This week we have a special episode featuring a discussion between Derek Ford and our comrade Leon Benson—an artist, author, producer, exoneree, and a good friend of the people joins the show ahead of the official launch of "The Solitary Justice Project."

Before pivoting to the launch, which will take place at the Shri Thanedar Community Center in Detroit on February 28, they discuss the unfortunate circumstances that brought Leon to Indianapolis this weekend: the celebration of for comrade Kwame Shakur. About three years his junior, Leon recalls them growing up together. He tells one particular story in which Kwame attacked to Correctional Officers for mistreating a prisoner. He was charged with attempted murder and beat the case pro se. After his release, they kept in touch and Kwame dedicated his autobiography to Leon.

Leon served 25 years incarcerated for a crime the IMPD knew he didn't commit and was the first person exonerated after the Marion County Conviction Integrity Unit's founding. Much of that time was spent in solitary confinement, which brings the two to a discussion about the terror and trauma of the practice that is widely regarded as a human rights abuse and a violation of the UN's Mandela Rules. While the stories of making it through solitary are inevitably triumphant, the degradation and suffering the state subjects our people to must be put to an end.

Leon and Derek discuss their own trauma as Leon breaks down the different kids, including chronic and vicarious, as well as collective.

Be sure to keep an eye on the Solitary Justice Project, make it to their Detroit debut if you can, or wait until it makes its ways to Indianapolis as it inevitably will.

Show Notes:

Support Naptown People’s Radio Support the Indianapolis Liberation Center Shop the Indy Liberation Store Shop the Shaka Shakur Store Indianapolis Liberation Center Coalition to Free Vernon Bateman

This week, Jay Grillo gives a first-hand account of the sustained anti-ICE uprising in Minneapolis.

In the first segment, co-hosts Dani Abdullah and Derek Ford signal the potential danger in a likely alliance between Indiana and ultra right-wing Turning Point USA. Turning Point, founded by Charlie Kirk, is a project dedicated to silencing dissenting research and silencing faculty and teachers who stand up for justice by threats of violence. They next turn to the IMPD's violent assault and threats to kill 17-year-old Trevion Taylor, a Black student who was driving a car with friends after participating in an anti-ICE walkout and protest on Feb. 6 near Warren Central High School. They put IMPD's refusal to immediately release the bodycam footage of the attack to the family and public in recent historical context.

They end on a positive development: Shaka A. Shakur is awaiting transfer away from River North Correctional Facility, where he and other inmates have been on Marshall-law lock-down for months, to a lower-security prison. Derek references how Shaka ends the recent statement we just received, titled "Can Anyone be Illegal on Stolen Land?" Shaka calls for the struggle to connect ICE, killer cops, national oppression and national liberation struggles together with a revived anti-mass incarceration movement. After all, ICE has subjected our people to since its founding in March 2003, the cops have been subjecting our communities to on a greater scale for a longer period of time.

We're excited to hear from PSL Indianapolis member and videographer Jay Grillo, who recently returned from supporting the people of Minneapolis as they continue standing defiantly in the face of ICE's murderous rampage. After discussing Grillo's background and how they got involved in activism and the Party, Grillo relays the high level of energy and sophisticated degree of spontaneous organization and structures the people there quickly collectively built, the impact of the “No Business as Usual” tactic, and the issue of safety at mass uprisings.

Finally, this week's Circle City Shout Out goes to Hear Her Voice and particularly its founder, Tyrah Kingcade, or Nairobi X. Hear Her Voice is a transformative healing space dedicated to empowering individuals impacted by trauma, addiction, incarceration, and systemic injustice. They especially focus on issues of re-entry and fighting the impacts of the racist mass incarceration system in the U.S. They recently released a new workbook, titled Hear Her Voice Recover Workbook: She Rises, Her Time, Her Turn, available as an affordable paperback here and on Amazon.

