• *UNRULY HOTLINE* The Love Struggle
    Jan 7 2026

    While we're cooking up our next full episodes of Unruly Subjects, we wanted to re-share our first UNRULY HOTLINE segment that we originally published in Episode 2. In this segment, Chenjerai listens and reacts to callers that responded to the question: "How do you balance your love life with the struggle?”

    If you have any questions, comments or thoughts to share with Unruly Subjects you can always leave us a message here: 215-436-9212

    Unruly Subjects is created in partnership with Rowhome Productions.

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    20 mins
  • How Civil Rights Law Became a Weapon Against Dissent—on Palestine and Beyond
    Dec 18 2025

    As the assault on Gaza continues and the crisis deepens, our individual freedom to critique Israel’s actions has become more and more fraught. We have a deep commitment to anti-racism in all its forms on Unruly Subjects, including antisemitism. But we find ourselves in a place where condemning the actions of a country is falsely - and often frighteningly - equated with being anti-semitic.

    Darryl Li is an anthropologist and lawyer teaching at the University of Chicago. He's the co-author of a new study that puts this current moment in context. The study is titled “Discriminating Against Dissent: the Weaponization of Civil Rights Law to Repress Campus Speech on Palestine”, published by the AAUP and Middle East Studies Association. We discuss the history of Title VI, academic freedom, and the ways that both Democratic and Republican administrations have been implicated in the suppression of free speech.

    Also in this episode: Following last week’s conversation with Daniel Coates about resisting ICE with Hands Off NYC, Chenjerai and his wife Saadiqa attend an action in Washington Square Park in NYC. Call into the UNRULY HOTLINE: Our current question is “Do you think differences in child rearing have more to do with race/ethnicity - age/generational differences or other factors?” Call us here for a chance to be featured on the show: 212-436-9212

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    Buy After Savagery at Haymarketbooks.com Additional Music by Blue Dot Sessions and Grizzly Beatz

    Unruly Subjects is created in partnership with Rowhome Productions

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    1 hr and 18 mins
  • *BONUS EPISODE* News Fiend #3 (Dec 8-12, 2025)
    Dec 12 2025

    NEWS FIEND is a weekly segment where Chenjerai offers his commentary and reflections on some of the week's headlines. This is a feature that is offered for all Patreon members of Unruly Subjects, but we wanted to give our listener's here a taste of the UNRULY SUPPORTER perks. We're a completely independent show! Each new supporter helps us make this project possible.

    Become a Patreon supporter here: http://patreon.com/unrulysubjects

    Included below are links to some additional articles and resources about the topics covered in this week's segment.

    Afghan CIA fighters, like National Guard attack suspect, face stark reality in U.S.

    https://www.npr.org/2025/12/10/nx-s1-5637440/afghan-zero-unit-lakanwal-national-guard

    More than 200 environmental groups demand halt to new US datacenters

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/08/us-data-centers

    Louisiana v. Callais and voting Rights

    https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/section-2-voting-rights-act-supreme-court

    Spotify Unwrapped campaign calls for boycott over ICE ads and AI music

    https://www.nme.com/news/music/spotify-unwrapped-campaign-calls-for-boycott-over-ice-ads-and-ai-music-3915774

    Unruly Subjects is created in partnership with Rowhome Productions


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    7 mins
  • Giving organizers of color power in electoral politics with Maya Meredith
    Dec 11 2025

    This week - on the heels of Zohran Mamdani’s historic victory in NYC’s mayoral election - we’re featuring an interview with Maya Meredith, a Brooklyn-based leader in the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America’s Afrosocialists and Socialists of Color Caucus. Maya lets us know about some of DSA’s upcoming campaigns, talks about canvassing and organizing Black voters, and discusses fighting to create a more multiracial coalition within DSA.

    Also in this episode: Chenjerai talks with Daniel Coates about resisting ICE with Hands Off NYC, and Brooklyn-based artist Lauren Kaelin - a longtime former ice cream worker - gives advice on how to transport ice cream cones around the city, and more…

    ##Call into the UNRULY HOTLINE## Our current question is: “Do you think differences in child rearing have more to do with race/ethnicity - age/generational differences or other factors?” Call us here for a chance to be featured on the show: 212-436-9212


    Further reading & sources from this episode

    Maya was one of the authors of Will Zohran Mamdani Win Over Black New Yorkers?” in issue #8 of Hammer and Hope.

