The second half of our conversation with Eric-John Russel of Cured Quail about Society of the Spectacle. We define the spectacle, cover the abolition of time, do some close readings of some of the aphorisms, and talk about practical applications of the text For the full episode and access to all our bonus content, including History is a Weapon, Vampire Castle, and Proletkult, support us on Patreon at Patreon.com/TheAntifada
Nov 13, 2020•8 min
Scholar and madman Eric-John Russel joins us to discuss his journal the Cured Quail , the political origins of the Situationist International, and Guy Debord's Society of the Spectacle. After that Sean and Andy discuss Trump's low-energy coup attempt, especially why so many anticipated it and why it doesn't seem to be working. Support the Antifada by becoming a Patron for the full Spine Check episode on Society of the Spectacle, released Friday. Get Cured Quail 1 and preorder Cured Quail 2 at ht...
Nov 11, 2020•1 hr 29 min
In Part two of our discussion with the Angry Workers collective about their new book Class Power on Zero Hours , we talk about the new cycle of unrest spreading the world: riots against police brutality, racism, and renewed lockdowns in Europe. We close with a discussion of the tasks a workers' revolution will need to accomplish to succeed, and how we can get from here to there. For the full episode support the show at Patreon.com/TheAntifada Angry Workers' Insurrection and Production essay...
Nov 06, 2020•7 min
We interview two authors of the new book "Class Power on Zero Hours" describing the Angry Workers' collective efforts of organizing, agitating, and working in the industrial fringes of west London. “We are publishing this book at a time when many on the left are licking their wounds, despondent at their missed opportunity to implement a socialist program through the Labour Party," they write in the intro, calling instead for more focus on daily worker activity for autonomy, and th...
Nov 04, 2020•1 hr 6 min
Happy Mischief Night! Andy is joined by Jon the Lit Crit Guy to discuss Tim Burton's 1988 horror comedy BEETLEJUICE, well known for its titular imp and goth heroine, but far less for its themes of afterlife bureaucracy, rapacious capitalism, rural gentrification, and class conflict. For the full episode and all other bonus material, support the show at https://www.patreon.com/theantifada And to support Jon and his podcast, Horror Vanguard: https://www.patreon.com/TheLitCritGuy https://www.patreo...
Oct 30, 2020•3 min
It's the most wonderful time of the year! Jamie is joined by returning guests Leslie Lee III ( @leslieleeiii ), of Struggle Session and Vampire Castle, and Hether Fortune, formerly of Wax Idols and currently of Jamie's dreams, to talk about two very different horror movies: Zoom-based thriller (and first great film of the Covid era?) "Host" and 1992 cult classic "Society." Spoiler alert: there are no safe spaces, Zoom is even worse than you thought, and the rich are a race of...
Oct 28, 2020•1 hr 8 min
We read a review of Shrek 2 by the Maoist International Party - Amerika, paying close attention to their theory of "gender aristocracy", and discuss the role of ogre love in anti-imperialist struggle and revolution. For the full episode, and all our bonus material, support the show at Patreon.com/TheAntifada
Oct 23, 2020•3 min
Jamie, Andy and Sean are joined by political economist and author Pavlos Roufos to catch up Greece in the wake of the recent imprisonment of the leadership of the Golden Dawn fascist group and a return to the 'normalcy' of centrist governance. We also discuss the aftermath of the viscous austerity imposed by the Troika, the nature of Syriza's capitulation, the migration crisis that still roils Greek society and some similarities between American and Greek far-right populism. For a refresher, her...
Oct 21, 2020•1 hr 20 min
Jamie and Sean continue the discussion of historical and contemporary left communism by addressing listener questions from Discord, Twitter, and elsewhere. For this bonus content, access to the Discord and more become a patron at www.patreon.com/theantifada
Oct 16, 2020•5 min
First Sean and Jamie do a roundup of the news: Donnie is back and he appears to not be dead but bisexual; Dems get the Supreme Court they deserve and Sen Mike Lee outs himself as a Bordigist? Next Sean does a non-leftcom's guide to left communism: what is this thing? What's its relation to non-left communism? Wait how can communism be not left in the first place?? With help from some history and some help from leftcom friend of the show Noah Lennox he tries to explain. Outro: Le otto ore - Canto...
