Who's afraid of Chris Smalls?

Who's afraid of Chris Smalls?

Author: Working People June 8, 2026 Duration: 54:13
At a live event hosted at Red Emma's Cooperative Bookstore and Coffeehouse in Baltimore, Maryland, TRNN Editor-in-Chief Maximillian Alvarez got to sit down for a deep and wide-ranging conversation with Chris Smalls, co-founder and former president of the Amazon Labor Union. Alvarez and Smalls discuss Smalls' new book, When the Revolution Comes: A Fight for the Future of the Working Class; they recount the incredible story of the formation of the Amazon Labor Union and the unionization of the first Amazon warehouse in the US; and they talk about Smalls' journey from warehouse worker and labor organizer to becoming an internationally recognized public figure and a human rights activist who has sailed with humanitarian flotilla missions to Gaza and Cuba. 

Additional links/info: 

Featured Music: 
  • Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song

Credits: 
  • Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor

There’s a conversation happening about the economy, politics, and culture, but too often the actual voices of the people who keep everything running are absent. Working People changes that. This is a place where the lived experience of the working class in modern America takes center stage. Produced in partnership with In These Times magazine and The Real News Network, each episode is built around a candid interview with someone from the vast and varied landscape of the American workforce. You’ll hear from teachers, factory workers, service industry employees, caregivers, and many others, each sharing the unvarnished details of their daily reality. Conversations naturally unfold to cover not just the specifics of their jobs, but the broader context of their lives-their personal histories, their political views, the dynamics within their families, and the unique blend of satisfaction and struggle that defines their world. The Working People podcast doesn’t offer abstract analysis; it provides a direct, human connection to the stories that collectively shape our society. It’s about understanding the hopes, the frustrations, and the resilience that are woven into the fabric of working-class life today. By listening, you get a genuine portrait of the people whose labor is so often discussed, yet whose own narratives are so rarely heard in such depth.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Working People
Podcast Episodes
Workers replaced by AI have a dire warning for the world [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:47
In this special crossover edition of Working People and The Marc Steiner Show, hosts Maximillian Alvarez and Marc Steiner examine how the "artificial intelligence" (AI) boom is shaping the economy and the impact it is al…
Microsoft cancels Israeli spy unit access after tech worker revolt [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:18
In a stunning and massive development, tech giant Microsoft has announced that it is terminating parts of the Israeli military's access to proprietary technology that it was using to conduct mass surveillance and targeti…
The biggest labor story in the US right now is happening at Microsoft [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:10:13
Current and former tech workers with the No Azure for Apartheid coalition continue to disrupt business as usual at Microsoft's global headquarters in solidarity with Palestinians facing a genocide, and in protest of Micr…