Image Credit: X/@natoreyes
With so much censorship and tumultuous events going on today, it is important to speak on it. Week 8’s episode was brought to you by the interns of the News Department here at UCLA Radio. With the theme of revolution and resistance, the show was split into three main sections: international, domestic, and local news. Following these three portions, the interns posed a question for the UCLA student body and a segment on popular culture and art. Sprinkled throughout the program were songs focusing on our set theme or from the marginalized communities mentioned in the duration of the episode.
Starting off the show after introductions was our segment on international news. Led by Winnie Xu and Safiya Tyehimba, they hosted dialogue for a number of conversations across the globe. Going from the Philippines to the Democratic Republic of Congo, the interns discussed a wide variety of pressing issues throughout the continents. The first point of contention was focused on Yemen and the United States/United Kingdom-Houthi conflict. The United States and United Kingdom have been launching military strikes onto Houthi bases due to the Houthis being in support of Palestine and in opposition to Israel. The subsequent topic discussed was the civil conflict within Sudan with the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces. Echoing the genocide of Darfur, the same targeted groups of that genocide are being targeted once again; namely the Masalit. Following up the discussion of Sudan was a brief mention of protests throughout the Philippines in response to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. plans to amend the constitution. The protests took place on the 38th anniversary of the People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution. After this came a discussion about both the Democratic Republic of Congo, Palestine, and US interference. Occurring in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the tensions between Rwanda and M23 have worsened. This led to the seizing of territories in North Kivu, thus worsening the humanitarian situation. Continuing on through the international news portion of the show, the topic International Court of Justice and Palestine came up. In this discussion, it was conveyed that the International Court of Justice had been having hearings in regards to the rights and displacement of the Palestinian people. This concluded the international news segment of the episode and brought us to our first song of the show, “Genealogy of Revolution” by Hamed Sinno, a Lebanese artist who has been using his platform to speak on current Palestinian issues and conflicts.
Following international news came domestic news. This portion was led by both Sarah Lustgarten and Natalie Chen. The first point of discussion was Aaron Bushnell (25), a US military member who had used himself as a martyr for the Palestinian conflict. In a livestream on Twitch, Bushnell performed an act of self-immolation dressed in a military uniform in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington DC. In the video, Bushnell was seen yelling that he “will no longer be complicit in genocide” and to “Free Palestine”. Subsequent to the previous topic, the next point of contention discussed was about Haitian asylum seekers taking the Biden administration to court for racial discrimination and rights violations. The lawsuit was brought by 11 Haitian asylum seekers abused by US Border Patrol agents while being forcibly placed in a makeshift encampment on the banks of Rio Grande, Texas. The plaintiffs are represented by the Haitian Bridge Alliance and other immigrant rights groups. One of the main acts of abuse presented in the courts was a photo of one of the plaintiffs being whipped by a Border Patrol agent on horseback, grabbing the plaintiff by the shirt collar. After the domestic news segment came the second song of the show, “HiiiPower” by Kendrick Lamar.
Ensuing the Kendrick Lamar song, our local news segment of the show commenced, led by Natalie Chen. It has been recently announced that there will soon be a Chinatown-Dodger Stadium gondola project. In a unanimous 11-0 vote, the Transportation Authority approved the environmental analysis of the project. The Chinatown-Dodger Stadium gondola will be a 1.2 mile aerial gondola that would connect Union Station and Dodger Stadium, running above Chinatown, Mission Junction, Elysian Park, and Solano Canyon. The project has been advertised as a way of improving traffic congestion. In approval of the vote, there were a list of conditions to provide community benefits to Chinatown such as free rides for Chinatown residents, a community development package with funds for residents displaced due to the stadium, protections to prevent taxpayer liability, requirement of affordable housing should Dodger Stadium parking lots be developed, and more. During the hearings and testimonies at Metro headquarters, residents warned that the project will cause housing costs to rise, while supporters of the gondola say the project will spur economic development, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and invoke residents to use their cars less. Opponents of this project warn against former Dodgers owner Frank McCourt’s involvement in the project as they believe his motive is to expand the parking lots. After this segment came a song by Palestinian artist, Emel, performing “Holm”.
After “Holm” by Emel, our more lighthearted portion of the show began. Led by Sarah Lustgarten, she posed a question for UCLA students and discussed popular culture and art, which opened the booth up to engaging in dialogue. The question posed was, “What are some ways you can enact positive change in your community in any way and for anything?” Going off of this, we switched into our conversation of popular culture and arts; mainly about new releases for the week. There was mention of Yeat’s new album, Normani announcing her debut album, and Faye Webster releasing an album as well. A brief talk was held about SZA’s single “Saturn” and how she would be releasing new versions of this song to accommodate fans’ liking. Lastly, it was announced that Beyonce’s “Texas Hold ‘Em” was the singer’s first number one single on the country charts. Beyoncé became the first black woman to reach number one on the Hot Country Songs Chart, according to Billboard. Following this, the News interns said their goodbyes to the listeners of the show, and played one last song: “Sokkar” by Elyanna.
