Workers' Lit

The Hunger Games are finally at an end. Welcome to "Mockingjay," Suzanne Collins' 2010 conclusion to the Hunger Games trilogy that will make you say, "Well that was depressing!" (though your mileage may vary on whether or not you consider that an endorsement.) We get INTO IT about revolution, violence, retribution, propaganda, and the silly lizard guys underneath the Capito...

"It's like toothpaste that's left the tube. Trans and queer people have become a fact of life in the United States, they won't be forced back into hiding." We are absolutely thrilled to be joined by the brilliant activist, author, scholar, and artist Julia Serano for today's episode! The queer (especially trans) community in the USA is facing a historic assault by the far...

We normally talk books on Monday, but lyrics are a type of literature, and Nathan sure is waging the narrative battle. Country music artist and writer Nathan Evans Fox joins us for a wide ranging discussion about Southern cultural and artistic traditions, the stranglehold of evangelical Christianity over the south (and this country), and the joy of writing a hillbilly hymn Listen to Nathan's m...

Break the siege! Jacob is joined by organizer, writer, and Communications Director for Progressive International, James Schneider to discuss the Nuestra América Convoy  to Cuba. Learn how organizations like Progressive International, The People's Forum, and many more were inspired by the brave actions of the Gaza Sumud Flotilla and now seek to break the blockade on Cuba. The convoy will convene in...

THIS GIRL IS ON FIIIIREEEEE We're back for part 2 of The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins, 2009's "Catching Fire." The first book was about survival, this book is about revolution. Revel with us in the drama of resistance, cringe at the fandom memories we unearth, and prepare for the forces of fascism to overplay their hand at the onset of the dreaded QUARTER QUELL!

Game time. We keep the dystopian mood alive as we take on Suzanne Collins' 2008 YA smash hit, "The Hunger Games." Join us for a conversation about colonialism, necessary vs. unjustified violence, fanfiction, bodily autonomy, and more! What do YOU want to see out of a Workers' Lit Patreon? Email us at workerslit@gmail.com to let us know!

The American ruling class is at war. Physically, they are at war with Iran, pummeling the country with unrelenting airstrikes, slaughtering civilians, and doing their best to make yet another nation unlivable. But they are fighting another war: a psychological war against every one of us. They are building a world of declining literacy, misinformation, confusion, and fear. Combine those two wars a...

Lenore and Jen are joined by Rae of ProlesPod to discus Gabriel Rockhill's new book, "Who Paid the Pipers of Western Marxism?" You may be asking: what is a piper? Well, that part's not important. What IS important is the way the CIA and other U.S. government forces spent the 20th century infiltrating the media and every level of academia, squelching dangerous opposition, promotin...

Last time we covered Stephen King, we were walking a long ways. Now we're running. We're speeding up, folks! Today we're covering King's 1982 dystopian novel, "The Running Man." Joining us are Evan and Bill from the "Left of the Projector" podcast. Together, we'll get mad at how clearly Stephen wrote this book in just one week and then...didn't fix it. T...

It's a bonus interview with the great science fiction author, Nick Mamatas! We talk about Nick's new book, the horrors of Silicon Valley, and Shakespeare adaptations. Don't miss out: go get your copy of "Kalivas! Or Another Tempest" right now. You can follow him on Bluesky @nmamatas.bsky.social

2026 is an election year, and we have no intention of ignoring it! We are joined by candidate for Governor of Georgia, Representative Ruwa Romman. Ruwa represents GA’s 97th House of Representatives district in Gwinnett County and is the first Muslim and Palestinian woman to ever be elected to the GA House of Representatives. She is a long time organizer, served as a delegate of the Uncommitted mov...

We promise we're super mature with Philip K. Dick's last name. Mostly. This week we're taking on Philip K. Dick's 1956 sci-fi novelette, "The Minority Report." What if you could solve crime before it happens? What if said process led to a lot of violence and exploitation? What if you dealt with all that that while worrying that your wife was cheating on you with your hott...

Can you kill a country with hardly anyone noticing? The Trump Administration intends to try with Cuba. In this episode we examine the criminal blockade on Cuba, and the way knowledge of it is essentially non-existent among Americans. Plus, we touch on different levels of information warfare based on class strata, Marco Rubio's plots, and...Elmo's feud with Taylor Swift?? Support the Let Cu...

