Come on, feel the science!

In the third episode of Parallel Streams Sophie Hope introduces and contextualises the final episode of Remember the Future Season 2 from art.coop. 
What does it mean for philanthropy to exist in relationship to the solidarity economy? What if artists led a redistribution effort to resource arts collectives? 
PARALLEL STREAMS
EPISODE 03 | MARCH 13 | 2026
 
PARTICIPANTS
Sophie Hope | Marina Lopez | Sruti Suryanarayanan
COMMENTARY
Art.coop describes itself as “working for a future in which artists closest to the pain of an extractive economy know their power and use it to dismantle the current system. We resource a community of artists committed to building the art worlds we want. Art.coop is located in the U.S. but is rooted in the international Solidarity Economy movement.”
In this episode of Remember the Future (the final episode of season 2), Marina Lopez speaks with Art.coop organizer and Remember the Future Fellowship co-lead, Sruti Suryanarayanan. They discuss the work of three fellows, Acres of Ancestry, Ohketeau Cultural Center, and Question Culture - who weren’t able to join the podcast for individual conversations,
Marina and Sruti explore how three innovative artist collectives are building solidarity economies, resisting oppression, and creating transformative cultural work through cooperative practices. Sruti also reflects on the learnings from the pilot year of the Remember the Future Fellowship and what we can look forward to next year. 
What does it mean for philanthropy to exist in relationship to the solidarity economy? What if artists led a redistribution effort to resource arts collectives? 
 
REFERENCES
art.coop https://art.coop
The original podcast in its original context https://rememberthefuture.buzzsprout.com/2087911/episodes/18087382-reimagining-redistribution-when-artists-resource-each-other
Solidarity Not Charity (from the Miaaw archives) https://www.miaaw.net/e/solidarity-not-charity/
Art.coop & the New Economy Coalition (from the Miaaw archives) https://www.miaaw.net/e/artcoop-the-new-economy-coalition/
 
 
 
 
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Tags music, prison
Length 60:54
 

In the second episode of Parallel Streams Owen Kelly introduces and contextualises a recent episode from the weekly podcasts made by David Rovics. This one, which we repost here by kind permission of David Rovics, contains his personal analysis of the relationships between music, jobs and AI, and provides some practical examples.
 
PARALLEL STREAMS
EPISODE 02 | FEBRUARY 13 | 2026 
PARTICIPANTS
Owen Kelly | David Rovics
COMMENTARY
Wikipedia describes David Rovics as "an American indie singer/songwriter”. 
They also say that "his music concerns both topical subjects such as the Iraq War, anti-globalization, anarchism, and social justice issues, and also labor history."
We previously looked at some aspects of his work in the 25th edition of Miaaw on September 13, 2019, when we discussed his community-supported arts club, his crowdfunding activities (including the funding of his then-new album which he recorded that year in Ireland), and his fledgling A Penny A Play campaign.
Earlier this month YouTube deleted all his work from their servers because they claimed it is "supportive of unnamed criminal organizations". They offered him no possibility to remove the tracks they said violated their terms of service, and no possibility of appeal. He has written and broadcast about that, and there are links to this below.
In this podcast, though, he analyses the advent of AI and its relationship to music, musicians’ work, and jobs in general. He made a controversial personal decision to experiment rather than dismiss AI out of hand, and he discusses this. He finishes the episode with some music he has created and released with his imaginary friends in his imaginary band Ai Tsuno.
One of their songs, No Contract, No Coffee, written to support striking workers at Starbucks, won the Labor Grammys (organised by the Labor Heritage Foundation) a few weeks ago.
 
REFERENCES
David Rovics online headquarters: https://davidrovics.com
David Rovics on Substack: https://davidrovics.substack.com
Wikipedia: David Rovics’ entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Rovics
 
The campaign against me: https://davidrovics.blogspot.com/2021/07/the-campaign-against-me.html
 
Meanwhile on Youtube: Discographies Wiped and Channels Deleted:https://davidrovics.blogspot.com/2026/01/meanwhile-on-youtube-discographies.html
Miaaw 25: David Rovics’ strategies for survival: https://www.miaaw.net/e/david-rovics-strategies-for-production/
The Labor Heritage Foundation: https://www.laborheritage.org
 

The first in a new Miaaw series, in which we introduce and showcase other podcasts. In this episode the Irene Taylor Trust present Solidarity Tracks, a podcast about working with music in prisons. 
 
PARALLEL STREAMS | EPISODE 01
JANUARY 9 | 2026 
PARTICIPANTS
Sophie Hope | Sara Lee
COMMENTARY
The Irene Taylor Trust began in 1995 in memory of Irene Taylor who had a personal interest in both penal reform and music. While serving on the selection panel for the Butler Trust prison awards scheme, Irene had come across Sara Lee, who was at that time music co-ordinator at HMP Wormwood Scrubs. Following Irene’s, the Taylor family decided to set up a charity that would continue to do the work that she had been so in favour of, and invited Sara to set up the Irene Taylor Trust Music in Prisons programme.
Sara has led the trust’s music work ever since.
Sophie Hope recently met Sara Lee, and discovered that the Trust has produced a series of podcasts that describe work that fits directly into our areas of interest. Rather than interviewing Sara, Sophie decided to ask if we could republish one of their podcasts.
This has become the first in a new Miaaw series in which we invite you to listen to other podcasts we think you might enjoy; podcasts that complement, and in some cases extend, the range of actions and works we cover.
REFERENCES
The Irene Taylor Trust
Irene Taylor Trust Youtube channel
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra & Irene Taylor Trust