2387 – Assad’s Regime Falls; National Tenant Union Emerging? w/ Gregory Brew, Thomas Birmingham

It’s News Day Tuesday! Emma speaks with Gregory Brew, analyst with the Eurasia Group‘s Energy, Climate, & Resources Team, to discuss the fluid situation in Syria now that rebels have taken control of Damascus. Then, she speaks with Thomas Birmingham, reporter and intern at The Nation based in New Haven, to discuss his recent piece entitled “In the US, Tenants Are Usually on Their Own. Can a New National Tenant Union Change That?.” First, Emma runs through updates on the charging of the United Healthcare CEO killer, Pete Hegseth’s nomination, Lara Trump’s future in politics, Pete Buttigieg’s potential governor run in Michigan, Tulsi Gabbard’s nomination, Bibi Netanyahu’s corruption case, Ukraine’s defense, Democratic leadership, Boeing layoffs, and wildfires in Malibu, before touching on developing succession drama in the Murdoch family and the right-wing media’s response to the killing of United Healthcare’s CEO. Gregory Brew then joins, first providing the context of the deep domestic unpopularity of Assad’s late Russia- and Iran-backed regime, then diving deep into the filling of the vacuum in the wake of his departure, with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham – the Islamist militant rebel group that just deposed of Assad’s regime – still in control in Damascus while Kurds in the east continue to fight a Syrian National Army backed by an anti-Kurdish Turkey, all coinciding with US pressure against a potential ISIS resurgence. Next, Brew looks to the biggest winners and losers outside of Syria, with the collapse of the Assad regime dramatically decreasing Iranian and Russian influence in the region – with the former not seeming too displeased amid an already-crumbling relationship with Assad – while substantially raising the status of the likes of Israel. Thomas Birmingham then joins, jumping right into the major success of Bozeman Tenants United – the Montana city’s tenant’s union – and their role in an ongoing attempt to organize the National Tenant Union Federation, alongside tenant unions in Chicago, Kansas City Louisville, and Connecticut, with those in Kentucky and Montana providing a particularly valuable blueprint for successful progressive, working-class organizing in deep-red states. Expanding on the work Bozeman Tenants United engages in, Birmingham walks through the story of Ozaa Echo Maker as an example of how these organizing efforts work to bring marginalized and politically uninvolved people into politics, providing them a voice and showcasing genuinely democratic models of leadership, also touching on the extensive work BTU does locally, from pushing for tenant property ownership to building their electoral power and representation on city council, to defend renters’ contract rights. Wrapping up, Thomas and Emma discuss Biden’s role in pushing back against corporate landlords at the tail-end of his tenure and the importance of showcasing proper tenant power as this fight continues.

And in the Fun Half: Emma and the MR Team talk with Jason from DC about the fallacy of bringing a populist right out of the Trump Administration, Lindsay Graham vocalizes his support for Tulsi Gabbard, and the crew unpacks developments in the arrest United Healthcare CEO’s killer – with some help addressing the “death of a villain” narrative around this story from Ava in Miami. They also watch Ben Wikler’s appearance on the Daily Show, plus, your calls and IMs!

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