News, politics, history and more from Jacobin. Featuring The Dig, Long Reads, Confronting Capitalism, Behind the News, Jacobin Radio with Suzi Weissman, and occasional specials.
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Featuring New York U.S. House candidate Claire Valdez, Colorado U.S. House candidate Melat Kiros, Michigan U.S. House candidate William Lawrence, Massachusetts state Senate candidate Erika Uyterhoeven, New York State Assembly candidate Conrad Blackburn, and Washington D.C. mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George. The second episode in a series of short interviews with left-wing and socialist candidates at every level of US politics. Support The Dig at Patreon.com/TheDig Our huge new Thawra study ...
Suzi speaks with Simon Pirani about his book Voices Against Putin’s War: Protesters’ Defiant Speeches in Russian Courts and the film Try Me For Treason . Russian exile activist Aleksandra Zapolskaia also joins the conversation to discuss Azat Miftakhov’s case, one of thousands. Currently, there are more political prisoners in Russia than at any time since the post-Stalin thaw of the 1950s, and the state is killing them; at least seven political prisoners died in Russian custody in the first four...
Two views of the US–Israeli war on Iran: Laleh Khalili and Mouin Rabbani. Behind the News , hosted by Doug Henwood, covers the worlds of economics and politics and their complex interactions, from the local to the global.
Featuring Michigan U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, Tennessee US House candidate Justin Pearson, New York US House candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier, Oregon state House candidate Tammy Carpenter, Providence mayoral candidate David Morales, and DC City Council candidate Aparna Raj. The first episode in a series featuring short interviews with left-wing and socialist candidates at every level of US politics. Support The Dig at Patreon.com/TheDig Our huge new Thawra study guide and resource ...
Over time, the Soviet Union developed a system of centralized planning that became synonymous with socialism. How did the system work? What did it get right? And why did it ultimately become so associated with shortages and stagnation? On the latest episode of Confronting Capitalism , Vivek Chibber and Melissa Naschek discuss the ambitions and challenges of economic planners, and why the defects may be hardwired into the structure of central planning. The latest issue of Catalyst is out and you ...
Excerpts from an event sponsored by the NYC DSA’s Academy for Socialist Education on the domestic and foreign aspects of Trumpism, featuring historians Nikhil Pal Singh and Greg Grandin, moderated by DSA’s Gaya Sriskanthan. Behind the News , hosted by Doug Henwood, covers the worlds of economics and politics and their complex interactions, from the local to the global.
Featuring Alina Shen and Fahd Ahmed on organizing working-class Asian New Yorkers into Zohran Mamdani’s campaign and then building power under a democratic socialist mayor. A discussion with two of New York’s most talented community leaders on building mass bases and struggling through the contradictions of wielding state power — including with regard to the NYPD. Support The Dig at Patreon.com/TheDig Our huge new Thawra study guide and resource website: thawraproject.com RSVP to the May 20 Dig ...
Dylan Gottlieb, author of the new book Yuppies , explores how that often risible but pioneering social formation took over NYC. Ervand Abrahamian looks at the politics of Iran, a country under siege. Behind the News , hosted by Doug Henwood, covers the worlds of economics and politics and their complex interactions, from the local to the global....
This week Jacobin Radio presents “In the Imperial Crosshairs: Trump's War and Its Consequences for the People of Iran and Ukraine,” a panel organized by Haymarket Books that took place on April 16. Moderated by Denys Bondar, the panel features four socialist voices from the United States, Iran, Russia, and Ukraine. They examine the catastrophic consequences of the US-Israeli war already being paid by the people of Iran and Ukraine — from the Strait of Hormuz to the streets of Kyiv — and by worki...
Throughout the 20th century, socialism came to be associated with both central planning and shortages. But could democratic ownership of the economy work alongside market competition? On the latest episode of Confronting Capitalism , Vivek Chibber examines different models of socialism that might be viable in the 21st century. The latest issue of Catalyst is out and you can subscribe for just $20 using the code CONFRONTINGCAPITALISM: https://catalyst-journal.com/subscribe/?code=CONFRONTINGCAPITA...