    How the Black Panther’s free Breakfast Program both inspired and threatened the Government

    https://www.history.com/articles/free-school-breakfast-black-panther-party

    DSA Afrosocialist and Socialist of Color Caucus

    https://www.dsausa.org/working-groups/afrosocialists-and-socialists-of-color-caucus/

    -----

    Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/UnrulySubjects

    Follow Chenjerai on Instagram @chenjerai and Bluesky @chenjerai.bsky.social and follow Unruly Subjects @unrulysubjectspod

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    Additional Music by Blue Dot Sessions and Grizzly Beatz

    Unruly Subjects is created in partnership with Rowhome Productions

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    1 hr and 11 mins
  • What do we need from the culture? Lovia Gyarkye on writing critically in an age of fascism
    Dec 4 2025

    This week, we’re featuring an interview with the writer & culture critic Lovia Gyarkye, an editor at Hammer & Hope, a magazine of Black politics and culture. Lovia discusses her approach to cultural critique, looks back at a 2017 piece she wrote about Trevor Noah, makes a case for why everyone should become familiar with the Jamaican-born cultural theorist Stuart Hall.

    Also in this episode: An excerpt of a conversation with Conscious Lee about processing the news as an influencer. And Chenjerai responds to voicemails from the Unruly Hotline. Last week’s question was: “How do you balance your love life with the struggle?”

    This week’s question is “Do you think differences in child rearing have more to do with race/ethnicity - age/generational differences or other factors?” Call 215-436-9212 to leave your response.

    For more Unruly Content, expanded show notes, chat room, polls, & more... Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/UnrulySubjects

    Follow Chenjerai on Instagram @chenjerai and Bluesky @chenjerai.bsky.social and follow Unruly Subjects @unrulysubjectspod

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    Additional Music by Blue Dot Sessions and Grizzly Beatz

    Unruly Subjects is created in partnership with Rowhome Productions.

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    1 hr and 16 mins
  • The Truth Behind The Joke: Roy Wood Jr. on Comedy and Survival
    Nov 21 2025

    This is the very first episode of Unruly Subjects! And we’re featuring an interview with Roy Wood Jr. Roy is a stand-up comedian and Emmy-nominated writer with a new book out - a memoir entitled The Man of Many Fathers. We talk about fatherhood, dive deep into a segment he did on the Daily Show about Cop City, and the role of comedy in times of political turmoil. Also, Chenjerai reflects on a few news headlines, takes a phone call, & more.

    The Man of Many Fathers – Roy Wood Jr.

    Roy’s new memoir about fatherhood, manhood, and the many “fathers” who shaped him, blending deeply personal stories with his stand-up sensibility https://roywoodjrbook.com/

    On how volunteer medics are trying to care for people in Sudan living with displacement, war trauma, and a collapsing health system. https://www.arabnews.com/node/2622402/middle-east

    For bonus audio & more exclusive content, support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/UnrulySubjects

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    Buy Black History Is For Everyone at Haymarketbooks.com

    Unruly Subjects is created in partnership with Rowhome Productions.


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    1 hr and 3 mins
  • Introducing Unruly Subjects
    Oct 30 2025

    Unruly Subjects is a new podcast from Chenjerai Kumanyika and Rowhome Productions about the world as we’re living it, right now. Each week, we’ll check in about what’s happening in the news, and bring on some of the most brilliant, funny, and inspiring people to help us make sense of it all.

    We’re even opening up the lines so you can be part of the conversation. Leave Chenjerai a message at (215) 436-9212.

    We’ll also be finding ways to connect with you and deepen the conversation on Patreon in the coming weeks and months. Unruly Subjects is an independent podcast, so to support the show, consider joining our Patreon starting at $5 a month. You’ll get exclusive premium episodes, ad-free episodes, and access to the chat.

    Follow Chenjerai on Instagram @chenjerai.

    Get in touch unrulysubjects@gmail.com.

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    3 mins