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Activism, politics, and beer from PA-based Raging Chicken Press
Episodes
Monday Dec 13, 2021
Monday Dec 13, 2021
Tonight on Out d'Coup LIVE, I welcome Diana Leygerman to the show. Diana is a teacher, writer, and former Central Bucks School Board candidate. We'll be talking about the ongoing political and cultural battles that have erupted in the Central Bucks School district and districts across Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and the nation. Last month, The New York Times's podcast, "The Daily," ran a two-part story on the increasing tensions in the Central Bucks School District. Following that podcast, Diana Leygerman's article "Central Bucks is Not OK," filled in some of the holes and contexts in the Times's story. Her personal and critical account of what happened in Central Bucks should be required reading for all of us.
Diana Leygerman is a teacher, writer, and a former CBSD school board candidate. She lives in Warwick, PA with her husband and their two children. She is the recipient of the Anne Frank teaching award and was honored at the SAFA Gala in 2018. Her work has been published in The Week, Smercornish, The Independent, Women’s Health, and several other online and print publications.
Leygerman wrote of experience being honored at the Spirit of Anne Frank Awards on her Medium page. She concluded: "My grandmother grew up surrounded by war and death and dictatorship. My parents fled from anti-Semitism. At 11 years old, I came to the United States as a Jewish refugee. I live my life every day trying to create a better world for my children and, as a teacher, for the children of others. In our world today, when basic human rights are once again threatened, I refuse to fall short of teaching the lessons I know my students must learn if they are to grow up in a world my grandmother could only dream of. In our world today, in a world that is eerily Orwellian, I know I must be a voice of progress, change, and protest."
If you want to call into the show, you should join the show on Riverside.fm using this link: https://riverside.fm/studio/out-dcoup-live
Join our Discord server: https://discord.gg/WMW98RQEYV
Monday Dec 06, 2021
Monday Dec 06, 2021
Tonight on Out d'Coup LIVE we're talking about the essential work of organizing muscular movements in the face of a lackluster Democratic Party leadership. While the last few years has seen a new vitality in local electoral politics from groups like DSA, the Women's March, PA Stands Up, and other like-minded organizations we continue to see generational defeats in pillars of democratic struggle. Witness last week's Supreme Court arguments which seem to indicate that right-wing justices seem poised to overturn Roe v. Wade. Or, consider the monumental anti-labor Supreme Court decision in the Janus case that stripped away a union's rights to collect fair-share fees while requiring those same unions still to service those workers who are not members. Or, we can look to the Citizen's United case which granted free speech rights to corporations to contribute unlimited funds to political campaigns.
All this is taking place against the backdrop of growing extremism in our communities. The resurgence of white supremacist organizations,; radical right-wing conspiracists infecting our school boards; and, extremists putting our communities at risk by refusing common-sense COVID protocols.
Tonight I'll be digging into a recent article by Rebecca Traister, "The Betrayal of Roe," and the most recent book by Jane McAlevey, "A Collective Bargain: Unions, Organizing, and the Fight for Democracy." We'll also check out a new article by Talia Lavin, "Abortion, Hypocrisy, and the Will to Power." But I'd also love to hear from all of you. Your comments and calls will take priority!
Join our Discord server: https://discord.gg/WMW98RQEYV
Monday Nov 29, 2021
Monday Nov 29, 2021
On today’s show, I welcome Nick Marcil back to the show. Nick Marcil is a second-year Master's Student of Higher Education Policy & Student Affairs at West Chester University. He is a member of the PA Debt Collective Member, and Co-Founder of PASSHE Defenders. The PA Debt Collectives has joined forces with BuxMont DSA and Lower Bucks for Change to form the Bucks Cancel Lunch Debt Coalition. The coalition is working to raise awareness about K-12 school lunch debt and empower local residents to collectively seek ways to end this problem so that no student goes hungry or feels ashamed for needing food.
The Bucks Cancel Lunch Debt Coalition launched its first campaign focusing on the Bristol Borough School District, and for good reason. According to data from the School District, 212 students in the approximately 1,200-student district owe a total of $15,875.31. Seventy-five students owe more than $50. In Bristol Township School District, 922 of approximately 6,200 students owe a total of $113,085. Seven hundred and seventy two students owe more than $50.
