Books are Good, Actually

We continue reading Less than Nothing for March and part 3 was a very difficult section to get through, we talked about Terminator and the letter, how Zizek presents Lacan and our lack of knowing Lacan, Elden Ring, being able to skip Hofstadter, and Zizek's articles on the Ukraine and Russian war.  Next month we will wrap up Less than Nothing and will provide a book list for the next few mont...

In February, we are continuing to read to the end of Part 2 of Slavoj Zizek's Less than Nothing! We attempt to connect F.D. Signifier's video on Drake and the Death of Hip Hop with dialectics, we veer into Dark Souls and Elden Ring association with dialectics, we talk about our favorite passages, Zizek's problem with marriage, and we once again answer do we need Hegel in our current time.  F....

For January, we started reading Less than Nothing! We stumbled and bumbled our way through to Chapter 5, relating Hegel to Pokemon, would we get something from this book, our definition of dialectics, dialectics and pop culture, do we need Hegel in the modern world?  How to Read Zizek - https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/how-to-read-zizek/ Less than Nothing 4 Parter! February - Read the rest...

For December, we read Hammer and Hoe by Robin D. G. Kelly! We discussed our general thoughts and feelings about the book, the differences of the application of the New Deal, black communists vs black folks in labor movements, naacp vs ild, white leftism in the 30s and now and how it relates to race and sex, and lessons learned from these organizations. Less than Nothing 4 Parter! January - Read to...

For November, we read Blackshirts and Reds by Michael Parenti! We discussed the author's background, thoughts and feelings about the book, siege vs pure socialism, general take aways. We had a few technical difficulties on Angela's end so apologies if some parts of the podcast are choppy! Noam Chomsky article - https://www.greanvillepost.com/2020/06/03/the-mainstream-and-the-margins-noam-chomsky-v...

For the spooky month of October we read The Occult Book: A Chronological Journey from Alchemy to Wicca by John Michael Greer. We discuss our history/interest of the occult, our not so great feelings on our monthly reading, why did entries of the book seemed to fall off around the 50s, the resurgence of astrology and a special tarot card reading! And of course a list of Jimmy's favorite podcast for...

For the month of September, we read The Legacy of Ashes: History of the CIA by Tim Weiner! We discuss the author, our impressions, the one critique we found, and a hypotheticals of CIA existence and the need for CIA if the US was a socialist country.  Critique - https://americandiplomacy.web.unc.edu/2007/10/legacy-of-ashes-the-history-of-the-cia/ October - The Occult Book by John Michael Gree...

For August, we read How to Blow Up a Pipeline by Andreas Malm! We discuss the author's background, our impressions of the book, addressing critiques and what we can do as a society and as individuals. Articles mentioned - https://www.lareviewofbooks.org/article/sabotage-can-be-done-softly-on-andreas-malms-how-to-blow-up-a-pipeline/ https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/how-to-blow-up-a-movem...

For July, we read Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clark we use a reading guide questions to discuss our book, how Jonathan and Mr. Norrell are a representation of liberal and conservative thought. This is also our first time recording in the same room! Jimmy references more podcasts he listens to and we have the rest of the year's reading list.  https://www.bookbrowse.com/reading_...

For June, we read Masters of Doom by David Kushner, a brief overview of Masters of Doom, a lot of talk Daikatana, The Two Johns and their break up, Joe Lieberman and Columbine, surprising crossovers, the influence of Doom and Quake on video games and future esports, what the Two Johns are up to and our history with id games.  Bill Gates in Doom - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dVAhFYjp9c&nb...

For the month of May, we discuss the book Against the Fascist Creep by Alexander Reid Ross! We discuss definitions of fascism, things we learned from our reading, do the definitions of fascism hold up in a modern age, and how can leftists create networks across the globe.  Additional Notes:  Response to a critique - https://towardfreedom.org/story/archives/americas/against-the-fascist-cr...

For April we read, The Assassination of Fred Hampton by Jeffrey Haas! We discuss the overarching book, what is Fred Hampton's legacy, was justice served, when to take up armed resistance, and the new documents obtained from the FBI about COINTELPRO. Also Jimmy says redact a lot!  Dollop Episode about Fred Hampton - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlgLMEdslAI Behind the Bastards about Fred Ham...

