The Chris Hedges Report

Episode: Decolonizing The World (w/ Amin Husain)
Date: January 22, 2026

Overview

In this powerful episode, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges interviews Amin Husain—Palestinian activist, academic, and co-founder of "Decolonize This Place." Together, they explore the realities of settler colonialism, the ongoing genocide in Palestine, and interconnected struggles against oppression in Western societies. The conversation weaves Husain’s personal journey, activism, and critical views on institutions—museums, academia, and political systems—highlighting the challenges and stakes in decolonization work today.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Personal Roots in Struggle and the Meaning of Decolonization

• Amin Husain’s Upbringing in Occupied Palestine
  • Grew up during the first Intifada, experiencing Israeli occupation first-hand.
  • Describes formative events: being forced to erase nationalist slogans at 12 by Israeli soldiers, eventual refusal leading to violence but also personal radicalization.
  • Quote ([03:33], Amin):
    “That refusal—refusing to do what they say—was the beginning of a journey for me: the ability to say no in the face of insurmountable power and violence. That’s how I got radicalized.”

2. The Mechanics of Settler Colonialism: Palestine and Beyond

• Interconnectedness of Colonial Projects

  • Husain emphasizes that settler colonialism is not unique to Palestine; it’s part of a global modernity project stretching back to 1492.

  • Draws parallels between US and Israeli histories: both built on land theft, dispossession, and systems of oppression (slavery, migrant exploitation).

  • Discusses learning from Black Lives Matter, indigenous movements, and global anti-colonial struggles.

  • Quote ([06:30], Amin):
    “To speak of settler colonialism over there is to remember that we’re on stolen land over here. These histories are not erased. They are part of our present, and they’re important for the kind of solidarities and coalitions that we build in order to get free.”

3. Museums and Monuments as Sites of Struggle

• Decolonizing the American Museum of Natural History

  • “Decolonize This Place” organized protests and ‘anti-Columbus tours’ to challenge the racist and imperialist narratives.

  • The Teddy Roosevelt monument—a symbol of white supremacy—was finally removed; yet broader issues persist.

  • Quote ([10:52], Amin):
    “There’s nothing normal about a 36-foot monument that’s about imperialism and white supremacy. …That project of the United States is on flawed ground.”

• On Looted Objects and Cultural Erasure

  • Objects in museums such as the Met are looted artifacts, with their presence serving to ‘wash’ colonial history rather than confront it.

  • Quote ([16:07], Amin):
    “Diluted [sic; looted] stuff becomes ornaments for the people over here. And what kind of people? Wealthy people.”

4. Systems of Power, Capital, and Their Shifting Forms

• The Influence of Oligarchs

  • Institutions (museums, universities) are shaped by oligarchic donors (e.g., Larry Fink/BlackRock) and not responsive to communities.

• Movement Trajectories and Counter-Offensives

  • Reflects on Occupy Wall Street, Black Lives Matter, Standing Rock, “land back” movements—pointing to recurring themes of partial wins, co-optation, and systemic rollback (especially post-2016).

  • Notes the manufactured band-aid of DEI initiatives and their rapid removal.

  • Quote ([18:14], Amin):
    “You organize, organize, organize. They give you a little sliver, and then they take it away… because everyone has to eat, everyone has to work, no one has time. Everyone’s overwhelmed. So structurally, they take advantage of that.”

• On “Decolonizing Institutions”

  • Institutions themselves may not be “salvageable”; focus shifts on using them to build networks, analysis, and praxis for liberation beyond institutional boundaries.

5. Elections and Political Realities

• Limits of Electoral Politics

  • Cites recent local politics (Mamdani’s win and repeal of IHRA measures) as partial progress, but underscores that politicians are bound by the same oppressive structures.

  • Quote ([26:34], Amin):
    “Elections and politicians are beholden to that structure. What we need…is a project that points the other direction: not assimilation and extraction, but liberation.”