Oct 14, 2020•1 hr 17 min
Our collaborative commentary of S3ep11 of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine w/ Swampside Chats ! In this two part episode, the crew goes back in time to a San Francisco homeless camp at the time of the a riot against neo-liberalism that spiraled into international revolution. Written in the '90s, the episode presciently predicts the economic crises of the current day, Trump's plan of rounding California's homeless population into camps, and the coming lumpen revolution. Check out Swampside Chats at: pa...
Oct 07, 2020•1 hr 6 min
Part two of collaborative commentary of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Past Tense w/ Swampside Chats ! As the Bell Riots kick off, can the DS9 crew protect the revolutionary demands of the sanctuary districts' homeless district from the nihilism of its most lumpen elements? And will @Jack censor news of the police raid from the people? Check out Swampside Chats at: patreon.com/swampsidechats...
Oct 07, 2020•1 hr 9 min
Part two of HIAW 9 continues with Sean and Matt discussion Q in light of the tradition of religion (and religious weirdness) in the USA, alongside the increasing estrangement of the American people from each other and from the American Dream. To listen to this bonus along with the rest of our premium content, become a patron today at www.patreon.com/theantifada
Oct 02, 2020•11 min
In the latest two part HIAW, Matt and Sean examine the political economy and pre-history of everyone's favorite far-right conspiracy movement. How has alienation and economic crisis combined to create a heady, and perhaps dangerous, mix of religious fervor and crackpot ideology? How does Qanon overlap with conspiracy theories of the past? How is it represent something new and different? The boys do their best to get their heads around it! Part two will be released for patrons later in the week. ...
Sep 30, 2020•1 hr 3 min
On this edition of Vampire Castle, Leslie and Jamie discuss two vampire flicks set in the workplace: Late '80s bizarro dark comedy Vampire's Kiss and office comedy turned splatfest Bloodsucking Bastards . Tune: Lush - Mannequin Become a member at patreon.com/theantifada to unlock the full version of this episode and a ton of other bonus content!
Sep 25, 2020•53 sec
Aaron Thorpe ( @posadist_trapgd ), former host of Vanguard Army and host of the upcoming podcast A Time Of Monsters, joins the Antifada crew to discuss topics including: The death of RBG and how much the left should care. Killer Mike, Atlanta as "Wakanda," and the black misleadership class. White people pretending to be black for clout. And why haven't the space comrades brought us communism yet? NOTE: If you want to buy an Antifada t-shirt, email [email protected] with subject...
Sep 23, 2020•1 hr 28 min
Sean and Jamie stick around to talk about Louisville finally forced to admit civil culpability in Breonna Taylor's murder and humongous private equity firm Blackrock making a bet on the bottom of the rental market with its recent mobile-home park investment. Outro: Spits - Police
Sep 18, 2020•7 min
Jamie and Sean discuss what they've been reading and break down some news of the day: QAnon in Congress, the political transformation of a town in PA, and ICE's eugenics program. Just another fun, chill episode about rising fascism. Sorry this went up late, we aren't feeling very well. :( Bonus on killer cops (and killer investments) out Friday, 9/18 Outro music: Big Black - Jordan, Minnesota Rest in power, David Graeber (1961-2020)
Sep 17, 2020•1 hr 10 min
Brace sticks around to talk about our punk origin stories, the pros and cons of a tribal subculture like punk, the death of Maximum Rock N' Roll, if punk has a future, and late-era Black Flag For the full episode support the show at patreon.com/theantifada
Sep 11, 2020•5 min
Sean and Andy are joined with Brace from @trueanonpod to talk workers power, past and present: how unions are still central, how communist organizers like Harry Bridges, leader of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, exercised this power in the past, and how we can fight to bring it back today. We end with a call to Build The (not necessary electoral) Party. Become a patron for access to a bonus episode on life as young punx later on in the week! Outro music: Harry Bridges - Rancid...
Sep 09, 2020•1 hr 15 min
On this edition of the Antifada side project on the politics of Latin America, we discuss the political situation in Bolivia, where last year riots against a supposed voter fraud lead to a coup of far-right evangelicals. Since then, they have massacred protesters, clamped down on free speech, and cancelled election after election. Spanish historian José Lastra Zorrilla uses the method of analysis of Marx's 18 Brumaire describe the origins of the coup, the failures of Morales and MAS, and how the...