Featuring Paul Heideman on how the Republican Party became so spectacularly unhinged. How the disorganization of the party and the disorganization of the US capitalist class have combined to intensify the accelerating insanity of US politics. Guest hosted by Micah Uetricht. Support The Dig at Patreon.com/TheDig Our huge new Thawra study guide and resource website thawraproject.com RSVP to the May 20 Dig party in Seattle! eventbrite.com/e/the-dig-x-house-our-neighbors-party-tickets-1986843010930 ...
Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff, authors of Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed , on Elon’s world and what he wants to do to ours. Behind the News , hosted by Doug Henwood, covers the worlds of economics and politics and their complex interactions, from the local to the global.
This is the second part of a two-part interview with Sebastian Budgen, senior editor at Verso, about French politics and the state of the French left. In our previous episode, we spoke about developments since the elections two years ago when a left-wing alliance prevented the far right from taking power in Paris. This week, we’re going to be speaking about events so far this year and looking ahead to the presidential election in 2027. Hear part one of the interview: https://apple.co/48mdnUa Rea...
Suzi speaks with Kate Levin, Janis Yue, and Sanjay Madhav, lead organizers of United Faculty-UAW, about their unionization drive at the University of Southern California (USC), one that would create the largest bargaining unit of non-tenure-track faculty at a private university in the US. Ballots go out April 24 and will be counted on May 18. The organizers describe two years of faculty-driven organizing, built one conversation at a time. Currently 75% of USC faculty are non-tenure-track, with n...
The third episode in a series on the history of Indonesia: a hinge in the world system where colonialism and revolution have decisively shaped the trajectory of global history. This installment picks up with the 1942 Japanese conquest of the Dutch East Indies and takes us through the Revolution, which Indonesian nationalist leaders launched against the Dutch in 1945 after Japan’s surrender to the Allies. Featuring Rianne Subijanto, Made Supriatma, and Farabi Fakih. Our huge new Thawra study guid...
Hungary’s long-serving authoritarian prime minister Viktor Orbán was defeated in an April 12 election. We get two views of what that means, from historian Kyle Shybunko and independent scholar Anita Zsurzsán. Behind the News , hosted by Doug Henwood, covers the worlds of economics and politics and their complex interactions, from the local to the global.
How effective has the Left’s political strategy been since the first Bernie Sanders campaign? And how has our relationship to the Democratic Party changed? On this special episode of Confronting Capitalism , recorded live at Littlefield in Brooklyn on April 6, Vivek Chibber and Melissa Naschek are joined by Krystal Ball and Matt Karp to discuss how class politics can convert popular anger into durable power — and why rebuilding labor is the precondition for any serious democratic renewal. The la...
Suzi speaks with political economist Clara Mattei about her new book, Escape from Capitalism . The title is provocative: What does it mean to escape capitalism? Not reform it, regulate it, or make it kinder, but escape it altogether? Mattei argues that capitalism is not a system gone wrong but one working exactly as intended. Her core claim is that austerity is not a policy mistake or ideological excess, it is structurally necessary. It is how capitalism reproduces itself: maintaining unemployme...
Andrew Cockburn, author of Washington Is Burning , examines “the spectacular greed at the heart of the nation’s political system.” Hadas Thier then discusses crypto in the age of Trump. Read Hadas’s article for Jacobin : https://jacobin.com/2026/04/crypto-trump-etfs-stablecoins-regulation/ Behind the News , hosted by Doug Henwood, covers the worlds of economics and politics and their complex interactions, from the local to the global....
The second episode in a series on the history of Indonesia: a hinge in the world system where colonialism and revolution have decisively shaped the trajectory of global history. This installment traces the first four decades of the 20th century and the Awakening Period that shaped the foundation of modern Indonesian politics, including its three main currents: communism, nationalism, and Islam. Featuring Rianne Subijanto, Made Supriatma, and Farabi Fakih. RSVP to the May 20 Dig party in Seattle!...
