The Regrettable Century

The boys are back, well... some of the boys. Picking up after a year long hiatus, Jason and Varn are ready to get down to finishing off Dugin. Dugin, Alexander (2012). The Fourth Political Theory. Translated by Sleboda, Mark; Millerman, Michael. Arktos Media. -------------------------------------- Varn Vlog https://varnvlog.buzzsprout.com/ ------------------------------------- Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

This is a Patreon episode we liked so much that we unlocked it for everyone to hear. We hope you enjoy it. This week, Jason and Ben sat down to acknowledge and resolve all the contradictions that have manifested in our discussions on this podcast. Actually, we don't resolve anything, but we do acknowledge some things. Our listeners will know that we often disagree with the broader left, each other, and our earlier selves. While we don't manage to piece together a solid line for the podcast, we do manage to talk a lot about those contradictions. Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

*re-uploaded* This week we sat down with Matthew from the Unbreakable Union podcast and talked about the changing state of the world, what it's been like to be on the left throughout the years, the situation in France, and why maybe our pessimism makes a little bit more sense than it might first seem. https://unbreakableunion.buzzsprout.com/ Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

This week, Jason and Ben continued their conversation with Stephan Hammel of The Measures Taken Podcast about his new book Toward a Materialist Conception of Music History. From the publisher: "This book argues for the relevance, appropriateness, and usefulness of historical materialism to the musicological project. It interrogates the history of encounters between Marxism and music studies — both within and without the Soviet sphere — before staging the missed encounter between classical musicology and Second International Marxism. It concludes with a framework for understanding style history in terms of changes in the forces and relations of musical production." https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/2684-toward-a-materialist-conception-of-music-history https://www.themeasurestaken.org/ Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

Trump Wants to Talk to Maduro, Israel is Still Murdering Children, Zelensky Has Lost Touch With Reality, Ukraine Is Losing and Being Forced Into an Unfavorable Peace Deal... Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

This week, Jason and Ben got together with friend and comrade Stephan Hammel of The Measures Taken Podcast to talk about his new book Toward a Materialist Conception of Music History. From the publisher: "This book argues for the relevance, appropriateness, and usefulness of historical materialism to the musicological project. It interrogates the history of encounters between Marxism and music studies — both within and without the Soviet sphere — before staging the missed encounter between classical musicology and Second International Marxism. It concludes with a framework for understanding style history in terms of changes in the forces and relations of musical production." https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/2684-toward-a-materialist-conception-of-music-history https://www.themeasurestaken.org/ Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

It's once again time for 'Disaster Nationalism' by Richard Seymour. The gang dives into chapters one and two, which means there is still time to become part of the group. If you would like to join in, go to the Discord! Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

Another year of podcasting is in the books. Listen to our post-game wrap of the year's events, the podcast, and our lives. Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

This week we did a close reading of a RAND corporation policy proposal paper called Overextending and Unbalancing Russia: Assessing the Impact of Cost-Imposing Options. It has been argued that this document is the root of America's disastrous foreign policy regarding Russia, which has plunged Ukraine and the Middle East into misery and death. https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_briefs/RB10000/RB10014/RAND_RB10014.pdf Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

Trump's Fake Drug War Against Venezuela, Trump's Dumbass Diplomacy Nets Big L vs China, Trump's Protection Racket Only Works on US Allies, Genocide in Darfur Has UAE and Israeli Fingerprints, Kiev Won't Last till Spring?, The Ukrainian Nazi Cult of the Christchurch Shooter, Zelensky Threatens Journalists, The Collapse Speeds Up... Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

This week, we began (and had to cut short) a close reading of The Concept of Left by Leszek Kolakowski. Kolakowski was a dissident Polish Marxist who later turned against the project altogether. However, before he did, he wrote much that is worth reading. The Concept of the Left- Leszek Kolakowski https://danieltutt.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/concept_of-_the_left_kolakowskileszek.pdf Join the Regrettable Century Patreon Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

This week, Jason and Ben sat down to acknowledge and resolve all the contradictions that have manifested in our discussions on this podcast. Actually, we don't resolve anything, but we do acknowledge some things. Our listeners will know that we often disagree with the broader left, each other, and our earlier selves. While we don't manage to piece together a solid line for the podcast, we do manage to talk a lot about those contradictions. Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

This week, the Regrettable Christian Caucus begins Chapter II of Laudato Si, by the late Pope Francis. You can follow along by grabbing the PDF from Verso or from the Vatican website. This Papal Encyclical calls for urgent action to address the global environmental crisis, critiques consumerism, blind developmentalism, inequality, and profit seeking. The document calls for global political solidarity to transition to a sustainable economy and for the protection of the world's most vulnerable populations. Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

