This Wreckage - podcast cover

This Wreckage

Sean KB and AP Andyrss.com

Communist podcast exploring political economy, history and the class struggle with AP Andy, Sean KB and guests. Become a patron to enjoy bonus content, access to our Discord community and more at: https://www.patreon.com/c/thiswreckage

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Episodes

E265: The Party is Always Right w/ Aidan Beatty

Aidan Beatty , author of The Party is Always Right: The Untold Story of Gerry Healy and British Trotskyism joins us to trainspot the British Workers Revolutionary Party (WRP), a Trotskyist cult that was tight with Qaddafi, boasted Vanessa Redgrave as a member, and collapsed after the revelation of years of its leader's sexual abuse of membership. Sign up at http://patreon.com/theantifada for the bonus where we talk about Irish peacekeepers in Lebanon, the shared historical dynamics of the Irish ...

Oct 23, 20241 hr

Fight Club Club w/ Jason & Daniel

Jason , Daniel, and Andy talk about Fight Club to celebrate to the 25th anniversary of the movie and the Battle of Seattle that followed it. We look at the history of the book and Chuck Palahniuk's situationist influence and his embrace of his rightwing fans, the Gen-X ennui behind the creation of Tyler Durden, the politics of Project Mayhem, and Marla Singer's character as the story's ethical core. The full episode is available for free at http://patreon.com/theantifada . Sign up to support the...

Oct 21, 202417 min

Ep 264: Endgame Two - 2 End, 2 Game w/ Jamie Merchant

Sean and Andy are joined by returning guest and cofounder of ILC-Chicago Jamie Merchant ( @pathtopraxis ) to discuss his new full-length monograph, out now from Reaktion Books , called Endgame: Economic Nationalism and Global Decline. In it, Jamie provides a masterful, insightful and readable account of the political economy of the present moment. What is the connection between the functioning of the profit system and the world-historic shift away from globalization? How do ruling class ideas li...

Oct 16, 20241 hr 13 min

&&& vs. General Ham w/ Quorators

&nders Lee and AP &y guest on the Quorators podcast to field questions about UFOs, cyptids, Pompeii, and, of course, ampersands. video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Udhh_BrLui8

Oct 09, 20241 hr 5 min

E263: ILWU/Houthi Solidarity Strike

NEWS EP! We talk about the hurricane disaster, the Middle East disaster, the Ukraine disaster, and the Longshoremen's strike as a prelude to the war on Christmas. Sign up at http://patreon.com/theantifada for the fun half! We look at a proletarian get-rich quick scheme, an LAPD robbery gone wrong, and speculate on the REAL reason the Feds are taking down Mayor Eric Adams. Organized abandonment & campaign strategy in Appalachia: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/09/30/helene-aft...

Oct 02, 202457 min

E262: Piratical Bordiga w/ Cosimo Pantaleoni & Ross Wolf

While Marxist friend and historian Cosimo Pataleoni was in town from Italy, Sean decided to bring along Ross Wolf to get a taste of some badass history of piracy. We discuss Cosimo's work on the Uskoks, Croatian rebel sailors of the early modern period, as a lens for understanding the rise of commercial capitalism, proletarianization, debt bondage, and incarceration on the frontiers and the high seas. How do Cosimo's studies-inspired by figures like Eric Hobsbawm, Peter Linebaugh and Marcus Redi...

Sep 25, 202458 min

Diving into the Wreckage: Decay and Renewal 2

Sean and Varn are joined by special guest, A.P. Andy of the Antifada podcast, to round out their previous conversation on current impasses on the left. For access to the full episode, and all our years of great bonus content, become a patron today at www.patreon.com/theantifada How did Andy’s Platypus Affiliated Panel go? What’s new with the American Communist Party and how have they Stalinized Bordigism? What has happened to make Marxism-Leninism into an anachronistic meme ideology? And, in the...

