Podcast Summary: "No one will save us but ourselves"

Podcast: Today, Explained (Vox)
Air Date: February 15, 2026
Host: Jonquian Hill

Episode Overview

The episode delves into the growing significance of mutual aid in American communities, especially as they confront intersecting crises—from pandemics to natural disasters and the persistent inadequacies of government response. Through conversations with organizers, experts, and participants in mutual aid networks, the show explores what mutual aid is, how it differs from traditional charity, its deep historical roots, and why more people are relying on one another today.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

What Is Mutual Aid?

• Mutual aid is defined as neighbors helping neighbors, meeting needs and sharing resources within the community, often filling gaps left by systems of government or formal charities.
  • Quote: “It's neighbors helping neighbors and meeting their needs, drawing on resources that they have in their community.” – Thalia Beatty, reporter ([12:01])
• Activities can range from food distribution, item exchanges, and rides to school, to more strategic organizing, like tracking ICE raids and providing emergency aid after disasters.

Mutual Aid vs. Charity & Philanthropy

• Unlike traditional nonprofits, mutual aid prioritizes solidarity over hierarchy and removes barriers between "helper" and "helped."
  • Quote: “One of the mantras of mutual aid is solidarity, not charity. And what they're getting at there is that they see themselves as taking actions that meet their own needs and the needs of their neighbors.” – Thalia Beatty ([12:48])
• Decisions are usually made by consensus; most groups are not incorporated or seeking tax-deductible donations ([12:48]).

Mutual Aid in Action—Contemporary Examples

• Groups highlighted across the country:
  • Triangle Mutual Aid (North Carolina): Car/bike repair circles, disaster relief following Hurricane Helene ([02:35]).
  • Maui Rapid Response (Hawaii): Responding to elders and vulnerable residents during wildfires and tsunami alerts, creating ad hoc transit systems for distributing supplies ([03:17], [06:04], [07:13]).
  • Minneapolis Families for Public Schools helped neighbors when ICE raids disrupted schools and provided direct aid to families during the pandemic ([04:32], [04:46]).
  • Red Hook Mutual Aid (Brooklyn): Organized phone lines and resource exchange at the height of the pandemic ([11:22]).
• The power of “showing up” for one another was underscored repeatedly:
  • Quote: “The assumption is, yes, you have permission to do whatever needs to be done to help other people. And it was enormously freeing to people.” – Devon Curtis ([08:12])

Challenges Facing Mutual Aid

• Financial/legal concerns: Without organizational structures, issues around taxation, privacy, and accountability can arise ([17:14]).
• Sustainability: Much of the work relies on volunteers who may themselves be struggling and on the absence of formal funding.
• Visibility and Burnout: After an immediate crisis fades, mutual aid groups can shrink or disappear, risking loss of institutional knowledge.

Historical Roots of Mutual Aid

• Deeply entwined in the fabric of American communities, especially marginalized ones:
  • Black, immigrant, and working-class organizations have engaged in mutual aid as survival strategies since at least the 1700s ([21:30]).
  • Rotating credit practices (e.g., “susus” in Caribbean communities) provided crucial financial support when mainstream options were unavailable ([23:02]).
• Mutual aid organizations began to decline when government welfare programs grew, but never disappeared, and surged again during periods of crisis.

Mutual Aid and Social Movements

• The Black Panther Party and other 1960s-70s organizations embodied mutual aid principles—free clinics, school breakfasts, tenant protection, and more ([24:13]).
  • Quote: “The Black Panthers were not a mutual aid group, but they definitely practiced many of the ideals of mutual aid… free ambulance program, free clothing and shoes, childcare and medical centers.” – Tyisha Maddox, historian ([24:46])
• Modern mutual aid builds on and adapts these legacies to current neighborhood and digital networks.

Why Mutual Aid Now?

• Recent crisis events—pandemic, government shutdowns, disasters—exposed “the government didn’t have a plan” ([26:51]).
  • Quote: “No one is gonna save us but ourselves, and we have to be responsible for our communities, particularly when we don’t see the government stepping in.” – Tyisha Maddox ([26:51])
• The resultant sense of collective responsibility is fueling new participation and innovations in mutual aid.

Timestamps — Important Segments

• 01:16–02:35: Introduction of topic; observing the rise of mutual aid during pandemic.
• 02:35–03:17: What mutual aid looks like—local examples in NC, Hawaii.
• 04:32–05:26: Mobilizing for disaster relief (Hurricane Helene in NC, Minneapolis ICE raids).
• 06:04–07:13: Maui wildfire and tsunami response using grassroots networks.
• 08:12–08:32: The emotional and psychological empowerment of helping.
• 12:01–12:43: Thalia Beatty explains mutual aid vs. charity and philanthropy.
• 17:14–18:26: Challenges—financial, legal, privacy, sustainability.
• 21:30–23:28: Tyisha Maddox on the historic roots of mutual aid in marginalized communities.
• 24:13–25:26: Mutual aid’s ties to social movements, especially the Black Panther Party.
• 26:51–28:00: Why mutual aid is rising now.
• 28:14–28:56: How listeners can get started with mutual aid in their own communities.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “The assumption is, yes, you have permission to do whatever needs to be done to help other people.”
  – Devon Curtis, Triangle Mutual Aid ([08:12])

• “You can have your life or your humanity. And what Minnesotans have said very clearly, emphatically, is, we will take our humanity every time.”
  – Shannon Gibney, Minneapolis Mutual Aid ([08:32])

• “Hope is a muscle. Hope is when you fight. Hope can be rage-filled.”
  – Jane Fonda (segment highlight, [10:40])

• “One of the mantras of mutual aid is solidarity, not charity.”
  – Thalia Beatty, AP reporter ([12:48])

• “No one is gonna save us but ourselves, and we have to be responsible for our communities.”
  – Tyisha Maddox ([26:51])

How to Get Involved

• Start Local: Look for existing mutual aid groups, join community forums, and check local listings.
• If needed, initiate your own: Pool resources with neighbors and start by addressing immediate needs ([28:14]).

Tone & Language

The episode is earnest, community-focused, and realistic, combining personal testimony, historical analysis, and journalistic inquiry. There’s a balance of urgency and hope, emphasizing agency and collective care in the face of systemic failures.

This episode is a resonant exploration of how ordinary people are reimagining social safety nets—reminding us that sometimes, the most reliable response comes not from institutions, but from one another.