Do you love reality television, true crime, memes, TikTok and all other forms of pop culture? Are you also interested in communal care outside of harmful state systems? Do you struggle to reconcile the two? Join Tashmica Torok and Shannon Perez-Darby on Popaganda, as we dive deep into our love of transformative justice, pop culture and where the two meet.Leave a 5-star review for The Popaganda Podcast and we might feature it in an upcoming episode! You can also send us love or suggest show topics by emailing us at <a href="mailto:popagandapod@gmail.com" rel="nofollow">popagandapod@gmail.com</a>. Follow us on Social media!<ul><li>TikTok - <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@popaganda_pod?_r=1&_t=8l5K4umKSQI" rel="nofollow">@Popaganda_Pod</a> </li><li>YouTube - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj7AfzVaWhhWYgDS2cdTKug" rel="nofollow">The Popaganda Podcast</a></li><li>Instagram - <a href="https://www.instagram.com/popagandapod?igsh=MTR3b3ZtYjZiaDFubA%3D%3D" rel="nofollow">@popagandapod</a> </li></ul> Sponsored in part by: <a href="https://accountablecommunities.com/" rel="nofollow">Accountable Communities Consortium</a> and <a href="http://www.thefirecrackerfoundation.org/" rel="nofollow">The Firecracker Foundation</a>.Access: Transcript now available on Apple Podcasts!Content Warning: The Popaganda Podcast explores the intersections of transformative justice, prison abolition, and pop culture. We will be talking in general about the existence of domestic, sexual and state violence and our experiences with these forms of violence.Credits:Executive Producers: Shannon Perez-Darby and Tashmica TorokAudio Production: Shannon Perez-DarbyShow Notes + Graphic Design: Tashmica Torok

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2026/10/31/18/751079b7-e73b-4552-960b-73428cda4bce_death_of_a_pastors_wife_final_audio.mp3

Welcome to the Church of That Man Ain’t Shit. Tashmica Torok and Shannon Perez-Darby get into Netflix’s Death of the Pastor’s Wife, the true crime docuseries about Mica Miller and her abusive (ex)husband, Pastor JP Miller of Solid Rock Church in Myrtle Beach.Tashmica breaks down how evangelical marriage theology, submission culture, and spiritual authority shape Christian marriages into relationships where coercive control thrives. From there, we connect the dots to former American Idol contestant and music pastor Caleb Flynn, Colorado governor candidate Victor Marx’s own podcast confession about abusing his wife and child, and the Cornell fraternity rape case. And when the news cycle moves on, we’re asking you not to: remember Kendall Francis at LSU.These stories aren’t new, and the people watching (YOU) aren’t powerless. Participation is the key to harmony.Come for the pop culture. Stay for the abolition. The Popaganda Podcast.👍 Like, subscribe, and leave a five-star review. It really makes a difference.Hang with your pop culture besties: 🌐 popagandapod.com 📺 YouTube: youtube.com/@ThePopagandaPodcast 📸 Instagram: @popagandapod 🎵 TikTok: @popaganda_podContent warning: intimate partner violence, sexual violence, suicide, and child abuse.

Come for the pop culture. Stay for the abolition.

Death of The Pastor's Wife

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2026/10/22/20/e724516d-e097-484f-9670-d03731b5a064_insecure_final_cut.mp3

When Tiffany goes missing in Insecure&#39;s &#34;Lowkey Lost,&#34; the police tell her husband to wait. Instead, her friends pull up and join forces to find their friend. Shannon Perez-Darby and Tashmica Torok pull this episode straight from the vault and break down the Season 4 finale of Issa Rae&#39;s HBO series. We talk about why police don&#39;t look for missing Black women, how Tiffany&#39;s friends track her down themselves, and the postpartum isolation that sent her running. We also get into care as resistance: packing the hospital bag, filling out the power of attorney, and knowing exactly who&#39;s pulling up when things fall apart.This recording may be lowkey old, but caring for one another in a crisis is not.With people being detained and disappeared, these are questions to answer now. Who knows where you are? Who&#39;s coming to look for you? Who are you ready to show up for?👍 Like, subscribe, and leave a five-star review. It really makes a difference.Come for the pop culture. Stay for the abolition.Hosts: Tashmica Torok &amp; Shannon Perez-DarbySubscribe and leave a 5-star review — it really helps others find the show. <a href="http://www.popagandapod.com/" rel="nofollow">www.popagandapod.com</a> | Merch: <a href="https://shopaganda.sellfy.store/" rel="nofollow">https://shopaganda.sellfy.store/ </a>Sponsored by: The Accountable Communities Consortium and Aletheia Coaching &amp; Consulting Transcript available on Apple Podcasts

Lowkey Lost

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2026/10/16/0/90ec70a0-b949-4252-bf53-f81a30ff95fd_covid_conscious_lesbian_bar_final.mp3

A queer community venue in Western Massachusetts opened as a mask-required, Disability Justice–centered space. When the Last Ditch loosened its mask policy one day a week to stay afloat, a Boston Globe article fueled a viral backlash. Pop Culture Besties, Shannon Perez-Darby and Tashmica Torok talk about what the reaction says about our communities: access and abandonment, the money it takes to keep a space open, who gets left holding the loan, and why “participation is the key to harmony.” Come for the pop culture. Stay for the abolition.

