About the Podcast
Welcome to “Together We Rise: Solidarity Stories from Central Ohio,” a podcast about grassroots activism, community-building, and solidarity in the heartland.
In each episode of “Together We Rise,” we will meet with a local organizer who Dr. Jani has come to know in his 20+ years living in Columbus. We will talk about what they’re doing now, and how they got to this point – often taking up how they even developed the consciousness that let them to dedicate their lives to organizing.
In particular, we will talk about solidarity: how people come together across identities and backgrounds to build power and make change.
Together, these episodes offer a history from below – a narrative of how students and community organizers in this place have come together time and time again, across diverse backgrounds and interests, to stand up for truth, justice, and a better world.
About Your Host
Dr. Pranav Jani is a professor at The Ohio State University and a longtime social justice organizer in Columbus, Ohio. He is solely responsible for this podcast. His views do not represent those of Ohio State, and he is not speaking here as spokesperson for any other organization. For more on Dr. Jani go to the about page of his website.
Although Dr. Jani is launching this project independently, it represents the labor of many individuals. For various reasons, they are not being named here. Dr. Jani is thankful to each of these individuals and recognizes their work without which TWR would be impossible.
Dr. Jani’s Statement on Removing TWR from OSU platforms
November 28, 2025
For more than six months before the December launch of “Together We Rise,” I tried my best to work with Ohio State to publish my podcast on their platform. I felt that a series of interviews with activists and organizers in Central Ohio and Columbus, many of them OSU alumni, ought to be housed at the flagship university of the state. At first it seemed to be working, and I was excited and proud that OSU would officially host my podcast. I’ve worked at OSU since 2004 and have given my blood, sweat, and tears to this place.
But this was not to be. I experienced an utter lack of transparency about the process for approval, delays that felt disrespectful, and a general unwillingness to share whether the slow process had to do with the content of my podcast. I removed my project from consideration at that point, realizing that even if my podcast were published with OSU after much delay, it would constantly be under scrutiny and at risk of being pulled.
I’m disappointed in OSU. I believe that what happened to my podcast is yet another example of the general climate of repression at Ohio State. At present, there is a general unwillingness to allow for critical, independent voices and a tendency, instead, to be fearful of alternative views and to shut things down rather than open them up. University leaders keep saying OSU defends free speech and academic freedom. But actions speak louder than words.