As the coalition put it in a recent editorial in The Courier Times, “The BCLDC hopes to organize local students, teachers, parents, administrators, and community members to help free kids and their families from this debt and seek long-term solutions so that no child has to go hungry or be shamed and embarrassed for not being able to afford lunch.”
Info to join meeting Friday, Dec. 3 @ 5pm: https://buxmontdsa.org/events/cancel-lunch-debt/
Email: nolunchdebt@gmail.com
Op-Ed: Bucks County Courier Times
Monday Nov 22, 2021
Monday Nov 22, 2021
On tonight's show, I welcome Gwendolyn Marshall to the show. We’ll be talking about her book, "Ancestry & Culture: An Alternative to Race in 5e," that’s the fifth edition of Dungeons & Dragons. You mean THAT Dungeons & Dragons? Yes, that one. As the #BlackLivesMatter movement has brought renewed attention to the centrality of race in American history and contemporary capitalism, fans of tabletop role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons have been looking for ways to ensure the games they love don't reproduce exploitative and oppressive discourses on race. During the COVID-19 pandemic, D&D has seen an explosion of new players and a renewed energy to take the rules of the game into the 21st century. "Ancestry & Culture: An Alternative to Race in 5e," is a standout example of this work.
Gwendolyn Marshall is an associate professor of philosophy at Florida international University, where she works on early modern philosophy and feminist history of philosophy. As co-owner of Arcanist Press, she is also a game designer and publisher, having published the award-winning "Ancestry & Culture: An Alternative to Race in 5e," and the upcoming "S5E: Superheroic Roleplaying for 5th Edition." She is also a parent, punk, leftist, and all-around geek, as well as a trans woman.
Check out all Arcanist Press publications: https://arcanistpress.com/products
Monday Nov 15, 2021
Monday Nov 15, 2021
On this episode of Out d'Coup LIVE I welcome Dr. Lara Putnam to the show. Lara is UCIS Research Professor in the History department at the University of Pittsburgh. She is a historian of race, gender, and migration in the modern Americas. Her interest in grassroots social movements has led her into local civic organizing in Pittsburgh’s 11th Ward. She is also a member of the advisory board of the New Pennsylvania Project. Lara’s Twitter account has become a must-follow for people looking to understand elections in PA, the emergence of a strong progressive/left movement in Western PA, and critical linkages between organizing and democratic politics.
Tonight we'll be talking about this month's elections beyond the initial hot-takes about the meaning and causes of the election results. The backdrop of our discussion will be Lara's recent article, "Rust Belt in Transition: What has happened in Pennsylvania's, and the entire Rust Belt's, 'Middle Suburb' counties, and can it be reversed?," published last year in Democracy: A Journal of Ideas.
Follow Lara Putnam on Twitter: @lara_putnam
Resources:
- Lara Putnam: "Rust Belt in Transition: What has happened in Pennsylvania's, and the entire Rust Belt's, 'Middle Suburb' counties, and can it be reversed?" in Democracy. https://democracyjournal.org/magazine/57/rust-belt-in-transition/
- Lara Putnam: "On Postcards and Superpowers," The Forge https://forgeorganizing.org/article/postcards-and-superpowers
Join our Discord server: https://discord.gg/WMW98RQEYV
Monday Nov 08, 2021
Monday Nov 08, 2021
On this week's episode, I am talking with Kierstyn Zolfo from Bucks County Indivisible. We'll be checking the receipts on Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick. As we shift our attention to the 2022 midterm elections, we'll take a look at the votes that Fitzpatrick DOESN'T want to campaign on. Yes, Fitzpatrick's "moderate" credentials are a bit sus when you cut through the press releases and look at his actual voting record. Zolfo will help us dig into his record in one of the most highly watched Congressional districts in the country.
Kierstyn Zolfo is a resident of Bucks County and a volunteer organizer with Indivisible Bucks County. She also serves on the steering committee of Pennsylvania Indivisible as the Legislative Chair, and in that position edits and contributes to the Pennsylvania Member of Congress Tracking report, an effort that keeps an eye on the votes and quotes from the Commonwealth's 20 Members of Congress. Kierstyn is originally from New Jersey but moved to PA when she was an undergrad at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster and has stuck around the area ever since.