• On Synagogues and Land Sales

  • Recent protests in NYC against synagogues hosting West Bank/Gaza land sales, and the dangers of curtailing First Amendment rights under false pretenses.

6. Strategies for Resistance and Building Power

• Refusal, Collective Action, and Ungovernability

  • Advocates for “strike” as a tool, refusal as a stance, organizing outside of purity politics.

  • Cites October 7 and Palestinian resistance as an act of refusal with global resonance.

  • Financial tools—raising funds through mutual aid, repurposing debt strikes.

  • Warns of mounting state repression—domestic terrorism laws, financial exclusion.

  • Quote ([31:05], Amin):
    “We have no choice but to resist. This mode of resistance isn’t about violence. It’s about a refusal of having an allegiance to something that’s killing you. Just that—wherever we are, from there, space opens up, and a different conversation can be had.”

• Interconnected Nature of Struggles

  • Urges moving beyond “issue silos,” recognizing how anti-authoritarian, anti-racist, and anti-imperial fights overlap.

7. The Crisis in Academia

• Husain’s Experience at NYU

  • Fired after public statements refuting Israeli disinformation post-Oct 7.

  • Investigation focused on his social media activity, not classroom conduct. Censorship and criminalization were clear deterrence tactics.

  • Meta (Instagram) removed “Decolonize This Place” account, cutting off massive audience reach.

  • Quote ([44:05], Amin):
    “Universities are supposed to be places of learning and questioning. …But what’s happening is elevating certain disciplines—militarism, data computation—while liberal arts become extinct.”

• General Trends: Purge and Precinct Adjacency

  • Increasing university alignment with finance, police, surveillance. Liberal arts and spaces for dissent systematically defunded, while administration swells.
  • Campuses now hostile environments for solidarity and critical thought.

8. Final Thoughts: The Future of Struggle

• On Community and Liberation

  • Freedom is about time and space, not just the absence of debt.

  • Need to step beyond individual solutions and comfort zones; community is constructed through struggle, not received by default.

  • The structures causing these crises are actively changing, not merely collapsing (“empire is falling” misreads the moment).

  • Quote ([54:00], Amin):
    “Solidarity and your own liberation and fighting and refusal is never comfortable. People have to step out of their comfort right now. …We’re all individually not going to save ourselves. It doesn’t work that way.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “[Palestine] clarifies what is happening in the world. …it’s one type of future.” ([06:30], Amin)
• “There’s nothing normal about a 36-foot monument that’s about imperialism and white supremacy.” ([10:52], Amin)
• “To think about the museum is to also make the argument that these sites are not salvageable.” ([18:14], Amin)
• “[Resisting] isn’t about violence… it’s a refusal of having an allegiance to something that’s killing you.” ([31:05], Amin)
• “Universities are supposed to be places of learning and questioning… but what’s happening is elevating certain disciplines while liberal arts become extinct.” ([44:05], Amin)

Important Timestamps

• [00:10–03:33]: Husain’s childhood under occupation & seeds of radicalization
• [06:05–10:32]: The global mechanics of settler colonialism & its modern echoes
• [10:32–17:38]: Museums as battlegrounds for decolonization & public memory
• [18:14–26:21]: The limits of institutional reform and the entwined power of capital
• [26:21–31:05]: Politics, assimilation vs. liberation, and recent NYC activism
• [31:05–41:59]: Strategies for survival and refusal in the face of authoritarian resurgence
• [41:59–47:34]: Academia’s complicity, Husain’s firing, and the criminalization of dissent
• [47:34–54:00]: The broader crisis of education and the urgency to build true community

Tone and Style

The dialogue is deeply analytical, urgent, and unapologetically political. Husain blends personal narrative with sharp structural critique, maintaining a tone of solidarity and possibility—even amid profound challenges. Hedges brings in historical and contemporary comparison, reinforcing the systemic nature of these struggles.

For listeners seeking incisive reflections on Palestine, solidarity, and the path forward in an era of resurgent authoritarianism, this episode is essential.