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Varn Vlog

C. Derick Varnvarnvlog.buzzsprout.com

Abandon all hope ye who subscribe here. Varn Vlog is the pod of C. Derick Varn. We combine the conversation on philosophy, political economy, art, history, culture, anthropology, and geopolitics from a left-wing and culturally informed perspective. We approach the world from a historical lens with an eye for hard truths and structural analysis.

 

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Episodes

Roxy Hall on The Complications of Gender

Roxy Hall is a writer and activist living in Australia. We discuss Ten Theses on the Gender Question and the complications of left views of Gender. Crew: Host: C. Derick Varn Audio Producer: Paul Channel Strip ( @aufhebenkultur ) Intro and Outro Music by Bitter Lake. Intro Video Design: Jason Myles Links and Social Media: twitter: @skepoet Facebook You can find the original stream on Youtube Send us a text Musis by Bitterlake, Used with Permission, all rights to Bitterlake Support the show Crew:...

Mar 07, 20221 hr 35 minSeason 1Ep. 71

Kuba Wrzesneiwski on the Ukraine crisis and pressures on the global order

Dr. Kuba returns to talk about darker things. While I have avoided talking directly about the conflict as I have personal friends on both sides from when I lived outside of the states, we will be doing a short series of episodes to put the Ukraine crisis in context. Things are happening fast, so know this was recorded on Wednesday, March 2 2022. . You may want to listen to the following episodes prior: Parallax Views , This is Revolution , and Pop the Left Kuba Wrzesneiwski is an independent for...

Mar 05, 20221 hr 57 minSeason 1Ep. 70

Dr. Harun Yilmaz on the Spectres of the National Question

Dr. Harun Yilmaz is Central Asia Research Forum Series academic editor at Routledge Taylor & Francis Group. He is a regional expert on history, national identities, and political propaganda. His academic and popular publications cover Central Asia, Ukraine, and the Caucasus. He received his Master's and Ph.D. from Oxford University. Dr. Yilmaz was a research fellow at Harvard University and Brtish Academy and lectured on the History of the Soviet Union under Stalin at Queen Mary University o...

Mar 03, 20221 hr 37 minSeason 1Ep. 69

Kuba Wrzesneiwski on the necessity of sound political economy and realist analysis

The Death Star Middle Manager Returns! We talk about the necessity of a realist view of states in left geopolitical analysis. (There was some audio complications with episode) Kuba Wrzesneiwski is an independent foreign policy consultant and regular guest on This is Revolution . We speak on the realities of the US foreign policy elites and their primary concerns. We also talk about leftist misunderstandings on these issues. Abandon all hope ye who subscribe here. Crew: Host: C. Derick Varn Audio...

Feb 28, 20221 hr 13 minSeason 1Ep. 68

No Royal Road- As Old Worlds End and New Ones Begin: Part 4 (With Chris and Jason of the Regrettable Century)

While the introduction music is that of Varn Vlog on this podcaster, this series will be simultaneously released on both the Varn Vlog podcast feed and the Regrettable Century podcast feed . This is a long-running series we are doing on understanding social technologies, relationships of production, and how we get here: i.e. what is the social and class history of the past. In this episode, we end ours into this unlimited series with a flight of discussions of the work of Marxist historian Chris...

Feb 23, 202259 minSeason 1Ep. 67

1Dime on the interaction of Marxism and Modern Monetary Theory

1Dime is the host of 1Dime and 1Dime Radio where he discusses and attempts to popularize leftist political and economic theories. You can support 1Dime's work here . We discuss the intersection and tensions between MMT, the changes in Canadian politics, and classed theories of the state. Please support our patreon. For early and ad-free episodes, members-only content, and more. Abandon all hope ye who subscribe here. Crew: Host: C. Derick Varn Audio Producer: Paul Channel Strip ( @aufhebenkultur...

Feb 22, 20221 hr 19 minSeason 1Ep. 66

Stephan Hammel on Socialist Aesthetics, Proletkult, and the problems of the Frankfurt School

Stephan Hammel is a scholar and podcaster, co-host of t he Measures Taken. We discuss Alexander Bogdanov, various incarnations of Proletkult, the political-economic assumptions of the Frankfurt school, the origins of workers' aesthetics, the cultural turn, and the need for aesthetic theory after the Second international. Please support our patreon. For early and ad-free episodes, members-only content, and more. Abandon all hope ye who subscribe here. Crew: Host: C. Derick Varn Audio Producer: Pa...