Samantha Powers' UN/Israel Collusion, Anduril/Palantir Intel Risks to US Military, Right Wing Imperialist Proxy Wins Nobel Prize, Cease Fire in Gaza?, Angela Merkel Shifts Blame Onto Poland and Baltics, Poland's Imperial Ambitions, Zelensky's Wunderwaffen Scams, Ukraine's Energy Industry Crippled... Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

It's time for a new patron reading group, and we've chosen 'Disaster Nationalism' by Richard Seymour. The gang gets started with the introduction, which means there is still time to become part of the group. If so, go to the Discord to join in. From the publisher: Liberal civilisation is in crisis - now is a time of monsters. While the spotlight often shines on the actions of charismatic right-wing leaders such as Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro, defeating these people will not stem the tide behind them. They are the embodiment of profound forces that are rarely understood. With meticulous analysis and compelling storytelling, Richard Seymour delves into the ideologies fueling the contemporary right and distorting modern politics into something abhorrent and nihilistic. The battle against disaster nationalism is not just political; it is a struggle for our collective soul and the future of civilization. Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

This week the boys finish a close reading of an interview with Terence Renaud wherein he discusses his new book New Lefts: The Making of a Radical Tradition. We weigh in on the positive and negative legacies of the multiple revisions to "leftism." https://www.thenation.com/article/culture/qa-terence-renaud-new-left/ Listen to Part I: https://regrettablecentury.buzzsprout.com/220523/episodes/17815226-a-cascading-series-of-new-lefts-part-i-of-ii Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

This week, we read and discussed an article about a phenomenon that apparently some people are, or were, concerned about: the problem of fascist infiltration of the anti-war movement. We discuss the problems inherent in gatekeeping social movements and the lack of left-wing organizations of any size. We also chime in on the overblown concerns about "Red-Brownism." Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

The US is Behind On Drone Warfare, Satano-Nazi Terror in the USA, The Global Turn Against the Genocidal Apartheid State, The AFD's Gains in Former SPD Bastion, Reform UK is Britain's Most Popular Party, The Neo-Nazi Who Knew Too Much, Zelensky Is Losing Touch With Reality, Ukraine's Slow Collapse Continues... Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

Instances of stochastic violence in the United States are at an all-time high and the political violence of our era mirrors the political topography, disaggregated and rudderless. The boys got together this week to talk about Charlie Kirk and the newer/dumber "Years of Lead." A Stark Look at the Recent History of Political Violence in America https://time.com/6998406/political-violence-united-states-recent-history/ Our Own Worst Enemies https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/political-violence-our-own-worst-enemies-robert-pape A Brutal Decade: Dissecting the Causes of Violence in the 1970s https://brilliantio.com/why-were-the-1970s-so-violent/ ‘Days of Rage’ and the Forgotten Radicalism of the 70s https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/days-of-rage-and-the-forgotten-radicalism-of-the-70s/ Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

Newer Dumber Years of Lead, Newer Dumber Cold War Heats Up, Israel Kills Kids in Doha This Time, Europe Can't be Inconvenienced by Sanctions on India and China, Poland Shoots Down Three Slow Moving Unarmed Decoy Drones... Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

This week the boys do a close reading of an interview with Terence Renaud wherein he discusses his new book New Lefts: The Making of a Radical Tradition. We weigh in on the positive and negative legacies of the multiple revisions to "leftism." https://www.thenation.com/article/culture/qa-terence-renaud-new-left/ Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

Today we read the second half of an article titled Do We Need an Updated Theory of Fascism? Theorizing the nature and implications of the global far-right resurgence by Prof. Dr. Alex Demirović, which was published by the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung. We liked this article for a few reasons, not the least of which was that it sparked good discussion... Do We Need an Updated Theory of Fascism? by Alex Demirović Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

We sat down with our patrons to read and discuss the 1973 Hal Draper Pamphlet, Anatomy of the Microsect. https://www.marxists.org/archive/draper/1973/xx/microsect.htm Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

This week, the animist caucus of the Regrettable Century (Kevin) teamed up with Dr. Mathias Nordvig, professor of Nordic Studies at the University of Colorado Boulder and the Sacred Flame Podcast, as well as Arnold from the Fight Like an Animal Podcast to talk about the intersection of animist spirituality and radical politics. To that end, the crew read and discussed William Morris' short essay titled Under an Elm Tree. Click Here for More Mathias Nordvig Click Here for Fight Like an Animal Podcast Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