Events:

Capital Class: Session 6 Circle City Sangha Liberation Yoga

Show Notes:

Hear Her Voice Store Support Naptown People’s Radio Support the Indianapolis Liberation Center Shop the Indy Liberation Store Shop the Shaka Shakur Store Indianapolis Liberation Center Coalition to Free Vernon Bateman

Vernon T. Bateman joins the show to discuss the latest developments in his fight for exoneration.

This week's Naptown Breakdown highlights a recent Mirror Indy/Indy Star investigation uncovering that, for more than a decade Mayor Joe Hogsett, used no-bid contracts that benefited his friends and those with ties to the Democratic Party. Hogsett won his first term as Mayor with a proposal called “Disclose Indy," which directly targeted then-Mayor Greg Ballard, a Republican whose non-competitive bidding practices were regularly covered in the press at the time. In 2015 he promised that "betray the public trust, you deserve to be punished to the fullest extent of the law." Disclose Indy also included a two-term limit for the Mayor. Guest co-host and organizer Lindsey Holtgrave sheds additional light on the situation before turning to the recent inspiring anti-ICE protests. She highlights positive developments in the movement over the past two years, particularly in terms of the people's consciousness and leadership.

Artist, author, and community advocate Vernon T. Bateman joins co-host Derek Ford to discuss a major breakthrough in his fight for freedom. On January 13, the Lake County Prosecutor's Office headed by Bernard Carter admitted the State tried and convicted Bateman in 1998 without any evidence tying him to the alleged "crime." This contradicts trial testimony from the Prosecution's witnesses during the trial. Shockingly, however, the Judge sided with the Prosecution and denied Bateman's motion for DNA testing to confirm his innocence. Nonetheless, the State's admission they sent Bateman to jail for 30 years without any DNA evidence is a major step forward. Sign the petition to support Bateman here!

Finally, this week's Circle City Shout Out goes to the youth of Minneapolis, the country, and here in Indianapolis for walking out to protest ICE, even without any legal rights to do so. However, young people have always been at the forefront of social change and even revolutions. When Karl Marx and Frederick Engels wrote The Communist Manifesto, they were only 29 and 27 years-old respectively. Leila Khaled was just 15 when she joined the Arab Nationalist League and at age 23 was the first woman to join the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, or PFLP. Huey P. Newton co-founded the Black Panther Party when he was 24.

That’s why we view everything here as an opportunity to train a new generation of fighters and activists. And we have several ways to do so this week. So shout-out to the youth eager to learn how to best fight for justice and to those willing to teach (and learn from) them!

Events:

Capital Class: Session 4 (virtual) Heart and Heritage: New Hispanic Cultural Hub Debuts with Group Show Circle City Sangha Sunday Liberation Center Yoga

Show Notes:

Support Naptown People’s Radio Support the Indianapolis Liberation Center Shop the Liberation Center Store Shop the Shaka Shakur Store Indianapolis Liberation Center Coalition to Free Vernon Bateman

In this episode, Lucas Lee joins co-host Dani Abdullah to discuss the upcoming mayoral elections and analyze the unknown history of working-class solidarity and uprisings in the Midwest.

The Naptown Breakdown discusses so-called “Voice of Progress” Vop Osili’s announced mayoral candidacy. Although current Indianapolis mayor Joe Hogsett will not seek re-election, Osili and Hogsett maintain close ties and Osili continue to defend Hogsett’s culture of patriarchy and misogyny. Osili’s ongoing silence and his 2025 removal of Lauren Roberts during a June 9 City-Council hearing.

In today’s main segment, Dani and Lucas discuss the pivotal uprisings of the Midwest that have happened in the last 20 years, from Ferguson to Minneapolis. While some may refer to this region as the ‘flyover states’ as organizers we know that almost anything is possible. Often labeled as slow and uneventful cities, the Midwest experienced some of the largest uprisings that later spread to the rest of the U.S. and the world. They analyze Indiana’s history of uprisings like the 1919 U.S. Steel Strikes, which saw workers of different national identities uniting for the benefit of the working and oppressed classes. Despite a common narrative that this uprising was plagued by “race riots” that pitted workers against each other, the real history is an exceptional one of solidarity the ruling class wants buried.