Sep 18, 20241 hr

E261 - Histadrut is a Weapon

NEWS ep! We talk about Sean's upcoming well-deserved Alaska vacation before shifting into some preliminary analysis on Israel's brief anti-Netanyahu general strike, the contradictions of the Israeli working-class and war economy, and the legacy of labor Zionism. Support the show at http://patreon.com/theantifada for the second half, in which we talk about AfD's victory in Thuringia and the meaning of the cleavages within neoliberalism, including Brazil banning Twitter and the absence of left par...

Sep 09, 202457 min

E260 - Stone Age Noir w/ Rachel Kushner

Rachel Kushner joins us to talk about her new novel Creation Lake --the story of an American agent provocateur infiltrating a rural commune in France. We go through some of the inspirations behind her characters in this and past books (including Jacques Camatte, Julian Coupat, and Ben Morea), a Soviet historian's theory of the Neanderthal origins of class war, and the RKCU (Rachel Kushner Cinematic Universe) The full episode is FREE at http://patreon.com/theantifada. While you're there, support ...

Sep 04, 202457 min

Happy Bell Riots day to all who celebrate

REUPLOAD of our collaborative commentary with Swampside Chats of S3ep11 of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 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 on September 1, 2024 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....

Sep 01, 20241 hr 6 min

Boundless and Bottomless Seas 7: Chapter 5 of "The Fourth Political Theory" by Aleksandr Dugin

Enjoy this seventh episode of a sideproject with Varn , Sean, and Regrettable Century , where they "explain right-wing thought to you so you can actually do something with it." For the full episode subscribe on http://patreon.com/theantifada or view the episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-f_qKnAxV2I&list=PL3jOfuAY4QruaeI1PbA6aTHNzYpi4yI_A&index=1 In this episode they read chapter 5 of Dugin's Fourth Political Theory" Previous episodes: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?li...

Aug 30, 202414 min

E259: Lethal Strength Through Joy w/ Zhana Kurti

Bronx expat Zhana Kurti reports back from the Chicago DNC and the protests against it. We go through the context of the 1924 and 1968 DNCs, the issues of Palestine and race in the election, how the left should relate to the elections, and if we should even be talking about it all. Check out last week's episode of Party Girls podcast for more in depth discussions of the protests in Chicago, and why some found them underwhelming. Support the Antifada for all bonus content and discord community dis...

Aug 26, 20241 hr 7 min

ARMED LOVE 12 - The Revolution of Everyday Life w/ Bill Brown

Situ-Punk Bill Brown of "NOT BORED!" zine fame chats with Andy about Raoul Vaneigem's The Revolution of Everyday Life and its influence on the punk subculture of the seventies, eighties, and nineties. Towards the end of the episode we talk about his Vaneigem's prediction of the "End of Christianity" in relation to heresy and queerness. Greil Marcus’s Liptick Traces https://monoskop.org/log/?p=12932 Bill Brown's Not Bored! anthology: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Not_Bored_Anthology_1983_2...

Aug 21, 20241 hr 21 min

Diving in the Wreckage - Independence, Decadence, and Renewal w/ C. Derick Varn

Sean and Varn are back to talk about the various paroxysms of the American left: why are the sects getting weirder and weirder? Why do we have to pay attention to capitalist politics while realizing we have no stake in it? Why do we focus on labor and what the hell is the Independent Labor Club trying to do? This is an extended preview of the complete episode. To listen to this, the rest of the DitW series and years worth of bonus content become a subscriber at www.patreon.com/theantifada Check ...

Aug 14, 20241 hr 1 min

BONUS: Theory of the YoungHegelianE-Girl

Ross Wolfe , Alex Gendler , Morgan , and Matthew Donovan join us for an extensive review and analysis of last week's Hegelian E-Girl Symposium and a discussion of fascist mystique in counterculture, social alienation, and different interpretations of Hegel For the full episode support the show at http://patreon.com/theantifada Matthew Donovan's review/analysis of the party: https://matthewdonovan.substack.com/p/i-hosted-the-hegelian-e-girl-party Sanje call-out: https://x.com/sanjehorah/status/18...

