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This Is Hell!

This Is Hell!www.thisishell.com
Manufacturing Dissent since 1996
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Episodes

The Long Land War / Jo Guldi

Historian Jo Guldi joins us to discuss her Boston Review article, "The Earth for Man: Redistributing land was once central to global development efforts---and it should be today." This article is adapted from her 2022 book from Yale University Press, "The Long Land War: The Global Struggle for Occupancy Rights." You can find the article here: https://www.bostonreview.net/articles/the-earth-for-man/ And the book here: https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300256680/the-long-land-war/ Jeff Dorchen d...

Jun 14, 20231 hr 37 min

The Pandemic Isn't Over / Matt Mazewski

Matt Mazewski joins This is Hell! to discuss his new article, "The Pandemic Isn't Over." Matt Mazewski is a contributing writer and book critic at Commonweal, where he writes on economics and public policy. He is a former research analyst in the research and statistics group at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Matt teaches courses on economics and labor studies for high school students at Columbia University's pre-college programs, as well as being an economics tutor. He's an independent re...

Jun 12, 20231 hr 29 min

Our Ailing Bodies under Late Capitalism / Jennifer Lunden

Writer, speaker, and ecofeminist Jennifer Lunden joins This is Hell! to discuss her new book "American Breakdown, Our Ailing Nation, My Body's Revolt, and the Nineteenth-Century Woman Who Brought Me Back to Life," out now from Harper Collins: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/american-breakdown-jennifer-lunden You can learn more about Lunden and her work at her website: https://jenniferlunden.com/ Jeff Dorchen is back with another "Moment of Truth," in which he cleans up after the dogman.

Jun 07, 20231 hr 27 min

Kissinger's Killing Fields / Nick Turse

American journalist Nick Terse joins This is Hell to discuss his recent Intercept piece, "Kissinger's Killing Fields." Interviews with more than 75 witnesses and survivors of U.S. military attacks and an exclusive archive of documents show that Henry Kissinger is responsible for even more civilian deaths in Cambodia than was previously known. You can find the article here: https://theintercept.com/series/henry-kissinger-killing-fields/

Jun 06, 20231 hr 15 min

"The Economy" is Hell: On Overproduction and Crypto / Trevor Jackson

Economic historian Trevor Jackson joins This is Hell! to discuss two recent pieces: "Overproduction and Its Discontents: Capitalism's inherent predilection for excess" in Baffler Magazine and "The Price of Crypto: Despite its boosters' frequent references to democracy and freedom, cryptocurrency reflects a radical marketization of politics in which major players can rewrite the rules as needed" in the New York Review of Books. You can find the Baffler article here: https://thebaffler.com/latest/...

Jun 05, 20231 hr 31 min

The Warfare State Compromises our Welfare / Lindsay Koshgarian & Ashik Siddique

Lindsay Koshgarian and Ashik Siddique, co-authors of the National Priorities Project at the Institute for Policy Studies report, “The Warfare State: How Funding for Militarism Compromises Our Welfare. You can check out there report here: https://www.nationalpriorities.org/analysis/2023/warfare-state-how-funding-militarism-compromises-our-welfare/ LIndsay Koshgarian is Lindsay's work and commentary on the federal budget and military spending has appeared on NPR, the BBC, CNN, The Nation, U.S. New...

Jun 02, 20231 hr 43 min

Why Are We in Ukraine? / Benjamin Schwarz & Christopher Layne

Writer and editor Benjamin Schwarz and international affairs scholar Christopher Layne join Chuck to discuss their recent Harper's article, "Why are We in Ukraine? On the dangers of American hubris." You can find their article here: https://harpers.org/archive/2023/06/why-are-we-in-ukraine/ Benjamin Schwarz was formerly the national and literary editor of The Atlantic and the executive editor of World Policy Journal. Christopher Layne is the University Distinguished Professor of International Af...