A Last Ditch Effort: The Lesbian Bar Mask Mandate Backlash

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Charlie Sheen like you&#39;ve probably never seen him before. Especially if, like us, you aren&#39;t really a fan and the only thing you remember about him is, &#34;WINNING.&#34;Listen as your hosts, Shannon Perez-Darby and Tashmica Torok discuss Sheen&#39;s revelatory 2-part documentary about his rise to fame, struggles with addiction, and attempts at redemption with loved ones along for the wild ride. We were surprised by the depth and complexity in this story, and we don&#39;t shy away from any of it. Come for the Pop Culture but stay for our reflections on loving people with addictions, support for sex workers, and our newfound love for Denise Richards. Pop Culture Homework Watch: <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt37898320/" rel="nofollow">aka Charlie Sheen</a>Hosts: Tashmica Torok &amp; Shannon Perez-DarbySubscribe and leave a 5-star review — it really helps others find the show. <a href="http://www.popagandapod.com" rel="nofollow">www.popagandapod.com</a> | Merch: <a href="https://shopaganda.sellfy.store/" rel="nofollow">https://shopaganda.sellfy.store/ </a>Sponsored by: The Accountable Communities Consortium and Aletheia Coaching &amp; Consulting Transcript available on Apple Podcasts

aka Charlie Sheen

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2026/6/16/0/7ab141b8-8c0e-400c-bf99-288bb1d6914e_the_pitt_final_mp3.mp3

In this episode of The Popaganda Podcast, survivor activists Shannon Perez-Darby and Tashmica Torok discuss HBO&#39;s Emmy-winning medical drama, The Pitt —a series hailed by medical professionals as the most accurate representation of healthcare workers and the challenges they face in a post-pandemic America. So, if you&#39;re coming to The Pitt for some Grey&#39;s Anatomy level shenanigans, then as Dana says, &#34;You better give your head a fucking shake.&#34;Each episode of the series follows Emergency Department staff at the fictional Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center through a single action packed 12-hour shift. Each character navigates job stressors, personal crises, and ever-changing conditions while trying to provide efficient, budget-constrained, but still somehow life-saving care. Together, Shannon and Tashmica talk about watching our favorite character, Nurse Dana, deliver the most acceptable SANE examination ever performed on TV and how, just like in real life, cops neglect the carefully collected evidence. The show brings new awareness to the growing violence experienced by nurses and other medical professionals while providing care to the public, and the impacts of ICE raids on community members seeking care.Your pop culture homework: <ul><li><a href="https://www.hbomax.com/shows/pitt-2024/e6e7bad9-d48d-4434-b334-7c651ffc4bdf" rel="nofollow">The Pitt</a></li><li><a href="https://doctors.ajc.com/still_forgiven/" rel="nofollow">Still Forgiven: New cases of doctors accused of sex abuse, kept license</a></li><li><a href="https://bridgemi.com/michigan-health-watch/ice-presence-rising-at-michigan-health-care-facilities-rights-groups-say/" rel="nofollow">ICE presence rising at Michigan health care facilities, rights groups say</a></li></ul> Content note: suicidality, medical trauma, and violence. Hosts: Tashmica Torok &amp; Shannon Perez-DarbySubscribe and leave a 5-star review — it really helps others find the show. www.popagandapod.com | Merch: https://shopaganda.sellfy.store/ Sponsored by: The Accountable Communities Consortium and Aletheia Coaching &amp; Consulting Transcript available on Apple Podcasts

The Pitt

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In this episode, Erin Miles Cloud joins pop culture besties Shannon Perez-Darby and Tashmica Torok for a breakdown of the Law &amp; Order: SVU episode Hubris. Erin is the co-founder of <a href="https://www.movementforfamilypower.org/" rel="nofollow">Movement for Family Power</a> and co-editor of H<a href="https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/2609-how-to-end-family-policing" rel="nofollow">ow to End Family Policing: From Outrage to Action</a> alongside Shannon, Erica Miners, and Charity Hope Tolliver.Erin is a civil rights attorney and a former family defense public defender in the Bronx. She has spent her career fighting to end family policing and building toward a world where communities — not the state — care for children. It is with that depth of experience that Erin joins the conversation, guiding us through the ways the Family Policing System fails us all.But that&#39;s not where we end. This conversation ends with a vision for what the future could look like if we truly cared for children the way we say we do. Pop Culture Homework:<a href="https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/2609-how-to-end-family-policing" rel="nofollow">How to End Family Policing: From Outrage to Action</a>, co-edited by Shannon Perez-Darby, Erin Miles Cloud, Erica Miners, and Charity Hope TolliverRead: Chapter 12: What About Child Sexual Abuse&#34; by C. Hope Tolliver <a href="https://bartoncenter.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/RD-A-Child-Bumps-Her-Head-The-New-York-Times-1.pdf" rel="nofollow">A Child Bumps Her Head. What Happens Next Depends on Race</a>. by Jessica Horan-Block<a href="https://www.operationstopcps.com/" rel="nofollow">Operation Stop CPS</a> and <a href="https://www.operationstopcps.com/JusticeforKemari" rel="nofollow">#JusticeforKamari</a>Wayne County Prosecutor Kym L. Worthy and the <a href="https://www.waynecountymi.gov/Government/Elected-Officials/Prosecutor/Detroit-Rape-Kit-Project" rel="nofollow">Detroit Rape Kit Project </a> Hosts: Tashmica Torok &amp; Shannon Perez-DarbySubscribe and leave a 5-star review — it really helps others find the show!www.popagandapod.com | Merch: https://shopaganda.sellfy.store/ Sponsored by: The Accountable Communities Consortium and Aletheia Coaching &amp; Consulting Transcript available on Apple Podcasts

