#243 | Meeting Basic Human Needs: Mutual Aid Under The Shadow Of Coronavirus w/ Shane Burley
In this episode, I speak with author, journalist, and political researcher Shane Burley. We discuss mutual aid in the time of COVID-19, the "Autumn of the Alt Right," and the underlying structure of conspiracy theories in the age of information.
We begin this discussion with Shane describing what mutual aid and solidarity looks like in our time of the coronavirus pandemic, with millions of workers in the United State without jobs as a result of widespread economic disruption and lack of a comprehensive government aid. As Shane describes in his recent article published at Waging Nonviolence: “In almost every city around the United States mutual aid networks have started to form — ranging from projects for resource distribution to simple options like fundraising, compiling lists of resources and contacts, and creating “chat threads” so that people in the same area can stay in contact with one another. The speed with which these groups have arrived, and the depth of care that many of them offer, have started to show what options communities have when the large institutions around them fail, or are unwilling to deal with the disaster.” (https://bit.ly/3a5GN89)
From there, we move into what he explored in an earlier article he published at Commune Magazine, titled ‘Autumn of the Alt Right.’ I ask him what the state of the Alt Right is currently, in particular what the ultimate failures and successes the far right movement has made in their attempt to shift the political discourse in the U.S. further to the Right. Finally, we end this interview with an examination of the underlying structure of conspiracy theories in the age of information, which is especially relevant in light of the spread of baseless suppositions surrounding the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic, that the pandemic is a “hoax,” and so on.
Shane Burley is a writer and filmmaker who regularly reports on far-right movements in the US, as well as anti-fascist resistance, workers rights, and class struggle. He is the author of ‘Fascism Today: What It Is and How to End It’ from AK Press, and his work has appeared in numerous publications, such as Jacobin, Truthout, and Commune Magazine.
Episode Notes:
- Read ‘Amid the coronavirus crisis, mutual aid networks erupt across the country’ at Waging Nonviolence, and ‘The Autumn of the Alt Right’ at Commune Magazine: https://bit.ly/3a5GN89 / https://bit.ly/3eeYTry
- Follow Shane Burley on Twitter and support him on Patreon: https://twitter.com/shane_burley1 / https://www.patreon.com/shaneburley
- The song featured in this episode is “Wave of Mutilation (UK Surf)” by Pixies from the album Doolittle 25: B-Sides, Peel Sessions And Demos.
- Title card image source: https://www.covid19mutualaidslc.com
