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Akin Olla

Akin Olla is a Nigerian-American political strategist and organizer. He is the host of This is The Revolution Podcast

November 2023

  • A stock image of someone whose face is completely obscured in the dark of a blue hoodie, overlaid on an image of green letters spelling, among other things, the word 'Hacker.'

    A dead friend seemed to contact me on Facebook. The truth was sadder

    Akin Olla
    Social media ‘ghosts’ are increasingly common - and platforms have an incentive to keep those profiles up if they drive engagement

September 2023

  • ‘I’m embarrassed to be writing an anti-child labor article in the year 2023, as if this is some Charles Dickens novel leaking gruel and cruel men.’

    A meat processer killed a 16-year-old. Yet US lawmakers want more child labor

    Akin Olla
  • ‘The indictments against the protesters are a naked attempt to destroy a grassroots social movement.’

    Why is Georgia prosecuting leftwing activists with the same law as Trump?

    Akin Olla

August 2023

  • Ryan Gosling, Margot Robbie and America Ferrera in front of a Barbie sign

    I wept for Ken: why men have the most to gain from watching Barbie

    Akin Olla
    Men suffer under patriarchy, too – and Ryan Gosling’s man-child Ken is a brilliant demonstration of that

February 2023

  • John Fetterman.

    John Fetterman can help lift the stigma around mental illness and depression

    Akin Olla
    The US senator checked into a hospital for clinical depression – and has provoked a conversation about mental health

September 2022

  • A computer generated image of a Black cyborg rapper with his hair in a mohawk of green braids, a nose ring, gold teeth and tattoos on his head and face.

    Are AI-powered ‘virtual rappers’ just a strange new form of blackface?

    Akin Olla
    The fictional rapper FN Meka – designed by non-Black creators, with AI-created music – seems like the latest version of a minstrel show

August 2022

  • ‘In the last few decades, private jets have become an increasing source of global flight emissions, while providing very little value for most humans on earth.’

    It’s time to ban private jets – or at least tax them to the ground

    Akin Olla
    Kylie Jenner’s 17-minute private jet ride is a reminder that private jets are morally obscene and terrible for the climate. The planet can no longer afford these indulgences

July 2022

  • ‘American lawns use 3tn gallons of water each year – enough drinking water for billions of people annually.’

    This heatwave is a reminder that grass lawns are terrible for the environment

    Akin Olla
    Lawns and gardens account for 60% of household water use in arid areas of the US. This is unsustainable

June 2022

  • ‘Much of the modern debate around gun control began in the 1960s, after the state of California – with support, ironically enough, from the NRA – pushed through legislation in response to the Black Panther Party and other armed militant groups.’

    I’m a Black gun owner. I have mixed feelings about gun control

    Akin Olla
    I don’t have much faith that the state will protect me from violence – and gun control laws have historically been used to target Black people

February 2022

  • ‘Last week four men in Brooklyn were charged with having sold fentanyl-laced heroin to Williams and others. This hollow act is part of the problem.’

    Arresting Michael K Williams’ alleged drug dealers won’t solve the US addiction crisis

    Akin Olla
    As a country we refuse to pursue policy reforms that might have saved the beloved actor and the many thousands of others who are dying of overdoses

January 2022

  • Employees protest Activision Blizzard in Irvine, California, on 28 July 2021. 

    Will Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard finally bring scrutiny on the video game industry?

    Akin Olla
    The video game industry is bigger than the film and music industries combined – yet has faced far less scrutiny than major tech companies like Facebook and Google

November 2021

  • Ahmaud Arbery's mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, reacts after the jury verdict was announced.

    This is justice of a kind. But don’t forget Ahmaud Arbery’s killers almost got away

    Akin Olla
  • Thousands of city workers gathered marched across the Brooklyn Bridge to protest New York Mayor Bill de Blasio's vaccine mandate.

    Why are so many NYPD officers fighting vaccination?

October 2021

  • ‘After the shooting, Rittenhouse was celebrated by conservative figures like Tucker Carlson and Ann Coulter and, of course, then-President Donald Trump.’

    The people Kyle Rittenhouse shot can’t be called ‘victims’, a judge says. Surprised?

    Akin Olla
    Though he crossed state lines and shot three people with a semi-automatic rifle, Rittenhouse has been treated with an alarming degree of grace
  • US-SPACE-BLUE ORIGIN-SHATNER<br>This handout photo released by Blue Origin Media on October 12, 2021 shows the four member Blue Origin crew (from R) Chris Boshuizen, Canadian actor William Shatner, Audrey Powers and Glen de Vries posing at an undisclosed location. - Blue Origin announced on October 10 that it was delaying its flight set to carry actor William Shatner to space due to anticipated winds. The new flight is scheduled for October 13. (Photo by - / BLUE ORIGIN / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / BLUE ORIGIN " - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS (Photo by -/BLUE ORIGIN/AFP via Getty Images)

    Bezos’ Blue Origin is at odds with everything Star Trek represents

    Akin Olla
    The entire premise of Star Trek was utopian: it pushed the limits of diversity, progressivism and inclusion on television and the science fiction genre
  • ‘Occupy was dismissed for years as ineffective, but time has disproven the cynics.’

    Occupy Wall Street swept the world and achieved a lot, even if it may not feel like it

    Akin Olla
    A decade ago Occupy reframed US political debate, trained a generation of activists, and served as a dress rehearsal for movements that followed

September 2021

  • Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said extensive news media coverage of Petito’s death should be a reminder of the hundreds of Native American girls and women who are missing or murdered in the United States.

    Gabby Petito’s death is tragic. But I wish missing women of color got this much attention

    Akin Olla
    Considerable resources were dedicated to finding Petito’s body. Yet Indigenous people in Wyoming are more likely to disappear and to be killed, and their cases are barely noticed

August 2021

  • Stokely Carmichael, later known as Kwame Ture, speaking at the University of California at Berkeley.

    It’s time to free Black revolutionaries from US prisons

    Akin Olla
    Since 1979, the Black August holiday has honored Black freedom fighters. Today, we can celebrate the occasion by demanding the release of prisoners
  • This image provided by Jeopardy Productions, Inc. shows “Jeopardy!” guest host LeVar Burton on the set of the game show. (Carol Kaelson/Jeopardy Productions, Inc. via AP)

    The new Jeopardy! hosts are disappointing. Why didn’t they choose LeVar Burton?

    Akin Olla
    By not choosing Burton, the show deprived the world of a host that represents everything that it so sorely needs right now
  • ‘Celebrating the success of another Black billionaire obscures the dangers that the Black upper class poses to the Black working class and working class people of all ethnicities.’

    Sorry, Rihanna. I can’t celebrate billionaires – even if they are Black

    Akin Olla
    The last thing we need right now is another billionaire, regardless of their skin color
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