Show Notes:

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Wildstyle Paschall joins the show in advance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day to reclaim the real legacy of Dr. King by situating his organizing, leadership, diplomatic moves, and theories in their proper context.

The Naptown Breakdown begins with Saturday's emergency demonstration in solidarity with Renee Nicole Good and all those killed by ICE and the State. The Indianapolis demonstration was one of hundreds across the country and, at the protest, one speaker asked where our "city" "leaders" are and what they plan to do about ICE's reign of terror. The people forced Hogsett to respond, as reported in Mirror Indy on January 9. Hogsett refused to take any responsibility and said it is "somebody else's decision." He ended by saying "people are frightened and I'm aware of that." But as our co-hosts Dani Abdullah and Derek Ford note, the people are not afraid, which is why so many took to the streets on January 8. Perhaps it won't be Hogsett's decision after all: it will be the people's decision.

The guest in the main segment is Wildstyle Paschall, a community advocate, skater, and Indiana historian with whom the PSL and groups at the Indy Liberation Center have been honored to struggle alongside for years. Paschall and Abdullah chop it up about the real history of Dr. MLK Jr. They show in detail how, as Lenin put it: "During the lifetime of great revolutionaries, the oppressing classes constantly hounded them, received their theories with the most savage malice, the most furious hatred and the most unscrupulous campaigns of lies and slander. After their death, attempts are made to convert them into harmless icons, to canonize them, so to say, and to hallow their names to a certain extent for the 'consolation' of the oppressed classes and with the object of duping the latter, while at the same time robbing the revolutionary theory of its substance, blunting its revolutionary edge and vulgarizing it."

This week's Circle City Shout Out goes to all of the donors and sustainers for PSL Indianapolis, the Liberation Center, and our fellow member-organizations there. We just launched a fund drive to help cover the costs of our recent move and increasing costs in general, so please give what you can, become a sustainer, and ask a friend to become one. We don't accept foundation or government grants. The only way we can maintain our political independence is by relying on our people, and we thank you for showing out so far!

A few of the events mentioned at the end of the episode include:

• Wed., Jan 14, 6 pm @ Indy Liberation Center: "New Year's Resolution: Let's Build a New System!" An info session hosted by the PSL.
• Sat., Jan 17, 9:30 am @ Indy Liberation Center: "Circle City Sangha Mindfulness Meetup."
• Sat., Jan 17 @ 2 pm @ Indy Liberation Center: "Reading Capital: A Collective Study (Session 3)."

Show Notes:

Support Naptown People’s Radio Support the Indianapolis Liberation Center Shop the Liberation Center Store Shop the Shaka Shakur Store Indianapolis Liberation Center

We are proud to present 'Season 2' of Naptown People's Radio. We hope everyone got some rest over the holiday break because the struggle is heating up more than ever!

Our first episode this season covers the launch of MaskOff12, a new independent police accountability mechanism, Indianapolis' solidarity with the Venezuelan people, as well as the present and future of the artistic scene in Indy.

Absent Dani Abdullah, host Derek Ford is joined by guest host Lucas Lee. Lee takes on the Naptown Breakdown, focusing on Trump's military action against Venezuela, including the illegal kidnapping of its democratically-elected President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.

Within hours, Indianapolis joined over 100 cities to defend Venezuela's sovereignty and show their solidarity with the people of the country. We hear from protesters at the January 3 action on Monument Circle organized by ANSWER Indiana about why they felt compelled to show their solidarity with the people of Venezuela. The local protest was covered by WTHR, WRTV, FOX, and other outlets

For our featured segment, we're joined by Akhim Abdullah and Noah Leininger, two Center volunteers who have been organizing against police terror for a combined eight years. Abdullah and Leininger delve into their important project launching today: MaskOff12.com. Killer cops are rarely held accountable for their crimes against our communities because other state agents do everything they can to protect them. With MaskOff12, they can no longer hide behind the comfort of anonymity.

