On this episode of What the Folk, our guest is Michael McPhearson, the executive director of online news publication the South Seattle Emerald, the former executive director of Veterans for Peace, and a longtime activist for racial and social justice within and outside of the US. This interview covers empathy as a radical act, the challenges of fostering solidarity across differences, and the necessity of localized independent media. Afterwards, Joy and Sarah reflect on their own solidarity and communication challenges, as well as how freaking tired they are because who isn’t these days. Treat yo’self to a nap, dear listeners – after you listen to this episode.Featured music on this episode is “I Don’t Know Much About Star Wars” by Joy DamianiGET INVOLVEDVeterans for Peacehttps://www.veteransforpeace.org/South Seattle Emeraldhttps://southseattleemerald.com/category/news/FOLLOW MICHAELMichael’s Mediumhttps://mtmcphearson.medium.com/MTM Dailyhttps://mtmdaily.com/Michael’s Twitterhttps://twitter.com/MTMcPhearson