Behind the Barricades at Columbia University: "The Encampments" for Gaza -
laura flanders & friends

With sold-out debut screenings in New York, the timely new documentary "The Encampments" brings viewers into the Columbia University encampments and captures the spirit of the student protests -- without the media spin we see so often in commercial reporting. Presented by Watermelon Pictures and BreakThrough News, the film has ignited conversations about Israel's ongoing genocide in Gaza, the nationwide crackdown on student dissent, and the media's failures in this moment. Among the voices featured in the film are Mahmoud Khalil, a student negotiator who was illegally arrested and is currently detained by ICE and now faces deportation. In this special episode of the series we call Meet the BIPOC Press, Laura sits down with Sueda Polat and Grant Miner, two of Khalil's colleagues in the encampments, both of whom were suspended and expelled, respectively, as well as the film's co-director, journalist Kei Pritsker, to discuss how the film came to be, and where the situation stands today. All that, plus a commentary from Laura on Columbia University's move to suspend four college journalists "being too close to the action. "I don't really participate as a Jewish person, I participate as an activist and a person of conscience that is Jewish . . . There's a very insidious narrative that was basically, 'If you're not Jewish and you're not Palestinian, then talking about this is strange. Having an opinion on this conflict is strange and you should just stop talking about it because you're probably only motivated by antisemitism.' I want to push back and say that anybody can have an opinion on this. It's the world's first livestreamed genocide." - Grant Miner" There is not, I think, one moment of regret. Yeah, not a moment of regret in our bodies, in our hearts. Especially knowing that the increased scale of repression, both at the federal level and at the institutional level at Columbia University, is happening because we were so succe

Duration: 26 minutes and 46 seconds

Episode Number: 208

About Laura Flanders & Friends:

THE LAURA FLANDERS SHOW is back with more award-winning interviews and investigative reporting on the people and movements driving positive systemic change in our world today.

Hosted by multi-media reporter and author Laura Flanders, the series features smart, solutions-driven conversations with forward-thinking people, including Rep.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Indian writer Arundhati Roy, actress Sheryl Lee Ralph, and actress/activist Laverne Cox.

Laura and her team also report from the field on cutting-edge innovations and topics such as collective ownership and ways that organizations across the country are addressing disparity in the housing market.

Every month, contributors S.

Mitra Kalita and Sara Lomax, co-founders of the URL Media network, join Laura for "Meet the BIPOC Press," a monthly feature of the show highlighting reporters of color from minority-owned and operated media outlets from around the country.

THE LAURA FLANDERS SHOW Season 5 is independently-produced and recorded in a small cabin in rural Sullivan County, New York.

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