The old forms of the Left are moribund and the new forms are stupid. We're making a podcast that discusses the need to organize a Dialectical Pessimism and develop a salvage project capable of sparking a new workers' movement for socialism. A clean, honest, and unsentimental melancholy is required; we are cultivating one and would like to share it with you.
“The challenge of modernity is to live without illusions and without becoming disillusioned. I’m a pessimist because of intelligence, but an optimist because of will.”
-- Antonio Gramsci
Israel failed to assassinate Khamenei, US lifts some sanctions on Hungary/Russia, Russia controls 100% Luhansk, US cuts off military aid to Ukraine, Azov civil war, the collapse continues... Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show
This week Chris and Jason signed on to give an update on the status of the spectacular nature of American Capitalism. Trump's useless strikes on Iran and false declaration of victory prompted us to revisit Guy Debord's concept of the spectacle in relation to contemporary American politics. Revenge of the Spectacle: This Time It's Personal http://www.redwedgemagazine.com/online-issue/revenge-of-the-spectacle-this-time-its-personal The Game of War. Guy Debord and the Society of the Spectacle. http...
US Attacks Iran... Did It Work?, Iran Tosses out the IAEA, NATO Potemkin Summit, The Inexorable Russian Lava Flow Pushes On, Ukraine Keeps Collapsing... How to Pronounce Schadenfreude https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3_DjiLLDfo Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show
Real romantic anti-capitalism hours are back, and this week the boys brought in Mir and Daniel to read Laudato Si by the late Pope Francis, as published by Verso Books (you can read it on the Vatican website or in book form, but we got the free ebook from Verso). This Papal Encyclical calls for urgent action to address the global environmental crisis, critiques consumerism, blind developmentalism, inequality, and profit seeking. The document calls for global political solidarity to transition to...
This is it folks, the second half of Chapter 7 and the grand finale of the reading series. Go to the Patreon to hear the whole episode. Join the Discord to help us determine what's next… And Read Along Here: https://libcom.org/article/question-nationalities-and-social-democracy-otto-bauer Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show...
Poland No Confidence in Tusk, Saudis Support For Syria, Israel Attacks Syria, More Genocide in Gaza, Russia vs Ukraine/Al Qaeda in Africa, Walkin' in the Spiderwebs, Terrorism?, Ukraine Body Swap Debacle, Russia's Inexorable Advance Continues... Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show
In the final episode of our Czechoslovak Socialism series, we dive into the final attempt to reform the Czechoslovak system. As with the Prague Spring, the official ML/liberal narrative about are the same, that this was an attempt to overthrow socialism and establish a capitalist democracy. Just like the Prague Spring, it seems clear that the intentions of its participants were the opposite. The vast majority of Czechoslovaks who participated in the movements that brought down the republic were ...
The dudes are back, although Sean couldn't join for this episode. Jason and Varn talk about some of the logic here, the limits of trying to pin down conservatism right now, and why politics is so frustrating. No, we didn't speak much about Dugin... but we are doing this to remind everyone that we will. Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show...
The gang takes on the first half of Chapter 7 of Bauer's analysis of the concept of the nation... Follow Along Here: https://libcom.org/article/question-nationalities-and-social-democracy-otto-bauer Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show
The boys and Varn Vlog are back again, for the long-awaited return to our series talking about "Decadence Theory." This week, the boys respond to a response to the ICC's pamphlet on decadence theory. The article we read and discussed was published by Aufheben and is titled The Theory of Decline or the Decline of Theory. Decadence: The Theory of Decline or the Decline of Theory? Part Varn Vlog Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show...
We recently went on the For a New Republic podcast to talk about Trump, fascism, and rebuilding the workers' movement in the United States. For a New Republic is the official podcast of Éirígí For A New Republic, an Irish socialist republican party that seeks the reunification of Ireland and the establishment of a workers' republic. Éirígí For A New Republic For a New Republic Podcast Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show...
Hungary vs Ukraine, Iran Nuke Proposal, Why Trump Declared Victory Over the Houthis, Chinese Jets Better than Euro's?, Istanbul Clown Show, Ukraine's Lost War of Attrition Continues... Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show
This week we return to an always prescient question: What happened to the future? What Lies Ahead? https://jacobin.com/2023/01/slavoj-zizek-time-future-history-catastrophe-emancipation Mark Fisher’s Specters of Scarcity https://jacobin.com/2025/01/mark-fisher-neoliberalism-acid-communism ‘Culture has lost the ability to grasp the present’ https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/mark-fisher-ghosts-retromania/ How the pandemic messed with our perception of time https://www.vox.com/science/23823507/pandem...
