Rolling Thunder #10
Summer 2012
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Rolling Thunder #10 begins with a reappraisal of the anarchist project in today’s context of crisis and technological transformation. From there, we chart the global trajectory of momentum from 2010 to 2012: the student movements in the US and UK—the insurrections in Tunisia, Egypt, and beyond—the occupation movements in Spain, Greece, and finally the USA, from its awkward beginnings in Wisconsin to its aftereffects in Oakland. For case studies, we focus in on the anti-police struggles that catalyzed the rise of confrontational anarchism in Seattle, and scrutinize how US immigration policy is applied on the ground at the border to explain how its actual objectives differ from its ostensible purpose. The issue concludes with a historical review of Canadian anarchism, following it from its origins through the 2010 Olympics and G20 riots and up to the present day. All this, plus a graphic history from Argentine anarchism, 24 pages in full color, and all the other bells and whistles you’ve come to expect from us times two. Download T.O.C. PDF [140 k]. (114 pages)
Rolling Thunder #9
Spring 2010
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How important is legitimacy—in our own eyes, in the eyes of potential allies, in the eyes of the public? How can anarchists cultivate it? What pitfalls does it hold? Rolling Thunder #9 explores these questions while reporting on the past six months of upheavals around the US. Following up on our coverage of the 2008 convention protests, this issue assesses anarchist action at the 2009 G20 summit, mapping conflict throughout the city and analyzing the strategies of the police and protesters. The accompanying Pittsburgh scene report examines the decade of local organizing that prepared the ground for this and other confrontations. Elsewhere herein, we scrutinize protest and resistance on campus—from the recent occupation movement to efforts to shut down fascist student organizations—and overseas in the Smash EDO campaign. All this, plus obscure Russian history, a reappraisal of the concept of “free speech,” and the usual stunning prose. No advertisements; 16 full-color pages. Check out the online supplement to this issue. Download Table of Contents PDF [303 k]. (106 pages)
Rolling Thunder #7
Spring 2009
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So much happened in the second half of 2008 that we had to put off all our other content and add an extra 8 pages just to cover it all. Anarchists coordinated mass mobilizations against the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, provoking major clashes; the global economy collapsed; Greece experienced an anarchist-organized insurrection in response to a police murder; and at the beginning of 2009, Oakland was shaken by similar unrest. Our coverage pushes beyond the surface of events to offer insight into the organizing structures and historical background, fleshing out timelines and analyses with personal narratives and cutting-edge cartography. In addition to all this, the issue includes an exploration of the relationship between the punk subculture and the anarchist movement, complemented by interviews with bands and collectives from beyond the white punk ghetto, and ends with a primer on small-town organizing using Winona, Minnesota as a case study. No advertisements; 24 pages in full color. Download Table of Contents PDF [512 k]. (114 pages)
Rolling Thunder #6
Fall 2008
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The theme of Rolling Thunder #6 is experimentation: the processes by which radicals invent and refine new approaches. To this end, it features an evaluation of the model activists have used to target the animal testing corporation HLS, discussing whether it could be effective in other contexts; a photoessay documenting the efforts of Swedish anarchists who, unable to defend a squat, built a social center from the ground up; a consideration of the role proper support plays in cultivating communities of resistance; a report from student strikes and riots in Colombia; and an analysis of the past decade of anarchist organizing in NYC. In addition, the issue includes an investigation of the function of gift shops in maintaining global empire, historical accounts of Bakunin’s daring escape from Sibera and the riots that killed off the hated poll tax in Britain, and lots more. As usual, there are 16 pages of full color, plenty of fun tidbits, and no advertisements. Download Table of Contents PDF [186 k]. (106 pages)
Rolling Thunder #5
Spring 2008
