People Place Power

Over six decades— that’s how long the Indian state of Manipur has been under the Indian government’s martial law. That means the army can kill, torture, or arrest anyone for mere suspicion.

When the law doesn’t protect you, how do you protect yourself from the law? The Indigenous women of Manipur have been defending themselves and their communities from one of the largest armies in the world for decades using the power of their own bodies.

Tune in to our second episode to hear from Binalakshmi Nepram, one of today’s leaders in the struggle to free Manipur from state-imposed violence.

Adrianne Chalepah was never afraid to speak out. Growing up, she couldn’t keep quiet when her teachers brushed over Native American history and tradition, calling Native Peoples “basically Asian.” Adrianne talked back and was punished by her teachers for having a big mouth.

Today, Adrianne brings her “big mouth” to the stage as a comedian. She jokes about being Native in the US not only as a way to release all that energy, but to help her communities heal from the trauma, past and present, that the US government has inflicted on Native people.

Listen to our first episode to learn how Adrianne is creating change through comedy.

Learn more about People • Place • Power and this episode at our website, www.PeoplePlacePower.com, and follow us on Instagram to get updates on future episodes. Learn more about Adrianne at her website, chalepah.com, or on Instagram.

Nixon Boumba is a Haitian activist working to combat proposed gold mining in Haiti. What does it look like to build international solidarity networks to challenge powerful corporations? Benjamin spoke with Boumba about his experiences with mining and tourism in Haiti, and his thoughts on building successfully alliances. Please consider donating to Haitian-driven earthquake recovery efforts here.

This episode is the second installment of Activist Chats, a bonus series in which we have short, candid conversations with activists we admire about why they do what they do.

For Abby Stein, home was the insulated Hasidic neighborhood of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. She came from a lineage of prominent religious figures, and grew up speaking mostly Yiddish, avoiding any and all pop culture, and believing that most of the world was Ultra-Orthodox Jewish. Eventually, she was ordained as a Rabbi and started a family.

The only problem? Everyone thought she was a man.

In this episode, we'll hear about Abby's experiences as an author, model, speaker, rabbi, and the first openly transgender woman raised in a Hasidic community. She'll tell us how she left her home and her family and learned to live a vastly different life only a short subway ride away. We'll explore how Abby is pursuing change in her community from the outside.

To support people who are considering leaving their religious communities, donate to Footsteps, the non-profit that helped Abby. Read more and support our work at www.peopleplacepower.com.

Up in the snowy mountains of Colorado, in a little group of buildings many call a ghost town, there is a man named billy.

billy’s a bit of a legend. He lives alone, and during the winter, he doesn’t see anyone for months on end. But from his unique, solitary, hermit-like lifestyle, he has somehow changed the face of climate science.

Tune into episode three to find out how.