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Convergence

Cayden Mak

Cayden Mak

Publisher, Host of Block & Build 13 articles and 101 podcasts

Cayden Mak is the publisher at Convergence Magazine and the host of Block & Build: Roadmaps for the Left.

Prior to Convergence, Cayden spent nearly a decade in various roles at 18 Million Rising, including five years as Executive Director and two as Chief Technology Officer, developing the organization inside and out into the digital-first anchor of national progressive Asian American organizing. His other movement work has included organizing for community-designed affordable housing with the Save E. 12th Coalition, co-founding Youngist, a youth media collective, organizing graduate research assistants for a labor union, and helping coordinate tracks and network gatherings at the Allied Media Conference. He serves as Chair of the Board of Directors for the Kairos Fellowship.

Contributions from Cayden Mak

Season 2 of ‘Hegemonicon’ w/ William Lawrence

Hosted by
In another historic news week, President Joe Biden forfeited his upcoming nomination as the Democratic Party's candidate for President, and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris. Cayden provides some analysis on how left organizers and movements might approach this moment and how we should think about the presidential nominee and election. Then Hegemonicon podcast host William Lawrence joins to discuss and preview the show's upcoming season, which will focus on left internationalism.

France’s New Popular Front, w/ Clément Petitjean

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As finger pointing and arguing about Biden's fitness to remain the Democratic Party's presidential candidate continued all week here in the US, Great Britain and France made strides toward beating back autocratic and fascist rule in their own national elections. In this episode, Cayden is joined by Clément Petitjean (@clement_petitj), lecturer in English and Anglo-Saxon languages & literatures at Pantheon Sorbonne, University of Paris. Clément wrote for us in advance of last week’s snap elections in France about the emergence of the New Popular Front, and I’m excited to have him join me to debrief that election – and talk a little about what lessons we can glean from it as observers across the pond.

The Right-Wing, Anti-Trans, Hate Machine, w/ Vivian Topping & Alex Han

Hosted by
Cayden is joined by Vivian Topping, Director of Advocacy and Civic Engagement at the Equality Federation, to discuss the right-wing, anti-trans hate machine and how we fight back. They explore how today's Supreme Court repeal of the Chevron Doctrine might impact laws banning discrimination against trans people, how we organize against the Right's cultural messaging via deep canvassing in our communities, and much more.

Building a Party Vehicle, w/ Maurice Mitchell

Hosted by
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In this episode, Maurice speaks to Working Families Party's role in strategy as they engage in political endorsement and organizing across the country at the local and national levels. They explore the type of party vehicle we need to build and drive to reach the long-term goals of a multi-racial, working class led political future and how we co-operate amidst our diverse range of needs and issues.

The UC Standup Strike, w/ Rafael Jaime

Hosted by
Many of us have seen the attacks against student protestors over the last month on campuses like UCLA and others by both the police and right wing Zionists, attempting to disrupt their right to peaceful protest. This led to a wave of stand-up strikes against unfair labor practices of unionized student workers represented by UAW Local 4811 across the University of California system. As a result, legal actions have gone back and forth in state courts attempting to force an end to the strike without meeting unionized worker demands. As this story continues to unfold, we are joined this episode by President of UAW Local 4811, Rafael Jaime, to tell the full story of how we got to this moment, hopes for reaching student worker demands, and where things go next.

What if Trump Wins Again? w/Daniel Hunter & Katey Lauer

Hosted by
In spite of 34 felony convictions last week, there is still a very real chance that Donald Trump will once again be elected president of the United States in November; or that he'll contest the results and attempt another coup. Almost none of us were prepared for his victory in 2016. Many of us felt helpless in the wake of his 2020 blitz to steal the election. As a result, many responses were directionless and lacking in strategy. Experienced organizers Daniel Hunter (350.org) and Katey Lauer are helping individuals and organizations alike be more prepared for the many possible outcomes of the November election through a new multimedia project and book, What If Trump Wins?

AI Activism Has Landed, w/ Chinyere Tutashinda

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Executive Director of Center for Third World Organizing, Chinyere Tutashinda ([email protected]), joins Cayden this week to discuss the immediate danger popping up this week of AI generated social media activism which may have had its first major viral moment with the widely shared "All Eyes on Rafah" graphic. They also explore how organizers and activists think about their work on a longer horizon than the daily news cycle itself.

Risky Business, w/ Deborah Barron & Alex Tom

Hosted by
This week, Cayden is joined by Executive Director of New Left Accelerator, Deborah Barron and Executive Director of the Center for Empowered Politics, Alex Tom to discuss risk. Any time we perform acts of civil disobedience, we subject ourselves to varying degrees of risk. As we’ve seen in the news lately in campus protests many risk personal arrest. Others, meanwhile, risk loss of funding, jobs, and more. The panel explores how to strategically make assessments of what risks we should take in the face of increasing tendencies of fascist power plays by the MAGA Right. They also take a look at how risk is currently and historically considered in left and progressive movements.

Freedom Train: Steven Pitts in Conversation with Cedric de Leon

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Today's episode features an interview by Steven Pitts, the former host and creator of our longest running podcast, "Black Work Talk." He sat down with Professor of Sociology and Labor at University of Massachusetts - Amherst, Cedric de Leon, to discuss Cedric’s forthcoming book contracted with University of California Press, "Freedom Train."

Movement Media Roundtable, w/ Maya Schenwar & Lara Witt

Hosted by
This week’s show is our first Movement Media Round Table. We intend on this show to occasionally connect listeners with our fellow travelers in the independent, progressive media space to share some of the top stories from their outlets you should be following. For this round table, Cayden is joined by Editor-at-Large of Truthout.org, Maya Schenwar and Editor-in-Chief of PRISM, Lara Witt.