New York City, 2001. Leah Yananton together with her classmates at Columbia University witnessed the atrocity of 9-11, and the subsequent political & media frenzy that usurped the tragedy.

The announcement of the Iraq War in 2003  prompted Yananton to co-write and direct the full length play “The Naked Show,” a political satire about college activism and mainstream media.

           Yananton had a vision for how pop-culture can lead to positive change among the people, and entertainment can inspire instead of numb.  

           In 2005, Yananton was invited to join the existentialist movement which was emerging from the Columbia Philosophy Department, called "The Center for Broken Thought," which reflected a disjointed state of experience, blurring the line between the Self and the world, inspired by thinkers like Nietzsche, Bataille, Artaud, and Shamu.  

          Yananton however felt limited by the academic formality of "The Center for Broken Thought." While studying painting with Peter Homitzsky at The Art Students League, NYC, Yananton composed the manifesto for The Removalists, and received praise from "The Center for Broken Thought" for the electrifying and raw purpose of The Removalists.

In the spring of 2007 Yananton exhibited a performance video installation at the City Without Walls Gallery in Newark, called “Landescapes,” (6 hrs) where she planted flowers in the potholes of New York City streets as the banner for the existential-activist movement that is “The Removalists.” 

           Now The Removalists stands as a global multi-platform media holding company, a pop-culture think tank for sustainable entertainment and a collective for Removalist creatives.