Two years ago, the French president Emmanuel Macron called snap elections for the National Assembly. The far right was widely expected to win and form a government for the first time since the fall of the Vichy regime, but things didn’t work out that way. The New Popular Front, a left-wing electoral alliance, won a surprise victory. Sebastian Budgen, senior editor at Verso, joins Long Reads to discuss the state of the French left. Daniel and Sebastian look in particular at La France Insoumise, w...
Gabriel Hetland, author of a recent article for the Intercept , looks at what’s been happening in Venezuela since the kidnapping of Maduro. David Griscom, author of The Myth of Red Texas , discusses that state’s forgotten radical history. Read Gabriel’s article: https://theintercept.com/2026/03/31/trump-iran-war-venezuela-maduro/ Find David’s book: https://orbooks.com/catalog/the-myth-of-red-texas/ And catch The Jacobin Show with David Griscom Fridays at 3pm on our YouTube page: https://www.yout...
This episode delves into the critical challenges and opportunities facing the U.S. labor movement in organizing modern mega-companies like Amazon. It examines why Amazon is a prime target for unionization, considering its vast, multiracial workforce and its sophisticated use of technology for worker monitoring and control. The discussion also explores new organizing strategies that move beyond traditional place-based approaches, focusing on disrupting complex logistical networks and leveraging the labor movement's potential resources for an explosive growth in unionization.
Mouin Rabbani talks about the Iran war and its many complications. Helen Yaffe talks about Trump’s oil embargo on Cuba — its effects and how Cubans are reacting. Behind the News , hosted by Doug Henwood, covers the worlds of economics and politics and their complex interactions, from the local to the global.
Featuring Aslı Bâli, Esfandyar Batmanghelidj, and Nicholas Mulder on the economic warfare unfolding with the US-Israeli war on Iran — and beyond. Support The Dig at Patreon.com/TheDig Find Ethnic Studies at the Crossroads at UCPress.edu Buy Cold War on Five Continents at Haymarketbooks.org The Dig goes deep into politics everywhere, from labor struggles and political economy to imperialism and immigration. Hosted by Daniel Denvir....
Donald Trump is a huge fan of Nayib Bukele, the current president of El Salvador. Last April, Bukele visited the White House and offered to help with a campaign of domestic repression in the United States. In El Salvador, which relies on US support, Bukele’s government has detained tens of thousands of people in mass arrests. Hundreds have died inside their notorious prison system. Our guest today for a conversation about El Salvador under Bukele is Hilary Goodfriend. Hilary is a postdoctoral re...
Nancy Fraser goes beyond the class/identity disputes. Natalie Y. Moore, who wrote a recent article for Hammer and Hope and EHRP, looks at effects of federal layoffs on black women. Behind the News , hosted by Doug Henwood, covers the worlds of economics and politics and their complex interactions, from the local to the global.
Nusantara is a new Dig series on the history of Indonesia: a hinge in the world system where colonialism and revolution have decisively shaped the trajectory of global history. This episode traces a long period of European plunder and domination that began with the Portuguese and then continued, for centuries, under the Dutch—a story stretching from the murderous mercantilism of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) seeking to monopolize the spice trade to a modern colonial administration profiting...
The US-Israeli war against Iran may have been initiated without any coherently stated goals or popular support, but we can already see that it’s a horrific quagmire. It also doesn’t look like Trump and Israel will get the swift Iranian regime change they hoped for. On the latest episode of Confronting Capitalism , Vivek Chibber is joined by Jason Brownlee, a professor of government at the University of Texas Austin, to discuss the history of regime change wars, the geopolitical interests in the ...
Two weeks into the US-Israeli assault on Iran, every prediction of its architects has collapsed. The regime stands. Protests haven't reignited. Iran’s new Supreme Leader — more hardline than his assassinated father — has vowed to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed. And the war began just as negotiations in Geneva were apparently close to a deal. Suzi speaks to UCLA sociologist and Iran expert Kevan Harris on Day 14 of Operation Epic Fury. We examine Iran’s domestic political economy, the corrupt e...
