The Response, Author at Shareable

Organizing in the Extinction Era with Survival Bloc

The Response — Thu, 10 Jul 2025 20:22:03 +0000

The Response is back after a two-month hiatus. For today’s show, we resumed our interview format and welcomed two of the seven co-founders of Survival Bloc, Daisy Carter and Aracely Jimenez-Hudis.

Survival Bloc is a BIPOC-led network of leaders, movement organizations, and grassroots groups building power and community alternatives to survive the extinction era.

Survival Bloc recently released a new free guidebook, How to Build a Survival Program, filled with “insights, tools and practices for communities to build their own survival programs and other strategies for climate resilience.”

Daisy Carter (she/they) is a queer multi-disciplinary artist, yogi and climate justice organizer working at the intersections of grassroots leadership development, disaster resiliency, and mutual aid infrastructure. They work to implement strategies for self-determination, cultural revival, and alternative care that aim to protect frontline, ВІРОС (black, brown, and people of color) communities who are most vulnerable to climate disaster and political violence. As a movement consultant, they have trained over 500+ leaders in power-building strategies across the country, and worked for organizations such as CODEPINK, The Poor People’s Campaign, The Climate Mobilization Project, and more. Born in New Orleans, LA, they are currently based in Louisville, KY. Daisy is a co-founder of Survival Bloc and works as Network Organizer.

Aracely Jimenez-Hudis (she/they) is a queer community organizer and facilitator born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. Over the years, they have led strategic communications + grassroots mobilizations for major movement organizations and campaigns, including The Sunrise Movement and Los Angeles Tenants Union. As a certified yogi with a background in sociology, they are mostly interested in how to build up marginalized communities capacities for intergenerational healing, processing systemic and disaster related traumas, and cultivating resilience within the body. Aracely is also a co-founder of Survival Bloc, and holds down Communications Support.

Resources:

Survival Bloc
Survival Bloc Network Member Application – for folks interested in joining the network, cross-movement collaborations, or building their own survival program
Free Zine: How To Build a Survival Program
Mutual Aid 101 Toolkit from Shareable
Support The Response: https://www.shareable.net/donate/

Episode credits:

Hosted and executive produced by Tom Llewellyn
Produced and edited by Paige Kelly
Theme Music by Cultivate Beats

Follow The Response on Twitter and Instagram for updates, memes, and more. Our entire catalog of documentaries and interviews can be found at theresponsepodcast.org — or wherever you get your podcasts.

The Response is an award-winning podcast series produced by Shareable exploring how communities respond to disaster — from hurricanes to wildfires to reactionary politics and more.

Want to help spread the word? Please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify — it makes a huge difference in reaching new people who may otherwise not hear about this show.

Available anywhere you get your podcasts, including:

The post Organizing in the Extinction Era with Survival Bloc appeared first on Shareable.

Mutual Aid in Action with Sanae Lahgazi Alaoui, Alexa Bee, Rain, Valinda Chan, Laurie Bertram Roberts, and Vicky Osterweil

The Response — Thu, 24 Apr 2025 20:08:02 +0000

We’re back with the fifth installment in our Mutual Aid 101 mini-series. This episode is going to be a little different from what we’ve shared before. Rather than extended presentations, you’ll hear six 5-10 minute “Rad Talks” covering examples of mutual aid in action.

We welcomed Sanae Lahgazi Alaoui from Metro Atlanta Mutual Aid Fund; Alexa Bee and Rain from Mutual Aid Disaster Relief; Valinda Chan from Mutual Aid Eastie; Laurie Bertram Roberts from Mississippi Reproductive Freedom Fund; and writer, organizer, and agitator Vicky Osterweil.

These short talks explore the trans and queer underground, reproductive justice, immigration support, and community-led disaster response.

At the live event, they were followed by breakout sessions on each topic, which were not recorded. So if you feel like the speakers were a bit reserved, it’s because what they are up to may or may not be suitable for the public record…

Resources:

Episode credits:

Hosted and executive produced by Tom Llewellyn
Produced and edited by Paige Kelly
Theme Music by Cultivate Beats

The Response is an award-winning podcast series produced by Shareable exploring how communities respond to disaster — from hurricanes to wildfires to reactionary politics and more.