Feb 21, 20221 hr 59 minSeason 1Ep. 65

Max Seijo on Critical Humanities and Modern Monetary Theory

Max Seijo is currently working on his doctoral studies at UC Santa Barbara. He is a co-host of Money on the Left and Superstructure podcast . While have debated each other in the past and on Twitter, despite the fact I don't "do" debates. Please support our patreon. For early and ad-free episodes, members-only content, and more. Abandon all hope ye who subscribe here. Crew: Host: C. Derick Varn Audio Producer: Paul Channel Strip ( @aufhebenkultur ) Intro and Outro Music by Bitter Lake. Intro Vid...

Feb 14, 20222 hrSeason 1Ep. 64

R.C. Roberts on the Legacy of Wilfred Bion

R.C. Roberts is the author of ferocia amini and is a semi-autodidactic scholar of existentialism and psychoanalysis, we spoke about the legacy of Wilfred Bion and the uses of his work for political thinking. Sartre also comes up. Please support our patreon. For early and ad-free episodes, members-only content, and more. Abandon all hope ye who subscribe here. Crew: Host: C. Derick Varn Audio Producer: Paul Channel Strip ( @aufhebenkultur ) Intro and Outro Music by Bitter Lake. Intro Video Design...

Feb 10, 20222 hrSeason 1Ep. 63

Anton Jäger on the Situation in the EU

Anton Jäger is a scholar of populism and intellectual history living in Brussels, Belgium. He is also a freelance writer on the left and European politics for outlets like Jacobin. We discuss the Americanization of European politics, and yet how this made it harder, not easier, for both sides of the Atlantic to understand each other. Please support our patreon. For early and ad-free episodes, members-only content, and more. Abandon all hope ye who subscribe here. Crew: Host: C. Derick Varn Audio...

Feb 07, 20221 hr 40 minSeason 1Ep. 62

Alex Hochuli On the End of the End of History in South America

Alex Hochuli is a co-host of Bunga Cast and co-author of the "End of the End of History." We discuss the left's covid response, the situation of world politics from Sao Paolo, the issues around the Lula election, the effects of Federal Reserve policy on South America, and much more. Please support our patreon. For early and ad-free episodes, members-only content, and more. Abandon all hope ye who subscribe here. Crew: Host: C. Derick Varn Audio Producer: Paul Channel Strip ( @aufhebenkultur ) In...

Feb 03, 20221 hr 33 minSeason 1Ep. 61

Timothy Schatz on the Heidegger and the Left

Timothy Schatz, a graduate student at Boston College and former intern at Zero Books, comes on to talk about the complicated legacy of Martin Heidegger and the academic left. Please support our patreon. For early and ad-free episodes, members-only content, and more. Abandon all hope ye who subscribe here. Crew: Host: C. Derick Varn Audio Producer: Paul Channel Strip ( @aufhebenkultur ) Intro and Outro Music by Bitter Lake. Intro Video Design: Jason Myles Links and Social Media: twitter: @skepoet...

Jan 31, 20221 hr 54 minSeason 1Ep. 60

J.G. Michaels of Parallax Views on The Current Confusion

Friend of the show and prior stream guest, J.G. Michaels, comes on to talk about the current state of politics. J.G. is the host of Parallax Views . J.G. is a long time collaborator with your host and a student of media in geo-politics. J.G. comes on to analyze the disconnect of the social media discourse, the press, and the realities of geo-politics. Please support our patreon. For early and ad-free episodes, members-only content, and more. Abandon all hope ye who subscribe here. Crew: Host: C....

Jan 27, 20222 hr 46 minSeason 1Ep. 59

Bradley Tuck from Exploding Appendix on ambiguities of Politics and Art

Bradly Tuck is the editor and founder of Exploding Appendix , we talk about art, culture, politics, and the tensions between the various subjects. The difficulty of political art and of avant-garde art also is a major subject of discussion. Please support our patreon. For early and ad-free episodes, members-only content, and more. Abandon all hope ye who subscribe here. Crew: Host: C. Derick Varn Audio Producer: Paul Channel Strip ( @aufhebenkultur ) Intro and Outro Music by Bitter Lake. Intro V...

Jan 25, 20221 hr 6 minSeason 1Ep. 58

Daniel Tutt On Psychoanalysis and the Politics of Liberation

Daniel Tutt is a philosopher with a focus on Lacanian psychoanalytic theory and Marxist thought. Founder of Study Groups in Psychoanalysis and Politics. He is the author of Psychoanalysis and the Politics of the Family: The Crisis of Initiation with the Palgrave Lacan Series and Adjunct Professor of Philosophy at George Washington University, Marymount University, and elsewhere. He is the host of Jouissance Vampires. Please support our patreon. For early and ad-free episodes, members-only conten...