Law & Order SVU: Hubris with special guest Erin Miles Cloud

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2026/5/13/12/a24fc644-58b8-4d92-bee0-a151ab6e5254_indigenous_rising_final.mp3

This special episode was made in partnership with the <a href="https://capitalcityfilmfest.com/" rel="nofollow">Capital City Film Fest</a>, where Tashmica moderated a live panel with filmmaker Courtney Montour and skater Hawaiian Blaze following a screening of <a href="https://capitalcityfilmfest.com/updates/film/rising-through-the-fray" rel="nofollow">Rising Through the Fray</a>. Courtney then joined Tashmica and Shannon to go even deeper.Rising Through the Fray follows <a href="https://teamindigenous.org/" rel="nofollow">Indigenous Rising</a> — the first team in roller derby history to compete at the World Cup, representing not one country but over 30 Indigenous Nations. Courtney Montour (Kanien&#39;kehá:ka, Kahnawake) spent years building trust with the team before cameras rolled, and it shows: this is an intimate film about the disconnection caused by colonization, homecoming, and what it means to find your people on wheels.Listen in to hear more about Sour Cherry&#39;s journey through injury and how her identity as a skater (or maybe coach) is being shaped and reshaped by time. We discuss Hawaiian Blaze&#39;s art and how it helps make the thousands of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) more visible. We follow Krispy&#39;s story of discovery as she explores and connects with her nation through the team and her wider community.Join us as we celebrate the Borderless team movement that Indigenous Rising sparked — and discuss the challenges ahead as the team continues to rise.Pop Culture Homework<a href="http://risingthemovie.com" rel="nofollow">Rising Through the Fray</a> is screening at the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) — director Courtney Montour will be in attendance at both screenings.Saturday, May 16 · 8:00 PM — SIFF Cinema UptownSunday, May 17 · 1:30 PM — PACCAR IMAX Theater at Pacific Science CenterTickets: <a href="https://www.siff.net/festival/rising-through-the-fray" rel="nofollow">siff.net/festival/rising-through-the-fray</a>About Our GuestCourtney Montour is a Kanien&#39;kehá:ka (Mohawk) documentary filmmaker from Kahnawake, Quebec, with 18 years in the field. Her work centers women&#39;s stories, Two-Spirit stories, and the long fractures of colonial disconnection. Rising Through the Fray is her debut feature, produced with Nish Media (an Indigenous production company), and won the Audience Award for Best Documentary at image+nation Film Festival 2025.If you loved this episode, leave us a 5-star review and share this episode with a skater near you. It really helps!🛒 Popaganda merch: <a href="https://shopaganda.sellfy.store" rel="nofollow">shopaganda.sellfy.store</a>🌐 Website: <a href="https://www.popagandapod.com" rel="nofollow">popagandapod.com</a>🎧 Listen: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and everywhere you get podcasts

Come for the Pop Culture. Stay for the Abolition.

Rising Through the Fray

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2026/4/20/19/731d66b5-6627-443d-bcf5-495118038361_tfp_final.mp3

Days before Taylor Frankie Paul’s season of The Bachelorette was set to air, TMZ released footage of a violent incident between her and her ex, Dakota, from 2023. ABC pulled the season.Together, Shannon and Tashmica talk through what the video shows and what it doesn’t, why one moment of volatility can’t tell us who is setting up a pattern of power and control, and who is surviving it. They unpack why the timing of the tape’s release matters. And they call out the very selective outrage of a Reality TV franchise like The Bachelor that has quietly welcomed accused abusers onto its stages season after season.And here&#39;s the thing — we know they can do better, because they already have. In 2017, Bachelor in Paradise intervened immediately and shut down production for two weeks after a misconduct incident on set. Everyone went home. So this isn&#39;t about capability. It&#39;s about choice.(Hint: if you want to hear more about what accountability on a reality TV set can look like — and what it costs when it doesn&#39;t show up — check out our ANTM episode: Aging Like Hot Ice Cream.)This episode is about Taylor Frankie Paul. It’s also about every person in your life you’ve watched spiral without intervening. And it’s about what it would look like if we actually cared about getting this right.Enjoying the pod? Subscribe here, and everywhere you get your podcasts, so you never miss an episode. Come for the pop culture. Stay for the abolition. New episodes available — listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. More episodes, show notes, and the whole archive — www.popagandapod.comCome find us — we&#39;re @popagandapod on Instagram. Slide into our DMs. We mean it.Grab some merch — shopaganda.sellfy.store — because looking good and staying abolitionist aren&#39;t mutually exclusive.Thanks to our sponsors: The Accountable Communities Consortium and Aletheia Coaching &amp; Consulting.