Aug 09, 20249 min

E258 - Populaire Frontin' 2: Melon Pilled w/ Henry Wallis

Our France correspondent Henry J. Wallis returns to give updates since the New Popular Front's surprise victory on July 7. Will Macron block them from power after the Olympics? Will the French return from vacation in fighting mode? And how does Kamala's emergence compare to the antifascist electoral block? Support the show at http://patreon.com/theantifada First episode with Henry: https://www.patreon.com/posts/e253-populaire-w-106800367 Check out Henry's Forms Podcast and his post-election essa...

Aug 05, 20241 hr 22 min

E257 - Joe vs. the Volcano w/ Phil Neel & Nick Chavez (Part 1)

Our favorite engineers of the fouriest future return! We talk about an obscure marxist concept, dispel some myths of multipolarity, and provide some updates on the US Fire Festival-esque attempts to onshore/friendshore/reshore tech manufacturing. In the bonus half, available to supporters at http://patreon.com/theantifada , we share our utopian visions for the would to come when the children of Bordigists, instead of Gramscians, take over the Democratic Party to lead the communization revolution...

Jul 31, 20241 hr 8 min

BONUS: Cancel All Workers w/ Minion Death Cult

The world is ending. Home Depot workers are responsible, and Alexander Edward and Tony Boswell of Minion Death Cult join Sean to document it. For the full episode, all other bonus content, and Discord access, support the show at http://patreon.com/theantifada Check out Sean's other appearance on MDC this week Support MDC on patreon...

Jul 26, 20248 min

&&&RMED LOVE - Jack Scott, Bill Walton, the SLA, and the Athletic Revolution

&ers, &y, and Sean look at the career of New Left sociologist JACK SCOTT, who founded a "Jock Liberation Army," overhauled the Oberlin Athletics Department, and linked up with the Symbionese Liberation Army. For all our bonus content and access to our Discord community support the show at http://patreon.com/theantifada Jack Scott: https://www.abebooks.com/book-search/kw/jack-scott-the-athletic-revolution/ https://alumni.berkeley.edu/california-magazine/spring-2020/wild-ride-jack-scott-an...

Jul 24, 20241 hr 31 min

E256: IVF or IMF w/ Jason Smith

Sean sits down with Los Angeles-based Antifada political economy correspondent, Jason Smith of the Brooklyn Rail , to discuss demographic decline, a hot button issue relatively untouched by the Marxist left. Why has fertility gone up in the past? Why has it gone down in the developed world? What do Marx, Adam Smith and Keynes have to say about this phenomenon? Why has the potential for population decline made the capitalists so crazy? For the complete episode and much more bonus content become a...

Jul 17, 202456 min

E255 - How the Left Lost the Working Class w/ Gregory Butler

Audio from ILC' s first Independent Labor Assembly July 7th, 2024 assembly at Talon Bar in Brooklyn with guest Gregory Butler For the full episode, Discord access, and all our bonus content, support the show at http:///patreon.com/theantifada The Independent Labor Club is an organization that seeks to bring workers together from all over to build bonds of free association and strengthen the power of labor. Our guest speaker Gregory A. Butler is a lifelong New Yorker as well as a carpenter in loc...

Jul 10, 202445 min

E254 - Climate Adorno w/ Jacob Blumenfeld

We consult with our Berliner Critical Theorist rabbi Jacob Blumenfeld about his recent Cured Quail essay Managing Decline. How do we shift the climate crisis from disaster communism and inhabitable barbarity to a communism of repair? https://curedquail.com/Managing-Decline Climate Barbarism: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1467-8675.12596 The Deluge by Stephen Markley: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/10/books/review/stephen-markley-deluge.html For all bonus content and Discord d...

Jul 03, 20241 hr 9 min

E253 - Populaire Frontin' w/ Henry Wallis

Our France correspondent/flaneur Henry J. Wallis takes us on a leisurely derive through the French political spectrum, explaining his support as an Appelist for the Popular Front opposition to Le Pen and Macron in the upcoming snap elections. Check out Henry's Forms Podcast and his essay on the Popular Front Macron and Lula support billionaire tax: https://www.politico.eu/article/emmanuel-macron-brazil-lula-da-silva-global-minimum-tax-billionaires-wealthiest-people/ Recent clashes in New Caledon...

