https://znetwork.org/author/fridaberrigan/ Independent Left News, Analysis, Vision and Strategy Sat, 06 Dec 2025 17:45:35 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://znetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/cropped-Z_logo_512-32x32.png https://znetwork.org/author/fridaberrigan/ 32 32 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/giving-a-fig/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/giving-a-fig/#respond Sat, 06 Dec 2025 17:45:28 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1292088 Do you have a silver card? I do. I live in New London, Connecticut, and while I don’t get EBT (Electronic Benefit Transfers) anymore, I still carry the card as a talisman. It’s nestled in my wallet right behind my driver’s license. It reminds me that there was a time when I needed help and [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/giving-a-fig/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/lessons-from-the-movement-to-stop-the-war-on-terror/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/lessons-from-the-movement-to-stop-the-war-on-terror/#respond Thu, 06 Nov 2025 17:00:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1290930 As I read Jeremy Varon’s new book “Our Grief is Not a Cry for War: The Movement to Stop the War on Terror,” I wanted to scream: We were right!  The peace movement predicted and forewarned the cataclysm that followed the opening salvos of the “global war on terror.” We foresaw the decades of war, [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/lessons-from-the-movement-to-stop-the-war-on-terror/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/water-water-everywhere-not-anymore/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/water-water-everywhere-not-anymore/#respond Thu, 25 Sep 2025 15:50:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1289008 The other day, while walking the streets of New York City with some groceries in my backpack, I got drenched. The skies suddenly opened and it poured. All too literally. I finally managed to dash under one of the typical building construction platforms in our neighborhood and found shelter with quite a crew of fellow [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/water-water-everywhere-not-anymore/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/a-world-without-iphones/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/a-world-without-iphones/#respond Fri, 06 Jun 2025 15:46:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1284626 Recently, I’ve been turning off my iPhone — all the way off! — for 10 to 30 minutes at a time. I leave it somewhere in the house, while I try to live IRL (“in real life”), washing dishes, hanging up laundry, or even going for a walk, phoneless. In this hyper-connected world of ours, doing [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/a-world-without-iphones/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/who-has-time-to-think-about-nuclear-weapons/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/who-has-time-to-think-about-nuclear-weapons/#respond Sun, 23 Mar 2025 15:23:39 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1281436 “Pretty far from the pulse.” That was the comment someone on social media wrote below a photo of me getting arrested at an anti-nuclear protest near the United Nations earlier this month. Despite being strangely immune to my winning smile and poo poo-ing someone else’s work and passion to perhaps feel a bit superior, that [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/who-has-time-to-think-about-nuclear-weapons/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/courage-is-contagious/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/courage-is-contagious/#respond Mon, 10 Mar 2025 15:52:42 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1280805 “It is pretty wild how you can make someone mad by just holding a sign,” my 18-year-old Ro told me, as an irate driver peeled out of the intersection, shaking both his middle fingers at us but managing not to hit us. Phew!  Ro was right. It didn’t take much to turn a perpetually busy [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/courage-is-contagious/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/a-final-speech-from-the-great-disrupter/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/a-final-speech-from-the-great-disrupter/#respond Thu, 21 Nov 2024 16:49:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1275706 My inbox is full of lament (and encouragement). My Instagram feed is full of anger and “the arc of the moral universe bends slow but…” My Facebook brims with exhortations to focus on the positive, on what we can control, on the next fight. I live in a poor Democratic stronghold in southeastern Connecticut. Kamala Harris won [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/a-final-speech-from-the-great-disrupter/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/militarism-abuse-disorder/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/militarism-abuse-disorder/#respond Wed, 25 Sep 2024 13:41:41 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1272806 My name is Frida and my community is military dependent. (I feel, by the way, like I’m introducing myself at a very strange AA-like meeting with lousy coffee.) As with people who have substance abuse disorders, I’m part of a very large club. After all, there are weapons manufacturers and subcontractors in just about every congressional district in [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/militarism-abuse-disorder/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-art-of-the-submarine/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-art-of-the-submarine/#respond Thu, 20 Jun 2024 15:50:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1268086 Walk through any art museum and you’re likely to see a mix of the classical and contemporary, impressionist and surrealist, refined and raw, beautiful, eerie, and provocative. Looking at art allows me at least a few moments of relief from the “that’s just the way it is” attitude of our hyper-consumerist, hyper-militarized, hyper-nihilist nation. I [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-art-of-the-submarine/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/walking-in-an-oven-world/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/walking-in-an-oven-world/#respond Tue, 15 Aug 2023 15:57:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1252017 Too hot. Too dry. Too many weapons. This world needs changing. But that’s too vague. After all, this world is already changing, just not in ways that are good for you and me. You know the facts. July 2023 was the hottest month on record — ever — since we humans started keeping track of the temperature. And it’s [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/walking-in-an-oven-world/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/how-to-blow-up-a-pipeline-misses-the-real-recipe-for-risky-action/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/how-to-blow-up-a-pipeline-misses-the-real-recipe-for-risky-action/#respond Thu, 11 May 2023 15:44:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1245891 I’m going to be honest — I was prepared to be annoyed. There was an edgy, beautiful, but unwashed, teenagers vibe about the trailer that set my teeth on edge. But when I sat down to watch “How to Blow Up a Pipeline,” I was not annoyed.  