PODCAST · news
A rant, Christopher Sweat
by Christopher Sweat
Hosted by a highly opinionated interdisciplinary thinker and orchestrator of technology. Discussing high-technology, politics, economics, corporate finance, and business.A rant, Christopher Sweat, is recorded in tandem with my writing at christophersweat.substack.com. christophersweat.substack.com
Episodes
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Rachel Cohen Ran the Numbers
Rachel Cohen picks her filming spots the way she picks her fights, with a reason ready. On a hot morning in late July, she sat for a long interview near the Art Institute of Chicago, a block from the Grant Park paths she walks most days and films on. Cohen is 31, a Harvard Law graduate who spent...
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Chicago Runs on One Job
Austin Berg wanted to talk about structure before we talked about anyone’s name. We sat down in Lincoln Square on a summer afternoon. The problem, in his telling, is the shape of the government itself, more than any one mayor. Berg has spent a decade on that argument. He runs the Chicago Policy...
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Neither Camp
We met Vasquez on his own turf, a North Side space he is quick to say is not a taxpayer-funded ward office. He calls it a community hub, a co-op, a place where neighbors come in to work through what they want to get done. He keeps what he jokingly calls movement merch on hand: t-shirts, hats, and...
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“We Put So Much Fear in Bezos He Didn’t Show Up”
Chris Smalls is sitting across from me in Chicago. For six years, he’s been told he was wrong. For six years, he’s been proven right. He was right that Amazon was an unsafe place to work in the early weeks of the pandemic. He was right that workers at the Staten Island JFK8 warehouse, a...
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The Vanity and the Wayfinder
Teta Jalila, c. 1920. The photograph Laila Grace uses as the logo of her design practice. A conversation with Laila Grace at SAIC Galleries about her thesis, Jalila's Vanity, Palestinian futurism, and the design lineage that runs through her distant cousin Rajie Cook. Full essay below. If you…
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Rep. Norma Hernandez on HB2723, Progressive Revenue, and the Politics of the Legislature
At the Illinois State Capitol, Norma Hernandez broke down the political realities behind how legislation moves through Springfield. The conversation covered HB2723, progressive revenue proposals like the digital advertising tax, and broader fights over taxation, corporate power, and economic...
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Conversation with Christopher Sweat of GrayStak Media hosted by Dylan Blaha
Get full access to GrayStak Media at christophersweat.substack.com/subscribe
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Inside Illinois: Where Policy, Activism, and Capital Intersect
This conversation took place inside the Illinois State Capitol. On its surface, it’s an interview with a policy organizer working on active legislation. More broadly, it offers insight into how some political actors are thinking about the relationship among advocacy, policy, and capital. At the...
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"The Seat Belongs to the Movement": Inside Chicago’s Emerging Model of Political Power with Ald. Rosanna Rodriguez Sanchez
Editor’s Note This interview is part of GrayStak’s ongoing coverage of political movements, governance models, and institutional dynamics in major U.S. cities. The views expressed reflect Alderperson Rodriguez-Sanchez’s perspective and are presented to understand better how power is organized and...
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The Surprise Candidate in Illinois’ 9th: Inside Kat Abughazaleh’s Unconventional Campaig
National attention around the race for Illinois’ 9th Congressional District has begun to grow. Veteran political strategist David Axelrod recently pointed to Kat Abughazaleh as a candidate drawing unexpected attention — a sign that what began as a relatively unconventional campaign is now…
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Karina Villa on Redefining the Illinois Comptroller’s Office
I sat down with Karina Villa for a 39-minute discussion about her campaign for Illinois Comptroller and her broader vision for the office. Villa frames her candidacy around what she calls a “true progressive” approach to fiscal oversight. In our conversation, she makes clear that she sees the...
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Kevin Ryan for U.S. Senate — Testing a Reform Agenda
We interviewed Kevin Ryan, Marine veteran, public school teacher, and candidate for U.S. Senate in Illinois, aboard the campaign bus he drives across the state. The bus — wrapped in imagery honoring high-impact American activists and community leaders — provides a visible expression of the reform...
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The Electoral Strategy Behind Anabel Mendoza’s Congressional Campaign
In our latest GrayStak interview, congressional candidate Anabel Mendoza outlines the electoral strategy driving her campaign in Illinois’ 7th District. Rather than relying solely on traditional party machinery, Mendoza’s approach centers on coalition-building across immigrant communities, labor...