Gay. Gothic. Romantic. I know you’re already cheering, and you should be, because we’re covering Vincent Verga’s 1980 novel “Gaywyck.” Why must breathy bodice rippers feature only the heteros? There’s plenty of good gay drama to be had, and gay drama Gaywyck delivers. We discuss the genre of the gothic romance, the groundbreaking nature of Verga’s willingness to not pull punches, and the place wei...

This is a really, really, REALLY cool guest. Today we are joined by Talia Bhatt, writer and radical trans-feminist whose work covers epistemic injustice, Third World feminism, and ranked competitive breast growth (yes, she has RANGE!) Want to know more? Just listen! She’ll explain it better than we can. You can find info on all of Talia’s work (including her new book, “Brown/Trans/Les”) at her web...

What's more literary than talking about one piece of literature? Talking about the very nexus from which literature flows! Today we sat down with Dave Ring of Neon Hemlock, an independent press for speculative fiction, rad zines, and queer chapbooks. Discussion topics range from the mission of Neon Hemlock to the state of publishing in the Age of Slop to the importance of queer art. Links to c...

Welcome to Workers' Lit, your favorite show about the battle for narrative. Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? Today we talk about our focus as a show before discussing the ongoing narrative war in our culture...on several fronts. First, we made Jen watch Hamilton, so we chat about that, which turns into a bit of a side conversation about right-wing films. Then we get back into ICE and mas...

9/11, Hamlet, the Statue of Liberty, Segismundo, Zoroastrianism, Puerto Rican Independence, Bananas: If you hear all those terms and think, “wow, this sure does sound like the building blocks of a great book,” then congrats, you’re award-winning author Giannina Braschi. We are joined by brilliant writer and host of Podside Picnic, Karlo Yeager Rodríguez, to discuss Braschi’s 2011 postmodern novel,...

We are officially one year into Donald Trump’s second term. How’s everybody feeling? This week we discuss the nightmare 365 days that have passed, the battles to come, and the framework that’ll beat Trump for real. Also, we congratulate Usha Vance and her pool boy on their soon-to-be-born child. (We had some technical issues on sound today, so sorry about that!) Articles quoted from in today’s epi...

It’s time to get real old-sporty This week we narrowly avoided death-by-pool to deliver you a discussion of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 gilded age masterpiece, “The Great Gatsby.” Joining us is Joshua Ilon, voice actor on The Penumbra Podcast (Juno Steel, Mr. Serling, Jacob, Sir Tristan the Cold) to discuss just how ridiculously relevant Gatsby has become in 2026, our own fraught gilded age. Listen...

It's time to break the ICE. Jen and Jacob discuss the dramatic week that's passed since the murder of Renée Nicole Good, the latest stats on ICE, Trump, and Congress' popularity, and the campaigns in motion to hold these fascists to account. Read Renée's poem here: https://poets.org/2020-on-learning-to-dissect-fetal-pigs Sources cited in the episode: https://www.filesforprogress.or...

April is the cruelest month, but it’s January so we should be good. Today we’re discussing T.S. Eliot’s 1922 modernist poetic masterpiece, “The Wasteland.” We also discuss Eliot himself…who’s a lot less cool than his poem. Joining us as we wander the wasteland is Chris Richards, AKA The Eclectic Radical. You can check out his work here!

Author and Executive Director of the Tricontinental Institute for Social Research, Vijay Prashad, returns to the show to discuss the United States' kidnapping of Nicolas Maduro and Cilia Flores, Trump's claim that the United States now owns Venezuela's oil industry, and American foreign policy in the age he calls "hyperimperialism." We also get into Venezuela's unique and...

It's crime time. We're ringing in 2026 with James Ellroy's 1990 work of nasty neo noir, "LA Confidential." And we're mad about it! Why are there so many bizarre little policemen running around in this book??? Joining us is Brian Wishart of "Moviepod: A Reclaimed Cinema Podcast" to unpack the weird freak that is James Ellroy, get exasperated over this absurd book...

We took a weeklong break from talking about the news, but it's time to get back into the doings of the United States government...namely, starting new wars. Today we discuss Trump's Christmas strikes on Nigeria, the bombing of a Venezuelan port, and preparations being made inside Venezuela itself for siege and war. Also, we mention our favorite holiday movies. Articles referenced in this e...