PODCAST · society
Threadings.
by Ismatu Gwendolyn
Unfortunately, it is fuck Spotify (and Apple). Get threadings straight from the source: threadings.io sends pictorial, videoed, aural, and written works straight to your inbox.
Episodes
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a letter on metacognition [ft. a social experiment]
having the most delicious caramel pu'erh.
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the strip club did indeed make me bonkers!
In which ismatu gwendolyn, public servant, recounts the praxis they got from their local strippery in regards to the acquisition and distribution of US dollar bills. Full transcript available at https://www.threadings.io/the-strip-club-did-indeed-make-me-bonkers/
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The Financial Transparency Meeting but Instead of Showing Graphs I Yell
In which ismatu Gwendolyn, budding revolutionary, reminds everyone (once again) that their goal is NOT a life where they are individually comfortable! Sign up to support them financially at threadings.io:...
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yes, I really do mean “algorithmically-elected official.”
Full transcript, as always, available at threadings.io
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when am I compelled to speak? (ft. Madleen flotilla, Booker, and necessary reorientation)
full transcript at threadings.io
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THE WAR IS NOT A METAPHOR: The Capitalist, the Defector, the Traitor, and the Revolutionaries
The global working class engages in active revolution as we speak (and here I am to pontificate about it). As I (ismatu, artist, the pen behind these essays) become more powerful in my world-making, where do I go? Will I defect out of the working class and join the rank of capitalists? Or will I...
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Targeted Deportations and the Changing Face of Fascism
In which writer and child of immigrants ismatu gwendolyn discusses the systematic deportations of academic immigrants. Beyond debating whether fascism has “taken hold” in the United States… what do you do when you are afraid for yourself? What happens now that plain-clothed “officers” hunt in…
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Ismatu Gwendolyn: Class Traitor
In which Ismatu Gwendolyn, young revolutionary with a pen in hand, seeks to stake their power with and for The People, rather than utilizing the trust of their masses as a site of endless extraction. Link to essay: Link to video: https://youtu.be/jaEMTluGj5E Show Notes: Twenty Enemies by James...
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Notes on the Moment [02.02.2025]
Midnight musings on Bird Flu, Yahtzee, and the merits of taking a jumping break with your resident one year old. Pour some tea for this one. All essays (transcripts) available at threadings.io
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The Mythical Black Artist™
Otherwise entitled, “Everybody wanna be Nina Simone; don’t nobody wanna sing Mississippi Goddam.” In which ismatu gwendolyn, writer and public scholar, unpacks our collective desire for artists that reflect the times (and holds up a persistent and unforgiving mirror). The full transcript can be...
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State of the Constituency 2024
The purpose of the State of the Constituency is to reorient ourselves to who I am (the invisible pen behind all these essays, Ismatu Gwendolyn) what I do, why I do what I do, and how you all affect me. You are also invited to explore what you want from your participation in this ether community....
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On Fear.
in which ismatu gwendolyn returns to their stage to talk about what’s keeping them up at night. Transcription available at threadings.io https://www.threadings.io/on-fear/
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There are a great many springtimes: notes on Bethann Hardison’s Invisible Beauty
The strangest part about terminal illness is how often death comes for a peck on the lips and nothing more. A few weeks ago, I flew home to attend my mother's final affairs. Now we sit, smoothies and champagne glasses, watching a movie to spend time together. It's sunny this Tuesday. Here are...
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Harris, Palestine, and the Spectacle of Liberation.
a series of musings nearly entitled, “I am frightened by the way people tire of the world.” I have had a negative amount of desire to write but Toni Morrison said it’s your job to write when evil wishes to distract you so. Here I am, I suppose. The thesis of today’s musings are that we want the...
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The Question of Agency and Creation
Questions for your consideration: how do I appreciate you well for taking part in this space? And, how best can we a public good? Please whatever comment features you have available and let me know! ft. Afternoon of a Swan by Speedy West This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this…
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Girl go to SLEEP! ft. lessons from night life, grad school, and strangers
Sleep tips for those who struggle to sleep when they could. Essay (and transcript) available at ismatu.substack.com. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ismatu.substack.com/subscribe
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The Case for a Global Strike
A letter written for Bisan, circulated to my constituency: Peace. I write to you from the floor of my bedroom in Sierra Leone. Two days ago, Iran launched successful counter-attacks against the apartheid regime occupying the land of Palestine, currently known as Israel (which bombed their embassy...
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the role of the artist is to load the gun.
an essay nearly entitled, “the orange trees teach me art-making.” This essay is a continuation of my prolonged look at revolutionary healers in practice to become one— where healing also includes artistry. What is my role as an freedom-minded artist, this side of revolution? Check the link to...