May 31, 20231 hr 35 min

The Christian Roots of Antisemitism and Racism / Magda Teter

Historian Madga Teter joins This is Hell! to discuss her new book, "Christian Supremacy: Reckoning with the Roots of Antisemitism and Racism" now available from Princeton University Press: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691242583/christian-supremacy . The work offers "a panoramic cultural and legal history that traces the roots of antisemitism and racism to early Christian theology." Jeff Dorchen shares another "Moment of Truth," followed by another installment of Renaldo Migald...

May 24, 20232 hr 5 min

J. D. Vance Changes the Subject / Gabriel Winant

Historian Gabriel Winant on the N + 1 article, “J. D. Vance Changes the Subject: A senator from the unconscious.” You can find Gabriel's article here: https://www.nplusonemag.com/issue-45/politics/j-d-vance-changes-the-subject-2/

May 17, 20231 hr 12 min

The Pregnancy was the Crisis, Not the Abortion / Charlotte Shane

Writer and publisher Charlotte Shane on the N + 1 article, "Three Times: The pregnancy was the crisis, not the abortion." You can find Charlotte's N+1 article here: https://www.nplusonemag.com/issue-44/politics/three-times/ And some of her other work here: http://www.charoshane.com/

May 10, 20231 hr 28 min

Decolonize Conservation / Ashley Dawson

Ashley Dawson joins This is Hell! to discuss their new book, "Decolonize Conservation: Global Voices for Indigenous Self-Determination, Land, and a World in Common," co-edited with Fiore Longo and Survival International Ashley Dawson is currently Professor of Postcolonial Studies in the English Department at the Graduate Center, City University of New York (CUNY), and at the College of Staten Island/CUNY. He currently works in the fields of environmental humanities and postcolonial ecocriticism....

May 08, 20231 hr 22 min

The Green Growth Delusion / Christopher Ketcham

Christopher Ketcham on his Truthdig article, “The Green Growth Delusion: Advocates of “Green Growth” promise a painless transition to a post-carbon future. But what if the limits of renewable energy require sacrificing consumption as a way of life?” Christopher writes for several outlets, including his journalism non-profit, Denatured. Jeff Dorchen muses about advice in a new The Moment of Truth. You can find Christopher's article here: https://www.truthdig.com/dig/green-tinted-glasses/

May 03, 20231 hr 32 min

Unmaking Asian Excepionalism / Gauitra Bahadur

Gaiutra Bahadur on her Boston Review article, “Unmaking Asian Exceptionalism: On violence and the possibility of solitaries in America.” Chuck shares rotten history, and, in "Past Inside the Present," Seb looks at the history of the fairness doctrine.

May 02, 20231 hr 31 min

Peter Thiel's Dream of Capitalism without Democracy / Quinn Slobodian

Historian Quinn Slobodian joins This is Hell! to discuss his new book, "Crack-Up Capitalism: Market Radicals and the Dream of a World Without Democracy." Quinn is the award-winning author of, "Globalists: The End of Empire and the Birth of Neoliberalism," which has been translated into six languages. He is a professor of the history of ideas at Wellesley College. Then, Jeff Dorchen enlightens us with another installment of "The Moment of Truth."

Apr 26, 20231 hr 21 min

Worst Laid Plans: Foreign Policy Is Politics / Simon Waxman

Simon Waxman talks about his Baffler article, "Worst Laid Plans: Foreign Politics is politics." Waxman is a senior editor with the Harvard University Press and his writing has been published by the Washington Post, Boston Globe, New Republic, LA Review of Books, Democracy Journal, the Baffler, and others.

Apr 25, 20231 hr 23 min

Brandon Johnson Will Have to Beat Capital Strikes in Chicago / Kevin Young

Historian Kevin A. Young joins us to discuss the challenges of capital strikes, institutional resistance, and potential allies and foes Chicago's Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson will face when he takes office on May 15. He recently published the Jacobin article, "Brandon Johnson Won in Chicago. Now His Movement Will Have to Beat Capital Strikes." Kevin is Associate Professor of History at University of Massachusetts Amherst where he teaches Latin American History. You can find his recent Jacobin art...

