It Could Happen Here Weekly 222 – Summary

Date: March 7, 2026
Podcast: It Could Happen Here (Cool Zone Media & iHeartPodcasts)

Episode Overview

This extended compilation episode covers four major stories from the past week:

1. Mutual Aid and Leftist Organizing in Israel/Palestine – A deep profile of mutual aid efforts, political awakenings, and the evolving struggles of the Israeli Left, with Danielle Kantor of "Culture of Solidarity" and host Donna Al Kurd.

2. New York’s 'Tax the Rich' Movement – On-the-ground coverage of a major protest in Albany over New York City’s financial crisis and campaign to increase state taxes on the wealthy.

3. Iran War Escalation – Detailed analysis of the recent bombing campaign against Iran, the structure of the Iranian state, ethnic politics, and commentary on potential regime change, with special focus on Kurdish perspectives.

4. Media Monopolies and Hollywood Consolidation – A sweeping conversation about media conglomerate mergers, the dangers of cultural monopoly, and the aesthetics and politics of film in the age of capital.

The episode closes with Executive Disorder, a roundtable newscast on current US politics, the unfolding war in Iran, the economy, anti-trans policy, and the Texas/North Carolina primaries.

1. Mutual Aid and Leftist Organizing in Israel/Palestine

(Featured: Danielle Kantor of Culture of Solidarity, hosted by Donna Al Kurd)
Timestamps: 00:33–34:07

Key Topics & Insights

• Mutual Aid in Israel/Palestine:

  • Culture of Solidarity began during COVID-19 to address food waste and immediate hunger, but quickly radicalized as volunteers confronted the political roots of local poverty.
  • "We thought we were kind of just, like, good citizens doing the work and not understanding how politically charged it is to serve your community when they're actively being oppressed by the systems that are supposed to care for them." – Danielle Kantor (04:10)
  • Aim to provide culturally appropriate food, diapers, baby formula, and host learning events funding aid.

• Politics of Mutual Aid:

  • Grassroots, non-institutional, 100% community-funded—deliberate rejection of NGOs and salaries to avoid entrenching dependence or complicity with oppressive systems.
  • "We didn't want to institutionalize and become part of a system that is responsible for that... we didn't want to make a business out of something that shouldn't be needed." – Danielle Kantor (05:14)

• Personal and Political Awakening:

  • Volunteers undergo a journey of unlearning and confronting the complicity of Israeli society in occupation and ongoing violence.
  • After October 7th, discussions and emotions around genocide, ethnic cleansing, and identity became more fraught and polarized.

• Teaching, Learning, and Coalition Work:

  • Events are central: debates, workshops, cultural tours with groups like Gisha, Breaking the Silence, Zechot; work with both Israeli and Palestinian organizations.
  • "We collaborate in some way or another... uplifting each other and collaborating is so important to not feel alone as Israelis against the occupation." – Danielle Kantor (14:46)
  • Direct work with Palestinian groups in the West Bank and Gaza, including annual Ramadan campaign and previously with Oda Delin (killed by a settler).

• Role of the Israeli Left in Palestinian Liberation:

  • Protective presence: Israeli activists sleep in Palestinian homes to prevent settler or army attacks.
  • Focus on fighting within Israeli society for education and to combat apathy, not just "the fascist government" but societal indifference.
  • "As long as we live on this land... we have a huge responsibility, if not the number one responsibility to Palestinian liberation." – Danielle Kantor (22:15)
  • Describes bitterness and compassion required to maintain activism despite backlash and isolation within Israeli society.

Memorable Quotes

• "You're living in a genocidal society and you're around people that could justify certain, you know, acts, certain war crimes." – Danielle Kantor (10:23)
• "People are human beings... it's difficult for them to... unlearn. It's an extremely difficult thing to go through." – Donna Al Kurd (20:59)
• "We've planted roots on rotten soil. We've pushed people out of their homes and took them as our own. And we're not really willing to reconcile what we've become, what we've done." – Danielle Kantor (31:33)

2. New York's 'Tax the Rich' Movement and Budget Crisis

(Reported by Garrison Davis, includes on-the-ground audio and interviews)
Timestamps: 35:12–59:56

Key Topics & Insights

• Albany Protest Coverage:

  • Over 1,000 protesters, labor unions, and advocacy groups rally to demand progressive tax increases on NYC’s wealthiest to address a massive $12 billion deficit inherited from former Mayor Eric Adams.
  • Grassroots coalition called 'Our Time' spun off from the team that elected new socialist mayor Zoran Mamdani.

