Monday, June 2 @ 8PM ET
TOPIC: History of U.S. Imperialism with special guest: Claudia De la Cruz
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Session Description:
We begin by tracing the roots of U.S. imperialism, revealing how military dominance and colonial expansion laid the groundwork for modern forms of fascism and racialized violence. Understanding this history is key to resisting its ongoing impacts.
This session features special guest Claudia De la Cruz, an educator, community organizer, and theologian with over 20 years of experience building movements across the U.S. and internationally. A co-founder of The People’s Forum (2018), Claudia has dedicated her life to organizing at the intersections of labor, education, and liberation, rooting her work in the long history of U.S. imperialism and anti-colonial resistance.
From Indigenous displacement and the war with Mexico to occupations in Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and Hawai‘i. We’ll explore key moments like the Spanish-American War, Cold War interventions, and post-9/11 wars, while connecting overseas empire-building to domestic policies like policing and racism. We’ll also highlight resistance—from global movements to U.S. voices like W.E.B. Du Bois, the Black Panthers, and anti-war veterans.
Monday, June 16 @ 8PM ET
TOPIC: Meeting the Moment: U.S. Militarism Today
with special guests: Medea Benjamin and Ann Wright
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Session Description:
This session unpacks how current U.S. military strategies, surveillance, and domestic policing uphold systems of white supremacy and gendered violence. We explore how feminist resistance can disrupt these patterns of state violence.
As we examine the devastating reach of U.S. militarism today, we’re honored to hear from two relentless truth-tellers: Medea Benjamin, CODEPINK co-founder, and Ann Wright, retired Army colonel and former diplomat turned dissident. Since the illegal 2003 invasion of Iraq—a defining act of modern U.S. imperialism—they’ve stood on the frontlines of resistance, from war zones to diplomatic halls, exposing the human and geopolitical costs of endless war.
From Palestine to China, Ukraine to the Congo. We’ll explore how sanctions, hybrid warfare, and global surveillance reinforce U.S. power and how these policies impact people both globally and at home. We'll also connect militarism to climate change, mass incarceration, and “America First” nationalism, including tariff wars. Together, we’ll unpack the real cost of U.S. Imperialism in a rapidly shifting world.
Monday, July 7 @ 8PM ET
TOPIC: The War Economy with special guests Lindsay Koshgarian and Danaka Katovich
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Session Description:
We examine the intersection of capitalism, militarism, and patriarchy in sustaining a war-driven economy. Feminists will gain insight into how economic systems are used to advantage and how alternative economic models can challenge authoritarian rule.
From weapons makers to big investment firms like BlackRock and Vanguard, we’ll look at how profits from war touch everything from universities to tech. We’ll also talk about how war is used to grab land, exploit workers, and extract resources in places like the DRC, SWANA, Bolivia, and Venezuela. Most importantly, we’ll ask: what would the world look like if that money went toward care, not conflict?
This session features Lindsay Koshgarian. Lindsay leads the National Priorities Project, where she focuses on how federal budget choices prioritize militarism over investment in people and the planet. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, MSNBC, and more. She holds a Master of Public Policy from UCLA and a BA in Physics from the University of Pennsylvania.
Monday, July 21 @ 8PM ET
TOPIC: Propaganda and Media Literacy
with special guests: Layan Fuleihan and Dr. Assal Rad
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Session Description:
Disinformation and propaganda are central tools of fascist movements. This session arms participants with critical media literacy skills to recognize and counter right-wing narratives, while reclaiming storytelling as a form of resistance.
We will be joined by Palestinian organizer and popular educator Layan Fuleihan (Education Director, The People’s Forum) and scholar of Middle East history, Dr. Assal Rad (Nonresident Fellow at Arab Center Washington DC) to break down media complicity, teaching us to identify manipulative narratives that justify war and oppression.
Using examples from Vietnam, Iraq, China, and Palestine, we’ll examine how media frames who deserves peace, who deserves violence, and who must be controlled. We’ll unpack cultural imperialism through Hollywood, “copaganda,” and antiwar suppression; financial narratives that obscure exploitation; and military messaging that portrays other nations as ungovernable. We’ll also explore how propaganda affects us, including those on the left, and develop tools to think more critically and independently.
Monday, August 4 @ 8PM ET
Topic: Authoritarianism and Suppression of the Opposition
with special guests: Danny Haiphong and Carl Zha
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Session Description:
This session features Danny Haiphong, journalist and host of Chronicles of Haiphong, who has long exposed the mechanisms of empire and the suppression of anti-imperialist movements. Alongside him, Carl Zha, host of the Silk and Steel podcast, will discuss how narratives around ‘democracy’ and ‘human rights’ are weaponized to justify crackdowns on opposition, particularly in rising multipolar resistance.
Through a CODEPINK-inspired theory of change and anti-imperialist feminist lens, we will analyze state repression, from the crackdown on Palestine solidarity encampments and student activists to ICE detention and deportations. Participants will engage with firsthand testimonies from organizers and explore practical strategies for resisting repression, building collective resilience, and protecting one another in the struggle for justice.
Monday, August 18 @ 8PM ET
Transnational Feminisms: International Solidarity in the Face of Fascism with special guests: Mikaela Nhondo Erskog and Tica Moreno
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Session Description:
The series concludes by looking outward, toward global liberation movements. This session centers transnational feminist solidarities that transcend borders, offering pathways to resist fascism collectively and build transformative futures.
This session features Mikaela Nhondo Erkog, a researcher and editor at Tricontinental: Institute for Research. Mikaela is an educator and researcher at Pan Africa Today and a PhD student at the School of International Relations and Public Affairs at Fudan University, Shanghai. She is a member of the international No Cold War collective. Mikaela will be joined by Tica Moreno, a feminist popular educator, activist, and sociologist focused on social reproduction, care work, and feminist economics. A coordinator of the World March of Women in Brazil, Tica edits the Capire portal and researches at IAPC in Beijing. She has authored numerous articles and book chapters on feminist economy as a strategy to confront capitalism and build societies centered on the sustainability of life.
Grounded in revolutionary living histories and the legacies of Third World feminist struggles, we will examine how women and queer communities in the Global South resist imperialism, fascism, and war—and how their strategies inform global resistance. Centering anti-imperialist critiques and feminist foreign policy, we ask: How can solidarity transcend borders? What does it mean to organize internationally to challenge our governments? And how do we build futures rooted in collective survival and transformative justice?
Monday, August 25 @ 8PM ET
TOPIC: Graduation! with Medea Benjamin
Join us for a Summer School Graduation Ceremony with key note speaker and CODEPINK Co-founder, Medea Benjamin!