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toni cade bambara: i start with the recognition that we are at war
captioned live! we took one hour to read four paragraphs together. excerpt from: Conversations with Toni Cade Bambara, edited by Thabiti Lewis. I don’t usually save my lives because (1) that requires editing and I am already drowning in administrative work and (2) I enjoy existing in temporal…
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you’ve been traumatized into hating reading (and it makes you easier to oppress).
In which we engage the following theses: (1) the ruling class benefits from illiteracy. (2) short-form video entertains more than it sticks. (3) reading is a discipline distinct from listening, watching, or other forms of literacy. It’s a skill that needs to be honed separately. (4) Absolutely no...
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I want my community to outlive me.
internet friends, I am still burning alive. Today is February 10, 2024, which marks two years since my entrance into the social internet. This has been a terrifying, incredible, world-changing transition— maybe not (yet) for the world, but most certainly for my world. I did not have any social...
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everything is free! no more paywalls. have tea with me.
Threadings. and quite literally everything I do is free! I only can do this because people voluntarily pay! Wow! Thank you!!!! Transcription below because someone asked for the still words. Long time no see. Hi there. If you're new here, which if you're here, I doubt you're new. I mean, but just…
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revolution, then, is a faith-based practice.
a letter to my daughter on the religion of revolution. Please lend your support to A Little Juju Podcast in their return! Juju Grant is a writer, ethnographer, show host and spiritual tower actively practicing wisdom anarchy. She so brilliantly archives African and Black Diasporatic Spiritual...
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From The Vault: Advice, Three Years or so After My First Wedding
An essay from The Vault on how miraculously pain steals language. CW: mentions of self-harm. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ismatu.substack.com/subscribe
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There Is No Revolution without Madness.
The first essay of the Revolutionary Healers series. WHAT USE is "measured rationality" when to be Reasonable means to dying quietly, all the time? Notes from the text, “How to Go Mad Without Losing Your Mind.” Full transcript, with sources, at ismatu.substack.com. This is a public episode. If...
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a prelude: “blessed,” meaning washed with blood.
in which ismatu delivers a free-styled, spoken essay where they realize Grief as a seed blooming their bones. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ismatu.substack.com/subscribe
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Information Anarchy: The Case Against Sponsorships
The primary goal of this essay is to argue for a healthy skepticism of sponsorship-saturated media amidst a new age in information sharing, with secondary goals as following: * to commit myself to The People and my people publicly by way of refusing to sell my word online, and * to name…
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Mutual Aid is Mutual! Recap + Readings
Since y’all stay asking me for resource lists. The here, damn! of it all. Full list and links associated at ismatu.substack.com. happy reading!! jazz of the episode: Tony x Larry Nozero, Dennis Tini Souvenir d’Italie x Lelio Luttazzi He Knows She’s Good For You x Cyril Chambers Two For The Road x...
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Revolutionary Healers: A Syllabus
In which Ismatu Gwendolyn, new to the healing profession and rooting in revolutionary thought and action, provides structure for their studies in public. As my Auntie Dequi says, “Struggle is protracted.” What we are not about to do is sit up here and study five things for five seconds. And I’m...
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From The Vault: On Grief and God
sharing an old piece of creative writing because I, a mountain dweller, am stuck in the city and think of the sea. Originally written June of 2018 This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ismatu.substack.com/subscribe
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Surprise! I am just like my father.
In which we: unpack the “is she mad?” mentality, contemplate informed consent for a podcast space, and be explicit about the care infrastructure and needs of Ismatu Gwendolyn. Thanks for listening <3 Read the full transcription, annotated, at ismatu.substack.com. Jazz of the Episode: My One and...
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Revolutionary Love costs you something.
notes on refusing to charge for client services. Cited: In Pursuit of Revolutionary Love by Joy James | Oshun’s Flight Cliff notes: stop asking me to settle for manna when the opportunity for community arises. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get...
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first draft thoughts: on revolutionary love and existing outside of myself
[The Preview]: Oh, then in regards to mutual aid, I keep faltering with this series because I can't, like… I think I need to find a balance between what I wanna talk about and what I feel like the public needs. Because I keep curriculum planning and then realizing we are way behind as a public...
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a former stripper, current workaholic finds balance.
No stripping did not ruin my relationship with men but you should hear how many hours in a row I can work nonstop hahahahah <3 on treating myself as a body that breathes and moves slowly. Much love. Jazz of the Episode [incomplete list]: Hour of Parting x Sun Ra Send In The Clowns x Pat Martino...
