Varn Vlog
Varn Vlog is a podcast hosted by C. Derick Varn that explores philosophy, political economy, art, history, culture, anthropology, and geopolitics from a left-wing and culturally informed perspective. The show approaches the world through a historical lens, emphasizing hard truths and structural analysis.
Episodes
Solidarity or Silence?: How Leftist Politics Often Overlooks the Disabled with Anthony David Vernon
This podcast and YouTube episode features an in-depth conversation with Anthony David Vernon, a philosopher and educator, exploring the intersection of disability studies, left-wing politics, and the systemic failures of accessibility in a post-pandemic world. The discussion challenges the "normative" framework of society, examining how both civic institutions and political movements oft
Karl Marx’s Ethics of Human Flourishing with Sam Badger
In this episode of Varn Vlog, we sit down with Sam Badger to explore the moral philosophy hidden within Marxian theory. While Karl Marx is famously derisive of "moralism," this discussion unpacks how his work actually outlines a robust "Ethics of Human Flourishing"—a vision of human liberation rooted in the realization of our creative and social potential beyond the constraints
The Stranger Side of Ancient Philosophy: Materialism & Metaphysics with Max Wade
What did "materialism" actually mean to the ancients, and how does it differ from our modern scientific understanding? In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Max Wade (Ph.D., Boston College) to bridge the gap between ancient Greek ontology and modern philosophical debates.We dive deep into the "weirdness" of ancient thought, exploring why the Stoics believed in physical gods and
Revolutionary Strategy Today with the Angry Workers Collective
The working class is everywhere now. So why does it keep slipping out of view the moment we try to talk about power, strategy, and organization? We sit down with Marco from the Angry Workers Collective to dig into a question that quietly haunts modern labor politics: wage work has been universalized across the globe, yet movements get described with vague labels instead of clear class segments and
Up vs. Down: Bypassing the Two-Party Sorting Mechanism with Travis Misurell
Is American democracy broken, or is it just rigged? In this episode of VarmBlog, we sit down with Travis Misurell, founder of the Think: The Future is Now Coalition (Fink), to discuss a radical new framework for political engagement: moving beyond the traditional left-vs-right binary to an "Up vs. Down" perspective.We dive deep into the Digital Politics Hub (DP Hub), a materialist infras
Decoding the Tragedy of Noam Chomsky with Dr. Chris Knight
In this episode of Varn Vlog, we welcome back British anthropologist and activist Dr. Chris Knight, author of Decoding Chomsky, to discuss the startling revelations surrounding Noam Chomsky’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. We go beyond the headlines to examine the deep-seated contradictions in Chomsky’s career, his historical ties to the military-industrial complex, and what these scandals me
The Prospects of DSA: Party Building, Power, and the Marxist Unity Group
Approximately two years into the second Trump administration, the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is at a critical crossroads. In this semi-annual check-in, we sit down with members of the Marxist Unity Group (MUG)—Cliff Connolly, Gene Allen, and Amy Wilhelm—to discuss the evolving landscape of American socialist politics.In this deep dive, our panel explores the significant shift following
Communist Unity in Oceania: The Future of Socialist Organizing in Australia
You can learn a lot about the health of the left by asking one simple question: what happens when people disagree? We sit down with three organizers from Communist Unity to talk about building a mass communist party in Australia with open factions, democratic debate, and real programmatic unity and why that approach is so rare in practice.We trace their organizational roots through Socialist Allia
