead in the face of danger. And once the threat has passed, keep on going. As an evolutionary strategy, it’s not the most honorable or something that inspires tall tales. But one thing is certain. No hunter cares about having the head of a possum displayed on the wall.”

Read the full article here.

New exhibition celebrating the life of SURF, SWEAT AND TEARS protagonist Ted Deerhurst to open at Croome Court in Worcestershire in June 2022

Wednesday, February 9th, 2022

“In the early 1970s, Ted Deerhurst, the only son of the 11th Earl of Coventry of Croome, seemed to have everything in his grasp: the prospect of an earldom and living a country life in Worcestershire.

Ted rejected this traditional aristocratic life, however, and decided to pursue his dream of surfing. It was his greatest passion and he spent years on the amateur circuit before becoming the UK’s first professional surfer.

Ted graced the biggest waves around the world, making a name for himself not just in competitions but also in surfboard design and through his charitable work. Ted eventually settled in Hawaii, but met a tragic end at only 40 years old in 1997.

In partnership with the Croome Heritage Trust and Ted’s friends and family, this new exhibition will explore his epic life, the struggles that he encountered and his incredible achievements through personal objects, surfing memorabilia from around the world and stories from those who knew and loved him.”

Read more about the exhibition here.

“Everybody deserves equal justice under the law” — ABOVE THE LAW author Ben Cohen featured on NBC5

Tuesday, February 8th, 2022

“‘No one should be above the law, everybody is entitled to their day in court, everybody deserves equal justice under the law,’ Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s Ice cream and co-chair of the Campaign To End Qualified Immunity, added.

Senate Bill 254 is currently sitting in the Senate Judiciary Committee. If passed by the legislature, it would get rid of Qualified Immunity in Vermont.

Those in favor of S. 254 believe it will make more police officers accountable for their actions taken on the job.”

Read the full article here.

“Unpacking the latest round of book banning in America” — ROSSET author Barney Rosset featured on On the Media

Thursday, February 3rd, 2022

“In 1951, Grove Press was a tiny, almost-defunct independent publisher, with just three titles in its catalog, including Herman Melville’s The Confidence Man. But then Barney Rosset took over and, with a few choice books, helped push America past its Puritanical roots and into the sexual revolution. He died in 2012 and we are re-airing this interview I did with him many years back, to set up this week’s show in which we’ll be trying to unpack the latest round of book banning in America. ”

Listen to the full episode here.

“A deep dive on the process, principles, history and practice of artistic activism… [An] important resource” — THE ART OF ACTIVISM reviewed by Waging Nonviolence

Thursday, February 3rd, 2022

“When it comes to supporting activists in using arts and culture more effectively and strategically, there’s much work to be done. That’s why I was excited to see the release of another important resource last year: ‘The Art of Activism: Your All-purpose Guide to Making the Impossible Possible’ — a new book from our compatriots Steve Duncombe and Steve Lambert, founders of the Center for Artistic Activism.

From chapters on developing your own artistic process to the critical role of persuasion, the Steves (as they are often called) make the case that art needs activism and activism needs art. As a longtime ‘hard core’ activist/artist myself, that’s an argument I can get fully behind. However, ‘The Art of Activism,’ which includes an accompanying workbook for developing your own creative actions, is not for the faint of heart. The Steves are both college professors, and it shows — in that the book/workbook could be the basis for an intensive college course…

You and your campaign will benefit greatly from investing in ‘The Art of Activism’ package. Thanks to the Steves, you’ll graduate with a solid handle on the process, principles, history and practice of artistic activism and how this can move us towards a better (utopian!) future.”

Read the full review here.

“A revolutionary lawyer unlike any other” — MOVING THE BAR author Michael Ratner featured on Scheer Intelligence

Thursday, February 3rd, 2022

“The late human rights lawyer took on some of the most important cases of our time, including defending Guantanamo Bay detainees and representing WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange…

In a new, posthumously published book, ‘Moving the Bar: My Life as a Radical Lawyer,’ readers are able to learn from Ratner’s life and words about how and why he took on the critical cases he did. Fellow attorney Michael Smith and former executive editor at The Nation Zachary Sklar join Robert Scheer on this week’s ‘Scheer Intelligence’ to talk about their late friend Michael Ratner. Sklar, who edited ‘Moving the Bar’ for OR Books, and Smith, who wrote the book’s introduction, discuss Ratner’s most significant cases, including what he would think of how Assange is being treated today, and also offer insight into Ratner’s unwavering dedication to ethics.”

Listen to the episode here.

