Media Bits and Bytes – April 29, 2025

A future with (an even more) controlled press

This Week in People’s History, Apr 30-May 6, 2025

Two military tanks belonging to the People's Revolutionary Government stand outside the Saigon regime's headquarters building on April 30, 1975
Deadly and Dangerous, Imperialism Is, Indeed, a Paper Tiger (1975), Turning Ugly Concrete Pillars Into Things of Beauty (1970), When the War Came Home, Students Paid the Price (1970), An Anti-Racist Newspaper Celebrates Its 120th Birthday (1905)

US Is Witnessing the Return of Psychiatric Imprisonment

From ‘wellness farms’ to expanded involuntary commitment policies, the US is embracing psychiatric incarceration under the guise of compassion

Zeskind, 75, Foresaw the Rise of White Nationalism

With “Blood and Politics,” Zeskind predicted that anti-immigrant ideologies would become part of mainstream American politics, and warned about downplaying the threat.

Milwaukee Responds to Arrest of Judge Hannah Dugan

“Arresting people out of a courtroom will lead to a breakdown of civil society. We do not support the presence of ICE where it will lead to intimidation against witnesses and victims of crimes, denying everyone involved the justice they deserve."

Misusing Emergency Powers To Impose Worldwide Tariffs

Concocting an emergency to advance economic and foreign policy goals is an abuse of power.

Why Scientists Are Worried About De-Extinction

The creation of three "dire wolf" pups has raised hopes that it may be possible to resurrect extinct animals. But some scientists have grave concerns.

What a Better Tax Bill Would Look Like

This year offers an opportunity to enact tax policy changes that would ease the strain on household budgets that people in low-paid jobs and their families face while ensuring that the nation’s wealthiest pay their fair share.

How Trump Is Hollowing Out the Black Middle Class

The president has gone nuclear against federal union jobs — historically African Americans’ ladder to economic equality.

Find an Event for May Day and Beyond

Find Events, Petitions, and Volunteer Opportunities for May Day and Beyond
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Culture

film

With His New Film, Alex Gibney Shines a Light on Dark Money

An interview with Alex Gibney Jacobin
Jacobin sat down with the prolific muckraking filmmaker Alex Gibney to discuss his new documentary The Dark Money Game, on the terrifying ramifications of Citizens United and how it’s empowered the same oligarchy now unleashed by the Trump administra

food

FDA Making Plans To End Its Routine Food Safety Inspections, Sources Say

Alexander Tin, Edited By Nicole Brown Chau, Paula Cohen CBS
Thomas Gremillion, Consumer Federation of America, criticized the Administration's reckless disregard for its policies' effects on the detection and prevention of foodborne illness and said plans to replace federal food inspectors merit suspicion

tv

How the UFC Went MAGA

Jacob Debets Jacobin
MMA used to be home to oddballs unified by a love of beating each other up inside cages. But since Donald Trump’s first presidency, the UFC has rebranded the sport as a refuge for the “anti-woke sports fan,” while breaking unions and censoring the me

poetry

Small Ode to Joy

Charlotte Muse At the Corner of Hope and Despair
Poet Charlotte Muse knows this life is fleeting, and yet it is the sweetest comfort in the face of political and social chaos.

Labor

labor

Unpacking Trump’s Attack on Federal Sector Unions

Nicholas Handler Lawfare
Rendering collective bargaining inapplicable to the vast majority of federal workers, combined with the administration’s other attacks on the civil service, would leave the federal workforce in its weakest position in a century.

labor

Learning From the 1970 Postal Workers’ Strike

Marc Kagan Jacobin
In 1970, US postal workers won collective bargaining rights with an illegal strike. If lawsuits to stop Trump’s attacks on the federal workforce fail, that kind of militancy may be the only way for federal workers to retain their own union rights.

labor

100 Days, 100 Ways Trump Has Hurt Workers

Celine McNicholas, Samantha Sanders, Josh Bivens, Margaret Poydock, and Daniel Costa Economic Policy Institute
In the first 100 days of his second term, Trump has hurt working people and the economy over 100 ways.

labor

Three Times Workers Resisted Fascism in Minnesota History

Amie Stager Workday Magazine
Workers have a long and storied history of resisting attempts to pit them against each other. We found examples specific to Minnesota’s labor movement, which has a militant legacy that can be learned from today.

labor

AFT Welcomes New Affiliates, Hard-Fought Contracts in Higher Ed

Virginia Myers American Federation of Teachers
The AFT’s higher education affiliates have been generating a flurry of activity: This fast-growing sector of our union has two brand-new affiliates, at Ohio University and Nevada State University

Friday nite video

video

Who's Breaking Immigration Law: Not Who You Think

Corporations are bringing in hundreds of thousands of foreign farmworkers under the H-2A visa program: basically a human trafficking scheme — to replace farmworkers who unionize and fight for higher pay.

video

Trump & Tariffs | John Oliver

John Oliver discusses the ongoing chaos surrounding Donald Trump and tariffs, why the past week could have lasting repercussions, and why your grandma might be looking to start an OnlyFans.

video

20 Lessons on Tyranny | Read by John Lithgow

Now, more than ever, we need the wisdom of our intellects, the patriotism of our citizens, and the passion and talents of those who still believe in the American experiment.

video

Palantir: The New Deep State

Specialists in surveillance, they’ve been hired by the Department of Defense, the FBI, ICE, and even Wendy’s. Now DOGE will likely hire Palantir as well.