Want to help spread the word? Please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify — it makes a huge difference in reaching new people who may otherwise not hear about this show.

Available anywhere you get your podcasts, including:

The post Mutual Aid in Action with Sanae Lahgazi Alaoui, Alexa Bee, Rain, Valinda Chan, Laurie Bertram Roberts, and Vicky Osterweil appeared first on Shareable.

Surveillance, cybersecurity, and financial tech for mutual aid with Elijah Baucom and Sarah Philips

The Response — Thu, 03 Apr 2025 19:36:58 +0000

Long before October 7, 2023, Israel has weaponized surveillance and advanced targeting technology against Palestinians. This includes snuffing out dissent and preemptively arresting Palestinians before holding them for years without formal charges, access to legal representation, or sentencing.

Similar technologies are now being used in the United States to criminalize dissent, target marginalized communities, and suppress mutual aid efforts. This brings us to the theme of this week’s episode. Today, we’re sharing excerpts from Shareable’s Mutual Aid 101 Learning Series‘ third session.

Elijah Baucom of Everyday Security & UC Berkeley Cybersecurity Clinic discusses security for mutual aid groups before Sarah Philips of Fight for the Future shares the current state of mutual aid financial surveillance and privacy tech. The third speaker from Session 3, Erika Sato from Sustainable Economies Law Center, opened with a 30 minute overview of legal basics and the benefits and limitations of formal structures for mutual aid groups. We’ve left it out of this episode, but you can watch/listen to the video on Youtube or below.

Resources:

Episode credits:

Hosted and executive produced by Tom Llewellyn
Produced and edited by Paige Kelly
Theme Music by Cultivate Beats

The Response is an award-winning podcast series produced by Shareable exploring how communities respond to disaster — from hurricanes to wildfires to reactionary politics and more.

Want to help spread the word? Please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify — it makes a huge difference in reaching new people who may otherwise not hear about this show.

Available anywhere you get your podcasts, including:

The post Surveillance, cybersecurity, and financial tech for mutual aid with Elijah Baucom and Sarah Philips appeared first on Shareable.

Group decision making, conflict management, and power dynamics with Julian Rose

The Response — Thu, 27 Mar 2025 17:23:38 +0000

We’re back with the third installment in our Mutual Aid 101 Learning Series. Today, we’re sharing the audio from the second half of Mutual Aid 101 Session 2, featuring Julian Rose from the New Economy Coalition and EndState ATL.

Julian will start with a 25-minute presentation about power dynamics and how to work with others before addressing questions submitted by the live audience.

Resources:

Episode credits:

Hosted and executive produced by Tom Llewellyn
Produced and edited by Paige Kelly
Theme Music by Cultivate Beats

The Response is an award-winning podcast series produced by Shareable exploring how communities respond to disaster — from hurricanes to wildfires to reactionary politics and more.

Want to help spread the word? Please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify — it makes a huge difference in reaching new people who may otherwise not hear about this show.

Available anywhere you get your podcasts, including:

The post Group decision making, conflict management, and power dynamics with Julian Rose appeared first on Shareable.

Building (and rebuilding) mutual aid groups with Stephanie Rearick

The Response — Tue, 04 Mar 2025 18:24:35 +0000

We’re back with the second installment in our Mutual Aid 101 Learning Series.

Today, we’re sharing the audio from the half of Session 2, and will be joined by Stephanie Rearick, to discuss how to start and build momentum for a new, or (re)newed mutual aid group. She’s a longtime organizer and advocate for cooperative economies and the founder of the international Humans United in Mutual Aid Networks. We had Stephanie as a guest on the show a couple of years ago and knew she would have an important voice to feature in this series as well.

Stephanie starts with a 25-minute presentation before addressing questions submitted by the live audience. Next week on The Response, we’ll feature Julian Rose from the New Economy Coalition and EndState ATL, who focussed on power dynamics and how to work with others during Session 2.

Our next live event is tomorrow, Wednesday, March 5th, where we’ll focus on the benefits and limitations of formal structures, financial basics, and fintech for mutual aid, as well as how to understand risk and safety protocols for mutual aid projects.

