Left Anchor

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Today we have Ashley Lucas on to talk about her essay "The End of Rage" about a man named Russell "Maroon" Shoatz. He was a Black Panther and political radical in the 1970s who ended up in prison for killing a police officer, despite a lack of any direct evidence he was the culprit, and later served over 22 years in solitary confinement after attempting to escape. He is now old and has terminal cancer, and after recording the episode he was (remarkably enough, by American standards at least) released into hospice care. Check out Maroon's book of essays here, and a piece on the horrid conditions in Riker's Island here.

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This time we've got philosopher David Livingstone Smith (last seen here on episode 165) to discuss his book Making Monsters: The Uncanny Power of Dehumanization. We talk about the sources of dehumanizing ideology, what purpose it can serve politically, why even Heinrich Himmler couldn't take witnessing a massacre of Jews during the Holocaust, and more. Enjoy!

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After unlocking our episode about the January 6 putsch, Ryan is doing a quick follow-up on our episode with John Ganz from February. This time we're talking about Robert Paxton's book The Anatomy of Fascism in the context of Trump lawyer John Eastman's coup memo, and various aspects of current right-wing culture. Enjoy! Also check out the Adolph Reed essay mentioned here.

We're unfortunately delayed thanks to personal events so we're unlocking this one as a retrospective of our initial thoughts on the January 6 putsch. Tomorrow Ryan will have another episode on the fascism question, so stay tuned!

In this excerpt we make the case against sanctioning Afghanistan. To hear the full episode subscribe here!

Today we are talking with Alex from the Providence Leftist Radio Podcast (also see their Patreon here) about Chapter 5 in Nikolai Bukharin's book Historical Materialism, "The Equilibrium between Society and Nature," as well as Friedrich Engels' essay "On Authority." Enjoy!

In this first half of this episode, we talk about the situation in Afghanistan with Lyta Gold, particularly the media freakout about America's imperial humiliation. To hear our following discussion of The Green Knight, subscribe here!

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Today we've got Professor Brad Evans to talk about his recent book Ecce Humanitas: Beholding the Pain of Humanity. We discuss his arguments against privileging sacrifice, why liberalism is dead, and how to create something better. Enjoy!

In this preview we discuss the ways that America really is better than Hungary, and the ways that it is an international embarrassment. Subscribe now to hear the whole thing!

Today we've got an interview with Imani Oakley, who is running to represent New Jersey's 10th District in Congress next year. We talk about what the district is like, why she got into politics, the political splits in the Black community, and more. Enjoy!

In this excerpt, we discuss a (partial) list of one week's worth of climate disasters, and the recent Kim Stanley Robinson book The Ministry for the Future. Subscribe now to hear the full episode!

Ryan has been off on vacation for the past 2 weeks, so we are unlocking this one as a treat while we get the next one produced. This time we talk about both the fake smear campaign version of critical race theory as invented by professional conservative liars, and the actual body of thought. Enjoy! Links to articles we mentioned: one by Sam Kriss, one by Damon Linker, and one by John Ganz.

Enjoy this PREVIEW of our latest bonus episode with Trekonomics author and friend of the podcast Manu Saadia Manu joins us to discuss the greatest eco-socialist revolution you've never heard of: "The Coconut Revolution." Subscribe now to listen to the rest!

Today we've got historian Matt Karp on to talk about his recent article in Harper's on the 1619 Project and right-wing attempts to suppress anti-racism in the classroom. Items mentioned in the episode: John Ganz on the 1619 Project; Frederick Douglass on the 4th of July, America's composite nationality, and his eulogy for Lincoln, and John Mercer Langston on the world anti-slavery movement. Also don't forget to pre-order Ryan's book!

In this preview we discuss the history of McCarthyism and why conservatives are trying to re-created with their fake version of CRT. Subscribe now to hear the rest!

In this episode we talked to Professor Harvey Kaye to talk about his book Thomas Paine and the Promise of America. We discuss how Paine ended up in America, his role in the French Revolution, and how he is likely the author of the hottest and most powerful take in American history. Enjoy!

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Today we've got historian Eric Rauchway on talk about his new book Why the New Deal Matters. We discuss how New Deal projects and programs shape our everyday life for good and ill to this day, how Eleanor Roosevelt was such a badass, why a Green New Deal is so relevant and necessary, the political value of activist government, and more. Enjoy!

Today we've got historian Chelsea Chamberlain on to talk about her recent paper "Challenging Custodialism," about the history of an institution for disabled folks called Elwyn (still in operation). The Nursing Clio article mentioned in the episode can be found here. Also reach out if you'd like to read a copy of the paper. Subscribe now to hear the whole thing!

Today we've got Astra Taylor on to talk about her new essay collection, Remake the World: Essays, Reflections, Rebellions. We talk about the student debt crisis, the politics of refugees, what she calls "fauxtomation," and more! Links to things we discussed: the Debt Collective (which has so far erased some $2 billion in student debt!), Astra's short documentary You Are Not a Loan, and her previous film What Is Democracy? (which she discussed on a previous episode).