“Full of score-settling” — Len McCluskey’s ALWAYS RED reviewed by Socialist Standard

Tuesday, February 1st, 2022

“Originally a ‘planman’ on the Liverpool docks (drawing up plans of where cargoes from various ports would be held on ships), [Len McCluskey] rose through the ranks of the Transport and General Workers’ Union before playing a key role in the creation of Britain’s most powerful union, Unite – formed in 2007 from a merger of the T & G and Amicus. From 2010 until recently, he became its General Secretary.

The ‘red’ in the title refers not only to McCluskey’s politics – he was an early supporter of Militant, though says he was never a member – but also to his love of Liverpool FC, with which he appears to have travelled all over Europe. He also appears to have seen red many times in the more metaphorical sense during his union career and the book is full of score-settling. Former Labour Deputy Leader Tom Watson – who was McCluskey’s old flat mate – comes out of it particularly badly. And there is clearly no love lost with Keir Starmer either, who he accuses of duplicity.”

Read the full review here.

“The need for international solidarity, economic change and a new social order” — Slavoj Žižek interviewed about HEAVEN IN DISORDER on Radiotelevizija Slovenija

Sunday, January 30th, 2022

“The Omnipresent Business of the MS-13” — A YEAR INSIDE MS-13 author Juan José Martínez d´Aubuisson writes for InSight Crime

Saturday, January 29th, 2022

“When strolling through Las Margaritas, a neighborhood of over 15,000 people in the city of Soyapango, El Salvador, crossing paths with the MS13 is all but assured. There, almost all facets of daily life are linked to the gang in one way or another.

If someone wants to buy the most essential of items, such as gasoline, they must go through the MS13, which distributes tanks full of fuel to local shops. If they want bread, the gang also provides, from one of at least three MS13 bakeries in the community. There are other bakeries, of course, but they buy their flour exclusively from the gang.

The same goes for public transport. If someone wants to leave Las Margaritas but does not have a car, they have just two options: use a taxi belonging to the gang or board a bus on one of two routes out, both systematically extorted by the MS13.”

Read the full article here.

Len McCluskey to discuss his new autobiography, ALWAYS RED, with Labour MP Dan Carden at Waterstones on 02/09/22

Saturday, January 29th, 2022

“Join us for an evening with Len McCluskey as he talks about his new autobiography, Always Red. The talk will be in-conversation with Labour MP, Dan Carden.”

Book your ticket here.

“Stumbling on Chilean Stones—and Chilean History” — THE COMPENSATION BUREAU author Ariel Dorfman writes for The Nation

Thursday, January 27th, 2022

“For the 30 years since democracy returned to Chile, as I have walked the streets of Santiago, Valparaíso, and other cities, I have been concerned by what I did not know about what had happened in the houses I passed during the 17 years (1973–90) of the Pinochet dictatorship.  Who had been dragged from there in the dead and dread of night? Who had never come back home from the detention center—or came back destroyed by what had been done to him, to her? What pain was hidden behind each door, and inside those who had survived?”

Read the full article here.

“Offers an overall view of [Žižek’s] thinking and politics… There’s much to agree with, enjoy, and ponder” — HEAVEN IN DISORDER reviewed by Splice

Thursday, January 27th, 2022

“In the last two Covid years, Žižek has published three books with OR Books, which are the ‘easiest’ and most accessible [of his books]—a good ‘jumping in’ point for the Žižek-curious, and light reading for those who’ve followed him for a while. The first two were titled Pandemic!: Covid-19 Shakes the World and Pandemic! 2: Chronicles of a Time Lost. The third, which came out at the end of 2021, is Heaven In Disorder, after a quote by Mao Zedong: ‘There is great disorder under heaven; the situation is excellent.’ The idea being that times of unrest offer possibilities and opportunities for political change…

There’s much to agree with, enjoy, and ponder in Heaven In Disorder: The continued torture of Assange is a travesty, and a danger to all press freedom everywhere; climate change is, or should be, a worldwide emergency to which our governments should be responding; Biden is just as bad as Trump, if not worse in some ways. All of which liberals/centrists/Democrats here in America may not want to think about or acknowledge. He does offer some solutions, especially in his final essay.”

Read the full review here.