Presenters include: Erika Sato, Attorney of Sustainable Economies Law Center; Elijah Baucom, Founder of Everyday Security & Director of UC-Berkeley Cybersecurity Clinic; and Sarah Philips, a Campaigner at Fight for the Future.

Resources:

Episode credits:

Hosted and executive produced by Tom Llewellyn
Produced and edited by Paige Kelly
Theme Music by Cultivate Beats

The Response is an award-winning podcast series produced by Shareable exploring how communities respond to disaster — from hurricanes to wildfires to reactionary politics and more.

Want to help spread the word? Please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify — it makes a huge difference in reaching new people who may otherwise not hear about this show.

Available anywhere you get your podcasts, including:

The post Building (and rebuilding) mutual aid groups with Stephanie Rearick appeared first on Shareable.

Mutual aid for survival and resistance with Dean Spade

The Response — Tue, 25 Feb 2025 22:18:51 +0000

Well, things are pretty bleak out there.

Between the war in Sudan, the serious threat of ethnic cleansing in Palestine across Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem by the US and Israel, the continued rise of far-right governments around the world, the government-sanctioned theft by the billionaire class, and the attempted erasure of non-conforming genders and bodily autonomy oh and the mass deportation of our friends and neighbors, the criminalization of dissent, and so much more, it’s hard not to just curl up and pretend like it’s not happening.

As Dean Spade put it, it’s no coincidence that we’re experiencing the golden age of television as the world burns…

And yet, as David Byrne and his brethren would say, there are still reasons to be cheerful.

For me, it’s learning about the myriad ways that people are stepping up to care for each other, resist the onslaught that is coming at them, and build the social and physical infrastructure necessary to protect, sustain, and grow their communities.

What is even more encouraging is the sheer number of new people who are showing up and showing out.

Last week, we were blown away by the 2,200 people who registered for our new Mutual Aid 101 Series!

We were fortunate to have Dean Spade, organizer, teacher, and the author of Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During this Crisis (and the Next)” and “Love in a Fucked Up World: How to Build Relationships, Hook Up, and Raise Hell, Together” lead the first session.

Dean dropped some serious knowledge for nearly 90 minutes straight. All the while, the Zoom chat was on fire while a new learning community was being formed.

The series continues tomorrow, Wednesday, February 26th, with Julian Rose from the New Economy Coalition and Endstate ATL and Stephanie Rearick from Human’s United in Mutual Aid Networks, a previous guest on The Response. They’ll focus on how to build and sustain mutual aid projects without burning out.

The first phase of this series runs through the end of March, and several more trainings are scheduled throughout the rest of the year.

There’s also the Mutual Aid 101 Community Canvas, where we post recordings, resources, and session updates.

There are links to everything mentioned in the show notes below.

Throughout this season of The Response, we’ll share a mix of original interviews, dispatches from the front lines of disasters, and excerpts from Mutual Aid 101 (like this one).

In this episode of The Response, we’re sharing the full recording of Dean’s training. We’ve shared the transcript, slides, links for the chat, and more in the resources section below.

Resources:

Episode credits:

Hosted and executive produced by Tom Llewellyn
Produced and edited by Paige Kelly
Theme Music by Cultivate Beats

The Response is an award-winning podcast series produced by Shareable exploring how communities respond to disaster — from hurricanes to wildfires to reactionary politics and more.

Want to help spread the word? Please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify — it makes a huge difference in reaching new people who may otherwise not hear about this show.

Available anywhere you get your podcasts, including:

The post Mutual aid for survival and resistance with Dean Spade appeared first on Shareable.

Voices of The Response: Live at the Oregon Country Fair 2024

The Response — Thu, 16 Jan 2025 22:00:33 +0000

Nearly 20 years ago, The Response host Tom Llewellyn was fortunate to experience Howard Zinn and Anthony Arnove’s Voices of a People’s History of the United States live at the Berkeley Community Theater.

In 2018, after we finished our first set of audio documentaries for The Response, it was clear that the personal stories shared with us by those on the front lines of climate, political, and social disasters should also be brought to the stage.

And so, in homage, we have called these live performances, Voices of The Response.