In this excerpt, we discuss the strange trajectory of The Intercept's co-founder. Subscribe now to listen to the rest of the episode!

We've got some requests to unlock this episode, so here you go! It's a briefer discussion just from Ryan on two articles about the history and current state of the American semiconductor industry, why understanding the details of the production process matter for socialists, and then some talk about the bad state of diplomatic relations between China and the US. Enjoy!

Franklin D. Roosevelt: America's first social justice warrior?? Subscribe now to hear the full episode!

Pete Davis comes on the show to talk about his book Dedicated: The Case for Commitment in an Age of Infinite Browsing. We talk about the value of committing to social institutions, Pink Floyd, whether tradition is really conservative, the devious politics of the self-help industry, and more. Enjoy!

How did an English corset-maker end up writing the most powerful take of all time? Subscribe now to find out!

Austin has seen a major campaign away from the criminalization of homelessness over the last two years. But that effort is running into a backlash, and there will be a city referendum on May 1st to determine if the reforms will be overturned. We've got organizer Chris Harris on to talk about the fight for homeless justice, how the reform efforts have played out, and the state of the referendum campaign. The No on Prop B website can be found here. The story of Philly Mayor Jim Kenney's attempt to outlaw spitting is here.

Today we've got historian Gabe Raeburn to discuss his recent article The Rise and Fall of Marxist Perspectives: Eugene Genovese and the Fight for Hegemony in Radical American Historiography. This was an ambitious left-wing historical journal that aimed to unite various warring factions on the left and push Marx-inflected history, but collapsed after just two years thanks to Genovese's compulsive feuding and domineering personality. We talk Eric Foner, Gramsci, Christopher Lasch, the importance of personality in politics, and more. Enjoy!

Friend of the pod David Kaib has been conducting multiple reading groups of the classic book Poor People's Movements: Why They Succeed and How They Fail, by Francis Fox Piven and Richard Cloward, over the past year. The book has perhaps never been more relevant given the the historic protests over police brutality, the coronavirus pandemic, and economic inequality of late. We talk about what lessons might be drawn from the successes and failures of these protests, and how we should think about movement strategy going forward. Enjoy!

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Today we've got Dr. Abdul El-Sayed and Dr. Micah Johnson on to talk about their new book Medicare for All: A Citizen's Guide. We talk about what the pandemic revealed about the broken American health care system, and how universal Medicare could fix both the immediate problem and help us be more prepared for future heath disasters. Abdul's newsletter The Incision can be found here.

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Why did the Texas electricity system collapse during the recent cold snap? We've got Kate Aronoff, co-author of A Planet to Win and sole author of the forthcoming book Overheated, on to discuss what went wrong. It turns out that carbon power is screwing up human society in basically every imaginable way, who knew? Enjoy!

Today we've got writer John Ganz on to discuss what relationship fascism has to Trump and the U.S. far right, and the bizarre spectacle of people trying to work up a red-brown alliance. (This has not worked out well in the past!) Check out John's Substack here.

Thanks to popular demand, we are unlocking this one. We've got Doug Henwood, author of the excellent book Wall Street, on to talk about GAMESTONK and what it all means. While it may be funny to see a couple hedge funds getting pantsed by Reddit, the fact is that financial speculation is no way to provide material security to the working class.

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We've got Mike on to discuss Freedom from the Market, a great book that examines how the "free" market has in fact been a source of tyranny and oppression throughout American history, and how Americans have mobilized in many since-forgotten ways to expand their freedom by protecting themselves from the market. Enjoy!

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Today we are hoisting up an episode from the archives in celebration of MLK Day. We discuss King's advocacy of democratic socialism and his argument that civil rights were inadequate without an equal share of economic production. Then we turn to his foreign policy views, including his speech attacking the Vietnam War, and how his argument for a brotherhood of nations is more vital than ever in the age of climate change. The MLK Nation article "Let Justice Roll Down" can be found here.

Today we're bringing back Peter Cole to talk about the second edition of his book Ben Fletcher: The Life and Times of a Black Wobbly. Fletcher was one of the most impressive labor organizers of the early 20th century -- a guy who successfully organized the very diverse workforce of the Philadelphia docks into one of the keystone unions of the IWW. If you've heard of Fred Hampton, you should know about him. Enjoy!

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Alexi is out, so Ryan briefly discusses how the coronavirus pandemic blows apart the conservative/libertarian conception of freedom, and illustrates the value of a socialist version of same. Hope you all had a good holiday, and enjoy!

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Thanks to popular demand, we are unlocking this one for everyone. We couldn't decide how we wanted to tackle such a gigantic book, so we decided we'd each pick out 10 quotes that drove us furthest up the wall, and talk about them. Enjoy! Support the show here!

Today we are talking with Steven Klein, a professor of political theory at King's College London, about his book The Work of Politics. How does the welfare state interact with traditional conceptions of political activity and struggle? Klein has complex and interesting answers to this question. Enjoy!

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