Taylor Frankie Paul, The Bachelorette, and Clocking DV Patterns in Reality TV

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2026/4/11/2/10affb82-9fa2-4b04-a4de-bea55d5b540b_lindy_west_audio_mixdown.mp3

Shannon Perez-Darby and Tashmica Torok dig into Adult Braces, Lindy West&#39;s new memoir, Adult Braces. The internet is in a tizzy about her 15-year partnership with Aham Oluo and the process of opening their relationship. We use the word &#39;process&#39; intentionally. Polyamory is only one expression of how people and the terms of their most intimate relationships can and should transform over time. Listen in as two pop culture besties discuss what happens when the terms of a relationship changes before everyone involved is ready to stretch that far. The rupture, the repair, and the public opinions of it all.

Adult Braces: Polyamory and Minding Other People's Relationships

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2026/3/30/15/3a1f831c-aca0-4c7e-99d3-d7fbe92d48ac_antm_final.mp3

What does it mean when the person who built the door is also the one controlling who walks through it? Netflix&#39;s Reality Check: Inside America&#39;s Next Top Model pulls back the curtain on two decades of harm styled as opportunity—and Shannon and Tashmica are not letting Tyra off the hook.This docuseries revisits the 2003–2018 run of America&#39;s Next Top Model through interviews with Tyra Banks, co-hosts Miss J, J. Manuel, and Nigel Barker, and several former contestants candidly telling their stories.Tyra&#39;s current legacy project is hot ice cream. Which is, technically, incomplete ice cream. Tashmica has notes.Shandy is a cycle two contestant whose sexual assault—filmed by the crew while she was too intoxicated to consent—was edited and broadcast as a cheating scandal.Tyra Banks is the creator, executive producer, and subject of this documentary—a woman whose access to power has not translated into accountability, solidarity with Black women, or care for the people she claims to have uplifted.And the industry is doing what it always does: making the person who was harmed responsible for the story.What we keep coming back to:<ul><li>Shandy&#39;s story is an example of how the production team transformed an assault into a scandal—in real time, before she even understood what had happened to her</li><li>The &#34;diversity&#34; Tyra built was a pinprick, not a door—and the show&#39;s own alumni confirm their careers were hurt, not helped, by being on it</li><li>What Bachelor in Paradise did differently in 2017 shows exactly what it looks like to prioritize people over timelines—and how rare that actually is</li></ul>Leaving us with: when someone uses their power to control who else gets in—and whose stories get told—are they opening the door, or are they the lock?Content note: Sexual violence, anti-Black racism and colorism, disordered eating, dental coercion, stroke and disability discussed.Pop Culture Homework ﻿Watch: <a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/81928842" rel="nofollow">Reality Check: Inside America&#39;s Next Top Model </a>(Netflix) Hosts: Tashmica Torok &amp; Shannon Perez-Darby Subscribe and leave a 5-star review — it really helps others find the show. <a href="https://www.popagandapod.com/" rel="nofollow">www.popagandapod.com</a> | Merch: https://shopaganda.sellfy.store/ Sponsored by: The Accountable Communities Consortium and Aletheia Coaching &amp; Consulting Transcript available on Apple Podcasts

ANTM: Aging Like Hot Ice Cream

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2026/3/10/21/841a8e8e-645f-4612-b4db-0548e2669751_bafta_final_mixdown.mp3

In this special short episode of The Popaganda Podcast, hosts Shannon Perez-Darby and Tashmica Torok talk about the BAFTAs moment that hit Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo in real time. The N-word was shouted by John Davidson, whose life inspired a nominated film, and who has Tourette Syndrome with coprolalia—meaning the slur was an involuntary tic, not an intentional act.Listen in as we talk about why the first take isn’t always the best take, how anti-Blackness and ableism shaped the public reaction, and why the real power here sits with BAFTA/BBC production choices—including what was reportedly edited out, and what was left in. We refuse to let this moment eclipse the art: “Sinners” deserves celebration. It’s not just an award-winning film. It is an iconic culturally rich film that puts Black talent, historical experience, storytelling, and imagination Pop Culture Homework<ul><li>Watch <a href="https://www.hbomax.com/movies/sinners-with-basl/25a3be72-9dec-4544-b825-105ef41d6314" rel="nofollow">Sinners</a>, featuring Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo with Black American Sign Language (BASL) Performer Nakia Smith</li><li>Watch <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt31514146/" rel="nofollow">I Swear</a>, based on the true life story of John Davidson</li><li>Follow @<a href="https://www.instagram.com/killk1yoshi/" rel="nofollow">killk1yoshi </a>on Instagram for more awareness content</li></ul> Come for the Pop Culture. Stay for the Abolition.Hosts: Tashmica Torok &amp; Shannon Perez-Darby.🎧 Stream now, and don’t forget to subscribe and leave a 5-star review—it really helps others find the show.To learn more, visit:<a href="http://www.popagandapod.com/" rel="nofollow"> www.popagandapod.com</a> Help keep Popaganda independent—shop our merch! →<a href="https://shopaganda.sellfy.store/" rel="nofollow"> https://shopaganda.sellfy.store/</a>Sponsored in part by: The Accountable Communities Consortium and Aletheia Coaching &amp; ConsultingAccess: Transcript now available on Apple Podcast

BAFTAs and BBC Broadcast the N-Word—On Purpose?