We’re still developing the full performance, but we were invited to workshop excerpts at the Oregon Country Fair last year. With the support of Eric Brahman, we worked with local spoken word artists to perform unique pieces each day of the festival during the Storytelling Smorgasbord.

Today you’ll hear the recordings from that event, including stories related to previous California wildfires.

Resources:

Episode credits:

Hosted and executive produced by Tom Llewellyn
Produced and edited by Paige Kelly
Stories in this week’s episode written by Robert Raymond
Stories in this episode were read by Shachar Efrati, Jen Hernandez, Tom Llewellyn, Jeany Snider, David Snider, Eric Brahman, and Shachar Efrati.
A special thanks to Tzula for playing the harp during the performances
Theme Music by Cultivate Beats

The Response is an award-winning podcast series produced by Shareable exploring how communities respond to disaster — from hurricanes to wildfires to reactionary politics and more.

Want to help spread the word? Please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify — it makes a huge difference in reaching new people who may otherwise not hear about this show.

Available anywhere you get your podcasts, including:

The post Voices of The Response: Live at the Oregon Country Fair 2024 appeared first on Shareable.

Indigenous disaster response: The fight against a mining giant in Brazil with Allen Myers

The Response — Thu, 21 Nov 2024 18:11:24 +0000

In this episode of The Response, we explore a devastating and ongoing story of environmental disaster, Indigenous resistance, and corporate exploitation in Brazil. This powerful installment brings listeners face-to-face with the catastrophic failures of Vale, a multinational mining corporation, and the resilient efforts of the Kamakã Mongoió people to protect their sacred land and water.

The episode features a compelling conversation with journalist, filmmaker, and community organizer Allen Myers, whose recent article for Shareable, Modern Day Colonialism and the Disastrous Fate of an Indigenous Water and Land Protector, offers a chilling look at the ongoing struggles in the region. Myers shares insights from his 2022 trip to Brumadinho, Brazil, where he witnessed the enduring scars left by a 2019 dam collapse and the fight for justice that followed.

In January 2019, a toxic dam operated by Vale in the State of Minas Gerais failed catastrophically, releasing 12 million cubic meters of sludge into the surrounding environment. The disaster claimed 272 lives and decimated the livelihoods of countless others. This was not an isolated incident—just four years earlier, the Mariana dam collapse, also operated by Vale, caused Brazil’s worst environmental catastrophe. Despite warnings and inspections highlighting structural vulnerabilities, Vale failed to act, prioritizing profits over safety.

For the Indigenous Kamakã Mongoió, the collapse was not just a distant tragedy but a direct assault on their way of life. Chief Merong, a prominent leader of the tribe, emerged as a steadfast protector of his community’s land and water, standing against the encroachments of Vale. He and other Kamakã Mongoió have faced threats, harassment, violence, and even death for their resistance, a chilling manifestation of what Myers calls “modern-day colonialism.”

While the subject matter of this episode of The Response is tragic, it’s also a call to action. Myers draws parallels between the disasters in Brazil and the 2018 Camp Fire in Paradise, California, highlighting the universal dangers of corporate negligence and environmental exploitation. Both of these stories serve as stark reminders that disasters exacerbated by greed are not inevitable but preventable.

Editor’s note: Allen’s trip to Brazil was captured on film. The original project included producing a sequel to our award-winning documentary, “The Response: How Puerto Ricans are Restoring Power to the People,” but we have had to put it on the back burner for some time due to a lack of funding. Please contact theresponse@shareable.net if you would like to support bringing this story to the screen.

Resources:

Indigenous Disaster Response episode credits:

Hosted and executive produced by Tom Llewellyn
Produced and edited by Paige Kelly
Theme Music by Cultivate Beats

The Response is an award-winning podcast series produced by Shareable exploring how communities respond to disaster — from hurricanes to wildfires to reactionary politics and more.

Want to help spread the word? Please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify — it makes a huge difference in reaching new people who may otherwise not hear about this show.

Available anywhere you get your podcasts, including:

The post Indigenous disaster response: The fight against a mining giant in Brazil with Allen Myers appeared first on Shareable.

