Storytelling shapes how we see the world, and our place in it. The stories we tell and the ones we choose to believe define our understanding of truth, power, and belonging. They decide whose pain is seen, whose resistance is remembered, and whose voices are erased. In this episode of Art of Citizenry Podcast, host Manpreet Kaur Kalra is joined in conversation with Noor Tagouri. Together, they interrogate how narratives influence systems — reflecting on what it means to tell stories with transparency, courage, and care in an era where journalism itself is being redefined.

October marks both Fair Trade Month and National Co-op Month – a fitting moment to examine how global trade policies are reshaping the landscape for ethical businesses. In this episode of Art of Citizenry Podcast, host Manpreet Kaur Kalra is joined by Nicole Vitello, Vice President at Equal Exchange, a worker-owned co-operative with the mission to build long-term fair trade partnerships that are economically just and environmentally sound.

In this episode of the Art of Citizenry Podcast, host Manpreet Kaur Kalra is joined by author Elaine U. Cho in conversation about her new sci-fi novel Teo’s Durumi. Together they unpack techno-orientalism – exploring how her work contends with capitalism, colonialism, and identity – and why using our unique lens in art matters now more than ever.

In this episode of the Art of Citizenry Podcast, host Manpreet Kaur Kalra and producer Aly Honoré take a step back from the headlines to explore what they reveal about the state of American democracy, culture, and free speech. From the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live and mass doxing campaigns reminiscent of McCarthyism, to the militarization of cities and the campaign to “Free Ben & Jerry’s,” these stories are more than isolated flashpoints. Together, they paint a troubling picture of democratic fragility and the creeping rise of authoritarianism.

H.R. 1, the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act, expands the Deportation Industrial Complex, allocating more than 170 billion dollars over four years for border and interior enforcement, with the explicit goal of deporting 1 million immigrants every single year. Behind those staggering numbers lies another story: who profits. Among the biggest winners are private equity firms and the billionaire class they represent. In this episode of the Art of Citizenry Podcast, Manpreet Kaur Kalra is joined by Azani Creeks, Senior Researcher at the Private Equity Stakeholder Project (PESP) to unpack how this bill opens the floodgates for private equity firms to profit from detention, deportation, surveillance, and border militarization as engines of profit for billionaires.

In this episode of the Art of Citizenry Podcast, Manpreet Kalra is joined by Dr. Marcia Chatelain, historian and author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America. Together, we dig into the intersections of civil rights, economic justice, and corporate accountability, exploring how the pursuit of liberation has too often been commodified under the guise of economic empowerment.

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In this special, more casual, episode of the Art of Citizenry Podcast, host Manpreet Kaur Kalra dives into news stories that say a great deal about the state of American democracy, culture, and press freedom.

Corporations are enabling, sustaining, and profiting from genocide in Gaza. In this episode, we unmask the corporations and governments underpinning Israeli occupation by diving into the findings of a landmark report by UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese.

We’re pulling back the curtain on social entrepreneurship – not to dismiss its promise, but to grapple with its pitfalls and benefits. This episode is a call to listen more deeply, and to rethink the definitions, expectations, and power dynamics that shape the world of social entrepreneurship. Let's imagine a more accountable, community-rooted approach to social change.

This week, while we take a break, we found it timely and important to recast this episode: Crimminalization of Immigration with Anthony Enriquez. In episode 19 of Art of Citizenry Podcast, Manpreet is joined by Anthony Enriquez, the VP of U.S. Advocacy and Litigation at RFK Human Rights. Together, they discuss the complexities of immigration detention in the U.S., focusing on the financial motivations behind privatized detention centers, the historical shifts in immigration policy, and the role of race in shaping these policies. Anthony highlights the significant abuses occurring in detention centers and the need for advocacy and reform to address these issues. This conversation delves into the complex issues surrounding immigration detention centers, their economic impact on local communities, the evolving political narratives around immigration, and the structural challenges within immigration policy. It highlights the importance of local advocacy and the need for oversight and accountability in immigration detention practices, emphasizing the role of community-led movements in shaping a more just immigration system. Meet Our Guest Anthony Enriquez is the Vice President of U.S. Advocacy and Litigation at Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights. He is an attorney working to reduce mass incarceration in the United States by exposing and stopping human rights abuses in the criminal legal and immigration systems. Anthony leads a team of advocates fighting in U.S. courts and international human rights mechanisms in solidarity with grassroots campaigns for accountability for state-sponsored racial discrimination, torture, and extrajudicial killings. “Immigration detention is more than an immigrants' rights issue alone. The power we give to the U.S. government to inflict abuses on immigrants is inevitably used against citizens: from racial profiling to mass surveillance to prolonged civil detention and even deportation itself. The public funds we use to transform rural economies into private prison towns could have been used for investments in small businesses, manufacturing, and vocational and educational training instead of multi-million-dollar CEO salaries.”

