#36: The Rojava Revolution

The Ex-Worker is back! We may have taken a break, but social struggles and resistance across the world have not. In this episode, we focus on the unfolding social revolution in Rojava or western Kurdistan, where an ambitious set of political, economic, and military experiments are transforming the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. In the borderlands of Turkey and Syria, self-organized militias have successfully opposed the Islamic State while challenging gender oppression and securing autonomy for an emerging stateless society. Interviews with supporters from the Turkish group "Revolutionary Anarchist Action" (DAF) set the stage, complemented by a Kurdish refugee and activist's reflections on the role of women's resistance to patriarchy. We also review "A Small Key Can Unlock a Large Door," a recently released anthology of texts describing the Rojava revolution, and continue our yearly tradition of a lively report of May Day actions across the globe. We also respond to a variety of listener feedback, with discussions of the Ross Ulbricht case, anarchist parenting, and how even spambots are impacted by recent revolutionary struggles!