Episode 409: Talking Anarchism and Direct Action

Talk Policy To Me

Last summer, as a part of the public reckoning with racialized police violence, chants and mantras like “Whose Streets? Our Streets” and “We Keep Us Safe” and “We Are The Change We’ve Been Waiting For” resounded in the streets and all over social media.

What would it mean to take these slogans seriously? To actually imbue people and communities -- rather than political representatives and corporations -- with the power to create and change the world around them?

Talk Policy To Me reporter Reem Rayef delved into the practice and philosophy of anarchism, in search of an answer. In this episode, Reem speaks with Bryce Liedtke (friend, anarchist, GSPP alum, and Policy Director of the Scout Institute) about how he reconciles the principles of anarchism with his work in the policy space. Then, we hear from Dana Ward (anarchist, professor emeritus at Pitzer College) about the historical and philosophical origins and transformations of anarchism, in the United States and around the world.

Additional Reading

• The basics of anarchism as defined by Kim Kelly in Teen Vogue
• Dana Ward’s Anarchy Archives
• Are You An Anarchist? by David Graeber

See show notes and full transcript here: https://gspp.berkeley.edu/research-and-impact/news/podcast/episode-409-talking-anarchism-and-direct-action