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2026/3/2/14/58f4b9ac-edb3-45e5-88bd-1189ce588634_pluribus_final.mp3

What if the apocalypse showed up… as excellent customer service?In this episode of The Popaganda Podcast, survivor activists Shannon Perez-Darby and Tashmica Torok bring pop culture obsession and Transformative Justice-flavored analysis to Pluribus (Apple TV+), Vince Gilligan’s sleek, unsettling sci-fi series starring Rhea Seehorn as novelist Carol Sterka—a woman who becomes the world’s least willing VIP.The premise: an alien virus transforms most of humanity into a calm, coordinated hive mind with one main hobby—politely assimilating everyone. Carol is one of 13 immune people, which means she gets to process catastrophic loss while an entire city of synced-up humans keeps saying her name like an HR training video: “Hi, Carol.”(Respectfully: no.)Carol survives the mass “switch up” that turns most of humanity into a calm, coordinated hive mind—while her personal world collapses, leaving her cycling through a full range of complex human emotions. Somehow, the internet’s hot take is: she’s too mad.We dig into the show’s central seduction—and its menace: the hive mind is efficient and nonviolent, restoring order so smoothly it’s almost soothing—until you notice what it can cost in privacy, culture, and self-determination. But to Carol’s shock, not everyone experiences “collective” as the ultimate threat.Then the season drops its most abolition-adjacent, TJ beat: after harm happens, the hive doesn’t retaliate. It doesn’t cage. It doesn’t escalate. The virus sets a boundary that reaches for safety and healing rather than punishment.Leaving us with an important question: what could our world look like if we built responses to harm that keep people alive and cared for—while actively limiting the conditions that allow more violence to happen?<h3>Pop Culture Homework</h3><ul><li>Watch: <a href="https://tv.apple.com/us/show/pluribus/umc.cmc.37axgovs2yozlyh3c2cmwzlza" rel="nofollow">Pluribus (Apple TV+), Season 1</a></li><li>Pay attention to: the moments when “care” feels soothing… and when it starts to feel like control</li><li>Report back: Are you Team Carol (absolutely not) or Team “okay but the infrastructure is kind of impressive”?</li></ul> Hosts: Tashmica Torok &amp; Shannon Perez-Darby.🎧 Stream now, and don’t forget to subscribe and leave a 5-star review—it really helps others find the show.To learn more, visit:<a href="http://www.popagandapod.com/" rel="nofollow"> www.popagandapod.com</a> Help keep Popaganda independent—shop our merch! →<a href="https://shopaganda.sellfy.store/" rel="nofollow"> https://shopaganda.sellfy.store/</a>Sponsored in part by: The Accountable Communities Consortium and Aletheia Coaching &amp; ConsultingAccess: Transcript now available on Apple Podcast

Your humanity is important to us.

Pluribus

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2026/2/2/14/ff7047c7-ea2f-427e-b547-2f1266a84588_nobodys_girl_final.mp3

In this episode of The Popaganda Podcast, survivor activists Shannon Perez-Darby and Tashmica Torok bring intimate storytelling and expert analysis to Virginia Giuffre’s posthumously published memoir, <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/untitled-3120/509397d77f31ae69?ean=9780593493120&next=t" rel="nofollow">Nobody’s Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice</a>. Before “release the Epstein files” became the public’s favorite internet punchline, Giuffre was a teenager trying to escape her father’s sexual and physical abuse by running away—only to find herself working for Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago. She became one of the most prominent survivors to share detailed accounts of how Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein targeted, groomed, and sexually abused children—then trafficked them through Epstein’s network of rich, powerful global leaders and celebrities, including Prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.Tashmica and Shannon wade through the public’s performative shock and unproductive political theater to center one simple, devastating question: Why did we ignore the truth that survivors have been telling us for years?As more unredacted files are released to the public, the justice promised by the criminal legal system only gets more elusive. The details are horrific, triggering, and retraumatizing for survivors of sexual violence—but don’t worry: this is not your typical true crime wrap-up.Listen in as two pop culture besties who also happen to be survivors share survivor-to-survivor care and truth-telling, connecting Nobody’s Girl to the systems that enable harm, use children as political leverage, and prop up a criminal legal system that can’t—and won’t—ever live up to the hype.<h3>Pop Culture Homework</h3>Read (or listen): Nobody’s Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for JusticeRead: “Sex Trafficking Prosecutions Won’t Stop the Next Epstein. Here’s What Will.” (<a href="https://truthout.org/articles/sex-trafficking-prosecutions-wont-stop-the-next-epstein-heres-what-will/" rel="nofollow">Truthout</a>)Revisit: our episode on <a href="https://redcircle.com/shows/06d0a0b5-4a4e-43b3-9a74-795d294d4ba2/ep/b1f82db8-74aa-4689-a495-5ecbe3f2135b" rel="nofollow">Sound of Freedom</a> + how Christian nationalist anti-trafficking narratives shape public “common sense”Revisit: our <a href="https://redcircle.com/shows/06d0a0b5-4a4e-43b3-9a74-795d294d4ba2/ep/dc665bf5-6ab1-401f-9e40-a966273a3939" rel="nofollow">Wayward</a> conversation + the troubled teen industry connections that show up hereReflect: what would it mean to treat child safety like an emergency at scale—not a scandal, not a spectacle, not a campaign prop?Subscribe and listen everywhere you get your podcasts. Come for the pop culture. Stay for the abolition.<h3>Content Note</h3>This episode discusses themes of domestic violence, sexual violence, child sexual abuse, sex trafficking, and suicide. We focus on themes and systems, not graphic details.<h3>Support Popaganda</h3>If you enjoyed this episode, please like, subscribe, and leave a five-star review—it really does help people find the show. Come for the pop culture. Stay for the abolition. You can also send us love or suggest show topics by emailing us at: popagandapod@gmail.com.Sponsored in part by: The Accountable Communities ConsortiumAccess: Transcript now available on Apple Podcast.To learn more, visit:<a href="http://www.popagandapod.com/" rel="nofollow"> www.popagandapod.com</a>

Epstein Files, Performative Shock, and the Truth Survivors Already Told

Virginia Guiffre told you.

