Do the mainstream media need history lessons—or do they understand America’s past and choose not to tell the truth?

In this episode of Right of Resistance, host Kuros Charney is joined by scholar, journalist, artist, and organizer Chenjerai Kumanyika for a wide-ranging conversation about media and empire—and why mainstream journalism so often fails to explain the world it claims to cover.

Drawing on his work as a Peabody Award–winning podcaster (Uncivil, Empire City) and editor of Hammer & Hope, Kumanyika explores mainstream media institutions as terrains of struggle, where political education is often absent and official narratives crowd out structural truths. He breaks down what journalists actually need to understand in order to report the daily news, how “public safety” is weaponized to scare voters, and how capitalism and empire produce a fictional understanding of the world—one that too often leads to violence.

The conversation also covers Palestine solidarity on campuses that suppress dissent, Zohran Mamdani’s shifting positions on policing, the hard realities of coalition-building on the left, and why you shouldn’t look to tech bros for insight into masculinity.

Don’t miss this urgent, incisive conversation with one of the sharpest media critics working today.

Subscribe to Right of Resistance on YouTube for videos of our episodes.Become a Patreon member to support our work.Follow us on:• Substack• Twitter/X: @KurosCharney and @RightofResist• Instagram: @KurosCharney and @RightofResistance

At a time when global solidarity with Palestine has never been stronger yet the situation on the ground remains brutally urgent, where does art fit into the struggle for Palestinian liberation?

Writer, actor, and public speaker Najla Said joins host Kuros Charney to explore that question and much more. Drawing on her work in theater and memoir, Najla speaks candidly about the political pressures placed on Palestinian artists, the increasing censorship on U.S. college campuses, and why she no longer feels obligated to make Zionists “comfortable” in her storytelling.

She also reflects on the rapid evolution of Palestine solidarity among young people, the significance of Hollywood’s boycott letter, and how generational shifts—cultural and political—are reshaping the narrative landscape. And yes, she offers her take on what her father, Edward Said, would think of Zohran Mamdani’s election as mayor of New York City.

It’s a conversation about art, courage, and the power of telling the truth when institutions fail to.

Catch Najla onstage in DC in her show Imperfect Allies: Children of Opposite Sides, December 11–14, and follow her on Instagram @kittybubble

Subscribe to Right of Resistance on YouTube for videos of our episodes.Become a Patreon member to support our work.Follow us on:• Substack• Twitter/X: @KurosCharney and @RightofResist• Instagram: @KurosCharney and @RightofResistance

Theme music by Josh Charney.