Episodes

  • Episode 14 | The soundtrack to the resistance against the Brazilian dictatorship

    Episode 14 | The soundtrack to the resistance against the Brazilian dictatorship
    Mar 31 2025
    On March 31, 1964, the Brazilian military carried out a US-backed coup against the democratically elected government, installing a dictatorship that would last for 21 years. Hundreds of people were disappeared. Thousands imprisoned and tortured. But musicians stood up, singing songs that were a sometimes subtle — sometimes not-so-subtle — critique of the dictatorship.

    The military regime responded by censoring songs, music and artists. Some, like Chico Buarque, went into exile. Others were detained, jailed and even tortured. But still the music played on. Still, artists found a way for their music to reach the people. Still, the music gave hope that “tomorrow would be another day.”

    This is episode 14 of Stories of Resistance — a podcast co-produced by The Real News and Global Exchange. Each week, we’ll bring you stories of resistance like this. Inspiration for dark times.

    This week, in remembrance of the anniversary of Brazil’s military coup on March 31, 1964, we are taking a deep dive in Brazil. All three episodes this week will look at stories of resistance in Brazil. From protest music, to general strikes against the dictatorship, to the Free Lula vigil in more recent times.

    Written and produced by Michael Fox.

    If you like what you hear, please subscribe, like, share, comment, or leave a review.

    To mark this anniversary, Michael Fox created a Spotify playlist of songs written in resistance to Brazil's military dictatorship. You can check it out on his Patreon: www.patreon.com/mfox
    There, you can also follow Michael’s reporting, and support his work.

    Become a member and join the Stories of Resistance Supporters Club today!

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    6 mins
  • BONUS Episode | Cesar Chavez and standing for those who pick our food

    BONUS Episode | Cesar Chavez and standing for those who pick our food
    Mar 31 2025
    Today, March 31, is Cesar Chavez Day. The day, celebrating the birth and life of the great U.S. farmworker labor leader. In 1962, Cesar Chavez co-founded the United Farm Workers, alongside Dolores Huerta.

    The organization would go on to wage strikes and boycotts, winning tremendous victories for workers picking the crops in the fields of California and elsewhere in the United States. In 1969, he was featured on the cover of Time Magazine. In 1970, Chavez and the UFW won higher wages for grape pickers, after a 5-year-long California grape strike.

    Chavez’s legacy lives on.

    But that legacy is also complicated. Cesar Chavez and the UFW fought for immigration reform, but also fought undocumented immigration (and pushed for deportations), under the pretext that undocumented migrants were used to drive down wages and break UFW strikes.

    This is our special Cesar Chavez Day bonus episode of Stories of Resistance — a podcast co-produced by The Real News and Global Exchange. Each week, we’ll bring you stories of resistance like this. Inspiration for dark times.

    Below are the links mentioned in the close of this episode:

    United Farm Workers of America website: https://ufw.org/
    Coalition of Immokalee Workers: https://ciw-online.org/
    2014 Cesar Chavez Biopic: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1621046/
    Footage of United Farm Workers grape strike https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azbxTAGgs2E

    Written and produced by Michael Fox.

    If you like what you hear, please subscribe, like, share, comment, or leave a review. You can also follow Michael’s reporting, and support at www.patreon.com/mfox.

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    8 mins
  • Episode 13 | Standing for Mahmoud Khalil

    Episode 13 | Standing for Mahmoud Khalil
    Mar 28 2025
    On March 8, 2025, ICE agents detained, without a warrant, Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil at his home in New York City. Khalil is a U.S. resident, but Trump officials said they’d stripped him of his green card. His crime? Standing up and speaking out against the U.S.-backed Israeli attack on Palestine. As a graduate student at Columbia University last year, he helped to lead protests against Israeli genocide in Gaza.

    And just as he stood up for the Palestinians, others are standing up for Khalil. People have rallied for his freedom across the country.

    The Real News has been reporting on Khalil’s detention and the Trump administration’s attack on free speech. Here are links to some of the stories:
    My Name is Mahmoud Khalil and I am a Political Prisoner
    Mahmoud Khalil’s Abduction and Trump’s Escalating War on the Palestinian Movement

    Folksinger David Rovics latest song is called Mahmoud Khalil, you can listen to it here. You can check out and subscribe to Rovics’ Substack, here, and sign up for his podcast on Spotify.
    This is episode 13 of Stories of Resistance — a new podcast co-produced by The Real News and Global Exchange. Each week, we’ll bring you stories of resistance like this. Inspiration for dark times.

    Written and produced by Michael Fox.

    You can see his exclusive pictures of many of the episodes and support Stories of Resistance at www.patreon.com/mfox.

    Help TRNN continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.

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    6 mins
  • Episode 12 | The Panama protests that defeated a Canadian copper mine

    Episode 12 | The Panama protests that defeated a Canadian copper mine
    Mar 26 2025
    In late 2023, Panamanians shut down their country for months to demand the closure of a Canadian copper mine. And they won. It was not just a protest against a foreign company. It was about the country’s sovereignty after a century of US occupation and invasions.

    The US occupation of Panama is not ancient history, here. It is still in the forefront of everyone’s mind. So are the decades of blood, sweat, and tears that it took to finally win back the region of the Panama Canal from the United States in 1999.

    And Panamanians are not going back there again. Not at the hands of a Canadian copper mine. And certainly not at the order of Donald Trump.