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What happens when your comfort shows stop comforting—and your “fun little apps” start feeling like tiny extensions of state power?In this episode, Shannon Perez-Darby and Tashmica Torok talk about how living under fascism is reshaping our relationship to pop culture, streaming, and the platforms we’ve treated like default companions. From canceling Hulu/Disney after the Jimmy Kimmel controversy (and the bigger question of what a boycott is actually asking for), to rethinking Spotify amid reports of ICE recruitment ads, we share what we’re wrestling with: values vs. convenience, visibility vs. safety, and how to stop “overstaying” in unhealthy relationships.We also get real about grief (yes, even for a 20-year relationship with Grey’s Anatomy), the algorithmic slide into right-wing propaganda and diet-culture-as-evangelism, and why our nervous systems are demanding different kinds of stories right now—like audiobooks, games, and community-centered ways of staying connected that don’t depend on billionaire-owned platforms.Are you in your breakup era, too? Then put on your softest sweatpants, order some takeout, and come on over for a lonely hearts club episode of <a href="https://www.popagandapod.com/" rel="nofollow">The Popaganda Podcast</a>. <h3>Pop Culture Homework</h3>Listen: <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/dungeon-crawler-carl-matt-dinniman/0cdd8387d0a86880" rel="nofollow">Dungeon Crawler Carl </a>(audiobook)Watch: <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt30953759/" rel="nofollow">No Other Land</a> and <a href="https://supportmasaferyatta.com/" rel="nofollow">support Masafer Yatta</a>.Reflect: What platform or subscription are you “overstaying” with—and what would a clean, loving exit look like?<h3>Support Popaganda</h3>If you enjoyed this episode, please like, subscribe, and leave a five-star review—it really does help people find the show. Come for the pop culture. Stay for the abolition.

Breaking Up with Platforms: Boycotts, Billionaires and Fascist Creeps.

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Is Die Hard a Christmas movie? In Tashmica’s house, absolutely—and it’s also a masterclass in copaganda.In this special holiday episode, Shannon and Tashmica rewatch Die Hard the way Tashmica’s family does every year: loud, talk-back style, like a Christmas Rocky Horror—except the call-and-response is all about how the “good cop” story gets built.We break down how the film makes John McLane (Bruce Willis) irresistible—young, tender, “just a guy trying to get his family back”—while quietly selling us a whole worldview: cops can bend rules, instincts count as evidence, police violence is redemption, and everyone else (dispatch, LAPD, FBI, the “system”) is incompetent until the right cop takes charge.Along the way, we unpack: why the “terrorists” being white matters, how the Black characters are positioned (from “Black nerd” to “cop who needs his gun back”), why the ham-radio emergency line moment is peak “rules don’t apply to cops,” and how even the Christmas sparkle (hello, “Ho Ho Ho, now I have a machine gun too”) is part of the package.Welcome to the holiday copaganda workshop you didn’t ask for—but probably need. Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker!Pop Culture Homework:<ul><li>Watch: Die Hard (1988)</li><li>Read: <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-fence-a-police-cover-up-along-boston-s-racial-divide-dick-lehr/cf55224d2a07e201" rel="nofollow">The Fence: A Police Cover-up Along Boston’s Racial Divide</a> – the book Tashmica mentions on police culture + the “blue wall” logic*</li><li>Reflect/Discuss: What’s the ‘cop intuition’ moment in your favorite cop show/movie—and what does it train us to excuse?</li></ul> *Correction corner: Michael Cox, the focus of the book The Fence, was brutally beaten, but he survived the attack and the cover-up that followed.Hosts: Tashmica Torok &amp; Shannon Perez-Darby🎧 Stream now, and don’t forget to subscribe and leave a 5-star review—it really helps others find the show. To learn more, visit:<a href="http://www.popagandapod.com" rel="nofollow"> </a><a href="http://www.popagandapod.com" rel="nofollow">www.popagandapod.com</a>Help keep Popaganda independent—shop our merch! →<a href="https://shopaganda.sellfy.store/" rel="nofollow"> </a><a href="https://shopaganda.sellfy.store/" rel="nofollow">https://shopaganda.sellfy.store/</a>Sponsored in part by: The Accountable Communities Consortium and Aletheia Coaching &amp; ConsultingAccess: Transcript now available on Apple Podcast

Come for pop culture. Stay for the abolition.