Jan 17, 20221 hr 41 minSeason 1Ep. 57

No Royal Road- As Old Worlds End and New Ones Begin: Part 3 (With Chris and Jason of the Regrettable Century)

While the introduction music is that of Varn Vlog on this podcast, this series will be simultaneously released on both the Varn Vlog podcast feed and the Regrettable Century podcast feed . This is a long-running series we are doing on understanding social technologies, relationships of production, and how we get here: i.e. what is the social and class history of the past. In this episode, we try to talk Roman tax policy but veer wildly down the record. Please support our patreon. For early and a...

Jan 12, 20221 hr 2 minSeason 1Ep. 57

Djene Bajalan on the Context of the Kurdish Situation

Dr. Djene Rhys Bajalan is a historian of the Middle East specializing the rise of nationalism and the evolution of the Kurdish question. He completed his undergraduate degree in history and politics at the School of Oriental and African Studies, holds an MSc in Nationalism and Ethnicity from the London School of Economics, an MA in History from Istanbul Bilgi University and a DPhil in Oriental Studies from the University of Oxford. He is a part of both Diet Soap Media and This is Revolution and ...

Jan 10, 20221 hr 32 minSeason 1Ep. 56

Stephan Hammel on the Legacy of First Two Internationals

Happy New Year. We are going to start with a long one. Stephan Hammel is a scholar and podcaster, co-host of t he Measures Taken. We discuss the legacy of the first two internationals and the reason why the 1900s-1930s are possibly more relevant to our situation than the other periods most leftists focus on. We attempt to define Neo-Kautskyism and have a mild disagreement on if conditions are positive or negative. Please support our patreon. For early and ad-free episodes, members-only content, ...

Jan 03, 20222 hr 43 minSeason 1Ep. 55

R.C. Roberts on Secularization, Existentialism, and Psychoanalysis

R.C. Roberts is the author of ferocia amini and is a semi-autodidactic scholar of existentialism and psychoanalysis, we are aiming to talk about the uses and abuses of both in this age of secularization as well as the current political malaise. Please support our patreon. For early and ad-free episodes, members-only content, and more. Abandon all hope ye who subscribe here. Crew: Host: C. Derick Varn Audio Producer: Paul Channel Strip ( @aufhebenkultur ) Intro and Outro Music by Bitter Lake. Int...

Dec 27, 20211 hr 25 minSeason 1Ep. 54

Eric Olander on the complexity of the China-Africa Relationship

Eric Olander is the co-founder of the China Africa Project , an independent, non-partisan media initiative dedicated to exploring every facet of China’s engagement in Africa. Eric is a fluent Mandarin speaker and a longtime China-watcher with more than 25 years of journalism experience at many of the world’s leading media companies including CNN, the BBC, and FRANCE24 among others. We will discuss general misconceptions about China's role in Africa, African attitudes toward China, and the recent...

Dec 20, 20211 hr 24 minSeason 1Ep. 53

Ed From a New Conservation on the importance of analyzing Imperialism

Ed from a New Conservation comes over and we do a joint show on the developments in imperialism, the importance of the analysis of imperialism, the legacy of Lenin's polemic, the ambiguities of imperialism and anti-imperialism, and what capitalism could mutate into besides socialism. Please support our patreon. For early and ad-free episodes, members-only content, and more. Abandon all hope ye who subscribe here. Crew: Host: C. Derick Varn Audio Producer: Paul Channel Strip ( @aufhebenkultur ) I...

Dec 09, 20212 hrSeason 1Ep. 52

Sean K.B. of Antifada on "Specters of Bernie"

First, let's credit Maxximilian Seijo (@MaxSeijo)for the title. Sean KB of Antifada comes to talk with me about a bunch of the problems of the "Great Bern-Out." We talk Arrighi and Braudel, we talk communization, we talk the naivete about Unions, we talk about depoliticization and a bunch of other topics. We also announce the possibility of Varn Vlog/Antifada joint series in the future for the patrons of either podcast. Check Sean (and Andy and Jamie) out at Antifada . Please support our patreon...

Dec 07, 20212 hr 28 minSeason 1Ep. 51

No Royal Road- As Old Worlds End and New Ones Begin: Part 2 (With Chris and Jason of the Regrettable Century)

While the introduction music is that of Varn Vlog on this podcaster, this series will be simultaneously released on both the Varn Vlog podcast feed and the Regrettable Century podcast feed . This is a long-running series we are doing on understanding social technologies, relationships of production, and how we get here: i.e. what is the social and class history of the past. In this episode, all roads lead to and from Rome. We actually get the meat of Chris Wickham's argument about the developmen...

