Occupy the Airwaves— Valley Free Radio

Join hosts Emikan Sudan and Stephen Linsky for a lively discussion about the changing face of Northampton, Mass with the upcoming Picture Main Street project. We will be chatting with Lauren Rollins of the Western Mass Policy Center, Quaverly Rothenberg, former Northampton City Councilor, and Carlos Dixon, grassroots community organizer for All Power To All People in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The program will explore how the project will affect the Northampton Community, as well as announce an upcoming Community Cookout on Sunday, September 20th at Maines Field for those who want to be involved in sharing their voices about the Picture Main Street Project as a community.

John E. McDonough, former Massachusetts state representative and present professor at the Harvard University School of Public Health, joins Occupy the Airwaves co-hosts Bob Gardner and Stephen Linsky to discuss his sweeping critiques of America’s health care system as analyzed in his new book: America’s Wrong Turn: U.S. Healthcare in the Neoliberal Era.

Join Occupy the Airwaves co-hosts Emikan Sudan and Miranda Groux for an in-depth conversation with Amilcar Shabazz of the UMass Amherst W.E.B. Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies. In this show, we discuss the upcoming primary elections as well as the midterm elections and how the results could impact our lives moving forward.

U.S. 1st Congressional District House candidate Jeromie Whalen joins Occupy the Airwaves co-hosts Emikan Sudan and Stephen Linsky for a wide ranging conversation about his campaign for Congress in the upcoming September 1st Democratic primary covering local and domestic issues including housing, reparations, data centers, AI, term limits, ICE, potential committee assignments, the direction of the Democratic Party as well as foreign policy issues including support for Ukraine and Israel.

State Representative Lindsay Sabadosa (D-Northampton) joins Occupy the Airwaves co-hosts Emikan Sudan, Bob Gardner and Stephen Linsky for her periodic update of the present Massachusetts legislative session. Unlike past sessions, this session has been governed by different rules that enables the consideration of pending legislation deeper into the legislative calendar. Rep. Sabadosa touches on some of the major pieces of pending legislation, including the major energy bills and the climate bond bill. She also considers a number of the measures that will be on the November ballot including those relating to taxes and cannabis. The future of the initiative petition process, as well as other initiatives relating to housing, abortion and rent stabilization will also be discussed.

UMass Economics professor and co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI), Gerald Epstein, spoke with Occupy the Airwaves co-hosts Emikan Sudan, Bob Gardner and Stephen Linsky about the launching of the ‘Game Changers’ project a compendium of initiatives to produce the social and economic goods most needed and desired by working Americans, from housing and healthcare to banking, tax policy and beyond. Learn more here.

Al Simon and Renika Montgomery-Tamakloe join Occupy the Airwaves co-hosts Emikan Sudan, Bob Gardner and Linda Ziegenbein in a discussion of the state of, financial state, and challenges of the Northampton school system. Topics include ongoing financial struggles in Northampton, staffing shortages, the impact on services for the students who are managing physical, social, and psychological challenges.
 
Al Simon was a candidate for Northampton City Council in the last election and Renika is the current Northampton School Committee member for Ward 3; she is also a commissioner with the Northampton Reparations Commission. Al previously served for 18 years on the Windsor, CT Town Committee. Both were endorsed by the Save Our Schools Committee.

Northampton attorney and radio show host, Bill Newman, joins Occupy the Airwaves co-hosts Emikan Sudan, Bob Gardner and Stephen Linsky, for the annual analytical review of the most recently concluded U.S. Supreme Court term. The review focuses on four major areas: birthright citizenship, the civil rights of transgender people, voting rights and executive powers vis-à-vis independent federal agencies and tariffs as well as issues, such as the emoluments provisions, that were not judicially reviewed in this term.

Occupy the Airwaves co-hosts Emikan Sudan and Stephen Linsky interview our Occupy co-host Miranda Groux. Miranda discusses her evolution as an activist, from a questioning teenager to a thoughtful and engaged adult. Join us and learn more about the people behind the mics!

Ousmane Power-Greene joins Occupy the Airwaves cohosts Emikan Sudan, Stephen Linsky, and Linda Ziegenbein to discuss the film premiere of "Get a Mule, Forty Acres or So" and podcast recording of "Remind My Soul." Our conversation discusses the important role of Black land ownership to the Black Nationalist movement, the history of Black land dispossession, and this important documentary project to highlight Black farming and land ownership. Learn more about the film here.