The Quest for Narrative From World Travels to Technology with Miles Spencer
Is our digital legacy the final frontier of storytelling?In this episode, we sit down with Miles Spencer, a serial entrepreneur, world traveler, and the founder of Reflecta AI. Spencer, who co-created the long-running PBS series Money Hunt, has dedicated his career to the power of narrative. Now, he is using artificial intelligence to bridge the gap between physical archives—like shoe boxes of old
The Castaneda Con with Ru Marshall
Is it anthropology or a high-stakes hoax?In this episode of the Varn Vlog, we dive deep into the enigmatic life of Carlos Castaneda with author and visual artist Ru Marshall. Marshall’s expansive new biography, American Trickster (OR Books), unearths the startling reality behind the man who convinced the world he was apprenticed to a Yaqui sorcerer named Don Juan.We explore how Castaneda transitio
The Left-Wing Deadbeat with Nurse John
A lot of people can quote the right theory, wear the right shirt, and post the right meme. Then the moment arrives when you have to sit down with a coworker, ask what they need, and move them toward collective action and suddenly they vanish. We take on that tension by reading and reacting to the provocation “The Left-Wing Deadbeat,” using our own union organizing experience to separate what’s rea
The K-Shaped Decade with Matt Borka
“Why does life feel poorer when the economy looks rich?” That question drives our talk with Hungarian-born creator and entrepreneur Matt Borka, who has lived and worked across the West, Eastern Europe, and Asia and who tracks real-world conditions through labor data, incentives, and what he sees inside marketing and online business. We start with the growing sense of Western decline and quickly la
From Dawn To Decadence, Part 6: Aufheben's Decay
In Part 6 of our series "From Dawn to Decadence," we examine the intellectual trajectory and eventual "decay" of the Aufheben collective. This episode explores the group's early contributions to Marxist theory, their critique of the state, and the internal contradictions that led to their decline.We dive deep into the specific criticisms leveled by the Aufhebung Collective
German Romanticism and Idealism Beyond Nostalgia And Reaction
Romanticism gets treated like a synonym for nostalgia, and German Idealism gets shrunk to a few brand-name thinkers. We push back on both habits by talking with Christopher Satoor, a York University doctoral candidate and founder of the Young Idealist series, about what really happens when philosophy, poetry, art, and science collide in Jena.Schelling sits at the center of that collision. We dig i
Diving Into the Wreckage: The French Left Remains Unbowed
Join hosts as they dive deep into the complexities of modern French politics with guest Henry Wallace. This episode explores the concept of the "new municipalism" and the strategic efforts of the La France Insoumise (France Unbowed) movement to reclaim local governance. From the legacy of the Yellow Vests protests to the innovative use of digital organizing tools, the discussion provides
Mapping The United Front Debate with Brandon Lightly
What happens when “march separately, strike together” meets real history? We dive into the tangled story of the United Front—where it came from, how it changed, and why its results ranged from lifeline to dead end. Starting with Marx and the First International and running through the Second International’s fights over ministerialism, we track Trotsky’s 1921 thesis, the KPD’s open letter strategy,
Wall Street Went To Homeroom And Stole The Whiteboard with David I Backer
What if the real story of American education isn’t test scores or culture wars, but air you can breathe, roofs that don’t leak, and the invisible money pipes that decide who gets both? We sit down with David I. Backer, associate professor of education policy and author of As Public as Possible, to follow the cash from property taxes to Wall Street and back again—and to sketch a better way forward.
From Catechism To Class Consciousness: How Marxism Was Taught with Edward Barring
What if the real engine of socialist history wasn’t just theory, but teaching? We sit down with historian Edward Baring to trace a vivid, often-misread story: Marxism as a mass educational project designed to turn scattered grievances into class consciousness. From best-selling primers that outsold Capital to study circles in factories and party schools, we unpack how organizers taught at scale—an
How Philosophy Lost Its Nerve And How Marx Put It Back To Work with Christoph Schuringa
A century ago, philosophy split its seams. Cambridge’s revolt against British Hegelianism promised “clarity,” Vienna’s scientific modernism tried to rebuild from scratch, and postwar America professionalized it all while quietly erasing the politics that once burned at the core. We invited Christoph Schuringa, editor of Hegel Bulletin and author of A Social History of Analytic Philosophy and Karl
Post-Liberalism’s Fade with Nicolas Villarreal
Politics keeps offering us drama in place of design. We sat down with Nicholas D. Vairo to chart how the post-liberal moment slid from grand promises into a Bonapartist reality: a leader-first spectacle with no plan to build or maintain the institutions that make a society work. The core insight isn’t just about ideology; it’s about capacity. Professional elites still run what functions, for bette
Hellworld And The Broken Labor Map with Phil Neel
What if “reindustrialization” delivers fabs, data centers, and subsidies—but not the jobs? We sit down with Marxist geographer Phil Neel to unpack Hell World, a sweeping account of how deindustrialization, gigified services, and AI deskilling have rewired the global labor map. Drawing on years of on-the-ground research and a panoramic read of supply chains, Neel explains why factories employ far f
From Mills To World-Systems: Tracing Wallerstein’s Path with Sam Chian
What if the most consequential “Marxist” of a generation refused to call himself one—and was more consistent for it? We dive into Immanuel Wallerstein’s intellectual journey, from C. Wright Mills’s classrooms to African political movements and a close reading of Fanon, to the long durée horizons inspired by Fernand Braudel. Along the way, we unpack how world‑systems analysis took shape against mod
Popular Or United Fronts Explained with Brandon Lightly
Coalitions promise power, but what if they mostly deliver blame? We dig into the sharp difference between a United Front and a Popular Front, trace their roots from the Second International through the Comintern, and confront the hard history behind antifascist coalitions in France, Italy, and Spain. Along the way, we separate romance from results: Allied armies defeated fascism; Popular Front cab
Crisis As Decision In German Thought with Timothy Schatz
Crisis didn’t always mean endless catastrophe. In German thought, it once meant a turning point—a judgment that forces choice. We dig into why that word saturated late 19th‑century philosophy and how it connected national unification, scientific ambition, and the search for values that could survive modernity’s shocks.We start with the idealists: Kant’s “critical” epoch set the mood for Hegel’s se
From Dawn to Decadence, Part 5
Start with the symptom: everything still moves, yet less gets done. We unpack decadence as a live condition—where empires posture with airstrikes instead of strategy, markets float on bubbly valuations, and everyday obligations dissolve into choice and churn. Rather than predicting apocalypse, we track how capabilities thin out while systems grow heavier, and we ask what it would take to reverse t
Punditry Without Memory with Sudip Bhattacharya
Start with a word we all hear too much: fascism. Now ask why, with the term everywhere, our understanding keeps getting worse. That’s the puzzle we dig into as Sudip Bhattacharya joins C. Derick Varn to dissect how American punditry flattens history, confuses categories, and protects the status quo with buzzwords instead of analysis. From cable news panels that treat any state action as “authorita
Can Dignity And Science Share A Banner Without Becoming A New Elite with Daniel Tutt
Daniel Tutt returns to continue our series on intellectuals. The hardest truths are the ones that feel personal. We take Robert Michels’ “iron law of oligarchy” into the engine room of the SPD and ask why organizations built for emancipation so often drift into elite rule. From the paradox of proletarian vs bourgeois intellectuals to the cultural gravity of anti-socialist repression, we trace how
Renaissance Without the Myth with Ada Palmer
What if the Renaissance wasn’t a rebirth at all, but a survival strategy dressed in marble and Latin? We sit down with historian and novelist Ada Palmer to unwind the stories that turned a chaotic, war-ridden Italy into a “golden age” and explore why those stories still shape our politics, schools, and museums. Ada shows how nineteenth-century nationalism carved custom Renaissances for each countr
Inside Iran’s Impasse And Syria’s Shadow Wars with Djene Bajalan
Start with the headlines and everything looks simple: a “crown prince” trending on social feeds, viral clips of pre-revolution Tehran, and bold claims that one more round of pressure will tip the balance. Look closer and the picture changes. We unpack Iran’s internal stalemate and Syria’s shifting lines with a clear eye on what’s driving events: sanctions that harden the regime’s patronage network
Socialism, Anti-Politics, And Power Today with Joseph Sciortino
A lot of people call it populism, but the engine driving today’s politics is anti-politics: the organized channeling of frustration without a stable program for governing. Joseph Sciortino of the Rabble Report and I dig into why that matters for socialists, progressives, and anyone trying to turn protest into power—and why the effort so often stalls once it hits the wall of debt, police unions, an
Rewriting The Chumash War with Joe Payne
A “small revolt” doesn’t topple an institution—people do. We dive into the 1824 Chumash uprising and show why it belongs with the era’s great revolutions, not the margins of a mission field trip. With historian-journalist Joe Payne, we map how three missions became a battleground for emancipation, how labor withdrawal and horse control shattered the mission economy, and why a four-pound cannon and
Pierre Bourdieu, Academic Power, And Class Reproduction with Daniel Tutt
In Part 2 of our series on intellectualls, Daniel Tutt returns to talk Bourdieu. Start with the feeling that “merit” is natural and fair—and then watch it fall apart. We take Pierre Bourdieu’s sharpest tools—habitus, field, cultural capital, symbolic power—and use them to expose how universities, media, and taste quietly reproduce class while insisting it’s all about talent. From Homo Academicus
Language, Brains, And The AI Mirage with Eli Sennesh
What if today’s most powerful AI systems are closer to a free-floating hippocampus than to a thinking mind? We dive into the messy borderlands between neuroscience, semiotics, and political economy to ask what LLMs really do, why they feel authoritative, and where their limits begin. Along the way, we explore how humans negotiate meaning in real time while models operate in a frozen field of corre
Jamie Merchant on the Many, Many Current Crises
Jamie Merchant, the author of Endgame, joins us to talk about the current chaos. Start with the spectacle and you miss the structure. We step past the daily outrage to map Trumpism as a regime built by a new insurgent fraction of capital—tech oligarchs, private equity, and venture investors—who are eager to smash norms, rewrite rules, and route public money through tariffs, defense contracts, and
Rent-Seeking, Platforms, And The Myth Of Techno-Feudalism with Alex Hochuli
What if the “techno-feudalism” boom is a symptom of our confusion rather than a diagnosis of the age? We sit down with Alex Hochuli (Bungacast, American Affairs) to interrogate the feudal metaphor and make a sharper case: we’re living through total capitalism’s decay, not a return to lords and serfs. That lens helps make sense of platform tolls, anti-market monopolies, surveillance, and institutio
Liberalism At The Brink with Dillion From Untrodden Podcast
Politics feels louder than ever and somehow emptier too. We open the hood on liberalism—what it claims to be, how it actually behaves, and why Trump’s rise didn’t just bend norms but exposed tensions baked into the system. With Dillion from Untrodden, we trace the fault lines between liberal commitments to stability and civil discourse and the gravitational pull toward executive power, media spect
Why Capitalism’s “Mute Compulsion” Isn’t The Whole Story with Nicolas D. Villarreal
Start with a simple question: if investment drives productivity and growth, what happens to a society that keeps choosing consumption over capacity? We trace a straight line from Marx’s core mechanics to Kalecki’s equations, then use that line to cut through fashionable theory detours—value-form shortcuts, communization fantasies, and techno-feudal hot takes. The result is a clearer picture of why
America’s Battle Over The Intellectual with Daniel Tutt
What if America’s “anti-intellectualism” isn’t a decline in smarts but a culture built to distrust theory? We trace that paradox from Puritan moral rigor and pragmatist “cash value” truths to the postwar professional class that speaks in a neutral tone while hiding its class origins. With Hofstadter, Lasch, and Gouldner as our guides, we unpack how speech codes, funding models, and media ecosystem
Why Easy Answers Fail: From Riots To Reproduction And What Comes Next with Heatwave Magazine
The hardest problems don’t fit into a slogan. We invited the editors behind Heatwave Magazine to unpack why national fixes can’t solve planetary crises, why tariffs and “reindustrialization” won’t restore a high‑wage equilibrium, and how social democracy keeps running headfirst into profitability and energy limits. We talk plainly about China’s energy transition and youth unemployment, Mexico’s na
Ross Wolfe Contra Domenico Losurdo
What if the renewed fascination with Domenico Losurdo says more about our appetite for stability than about Marxism’s future? We sit down with Ross Wolfe to unpack how a Verso‑to‑Monthly Review pipeline, a revived faith in China’s statecraft, and the polemical stretching of “Western Marxism” built a Dengist common sense on the contemporary left. The story runs through publishing politics, bad cate
Boundless and Bottomless (Special): Jay Rogers on Dugin's Fourth Political Theory
What happens when a Protestant Christian delves into the philosophy of Russia's most controversial thinker? Jay Rogers, a heart transplant survivor and longtime student of Russian culture, takes us on a fascinating journey through his engagement with Alexander Dugan's Fourth Political Theory.Having traveled extensively throughout Russia and Ukraine during the pivotal post-Soviet years, R
Iranian Diaspora and Political Identity with Keanu Heydari
What defines Iranian identity, both within Iran and across its global diaspora? In this thought-provoking conversation with historian Keanu Heydari, we peel back layers of complexity surrounding one of the world's most politically fragmented diasporic communities.Heydari, a PhD candidate at the University of Michigan specializing in Iranian student activism in post-war France, offers a refres
How Zoran Mamdani Surfed Anti-Politics To Beat A Party Machine with the Rapple Report
A shock win feels like a movement—until the math starts. We dig into Zoran Mamdani’s ascent with a clear-eyed look at why voters broke for him, what “anti-politics” actually signals, and how a mayor’s bold promises get squeezed by bonds, taxes, and thin state capacity. The story here isn’t a fairy tale of revival; it’s a patient autopsy of party cartels in decline, activist narratives colliding wi
The Subject Unbound: Structuralism, Psychoanalysis, and Revolutionary Consciousness with Andrew Flores, Jr.
What happens when the revolutionary fervor of Marxism meets the probing depths of the psychoanalytic couch? In this intellectually stimulating conversation, Andrew Flores (host of The Parallax Viewer) explores the fascinating and often contentious relationship between psychoanalytic theory and left politics.The discussion begins with a fundamental question: why should Marxists care about psychoana
The Marxist Unity Group: Navigating DSA's Political Landscape
What does it mean to build a socialist party in America today? The Marxist Unity Group, a left caucus within the Democratic Socialists of America, offers their perspective on this critical question while unpacking the complexities of DSA's internal dynamics, electoral strategy, and revolutionary vision.Fresh from DSA's national convention, MUG members celebrate significant victories incl
The Spectacle Society: When Nothing Means Anything with Dave Stockdale
In this riveting conversation with Dave Stockdale of Nightmare Masterclass, we dive deep into the crumbling foundations of media trust and how dark money shapes our information landscape. The discussion begins with a critical examination of the recent "Chorus" controversy, where progressive influencers took billionaire funding while decrying criticism as "misinformation" – adop
The People's Era: How France Unbowed Reimagines Leftist Politics
What makes a radical left movement actually succeed in the 21st century? In this deeply illuminating conversation, Henry Wallis of New International Magazine breaks down how France Unbowed has become one of Europe's most significant left formations while avoiding the collapse that befell similar movements.Unlike traditional leftist organizations fixated on ideological purity or social democra
(From the Patreon Archives) From Operaismo to Autonomy: Italian Radical Thought with P.H. Higgins
This episode was released patreon's only in 2021. Mario Tronti and Antonio Negri stand as towering figures in the forgotten history of Italian radical Marxism. Their theoretical frameworks - operaismo and autonomia - emerged from the unique contradictions of post-war Italy: a strong Communist Party trapped in parliamentary politics while workers sought more direct forms of resistance.What ma
How Technology Could Transform Our Failed Economic Models with Victor Vernissage rom Humanode
What if blockchain technology could emancipate us rather than just enrich speculators? In this wide-ranging conversation with Victor Vernissage, researcher, economist, and founder of Humanode.io, we explore how emerging technologies might transform our economic systems if deployed with democratic values rather than purely capitalist structures."Crypto is mostly about speculation. It's th
Impossible Things: A Poet's Journey Through Loss and Translation with Miller Wolf Oberman
What happens when grief becomes inheritance? When poet Miller Oberman became a father himself, he suddenly understood something that had shaped his entire life: he had been parented by someone traumatized by the loss of a child. This revelation sparked an extraordinary poetic journey, driving him toward his father's unfinished memoir about the drowning death of his two-year-old son Joshua in
Flowers for Marx Symposium, Part 2: Daniel Tutt and Matt McManus
From theoretical battles to publishing controversies, this episode dives deep into the fault lines dividing today's left through the lens of "Flowers for Marx," a new collection exploring Marxist humanism and scientism. Contributors Daniel Tutt and Matt McManus share the book's tumultuous journey—rejected by its original publisher because contributors appeared on Joe Rogan&apos
Flowers for Marx Symposium, Part 1: Ben Burgis, Conrad Hamilton, and Ernesto Vargas
What makes a book of Marxist theory so controversial that publishers back out after initially accepting it? The answer takes us deep into the heart of leftist intellectual debates that have shaped revolutionary movements for generations."Flowers for Marx" brings together contrasting perspectives on fundamental questions that have divided Marxists since the 19th century. The conversation
Why Your Stories Matter More Than Technology Ever Will with William "Bill" Welser
What if our personal stories are more valuable than we realize? In this thought-provoking conversation, William Welser, founder of LOTIC and innovative technologist, explores how our narratives shape not just our understanding of ourselves but also the artificial intelligence systems we create.Welser challenges conventional thinking about data, arguing that our stories provide the richest, most au
Gothic Capitalism and the Fate of Radical Art with Adam Turl
What happens when artistic rebellion becomes just another commodity? In this thought-provoking conversation, Adam Turl unpacks his book "Gothic Capitalism: Art Evicted from Heaven and Earth," taking us on a journey through the ruins of revolutionary movements and avant-garde dreams.The discussion begins with an unexpected Soviet connection—Alexandra Kollontai's gothic novella that s
Financial Literacy: The Missing Piece in Social Justice with Courtney Teasley
Money isn't just about personal comfort—it's the foundation of sustainable social change. In this compelling conversation, attorney and business coach Courtney Teasley challenges conventional thinking about the relationship between financial power and justice work.Teasley introduces her concept of the "DAM community" (Disproportionately Affected Marginalized Minority), explaini
Buddha Didn't Want You to Quit Thinking with W. Tom Pepper
Journey into the often-overlooked intersection of Buddhism and critical theory with Tom Pepper, author of "The Faithful Buddhist" and "Indispensable Goods." Tom challenges conventional Western Buddhist practices by exposing how deeply they're entangled with romantic ideology and capitalist structures.Pepper argues that Western Buddhism has largely become a way for the alie
Rereading Lenin: Context, Chronology, and Revolutionary Change with Alexander Herbert
What happens when you read Lenin completely, chronologically, and in context? You discover a thinker far more complex and pragmatic than most portrayals suggest.In this illuminating conversation, Professor Alex Herbert shares insights from his ambitious "Lenin in 45 Volumes" project, where he's systematically reading Lenin's complete works in their original Russian. Herbert rev
Signs, Symbols, and Silicon: How AI Changes Our Understanding of Thought with Nicolas D. Villarreal
What makes human thought distinctive, and can machines ever truly think like us? In this profound conversation with Nicholas Villarreal, author of "A Soul of a New Type: Writings on Artificial Intelligence and Materialist Semiotics," we journey into the heart of what makes intelligence possible—through the often overlooked lens of semiotics.The discussion begins with a critical examinati
Evolution's Grip on American Politics with Dr. Melvyn Lurie
What if our bitter political divisions aren't just about policy differences but reflect ancient biological drives hardwired into our DNA? Dr. Melvyn Lurie, Harvard-trained psychiatrist with expertise in genetics, presents a groundbreaking framework for understanding America's current crisis through evolutionary biology.Drawing from his observation of nesting species and historical civili
The Rise of Caudillo Politics in America with Calixto Lopez
We explore how American politics has increasingly embraced Bonapartist and Caudillo elements, transforming the executive branch from its original constitutional role into an imperial presidency with vast unchecked powers.• Caesarism and Bonapartism as models for understanding the imperial presidency that has evolved since FDR and Eisenhower• Congress's gradual abdication of its constitutional
Dollar Dominance in a Fragile World with Emmanuel Daniel
What happens when the world's reserve currency faces a crisis of confidence, yet alternatives remain elusive? Emmanuel Daniel, author of "The Great Transition: The Personalization of Finance," offers a fascinating perspective on this paradox that defines our current global economic moment.The dollar's remarkable resilience stems from an unexpected source – American indifference
The Revolution in Democracy: Marxist Unity Group's Vision for DSA
What does a truly democratic American future require? The Marxist Unity Group believes nothing short of revolution will deliver it. In this compelling conversation, MUG members Cliff Connolly, Amy Wilhelm, Jean Allen, and Aliyah Van Pelt outline their vision for transforming both the Democratic Socialists of America and American politics through programmatic unity and revolutionary change.At the c
Taming the Wild: The Complex Story of Animal Domestication with Joy
The domestication of plants and animals represents one of the most profound transformations in our species' history—yet few of us understand how dramatically it has reshaped not just the organisms involved, but our entire planet's ecology. In this fascinating conversation with Joy of Zoognosis and Mimbres School, we unpack the complex biological and social dimensions of domestication tha
Liberal Socialism and the Challenge of Right-Wing Politics with Matt McManus
Professor Matthew McManus joins us to explore liberal socialism, the right's evolution, and the shifting global political landscape.• Carlo Rossellini's work articulates a socialism that confronts both Marxist determinism and fascism• Rossellini criticized Italian leftists for failing to understand fascism's emotional appeal• Liberal socialism aims to make the promise of freedom tru
From Dawn To Decadence, part 4: Aufheben's Decline of Theory
Capitalism's crisis theories reveal more about leftist political failures than economic reality, as deterministic approaches miss the cultural dimensions of decay while simultaneously failing to deliver the promised revolutionary outcomes.• Examining Aufheben's' "Decadence, the Theory of Decline or Decline of Theory" as a framework for understanding how leftists conceptual
The Poetry of Diasporic Memory with Ben Meyerson
Flamenco's haunting rhythms carry centuries of suppressed memories—the echoes of Spain's Jewish and Muslim communities, expelled and erased through centuries of ethnic cleansing. Yet somehow, these cultural memories persist through sound and verse, creating what poet Ben Meyerson calls "diasporic memory."In this conversation that spans continents and centuries, Meyerson takes u
End of Liberal Dreams with Nicolas Villarreal
The foundations of modern liberal democracy weren't forged in the ideals of freedom and equality alone, but in the disciplined halls of Prussian military academies. In this wide-ranging conversation, Nicolas Villarreal reveals how the professional military education system that emerged in 19th century Germany created the bureaucratic apparatus that would spread across the world and enable lib
Marx's American Journey with Andrew Hartman
America's hidden Marxist history reveals a country where radical ideas took root in ways we've deliberately forgotten. Dr. Andrew Hartman takes us on a journey through this erased past, uncovering how deeply Marx's ideas penetrated American society from the Civil War through today.Marx himself was surprisingly connected to America, writing hundreds of articles for the New York Tribu
The Angels and the Poets: Rilke, Celan, and DA Levy with Alexander Benedict
What happens when we trace the unexpected influences between seemingly unrelated poetic traditions? In this exploration of German poetry's impact on American counterculture, we discover the fascinating connections between renowned German-language poets Rainer Maria Rilke and Paul Salon with Cleveland's underground literary icon DA Levy.Levy, a Cleveland poet and publisher active in the 1
The Fascist Foundations of Heideggerian Thought: A Marxist Critique with Colin Bodayle
What if I told you one of the most influential philosophers of the 20th century wasn't just a Nazi sympathizer, but that fascism was fundamental to his entire philosophical project? In this profound conversation with Colin Bodayle, doctoral student in philosophy at Villanova University, we peel back the sanitized layers of Martin Heidegger's legacy to reveal the uncomfortable truth behin
The Echoes of General Boulanger: When Leftists Flirt With Right-Wing Populism with Donald Parkinson
As normie conservatives casually throw around terms like "Bonapartist" to describe Trump's new administration, we've entered a peculiar moment where Marxist terminology has infiltrated mainstream political discourse—often without its theoretical underpinnings. This wide-ranging conversation explores the historical parallels between today's political landscape and 19th cent
Ethics Unbound: Marx's Revolutionary Framework with Vanessa Wills
Dr. Vanessa Wills takes us on an intellectual journey through the heart of Marx's ethical vision – perhaps the most misunderstood aspect of his revolutionary philosophy. As we trace her path from anti-war activism to Marxist scholarship, Dr. Wills demolishes the persistent myth that Marx had no ethics or moral framework. Instead, she reveals how his entire project was fundamentally concerned
Breaking Constitutional Boundaries with Elijah Emery
America's constitutional foundation is buckling under the weight of executive fiat, with a president governing almost exclusively through executive orders while Congress passes fewer bills than at any point in history. Elijah Emery comes back to discuss the following: • Executive power has been expanding since WWII, but the current administration represents an acceleration of this trend with
The Dark Side of Jimmy Carter with Robert Buzzanco
Behind the celebrated image of Jimmy Carter as a Nobel Peace Prize-winning humanitarian lies a presidential legacy that demands closer examination. This revealing conversation with historian Robert Buzzanco challenges the sanitized narrative of Carter's presidency, exposing how he functioned as a crucial transitional figure between postwar liberalism and the full flowering of neoliberalism un
The Journey of Freedom: Unpacking Hegel's Philosophy with Borna Radnik
The episode explores Hegel's complex understanding of freedom as self-determination and its historical evolution through time, juxtaposed with Kant and Rousseau's perspectives. It emphasizes that freedom is a relational and collective struggle that necessitates recognition and social action, questioning the practical implications of Hegel's thought in contemporary movements for chan
From Cold War Legacies to Modern Political Challenges with Daniel Bessner
Is U.S. foreign policy under President Biden really different from Trump's approach? Join us as we welcome Daniel Bessner from the American Prestige podcast to unravel this and other pressing questions, with a bold examination of leftist perspectives on international relations. We scrutinize the position of Palestine within American leftist discourse and consider whether shifts in younger gen
Navigating Socialist Strategy and Tensions in the Post-Trump Era with Sudip Bhattacharya
Sudip Bhattacharya joins us to unravel the post-Trump landscape of socialist strategy, wading through the murky waters of political transitions and internal leftist tensions. How can we nurture class consciousness and fight against anti-DEI rhetoric that threatens to strip away essential rights? Together, Sudip and I confront these urgent questions, examining the evolution of the Republican Party
From Dawn to Decadence, Part 3: Is Samir Amin's Challenge to Eurocentric Narratives About Decadence?
What if the concept of decadence holds the key to understanding our societal and political structures today? This episode challenges traditional narratives by dissecting Samir Amin's unfinished work on revolution and decadence through a Marxist lens. We navigate through Afibung's critique of decadence theory, contrasting Marxist views with more coherent conservative critiques of current
Doomscolling Through Fandom to Politics: Unraveling the Digital Influence on Ideologies with Joshua Citarella
Exploring the intersection of fandom culture and political engagement reveals a new landscape of activism and ideology. Our discussion with Joshua Citarella of Doomscroll emphasizes how passionate fandoms are shaping today's political climate, shifting the nature of activism beyond traditional frameworks and leading to a more dynamized political identity among the youth. • The merging of fan
Cultural Shifts in the Age of Social Media from Art Bell to TikTok with Katherine Dee
Katherine Dee, the writer behind the "Default Blog" on Substack, joins us to explore the unexpected legacy of Art Bell and how his non-political, free-form radio style contrasts with today's charged conspiracy culture. Discover the intriguing intersections between Bell's approach and modern figures like Joe Rogan and Alex Jones, and how these dynamics have shaped contemporary i
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