I was tempted to censor myself in putting up this archive. As someone who grew up on the early unfiltered internet, I have already deleted my full online presence multiple times due to paranoia or simple embarrassment. I started this project at 22, in the throes of impassioned political development most of us go through in our youth. While I still hold many of the same core beliefs I did then—as an anarchist and more generally as a critic of my country’s policies and history—I look back now and cringe at some moments of my less-than-critical fervor*.
There are other uncomfortable notes of history in this archive, interviews with former friends with whom I’ve fallen out, references to relationships which are no longer pleasant to recall, and bittersweet interviews with friends and comrades who are no longer with us. In addition to the personal, there are some interview inclusions that have not aged well. Rachel Dolezal** is the elephant in the room here, but there are also a handful of other locals who I would not include as guests or platform in any way today knowing what I now know about their beliefs and/or behavior.
Nonetheless, I’m posting every interview as a complete archive to truly reflect the history of the activist scene in Spokane and to be transparent about my own development and learning, both personally and politically. We are expected sometimes, particularly among our friends on the greater “left”, to be perfect in our knowledge, opinion, and behavior. While I support the broad movement toward accountability, and seek to implement responsible accountability practices in my own life, I don’t wish to censor the past by retroactively de-platforming any of the guests (or in some cases, my past self).
I hope that this archive can be of use to you, whether you are here to hear from one guest or here for the whole project. Please contact me if you have questions about guests, sources, citation or other use of this archive. All episodes were recorded at KYRS Thin Air Community Radio in Spokane, WA between April 2012 and December 2019. Many were recorded before I knew what I was doing on a technical level, and thus the audio quality varies wildly. (x_x)
*specifically, in early episodes there is some conspiracy-y content that I have a more critical view of today, especially given all I have learned in recent years about the historical significance of anti-semitism in conspiracy culture. I also could write at length (but will save it for now) about the complexities of talking about the need for human rights for Palestinians as part of an international solidarity movement without playing into anti-Semitic tropes, dogwhistles, and stereotypes. I know that on that topic and others, I sometimes failed to push back in conversation, due to ignorance or surprise or hesitation. This project has been a growth experience for me and I hope that is reflected in more recent episodes.
**I don’t feel a need to write a long essay about Dolezal here, but think that the information she shared in the context it was shared still has historical relevance to Spokane. It is disappointing that she felt the need to deceive the community about her identity to do the racial justice work she was moved to do here, which was and remains crucial. I reflect now on the ways that her prominence and willingness to put herself in the media and public eye kept me and other white media from connecting better and earlier with some of the amazing Black organizers and women leaders of color in Spokane. I hope that listeners can browse the racial justice, Spokane, and carceral system tags to find a variety of other great speakers from recent years on these topics.