Links:
Join our Discord server: https://discord.gg/WMW98RQEYV
Monday Nov 01, 2021
Monday Nov 01, 2021
Tonight on Out d'Coup LIVE we'll be taking a look at the urgency of now. As COP 21 gets underway in Glasgow, Scotland, we are faced with perhaps the last best chance for a livable future as leaders of developed countries tamp down hopes of progress.
Tomorrow is election day as we are faced with the crisis in our school boards as right wing extremists have made a play to turn back the clock and reinvigorate white supremacy.
We are living in a time of high stakes. We'll be taking your comments and calls.
Mentioned tonight: "The real reason Paul Martino is pumping money into school board races," from the great newsletter noneofthisisnormal.substack.com.
Join our Discord server: https://discord.gg/WMW98RQEYV Chatting on #livechat during and after the show.
Monday Oct 25, 2021
Monday Oct 25, 2021
On today’s show, we've got another round of open phones. From Bucks County, to Harrisburg, to Washington, the challenges we face just don't stop. What's on your mind? What's at the top of your agenda? We're taking your comments on YouTube. You can also join the show live on Riverside.fm and call in to the show.
You can support this show by becoming a patron for as little as $5/month at patreon.com/rcpress.
You can also help out the show by heading over to our YouTube channel if you are not there already and smash that subscribe button, like the stream for this show, and hit that notification bell so you’ll know everytime we go live.
Join our Discord server: https://discord.gg/WMW98RQEYV
Chatting on #livechat during and after the show.
Monday Oct 18, 2021
Monday Oct 18, 2021
Tonight I welcome Jordan Hopkins back to the show. Hopkins is a writer, editor, and independent, investigative journalist based in Philadelphia. He's been covering the slimy money trail left behind the right-wing extremist slugs infecting our social and political networks. Listeners of the show will remember that the last time Jordan was on the show, we talked about his article, “A Party of Grifters” unpacking the grift at the core of the emerging Patriot Party and the rise of extremism in PA more broadly.
Jordan has followed the dark money trail once again, exposing the influence that right-wing extremist billionaires are having on local school districts. His article featured in Unicorn Riot last week, “School Board Disruptions Escalate, Funded by Conservative Dark Money,” will be the focus on our show tonight.
You can check out all his great reporting at https://www.ItsAlienMuse.com and you can follow him on Twitter @jhop_phl.
After our break, we’ll be taking your calls and comments and I’ll give you some closing thoughts. If you want to call into the show, you should join the show on Riverside.fm. Details for how to join are in tonight’s chat.
Join our Discord server: https://discord.gg/WMW98RQEYV
Monday Oct 11, 2021
Monday Oct 11, 2021
Tonight, I welcome Jamie Davis and Cyndi Shain to the show. Davis and Shain are candidates for the Palisades School District School Board. The Palisades School District has become a hotbed of controversy as the right-wing extremism that has reared its ugly head throughout Bucks County has infected this district as well. We'll get into the controversies and why it is essential to elect Jamie Davis and Cyndi Shain.
Jamie Davis was born in the South Bronx, NYC and raised in suburban NJ. She was adopted at a young age by amazing parents, who are both educators.
Jamie has worked with children of all ages as a caregiver and teacher for 13 years. Recently, she changed careers and now enjoys working with people in a corporate environment. She is passionate about being a positive role model and an advocate in her community. She is also the parent of a Palisades Pirate
Cyndi Shain holds a master’s degree in education from Lehigh University. She has spent the last 25 years as an educator, mostly teaching in private schools, and currently works for a charter school outside of Allentown. Her son is a 2020 graduate of Palisades and currently attends Northampton Community College.
You can get involved by getting in contact with the candidates:
- Jamie Davis: davisforpalisades@gmail.com
- Cyndi Shain: shainforpalisades@gmail.com
ELECTION DAY IS NOVEMBER 2, 2021
OCTOBER 18, 2021 IS THE LAST DAY TO REGISTER BEFORE THE NOVEMBER 2, 2021 ELECTION
- Register here: Voter Registration Application
- Request mail-in ballot: Deadline to request mail-in ballot is October 26, 2021 @ 5pm. Applications must be RECEIVED by your County Election Board by that date and time.