We were fortunate to have Orisanmi Burton join us to discuss his highly acclaimed book - Tip of the Spear: Black Radicalism, Prison Repression, and the Long Attica Revolt. We breakdown archival war, the methodological approach Orisanmi developed for writing Tip of the Spear, delve into counterinsurgency and its use by the carceral warfare state, learn how letter writing is a language of liberation, and explore why Attica has loomed so large in the public consciousness for so long. Orisanmi Burton is an Assistant Professor of Social Anthropology at American University and the author of Tip of the Spear: Black Radicalism, Prison Repression, and the Long Attica Revolt. You can pick up a copy NOW from Workshops for Gaza, a collective committed to the liberation of Palestine. All proceeds will directly support solidarity efforts in Gaza

Follow Orisanmi Burton on Twitter @orisanmi

Follow us on Twitter @pplscityprop and IG @peoplescitypropaganda

Follow our hosts Jason Reedy @AxumSelassie and Albert Corado @digitalurn

PCP theme song: Adam Smith

Recorded at the Robinson S.P.A.C.E

Edited by Albert Corado and Jason Reedy

Mixed by Phillip Kim

Mentions of Al Pacino: 4

On the night of May 2, 2024 a 40 year old man named Yong Yang was suffering a mental health crisis in the Koreatown neighborhood of Los Angeles. His parents, scared for their son, called LA County mental health services to get him help but instead of rendering aid they called the LAPD who killed Yong Yang within minutes of their arrival.

Albert, whose sister Mely was killed by the LAPD in 2018, sat down with Yong's brother to talk about who his brother was, what happened on the night of May 2nd, and how his family is continuing to fight for jusitice in the name of Yong.

For episode 19, we sat down with Cerise Castle to speak on one of her latest offerings “I wrote the history of LASD gangs. Then the sheriff’s department started surveilling me”. We also get some insight on how the catalyst for their surveillance “A Tradition of Violence - The History of Deputy Gangs in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department” came to be. Other subjects discussed include what comes with being surveilled by the pigs, the 29 page dossier on Ricci Sergienko that included coverage on his college baseball career, and the power of public records act (PRA) requests. You won’t want to miss this one!

Cerise Castle is a LA-based journalist specializing in arts & culture, civil rights, criminal justice, and human interest stories. She wrote the first history of deputy gangs inside the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. She also created, produced and hosted A Tradition of Violence, a podcast detailing the history and criminal activity of deputy gangs. That reporting earned her the 2022 International Women in Media Foundation’s Courage Award, the American Journalism Online Award for the Best Use of Public Records, and the American Mosaic Journalism Prize. In 2024, Castle was a Poynter Fellow at Yale University.

episode credits:

hosted by Jason Reedy and Ricci Sergienko

follow Cerise Castle on Twitter @cerisecastle and on IG @yourmajestee

follow us on twitter @pplscityprop and @pplscitycouncil

follow our host Jason Reedy @AxumSelassie

PCP theme song: Adam Smith @AdamOfTheSmiths

recorded at the Robinson S.P.A.C.E twitter: @RobinsonSpaceLA IG: @therobinsonspace

editing by Jason Reedy

sound mixing by Phillip Kim

mentions of ricci’s college baseball career: 3