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This issue focuses on different ways of conceptualizing strategy, exploring the ways anarchist efforts can be repressed, assimilated, and neutralized only to reappear in new forms. It opens with a study by David Graeber of the successes and stumbling blocks of direct action movements over the past thirty years, followed by a special report distilling lessons from the recent wave of federal repression known as the Green Scare. Two features give the inside story on anarchist mobilizations overseas via interviews, personal narratives, and 16 pages of full color photos: an examination of the riots following the eviction of Denmark’s beloved social center Ungdomshuset, and a full review of last summer’s G8 protests in Germany. The issue is rounded out by a subject’s analysis of the medical study industry as a case study in modern day precarious labor, a spotlight on anarchist organizing in Modesto, California, and reviews of controversial works by anti-art duo Brener and Schurz. As always, 100% ad-free. Download Table of Contents PDF [510 k]. (106 pages)
Rolling Thunder #4
Spring 2007
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The centerpiece of the fourth Rolling Thunder is a full-color photoessay chronicling the popular uprising during which the people of Oaxaca, Mexico wrested control of their city from the government for a period of months. Continuing that theme, other feature articles cover the defense and eviction of South Central Farm in Los Angeles, the Really Really Free Market as a model for reclaiming public space from capitalism and bureaucracy, the resurgence of squatting in Buffalo of all places, the university occupation movement in France, and the ins and outs of urban exploration. The remainder of the issue includes a comprehensive guide to supporting prisoners and defendants, the lyrics to “The Big Rock Candy Mountain” as interpreted by acclaimed comic artist Nate Powell, a gallery of ready-to-use stencils, and plenty of the edgy artwork and poignant prose you’ve come to expect. Still 100% ad-free. Download Table of Contents PDF [488 k]. (106 pages)
Rolling Thunder #3
Summer 2006
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International reports from last Mayday’s pro-immigrant rallies! Analysis of the Bush regime’s strategy to promote terrorism worldwide! Discussion of the latest wave of federal repression! Testimony from a convicted anti-war arsonist! Anarchist perspectives on and reports from the struggle against domestic violence! A tell-all interview with notorious graffiti artist(s) BORF! A shocking exposé on German pro-Zionist lunatics! A how-to guide to funneling resources out of universities! A spy’s-eye-view of immigrant labor in factory farming! A narrow escape from the flaming Pentagon on September 11, 2001! A history of direct action and rioting in queer liberation struggles! A cartoon recounting the riots at the canceled World Bank conference in Barcelona! A mad-lib for radicals with poor social skills! A satirical guide to writing reviews! Visionary storytelling, technical advice on computer security, eulogies and poster designs and more, more, more! Download Table of Contents PDF [228 k]. 100% advertisement free, as usual. (114 pages)
Rolling Thunder #2
Winter 2006
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The lengthiest articles in our second issue are an analysis of last summer’s protests against the G8 meeting in Scotland, a retrospective on squatting and resistance culture in northern Europe, and an in-depth discussion of subcultural marginality and refusal that is to dropping out what the first issue’s sixteen-page feature article was to protest activism. The last of these is rounded out by an inside report on the workings of current labor unions, a memoir of gender mutiny, and an account of how to establish a squatted community center; other highlights include an intimate reflection on the patterns by which abusive relationships perpetuate themselves and a primer on communications technology for direct action. This issue also features plenty of the unorthodox fare that distinguishes CrimethInc. projects from the sometimes listless work of other radicals: a haunting fairy tale, cutting edge games to play between more serious adventures, a crossword puzzle, and sheet music for a classic blues song about the preponderance of bread products in the dumpsterer’s diet. Download Table of Contents PDF [500 k]. (106 pages)
Rolling Thunder #1
Summer 2005
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The debut issue includes an extensive analysis of the preceding decade of direct action, feature articles on consent in sexual relationships and alternative conceptions of education, and testimonials from maniacs who squatted their own workplaces and set themselves on fire while fighting police… and that’s just the beginning! All told, this is 116 pages of radical commentary, history, poetry, artwork, fiction, parlor games (!), comics (!!), skills (e.g., “how to survive a police raid”), and culinary advice, all with an emphasis on personal narratives and celebrating the ways subversion thrives in the most unlikely places. 85,000 words adorned with tons of photos and illustrations and not a single advertisement, printed on recycled book paper and square-bound with the fanciest cover we've ever produced. (114 pages)
What is Rolling Thunder?
