Naptown People’s Radio

This week, Jay Grillo gives a first-hand account of the sustained anti-ICE uprising in Minneapolis.

In the first segment, co-hosts Dani Abdullah and Derek Ford signal the potential danger in a likely alliance between Indiana and ultra right-wing Turning Point USA. Turning Point, founded by Charlie Kirk, is a project dedicated to silencing dissenting research and silencing faculty and teachers who stand up for justice by threats of ...

Vernon T. Bateman joins the show to discuss the latest developments in his fight for exoneration.

This week's Naptown Breakdown highlights a recent Mirror Indy/Indy Star investigation uncovering that, for more than a decade Mayor Joe Hogsett, used no-bid contracts that benefited his friends and those with ties to the Democratic Party. Hogsett won his first term as Mayor with a proposal called “Disclose Indy," which directly targete...

In this episode, Lucas Lee joins co-host Dani Abdullah to discuss the upcoming mayoral elections and analyze the unknown history of working-class solidarity and uprisings in the Midwest.

The Naptown Breakdown discusses so-called “Voice of Progress” Vop Osili’s announced mayoral candidacy. Although current Indianapolis mayor Joe Hogsett will not seek re-election, Osili and Hogsett maintain close ties and Osili continue to defend Hog...

Wildstyle Paschall joins the show in advance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day to reclaim the real legacy of Dr. King by situating his organizing, leadership, diplomatic moves, and theories in their proper context.

The Naptown Breakdown begins with Saturday's emergency demonstration in solidarity with Renee Nicole Good and all those killed by ICE and the State. The Indianapolis demonstration was one of hundreds across the country a...

We are proud to present 'Season 2' of Naptown People's Radio. We hope everyone got some rest over the holiday break because the struggle is heating up more than ever!

Our first episode this season covers the launch of MaskOff12, a new independent police accountability mechanism, Indianapolis' solidarity with the Venezuelan people, as well as the present and future of the artistic scene in Indy.

Absent Dani Abdullah, host Derek Ford...

This week, our co-hosts are joined by NPR's producer, Dakota Fronterhouse, as they look back at the past year of struggle in Naptown. They begin with late 2024, as groups in and around the Indianapolis Liberation Center started preparing for a heightened era of repression and resistance. They cover in detail the people's fight-back movement against ICE, police terror, mass incarceration, and attacks on oppressed nationalities, draw...

This week's episode features Sam Shr and Iris of Starbucks Workers United, who remind us of the reason for the season: living wages, dignity, and justice. With our co-producer, Lucas Lee, they cover the unionization attempt, their reasonable demands, the challenges they've confronted and overcome, and the reason for unions in the first place—because they are the only way to protect workers from the dictatorship of the workplace.

Ou...

This week's episode pays tribute to our fallen soldier Kwame Shakur, a brother who was consistently fighting for the freedom and liberation of all people. Our Naptown Breakdown focuses on the recent defeat of the far-right in their redistricting efforts and speculation that "Vop" Osili's announcement he won't seek re-election for the City-County Council means his sights are set on a Mayoral run. The real reasons why a majority of ...

This week, co-hosts Dani Abdullah and Derek Ford dive into the housing crisis in Indianapolis, detailing how unnecessary and absurd it is by comparing it with how a socialist government could not only easily fix the problem but prevent its occurrence in the first place.

The Naptown Breakdown covers the convergence of two protests this past Saturday. The first, called by ANSWER Indiana, was part of a nationwide day of action that in...

Ahead of the global debut of the documentary, "Across Enemy Lines: Shaka A. Shakur" and the release of Shaka's book, Manifestations of Thought, Cecilia Gomez interviews NPR co-host Derek Ford, who co-directed the film and helped edit the book.

This week's Naptown Breakdown focuses on housing, policing and patriarchy, and the upcoming grand opening of your new Indianapolis Liberation Center. Bracing for a loss of $10 million in fede...

Bryce Gustafson, an organizer with Citizens Action Coalition since 2009, joins this week's show to explain the proliferation of AI data center proposals in the city and state and update us on the struggles to defeat them.

First, for the Naptown Breakdown co-hosts Dani Abdullah and Derek Ford address Gov. Braun's Nov. 19 order to deploy 300 Indiana National Guardsmen to Washington D.C. in December. While they train at Camp Atterbury...

This week, Pastor Denell Howard and Ms. Faye Johnson join the show to discuss the struggle against Metrobloks' proposed data center and who the real criminals are in U.S. prisons.

Our Naptown Breakdown starts with the recent admission by local energy monopoly AES that they imposed outrageous "deposit fees" on customers who already had trouble paying the prices they set. Tyler Fenwick of Mirror Indy reports that one woman was charge...

This Thursday is the Trans Day of Remembrance when, at the Indianapolis Liberation Center, the community will gather to remember our fallen trans comrades and recommit ourselves to the liberation of all people. To explain the origins and significance of the annual commemoration, local activist Brooke joins the show.

This week’s Naptown Breakdown covers a wide range of topics, from Todd Rokita’s lawsuit against the Indianapolis Publ...

November 11 marks 129 years since revolutionary artist, organizer, theorist, and teacher Shirley Graham Du Bois was born right here in Indianapolis. Stephen Lane of the Indiana Black Librarians Network joins the show to discuss her life and legacy, which is unfortunately overshadowed by her second husband, the great W.E.B. Du Bois.

Tupac Shakur said it best in an interview during the early 1990s: "They got money for wars but can't...

As Trump considers using the "Insurrection Act" to justify his deployment of National Guardsmen, many of whom are surrounding our state pending Court proceedings, veterans and active-duty servicemen in Indiana are already organizing to refuse any illegal and unconstitutional orders to participate in the reign of terror against immigrant, working-class, and oppressed communities. Lucas Lee, an anti-war veteran organizer with About F...

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson called for a General Strike. General Strikes are routinely called for, but what do they entail? There’s a lot of work to be prepare for one but, as Dani Abdullah reminds us by recounting the historic 1919 Seattle General Strike, our ancestors made sure we aren't starting over from scratch.

Our Naptown Breakdown starts with the new battleground over ICE, with Todd Rokita inviting "Border Czar" Tom Homan...

The Black Panther Party, formally founded on October 15, 1966, is often romanticized, subjected to disproportionate scrutiny, or viewed only as an activist organization. In this week's episode, we hear a speech Dakota Fronterhouse—the producer of Naptown People's Radio—delivered on 59th anniversary of the Party's founding.

Fronterhouse provides the historical and material context that birthed the organization, defined its context, ...

Jada Trainor and her husband, Jonathan, join the show this week to discuss their October 1 trial where they defeated trumped-up felony charges of attempting to disarm a police officer and battery against a cop.

Last week's Naptown Breakdown mentioned how Joe Hogsett's Indiana Economic Development Corporation was serving corporate interests and actively opposing the people's. This week, Co-Hosts Dani Abdullah and Derek Ford discuss ...

After discussing how Indianapolis Development Inc., a creation of Joe Hogsett, was actively lobbying elected representatives on behalf of Google while the people united to keep their data center out of Franklin Township, this week's Naptown Breakdown focuses on a stunning silence in local mainstream media. Not one single local news outlet published an article or story about the passing of Black communist Assata Shakur.

Co-hosts Dan...