Bounty on Maduro, Israeli Pedophile Protected by Trump... Again, Palestinian Dead are 83% Civilians, Zelensky in the Whitehouse... Again, Ukraine's Failing Drone Industry, The Inexorable Russian Lava Flow Pushes On... Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

Trump Wusses out on China Tariffs... Again, Leaks Expose Netanyahu's Hunger Plan, Israeli Spies Have Thoroughly Infiltrated Big Tech, The Alaska Summit, Ukraine's Infantry Crisis, Ukraine's Morale Crisis, Dobrapilia Breakthrough, The Collapse Speeds Up... Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

This week the boys are joined by eternal co-host Jess to discuss the novelty of adults being adults. We discuss the self-infantilization of millennials and older zoomers, which is a reflection of the crisis of meaning and deep rot at the heart of liberal modernity. We believe this is the result of a purely self-oriented conception of liberty and the ideological victory of capital's redefinition of the very essence of what it means to be human. --------- Adulting in Middle Age https://jacobin.com/2024/01/adulting-middle-age-millennials-boomers Are millennials really an ‘infantilised generation’ - and if so, why? https://theweek.com/107508/are-millennials-infantilised-generation Arrested Development https://newint.org/features/2018/01/01/arrested-development Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

Today we read an article titled Do We Need an Updated Theory of Fascism? Theorizing the nature and implications of the global far-right resurgence by Prof. Dr. Alex Demirović, which was published by the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung. This is an excellent article that we think misses the mark in a few places and provides much fodder for discussion. Do We Need an Updated Theory of Fascism? by Alex Demirović Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

Marxist, as well as conservative and liberal bourgeois historians alike, have always had a fundamental misunderstanding about the Luddites. It turns out they weren't just reactionary peasants who feared technology and wanted to keep the world mired in an economy based on stacking sticks and mud. The Luddites weren’t resisting technology itself—they were fighting the economic systems that exploited them through it. This week, the boys dive into a conversation about Luddism's past, present, and future. The Luddites Were Right https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/2021/06/the-luddites-were-right What the Luddites Really Fought Against https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/what-the-luddites-really-fought-against-264412/ Rethinking the Luddites in the Age of AI https://www.theinteldrop.org/2023/10/02/rethinking-the-luddites-in-the-age-of-a-i/ Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

This week Chris, Jason, and Ben read over the founding document of a now-defunct group to which Jason and Ben used to belong. While much has changed in the years since Jason wrote this document, the fundamental arguments remain the same. It is time for new working-class organizations that seek to build power from the ground up, abandoning any association with liberal NGOs, the democratic party, the microsect form, and internet-based culture war. ---- We've including the document that we're reading below as a PDF. Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

Ultra-Orthodox Abandon Bibi, Israel Kills More Christians, Israel Kills a US Citizen, SBU Chief Merc'd in Broad Daylight, The West Slowly Begins to Abandon Ukraine, Zelensky's Authoritarianism, Pokrovsk in Peril, Russia's Methodical Advance is Unchecked... Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

This week the gang tackles Chapter I of Laudato Si, but the late Pope Francis. You can follow along by grabbing the PDF from Verso or from the Vatican website. This Papal Encyclical calls for urgent action to address the global environmental crisis, critiques consumerism, blind developmentalism, inequality, and profit seeking. The document calls for global political solidarity to transition to a sustainable economy and for protection of the worlds most vulnerable populations. Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

Deep State Don's Pedophile Coverup Extravaganza, More Tariff Idiocy, Israel's Relentless War Crimes Perpetration, Yermak's Power Grab in Kiev, Azerbaijan Mafia/NATO State, Russian Gains, Ukrainian Systemic Breakdown... Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

Israel failed to assassinate Khamenei, US lifts some sanctions on Hungary/Russia, Russia controls 100% Luhansk, US cuts off military aid to Ukraine, Azov civil war, the collapse continues... Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

This week Chris and Jason signed on to give an update on the status of the spectacular nature of American Capitalism. Trump's useless strikes on Iran and false declaration of victory prompted us to revisit Guy Debord's concept of the spectacle in relation to contemporary American politics. Revenge of the Spectacle: This Time It's Personal http://www.redwedgemagazine.com/online-issue/revenge-of-the-spectacle-this-time-its-personal The Game of War. Guy Debord and the Society of the Spectacle. https://www.threemonkeysonline.com/the-game-of-war-guy-debord-and-the-society-of-the-spectacle/ Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

US Attacks Iran... Did It Work?, Iran Tosses out the IAEA, NATO Potemkin Summit, The Inexorable Russian Lava Flow Pushes On, Ukraine Keeps Collapsing... How to Pronounce Schadenfreude https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3_DjiLLDfo Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

