Episode 32 - What the slave trade can teach us about Trump and US decline | Rudolph Ware | UNAPOLOGETIC

In this episode, historian Rudolph “Butch” Ware joins us for a conversation about the global system slavery built — and how its legacy still shapes the modern world.

He breaks down the myths we’ve been taught about abolition, the spiritual legacy of resistance, and how white supremacy was not just a byproduct of history, but an architecture that still defines our institutions.

We also talk about Gaza, the erasure of truth in public life, and how protest and free speech are being crushed in the U.S.

Butch is running for governor of California, so we ask him if this is the best way to make change, considering that he is operating in a political system that often rewards self-promotion and aggrandizement over fundamental reform.

UNAPOLOGETIC is Hosted by Ashfaaq Carim

Chapters
UNAPOLOGETIC is Hosted by Ashfaaq Carim

Chapters

00:00 The hidden hands behind the slave trade  

03:00 The scale of the Euro-American trade  

06:15 Slavery and modern capitalism  

09:05 Africa’s stagnation, Europe’s rise  

11:50 Early African resistance: King Afonso  

14:00 Commodifying African bodies as currency  

16:15 How European slavery was different  

19:00 Sexual violence and trauma under slavery  

22:00 Destroyed families, lost spiritual legacies  

24:40 Guns, warlords, and destabilized Africa  

27:15 The myth of British abolition  

30:05 African Muslims fought slavery first  

33:30 Gaza and the legacy of colonial brutality  

36:40 White supremacy: These aren’t people  

39:30 End of empire: The extinction burst  

42:00 Campus repression and the imperial boomerang  

45:00 Malcolm X and the betrayal of liberalism  

48:00 Why Butch joined the Green Party  

52:15 From mobilizing to organizing  

55:00 California 2026: Breaking the duopoly  

60:00 A revolutionary political strategy  

65:00 Truth-telling in political theater  

70:00 Student resistance and corporate campuses  

74:00 A generation that’s built different  

77:00 The urgency of third-party power  

80:00 A final word on faith and freedom  

Chapters

• 0:00 The scale of the Euro-American trade
• 0:00 The hidden hands behind the slave trade
• 6:15 Slavery and modern capitalism
• 9:05 Early African resistance
• 11:50 Early African resistance
• 14:00 Commodifying African bodies as currency
• 16:15 How European slavery was brutally different
• 19:00 Sexual violence and trauma under slavery
• 22:00 Destroyed families, lost spiritual legacies
• 24:40 Guns, warlords, and destabilised Africa
• 27:15 The myth of British abolition
• 30:05 African Muslims fight against slavery
• 33:30 Gaza and the legacy of colonial brutality
• 36:40 White supremacy: These aren’t people
• 39:30 End of empire
• 42:00 Campus repression and the imperial boomerang
• 45:00 Malcolm X and the betrayal of liberalism
• 48:00 Why Butch joined the Green Party
• 52:15 From mobilising to organising
• 55:00 California 2026: Breaking the duopoly
• 1:00:00 A revolutionary political strategy
• 1:05:00 Truth-telling vs political lobbying
• 1:10:00 Student resistance and corporate campuses
• 1:14:00 A generation that’s built different
• 1:17:00 The urgency of third-party power
• 1:20:00 A final word on faith and freedom