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What Representation Looks Like in Illinois Right Now - A Conversation with Nick Uniejewski
State politics are often treated as background noise — procedural, incremental, easy to ignore unless something breaks. But in moments of institutional strain, state legislatures are where legitimacy is either rebuilt or quietly eroded. I sat down with Nick Uniejewski, a community organizer and...
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Ald. Jessie Fuentes and the Mechanics of Municipal Power
This post serves as the primary release point for the full video and audio versions of our conversation with Jessie Fuentes. Readers can watch or listen to the complete interview below, or continue reading for GrayStak’s institutional analysis and framing. Editor’s Note Municipal politics is…
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Interview: Christopher Sweat sits down with Dylan Blaha & Demi Palecek
Dylan and Demi are political candidates who have been outspoken in public interviews and appearances about their understanding of executive power, public order, and accountability. In multiple widely circulated clips and statements, they’ve said they would be willing to refuse or countermand...
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Interview: Christopher Sweat sits down with Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez of Chicago's 25th Ward
Interview conducted at Chicago City Hall | Reporting from Little Village In this interview, I speak with Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th Ward) at Chicago City Hall about a sequence of events that unfolded over two consecutive days in Chicago, beginning with federal immigration enforcement...
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Interview: Christopher Sweat sits down with Heena Musjabi and Ahmed Rehab of CAIR Chicago
I sat down with Heena Musabji, Legal Director of CAIR-Chicago, and Ahmed Rehab, Executive Director of CAIR-Chicago, for a wide-ranging conversation on the urgent legal and political challenges facing Arab, Muslim, and South Asian communities in Illinois and across the country. Heena detailed the...
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Interview: Christopher Sweat sits down with Andy Thayer, a famed Chicago Activist.
Andy Thayer is one of Chicago’s most enduring and influential direct-action organizers, with decades of work across LGBTQ liberation, anti-war mobilization, and civil liberties defense. Raised in a politically charged household in upstate New York—his father designed missile parts while his…
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Interview: Christopher Sweat sits down with Mahnoor Ahmad, DuPage County Board District 2 Candidate
I sat down with Mahnoor Ahmad, who previously ran for US House of Representatives in Illinois’ 6th Congressional district to challenge Sean Casten, and is now running for DuPage County District 2 to represent her community on the DuPage County Board. We discussed Mahnoor’s trajectory and...
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Discourse: Overlap between ICE & IDF?
This discussion was held on the GrayStak Media platform at the Jerusalem Academy of Arts in Little Palestine, Bridgeview, IL. The panel speaks independently of the venue and forum, representing its own views and perspectives. The topic of the discourse is the overlap between ICE and the IDF....
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Interview: Christopher Sweat sits down with Juli & Nino, Organizers at Activist at PSL Chicago
I sat down with activist and organizers Juli and Nino from the Party for Socialism and Liberation to discuss a myriad of matters, including U.S.-Venezuela intervention, socialism, revolutionary theory, political theory, two Americas, immigration challenges facing communities in Chicago, black,...
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Interview: Christopher Sweat sits down with Richard Berg, host of FightBack! Radio
I sat down with Richard Berg, longtime labor organizer and host of FightBack! Radio, for a conversation that cuts right to the core of the labor struggle today. Richard brings decades of experience from the shop floor to the bargaining table, and this interview pulls from all of it. We got into…
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Interview: Hani Almadhoun, Co-founder of Gaza Soup Kitchen, Humanitarian & Philanthropist (Peoples Conference for Palestine)
On Day 2 of the People’s Conference for Palestine, I spoke with Hani Almadhoun, Director of Philanthropy at UNRWA USA and co-founder of the Gaza Soup Kitchen, to talk about humanitarian relief, the crisis in Gaza, and the urgent need for global solidarity. Hani brings both personal and…
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Interview: Farah Chalisa, Human Rights Attorney & Activist (Peoples Conference for Palestine, Detroit, 2025)
I spoke with Farah Chalisa, a human rights attorney and activist at the People's Conference for Palestine in Detroit, Michigan, over Labor Day weekend 2025. We discussed the conference speakers, issues facing the Palestinian people, zionism, language, analytical frameworks, critique, and more.…
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Kenneth Roth, Fmr Executive Director of Human Rights Watch, on safety for activists in Chicago and more
In my conversation with Kenneth Roth—longtime head of Human Rights Watch and one of the most influential voices in global human rights—we dive into the heart of the Chicago activist scenes and connect it to broader patterns of political repression in the U.S. Roth brings a sharp, global…
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Multiple Arrests at March in Manhattan
We’ve been covering a lot of protest and political action-related events in Manhattan, Chicago, and Washington, D.C., and are now expanding our reach nationally. Ryan Lazarus heads out New York City coverage. He captured this footage earlier this evening. Be on the lookout for more from us here…
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May Day Protest in Chicago, 2025
May Day is a chance for the global left to come together and gain clarity on the direction of movements. It serves as a consistent coordination point each year. The core idea of May Day is to recognize the challenges labor has faced over the years, especially since the onset of the fourth...