Apr 20, 20231 hr 27 min

Silicon Valley Vs. Humanity / Malcolm Harris

We have on Malcolm Harris to talk about his recent book Palo Alto: A History of California, Capitalism, and the World. Malcolm Harris is a freelance writer and an editor at The New Inquiry. And an all-new mind expanding Moment of Truth from our own Jeff Dorchen.

Apr 19, 20231 hr 21 min

Big Oil's Counterinsurgency after Standing Rock / Alleen Brown

Returning to This is Hell! is the Intercept's Alleen Brown. Her work focuses on environmental justice issues. Her most recent article, co-written with Naveen Sadasivan is titled, "Oil and Water: After Spying on Standing Rock, TigerSwan Shopped Anti-Protest 'Counterinsurgency' to Other Oil Companies." The investigation is based on more than 50,000 pages of documents that were recently made public after the company behind the Dakota Access pipeline lost a court case to keep them secret. You can fi...

Apr 18, 20231 hr 20 min

Secret Forever Wars and the Obscure Laws That Allow Them / Katherine Yon Ebright

Katherine Yon Ebright joins Chuck to discuss her report, "Secret War: How the U.S. Uses Partnerships and Proxy Forces Wage War Under the Radar." She explains how security cooperation programs have led U.S. forces into unauthorized hostilities alongside foreign partners. Ebright serves as counsel with the Brennan Center's Liberty and National Security Program. You can read Katherine Ebright's report, "Secret War: How the U.S. Uses Partnerships and Proxy Forces Wage War Under the Radar," here: htt...

Apr 13, 20231 hr 18 min

Fast Food's Bad Bargain For Black America / Naa Oyo A. Kwate

We're joined by Dr. Naa Oyo A. Kwate who is on to discuss her recent book "White Burgers, Black Cash," about the affect of the Fast Food industry on Black America. Dr. Kwate is an Associate Professor of Africana Studies as well as an Associate Professor of Human Ecology at Rutgers University. Moreover we've got Rotten History and an all-new Moment of Truth from Jeff Dorchen! It's stacked!

Apr 12, 20231 hr 30 min

Living and Reliving the U.S. Invasion of Iraq / Rasha Al Aqeedi

After a tongue-twister of a Danish hangover cure, Chuck interviews Rasha Al Aqeedi about her New Lines Magazine article, "Living — and Reliving — the US Invasion of Iraq." Rasha Al Aqeedi, formerly a 2018-2019 Robert A. Fox Fellow in FPRI’s Middle East Program, is Managing Editor of Irfaa Sawtak (Raise Your Voice) and a researcher and analyst of contemporary Iraqi politics and political Islam. She is also a non-resident fellow of George Washington University’s Program on Extremism. Previously, R...

Apr 10, 20231 hr 22 min

The Lost Pandemic Tapes: Dissent at a Dead End / Malcolm Harris

Our mystical foray into the This Is Hell vaults, retrieving never-before-aired interviews from early covid times, has reached its satisfying conclusion. Today we play an interview with Malcolm Harris, who in April of 2020 was talking about his then-recent book "Shit Is Fucked Up and Bullshit: History Since the End of History." As though that wasn't enough, we also provide ALL NEW answers to this weeks Question From Hell, and ask you to join our Patreon several times. (please do it's cold in this...

Apr 05, 20231 hr 14 min

Pandemic Tapes: Cuban Healthcare Shames Us / Helen Yaffe

Our series of lost pandemic tapes continues: an interview from early covid times that was never aired on our home station WNUR: Helen Yaffe explains the ideological threat that Cuban's healthcare system poses to free market capitalism. And all-new Rotten History and your answers to the Question From Hell!

Apr 04, 20231 hr 16 min

On Coerced Labor and Work Without Employment

Sociologist Erin Hatton explores the nature of coerced labor in America - as prisons, welfare programs and universities push workers outside the protection of traditional legal employment, employers wield increasing power to exploit and punish subjects with little protection and less bargaining power.

Apr 03, 20231 hr 27 min
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