I laughed. I cried. I sat on the [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/how-to-blow-up-a-pipeline-misses-the-real-recipe-for-risky-action/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/90-seconds-to-midnight/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/90-seconds-to-midnight/#respond Thu, 13 Apr 2023 15:46:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1243451 The Doomsday Clock and Me I’m not a TikTok person. I’m too old. But when I finally ventured onto that popular but much-maligned app, which traffics in short videos and hot takes, I was surprised to find many videos about the Doomsday Clock. It’s nothing like a conventional timepiece, of course. It’s meant to show [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/90-seconds-to-midnight/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/how-to-avoid-nuclear-stand-offs-that-threaten-the-entire-world/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/how-to-avoid-nuclear-stand-offs-that-threaten-the-entire-world/#respond Sat, 21 Jan 2023 15:43:56 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1237490 The tit-for-tat coded rhetorical threats would sound fantastical and John le Carré-esque if they weren’t so real. In September 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin cited U.S. ​“precedent” in using nuclear weapons in Japan and said Russia would ​“use all the means” at its disposal to ​“defend” itself in its war against Ukraine. About two weeks later, President Joe Biden said [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/how-to-avoid-nuclear-stand-offs-that-threaten-the-entire-world/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-end-of-the-world-is-back-frida-berrigan-on-nuclear-abolitionism/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-end-of-the-world-is-back-frida-berrigan-on-nuclear-abolitionism/#respond Thu, 19 Jan 2023 15:47:37 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1237341 The tit-for-tat coded rhetorical threats would sound fantastical and John le Carré-esque if they weren’t so real. In September 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin cited U.S. ​“precedent” in using nuclear weapons in Japan and said Russia would ​“use all the means” at its disposal to ​“defend” itself in its war against Ukraine. About two weeks [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-end-of-the-world-is-back-frida-berrigan-on-nuclear-abolitionism/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/how-to-survive-us/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/how-to-survive-us/#respond Mon, 07 Nov 2022 15:09:31 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1231143 When I was growing up, there was a parody of an old-fashioned public announcement tacked to the wall of our kitchen that I vividly remember. It had step-by-step instructions for what to do “in case of a nuclear bomb attack.” Step 6 was “bend over and place your head firmly between your legs”; step 7, [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/how-to-survive-us/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/this-is-my-song/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/this-is-my-song/#respond Fri, 15 Jul 2022 21:44:00 +0000 https://zcomm-staging.work/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1067602 It’s hot and hazy as July rolls around. Growing up in the Baltimore swamplands, we used to say, “It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity.” Meaning that the humidity was harder to deal with than the feverish temperatures. At some point in my family, the phrase morphed into: “It’s not the heat, it’s the stupidity.” [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/this-is-my-song/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/a-school-system-goes-to-hell-and-back-again/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/a-school-system-goes-to-hell-and-back-again/#respond Fri, 29 Apr 2022 10:57:43 +0000 https://zcomm.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1057690 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/a-school-system-goes-to-hell-and-back-again/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/worried-about-nuclear-war-you-can-actually-do-something-to-prevent-it/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/worried-about-nuclear-war-you-can-actually-do-something-to-prevent-it/#comments Fri, 04 Mar 2022 12:23:25 +0000 https://zcomm.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1055674 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/worried-about-nuclear-war-you-can-actually-do-something-to-prevent-it/feed/ 1 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/a-christmas-confession/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/a-christmas-confession/#respond Mon, 20 Dec 2021 09:01:14 +0000 https://zcomm.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1052862 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/a-christmas-confession/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/meatball-subs-not-nuclear-subs/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/meatball-subs-not-nuclear-subs/#respond Fri, 25 Jun 2021 09:02:35 +0000 https://zcomm.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1047828 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/meatball-subs-not-nuclear-subs/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/i-aint-marching-anymore/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/i-aint-marching-anymore/#respond Thu, 24 Dec 2020 09:02:59 +0000 https://zcomm.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1041502 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/i-aint-marching-anymore/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-long-haul/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-long-haul/#respond Wed, 07 Oct 2020 09:04:53 +0000 https://zcomm.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1039174 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-long-haul/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/sometimes-we-can-make-our-own-hope/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/sometimes-we-can-make-our-own-hope/#comments Wed, 29 Jan 2020 09:03:01 +0000 https://zcomm.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1028595 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/sometimes-we-can-make-our-own-hope/feed/ 1 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/trumping-the-future/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/trumping-the-future/#comments Thu, 03 Oct 2019 09:02:33 +0000 https://zcomm.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1024185 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/trumping-the-future/feed/ 1 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/parenting-the-climate-change-generation/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/parenting-the-climate-change-generation/#respond Thu, 14 Mar 2019 09:06:58 +0000 https://zcomm.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1018250 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/parenting-the-climate-change-generation/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/a-child-at-worlds-end/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/a-child-at-worlds-end/#respond Thu, 04 Oct 2018 09:02:51 +0000 https://zcomm.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1013581 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/a-child-at-worlds-end/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/gunning-down-the-easter-bunny/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/gunning-down-the-easter-bunny/#respond Mon, 16 Apr 2018 09:02:03 +0000 https://zcomm.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1009391 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/gunning-down-the-easter-bunny/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/grandma-is-in-jail-for-resisting-nuclear-weapons/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/grandma-is-in-jail-for-resisting-nuclear-weapons/#respond Sat, 07 Apr 2018 09:02:18 +0000 https://zcomm.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1009150 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/grandma-is-in-jail-for-resisting-nuclear-weapons/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/do-kids-die-mom/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/do-kids-die-mom/#respond Mon, 08 Jan 2018 09:00:16 +0000 https://zcomm.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1006110 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/do-kids-die-mom/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/growing-my-way-out-of-dystopia/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/growing-my-way-out-of-dystopia/#respond Wed, 12 Jul 2017 09:01:41 +0000 https://zcomm.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1000061 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/growing-my-way-out-of-dystopia/feed/ 0