Part of my job is to bring meaning back into words—coupled with a power analysis that goes deeper than instant coffee politics, which are a byproduct of infinite information and finite attention. – Janaya Future Khan, episode 250 of Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso
As we mark the one-year anniversary of the 2020 election, activist and educator Janaya Future Khan returns for a state of the union (3:00). We begin with the trillion dollar infrastructure bill (4:08), the looming threat of big tech in Congress (4:58), division in the Democratic party (5:28), and how we can move away from “instant coffee politics” by turning to activism (9:55).
Then, we have a wide-ranging discussion around Dave Chappelle’s stand-up special (13:46), transgender representation (24:31), and what it means to learn (and fail) in public (29:35). In combating the malaise of the moment, Janaya talks about new models of organizing (37:10), the medicinal power of laughter (40:19), and the lessons learned from their decade in Black Lives Matter (44:26). To close, we revisit a passage from our 2020 sit-down (51:16) and why they must (and will) continue to fight in the years ahead (57:00).
Show-notes:
- Follow Janaya on Instagram and Twitter.
- Listen to our 2020 conversation with Janaya.
- Read transcripts of Janaya’s Sunday Sermons, supplied by Leah Smillie.
- Read Janaya’s writing in The Feminist Wire, Huffington Post Black Voices, and Al Jazeera.
- Hear our past conversations with Gloria Steinem, Noam Chomsky, Rep. Ilhan Omar, Roxane Gay, Janelle Monáe, Beto O’Rourke, Brittany Packnett Cunningham, and Resmaa Menakem.
- Illustrations by: Krishna Shenoi.