I had the pleasure of speaking with Jasmin Singer and Mariann Sullivan on their podcast, Our Hen House. It was a great discussion! We talked about why animal activists should join Occupy Wall Street, the possible resurgence of ag-gag bills, and the importance of vibrant, grassroots activism.

Here’s an excerpt:

Jasmin: “…what kinds of activists should AR activists focus on?”

Will: “I do my best to refrain from trying to answer that, because I don’t think I am any more of an expert that anyone listening to this program. I don’t intend that as the total cop out it sounds like, but — I don’t know what the right way to social change is. Through my work I try to raise the point that I don’t think any of us do. I think we all should do what we find most appropriate, given our skills, given our resources, and give our passions. The reason I pursue my work as a form of activism, journalism as activism, is quite simply because I didn’t know what else to do. And I think a lot of people are feeling that way… We all have to find our niches.”

You can listen to the entire show at Our Hen House. My segment of the radio show starts at about 32:34. I hope you’ll listen, and also check out the other Our Hen House podcasts. Jasmin and Mariann offer a wonderful self-reflective voice in the animal rights movement.

I’ll turn one of the questions over to you all: What do you think are the greatest challenges facing the animal rights and environmental movements?

I was on Austin’s KOOP radio a while back, and had a great discussion about the FBI’s use of surveillance, infiltration and informants within social movements with Colleen Rowley (retired FBI agent), Michael May (Texas Observer managing editor), Debbie Russell (ACLU of Texas) and Scott Crow (author of Black Flags and Windmills).

You can listen to the program and download it here. Thanks to Allan Campbell for having me on the program.

I was on Pacifica radio’s Flashpoints last night talking about Earth Day, my new book, and corporate campaigns to silence dissent by labeling activists as “eco-terrorists.” I think it was a great discussion, and an introduction to how, as everyone is “going green,” the environmental movement is increasingly under attack. Listen below (my section starts at 42:50).

I was interviewed by Scott Horton recently about the government’s proposal to make Communications Management Units permanent.

We talked about the history of the experimental units, and what separates them from ADX-Florence, the Supermax. Most importantly, the Supermax was created for the most violent prisoners, who pose a physical threat, and the CMUs were created for political prisoners who pose an ideological threat.

The Bureau’s proposal makes clear that the CMUs are intended to keep political prisoners with “inspirational significance” from the public spotlight.

You can listen to the interview below, and on Antiwar Radio.

Will Potter, founder of the GreenIsTheNewRed blog, discusses the prison-within-a-prison Communications Management Units (CMUs) designed to silence non-violent activist prisoners, limited oversight and questionable legal authority for CMUs, the tendency of governments to criminalize dissent from the left and right and why the erosion of individual rights (even of prisoners) negatively effects the whole society.

I recently interviewed with Dylan Powell about the AETA 4, Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty, Obama, mainstream media, and DC hardcore. I think it turned out to be one of the most interesting radio discussions I’ve been part of, because Dylan is so well-versed on these issues and we had a great conversation trying to pull it all together. Please check it out on the Vegan Police Podcast. And please skip through the section that reveals how much of a nerd I am.

“Animal Voices,” on CIUT 89.5 FM in Toronto, has uploaded their recent show on the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act. We had a great conversation about the history of the law, recent arrests (the AETA 4), and the implications for animal rights activists, environmental activists, and everyone else.

Unravelling the Acronym: Will Potter Exposes the AETA (Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act)

In this interview, Will Potter, award-winning independent journalist and creator of GreenIsTheNewRed.com, demystifies the AETA (Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act) and discusses the implications of the act for advocates. Potter argues that the AETA is a significant threat not only to those who engage in illegal activities on behalf of animals, but also to aboveground activists and even to those outside of the movement. Tune in to hear about the meaning and troubling history of the law, its larger social and political context, and its particular effects on incarcerated activists.

Part I:

Part II:

Also be sure to check out the Animal Voices searchable archives, with nearly 300 shows.

I was on 91.7 KVRX FM in Austin discussing Communication Management Units and the far-reaching implications of the government labeling activists as “eco-terrorists.” You can listen to it on the program website, “On the Fringe.”

In light of the recent arrests under the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, I thought it would a good time to post this presentation I gave at William Mitchell College of Law recently.

It’s a step-by-step walkthrough of the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, with some background on the law and how it was passed. It is, of course, now outdated because the FBI has made the first arrests under the legislation. (I actually talk a bit about that in the lecture, though, in answering someone’s question about the likelihood of prosecution).

I suggest downloading the text of the AETA to have as a reference as we take a closer look.

Also, check out the new Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act landing page I created. It’s a bit sparse right now, but ‘ll be using it to compile and organize the best AETA resources and articles in one place, particularly as these court cases move forward.

Also, what do you all think of posting audio of events like this? Is it useful? And do you prefer the entire talk, or just a highlight?

I spoke with Tom Elko of the Minnesota Independent about how the government is labeling and prosecuting political activists as terrorists, and some patterns that are emerging between a few of the most well-known cases, including the RNC 8 and the SHAC 7.

“They are not going after the people that are doing any alleged crimes,” Potter says of the eight individuals charged with Conspiracy to Riot in Furtherance of Terrorism under Minnesota terrorism laws. “They are going after the most vocal and public figures, and that’s certainly who the RNC8 were.”

“They’re not saying the RNC8 went out there with Molotov cocktails and threw them at cop cars or attacked innocent civilian Republican representatives walking around the Twin Cities. They’re saying they conspired to do so, and conspiracy is a legal and political term that’s been used throughout history when nothing else sticks.”

Click here to listen to the full interview.

At a recent Green Scare benefit, I met two amazing activists from Colombia who are working with a few independent media projects, including Radio Libre. They’re raising awareness of the Green Scare, and how activists in the U.S. are being labeled “eco-terrorists,” because they feel many of these scare-mongering tactics can be exported to other countries.

The brief interview, available here, is in both English and Spanish.

There’s an article in Spanish at NYC Indymedia, and here is a Spanish write-up from Radio Libre:

Las corporaciones y los politicos estan tachando a los activistas de “eco-terroristas” y amenazas de seguridad nacional en Estados Unidos. “Green Scare” traduce amenaza verde y es asociado con el terminos Red Scare o Amenaza Roja, termino que se usa para describir el vergonzoso periodo en E.U desde 1917 a 1920, y de 1947 a 1958 cuando la xenofobia y la paranoia hacia infiltración comunista eran usadas por el estado para encarcelar los tales llamados radicales, comunistas y cualquiere persona acusada de ser “Rojo” o “Roja”.

Hoy en dia el termino Amenaza Verde se refiere a las batallas legales y acciones extrajudiciales por parte del gobiero de E.U en contra del movimiento ecologista y el movimiento por los derechos de los animales a partir del 2002.

A raiz de esto, un numero de presos politicos en E.U cumplen condena acusados de conspirar para realizar una acción, sin siquiere haberla planeado o ejecutado, estan presos por el simple hecho de pensar.

Mas Información:
http://www.greenisthenewred.com
http://www.myspace.com/green_scare

Escuche la entrevista o descargue y difunda el audio aqui:
Entrevista a Will Potter