Habemus Papam, Al Qaeda 🤝France, Trump Owned by Xi, Trump Owned by Houthis, Trump Owned by Bibi, Pakistan vs India, China 🤝 Russia, Ukraine's Very Bleak Strategic Assessment... Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show
Trump/Zelensky Meeting, Minerals Deal, US Arms Sales to Ukraine, Superhornet Down!, North Korean Troops in Kursk, Russian Gains in April Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show
The boys got together to take a look at the first 100 days of Trump's presidency. We talk about inept bumbling, cruelty, misery, war, and how it's still not fascism. Jacobin: This Is America by Daniel Bessner The Nation: The New McCarthyism Was Started by Liberals by Jeet Heer Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show...
Trump Talks Truce, Iran Nuclear Deal, What's the Point of the EU?, Don't Bluff China, Sumy Missile Strike, Russia Rolls On Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show
A couple of weeks ago, Jason gave a talk to the New Zealand Federation of Socialist Societies about the history of American Socialism. Here is the audio of that talk... Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show
The boys (featuring the return of Mir) return to the slaughter-bench to finish discussing Terry Pinkard's article "The Spirit of History." The Spirit of History by Terry Pinkard https://aeon.co/essays/what-is-history-nobody-gave-a-deeper-answer-than-hegel Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show...
Kursk Losses Breakdown, China China China, Israel Executes UN Worker and Paramedics, Ansar Allah Reaps Reaper Drones, Renewed Russian Offensive? And so on... Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show
The gang tackles Chapter 06 of Bauer's analysis of the concept of the nation. The Transformation of the Principle of Nationality (pg. 355) National Autonomy and the Principle of Nationality The Roots of Capitalist Expansionism The Working Class and Capitalist Expansionism Imperialism and the Principle of Nationality Socialism and the Principle of Nationality Read along with us: https://libcom.org/article/question-nationalities-and-social-democracy-otto-bauer Send us a message (sorry we can't re...
Here's a bonus episode for you on what is normally an off week. Listen now to hear Jason and Chris give an introduction to the introduction of the Unbreakable Union podcast, then listen to the introduction. Unbreakable Union Podcast Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show...
Rare Earths Deal, War Footing in the Pacific, Coalition of the... Willing?, Ceasefire Breaches, Le Pen Convicted, Trump is Pissed off at Putin, NYT Says Ukrainians are Stupid Losers, Russian Offensive Isn't Stalling After All... Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show
This week Chris talks to Jason and Matthew about their new podcast: Unbreakable Union. This ambitious project will span six seasons with roughly one decade being covered per season. Check out our episode then listen to the podcast below or on your preferred podcatcher. It should be showing up everywhere in the next few days. https://www.buzzsprout.com/2462690 Also, come join our Patreon and get access to our discord! Click below: Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the sh...
Signalgate, Yemen, Ceasefire Failures, Russian Advances, and Ukrainian Flailing. Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show
Ok, finally we get around to answering questions about religion and parenting... also some other stuff. Just go listen. Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show
The boys (featuring the return of Mir) kick back on the slaughter-bench to discuss Hegel's philosophy of history by discussing Terry Pinkard's article "The Spirit of History." The Spirit of History by Terry Pinkard https://aeon.co/essays/what-is-history-nobody-gave-a-deeper-answer-than-hegel Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show...
Regrettable Geopolitics - 03/23/2025 (Israel Turns the Genocide Machine Back On, Yemen/Iran, Kursk, Other Ukraine Things, and Cease-Fire Talks) Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show
Finally, the long-awaited second Q&A episode. We talk USSR, religion, parenting, and all sort of other stuff... but some of it will have to wait until Q&A #3, which will be soon. Enjoy! Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show
This week Chris and Jason read and discussed a paper Chris wrote for a strategic studies project about neo-Nazi terror networks and their links to far-right militias in Ukraine. The influx of foreign fighters to Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion of 2022 has outpaced US intel and law enforcement agencies' ability to monitor potential radicals going to and coming from Ukraine. Far-right extremists have been drawn to the conflict in Ukraine since 2014 due to affiliated organizatio...
