Flanders was in the house at the National Hip-Hop Political Convention in Chicago

RadioNation with Laura Flanders and Flanders went on location Saturday to Chicago where the National Hip-Hop Political Convention was taking place. Along with Biko Baker, listeners were treated to the voices of young activists explaining their concerns and their ways of mobilizing.

One man explained that he thought it was a mistake to register voters and attempt to steer them into a party. His work consisted of, he explained, registering them and talking to them, finding out their issues and then devising strategies that spoke to them by, and this will shock the Beltway crowd, incorporating issues that matter to actual voters into the strategies.

A woman spoke of her own efforts at outreach and why she felt they were important. She wondered, noting the progressives in D.C., "How progressive is it to be surrounded by white men? If everyone in the room is a White man over fifty, that's not very progressive to me."
[Second sentence may be a paraphrase.]

We agree with her, how progressive is that? And her comments about the reality of racism and sexism and the needs to expand the involvement of a multitude of people from different backgrounds into the discussion was a home run for us.

It was three hours (with commercials) of hearing passionate voices speaking about their efforts and their hopes. Voices often shut out from other media (and the Beltway) stating their truths.
If you missed it, a best of Saturday and Sunday's programs goes online this week (usually on Tuesday or Wednesday). It's a one hour condensed version (commerical free). This version also plays on non-commerical radio so you can check stations for that as well.

Today, from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm EST, Flanders guests will include, stealing from C.I.:

Stephen F. Cohen -- contributing editor to The Nation, NYU professor and like a walking Wikipedia on the subject of Russia but with the facts right! (cheap Wikipedia joke, true, but it illustrates the point) -- and Jamal Dajani (no my dyslexia did not cause me to get Dahr Jamail's name wrong, the guest is Jamal Dajani) the director of LinkTV's Middle Eastern programming. Plus Claude Anshin Thomas on the journey from Vietnam veteran to Buddhist monk and "an upcoming Los Angeles retreat to help heal post-war trauma."

You can hear the broadcast on XM satellite radio, on stations carrying Air America Radio programming and online at RadioNation with Laura Flanders.