• Policy Demands:

  • Creation of new income tax brackets for millionaires, corporate tax, a local Fair Share Act, and a Universal Child Care Act.
  • If these taxes aren't raised, city property taxes would need to soar by 9.5%.

• Political Stakes:

  • Protestors confronted the reality that winning elections is only the first step; pressure is needed to make governors and legislators act.
  • Mayor Mamdani’s absence from protest questioned but addressed: “My not attending one event does not change in any way the strength with which I believe this.” (55:35)

• Coalition and Labor Involvement:

  • Far-reaching alliance: United Auto Workers, New York State Nurses Association, Taxi Workers Alliance, PSC-CUNY, etc.
  • Democratic socialists seek to demonstrate that left-wing governance can be effective.

Notable Moments

• [49:41] Interview with Liz Stevenson of PSC-CUNY about funding public higher ed by taxing Columbia & NYU’s property holdings.
• [54:12–54:24] Powerful protest chants echo through the legislative halls: "Tax the rich!"

Memorable Quotes

• "This fight to tax the rich is a fight that the unions are united on, as demonstrated by the attendees and representatives present at the Albany rally." – Garrison Davis (45:32)
• "It is the only way that we can get the funding that we need for many services, including CUNY, is by taxing the rich." – Liz Stevenson (49:49)

3. Iran War Escalation & Kurdish Politics

(Interview: James Stout & Gordain/Gordian; continued in roundtable)
Timestamps: 59:56–99:15, 148:21–175:47

Key Topics & Insights

• Israeli/US Strikes on Iran:

  • Coordinated air campaign hits Tehran and multiple Iranian cities, targeting leadership, IRGC bases, and infrastructure.
  • Mass civilian panic; food and fuel shortages; Internet blackouts; severe risk of mass civilian casualties as bases are co-located with civilian areas.

• Ethnic/Civilian Dynamics:

  • Iran is multi-ethnic, with Kurds, Baluch, and Arabs living as marginalized communities; regime persecutes these groups, and their parties are targeted.
  • Huge anxiety over fate of conscripted soldiers and ordinary civilians near military targets.

• Prospects for Regime Change:

  • Kurds in Iranian Kurdistan have formed new alliances (pjak, kdpi, Komala, Chabat), are preparing for instability, and distrust both monarchists and US intentions.
  • Widespread fear among Kurds and others that—after decades of sacrifice—Western powers may again betray them post-regime-change, as seen in Syria and Iraq.
  • US military running dangerously low on guided munitions; likely to shift to less discriminate weaponry with increased civilian casualties.

• Wider Implications:

  • Iranian water crisis (Tehran almost out of water).
  • Closure of Strait of Hormuz threatens global oil supply, triggers stock market collapse in oil-dependent nations.
  • Disinformation rampant due to social media monetization.

Memorable Quotes

• "What's going on right now is a full scare war... I think it's even larger than [the Iraq War] because Iran is a very big country and there are hundreds or maybe thousands of points across the country that have been targeted with heavy bombings inside Tehran, around Tehran." – Gordain (63:02)
• "For me, it's very painful to say this, but I think our people have to sacrifice a little bit more. More than that. They have been sacrificing for over 150 years." – Gordain (87:44)
• "This is the first war, potentially major war, that started while already in place was an entire system that monetized people getting disinformation about that war to go viral." – Robert Evans (175:05)

4. Media Monopolies and the Collapse of Film Culture

(Conversation: Mia Wong & Vicky Osterweil)
Timestamps: 99:31–141:20

Key Topics & Insights

• Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger:

  • Paramount set to acquire Warner Bros., consolidating US film production into three massive studios (Disney, Paramount/Warner, Sony), with Netflix and Amazon as new "studios."
  • Media consolidation has dire consequences for culture; deep historical analysis traces back to Edison’s copyright wars through Reagan deregulation and the rise of global IP.