From slavery to Jim Crow, from colonial conquest to today's global labor exploitation—racism has always been foundational to capitalism. But what exactly is racial capitalism, and how does it continue to shape our economy and daily lives? In this episode, Manpreet Kaur Kalra sits down with renowned historian Dr. Robin D. G. Kelley to unravel how capitalism has always been a racialized and gendered colonial project. Together, they examine how systemic racism is ingrained in economic structures, shaping everything from labor practices and property rights to state power and global migration.

In this episode, host Manpreet Kaur Kalra invites listeners into a reflective and urgent conversation about the enduring legacy of "divide and rule," one of colonialism’s most insidious and effective strategies of domination. Often treated as a historical tactic, divide-and-rule remains deeply embedded in today’s global systems, from political polarization to economic dependency. Manpreet reflects on how this strategy was not merely about creating divisions, but about surgically engineering hierarchies that pit communities against one another in service of control. Through a historical lens, the episode examines how colonial regimes fractured societies along religious, ethnic, and social lines to undermine solidarity and resistance. The legacy of these interventions lives on—in borders, in conflict, and in the structural inequalities that underpin the Global North-Global South divide.

If you caught Episode 25, you know the story: approximately 250 Guatemalan garment workers are still owed $500,000 in severance from Lucky Brand after the closure of the Industrial Hana factory. But what started as a case study in wage theft quickly revealed something bigger—how private equity is transforming fashion supply chains behind the scenes. In this follow-up episode, Manpreet Kaur Kalra reconnects with Anna Canning of Partners for Dignity & Rights to peel back the layers of fashion’s financial structure. Together, they trace how corporate ownership is intentionally opaque, and how firms like Authentic Brands Group are profiting by fragmenting responsibility. From bankruptcies and brand buyouts to complex licensing deals, together, we unpack how private equity is redefining who owns what—and why that matters for the future of corporate accountability.

Around the world, far-right and ultra-conservative movements are gaining power—mainstreaming ideologies once confined to the political fringes. From the recent elections in Germany to the United States, we’re witnessing a rise in extremist rhetoric, the rollback of human rights protections, and a troubling erosion of democratic norms. As these forces grow bolder, many leaders – from businesses to major media companies to higher education – are choosing silence over resistance. But neutrality in moments like these is not apolitical; it’s complicity. When leaders remain quiet, they protect the very systems that threaten the fabric of a just and equitable society. In this episode, Manpreet Kaur Kalra is joined by longtime collaborator and CEO of El Puente, Jette Ladiges, whose voice as a business leader serves as a source of inspiration in the face of political silence. Together, they unpack why “neutrality” is not neutral, and what it means to lead fearlessly in an era defined by rising authoritarianism. This conversation moves beyond performative ethics and into real structural stakes: how governance models can resist extraction, why business has always been political, and how shared power, not concentrated profit, can shape a more just future.

April 24th marks the anniversary of the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh—a tragedy that killed over 1,100 garment workers and injured thousands more. It was a devastating wake-up call that exposed the human cost of unsustainable fashion cycles and sparked global conversations about corporate accountability, worker safety, and supply chain transparency. Over a decade later, workers across global supply chains still continue to fight for basic rights. In this episode, Manpreet Kaur Kalra speaks with Anna Canning, of Partners for Dignity and Rights and the author of Not So Lucky, an exposé on the severance theft experienced by Guatemalan garment workers at the now-closed Industrial Hana factory. The factory supplied apparel to brands including Lucky Brand, Puma, and American Eagle, yet only two of those brands have stepped forward to contribute to the $1.5 million still owed to workers. Lucky Brand continues to stall—despite acknowledging the facts of the case. From unauthorized subcontracting and opaque brand ownership to the failures of self-regulated corporate responsibility, this episode takes listeners behind the seams of global apparel production. We examine how systemic wage theft and labor abuses become “no one’s responsibility,” and what real accountability—rooted in worker-led models like Worker-Driven Social Responsibility (WSR)—could look like.