Jun 26, 20241 hr 35 min

Boundless and Bottomless Seas: "The Fourth Political Theory" by Aleksandr Dugin (Episode 5)

Enjoy this fifth episode of a side project with Varn , Sean, and Regrettable Century , where they "explain right-wing thought to you so you can actually do something with it." In this episode they read chapters 2 and 3 of Dugin's Fourth Political Theory" and ask: "What is it that liberalism does? Who is it's actors? What is the political economy? All that and more as we finish Chapter 2 and begin Chapter 3 of "The Fourth Political Theory." Patrons can hear the full episode on our patreon feed Th...

Jun 21, 202416 min

E252 - Exiting the Star Wars Castle

NEWS EPISODE! We talk about the the 4hr Star Wars Youtube video, and strike updates, Russian War Keynesian updates, COVID propaganda updates, and a preview of Sean's new AI show. Spectacular Failure of Star Wars Hotel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0CpOYZZZ Labor: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/13/business/economy/supreme-court-starbucks-nlrb.html?smi https://www.labornotes.org/2024/06/teamsters-and-amazon-labor-union-announce-affiliation-member-vote-still-ahead https://thehill.com/homenews/...

Jun 17, 202454 min

BONUS: Mad Max Anarchism

For the full episode and all other bonus content, support the show at http://patreon.com/theantifada Anarcho-Anon Film Critic Daniel and Andy discuss the politics of Furiosa and the rest of the Mad Max franchise through the theories of Pierre Clastres, Donna Haraway, Maggie Nelson, Bruno Latour, Nick Land, Hillary Clinton, punk, and disaster anarchism. I considered calling this episode "Anya Taylor Armed Joy" but decided against it....

Jun 07, 202410 min

E250: La CUNY Lucha Continúa w/ Carolyn Hietter & Ian J. Seda-Irizarry

Sean KB welcomes to the show two teachers ( Carolyn Hietter and Ian Seda ) from the John Jay College Department of Economics (Marxist) to discuss their program and the goings-on at the City University of New York since the beginning of the atrocities in Gaza: the McCarthyite administration's war on free speech, the massive shifts within the bourgeois university over preceding decades which led to it, and how John Jay's Econ department is pushing in another direction. We ask the essential questio...

Jun 05, 20241 hr 11 min

Diving into the Wreckage: Specters of Left Melancholia w/ C. Derick Varn

It's been four years since the demise of Sandersism in the United States. It's been two years since the COVID-19 crisis upended society and Russia invaded Ukraine. Socialist politics is, if anything, even more fractured and impotent than it was last decade. What do we make of the deep melancholy gripping politics today? How have the various political solutions on offer been delegitimated? And why is Sean KB seemingly immune to this melancholy? (Hint: it's the Independent Labor Club.) This is an ...

May 29, 202459 min

E249 - Raising Debs w/ Reid Kane

Sean and Andy are joined by Reid Kane to discuss the tortured legacy of the Socialist Party of America. Why doesn't the United States have a nominally working class party like the UK, where unions formed the institutional base for an independent party? How come state repression was so effective in undermining working class self-organization in the early-20th century? In which ways did the Old Left and the New Left fail to learn the lessons of the SPUSA and why are we still stuck with the Stalin-...

May 22, 202457 min

E248 - Grossman's Revenge w/ Ted Reese

Sean is joined by friend of the show, Ted Reese , to discuss his brand new book: Abundant Material Wealth for All . How does Henryk Grossman's breakdown theory help us understand the economics and politics of this current moment? In what ways are crisis tendencies affecting the United States and the UK? What type of program should socialists offer as a way out of the crisis? Join us in fleshing out Ted's expansive vision for how we might overcome the current crisis and build a world with abundan...

May 15, 202455 min
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