For March, we read Black Skin, White Masks by Frantz Fanon. We discuss our impressions, do a brief overview with the help of the Standford Encyclopedia article, and some discussion questions.  Youtube video mentioned - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hE5BTPb0X2g Summary - https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/frantz-fanon/ Discussion questions - https://blogs.ubc.ca/chendricks/tag/black-skin-whi...

For February we read Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich! This episode we go over the book, our knowledge of drugs and war, was meth part of the success and downfall of the Third Reich, perception changed about Third Reich (spoilers: they are big dumb dumbs),  Hitler farted a lot (potentially), and the criticism of the book. Also, meth is bad! Articles:  https://www.theguardian.com/books/2...

For January, we read The Cathedral and the Bazaar by Eric S. Raymond. We discuss our experience with open source software, Microsoft going into open source, Eric's predictions, why we didn't like chapter 3, and Eric's, RMS, and Linus Tovald's bad behaviour. We also have a tangent about how great Windows XP is! February - Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich by Norman Ohler   March - Black Skin,...

For December we read The Caliban and the Witch! We do a brief rundown of the book, discuss interesting facts we learned from witch-hunts,  we thought of why men didn't help, occultism in the contemporary times and occultism and capitalism. We also had a special guest of Jimmy's cat! January Book -  The Cathedral and the Bazaar by Eric S. Raymond

For November, we read Blood, Sweat, and Pixels by Jason Schreier. We talk about crunch, wooden voice acting, game making under socialism!  Things mentioned in the podcast:  Youtuber Matt McMuscles https://www.youtube.com/c/MattMcMuscles Valve Employee Handbook https://www.valvesoftware.com/en/publications Unity https://unity.com/ Godot https://godotengine.org/ December - Caliban and the...

For October, we read Lexicon of Terror by Marguerite Feitlowitz. We discussed the language that was used, the interviews, and how does a society move on past these horrors. And also Top Gun movie sequels.  Other podcasts/youtubers mentioned:  Bad Empanada Behind the Bastards Seriously Wrong Upcoming books -  November - Blood, Sweat and Pixels by Jason Schreier  December - Calib...

For September we read October: The Story of the Russian Revolution by China Mieville. We discuss our feelings on the book, a brief timeline and other questions such as our favorite slogans! We had a minor tech hiccup towards the end of the podcast so excuse the weirdness.  In October, we will be reading A Lexicon of Terror: Argentina and the Legacies of Torture by Marguerite Feitlowitz - http...

For the month of August, we attempted to read The Long Twentieth Century! We briefly discuss and recap the beginning of the book and what would need to happen for the US to not be a global hegemonic economic power. Also countries making space colonies, it could happen!  For September we are reading October: The Story of the Russian Revolution by China Mieville. https://www.versobooks.com/book...

For June we read Manga in Theory and Practice: The Craft of Creating Manga by Hirohiko Araki! We discuss other tv shows, movies and video games that sort of fit Hirohiko's 'Golden Path'.  We will not have a podcast episode for the month of July but we will pick back up in August.  Book list: August - The Long Twentieth Century: Money, Power and the Origins of Our Times by Giovanni Arrigh...

For May, we read Black Cowboys of the Old West - it had very interesting stories and figures!  June's book will be Manga in Theory and Practice: The Craft of Creating Manga by Hirohiko Araki.  If you are not able to protest please donate to:  * Your state or cities bail fund * Bail Project - https://secure.givelively.org/donate/the-bail-project  Trillbilly Worker's Party episod...

For April, we are discussing Debt: The First 5000 years by David Graeber. Due to the pandemic we had to record on Discord so excuse some ping sounds in the background! Also, contribute to a mutual aid if possible! May's book will be Black Cowboys of the Old West: True, Sensational, And Little-Known Stories From History by Tricia Martineau Wagner. 

Updates to the reading order! April - Debt - Updated and Expanded: The First 5,000 Years by David Graeber May - Black Cowboys of the Old West: True, Sensational, And Little-Known Stories From History by Tricia Martineau Wagner June - Manga in Theory and Practice: The Craft of Creating Manga by Hirohiko Araki

For the month of March we tackle "On Palestine" by Noam Chomsky and Ilan Pappe.  Upcoming books: **Updated as of 3/19/20** April - Debt - Updated and Expanded: The First 5,000 Years by David Graeber May - Black Cowboys of the Old West: True, Sensational, And Little-Known Stories From History by Tricia Martineau Wagner June - Manga in Theory and Practice: The Craft of Creating Manga...