Die Hard: Copaganda Final Boss

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2025/12/12/2/30211614-c268-408c-b78a-d93f90dc4e5f_wayward_final.mp3

What if our best tool for fighting fascism is embracing all of our ‘Wayward’ teens and their imagination for resistance?In this episode, Shannon and Tashmica rave about the talented nonbinary artist Mae Martin (they/them), and Wayward, the limited series they created for Netflix. Set in 2003, the story follows Leila and Abby, teenage best friends and a local police officer, Alex, as they uncover dark secrets surrounding the town and their strange relationship with a local academy for troubled teens.Martin’s portrayal of Alex (he/him), a trans man, and his relationship with his pregnant wife Lauren, delivered a captivating story that normalized the existence of trans people and queer family dynamics while also giving us one of the hottest queer sex scenes we’ve ever seen on a mainstream platform.Listen in as we talk cultish spiritual vibes, that time Republicans crashed Grindr, and the all too real impact of the for-profit, unregulated Troubled Teen Industry (TTI). Welcome to Tall Pines. We think you’ll like it here. Pop Culture Homework:<ul><li>Watch: <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27427326/" rel="nofollow">Wayward</a></li><li>Read: <a href="https://www.wlns.com/6newsinvestigates/officials-calling-for-state-investigations-over-use-of-force-in-east-lansing/" rel="nofollow">Officials calling for state investigations over use of force in East Lansing, Michigan</a> </li><li>Listen: The Autobiography of Assata Shakur, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/4AzG1dYgL9qX3gMXha8Sdd" rel="nofollow">Pen and Paper: Library of A Pan African Communist | Podcast on Spotify</a> </li></ul> Hosts: Tashmica Torok &amp; Shannon Perez-Darby.🎧 Stream now, and don’t forget to subscribe and leave a 5-star review—it really helps others find the show.To learn more, visit:<a href="http://www.popagandapod.com/" rel="nofollow"> www.popagandapod.com</a> Help keep Popaganda independent—shop our merch! →<a href="https://shopaganda.sellfy.store/" rel="nofollow"> </a><a href="https://shopaganda.sellfy.store/" rel="nofollow">https://shopaganda.sellfy.store/</a>Sponsored in part by: The Accountable Communities Consortium and Aletheia Coaching &amp; ConsultingAccess: Transcript now available on Apple Podcast

Come for the pop culture. Stay for the Abolition.

Wayward

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2025/10/21/15/98e97dcb-3d10-4112-b6ab-f565f6956fb9_peewee_final.mp3

Fascism trains us to shrink. Pee-wee shows another path: bold, maximal, unashamed. What can Paul Reubens teach us about refusing to comply in advance?In this episode, hosts Shannon Perez-Darby and Tashmica Torok discuss the pressure to get small under rising Fascism—and how Paul Reubens, through Pee-wee Herman, modeled color, camp, and audacity anyway. From 70s/80s performance-art roots to TV fame, we trace what it means when a persona eclipses a person, how moral panic + policing criminalize marginalized people, and why maximalist self-expression is not a luxury but a practice of selfhood as resistance.Pop Culture Homework:<ul><li>Watch: Pee-wee as Himself (HBO), dir. Matt Wolf.</li></ul> 🎧 Stream now, and don’t forget to subscribe and leave a 5-star review—it really helps others find the show.To learn more, visit:<a href="http://www.popagandapod.com/" rel="nofollow"> www.popagandapod.com</a> Help keep Popaganda independent—shop our merch! →<a href="https://shopaganda.sellfy.store/" rel="nofollow"> </a><a href="https://shopaganda.sellfy.store/" rel="nofollow">https://shopaganda.sellfy.store/</a>Sponsored in part by: The Accountable Communities Consortium and Aletheia Coaching &amp; ConsultingAccess: Transcript now available on Apple Podcast

Lessons from Paul Reubens on Joy, Selfhood, and Anti-Fascist Maximalism.

Pee-Wee as Himself

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2025/8/27/1/395f4bee-5ff8-43d0-90d0-440521dcacf7_we_are_lady_parts_final.mp3

This week on Papaganda, Shannon and Tashmica dive into We Are Lady Parts, the brilliant British sitcom about an all-Muslim punk band that has captured hearts with its humor, complexity, and radical tenderness. From awkward first gigs to the band’s unapologetic “villain era,” we explore themes of friendship, family, self-determination, and joy in claiming your full personhood.As this episode comes out, it marks the year anniversary of the passing of Shannon’s dear friend and beloved community member Alix &#39;Ponyboy&#39; Kolar. Ponyboy was a deep lover of pop culture, so many of Shannon’s fondest memories are sitting on the couch watching TV with Alix. Ponyboy loved We Are Lady Parts, so in his loving memory, with all the laughter and joy, we dedicate this episode to you, Alix &#39;Ponyboy&#39; Kolar.Make sure you stay until the end of the episode for a sweet dedication to the one and only Ponyboy. Thank you to Lisa Nims for letting us share your beautiful words. There was no one quite like you Ponyboy, we miss you. We love you.🎧 Stream now, and don’t forget to subscribe and leave a 5-star review—it really helps others find the show.To learn more, visit:<a href="http://www.popagandapod.com/" rel="nofollow"> </a><a href="http://www.popagandapod.com" rel="nofollow">www.popagandapod.com</a> Sponsored in part by: The Accountable Communities Consortium and Aletheia Coaching &amp; ConsultingAccess: Transcript now available on Apple Podcast

We Are Lady Parts

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2025/8/25/1/bf4d094e-c736-4fef-9e4b-419dee8067be_pop_culture_chisme_summer_2025_final.mp3

