by Maximillian Alvarez | Apr 29, 2026 | Economy, Economy and Inequality, labor, Podcast, Politics and Movements: US, Unions, Working People
Inspired by January’s mass strike against ICE terror in Minnesota, a vast coalition of labor unions, democratic organizations, and community groups are organizing a nationwide economic blackout on Friday, May 1, International Workers Day. “May Day Strong events are being planned across the US,” Michael Sainato reports at The Guardian, “with organizers calling for ‘no school, no work, no shopping,’ in protest of government policies they say put billionaires’ needs above those of workers.”
In this episode of Working People, we speak with a panel of guests who are all involved in organizing May Day events this week from Philadelphia to Chicago to Iowa. Panelists include: Jana Korn, who currently serves as the chief of staff for the Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO, and also serves on the board of Philadelphia Jobs with Justice; Jeff Kurtz, a retired locomotive engineer and union officer who also served as a state representative in the Iowa House of Representatives; and John Emiliano, a healthcare worker and organizer in Chicago with the Tahanan Center and Tanggol Migrante, a grassroots Filipino migrant defense network.
Additional links/info:
May Day Strong coalition website
Workers Over Billionaires 2026 – Philadelphia Linktree
Workers Over Billionaires 2026 – Chicago details
Lee County (Iowa) Labor Chapter Facebook page and May Day 2026 details
Tahanan Filipino Center Instagram
Tanggol Migrante website
Latino Union of Chicago website
Michael Sainato, The Guardian, “US activists plan May Day economic blackout: ‘No school, no work, no shopping’”
Featured Music:
Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song
Credits:
Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor
Transcript
The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. A proofread version will be made available as soon as possible.
Maximillian Alvarez:
Alright. Welcome everyone to Working People, a podcast about the lives, jobs,
by Marc Steiner | Apr 28, 2026 | Gaza, Israel, Lebanon, Palestine, Podcast, Politics and Movements: International
Sharif Abdel Kouddous has reported from war zones and disaster areas across the world—from Egypt, Syria, and Libya, to Iraq, Algeria, Haiti, and the United States—but nothing compares to what he’s seen in Gaza. In this episode of The Marc Steiner Show, Marc speaks with Abdel Kouddous about the impossible task of documenting the full scale of devastation Israel has wrought on Gaza and, increasingly, on Lebanon.
Guests:
Sharif Abdel Kouddous is a journalist and editor for DropSite News based in New York and Cairo. He has reported from across the Arab world, including Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Iraq, Bahrain, and Algeria as well from across the United States and internationally. He received a George Polk Award for his investigation into the killing of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, an Emmy award for his coverage of the Trump administration’s Muslim travel ban, and an Izzy Award for his coverage of the 2011 Egyptian revolution.
Additional links/info:
Sharif Abdel Kouddous, DropSite author page
Kavitha Chekuru & Sharif Abdel Kouddous, Fault Lines, “The Night Won’t End: Biden’s War on Gaza”
Credits:
Producer: Rosette Sewali
Studio Production: Cameron Granadino
Audio Post-Production: Stephen Frank
Transcript
The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. A proofread version will be made available as soon as possible.
Marc Steiner:
Welcome to the Marc Steiner Show here on The Real News. I’m Marc Steiner. It’s great to have you all with us. Sharif Abdel Kouddous, Dropsite’s editor for the Middle East and North Africa. He’s based in New York and in Cairo and has reported from across the globe, in the Arab world, including Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Iraq, Bahrain, and Algeria, as well as from across
by Maximillian Alvarez | Apr 22, 2026 | Climate Change, Climate Crisis, Podcast, Politics and Movements: International, Politics and Movements: US
Just decades from now, millions of people all over the world will be forced to move because of climate change. In his new book, Shelter from the Storm: How Climate Change Is Creating a New Era of Migration, acclaimed journalist and migration researcher Julian Hattem reports from the front lines of the environmental apocalypse, taking readers on a journey from the South Pacific to the Indian subcontinent, to the Mediterranean. TRNN Editor-in-Chief Maximillian Alvarez speaks with Hattem about his new book and about the massive human displacement that is already being caused by climate change today.
This podcast was recorded on April 4, 2026, at “End Papers: A mini-book fest on capitalism and the climate crisis,”hosted by Red Emma’s Cooperative Bookstore and Coffeehouse in Baltimore, Maryland.
Guests:
Julian Hattem is the editor of Migration Information Source, the online magazine of the Migration Policy Institute, and founder and host of the podcast Changing Climate, Changing Migration. He has been on staff with the Associated Press and The Hill, and written for outlets including the Washington Post, The Guardian, NPR, and The Atlantic. The author of Shelter from the Storm: How Climate Change Is Creating a New Era of Migration (The New Press), he lives in Washington, DC.
