Ed, co-founder of SASSI (Southerners Against Surveillance Systems & Infrastructure), speaks to The Final Straw Radio about the proliferation of surveillance infrastructure in the South (and more broadly in United States).

We speak about topics such as the increasing cooperation between the state and corporate surveillance companies, the desire of these companies to extract ever-increasing amounts of data from the public, the way the state uses private databases to sidestep traditional warrant processes, some of the specific technologies that cities in the south have contracts with and their efficacy. We also touch on how folks at SASSI investigate these topics, and what can be done to help with this effort and ways to think about individual and community safety.

• https://www.sassisouth.org/
• https://www.muckrock.com/

Also of interest to listeners may be our prior episode, Pushing Back On Flock Cameras with Kate Bertash, which Ed references during the chat.

The following links provide more information about topics we briefly touch on in the chat.

• https://www.404media.co/were-suing-ice-for-its-2-million-spyware-contract/
• https://www.404media.co/home-depot-and-lowes-share-data-from-hundreds-of-ai-cameras-with-cops/
• https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/10/ring-cameras-are-about-to-get-increasingly-chummy-with-law-enforcement/
• https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/10/flocks-gunshot-detection-microphones-will-start-listening-human-voices
• https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/11/rise-police-advertiser

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Featured Track:

• Push by Liquid Liquid from Discography (1981-1984)

This Friday, October 31st Joey Books will be serving Halloween-flavored treats — contemporary, obscure, and legendary tracks — most with that familiar psychedelic hue. We’ll be hearing new music from Edena Gardens, Bitsy Knox & Roger 3000, and Hungrytown, along with tunes by The Flaming Lips, Spirits Rejoice, and the enigmatic Moondog. Plus, I’ve got a few listener requests and a couple of surprises thrown in for good measure. And hey… big thanks to everyone who helped make our Asheville FM Fall Fun Drive such a huge success! You might even hear some on-air shoutouts! Don’t be afraid to tune in on Friday, 7-9 pm eastern time.

Join Professor Ted for a marathon double-play on Thursday from 1-5 PM, on Closer to the Edge and Music My Mother Would Not Like. Hear Halloween and related songs to get you in the mood for Trick or Treat; and roaming the streets or partying with friends! And if you’re home alone, the archive will help you through some spooky nights!

It’ll be a grand-slam… Your mother won’t like you getting so close to the edge but you’ll love it!!! Tune in October 30th and all weekend for the Ghosts behind the mic, only on Community radio, in Asheville and beyond!

This week, we’re featuring two segments.

East End Co-Op Union + BDS

First up, Ian talks to UE 667, organized workers at the East End Co-Op in Pittsburgh about the origins and goals of their organization and their divestment campaign to remove products from Israel from the shelves of their co-op.

• MIT living wage calculator
• UE 667 FB
• UE 667 IG
• UE 667 X
• BDS Movement

Antifascist September with ORMA

Then, you’ll hear Parias of Athens’ interview that appeared in the September 2025 B(A)D News. In this, Parias spoke with a member of ORMA, Organization of Militant Antifascism about the so-called Antifascist Septembers in Greece, named for the murdered antifascist hip hop artist Pavlos Fyssas. To find a 2020 interview remembering the life, work and impacts of Fyssas (aka Killah P), check out this interview by A-Radio Berlin.

Announcement

Shine White on Hunger Strike

White antiracist prisoner in North Carolina, Shine White, was transferred to a new facility and brutally beaten by guards as punishment for his organizing behind bars. Supporters have released this statement:

On October 7, Joseph “Shine White” Stewart was transferred from Foothills CI to Marion CI as punishment for his organizing efforts. Upon arrival, he was restrained, maced, tased on his face, and beaten by guards, sustaining injuries to his shoulder and ribs. This compounds existing injuries inflicted by guards at Foothills CI, for which he has been denied medical attention, in addition to ongoing medical neglect for preexisting chronic health conditions. In response to this ongoing repression, Shine went on a hunger strike after arriving at Marion CI. He is demanding proper medical treatment and to be transferred outside the jurisdiction of Western Regional Director, LaDonna Browning.

Make calls to the following officials on their direct lines Monday-Friday between 9am – 5pm EST:

• Peter Richard Buchholtz – Deputy Secretary for Institutions (910) 916-0155
  • [email protected]
• Josh Painter – Director of Prison Operations (910) 578-0215
• Marquette Alexandra Frierson – Clinical Support Director (919) 828-4000
• Valerie Langley – Chief Nursing Officer (252) 916-5645

Sample Script: “Hello. I am calling with regard to Joseph Stewart, OPUS number 0802041, who is currently on hunger strike after being brutally beaten by guards upon transfer to Marion CI and being denied medical care in retaliation for his organizing for prisoners. We are contacting you to demand that he receive immediate medical attention and be transferred outside the jurisdiction of Western Regional Director, LaDonna Browning. Joseph has made it clear that he will not end his hunger strike until he is transferred. Each day that goes by increases existing risks to his health. Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.”

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Featured Track:

• The Girl With The Sun In Her Brain by Orbital from In Sides

This week, we share an interview that I conducted with Anarcho, a member of the Black Book Distro collective out of Kathmandu, Nepal, about the protests and aftermath of the September 2025 “Gen Z” anti-corruption protests that ousted the prime minister, released prisoners and left the parliament in smoldering ruins.

Because we don’t follow a strict chronology of events, we’re including a few articles linked in our show notes for further study. We worked heavily off the interview with members of the Black Book Distro and CrimethInc, which is among those in our show notes.

• https://www.anarchistcommunism.org/2025/09/13/nepal-a-grassroots-uprising/
• https://organisemagazine.org.uk/2025/09/09/nepal-communications-international/
• http://www.srilankaguardian.org/2009/12/anarchism-in-nepal-2006-2009.html
• https://www.gofundme.com/f/black-book-distro-anarchist-library-in-nepal
• https://kathmandupost.com/columns/2025/09/15/welcome-to-the-eros-effect-gen-z
• https://open.spotify.com/episode/464iPIxwdVLT3BVLoepsKj

If you care to hear a slightly longer version of this chat, and a brief interview on the upcoming Pittsburgh Anarchist Book Fair, the first of its kind, check out our website