What if you could sit in on our group chat—unedited, unfiltered, and supported by a quick check-in with Daddy Google? In our 2nd annual Pop Culture Chisme episode, we unpack the messiness of reality TV, the chokehold The Pit had on us, and the power of Alex Cooper naming abuse in sports.This time, we edit nothing—no cuts, lots of “ums,” and even more chisme. You’ll feel like you’re sitting in on a late-night text chain, jumping from how Love Island USA disaster crash-outs say more about race and gender than romance to the tragedy of diluted queer representation in And Just Like That. We get nostalgic over ER via The Pit, and add Alex Cooper’s Call Her Alex documentary to each other’s pop culture homework.No one gets our complex relationship with Couples Therapy and our favorite TV therapist, Orna Guralnik more than Marina &amp; Micah from <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@coupletcomedy/video/7519186443139403022" rel="nofollow">Couplet Comedy</a>.Join us as we celebrate 5,000 downloads! What started as a fun experiment for two pop culture besties has become the space we dreamed of—where TV, movies, and headlines open the door to deeper conversations about Transformative Justice, abolition, care, and the world we’re building together.This Week’s Pop Culture Homework How to End Family Policing, coauthored by our own, Shannon Perez-Darby, and Erin Miles Cloud, Erica R. Meiners and Charity Tolliver!Grounded in the work of over 20 contributors, How to End Family Policing: From Outrage to Action lays out a vision for alternatives to family policing. From leading abolitionist organizers, this book is a much-needed intervention arguing that the systems that purport to protect children make them-and our communities-less safe.Offered by Haymarket Books. Pre-Order now! <a href="http:bit.ly/endfamilypolicing" rel="nofollow">http:bit.ly/endfamilypolicing</a>Subscribe and listen everywhere you get your podcasts. Come for the pop culture. Stay for the abolition.To learn more, visit:<a href="http://www.popagandapod.com/" rel="nofollow"> </a><a href="http://www.popagandapod.com" rel="nofollow">www.popagandapod.com</a> Leave a 5-star review for The Popaganda Podcast, and we might feature it in an upcoming episode! You can also send us love or suggest show topics by emailing us at: popagandapod@gmail.com.Sponsored in part by: The Accountable Communities ConsortiumAccess: Transcript now available on Apple Podcast

Pop Culture Chisme 2025

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2025/7/21/23/0a3bcd98-477c-4f4f-aefb-61f154ae8e6b_sinners_final_updated_7.21.25.mp3

What do you get when you mix juke joint resistance, supernatural horror, and a masterclass in Black storytelling? Sinners—Ryan Coogler’s 2025 genre-defying masterpiece—sets the Mississippi Delta on fire, and <a href="https://www.popagandapod.com/" rel="nofollow">The Popaganda Podcast</a> is here for that Smoke (and Stack).In this episode, co-hosts Shannon Perez-Darby and Tashmica Torok sink their teeth into the historical brilliance, Black cultural references, and intergenerational reckoning that make Sinners a film for the ages. From Michael B. Jordan’s dual-role performance to Wunmi Mosaku’s heartbreakingly embodied magic, we explore themes of vampire lore as white supremacy, biracial identity, cultural reclamation, ancestor hunger, and radical resistance—plus some very hot sex scenes.Whether it’s Grace&#39;s Molotov rage, Mary’s weak link behavior, or a juke joint dance sequence that turns into a spiritual time-travel portal—this film is layered, lush, and full of rabbit holes that will have us jumping for a long time into the future.This Week’s Pop Culture Homework<ul><li>Watch Sinners! Now streaming on Max.</li><li><a href="https://www.aaihs.org/the-sinners-movie-syllabus/" rel="nofollow">The &#39;Sinners&#39; Movie Syllabus</a> by Jemar Tisby &amp; Keisha N. Blain</li><li> </li></ul>Subscribe and listen everywhere you get your podcasts. Come for the pop culture. Stay for the abolition.To learn more, visit:<a href="http://www.popagandapod.com/" rel="nofollow"> www.popagandapod.com</a>Leave a 5-star review for The Popaganda Podcast, and we might feature it in an upcoming episode!You can also send us love or suggest show topics by emailing us at: popagandapod@gmail.com.Sponsored in part by: The Accountable Communities ConsortiumAccess: Transcript now available on Apple PodcastsContent Warning:The Popaganda Podcast explores the intersections of transformative justice, prison abolition, and pop culture. In this episode, we discuss themes of trauma exploitation, survivorship, and systemic harm, including references to sexual violence and political violence. While we do not delve into graphic details, we invite you to make choices about what feels right for you.

Sinners: Black History, Biracial Hauntings, and the Horrors of White Supremacy Culture

Do you love reality television, true crime, memes, TikTok and all other forms of pop culture? Are you also interested in communal care outside of harmful state systems? Do you struggle to reconcile the two? Join Tashmica Torok and Shannon Perez-Darby on Popaganda, as we dive deep into our love of transformative justice, pop culture and where the two meet.

Leave a 5-star review for The Popaganda Podcast and we might feature it in an upcoming episode! You can also send us love or suggest show topics by emailing us at popagandapod@gmail.com. 

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Sponsored in part by: Accountable Communities Consortium and The Firecracker Foundation.

Content Warning: The Popaganda Podcast explores the intersections of transformative justice, prison abolition, and pop culture. We will be talking in general about the existence of domestic, sexual and state violence and our experiences with these forms of violence.

Credits:
Executive Producers: Shannon Perez-Darby and Tashmica Torok

Audio Production: Shannon Perez-Darby

Show Notes + Graphic Design: Tashmica Torok