Credits:
Audio Post-Production: Alina Nehlich
Transcript
The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. A proofread version will be made available as soon as possible.
Maximillian Alvarez:
Welcome back to The Real News Network. I’m Maximillian Alvarez. Just decades from now, millions of people all over the world will be forced to move because of climate change. Entire islands will disappear into the sea. Once in a century, hurricanes will occur
by Kelly Hayes | Apr 16, 2026 | Conflict resolution, Fascism, harm, Interview, mediation, Podcast, Restorative Justice, transformative justice
“If we learn how to take these risks, and how to navigate conflict together, we are going to be so much stronger down the line, in our most difficult moments, when the stakes are unbelievably high. And if we can figure out how to stay together, in spite of our fuck-ups and frustrations, we are going to have what we need most in a crisis, which is each other,” says Movement Memos host Kelly Hayes.
Source
by Maximillian Alvarez | Apr 15, 2026 | Economy and Inequality, Inequality, Podcast, Politics and Movements: US, Working People
On Aug. 22, 2025, the small-town lives of residents living near the Smitty’s Supply facility in Roseland, Louisiana, changed forever when an explosion occurred at the automotive lubricant plant. The explosion and ensuing fire, which burned for days, triggered evacuations across the area, blanketing homes and businesses with smoke, soot, and oily residue, while spilling petroleum products from the plant into area waterways, including several adjacent ponds and the Tangipahoa River. While the Environmental Protection Agency claims that the area is safe, according to the agency’s own chemical monitoring, residents say they’ve been left behind and kept in the dark as they develop negative health symptoms and their homes remain covered in toxic substances. In this episode, we speak with Arlene Bankston, a farmer and resident of Roseland, and Allie Ponvelle, who lives one town over in Amite, about the slow-moving nightmare they’ve been living in ever since the massive explosion and chemical fire at Smitty’s Supply.
Additional links/info:
Alene Bankston’s Facebook page
Allie Ponvelle’s Facebook page
Petition to Close Roseland Montessori School Due to Toxic Contamination
Chemically Impacted Communities Coalition (CICC) website
Wesley Muller, Louisiana Illuminator, “Smitty’s Supply neighbors still wary of fire fallout despite assurances from Landry, EPA”
Whitney Miller, WWL Louisiana, “What was in the air and water after the Smitty’s Supply fire? Testing under new scrutiny”
”Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, “America’s toxic future looks like East Palestine, Ohio, today”
Featured Music:
Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song
Credits:
Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor
Transcript
The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. A proofread version will be made available as soon as possible.
Maximillian Alvarez:
All right. Welcome everyone to Working People, a podcast about the lives, jobs, dreams,
by Marc Steiner | Apr 14, 2026 | Iran, Israel, Podcast, Politics and Movements: International, Politics and Movements: US, The Marc Steiner Show, Trump, War
Hours after a temporary ceasefire deal between the US and Iran was announced last week, Israel unleashed a massive, deadly bombing campaign on Lebanon. In this episode of The Marc Steiner Show, Marc speaks with award-winning Iranian-Canadian journalist Samira Mohyeddin about the reality that Israel is a rogue state intent on pursuing more war, not diplomacy or peace, and that the US-Israeli war on Iran was never about nuclear threats but about weakening Iran’s economic and regional power—at devastating costs to civilians.
Guests:
Samira Mohyeddin is an award winning producer and broadcaster based in Toronto. For nearly a decade, she was a producer and host at Canada’s National Broadcaster, CBC Radio. Mohyeddin is the founder of On The Line Media and she was the 2024 – 2025 journalism fellow at the Women and Gender Studies Institute at the University of Toronto
Additional links/info:
Qassam Muaddi, Mondoweiss / TRNN, “As U.S. and Iran agree to a temporary ceasefire, Israel launches ‘massacre’ in Lebanon, threatening entire deal”
Jake Johnson, Common Dreams / TRNN, “Iran’s top diplomat says Trump team sabotaged talks with deal ‘inches away’”
Credits:
Producer: Rosette Sewali
Studio Production: Cameron Granadino
Audio Post-Production: Stephen Frank
Transcript
The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. A proofread version will be made available as soon as possible.
Marc Steiner:
Welcome to the Marc Steiner Show here on The Real News. I’m Marc Steiner. It’s great to have you all with us. And as we begin this conversation today, the beginnings of a ceasefire seems to be taking place in the US-Israeli war on Iran, though Israel continues its bombing campaign. And joining us once again with her insightful analysis is the award-winning Iranian
