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This week we’re sharing two interviews related to ongoing conflicts between the Syrian transitional government alongside the Turkish backed so-called Syrian National Army militia, which has overlaps with ISIS on one side and the Syrian Democratic Forces and the communities of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, where the Rojava revolution has been happening,

First up, we’ll hear some updates and assessments from Garzan, a member of Tekoşîna Anarşîst, an internationalist anarchist structure based in Rojava and aligned with the Syrian Defense Forces. Garzan’s voice has been re-recorded for anonymity and a transcript of their audio is available in the show notes.

• Transcript

Then, we hear from Jînda a western activist engaged in solidarity with the Rojava Revolution to speak about what the spread of Syrian transitional government and the Turkish-backed so-called Syrian National Army militia into areas formerly under control of the Syrian Defense Forces means for women and different ethnic and religious minorities.

• Transcript

The radio edition of this audio is a bit shorter due to time constraints, so feel free to check our podcast or the streaming sites listed at tfsr.media to hear a longer edition.

Some Further Reading

• You can follow TA by visiting https://tekosinaanarsist.noblogs.org/ where you can also follow their war updates
• To check out that report by Rojava Information Center on ISIS prisoners under the Syrian transitional government, visit https://rojavainformationcenter.org/2026/01/isis-escapes-as-a-result-of-syrian-army-assault/
• An article that TA shared recently, though with some disagreement in the critique “Kurdish Reaction To The Current Situation In Rojava” by Zaher Baher is available here: https://libcom.org/article/kurdish-reaction-current-situation-rojava
• Our past interviews on Rojava: https://thefinalstrawradio.noblogs.org/post/category/rojava/
• Revolution In Rojava: Democratic Autonomy and Women’s Liberation in Syrian Kurdistan : https://classautonomy.info/revolution-in-rojava-democratic-autonomy-and-womens-liberation-in-the-syrian-kurdistan/
• Rojava Information Center interview with Lonjin Abdo who founded Lelun organization to support survivors of human trafficking by Turkish-backed SNA in Afrin: https://rojavainformationcenter.org/2025/07/lonjin-abdo-lelun-interview/

Some Internationalist Structures to Keep Up with Calls for Support

• Emergency Committee For Rojava: https://www.defendrojava.org/
• Internationalist Commune: https://internationalistcommune.com/
• Rise Up For Rojava: https://riseup4rojava.org/en/

. … . ..

Featured Track:

• TFSR by The Willows Whisper

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Today we’re joined by Jensen Gelfond, who offers tech support for folks at 12 Baskets Cafe every Tuesday from 10:30 to 12:30 and works with clients at Helpmate on personal cyber security. Jensen talks about how volunteering in his community has helped fill a gap between his professional work providing individualized tech support (often for well-resourced people) and his need for community, the benefits he experiences from his work at 12 Baskets Cafe and Helpmate, and advice about how to find volunteer work that fits your daily life.

In our second segment, we talk to local artist Jennifer Murphy about how she got involved with gleaning (rescuing food that would otherwise go to waste) and the importance of finding balance in your time and the joy and increased capacity that comes along with the busyness of community work.

Join us on Wednesday, Feb 11 when we talk about period poverty and local organizers who are working to make sure everyone has access to menstrual supplies.

Community Links

Jensen Gelfond: Asheville Digital Lifestyle ashevilledigitallifestyle.com

12 Baskets Cafe: ashevillepovertyinitiative.org

Helpmate: https://helpmateonline.org/

Jen Murphy: https://curiousgarden.art/ ​

Street Creature Puppet Collective https://streetcreaturewnc.wordpress.com/

Fringe Fest: https://www.ashevillefringe.org/

Society of St. Andrew: https://endhunger.org/regional-offices/carolinas/

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THIS Thursday on Closer to the Edge, JD’s “Top 15” progressive rock albums of 2025, will feature a track from each. Tune in Thursday, February 5th, from 1-3PM EST on 103.3 Asheville FM or stream live or later at Archives and also on our awesome APP! Professor Ted presented his Top 10 of 2025 a couple weeks ago, so this will complete the 25 best Prog albums of last year, exclusively on Asheville FM

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