The Dugout | a Black anarchist podcast

We sit down to talk about THE SPOOK WHO SAY BY THE DOOR; Based on the novel by Sam Greenlee, the film follows Dan Freeman, the first Black CIA officer, who uses the counterinsurgency and intelligence tactics he learns from the U.S. government to train Black militants in Chicago and build an underground revolutionary movement.We explore its gender politics and the limited role afforded to women in its revolutionary vision, the hierarchical model of organizing it presents, and the ways the film reproduces familiar masculine revolutionary archetypes centered on secrecy, military discipline, and charismatic male leadership. Fifty years later, The Spook Who Sat by the Door remains essential viewing for what it imagines about liberation and the questions it leaves unresolved.Read the book, THE SPOOK WHO SAT BY THE DOOR (affiliate link): https://bookshop.org/a/109212/9780814349571To watch the movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HG-56GKbPtkCheck out ANARCHISM ON FILM Letterboxd list: https://letterboxd.com/thedugoutpod/list/anarchism-on-film-w-the-dugout-a-black-anarchist/----------------------------Stay connected with The Dugout! Follow us for updates, exclusive content, and more:🔗OUR WEBSITE: https://www.thedugoutpodcast.com/🔗 ⁠Instagram⁠: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/dugoutpodcast/⁠🔗 ⁠Substack⁠: ⁠https://tdugout.substack.com/⁠ 🔗⁠YouTube⁠: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@thedugoutpod⁠🔗 ⁠Patreon⁠: ⁠https://www.patreon.com/TheDugoutPod⁠🔗 ⁠OUR LINKS⁠: ⁠https://bio.site/thedugoutpodcast⁠🔗 Watch Prince Shakur  on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMMgrSHWLLU4U_FnJ1u10Ug

What can economics teach anarchists, organizers, and people trying to build a different world?Jordan sits down with Brooke of Strangers in a Tangled Wilderness and Live Like the World Is Dying for a conversation on economics, anarchism, and building alternatives to capitalism. Brooke shares her journey from journalism student to economist, bookkeeper, and organizer while breaking down economic concepts in accessible terms. Together, they explore how economic systems shape our lives, why understanding them matters for social change, and what cooperative, participatory, and anarchist approaches to economics might look like in practice.From central banking and inflation to co-ops, buying clubs, and collective ownership, this episode is an invitation to think critically about how we organize resourcesMentioned Media:together or not at all: TangledWilderness.org/zines/together-or-not-at-all-digital—---------------------------------------------Stay connected with The Dugout! Follow us for updates, exclusive content, and more:🔗OUR WEBSITE: https://www.thedugoutpodcast.com/🔗 ⁠Instagram⁠: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/dugoutpodcast/⁠🔗 ⁠Substack⁠: ⁠https://tdugout.substack.com/⁠ 🔗⁠YouTube⁠: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@thedugoutpod⁠🔗 ⁠Patreon⁠: ⁠https://www.patreon.com/TheDugoutPod⁠🔗 ⁠OUR LINKS⁠: ⁠https://bio.site/thedugoutpodcast⁠🔗 Watch Prince Shakur  on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMMgrSHWLLU4U_FnJ1u10Ug

Before the city of Philadelphia dropped a bomb on a Black neighborhood, MOVE spent over a decade building one of the most uncompromising radical organizations in American history. Founded by John Africa in the early 1970s, MOVE combined Black liberation politics with a sweeping critique of modern civilization — technology, education, government, and "the system" itself. In this episode, we trace MOVE's arc from their communal house in Powelton Village to the 1978 standoff that sent nine members to prison, to the catastrophic 1985 bombing that killed 11 people and burned down 61 homes. Along the way, we wrestle with hard questions: What made MOVE so compelling — and so controversial? What does the state's response tell us about the limits of Black radical organizing? And what do we do with organizations that cause harm while also facing tremendous repression?Learn more on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/posts/move-through-157559223---------------------------------------Timestamps:00:00 — Intro & How did you first learn about MOVE?11:17 — MOVE's origins: John Africa, *The Guidelines*, and life in Powelton Village23:20 — The 1978 Powelton Village standoff, the MOVE 9, and the road to the 1985 bombing29:08 — The complicated history: internal conflict, harm allegations, and neighbor relations29:35 — MOVE's beliefs, the GUIDELINES, and how they organized day-to-day37:15 — Discussion: Is being disruptive or playing the "vanguard" actually useful in revolutionary movements?40:20 — Hierarchy, accountability, and how power worked (and didn't) inside MOVE46:45 — Allegations of harm within MOVE and Mike Africa Jr.'s role in the organization's legacy today51:30 — When is Black separatism a useful political strategy?01:00:00 — Outro

Before the city of Philadelphia dropped a bomb on a Black neighborhood, MOVE spent over a decade building one of the most uncompromising radical organizations in American history. Founded by John Africa in the early 1970s, MOVE combined Black liberation politics with a sweeping critique of modern civilization — technology, education, government, and "the system" itself. In this episode, we trace MOVE's arc from their communal house in Powelton Village to the 1978 standoff that sent nine members to prison, to the catastrophic 1985 bombing that killed 11 people and burned down 61 homes. Along the way, we wrestle with hard questions: What made MOVE so compelling — and so controversial? What does the state's response tell us about the limits of Black radical organizing? And what do we do with organizations that cause harm while also facing tremendous repression?-------------------------------------Timestamps:00:00 — Intro & How did you first learn about MOVE?11:17 — MOVE's origins: John Africa, *The Guidelines*, and life in Powelton Village23:20— The 1978 Powelton Village standoff, the MOVE 9, and the road to the 1985 bombing29:08 — The complicated history: internal conflict, harm allegations, and neighbor relations29:35 — MOVE's beliefs, the GUIDELINES, and how they organized day-to-day37:15 — Discussion: Is being disruptive or playing the "vanguard" actually useful in revolutionary movements?40:20 — Hierarchy, accountability, and how power worked (and didn't) inside MOVE46:45 — Allegations of harm within MOVE and Mike Africa Jr.'s role in the organization's legacy today51:30 — When is Black separatism a useful political strategy?01:00:00 — Outro---------------------------DocumentariesLet the Fire Burn (2013) — Archival documentary reconstructing the events leading to the 1985 bombing40 Years a Prisoner (2020) — Follows Mike Africa Jr.'s fight to free his parents; streaming on MaxBooksOn a Move: Philadelphia's Notorious Bombing and a Native Son's Lifelong Battle for Justice — Mike Africa Jr. (2024)