Resisting gentrification and displacement with Andrew Lee

The Response — Thu, 31 Oct 2024 18:54:20 +0000

On this episode of The Response, we’re joined by author and organizer Andrew Lee. In his book Defying Displacement: Urban Recomposition and Social War, Andrew writes about how gentrification is often seen as inevitable or automatic and an “economic, social plan.”

In that sense, the resulting displacement of people from their homes and communities is, in essence, a planned disaster. Andrew brings a nuanced perspective to this issue, drawing from his work and experiences in neighborhoods facing rapid economic transformation.

Gentrification, as he sees it, is not just about rising rents or new developments but about the displacement of people, histories, and cultures that have shaped these communities for generations.

Much like our previous episodes—whether discussing mutual aid in disaster-hit regions or grassroots movements reclaiming public space—this conversation reminds us that collective action is a powerful tool. Andrew shares stories of resistance: how communities are organizing to protect their homes, create alternative housing models, and ensure that development serves the people already rooted in these spaces.

We’re back after an unanticipated summer break. We love making this show, but have a small team at Shareable, and often have to redirect our efforts to other parts of our work. But we’ve got new monthly episodes scheduled for the rest of the year. Please email TheResponse@shareable.net with feedback about the show or if you have suggestions for people you want to hear us interview.

Resources:

Defying Displacement by Andrew Lee
In Struggle substack by Andrew Lee
Follow Andrew on Instagram and TikTok
Andrew’s website
Shareable zoning series
Free ebook: How racism shaped the housing crisis & what we can do about it today
Donate to The Response

Episode credits:

Co-hosted and executive produced by Tom Llewellyn
Co-hosted, produced, and edited by Paige Kelly
Theme Music by Cultivate Beats

The Response is an award-winning podcast series produced by Shareable exploring how communities respond to disaster — from hurricanes to wildfires to reactionary politics and more.

Want to help spread the word? Please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify — it makes a huge difference in reaching new people who may otherwise not hear about this show.

Available anywhere you get your podcasts, including:

The post Resisting gentrification and displacement with Andrew Lee appeared first on Shareable.

Covering Palestine: The impact on journalists on the frontlines and abroad with Arvind Dilawar

The Response — Thu, 09 May 2024 19:29:49 +0000

On this episode of The Response, we’re joined by Arvind Dilawar, an independent journalist who has recently written a piece for Shareable about the union supplying Palestinian journalists with safety gear amid the ongoing Israeli genocide.

His articles, interviews, and essays on everything from the spacesuits of the future to love in the time of visas have appeared in The New York Times, Time Magazine, The Daily Beast, and elsewhere. He was also formerly a columnist at Pacific Standard.

In the following conversation, Arvind illuminates the dire situation in Gaza and the challenges journalists face amid the turmoil. Arvind reports back on his conversations with journalists on the ground in the West Bank and shares the story of the protective equipment library that has been set up by the Palestinian Journalist Syndicate (PJS) to provide journalists with the essential tools they need.

Arvind also highlights how journalists face increasing repression for covering Palestine, both in the US and abroad, and the impact of media censorship and biased narratives on the perception of the Israeli occupation of Palestine, particularly among Western outlets. Join us as we uncover the crucial role of independent journalism in times of crisis and how we can collectively support those documenting the reality of the frontlines.

Resources:

Life-Saving lending library: Union supplies Palestinian journalists with safety gear amid ongoing Israeli genocide
If you would like to support journalists in Gaza so that they can continue their work, please make a contribution to the IFJ’s International Safety Fund with the comment “For the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate.”

Episode credits:

Co-hosted and executive produced by Tom Llewellyn
Co-hosted, produced, and edited by Paige Kelly
Theme Music by Cultivate Beats

The Response is an award-winning podcast series produced by Shareable exploring how communities respond to disaster — from hurricanes to wildfires to reactionary politics and more.

Want to help spread the word? Please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify — it makes a huge difference in reaching new people who may otherwise not hear about this show.

Available anywhere you get your podcasts, including:

The Response is an award-winning podcast series produced by Shareable exploring how communities respond to disaster — from hurricanes to wildfires to reactionary politics and more.

The post Covering Palestine: The impact on journalists on the frontlines and abroad with Arvind Dilawar appeared first on Shareable.