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Therapists Are Also the Police: Social Work, Sex Work, and the Politics of Deservingness
Therapists are part of the Soft Police (signed, an MSW). Read the full essay at Ismatu.Substack.com. Thank you for listening with an open mind! Sources: No Soft Police! Event Recording organized by Interrupting Criminalization "No Soft Police,” a chapter in No More Police! written by Andrea…
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please say hello to me.
I feel like i am in a zoo. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ismatu.substack.com/subscribe
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28 | i want a life that reverberates.
Musings from my porch in Chicago that ask: am I good at hosting happiness? Am I the right shape to hold onto the life that I want? What noise do I make when I get knocked around? read this episode at ismatu.substack.com. Jazz of the episode: Why, Buzzardman, Why? x Alabaster Plume The Jordan…
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27 | the call and response of Collective Grief; to Jordan Neely
on what we owe to each other in the grief. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ismatu.substack.com/subscribe
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26 | Swapping Secrets with Courtnee Futch: what do you save for yourself when no one keeps you but The Stage?
a conversation about survival, archival, and the intimacy found and lost when you grow up in the public eye. request the full transcript at [email protected] This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit...
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25 | archival as a declaration of love
this is the next essay in the study of self series. listen to the previous episode here. Content warning for: mentions of suicidal thought and intent, allusions towards self-harm. Nothing graphic, but it is a recurrent theme of the piece. The first time I got recognized from TikTok, I was at a…
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24 | There is no safety in being Beautiful: reflections from a life spent On Display (™)
A child model turned grad school stripper speaks openly about the reality of being shackled to Beauty (and the negotiations you make at the top of the hierarchy). Read the full essay at ismatu.substack.com. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get…
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23 | Love Studies + Black Feminism: my study of self
Welcoming in Season II of Threadings. Notes on my the orbit of my personhood. An essay once titled, “how do I love myself?” (but I didn’t know what I meant by “love,” so first i sound it out) Themes of the essay: love is the feeling that compels you to action and the action itself. Poetry is the...
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22 | dinner with a capitalist in amsterdam, $115k, and other things that changed my life
in which I tell you about where I've been, where I've ended up, and where I'm going from here. Jazz of the episode: Send In The Clowns x Pat Martino On the Sunny Side of the Street x Johnny Hodges For All We Know x Ahmad Jamal Lilacs in the Rain x Junior Mance Dat Dere (Theme) x Bobby Timmons…
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21| on loving my parents again and again (read: on learning to love myself)
musings once entitled, “a therapist reflects on the whiplash of finally having relationships with my parents i am grateful for, despite it all.” In which I watch the love I have for my parents bloom and die and bloom again. Full transcription available at ismatu.substack.com Jazz of the episode:...
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20| a love letter to my seven year old self: reproductive justice is economic justice
We owe the children of this world tangible and lasting justice— and economic justice touches every kind of oppression there is. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ismatu.substack.com/subscribe
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19| a manifesto: dear internet friends, I’m burning alive.
an open letter to everyone fearful and exhausted, sent with love. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ismatu.substack.com/subscribe
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18| Poverty is an intentional genocide.
Ismatu Gwendolyn, clinical social worker and former impoverished child, doubles down on the ugly (and obvious) truth of why poverty exists in the first place. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit...
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17| To High Chief Bombolai; with love, from your granddaughter.
If you’re reading or listening this, that means I’ve decided to pull back one of the veils of my life and tell you a little bit about my family history. My name is Ismatu Bangura, I am a Sierra Leonean Black American, and I am also the granddaughter of Paramount Chief Alhaji Bombolai [may he rest...
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16| Poverty is a policy choice.
Introductions to a month-long series about poverty eradication, labor rights, and reproductive justice. Partnered with a fundraiser to help agricultural production for indigenous folks in Sierra Leone! Link to donate: gogetfunding.com/ismatu-gwendolyn Read the full essay: substack.ismatu.com...
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15| New Year's Reset: Germinating >>> Goals.
I do not set goals in January and I never will. I love myself too much to rush myself out of my winter hibernation. Why do we impose so much on a year that we just met? How do I hope for the harvest when I have not even tilled the earth yet? The ground is frozen! What if we just... sat and rested...
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Threadings. have?
Threadings. currently has 50 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Threadings. about?
Unfortunately, it is fuck Spotify (and Apple). Get threadings straight from the source: threadings.io sends pictorial, videoed, aural, and written works straight to your inbox.
How often does Threadings. release new episodes?
Threadings. has 50 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Threadings.?
You can listen to Threadings. on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Threadings.?
Threadings. is created and hosted by Ismatu Gwendolyn.
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