By Shea Trumeter
Allan Campbell has been covering social justice issues (and the people involved) in Austin on his show, People United, on KOOP radio for a very long time. To be exact, for 19 years he’s been restlessly attending panels and events or conducting interviews on topics as broad as global warming and as community-centric as drug harm reduction in Austin. He’s covered journalists, activists, political figures, economists, leaders of political movements, organizations, and causes that are meaningful to the human experience. There probably aren’t too many events that involve progressive issues where you wouldn’t begin to hear very pointed questions from an unassuming character in the front row, with the recorder in tow.
We turned the tables and interviewed Allan about what he was thinking about the design of this exceptional show. Allan is curious, sincere, and genuinely appears to care deeply about the community he’s a part of. The questions he’s posing aren’t topical – they’re well-researched and curated, and I’ve thought many times that he may very well be the most underappreciated radio personality. I mean why isn’t this guy nationally syndicated?! He’s shedding light on the most important issues we face and giving voice to the trench lines of those issues! We take him for granted and he’s not the least bit offended because his selfless goal is to hope that his audience absorbs his offerings and then exists in the world with more awareness. I think we all know what awareness can lead to – people united, indeed.
Through People United, you’ve been around for a long time, covering some of the most important community issues for Austin. How long exactly have you been doing this show?
That’s really flattering of you to say! I’ve been hosting the show as People United since March 2005. Yet the chronology isn’t quite that cut and dried. From February 2003 until June 2004, I was unofficial on-air talent on the KOOP Radio program El Gringo Show, officially hosted by Shaun Hopkins. Shaun traveled frequently to Latin America, where the word gringo is not as loaded as it is here, but when I took over the program and began seeking out guests that didn’t know me and Shaun, not everyone here in Austin knew what to make of the program title. So, I changed it to something more unequivocal in its intent, with a subtitle added (The Show in Solidarity with the People of the World) in case there was any lingering ambiguity. And People United’s prehistory goes back even further than El Gringo Show, itself spun off from KOOP’s Spanish-language program Sol Guanaco. Eduardo Melgar, who hosted that show, would later join me sometimes, alternately as a guest and as a guest co-host, on People United during my show’s first five years.
Where do your ideas come from?
Ideas come from the people I meet and listen to, the value I perceive in what they have to say and share, and my decisions on how to present the material as both a coherent and an overall meaningful event.
What is your personal background around social justice? Why do you want to do this show? May be the same answer, but what gave you the idea to do People United?
The origin story, huh? I have no memory of my infancy, but my parents told me that they pushed my stroller in demonstrations against the Vietnam War. If I rebelled against my parents politically, I didn’t go the way of Alex P. Keaton (Michael J. Fox’s character on the Reagan-era sitcom Family Ties). Years later, I helped restart a local CISPES chapter with Shaun Hopkins and a few other people, including some serious longtime activists. CISPES, by the way, stands for the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador. I became involved with Shaun’s radio show on KOOP after I stopped by the radio station one day to see if he wanted to go with me to a protest against the then-impending US invasion of Iraq.
Who have you seen in your experience make some of the biggest helpful impacts in the community? Could be an organization, grassroots effort, or even an individual, but has anyone stood out to you that seemed committed to social justice in a way that has obviously helped our community?
Unless folks want to submit applications, there is no way I can even begin to make such a judgment. Moreover, struggles are never really completed, as hard-fought gains always need to be defended. Communities, meanwhile, transform, shaped by the needs of people at a particular moment and by conditions not under our full control.
Has there ever been a topic you wanted to cover but you weren’t sure how to do so? If not, what has been the most challenging issue to cover? Or has a topic ever just been unreachable?
That too can be a fluid situation. There is more than one way to both approach and frame a topic.
Has there been anyone that you’ve interviewed for your show that stood out to you? And why?
Three guests really stand out—the video documentarian Anne Lewis, the geographer Eliot Tretter, and the organizer and pundit Rahul Mahajan. I should really find ways to remotely seek out Eliot, who now lives in Canada, but his stay in and subsequent visits to Austin resulted in important critical analyses of issues facing this city that I continue to air as “classic” episodes. Anne’s documentaries have yielded some great conversations about past and present efforts to create a more equitable world; she’s also active with the Texas State Employees Union. Rahul’s background includes demonstrating in Seattle in 1999, reporting from Fallujah in 2004, and helping occupy the Wisconsin State Capital in 2011, but more than that, he’s brilliant in his ability to bring together seemingly disparate topics in a way that illuminates all of them.
Was there ever a time that you walked away from a panel, event, interview, etc. and thought about how peaceful or contentious opposing sides around an issue were? With your vast experience, do you see any sort of coming together around polarizing issues?
I’m sure your experience here is just as vast as mine. Each of us can recall some moments of exceptional harmony and others of extreme polarization. To the extent that we can identify some common values and goals amid disagreements, maybe we can arrive at workable compromises, but there are still times when we will come to a serious impasse. Now that the threat of COVID has receded, we should value the opportunity to speak in person whenever possible. As far as producing radio is concerned, it may come down to rapport, respect, and a willingness to listen.
What do you think is currently one of the biggest issues that Austin faces? What about nationally? Are those two issues similar or do they interact at all?
Both locally and nationally, I think one of the biggest issues is something that my show may not have focused on more than twice, and that is homelessness. Whether or not you yourself are unhoused, the condition is symptomatic of a range of issues that touch us all, directly as well as indirectly, including social inequity, economic insecurity, and the aftermath of trauma. Hence, it’s also a case study for spotlighting the most marginalized among us, in order to build a better world for all of us.
What is your biggest hope for listeners that hear your show? What do you want them to walk away with?
I can’t anticipate what aspects of People United you may find of value, but whether or not you listen, I hope you always try to learn, grow, behave conscionably with others, and consider ways of making our communities more hospitable and sustainable.