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Douglas County Sheriff Carries Out Summary Killing, DA Fails to Prosecute
Watch the video to learn more, and here are a few brief notes on my thoughts. In just six seconds, law enforcement chose to shoot seven or eight bullets into an innocent man in Douglas County, Colorado. While we don't live in a police state, the police have not been held accountable for their...
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Nick Sous Interview on Disruptive Politics in Downers Grove, IL at Rep Sean Casten Townhall
As you know, I have been closely following the calls for Palestinian liberation and the protest movements in Chicago, New York, and Washington, D.C.. After a disruption at a Downers Grove, IL town hall hosted by Rep Sean Casten, I interviewed Nick Sous, one of the local Chicago leaders at U.S....
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TeslaTakedown: Political dissent or shareholder activism?
I was on the ground covering the TeslaTakedown protest in Chicago. Later this week, we will release footage from 13 other cities. This video focuses on Chicago. In fact, you’ll see I got into it with protestors after a group was harassing Chicago PD for about 15 minutes. This movement was…
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Political Speech from Activist Jinan Chehade, Chicago, 26 March 2025
A note on the video… I wanted to run it raw. No editing is needed. You can see the protest footage up close and personal. There’s no need for me to twist it like the mainstream media does. A rant, Christopher Sweat is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work,...
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Lee Edwards on San Francisco Politics and the State of Technology
In this episode, I host Lee Edwards, a General Partner at Root Ventures in San Francisco. We discuss the political scene in San Francisco, the impact of AI on labor, Tesla, Waymo, the education system, and how we have traditionally adapted to disruptive technology. Lee invests in engineers who…
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Dr. Kaleb Demerew, Red Sea Rivalries
I host Dr. Kaleb Demerew to speak again, this time about a highly relevant topic, Red Sea Rivalries which he published here - https://www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/red-sea-rivalries/ This is a fascinating discussion that talks about the social, political, and maritime history of the Red Sea...
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Pyotr Kurzin, international political analyst and host of The Global Gambit on the Russia
It was awesome to host Pyotr for a nuanced and informative discussion on the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict. We dug deep into domestic U.S. politics, Russia foreign policy, Ukraine foreign policy, political polarization and more. I hope you enjoy it! You can find more from Pyort here:...
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Mark Blyth & Sven Steinmo: Austerity, Dictators and Democracy
I hosted Mark Blyth, Brown University, and Sven Steinmo, University of Colorado Boulder (you remember Sven from his piece, Trump is not the Problem) to discuss their perspectives on austerity, democracy, dictators, protest, populism, knowledge economy, technology, advanced economies, and more! We...
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Trump is not the Problem
Written by Sven Steinmo There is a lot of hand-wringing today about Donald Trump's potential to get elected as the next president of the United States (again). It's not only that people dislike his grandiose and narcissistic personality. Nor is it even that they fear that he will be on the ballot...
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Dr. Kaleb Demerew on Institutions, Mass Violence, & Ethiopia's Ethnic Federalism
You can play the recording here or watch our conversation on YouTube! Dr. Kaleb Demerew is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science and Criminal Justice at West Texas A&M. I saw his paper, Can Institutions Explain Mass Violence? Amhara ‘Settler’ Discourse and Ethnic…
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Dr. Sven Steinmo on Historical Institutionalism, Evolutionary Theory, & Political Science
Dr. Sven Steinmo joins me to discuss his background and to expand on why he thinks evolutionary theory has viable application in politics, as well as creating an entire sub-category of political science known as historical institutionalism. Dr. Steinmo will be an ongoing contributor to the…
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Negin Shiraghaei: Activist, Journalist, Feminist, & Political Thinker
Negin is a long-time friend of mine and someone whose perspective I value. She started her career as a journalist in Iran and later moved to London to join BBC Persia as a news presenter on-air, where she worked for over a decade. More recently, she formed a community organizing and political...
