In this episode, Nashwa sits down with Vicky Osterweil, the author of In Defense of Looting. Nashwa interviews Vicky about her entry into left politics, her newest book, the politics of looting while also exploring the limits of electoral politics, and so much more. Nashwa and Vicky cover a range of topics including the history of looting, and whiteness as property. They also dive into liberation movements, armed self-defence, Black radical tradition, and the micro-moments in uprisings/riots. In our small worlds we can do the things that the government will not and Osterweil reminds us of the openness we should have to multiple tactics. Osterweil articulates the potential we have to build power in the streets while mapping a history of eviction defence, debt abolition, and a broader set of tactics deployed in tandem with looting. Osterweil’s smart and poignant insights into the contradictions of liberalism offer listeners a foundation to desire more.
This episode reminds us that we have a collective struggle, to recenter what we all long for and what we all owe each other. Osterweil helps us re-imagine what could be and the radical possibilities that await us when we fight for one another. A world beyond electoral politics has existed and always will, see you in the streets!
Guest Information:
Guest of the week: Vicky Osterweil
Vicky Osterweil is a writer, editor and agitator based in Philadelphia.
Her book, In Defense of Looting, was released in August by Bold Type Books. You can buy her book here: In Defense of Looting by Vicky Osterweil.
We highly recommend people check out her 2014 article in The New Inquiry by the same name.
Additional Resources:
Some readings mentioned in this episode :
Whiteness as Property by Cheryl I. Harris
The Wages of Whiteness by David R. Roediger
Black Reconstruction by W.E.B. DuBois
Unsettling the Coloniality of Being/Power/Truth/Freedom: Towards the Human, After Man, Its Overrepresentation -- An Argument by Sylvia Wynter
Assata (Shakur), an Autobiography by Assata Shakur
Production Credits:
Hosted by Nashwa Lina Khan
Music by Johnny Zapras and postXamerica
Art for Habibti Please by postXamerica
Production by Nashwa Lina Khan and Johnny Zapras
Production Assistance by Raymond Khanano and Ali McKnight
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🔓 UNLOCKED EPISODE - Episode 8 with Vicky Osterweil 🔓