Finally, we hear from local cultural worker James Cramer, a member of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) union about his work in the entertainment industry. Cramer speaks about the recent annual Yuletide Celebration show he just finished working, as well as about the past, present, and future of the arts in our city.

Events:

From Indy to Minneapolis: Stop ICE Terror! Phone Zap: Support Disabled Inmates! Artist Workshop with Oscar Toloza Circle City Sangha Mindfulness Meetup Collective Study of Capital (Vol. 1): Session 2 Stock the Shelves: Community Donation Drive Political Yoga: Emancipatory Motions

Show Notes:

Support Naptown People’s Radio Support the Indianapolis Liberation Center Shop the Liberation Center Store Shop the Shaka Shakur Store Indianapolis Liberation Center

This week, our co-hosts are joined by NPR's producer, Dakota Fronterhouse, as they look back at the past year of struggle in Naptown. They begin with late 2024, as groups in and around the Indianapolis Liberation Center started preparing for a heightened era of repression and resistance. They cover in detail the people's fight-back movement against ICE, police terror, mass incarceration, and attacks on oppressed nationalities, drawing out their connections and the lessons we can take with us as we move into the new year.

Show Notes:

Support Naptown People’s Radio Support the Indianapolis Liberation Center Shop the Liberation Center Store Shop the Shaka Shakur Store Indianapolis Liberation Center

This week's episode features Sam Shr and Iris of Starbucks Workers United, who remind us of the reason for the season: living wages, dignity, and justice. With our co-producer, Lucas Lee, they cover the unionization attempt, their reasonable demands, the challenges they've confronted and overcome, and the reason for unions in the first place—because they are the only way to protect workers from the dictatorship of the workplace.

Our Naptown Breakdown transitions from workplace to the political dictatorship exercised by the local Democratic Party led by Joe Hogsett and his henchmen. By creating the "Indianapolis Local Education Alliance," constructed to do the opposite of what its name implies, the right-wing is trying to bulldoze their way to privatize our public resources and dismantle all public control over public institutions. But finally, the people are fighting back and challenging the pro-corporate and anti-people narrative that's dominated Indianapolis unchallenged for over a decade.

Co-hosts Dani Abdullah and Derek Ford discuss the evolution of public schooling in the United States, showing how it emerged as a direct result of the Radical Reconstruction Era until that revolution was overthrown. After providing a brief history of the militant struggles of working and oppressed people to gain access to education and the reactionary responses to undo that progress (including placing corporate businessmen on school boards in the 1890s), they detail exactly what the ILEA is: an unelected body appointed by Mayor Hogsett that will further erode power from the people via the Indianapolis Public School Board. This history matters as we continue the struggle, the outcome of which will be determined not in the Council Chambers but in the streets. That was on display just before the vote at a press conference spoke at the press conference organized by the Indianapolis Education Association and Central Indiana Democratic Socialists of America (with support from the Indianapolis Liberation Center).

For our main segment, co-producer Lucas Lee interviews two leading organizers with Starbucks Workers United Mass Ave. They touch on a range of crucial issues that demand our attention as support for unions is, finally, on the rise once again. They also inform our listeners how they can support their winning campaign.

Finally, Dani gives this week's Circle City Shout Out to none other than Sena Kürk. Born and raised in Türkiye, Sena holds a bachelor’s degree of Psychological Counseling and Guidance from Ankara University and an associates degree in Visual Communication & Design from Ivy Tech. Shas has over five years of experience as a certified yoga instructor.

Sena leads "Emancipatory Motions: Yoga for Movement Building," a member-organization at the Liberation Center. They meet every Sunday from 6-8 pm to engage in a yoga that repairs the damages done by capitalism to our entire bodies by reconnecting us with our selves as beings in complex motion together. We hope to see you as we move to build the movement! To help Sena and the Center out, we ask for a sliding scale donation of $10 - $15 but no one is turned away from a lack (or excess) of funds!

Show Notes:

Support Naptown People’s Radio Support the Indianapolis Liberation Center Shop the Liberation Center Store Shop the Shaka Shakur Store Indianapolis Liberation Center