Globalization has set the stage for complex supply chains that allow multinational corporations to geographically and legally distance themselves from the exploitative labor conditions they often incentivize and perpetuate, shielding themselves from accountability while profiting from systemic human rights abuses. Companies such as REI have long cultivated an image of sustainability and progressive values, but how do those commitments hold up when you follow the supply chain? In this episode, we speak with Clare Hammonds of the UMass Amherst Labor Center and Katie Nguyen of Students for International Labor Solidarity, co-authors of Beneath REI’s Green Sheen, a report that investigates human rights violations in REI’s global production network. From union-busting and debt bondage to sourcing partnerships with corporations known for environmental destruction, their research reveals a pattern of practices that put supply chain workers at high risk of exposure to egregious labor rights abuses with no reliable avenue for recourse or remedy. We unpack the systemic issues that enable these violations, the limits of corporate impact reports, and the role of worker-driven social responsibility initiatives and student movements in supply chain accountability. What happens when a brand’s values become a marketing tool rather than a moral compass? And how can we collectively hold companies accountable when harm is buried deep in the supply chain? Tune in for a conversation that unpacks the realities of complex supply chains—and uplifts the people building power to confront it.

The fate of America’s public lands is at a crossroads. With sweeping federal budget cuts, mass job losses at key agencies like the Department of the Interior and the US Department of Agriculture, and a growing push for resource extraction under the banner of economic security, the future of national parks and trails has never felt more uncertain. At the heart of this shift sits a potential deepening of extractive policies that prioritize industry over conservation. In this episode, Manpreet Kaur Kalra sits down with Courtney Lyons-Garcia, Executive Director of Partnership for the National Trails System, to unpack what these changes mean for the protection and stewardship of America’s most treasured landscapes. We’ll explore how federal funding freezes are impacting nonprofit partners working on the ground, and what this means for how we experience the outdoors. But beyond the threats, we also discuss the paths forward—how Indigenous stewardship efforts are reshaping conservation, what policies we should be keeping a close watch on, and how everyday people can take action to safeguard public lands. Are we witnessing the systematic dismantling of public lands as we know them? And if so, what will it take to fight back? Tune in for a critical conversation about the intersection of policy, economics, conservation, and the power struggles defining America’s national trails.

In episode 22 of Art of Citizenry Podcast, we’re opting outside by centering REI’s labor fight. Manpreet is joined by Emma Harris, a bike and ski shop technician at REI’s SoHo store in New York City. As a member of REI Union SoHo, she serves as an elected member of the union bargaining committee and is part of the store’s Contract Action Team. REI SoHo was the first REI store to unionize. Since 2022, REI employees across the country have been organizing, demanding that the company live up to the values it so proudly markets. Together, we pull back the progressive corporate veil and unpack the ways in which REI has been undermining its mission and worker power through union busting tactics. We also discuss the role of unions and the challenges workers face when they come together to organize. This episode looks at the history of unions in the United States and the important function they serve in ensuring worker rights.

In episode 21 of Art of Citizenry Podcast, Manpreet Kaur Kalra unpacks Cultural Humility—a lifelong practice of unlearning, deep listening, and rethinking how we engage with difference. Cultural Humility challenges the colonial mindset that knowledge alone is enough to understand another’s lived experience. Instead, it asks us to center the voices of those most impacted, acknowledge power structures, and embrace the discomfort of not knowing. Having grounded Manpreet’s work in social impact, advocacy, and sustainable development for years now, this episode provides listeners with an in-depth understanding of cultural humility and how it can be applied to various areas of cross-cultural engagement and work. Sharing her own personal experiences with social entrepreneurship, this episode challenges us to rethink our approaches. This episode asks us to listen before acting, acknowledge our own biases, and recognize that power and privilege shape the way we navigate the world.