Rolling Thunder is a biannual journal covering passionate living and creative resistance in all the forms they take: from consensus process to streetfighting, from workplace struggles to graffiti art, from gender mutiny to subversive humor. Each issue runs the gamut from on-the-spot reporting, strategic analysis, and instructional guides to poetry, comics, and games.
Rolling Thunder provides the substance and depth the internet cannot. Each issue is finely-printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper with soy-based ink, runs over one hundred pages, is free of advertisements and features clean and elegant design showcasing high-quality original artwork and photographs.
Subscriptions Now Available!
In response to overwhelming feedback, we are now offering four-issue subscriptions to Rolling Thunder for just $25 (U.S.) and $35 (Global)— a respective savings of $25 and $65. More info here.
invitation to participate
Send us writing and artwork for publication!
That’s right, we want photo essays documenting the inflammatory graffiti that appears mysteriously in your neighborhood, witty true stories of fighting the law and winning, on-the-spot reports and analysis of life and resistance in any of these occupied territories (both the ones we live in and the ones within us), excerpts from unpublishable novels, the heart-rending poetry you wrote as a precocious teenager, how-to tips on cutting-edge vegan recipes and scamming techniques, crossword puzzles teeming with unfathomably obscure subcultural references, naked polaroids of your ski-masked lover(s) pissing on police cars . . . if they’re up to scratch, we’ll print and distribute them so thoroughly you’ll be guaranteed an F.B.I. file of your very own!
Send us letters!
Help out by identifying incorrect or disputable details in our writers’ accounts, or suggesting points of departure for readers to learn more or get involved, or countering absurd arguments with cogent, nuanced ones. We’ll respond with lengthy rebuttals or, worst-case scenario, disavowals of responsibility, reserving the final word for ourselves (after all, the home team always bats last) in the time-honored tradition of radical journalism.
Send us material for review!
Send us your ‘zines, books, compact discs, websites, whatever it is you’re doing; we’ll toss them in a teetering pile of neglected review submissions, from which we’ll occasionally seize an item at random to exalt or ridicule, according to our fancy. Hurry to get your releases in to us before our embittered reviewers finally start taking antidepressants and lose their edge, so to speak.
As per the old anarchist notion of freedom of association, we feel entitled not to run any submission we don’t care to—but that said, we do want this to serve as an open forum for all adventurers, malcontents, and insurgents, and that means we need you to use it as one. Please, please don’t leave all the fun to us, or make us have to take any more time out from our exploits to write about them than we already do.
Rolling Thunder
P.O. Box 494
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
rollingthunder@crimethinc.com
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Rolling Thunder #12
Spring 2015
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The centerpiece of this issue is a 64-page feature on the uprising against police and white supremacy that spread from Ferguson, Missouri across the United States. We urge everyone to read the debrief discussion in which Missouri anarchists reflect on their role in predominantly black struggles and the ramifications of joining confrontations that include arson and gunfire. This is filled out with raw and inspiring accounts from the streets of Ferguson, Oakland, and beyond—critiques of political cooptation and the politics of demands—narratives about destroying surveillance cameras—a discussion about the function of biopower in jails and cancer wards—anarchist analyses of sex work—interviews with Turkish anarchists who participated in the resistance to ISIS in Kobanê—poetry of the Egyptian revolution—comics about the celebrated riot dog Loukanikos—the life of Biófilo Panclasta—history vs. mythology—tactics vs. strategy—peace vs. justice—and much, much more. All this, plus our regular features, gorgeous artwork and photographs, and 16 pages in full color. Fully 154 pages! Download T.O.C. PDF [224 kb].
