Whistleblower Revelations on Zambia’s AIDS Health Deal; "We Will Not Be Silenced;" & Poet Anthony Grillo

Details

Tune into Out-FM on Tues., October 13, 2026 from 8:00-9:00 pm ET, on​ WBAI/NY​, 99.5 FM​, or livestreaming at wbai.org/listen-live

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Health GAP Sit-In at US Captiol Building

Health GAP Sit-In at US Capitol Building

Segment #1: Impact of Whiteblower Revelations on Zambia's AIDS Health Deal

 

For some in the audience, Trump's dismantling of USAID (U.S. Agency for International Development) brings to mind its nefarious Cold War-era campaigns. Some analysts argued that USAID functioned not as a humanitarian agency, but mainly as a diplomatic and military instrument to prop up dictatorships in the Congo, Iran, Chile and Egypt. The agency was also heavily integrated into the war effort in Vietnam and allowed development projects to be weaponized for counterinsurgency, damaging its reputation as a neutral aid provider. USAID has also had a role in the International Monetary Fund's "structural adjustment" (austerity) programs and Free-Market Shock Therapy. In the 1990s the Clinton administration and Congress somewhat downsized the agency.

 

However, the agency rebounded from 2001-2024, before the Trump Administration massively cut it back in mid-2025. Its budget was slashed (without Congressional approval) from $48.3 billion to $18.9 billion in 2025. Only $4.7 billion or 25% of that was for the President's Emergency Program For AidS Relief (PEPFAR).

 

The global AIDS movement was one of the main reasons for the regrowth of USAID -- it pressured the Bush Administration to fund access to life-extending and life-saving HIV treatments throughout the Global South. The George W. Bush administration launched PEPFAR in 2003 to deflect from its unpopular war against Iraq launched the same year. While the AIDS movement pushed for funding the multilateral. UN-sponsored Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, the Bush administration and Congress refused to fund that program fully and put most of the spending into the bilateral strings-attached PEPFAR program.

 

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Segment #2: "We Will Not Be Silenced" / Fight for Free Expression!

At a time of escalating censorship, attacks on protest, political expression, immigrant and labor rights, and Palestine solidarity, the Oct. 24 event brings together leading voices to examine political repression—and how we build the solidarity needed to resist it. Drawing on the legacy of the fearless early 20th century fighting anti-racist Black journalist Ida B. Wells, the forum asks not only how dissent is being silenced, but how we organize collectively to defend freedom of political expression and build resistance to repression.

 

In this segment, Out-FM producers Stahimili Mapp and Bob Lederer will discuss the importance of the Oct. 24th in-person and online forum "WE WILL NOT BE SILENCED: Defending Dissent & Building Resistance to Political Repression."  The event is sponsored by the Ida B. Wells Media Defense Network, a year-old national networking group formed by Pacifica listeners and producers to respond to the Trump Administration's attacks on the free press and political dissent.. Particularly targeted and demonized have been those organizing for the human rights of trans people. Of course, Global South immigrants are also a central focus.

 
Featured Speakers

Vijay Prashad – Historian, journalist, author, and Executive Director of Tricontinental Institute for Social Research.

Dr. Charisse Burden-Stelly – Historian, political economist, and author of Black Scare/Red Scare.

Omali Yeshitela – Longtime Black liberation activist and Chairman of the African People's Socialist Party.

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Event Details:

Date: Saturday, October 24, 2026
Time: 3:00–6:00 PM ET
Location: The People's Forum (320 W. 37th St., NYC)
                OR Online via Zoom

 
Get Your Tickets / Register Now
If you have questions, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
 
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For Keeping fearless independent journalism alive & strong!

We thank you for your pledge during this special summer fund drive to pay down the Transmitter bill. The station exceeded its goal!

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About Out-FM

Out-FM is a weekly progressive, intersectional queer show by and for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, two-spirit, non-binary, gender non-conforming, intersex, queer, and questioning communities. Our program originates from listener-sponsored, noncommercial WBAI/Pacifica Radio in New York, 99.5 FM and wbai.org. Our programs are archived at outfm.org. You can also follow us on Facebook, X, and Instagram.

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