Real romantic anti-capitalism hours are back, and this week the boys brought in Mir and Daniel to read Laudato Si by the late Pope Francis, as published by Verso Books (you can read it on the Vatican website or in book form, but we got the free ebook from Verso). This Papal Encyclical calls for urgent action to address the global environmental crisis, critiques consumerism, blind developmentalism, inequality, and profit seeking. The document calls for global political solidarity to transition to a sustainable economy and for protection of the worlds most vulnerable populations. Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

This is it folks, the second half of Chapter 7 and the grand finale of the reading series. Go to the Patreon to hear the whole episode. Join the Discord to help us determine what's next… And Read Along Here: https://libcom.org/article/question-nationalities-and-social-democracy-otto-bauer Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

Poland No Confidence in Tusk, Saudis Support For Syria, Israel Attacks Syria, More Genocide in Gaza, Russia vs Ukraine/Al Qaeda in Africa, Walkin' in the Spiderwebs, Terrorism?, Ukraine Body Swap Debacle, Russia's Inexorable Advance Continues... Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

In the final episode of our Czechoslovak Socialism series, we dive into the final attempt to reform the Czechoslovak system. As with the Prague Spring, the official ML/liberal narrative about are the same, that this was an attempt to overthrow socialism and establish a capitalist democracy. Just like the Prague Spring, it seems clear that the intentions of its participants were the opposite. The vast majority of Czechoslovaks who participated in the movements that brought down the republic were attempting to reform the socialist system, not destroy it. Krapfl, James. Revolution with a Human Face Politics, Culture, and Community in Czechoslovakia, 1989–1992. Cornell University Press, 2017. Scott Brown. “Prelude to a Divorce? The Prague Spring as Dress Rehearsal for Czechoslovakia’s ‘Velvet Divorce.’” Europe-Asia Studies 60, no. 10 (2008): 1783–1804. Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

The dudes are back, although Sean couldn't join for this episode. Jason and Varn talk about some of the logic here, the limits of trying to pin down conservatism right now, and why politics is so frustrating. No, we didn't speak much about Dugin... but we are doing this to remind everyone that we will. Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

The gang takes on the first half of Chapter 7 of Bauer's analysis of the concept of the nation... Follow Along Here: https://libcom.org/article/question-nationalities-and-social-democracy-otto-bauer Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

The boys and Varn Vlog are back again, for the long-awaited return to our series talking about "Decadence Theory." This week, the boys respond to a response to the ICC's pamphlet on decadence theory. The article we read and discussed was published by Aufheben and is titled The Theory of Decline or the Decline of Theory. Decadence: The Theory of Decline or the Decline of Theory? Part Varn Vlog Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

We recently went on the For a New Republic podcast to talk about Trump, fascism, and rebuilding the workers' movement in the United States. For a New Republic is the official podcast of Éirígí For A New Republic, an Irish socialist republican party that seeks the reunification of Ireland and the establishment of a workers' republic. Éirígí For A New Republic For a New Republic Podcast Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

Hungary vs Ukraine, Iran Nuke Proposal, Why Trump Declared Victory Over the Houthis, Chinese Jets Better than Euro's?, Istanbul Clown Show, Ukraine's Lost War of Attrition Continues... Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

This week we return to an always prescient question: What happened to the future? What Lies Ahead? https://jacobin.com/2023/01/slavoj-zizek-time-future-history-catastrophe-emancipation Mark Fisher’s Specters of Scarcity https://jacobin.com/2025/01/mark-fisher-neoliberalism-acid-communism ‘Culture has lost the ability to grasp the present’ https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/mark-fisher-ghosts-retromania/ How the pandemic messed with our perception of time https://www.vox.com/science/23823507/pandemic-memory-time-perception-lockdown Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

Habemus Papam, Al Qaeda 🤝France, Trump Owned by Xi, Trump Owned by Houthis, Trump Owned by Bibi, Pakistan vs India, China 🤝 Russia, Ukraine's Very Bleak Strategic Assessment... Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

Trump/Zelensky Meeting, Minerals Deal, US Arms Sales to Ukraine, Superhornet Down!, North Korean Troops in Kursk, Russian Gains in April Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

The boys got together to take a look at the first 100 days of Trump's presidency. We talk about inept bumbling, cruelty, misery, war, and how it's still not fascism. Jacobin: This Is America by Daniel Bessner The Nation: The New McCarthyism Was Started by Liberals by Jeet Heer Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

Trump Talks Truce, Iran Nuclear Deal, What's the Point of the EU?, Don't Bluff China, Sumy Missile Strike, Russia Rolls On Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop