Actually Existing Socialism
A podcast dedicated to exploring past, present, and future real-world manifestations of actually existing socialism. It features conversations with people who have studied, lived in, or currently live in socialist countries. The show examines how socialist systems have functioned in practice rather than only in theory. Through these discussions, it considers both historical examples and contemporary experiences.
Episodes
Half the Sky 002. This Whole Thing Smacks of Gender.
Half the Sky is an attempt to provide a perspective often lacking from the podcast space: that of women (and women-adjacent folks). If and when those voices are present, they are quite often offset by their dude counterparts. And so (at least on the mic) HTS is a bro-free zone. Our hosts on this very special audio journey are Rae of ProlesPod, Jen (Big Nasty) of How the Red Was Won, Lenore from Wo
Laos: Revolutions in Reproduction w/ Holly High
After a long hiatus, AES is back — and we're kicking things off with the return of a favorite guest: Holly High! In this episode, we dive into Holly's latest project, her substack Laos: Revolutions in Reproduction, exploring how socialist ideals shape everyday life. We discuss: socialist housing and urban planning in Laos, property ownership under socialism, the evolving role of the socialist stat
Vietnam: A Homecoming w/ Jen (@HowTheRedWasWon)
For this long awaited episode on Vietnam - Jen (@HowTheRedWasWon) joins to talk about her recent unique experience of visiting the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, a country that her grandparents fled from in the 1960s! Jen guides us through her journey there, what she learned, and some important reflections about revolution in the USA she had as a result. Listed below are links to Jen's social med
The Stalin Eras: An Introduction (1878-1917)
Since March of this year I have been the co-host of another podcast called Prolespod (my tenure starts on Episode 49). On that show we have been working extensively on producing a special event series known as The Stalin Eras. The key focus of this series is to illuminate the early history of the Soviet Union and the life of its longest lasting leader, Joseph Stalin, using some of the latest schol
North Korea: Socialist Living After War (1953-1965) w/ Andre Schmid
In this fascinating episode Andre Schmid joins to discuss his book "North Korea's Mundane Revolution". As always on this show, we're covering something new by talking about the early years of the North Korean revolution in the aftermath of the Korean War which "ended" in 1953. Andre Schmid's research and teaching focus on 19th and 20th century Korea and East Asia, as seen in the broader context o
Soviet Punk Rock: Counterculture & Collapse in the Late USSR w/ Alexander Herbert
In this fascinating episode Alexander Herbert joins to discuss his book "What About Tomorrow?: An Oral History of Russian Punk from the Soviet Era to Pussy Riot". As always on this show, we're covering something new by talking about both counterculture music and the late Soviet Era. I myself have virtually no understanding of the punk genre, so don't think you need to be a Punk Rock enthusiast to
Win or Else: Soviet Sports, Soccer, and the NKVD w/ Samantha Lomb
In this episode, Samantha Lomb returns as a guest to talk about a recent book she edited entitled: Win or Else: Soviet Football in Moscow and Beyond, 1921-1985. In Win or Else, the late soviet historian Larry E. Holmes shows us how Soviet football culture regularly disregarded official ideological and political imperatives and skirted the boundaries between socialism and capitalism. Drawing on ri
Understanding Siege Socialism w/ Gabriel Rockhill
Gabriel Rockhill joins to talk about a controversial concept for Western socialists: "siege socialism". A term coined by the great Michael Parenti. Unlike most episodes of this show we won't be focusing on a specific country but examining the variety of past and present socialist countries through the lens of historical materialism and dialectics, two concepts Gabriel explains for us. Gabriel Roc
Indigenous & Soviet: Politics, Power, and Prejudice w/ Sardana Nikolaeva
Sardana returns to finish our discussion on her recent study published through Ziibiing Lab "Indigenous Diamonds : Extractivism and Indigenous Politics in the Diamond Province of Russia." In our discussion we delve into the impacts extractivism has had on the people of the Sakha Republic before, during, and after the Soviet Union (USSR). Sardana, who is Sakha, also gives her own personal and comm
Indigenous & Soviet: Diamonds of Sakha w/ Sardana Nikolaeva
Sardana Nikolaeava joins this episode to discuss her recent study published through Ziibiing Lab "Indigenous Diamonds : Extractivism and Indigenous Politics in the Diamond Province of Russia." In our discussion we delve into the impacts extractivism has had on the people of the Sakha Republic before, during, and after the Soviet Union (USSR). Sardana, who is Sakha, also gives her own personal and
Remembering Soviet Georgia's Healthcare w/ Sopo Japaridze
In this episode we'll be discussing Sopo's article on Jacobin entitled "How Free-Market Ideologues Dismantled Health Care in Post-Soviet Georgia". In doing so we will be talking about not only her memories of Soviet Georgia, but the memories of her family members and Georgian workers, doctors and nurses. We delve into the origins of the soviet socialist healthcare system, its operations, its histo
China & Palestine: A Revolutionary Solidarity w/ Qiao Collective
In this episode, Charles Xu of the Qiao Collective (a diaspora Chinese media collective challenging U.S. aggression) joins to walk us through the long history of solidarity between China and Palestine. We do this through discussing "The Gates of the Great Continent: Palestine, China, and the War for Humanity's Future" which is Charles' recent article published on the Qiao Collective website. We're
The American Ambassador Who Supported Stalin w/ Dominique Petit-Wagner
This episode features Dominique Petit-Wagner discussing her masters thesis entitled: "Briefing the Ambassador: Joseph Davies and the U.S. Press Corps in Moscow, 1936-1938." Our discussion focuses on American Ambassador Joseph E. Davies and a few American journalists who bought into the socialist realist presentation of the Soviet Union during the tumoulotus 1930s. We talk about what socialist rea
Class Based Affirmative Action in Socialist Poland w/ Agata Zysiak
This episode features sociologist Dr. Agata Zysiak talking about her recent work "Limiting Privilege: Upward Mobility Within Higher Education in Socialist Poland" (2023), which examines first-generation students' struggles with reluctant academia in a developing socialist world that was looking for equality. We talk about the successes and failures of this ambitious socialist program, its similar
How to Visit North Korea w/ Zoe Stephens
This episode features Zoe Stephens (@Zoediscoversnk), an experienced tour guide to North Korea (DPRK). Using her own experience, knowledge, footage and education - Zoe's goal is to present a image of North Korea that aims to humanize the people of the DPRK in ways that are rarely seen in the West. She tells us what is required to visit on a guided tour, what to expect, what are some common misconc
Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic 102: Post-World War II to Present w/ Iskolat
Iskolat, a Latvian communist, returns to teach us more about the shrouded history of Latvia, which was a part of the Soviet Union, officially known as the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic continuously from 1944 to 1990. In this second and final part we'll be discussing the post-World War II era of building socialism in Latvia and the Baltics at large. We cover the successes of socialist construct
Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic 101: Pre-history to World War II w/ Iskolat
Iskolat, a Latvian communist, joins to show to teach us about the shrouded history of Latvia, which was a part of the Soviet Union (officially known as the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic) continuously from 1944 to 1990. In this first part we'll be discussing the pre-history of the socialist republic by delving into the conditions of what would become Latvia in the early 20th century to the even
The Propaganda War Against China w/ Carlos Martinez
Carlos Martinez (@agent_of_change) joins the show to talk about his excellent book "The East Is Still Red: Chinese Socialism in the 21st Century". In this final part of a three part discussion we'll be discussing the propaganda war against China and the socialist developments all leftists should be following. Carlos Martinez is an author and political activist from London, Britain. His first book
Is China a democracy? w/ Carlos Martinez
Carlos Martinez (@agent_of_change) joins the show to talk about his excellent book "The East Is Still Red: Chinese Socialism in the 21st Century". In this second part of a three part discussion we'll be delving into how China operates as a socialist democracy. We'll be answering what that means, talk about some accomplishments as well how it differs from Western liberal democracies. Carlos Martin
How China Avoided The Soviet Union's Fate w/ Carlos Martinez
Carlos Martinez (@agent_of_change) joins the show to talk about his excellent book "The East Is Still Red: Chinese Socialism in the 21st Century". In this first part of this three part discussion on China we'll be delving into why socialist China remains but the USSR doesnt. We'll be tackling this question through the lens of how these two communist juggernauts approached the necessity of controve
Black Girl From Pyongyang, North Korea w/ Monica Macias (PATREON PREVIEW)
Monica Macias joins the show to discuss her book "Black Girl From Pyongyang: In Search of My Identity" which covers the harrowing tale of her life journey from post-colonial Equatorial Guinea ,where she was born, to finding herself under the guardianship of Kim Il Sung - the revolutionary founding father of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) also known as North Korea. This is a prev
The Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (1948-1990) w/ Julia Mead
In this episode we'll be discussing the subject of Julia Mead's (@JuliaKMead) PHD research on an often forgotten socialist nation: the nation formerly known as the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. Julia covers for us the pre-history, emergence of the communist state, political struggles as well as socialist successes and failures. She also gives us some insight as to why this socialist nation ofte
Stalin vs MLK Jr: Soviet Anti-colonialism & Anti-racism w/ Henry Hakamäki & Salvatore Engel-Di Mauro
Henry Hakamäki (@huck1995), host of Guerrilla History podcast (@guerrilla_pod) and Professor Salvatore Engel-Di Mauro join the show to talk about their recent english translation of historian Domenico Losurdo's "Stalin: History and Critique of a Black Legend". This episode is the second and final part of a longer discussion. In this part we move into the specifics of the often airbrushed history
Critiquing Stalin's Black Legend w/ Henry Hakamäki & Salvatore Engel-Di Mauro
Henry Hakamäki (@huck1995), host of Guerrilla History podcast (@guerrilla_pod) and Professor Salvatore Engel Di-Mauro join the show to talk about their recent english translation of historian Domenico Losurdo's "Stalin: History and Critique of a Black Legend". This episode is the first part of a longer discussion. In this part we talk about what a black legend even is, the general thesis behind
Explaining North Korea (DPRK) w/ Ben Weston
Ben Weston (@BenWestonDPRK), host of the popular "DPRK Explained" youtube channel, joins the show to discuss his insightful experiences visiting North Korea (also known as the DPRK) multiple times as a tour guide. We cover his channel, do some myth-busting about the Democratic Republic of Korea, get a short intro to socialist Mongolia and more! https://www.youtube.com/c/DPRKExplained
How the Soviet "Threat" Benefited Workers in the West w/ Alice Malone
In this episode we discuss Alice Malone's essay entitled "Concessions" which contains a well sourced and foundational explanation regarding 20th century history that every socialist should be aware of! Alice illustrates how the gains and progressive feats won by workers of the Soviet Union challenged capitalist elites in the West to concede social reforms in their own countries. Reforms such as d
Was the Soviet Union totalitarian? w/ Robert Thurston
Robert Thurston, historian of Soviet history, joins the show to talk about his extensive archival research focused on the infamous "Great Terror" or mass arrests of 1937-1938. In doing so Robert rebuts the perrenial anti-communist argument - the claim that the Soviet Union under Stalin was totalitarian! We also discuss the impact his research had on his career, the role CIA, MI5 and other capitali
Is Cuba A State Sponsor of Terror? w/ Calla Walsh & Aeron
Calla Walsh and Aeron join the show to talk about the absurd imperialist rationales and devestating impacts of Cuba's placement on the US State Departments State Sponsor of Terror list. Calla is a co-chair of the National Network on Cuba (https://twitter.com/NNOCuba). Aeron is a member of the Michigan General Defense Committee (https://www.instagram.com/michigangdc/). Help support the show by si
How to Stand in Solidarity with Cuba w/ Calla Walsh & Aeron
Calla Walsh and Aeron join the show to talk about ways we can all stand in solidarity with Cuba and why engaging in internationalism is a necessary path to socialism both at home and abroad. Calla is a co-chair of the National Network on Cuba (https://twitter.com/NNOCuba). Aeron is a member of the Michigan General Defense Committee (https://www.instagram.com/michigangdc/). Help support the show
How Stalin Tried to Prevent World War II w/ Michael Jabara Carley
Michael Jabara Carley joins the show to talk about his extensive and decades long archival research into Soviet international relations. He focuses particularly on the attempts by Joseph Stalin (in the 6 years leading up to World War II) to build a grand alliance with Britain, France and other European nations against Nazi Germany. This was a call to maintain peace which ultimately was left unhee
Uneasy Comrades: Socialist Ghana & the Soviet Union w/ Nana Osei-Opare
Nana Osei-Opare joins the show to discuss his extensive academic work on Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana's socialist period, and Ghana's relationship with the Soviet Union during the Cold War. In this episode's discussion we examine why anti-colonial figures in Africa favored an alliance with the Soviet Union over the capitalist West. We assess Ghana's socialist period and Kwame Nkrumah's socialist program
How Cuba, the USSR, and East Germany Ended Apartheid w/ Gerald Horne
Gerald Horne, a prolific communist historian, joins the show to discuss his 2019 book "White Supremacy Confronted". This work focuses on the socialist bloc's vital collaboration with the African National Congress (ANC) and South African Communist Party to end apartheid in southern Africa. In this episode we start with the origins of European settler colonialism in Southern Africa and how that l
Laos: Socialist Democracy & Culture w/ Holly High
Holly High, an anthropologist who does field work in Laos, joins the show to discuss her book, "Projectland: Life in a Lao Socialist Model Village". In this final part of our two part discussion we look at socialist democracy and culture in Laos. We cover what political participation looks like in Laos today including the real life functioning of a one party socialist state, democratic centralism,
Laos: The Revolutionary Origins of the Forgotten Socialist Country w/ Holly High
Holly High, an anthropologist who does field work in Laos, joins the show to discuss her book, "Projectland: Life in a Lao Socialist Model Village". In this first part of our two part discussion we look at the revolutionary origins of Laos. We begin with the pre-revolutionary period when Lao was under colonial rule and end with the successful People's War of 1945-1975 including the horrific bombin
The American Soldier Who Defected to East Germany (Part 2) w/ Victor Grossman
We continue the enlightening discussion with Victor Grossman, a former American soldier who defected to East Germany in 1952. In this concluding episode we cover Victor's life as a journalist in East Germany and what that meant in terms of censorship and free expression, his bombshell reporting on "former" Nazi's active in the West Germant government and in the nascent North Atlantic Treaty Organ
The American Soldier Who Defected to East Germany (Part 1) w/ Victor Grossman
Victor Grossman, a former American solider who defected to East Germany in 1952, joins the show to discuss his remarkable life and experiences in this short lived socialist nation. We cover Victor's activism in the American communist movement of the 1940s including his participation in the Black freedom struggle of that era, the circumstances surrounding his defection, and what life was actually
Unlearning Marx: Why the Soviet Failure was a Triumph for Marx w/ Steve Paxton
Steve Paxton, joins the show to discuss his book, "Unlearning Marx: Why the Soviet Failure was a Triumph for Marx". The book focuses on Marx's theory of history and how Marx foresaw the unsustainability of a successful socialist revolution in the Soviet Union decades before it formed. Some of what we talk about in this episode includes understanding what conservatives and socialists have
East Germany: Stasi State or Socialist Paradise? w/Bruni de la Motte
Bruni de la Motte, born and raised in East Germany, joins the show to discuss her book "Stasi State or Socialist Paradise?: The German Democratic Republic and What Became of It". The purpose of her book, which she co-authored with John Greene, is to provide a more balanced take on East Germany then what is popularly remembered of this ambitious socialist experiment. Some of what we cover incl
Stalin's Constitution & Life in 1930s Soviet Union w/ Samantha Lomb
Samantha Lomb, a PHD in Russian history, joins the show to discuss her book "Stalin's Constitution: Soviet Participatory Politics and the Discussion of the 1936 Draft Constitution". Based on her studies of soviet archives Samantha guides us through a discussion of how the average Soviet citizen participated in reforming their new constitution in 1936 (one of the most progressive constitutio
Cuba's Socialist Democracy vs. America's Capitalist "Democracy" w/ Calla Walsh
Calla Walsh, anti-imperialist writer and organizer, joins the show to discuss her article published in Multipolarista titled "Abortion in Cuba vs US shows which country is truly democratic". We cover her organizing experiences and her recent visit to Cuba as a member of a her local Cuba solidarity group. In our in-depth discussion we compare the reality of Cuba's thriving socialist democracy
The Indigenous Peoples of the Soviet Union (Part 2) w/ Alice and Dennis Bartels (Part 2)
Alice and Dennis Bartels, authors of "When the North Was Red: Aboriginal Education in Soviet Siberia", join the show to discuss their extensive ethnographic research of the Indigenous (also known as Northern) peoples of the Soviet Union. We cover the experience of the various Northern peoples before, during, and after Soviet socialism and how it greatly differed from the genocidal experience of t
The Indigenous Peoples of the Soviet Union (Part 1) w/ Alice and Dennis Bartels (Part 1)
Alice and Dennis Bartels, authors of "When the North Was Red: Aboriginal Education in Soviet Siberia", join the show to discuss their extensive ethnographic research of the Indigenous (also known as Northern) peoples of the Soviet Union. We cover the experience of the various Northern peoples before, during, and after Soviet socialism and how it greatly differed from the genocidal experience of t
What Has Socialism Ever Done For Women? w/ Julia Mead
Julia Mead joins the show to discuss the article she co-authored with Kristen Ghodsee entitled "What Has Socialism Ever Done For Women?" From abortion rights to women's unions the Soviet Union was a leader in the fight for women's equality. In this enlightening episode Julia expertly explains the ideas of 19th century socialist feminism, the realization of these ideas in the struggle for wome
Socialism v. Capitalism: The Empirical Data w/Howard Waitzkin
Premier episode! Dr. Howard Waitzkin joins the show to discuss his landmark 1986 study which compares physical quality of life (life span, literacy rates, education accessibility, infant mortality rate etc.) between capitalist and socialist nations at the same level of development. The study demonstrates conclusively the material benefits of a socialist political economy. Some of the stuff we cov
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