Sep 04, 2020•8 min
Sean and Jamie break down the tragic news out of Los Angeles, Kenosha and Portland, then broaden out the discussion to theories of political violence and revolutionary organization (and spontaneity). What is the least LARP-y line a communist might take in this day and age? Also: Down with eco-yogic slumlords! In the second half, Jamie speaks with three worker/organizers about the union-busting activities of No Evil Foods, a vegan food company with radical branding but extremely capitalist labor ...
Sep 02, 2020•1 hr 31 min
We continue to discuss the black radical tradition with Kazembe Balagun . In this episode we cover marxist feminists Angela Davis and Claudia Jones. We finish with a few questions about the continuation of these struggles into BLM and the George Floyd uprising, including a certain infamously cancelled Zoom call. Many of the texts in question can be found in the Communist Research Cluster Black Radical Tradition reader: https://cominsitu.wordpress.com/2020/06/02/black-revolutionaries-in-the-unite...
Aug 28, 2020•1 hr 11 min
This week we bring you a two part series on the American black radical tradition. Joined by educator and activist Kazembe Balagun we discuss some of the fundamental questions of black marxism and revolution leading to the current day. In this episode we talk about the Haitian revolution, Harriet Tubman, WEB Du Bois, Booker T. Washington, Harry Haywood, CLR James and the Johnson Forest Tendency, James and Grace Lee Boggs, DRUM, the League of Revolutionary Black Workers, and the Black Panther Part...
Aug 26, 2020•1 hr 28 min
OG Antifadas Jamie and Sean plunk down on the podcasting couch for a light chat about two topical topics: the USPS and fascism. How worker struggle created the modern USPS and how the Democrats shot themselves in the ass with decades of bipartisan attacks on it. Oh no, ICE Bae has an Onlyfans. Fascism: how does it work? Fascism and neoliberalism. Is Trump a fascist? Is Amerikkka? Various thinkers' attempts to define the big F. Maybe the real fascism was the enemies we made along the way. Article...
Aug 19, 2020•1 hr 18 min
More discussion of these strange times: partying in the age of Corona, the government's handling of the crisis vis a vis the working class', the international bourgeoisie's quest for stability, and Virgil's plan for abolishing the police and prisons. For the full episode along with all other bonus material, support the show at Patreon.com/theantifada Closing song: Tim Heidecker - Cain is Able
Aug 14, 2020•8 min
The Beltway Garage 's chief mechanic Virgil Texas takes us for a wonk on the wild side! We focus on the Democrats' electoral strategy of writing open letters demanding socialists vote for Biden, carefully weigh their arguments, and come up with our own endorsement by the end of the episode. The letters: Former leaders of SDS: https://www.thenation.com/article/activism/letter-new-left-biden/ DSA North Star: https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/defeat-trump-open-letter/ Mitch Abidor: https:/...
Aug 12, 2020•1 hr 28 min
We continue to check the decomposition of the spines of our favorite texts of Marx and Marxism with this short and practical discussion on value criticism and Moishe Postone's Time Labor and Social Domination For the full episode, and all other bonus material, access to our discord community, and a signed, union-made letterpress postcard, become a patron today at Patreon.com/theantifada Previous episodes posted on our Twitch channel: https://www.twitch.tv/theantifada...
Aug 07, 2020•4 min
Jake "Silly Socrates" Flores is back on the show to talk about his new podcast Why You Mad? and theories of comedy and class war. But before that, we talk about something that's no laughing matter: the NYPD's permissive culture towards rapists and other abusers on the force, unfortunately celebrated by humorous challenge coins and nicknames like the "assman". Writer for the Appeal and the Intercept Tana Ganeva joins us to discuss the failures of Cuomo and di Bunglio's even te...
Aug 05, 2020•1 hr 21 min
We talk about the pro-democracy struggle in Hong Kong with Nation and Lausan writer Wilfred Chan . From its history of struggling against British colonialism to its rejection of being China's neoliberal "window to the world," the movement provides many contemporary lessons on the potentitals and contradictions of mass organizing. But while reactionary elements of the movement are central, it is no use for the left to simply turn its back. Chan's work stakes out its leftwing, translatin...
Jul 29, 2020•1 hr 13 min