• Dangers of Monopoly:

  • Ownership of massive IP libraries creates an incentive to smother innovation ("every idea that isn’t Sesame Street is a threat").
  • Streaming and digital copyright law enable passive rent collection for the largest conglomerates while crushing new music, film, and even novelty.

• Fascist Media & Cultural Aesthetics:

  • Censors’ worry is not openly fascist films, but how family-friendly blockbusters and bland adventure stories ("the orchestra principle") serve as ideological reduction and social anesthetic.
  • "Fascist filmmaking looks like family adventure fare... we have been so blinded to the way that this happens." – Vicky Osterweil (132:31)

• Regulatory Failure & Structural Capitalism:

  • Breaking up monopolies isn't enough—they inevitably reform; only revolutionary economic change can stop structural consolidation.
  • America’s new right-wing owners will churn out more Top Gun Mavericks, but the fascist undercurrent of blockbuster spectacle is nothing new.

Memorable Quotes

• "Every new idea is competition... if you own enough IP, it's in your logical material interest to stop new ideas from being made." – Vicky Osterweil (121:01)
• "Fascist filmmaking has not looked like that for the most part... fascist filmmaking looks like family adventure fare often." – Vicky Osterweil (132:27)
• "Movies are bad, but the other thing is that movies are good—it's the dialectic in motion." – Vicky Osterweil (139:44)

5. Executive Disorder: US Political Roundtable

(Garrison Davis, Mia Wong, James Stout, Robert Evans)
Timestamps: 141:20–199:14

Political Developments

• ICE Raids and Deportations:

  • Federal raids at Columbia University, arrests via misrepresentation, student released after mayoral intervention.

• White House & Trump Actions:

  • Secretary of Homeland Security Christine Noem resigns, replaced by Markwayne Mullin.
  • Trump directly intervenes in immigration enforcement and showy anti-Spain sanctions after US bases barred from Spanish territory.

• Iran War News:

  • Massive US/Israeli escalation, first open war in the "misinformation age."
  • US burning through guided munitions, may be forced to use less discriminate, deadlier weapons.
  • Economic fallout already paralyzing oil trade; markets collapse in South Korea and Thailand.
  • US Military officers frame war as biblically ordained ("Trump has been anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon" – report from field, 170:22).

• US Domestic Politics:

  • Transphobic legislation in Kansas strips thousands of trans people of IDs and rights, ACLU lawsuit challenges.
  • Texas and North Carolina primaries highlight Democratic challenges, voter suppression, and the party's internal struggle over messaging and progressive values.
  • Anti-trans, pro-ICE Democrats routed in North Carolina with margins of 30–50%.

Quotes & Notable Moments

• "The only minority destroying this country is the billionaires. Trans people aren't taking away our health care... It's the billionaires and their puppet politicians." – James Talarico (candidate, 193:12)
• "Primaries tend to include more informed, politically engaged voters and that is one of the things that engages people most right now, specifically the ICE stuff." – James Stout (197:32)

Additional Notable Quotes

• "The United States is burning through long-range precision guided missiles at an unsustainable rate..." – Robert Evans (165:19)
• "We're just in a time of extreme literalism, where everything is really, really, like, script-driven... deeply fascist concepts, they're just more subtle than goose-stepping SS uniforms." – Vicky Osterweil (135:01)

Conclusion

It Could Happen Here Weekly 222 is a sprawling, content-rich episode chronicling global crisis, grassroots responses, political trends, and reflections on the machinery of culture and power—structured through on-the-ground reporting, interviews, and wide-ranging analysis. The team delivers a bleak yet insightful journey through the burning ruins and the contested pathways to a more just future.

For more detail, refer to the provided timestamps to target sections most relevant to your interest.