“A dynamic conversation about creativity, social change, and the political power of the imagination” — THE ART OF ACTIVISM authors to speak at Greenlight Bookstore on 02/03/22

Wednesday, January 26th, 2022

“Join the co-founders of the Center for Artistic Activism, Stephen Duncombe and Steve Lambert, as they discuss their new book The Art of Activism, an all-purpose guide that falls somewhere between Che Guevara’s Principles for Guerrilla Warfare and Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way. Duncombe and Lambert show readers how to bring about effective social change by combining the emotional power of the arts with the strategic planning of activism. The Art of Activism brings together the authors’ extensive practical knowledge—gleaned from over a decade’s experience training activists around the world—with theoretical insights from fields as far-ranging as cultural studies and cognitive science. From the United Farm Workers’ boycott movement in sixties’ California to a canal-side beach in present-day Saint Petersburg, these pages are packed with contemporary and historical case studies in artistic activism that have been shown to work in practice—no prior experience required!”

Read more about the event here.

“The Return of Slavoj Žižek” — HEAVEN IN DISORDER author interviewed on Give Them An Argument

Tuesday, January 25th, 2022

“How MS-13 Became Lords of the Trash Dump in Honduras” — A YEAR INSIDE MS-13 author Juan José Martínez d´Aubuisson writes for InSight Crime

Monday, January 24th, 2022

“The MS13 dominates this trash site, as it does hundreds of neighborhoods and towns in Honduras. It has become a shadow government, implementing its own laws, rules and taxes, which Hondurans must respect as much as the official ones.

The leaders of this colossal structure have been pursued and prosecuted by the Honduran and American governments. Alias ‘Porky,’ the foremost MS13 leader in Honduras, has a $100,000 reward on his head following his audacious escape from a courthouse in the north of the country.

Under Porky’s rule, the MS13 has become a highly diverse criminal and social enterprise. Its members could be fighting to the death against teenagers from small, local gangs. Or they might be brokering deals with drug traffickers or high-ranking government officials. Its range of adversaries is broad: kids with guns on one side, US agents on the other.”

Read the full article here.

“The life and legacy of one of the most influential labour leaders” — Len McCluskey’s ALWAYS RED reviewed by Red Pepper

Thursday, January 20th, 2022

“As a teenager, incensed by the half-wages paid to young workers on the Liverpool docks, Len McCluskey organised a successful strike among his fellow clerical workers to remedy the inequity. He was soon elected as shop steward, cancelling his place at teacher training college, and rose through the ranks to become one of the most influential labour leaders in recent times as general secretary of Unite. In this important autobiography, McCluskey describes himself as a class fighter, shaped by his time on the waterfront and his experiences of class and community solidarity in Liverpool.”

Read the full review here.

“A valuable guide for activists and attorneys looking to use the law as part of larger movements for justice” — Michael Ratner’s MOVING THE BAR reviewed by Against the Current

Thursday, January 20th, 2022

“Ratner’s opening illustrations show the legal system not as some neutral forum but itself as an instrument of state repression. It takes a special brand of tenacity for a radical lawyer to use the law, designed in so many ways to codify unequal power relationships, as a battleground to challenge those power relationships. Indeed, Ratner has shown that a radical lawyer must face often impossible odds, and get back up to keep fighting. His autobiography provides valuable insight from his role as part of the legal arm of movement…

Moving the Bar is filled with a lifetime of wisdom, inspiration, lawyers’ war stories, and movement activism, of which this review only scratches the surface. While this book is accessible for anyone interested in movement work, it provides particularly valuable guidance to radical-minded attorneys seeking to navigate the tension between working within the law and serving the radical politics that seek to break through the legal strictures of white supremacy and capitalism. Ratner exemplifies the ability to do this without subordinating radical politics to the regressive tendencies of the legal system, and to fulfill one’s full potential as a movement lawyer.”

Read the full review here.

 

“An Evening with Activist-Artist Steve Lambert” — THE ART OF ACTIVISM co-author to speak at the Living Things International Arts Festival on 01/21/22

Thursday, January 20th, 2022

Read more about the event here.

“A fearlessly honest truthteller” — Glen Ford’s THE BLACK AGENDA reviewed by Let’s Try Democracy

Tuesday, January 18th, 2022

“I recommended the new collection of Glen Ford’s called The Black Agenda. I recommend it to everyone…

This book is worthwhile just for the preface by Margaret Kimberley and the autobiographical introduction by Glen. I’ve considered Glen central to U.S. activism since about 2000, which seems a long time to me, yet his incredible saga, recounted in his introduction, actually breaks off just about when I met him. The essays, however, are from the past 20 years…

Glen wrote with unmatched erudition and knowledge of mass-media, at least unmatched among those willing to look as directly at the horrors before us as he was. He goes after those who would vote against Bernie. He goes after the outrageous shortcomings of Bernie. He goes after Facebook. Now outrage was safe. From here on out there will be no new injustice that I won’t wish I had a Glen Ford article about. Let’s make the most use possible of those we have.”

Read the full review here.

 

Verified by MonsterInsights