Radical Books Collective | Substack

We build community and strengthen solidarities through conversations about books, culture and politics. We organize book clubs, events, podcasts and immersive seminars.

Podcasts

58:52

Ep 30. On Media Gaslighting: Bombing Iran, Starving Gaza, Killing Children, Saving Muslim Women

Suchitra, Madhuri and Bhakti unpack Western media propaganda about Iran as the war escalates and the death toll mounts in Iran and Lebanon.

Mar 4 • Radical Books Collective

54:26

Ep 29. On Media Gaslighting: Trump’s Hatefest, Slurs at BAFTA, Epstein’s Royal Spy Andrew & Modi in Israel

Madhuri, Suchitra and Bhakti unpack an apocalyptic week of events and how the media (did not) cover them in an analytical or critical way.

Mar 3 • Radical Books Collective

51:52

Ep 28. On Media Gaslighting: When Celebrities Become Activists, When Activists Become Celebrities

Bhakti, Suchitra and Madhuri tackle celebrity activism and activist celebrities: who gets heard, who gets shut down, whether it works, what are its…

Feb 22 • Radical Books Collective

Radical Books Collective

Radical Books Collective

Book clubs, book events, podcasts. Formerly Warscapes magazine 🇵🇸🍉

Newsletters

Palestine at the Movies: A Triptych

By Bhakti Shringarpure. This year, three powerful Palestinian films by women directors make urgent interventions in a highly contested area: history…

6 hrs ago • Radical Books Collective

1:15:30

Were the movies very political this year?

Our pre-Oscars round-up of an unusual and interesting year in film includes the highs and lows, analyses, take-downs, praise and predictions!

21 hrs ago • Radical Books Collective and THE POLIS PROJECT

1:00:17

On Media Gaslighting: Bombing Iran, Starving Gaza, Killing Children & Saving Muslim Women

Watch now (60 mins) | A recording from Radical Books Collective's live video

Mar 3 • Radical Books Collective, THE POLIS PROJECT, and Suchitra Vijayan

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Book Clubs

May 4, 2025: Reading Palestine 4 - Perfect Victims and the Politics of Appeal by Mohammed El-Kurd

We continue to engage with the fight for Palestinian freedom by turning to the words of Palestinian writers themselves.

Apr 23, 2025 • Radical Books Collective

March 29, 2025: We, The Kindling by Otoniya J. Okot Bitek

We will read We, the Kindling, the debut novel by acclaimed poet Otoniya J.

Apr 23, 2025 • Radical Books Collective

Dec 1, 2024: Reading Palestine 3 - Isabella Hammad's Recognizing The Stranger and ArabLit's And Still We Write

We continue to engage with the fight for Palestinian freedom by turning to the words of Palestinian writers themselves.

Apr 23, 2025 • Radical Books Collective

Podcasts

BookRising

Otoniya J. Okot Bitek: Against Forgetting

Radical Futures

24. The Ballot as Battleground: Featuring Anjali Enjeti

It's Not You, It's The Media

Ep 30. On Media Gaslighting: Bombing Iran, Starving Gaza, Killing Children, Saving Muslim Women

The Age of Fanon

The Age of Fanon, 2: Hunger and Starvation

By Bhakti Shringarpure. As Israel starves Gaza, Frantz Fanon's references to hunger and starvation reveal that these have always been tactical weapons…

Aug 2, 2025 • Radical Books Collective

1:02:03

9. Frantz Fanon Stands for Revolutionary Love, Not Violence: Featuring Hassane Mezine

Frantz Fanon, the Martinican psychiatrist, prolific scholar, and active participant in the Algerian war of independence against France would have been…

Jul 27, 2025 • Radical Books Collective

“If you want to claim Fanon, do something: Act." - Olivier Fanon

By Bhakti Shringarpure. In a candid interview, Olivier Fanon reflects on the legacy of his father Frantz Fanon at 100 years and speaks intimately about…

Jul 17, 2025 • Radical Books Collective

49:21

8. Frantz Fanon at 100: Featuring Olivier Fanon

Podcast was recorded in French. English subtitles are available in the YouTube video included below.

Jul 17, 2025 • Radical Books Collective

Undisciplined: Notes on Carceral Academia

From the Warscapes archives: Mahmood Mamdani interview from 2013

Zohran Mamdani's exciting win in New York City has sparked an interest in my conversation with his father, the scholar Mahmood Mamdani, from over 12…

Nov 20, 2025 • Radical Books Collective

1:03:05

7. The Repression of Palestine on American Campuses: Featuring Maura Finkelstein

Anthropologist Maura Finkelstein had always incorporated Palestine in her university teaching and felt that, as an anti-Zionist, Jewish American…

Jul 14, 2025 • Radical Books Collective

"With Gaza, we are beyond the breaking point." - Huda Fakhreddine

Scholar of Arabic literature Huda Fakhreddine on being vilified at congressional hearings, UPenn's cowardice, and the racism of literature departments…

Jul 7, 2025 • Radical Books Collective

UCop: A Small Town Tale of Big Cop Ambitions

Actual policing and administrative policing are two sides of the same coin at UConn's rural campus as the intersecting violence toward pro-Palestine…

May 24, 2025 • Radical Books Collective

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