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Dr. Brian Keating, Cosmologist & Experimental Physicist
You can play the audio in the player above or click here to watch the video of our conversation on YouTube! We talked about cosmology, string theory, joining Joe Rogan on his podcast, Eric Weisteins's call for physicists to come together and build new solutions and theories, hanging out with Ben...
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Colin Wright, Ph.D., Evolutionary Biologist, Writer & Founding Editor of Reality's Last Stand (Audio)
Hi everyone. I posted this episode in video format, but I realize many of you prefer audio, so I am re-releasing this one in audio format as well. Here is the video episode if you decide to check it out instead. Get full access to GrayStak Media at christophersweat.substack.com/subscribe
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Alexandra Siegel, Ph.D., a Political Scientist at CU Boulder on Digital Authoritarianism, Repression Technology, Machine Learning, and more.
Hi everyone. I posted this episode in video format, but I realize many of you prefer audio, so I am re-releasing this one in audio format. Here is the video episode if you decide to check it out instead. Get full access to GrayStak Media at christophersweat.substack.com/subscribe
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Shukriya Bradost, Ph.D. student at Virginia Tech on Iranian Politics, Women's Rights, & Securitization. (Audio)
Hi everyone. I posted this episode in video format, but I realize many of you prefer audio, so I am re-releasing this one in audio format as well. Here is the video episode if you decide to check it out instead. Get full access to GrayStak Media at christophersweat.substack.com/subscribe
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Bilyana Lilly, Ph.D. on Russian Information Warfare, Cybersecurity, Election Disruption & more... (Audio)
Hi everyone. I posted this episode in video format, but I realize many of you prefer audio, so I am re-releasing this one in audio format. Here is the video episode if you decide to check it out instead. Get full access to GrayStak Media at christophersweat.substack.com/subscribe
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Networks, States, & the Future of Advanced Economies
Another recording. Press play. Get full access to GrayStak Media at christophersweat.substack.com/subscribe
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Balaji: The Network State
Nothing to say here. Press play. Get full access to GrayStak Media at christophersweat.substack.com/subscribe
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Razib Khan, a thinker and writer on genetics and data science.
Razib Khan is a brilliant mind with a fascinating perspective on genetics, history, and society. I have been a long-time listener and reader of Razib’s, so it was nothing short of an honor to host him. We use some explicit language on the podcast, but Razib discusses how he got into genetics, his...
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Anna George, DPhil doctoral student at the Oxford Internet Institute on online political behaviour, political extremism, and hate groups.
This is a fascinating conversation I hosted with Anna George, a DPhil doctoral student at the Oxford Internet Institute (OIO.) Anna has a social data science, statistics, and organizational-social psychology background. We discuss hate groups, political extremists, and how this behavior occurs...
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A conversation with Cathy Fawaz, Ph.D. candidate on Political Comms at Regent's University London
Cathy Fawaz is a Ph.D. candidate at the Regent’s University London, and her research focuses on political communications around the world. We discuss Cathy’s pathway to her Ph.D., growing up in Lebanon, sectarian politics, hard-right movements, and the influence political communication strategies...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Hosted by a highly opinionated interdisciplinary thinker and orchestrator of technology. Discussing high-technology, politics, economics, corporate finance, and business.A rant, Christopher Sweat, is recorded in tandem with my writing at christophersweat.substack.com.
christophersweat.substack.com
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Christopher Sweat
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A rant, Christopher Sweat currently has 50 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is A rant, Christopher Sweat about?
Hosted by a highly opinionated interdisciplinary thinker and orchestrator of technology. Discussing high-technology, politics, economics, corporate finance, and business.A rant, Christopher Sweat, is recorded in tandem with my writing at christophersweat.substack.com. christophersweat.substack.com
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A rant, Christopher Sweat has 50 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
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A rant, Christopher Sweat is created and hosted by Christopher Sweat.
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