Nov 30, 20211 hr 23 minSeason 1Ep. 50

The Culture Crew Discusses Network (1976) and the Media Malaise

Please support our patreon. For early and ad-free episodes, members-only content, and more. This bonus episode is part of our Patreon podcast. C. Derick Varn, P.H. Higgins, and Shalon Van Tine--the crew of the last few episodes of Former People--come together to talk Sidney Lumet and "Paddy" Chayefsky's 1976 classic Network. P.H. Higgins is a co-host of the Radical Thoughts Podcast and part of the Former People editorial crew. He is also a regular partner in crime with Varn. Shalon Van Tine is a...

Nov 23, 20211 hr 47 minSeason 1Ep. 49

Conan Neutron on the Music, Politics, and the Cultural Zeitgeist

Please support our patreon. For early and ad-free episodes, members-only content, and more. Conan Neutron (@conanneutron) is a musician and podcaster. His band is Conan Neutron & the Secret Friends . He hosts the podcast Protonic Reversal and is a regular on Movie Night Extravaganza. This is a mild echo on a few questions, we apologize for that. Abandon all hope ye who subscribe here. We are affiliated with the Emancipation Network. Crew: Host: C. Derick Varn Audio Producer: Paul Channel Str...

Nov 15, 20211 hr 51 minSeason 1Ep. 48

Karthik Purushothaman and Marcus of Left Flank Vets discuss the Politics of Music Now

Please support our patreon. For early and ad-free episodes, members-only content, and more. We talk to Karthik Purushothaman and Marcus of Left Flank Vets, co-hosts of Revolutionary Tracks on Left Flank Vets , about the intersection of music and politics. (Note: There were some microphone issues during the stream that were hard to edit out). Abandon all hope ye who subscribe here. We are affiliated with the Emancipation Network. Crew: Host: C. Derick Varn Audio Producer: Paul Channel Strip ( @au...

Nov 11, 20211 hr 46 minSeason 1Ep. 47

Ed Simon on the Radicalism of the Renaissance

Please support our patreon. For early and ad-free episodes, members-only content, and more. We talk to Ed Simon, author of many books, including Printed in Utopia: The Renaissance’s Radicalism (Zero Books, 2020), America and Other Fictions (Zero Books 2018), An Alternative History of Pittsburgh (Belt Publishing, 2021), Pandemonium: A Visual History of Demonology (Cernunnos, forthcoming 2022), and many more. Ed Simon writes on politics, religion, and culture for many outlets. We talk about the ra...

Nov 08, 20211 hr 6 minSeason 1Ep. 46

Kaiser Kuo on US-China Relations and the Red New Deal

Please support our patreon. For early and ad-free episodes, members-only content, and more. We talk the Kaiser Kuo of the Sinica podcast and Sup China about the complications of US-China relations, the actual policies of the "Red New Deal," and the general shift in political tone in China and in the US. Abandon all hope ye who subscribe here. We are affiliated with the Emancipation Network. Crew: Host: C. Derick Varn Audio Producer: Paul Channel Strip ( @aufhebenkultur ) Intro and Outro Music by...

Nov 04, 20211 hr 33 minSeason 1Ep. 45

Scott Horton on the waning of the American Empire

Please support our patreon. For early and ad-free episodes, members-only content, and more. We talk the Scott Horton of Anti-War Radio and the Scott Horton show , author of Enough Already: Time to End the War on Terror and Fool's Errand: Time to End the War in Afghanistan , on what it means to chronicle the US imperial wars for two decades and what was and wasn't learned from the end of the Afghanistan War. Abandon all hope ye who subscribe here. We are affiliated with the Emancipation Network. ...

Nov 01, 20211 hr 15 minSeason 1Ep. 44

Jim Davis on Religious Studies and Political Economy

Please support our patreon. For early and ad-free episodes, members-only content, and more. Jim Davis is a student of world religions (focus on Shia Imami Ismailis) with a deep interest in radical politics and praxis. He lives in Springfield, Missouri. He has written books on socialism, Pure Land Buddhism, and Ismaili Islam. Abandon all hope ye who subscribe here. We are affiliated with the Emancipation Network. Crew: Host: C. Derick Varn Audio Producer: Paul Channel Strip ( @aufhebenkultur ) In...

Oct 28, 20211 hr 20 minSeason 1Ep. 43
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