    Michael Fox reported from the ground in Panama throughout the months-long protests. You can see his reporting for The Real News here. You can see his pictures of the protests, here on his Patreon, where you can also support his work: www.patreon.com/mfox.

    This is episode 12 of Stories of Resistance — a new podcast co-produced by The Real News and Global Exchange. Each week, we’ll bring you stories of resistance like this. Inspiration for dark times.

    Written and produced by Michael Fox.

    Help TRNN continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.

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    6 mins
  • Episode 11 | Still Marching: The Mothers of Argentina's Plaza de Mayo

    Episode 11 | Still Marching: The Mothers of Argentina's Plaza de Mayo
    Mar 24 2025
    Today, March 24, is the anniversary of the 1976 coup that led to the brutal Argentine dictatorship. In Argentina, it’s known as the National Day for Memory and Truth and Justice. It honors the victims of the military regime. 30,000 people were disappeared under the 7-year-long military regime. Each year, big marches and demonstrations are held in Buenos Aires to mark the date. The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo are always front and center.

    They have marched for five decades to demand justice and the return of their children and grandchildren. Today, in this 11th episode of Stories of Resistance, host Michael Fox looks back at the beginning of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo's struggle and how it has inspired the fight for truth and justice in Argentina and across the region.

    Stories of Resistance is a new podcast co-produced by The Real News and Global Exchange. Each week, we’ll bring you stories of resistance like this. Inspiration for dark times.

    If you like what you hear, please subscribe, like, share, comment, or leave a review. You can also follow Michael’s reporting, see his pictures of the Plaza de Mayo, and support at www.patreon.com/mfox.

    Written and produced by Michael Fox.

    Michael is currently working on Season 2 of his podcast Under the Shadow, about Plan Condor and the U.S.-backed South American dictatorships of the 1960s and 70s. It’s expected to be released in 2026. You can listen to the first season, here.

    Help TRNN continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.

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    6 mins
  • Episode 10 | Monsignor Óscar Romero, El Salvador’s Bishop of the Poor

    Episode 10 | Monsignor Óscar Romero, El Salvador’s Bishop of the Poor
    Mar 21 2025
    Monsignor Óscar Romero was the archbishop of San Salvador. They called him la voz de la sin voz, The voice of the voiceless. He spoke out against the government repression, violence and killings in the late 1970s El Salvador. It cost him his life. He was killed on March 24, 1980, while at the altar while delivering mass. In 2018, Pope Francis declared him a saint. His legacy lives on.

    This is the tenth episode of Stories of Resistance — a new podcast co-produced by The Real News and Global Exchange. Each week, we’ll bring you stories of resistance like this. Inspiration for dark times.

    If you like what you hear, please subscribe, like, share, comment, or leave a review. You can also follow Michael’s reporting and support at www.patreon.com/mfox.

    Written and produced by Michael Fox.

    For more on El Salvador’s Resistance to U.S.-back violence of the 1970s and 80s, you can see Michael Fox’s 2024 podcast, Under the Shadow:For more on El Salvador’s Resistance to U.S.-backed violence of the 1970s and 80s, you can see Michael Fox’s 2024 podcast, Under the Shadow:

    Episode 4, El Salvador, the Innocent Victims

    Episode 5, El Salvador, Rebel Radio

    You can see pictures of the chapel where Monsignor Romero last celebrated mass, and a museum in his former home on Michael Fox’s Patreon account. www.patreon.com/mfox.

    Help TRNN continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.

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    5 mins
  • Episode 9 | The Saint Patrick’s Battalion

    Episode 9 | The Saint Patrick’s Battalion
    Mar 17 2025
    In the 1840s, hundreds of Irish soldiers joined the Saint Patrick’s Battalion to help defend Mexico against the invading US army. They fought under Irish Captain John Riley and they marched under the green flag of Saint Patrick, with the harp and the shamrock and the Irish words Erin Go Bragh embroidered across it. “Ireland forever.” Today, the Saint Patrick's Battalion is still remembered in Mexico.

    This is the ninth episode of Stories of Resistance — a new podcast co-produced by The Real News and Global Exchange. Each week, we’ll bring you stories of resistance like this. Inspiration for dark times.

    If you like what you hear, please subscribe, like, share, comment, or leave a review. You can also follow Michael’s reporting and support at www.patreon.com/mfox.

    Written and produced by Michael Fox.

    You can check out folk singer David Rovics' song, St. Patrick Battalion, here. In that same link you can also read the lyrics and see several videos of him performing the song live.

    For more information: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/mexican-american-war-irish-immigrants-deserted-us-army-fight-against-america-180971713/

    Help TRNN continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.

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    6 mins
  • Episode 8 | Chile’s Arica Carnival

    Episode 8 | Chile’s Arica Carnival
    Mar 10 2025
    Chile’s largest carnival is an act of resistance. A celebration of multicultural identity and Indigenous roots in a land where soldiers forced assimilation with the barrel of a gun.In this eighth episode of Stories of Resistance, we go to Northern Chile, to the streets of the Arica carnival celebrating Aymara, Quechua, and African culture.

    Stories of Resistance is a new project, co-produced by The Real News and Global Exchange. Each week, we’ll bring you stories of resistance like this. Inspiration for dark times.If you like what you hear, please subscribe, like, share, comment, or leave a review.

    You can also follow Michael’s reporting and support at www.patreon.com/mfox.This story is based on reporting Michael did for PRX The World.

    Written and produced by Michael Fox.

    Help TRNN continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.

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    4 mins